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Show r n THE & I Let's Talk About Women, Err Maybe mentions the "Evil Genius" of women, the Chrony theft and tidbits about Playboy. Not: Chris Yeates 1 Bird Watcher's Fancy: A The Chronicle's Daina Graybosch began her Spring Break birding in Arizona. King of Bunkers: FRIDAY, MARCH Of Immunity JARED WHITLEY Chronicle News Writer MATT CANHAM Chronicle Asst. News Editor Working in the back rooms of the John R. Park Building, University of Utah administrators are g campreparing to launch a $25 million for student scholarships. paign U President J. Bernard Machen will announce the campaign to a group of donors on May 18, but his staff is not waiting until then to get going. "We are in the silent phase of the campaign," said Jeff Paoletti, director of planned giving. fund-raisin- Pathology Professor John Weis wants to understand the human immune system. To facilitate that endeavor, he masterminds four laboratories, tinkers genetically with mice and recently got a grant for more than $1.6 million dollars. "I've always been interested in how the immuno-responsprotect the body from infection," Weis said. "It's a supreme scientific puzzle to try to understand how all the parts of the immune system talk to each other. It's fascinating." Weis' study, "Regulation of Large CR2CD21 Expression and Activation," has been an ongoing project for about 15 years. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will give Weis $325,000 per year for the next five years to continue his research. At the heart of Weis' research is the basic immunology science of B cells, the cells in the human bloodstream, responsible for making the antibodies that neutralize infections. Eventually Weis hopes to create more and better antibodies for use in thera-- " py or immunization. "We are simply trying to understand the basic biology of how a basic B cell works in a normal setting. We're trying to understand the unknowns before we know how to , manipulate it," Weis said. v' Weis' other labs focus on learning how allergies and asthma are acquired, and on studying the devel- opment of bone marrow. . In investigating B cells, Weis relies heavily on laboratory mice. Mice play a key role in unlocking genetic puzzles because they have so many genetic similarities with human beings. "Virtually every protein the mouse has, you have," Weis said. Weis uses homologous recombination technology to "knock out" specific genes in a mouse. The technology allows him to create mice with mutated genes, that are es - : " - al Officials Plan Ambitious or produce al proteins. He then infects the mice with a viral or bacterial strain he knows their altered immune systems can't cope with. At the same time, he infects normal mice with the same disease strain to act as a control. Genetic knowledge of the immune lead to heightening the system could ' immune system's response in humans. The knowledge may provide new ideas for immuno-theraphelp transplant patients cope with organ rejection, or shed light on autoimmune diseases, like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. An autoimmune disease is when the body's immune system responds negatively and harmfully to itself. This research could also have positive implications for cancer research, specifically in leukemia. y, see IMMUNITY, page 3 efforts, universities During major will attempt to get a portion of the money before announcing the campaign to help ensure its sucfund-raisin- g cess. , "We are counting now," Paoletti said. The campaign comes on the heels of the Sesqui- - J ' f - Fund-Raisin- baseball I jfl high-scho- ol see CAMPAIGN page 3 Proposed Waste Site Disturbs Some Native Americans l if 4" s its I VOL 110 NO 136 higher-educatio- ar ' 30, 2001 financial aid. Norris said the U gets about 10 percent less n financial aid than the average institution in the nation, based on 1998-9- 9 statistics that did not consider federal loans. The U would need an estimated $3 million increase in its financial-ai- d spending to meet the national average, said Paul Brinkman, U associate vice president for budget and resource planning. The campaign's goal is to grow the U's endowment funds to meet this need, he said. It also supports two administrative initiatives started early this year. Machen announced in January his intention to guarantee the admission of the top 10 percent of Utah's graduating class. Each student campaign. And even though the during the amount surpassed the goal of $39 million for scholarships, it didn't pacify Machen. "I felt in the campaign that we didn't get enough scholarship support," he said. "The reality is that if dollars of our peers, you look at the financial-ai- d we have less. People have made excuses for that, and I just don't think that is acceptable." While state officials agree with Machcn's assessment, they say it is hard to quantify the gap. "It is probably a safe statement that they have less than their peers," said Gail Norris, associate commissioner of higher education in charge of T, s Campaign g centennial Campaign, during which the U raised $766.5 million for everything from new buildings effort far to faculty salaries. The campus-wid- e exceeded the goal of $500 million. Donors gave $52 million for student scholarships six-ye- U team battles San Diego State for control of MWC. The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice Since 1890 Professor Looks At the Genetics The t EMILY FULLER Chronicle News Writer - " J. , "'V . -- : '' '! , p ; - A -- Western Shoshone Native Americans believe that before they drink water, pick 3 plant, or kill any living creature they must first tell it why they are drinking or killing it, because they believe everything lives. With nuclear dumping and testing occurring all over the Western United States and often near or on Indian reservations, however, tribes arc up in arms with the suffocation of the "Mother Earth" they respect. Western Shoshone tribal leader Corbin Harney and Margcne a Goshutc Indian and Skull Valley resident, spoke Thursday at the University of Utah Hinckley Institute of Politics. "We understand we arc connected to our Mother Earth," Harney said. In 1990, the Office of Nuclear Waste Negotiations began proposing the storage of nuclear waste on Native American reservations. They said the sites would boost the Native American economy by providing more jobs on the reservations. Bullcrcck's home, the Skull Valley reservation, applied to build one of the waste sites, but many Goshutcs do not support the decision. Hull-crcc- David Robertson already volunteered with the Olympics as a member of the National Organizing Committee. However, the University of Utah sophomore is looking to gain a little more experience in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, For this reason, David Robertson attended the Olympic Employment Raiiy, hosted by the Coca Cola 2002 Olympic Hospitality Program Thursday in the A. Ray Olpin University Union BiHroom. "We want to give people a !;ttle...deeper education about ur program' said Benise Robertson, the Operations Manager for Coca Cola Salt Lake Olympic Programming. ... : Denise Robertson . "Our staff is involved in every faction of the Games: administration, guest services, ticketing. It offers good exposure to other cultures," she said. Staff wili work days, making between $10 and $15 per hour; Although a crowd of all ages appeared in the ballroom, Denise Robertson said the rally was largely targeted to students. About 50 percent of the staff Coca Cola has already hired is made up of students, she said. "We would like to incorporate people of all ages," she 10-ho- ur said. tossed out prizes for trivia quesinvolve- tions, discussed the background of Coca Cola's ment in the Games, and then gave a presentation of the different employment opportunities available. Rally staff estimated approximately SO people turned in applications at the event. More employment opportunities may be available in the fall. Bobbi Parry see WASTE, page k, 3 Moths Give U Researchers a Sense of Smell WYNNE PARRY Chronicle News Writer Our sense of smell allows us to follow invisible trails of odor, but beyond that, this primal sense is little understood. A recently released study sought to change that, using moths to better understand the nature of odor and how the brain processes it. The research appeared in the March 22 issue of the journal Nature. Neil Vickers, one of the paper's authors and a University of Utah assistant professor of biology, compares the airborne chemicals responsible for odor to smoke pouring out of a chimney on a breezy day. "It breaks up into swirls and patches of smoke interspersed with clean air," Vickers said. An odor plume has a similar structure. In the study, researchers tracked an odor plume inside a wind tunnel by wiring the antennae of moths. The antennae function like human noses because the way a moth receives and processes information on its chemical environment is comparable to how a human accomplishes the same task. "Because there are more similarities than differences, by learning about the moth olfactory system we hope that these principles will be applicable to other animals," he said. Wiring the antennae allowed researchers to measure the amount of electrical activity in the antenna. Researchers can then track patches of odor in the air by detecting activity in the moth antennae as odor passes by. Because in the past odors have only been studied under conditions, highly controlled researchers designed a second experiment to more closely mimic a natural sett'"". Vickers said. "Under actual circumstances, the moth is flying around, making progress toward the source of the odor," he said. By moving, the moth is affecting the way it encounters odor. To understand the effect motion has on olfaction, researchers placed a wired antenna onto the back of a moth and encouraged it to fly with- see MOTHS, page THE DAILY UTAH ONLINE CHRONICLE IS ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT WWW.Utahchronicle.com 3 |