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Show StatesmanCampus News Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009 Researchers seek to find cure for H1N1 virus Briefs Campus & Community UAV team takes first place By BRENDON BUTLER staff writer Researchers at USU’s Institute for Antiviral Research are developing an anti-viral program to fight the Swine Flu virus, also known as H1N1, in preparation for the upcoming flu season. Research professor Don Smee is one of six principal investigators working to test different regimens of antiviral drugs to determine their flu-fighting efficacy. The research program, sponsored by the National Institutes for Health, uses anti-viral drugs already on the market or at the final stages of FDA approval so that they can be distributed quickly in the event of an epidemic, said Smee. The researchers are using available pharmaceuticals, such as Tamiflu, Ribavirin and others to determine the most effective treatment for people already infected with the virus, Smee said. Compounds in Tamiflu work by preventing the virus from releasing itself inside lung cells, said Smee, while Ribavirin inhibits virus production. “When you combine compounds that have two different ways of attacking a virus, then you get synergy,” Smee said. “That’s the goal.” Smee is careful to point out he is not developing a vaccine, which is made from weakened virus cells and relies on an immune response from the body to be effective. Instead, the drug regimen will be used to treat people who are already sick. “The problem with the vaccine is, there’s not enough of it,” Smee said. “There will be sick people, and there could be a lot of sick people. We just don’t know yet.” The pharmaceuticals would have to be administered within two days of a person feeling sick, Smee said. Because the seasonal flu is an RNA virus that Page 3 KYLE MILLER, AN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT STUDYING BIOLOGY, and Brett Hurst, graduate student studying virology, prepare MEM (Minimal Essential Media.) MEM acts as food and a living environment for cells and is then diluted with drugs and injected with the H1N1 virus. TYLER LARSON photo changes rapidly, experts are concerned about a resistant virus emerging this season, said Bart Carbett, another researcher involved in the USU project. Researchers are paying close attention to countries located in the Southern Hemisphere, Carbett said, because they are currently in their winter flu season. As of yet, the flu season south of the equator “hasn’t been too bad,” he said. In April of this past year, the Swine Flu virus showed up in Mexico and quickly spread across the United States by vacationing tourists. To date, Utah has seen 300 cases, with 17 deaths caused by the virus, according to the Utah Department of Health. The World Health Organization declared the H1N1 viral outbreak a pandemic in June. The virus is highly transmissible through the respiratory system, Smee said. Washing hands frequently and covering your mouth when coughing will help lower transmission of the disease, he said, as well as remembering not to touch your face. Students who suspect they have the flu should stay home from school, he said. Jim Davis, the director of student health and wellness at USU, said young people between the ages of 18 and 24 are most susceptible to the Swine Flu. The virus changes slightly each year, and most people develop at least partial immunity to viruses over time, but the Swine Flu virus came “out of the clear blue sky” earlier this year, he said. Older people seem to have built immunity to a similar virus when they were young, he said. Young students, pregnant women, and mothers of young children should plan to get vaccinated when the H1N1 serum arrives in the middle of September, he said. The vaccine will require two immunizations spaced six weeks apart, he said. This vaccination will be free of charge, Davis said. Students who want to get vaccinated for the seasonal flu should anticipate to pay about $20 this year, he said. Student Health Services will begin administering those shots in late September and early October, Davis said. For more information, students can visit www. usu.edu/health or call 797-1660. Students can also visit the Utah Department of Health’s Web site for Swine Flu updates at http://bit.ly/106ly8. –butler.brendon@gmail.com SEN. BOB BENNETT, TOP LEFT, VISITED A CLASS OF STUDENT LOBBYISTS during his tour of campus. At a ceremony for the new transit building, Mark Daines, Cache Valley Transit District board president, said the new building,“is another step to accomplish necessary space and confident personnel.” photos by TYLER LARSON and RACHEL A. CHRISTENSEN Senator: Engages on campus DURING HIS VISIT TO A CLASS OF LOBBYISTS, Sen. Bob Bennett told students the first rule of being a lobbyist is understanding the currency with which you are dealing. His second rule is to never ask members of Congress to do something that is at their disadvantage. His last rule was to represent their client to Congress but also explain the government to their client. TYLER LARS0N photo -continued from page 1 quarter of this fiscal year. During his time in the Senate, Bennett said he has experienced two recessions and has learned the nation generally feels the negative effects of a recession before it occurs and will not experience the benefits of recovery until it is well under way. He said the U.S. started feeling the impacts of 2008’s recession in 2007 and will likely experience a jobless recovery until at least 2010. Currently, in absolute dollars, the U.S. has the largest budget deficit it has ever had. However, in terms of gross domestic product the U.S. has the same budget deficit percentage as during the Regan era, Bennett said. “If the economy comes back strongly, we can deal with the deficit and it will go away,” he said. National debt was at 150 percent GDP after World War II, he said. The deficit is currently past 80 percent GDP, and is predicted to get to 100 percent in 2011. “To have a deficit of that size when we’re not at war is a very, very serious thing,” he said. Despite the economic issues America is facing, Bennett said the nation always seems to come up with the right people at the right time. He said even when cessation and slavery issues threatened to divide the U.S., it found Abraham Lincoln and survived. “We’re Americans,” Bennett said. “We can survive, and we can thrive. This situation will be over. The recession will be over. It will be difficult, but it will end.” Bennett urged the nation to not be too gloomy over economic issues and to continue to push through. –rac.ch@aggiemail.usu.edu Students from USU’s College of Engineering seem to be proving a point in recent months to the nation’s other engineering programs. The college’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Team took the first-place prize at the 7th Annual Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International Student Unmanned Aerial Systems Competition in Maryland against many of the top programs in the nation and even from around the world. That first-place award comes just after the USU rocket team took top prizes at NASA’s 2008-2009 University Student Launch Initiative in May. They also won “Best Vehicle Design” and the “Project Review Award.” Alumnus receives conservation award Utah State University alumnus Huey D. Johnson is the recipient of a 2009 Cornelius Amory Pugsley Medal from the National Park Foundation and the American Academy of Park and Recreation Administration. Johnson will receive the award in a ceremony Oct. 15 in Salt Lake City during the National Recreation and Park Association’s annual congress. A renowned conservationist and author, Johnson earned a master’s degree in wildlife management from USU in 1966. Fred Wagner, Johnson’s major professor and a USU emeritus faculty member, describes Johnson as a scholar with “incredible initiative and imagination.” “Huey is a shining example of the impact College of Natural Resources alumni can have on the world,” says CNR Dean, Nat Frazer. “We are proud of his contributions to conservation and the environment.” Johnson was appointed western regional director of The Nature Conservancy in 1963 - the organization’s first employee west of the Mississippi River. During his nineyear tenure, he was responsible for more than 50 projects, including the preservation of Hawaii’s Seven Sacred Pools. In 1972, Johnson founded the Trust for Public Land, now the nation’s fifth largest environmental organization. Since its founding, the organization has completed nearly 3,000 land conservation projects in 46 states, protecting two million acres. Johnson served as secretary of resources in the cabinet of former California Gov. Jerry Brown from 1978 to 1982, where he launched several successful water and energy conservation programs, doubled the state’s salmon numbers, strengthened forestry policy and preserved several million acres of wilderness and 1,200 miles of rivers. In 1983, Johnson founded the California-based Resource Renewal Institute and currently serves as the organization’s president. According to its Web site, the non-profit organization “facilitates the creation, development and implementation of practical strategies to solve the entire complex environmental problem by addressing it comprehensively.” Student writing project for online publication The Encyclopedia of Earth recently completed a successful pilot of a new student writing project that provides students with the opportunity to prepare article for online publication if they meet the encyclopedia’s standards. The project not only is a means for students to gain experience in professional writing, but also is a great reference for future career opportunities. -Compiled from staff and media reports |
