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Serving the Texas A&M University community
Thursday, August 6, 1981
College Station, Texas
^Agricultural researchers look
into future genetic technology
; 2«
29!"
If
■15 £* , '', Agricultural scientists, excited about
Oflj hebropeets for genetic technology that
^ ‘ould create whole new sources of food,
329 ay [they stand at the same threshhold
vhere aerospace researchers stood 30
'ears ago.
The potential for Space Age advances
0^ nyfeeding mankind looms just beyond
ieihorizon, say Texas A&M agricultu-
Bsexperts who are among those un-
^^aveling the mysteries of genetic codes.
' Jl " But problems still lie ahead for deter-
nining how much of the new technolo-
jj.pO^I can incorporated readily into pre-
ent-day agricultural systems, says Dr.
TO. Kunkel, dean of the College of
Agriculture.
i.“The potential tantalizes the imagi-
lation,” Kunkel said. “But remember
hat our agricultural system has been
yjfll'ivblving for hundreds of years, and it
^ vill be a while before genetic technolo-
;an be incorporated.”
Dr. Page Morgan, a Texas A&M sci-
ntist known for his work in plant hor-
nes, said talking about manufactur-
g new plants through gene-splicing is
jike talking about going to the moon in
e late 1950s or early 1960s.
“The engineers said they had the
capability, but at the time they hadn’t
developed the equipment to make the
trip possible,” he explained. “That’s ab
out where we are today.”
Morgan said producing spectacular
new plants is going to take the con
certed efforts of an integrated agricultu
ral team that would not only include
biochemists, but also plant physiolog
ists and pathologists who will learn
more about the processes being
changed and who will be instrumental
in regenerating plants from genes that
have been changed.
The scientists agree the new technol
ogy won’t replace what is available to
day, but its incorporation might help
solve problems already facing agricul
turists.
“Genetic technology is coming and it
will have a major impact on agriculture.
I’m convinced of that,” Kunkel said.
“However, research in other areas vital
to implementing it still remains.”
Dr. Jim Wild, a geneticist in the
biochemistry and biophysics depart
ment, says it won’t be long before mic
roorganisms could be used to convert
plant remains to food after harvest.
Genetic technology also will aid in turn
ing agricultural residue into alternate
energy sources, he said.
“When you harvest cotton or run it
through a gin, you leave behind a lot of
plant material like cotton burrs or gin
trash, ” Wild said. “We need to use all of
these materials, and the right kind of
system could help convert these bypro
ducts into energy or food. ”
Wild said geneticists must learn more
about the regulatory processes, or the
biological rules, that govern how new
plants with complex gene structures
will be formed. His research will help
along these lines as he and other
biochemists at Texas A&M are studying
the process that forms new yeast and
bacterial cells through gene splicing.
“When we get to this point in higher
plant forms, we still won’t know
whether we will get the desired re
sults,” he said.
But enthusiasts foresee corn plants
that will grow throughout the year or
plants that will be able to fix their own
nitrogen, reducing the amount of ferti
lizer needed. Some envision plants that
could be immune from disease, others
that would have high-protein content or
plants that could tolerate higher levels
of salt in highly-irrigated soil.
USPS 045 360
Phone 845-2611
The Weather
Today
Tomorrow
High
98
High
.... 98
Low
76
Low
.... 75
Chance of rain.
. . ; . 20%
Chance of rain. . .
. . 20%
Government starts firing
striking air controllers
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Federal authorities, under President
Reagan’s orders, are sending dismissal notices to striking air
traffic controllers and stepping up efforts to find replace
ments.
Only 3 percent of the 13,000 controllers who walked off
their jobs Monday returned to radar towers Wednesday
under Reagan’s back-to-work ultimatum, the union said. The
others defied the president.
Reagan reiterated all those who did not return to work
Wednesday would be dismissed, and Poli said he would
challenge the mass firings in court. The federal dismissal
process alone may take months.
Helms estimated the system, using supervisory personnel
and non-strikers, was handling 75 percent of all scheduled
flights with little or no landing delays.
Five leaders of the illegal walkout were jailed Wednesday
for refusing to obey court orders to end their role in the
strike. One of them, Steve L. Wallaert, was taken to the
Fairfax County, Va., jail in leg irons.
As of late today, the union had been fined more than $5
million, with the amount increasing by $100,000 hourly. *
Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis said, as of Wednes
day, 55 controllers had been fired, “with conceivably
thousands” to receive their dismissal notices today.
Dismissal notices began going out by registered mail first
to strikers on the West Coast who failed to show up for the
shift that began at 8 a.m. Wednesday Pacific time.
Lewis said 471 controllers who had been on strike re
turned to work Wednesday and 93 others told officials they
would return today.
All told, there are 17,000 air traffic controllers, including
2,000 who do not belong to the union. About 4,000 of them
have remained at work since the strike began.
Reagan, asked by reporters about so many controllers!
being subjected to dismissal, said:
“I do feel badly. I take no joy in this. There just is no other
choice. ”
Controllers, as federal employees, are prohibited from
going on strike. ’
The government originally set an 11 a.m. EDT deadline
for controllers to be back to work. But shortly before 11 a. m.,
it clarified that deadline, telling workers to return to work by
the beginning of their next regular shift — in some cases
Thursday morning — or lose their jobs.
The walkout began at 7 a.m. Monday, 4V2 hours after
contract talks broke down between the FAA and PATCO,
and shortly after more than 80 percent of the union’s 15,000
members voted to strike.
PATCO has sought a 32-hour work week, better retire
ment benefits and a $10,000 raise that would put top control-1
lers at about $59,000 annually. It rejected the government’s;
last offer, a 39-month, $105 million package.
But firing the controllers may be easier said than done.
Every traffic controller who finds a government pink slip >
in his mailbox has a week to respond in writing or orally. >
When that time expires, he has another 20 days to appeal the ’
dismissal to the Merit Systems Protection Board.
Summer dip can provide pets
needed relief from pesty fleas
By BERNIE FETTE
Battalion StafT
Dog owners can take their pets for a
refreshing dip this weekend — but it
won’t be in a local swimming pool.
Several students from the College of
Veterinary Medicine will provide “dog-
dip” flea treatments for pets Saturday
from 10a.m. to4p.m. behind the veter
inary college.
Craig Verwers, a Texas A&M veter
inary student who started the project
last year, said the service is being
offered by the students as a project once
each month at a cost of $3 per dog.
Assisting in the project is the women’s
auxiliary of the student chapter of the
American Veterinary Medical Associa
tion.
Fleas are an especially big problem
in Texas this summer due to three fac
tors, said Dr. Phil Hamman, an exten
sion urban entomologist for the Texas
Agricultural Extension Service.
The biggest contributor to the prob
lem, he said, is tolerable environmental
conditions for the fleas.
“Last winter was particularly mild,”
Hamman said, “so there was a good
carry-over.”
Secondly, fleas can live indoors as
well as outdoors so they can live in a
more controlled environment.
A growing pet population is a third
contributor to the problem, Hamman
said. “People could do themselves a
great favor by not having pets.”
If people do want pets, he said, the;
pets should be treated once a week if
they are allowed to run free and some
what less often if they are confined in
doors.
Flea collars are not as effective as
shampooing and flea powder treat
ments, Hamman said.
Verwers said that spraying yards,
houses and cleaning rugs are all helpful
in combatting the flea problem. Ham
man adds that those areas sprayed must
be allowed to dry before pets or chil
dren are allowed near them.
A&M presidential list hearing
to continue Friday in Austin
Texas A&M University and the
Bryan-College Station Eagle Friday will
continue their battle over the list of can
didates for the University presidency in
Austin.
A hearing on the dispute over
whether the list is a public record was
initially scheduled for July 24 in Brazos
County, but the location was changed
because attorneys from both sides
agreed that a state agency must be sued
in Travis County.
The hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Friday in the Travis County Courthouse
in Austin in the court of Judge Jerry
Dellano.
The suit was filed by the Eagle when
the University refused to release the
identities and qualifications of the can
didates after Attorney General Mark
White ruled that the list was a public
record.
White ruled that the list of all 500
initial considerations must be released
under the Texas Open Records Act but
that the identities of the finalists for the
position could remain confidential.
Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs
James B. Bond has said University offi
cials have not released the information
because they fear that some of the per
sons on the list may sue for invasion of
privacy if the list is made public.
Polly wants a kiss
Photo by Michelle Orozco
This Amazon Red Head parrot named Karat and
his owner Bill Gouldin, a senior finance major
from Houston, are the best of friends. Gouldin
said the parrot goes everywhere with him, in
cluding when he travels. He and Karat were
seen in Travis Park. The parrot is three years
old, and Gouldin has had him about three
months. Gouldin also raises English Setter dogs.