THE BATTALION
THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 1981
Page 3
.ocal
181
^ert
here anemia may now be treated
Past A&M research pays off
Two man-made amino acids
studied nearly a generation
ly Texas A&M University sci-
its now show promise as a
ment for Cooley’s anemia, a
hey (jitary blood disorder that
ts 5 percent of all Americans
trace family roots to the
terranean as well as about 2
Ion Greeks and Italians.
ley’s anemia in its more se-
form invariably leads to death
e age 21 because the bodies
young victims are unable to
form iron into hemoglobin,
ligment that makes blood red
larries oxygen from the lungs
staff ii
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ie inti 1
rkers
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lie two compounds, known in
itific shorthand as EHPG and
D, provide encouraging re-
because they act as effective
agents called iron chelators that
remove iron from the body, said
Texas A&M researcher Dr.
Arthur E. Martell, who holds the
rank of distinguished professor of
chemistry.
Chemists here have begun
more studies under a three-year
contract from the National Insti
tutes of Health to study ways to
make improved iron chelators that
may even be superior to HBED
and EHPG.
Martell has been asked to pre
sent his findings at the American
Chemical Society’s international
meeting in NVEW York on Aug.
23.
Although the most recent mod
ifications of HBED and EHPG
were done by Dr. Colin Pitt of the
Triangle Research Park in North
rchitects return
y 40s style homes
toning to the architectural
lards of the pre-1940s would
step forward in energy effi-
y, says a Texas A&M
|tecture expert.
the days when cool air came
change of the seasons rather
with a flip of a switch,
jtects knew how to design
lings that stayed relatively
mtheirown, said R.D. Reed,
ifessor of architecture and a
inberofthe American Institute
[rchitects (AIA) national ener-
committee.
Ihe committee is developing a
I million program to re-
eate the nation’s architects.
With the advent of air-
itioning after World War II,
i thrust of training in architec-
J shifted from buildings that
^ sensitive to the climate to
lings that were indifferent to
(limate, he said.
The architect became more of
ulptor,” Reed said. “From
.,i I to 1975 architecture schools
' 7 ughout the country were
ling their students to design
iings that were connected to a
of machines that ran on a lot of
ap energy.”
cheap energy has
on the way out since the 1973
imbargo, Reed said the major-
of the nation’s architects and
lols of architecture still have
returned to designs that mini-
the need for mechanical cli-
control.
irches, breezeways and white
rior paint were devices used
!ep houses cool in the pre-war
that may experience a revival
when architects begin to look for
more energy-efficient designs, he
said.
A return to that kind of
architectural design would mean
significant energy savings without
a loss of comfort.
“We could easily cut our ener
gy costs in half,” Reed said. “But
this doesn’t mean we re returning
to the bad old days. These next
few years can become the best of
times instead of the worst. The
idea is that you can design with
nature as opposed to overcoming
nature with a machine. ”
Reed believes political and eco
nomic pressures have not been
strong enough to make energy
conservation a top priority with
today’s architects.
“You would think because it is
so expensive they would design
more energy efficient buildings,
but they don’t,” he said.
Reed said part of the reason is
that energy costs can be passed on
as rent and are tax-deductible as
an operating cost.
Beginning next month a series
of workshops will be offered to
professional architects to prepare
them to design more energy effi
cient buildings.
Texas A&M is the first universi
ty to offer the same material to its
students, Reed said.
“We will be offering our stu
dents the same educational mate
rial that is being offered to the
practicing professional,” he said.
“Our students will graduate with
the ability to design energy effi
cient buildings.”
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Carolina, the first synthesis and
discovery of the compound’s effec
tiveness as iron chelators were
carried out at Texas A&M during
the 1950s and 1960s by Martell
and other scientists conducting
basic research.
Martell said recent develop
ments surrounding the two synth
etic amino acids are examples of
the need for pure research that
may not result in immediate appli
cations.
“These compounds wouldn’t
have been looked at for Cooley’s
anemia if we hadn’t realized from
our early work they were very
good for ‘complexing’ iron,” he
said.
Cooley’s anemia, Martell ex
plains, takes two forms. The se
vere form (thalassemia major)
leaves rust-like deposits of iron
which build up to impair the
heart, liver, spleen and other vital
tissues. The less severe form of
thalassemia makes the person a
carrier although he or she appears
perfectly normal otherwise.
If two carriers have offspring,
they may produce normal chil
dren, other children with the dis
order, or children that also be
come carriers, said the Texas
A&M chemist.
Only a complex blood test can
confirm the condition and the only
effective treatments are blood
transfusions and a drug called de-
sferrioxamine (DFB) which helps
the body eliminate excess iron.
Both new drugs are potentially
far superior to DFB and are
undergoing tests as replacements
for desferrioxamine in treatment
for Cooley’s anemia, Martell said.
Researchers here have com
pleted one three-year contract
with NIH to study new chelating
agents. That work was done under
the leadership of post-doctoral re
searcher Dr. R.J. Motekaitis.
A&M professor says lie
detectors arent reliable
Many people can lie and not
be detected by a polygraph test,
and for that reason the tests
shouldn’t be used alone in job
interviews, says a Texas A&M
management professor;
“Giving lie detector tests for
employment is on par with
trying to measure intelligence
based on body builds,” said Dr.
Doug Stone of the College of
Business Administration. “Not
all tall and thin people are intel
ligent.”
This year more than a million
Americans will take a lie detec
tor test. While the tests are
used at police stations and in
court cases, the greatest num
ber will be given in the work
place, or during job interviews.
Stone said none of the For
tune 500 corporations for which
he has worked or consulted use
such tests while interviewing
prospective employees. More
often smaller firms, particularly
retail businesses, tend to use
them. The tests are often used
to question employees in con
nection with inventories, cash
flow or other issues involving a
firm’s fiscal or technological
security.
The American Management
Association estimates that as
many as 20 percent of the firms
that go out of business do so
because of employee crime.
“The tests don’t detect lies or
liars,” said Stone, “but they de
tect excitability.”
Psychologists say the tests are
unreliable because they confuse
emotions such as fear and anger
or health conditions with guilt.
“Each of us differs consider
ably as to whether the test will
say we’re being honest,” Stone
said. “Some innocent people
are judged to be deceptive
while some deceptive people
will pride themselves in their
ability to get through a lie de
tector test undetected.”
Stone explained the poly
graph test only responds to
emotional reactions to ques
tions asked, measuring brea
thing, sweating responses and
blood pressure. People don’t
have to take the test, he said,
but refusing to do so could pre
vent them from being hired or
promoted. Objecting to the
test is often interpreted as ad
mitting guilt.
Stone advises people who
feel they must take such tests
for furthering their careers to be
honest when they answer the
questions. People who want to
beat the test often try to raise
responses on control questions.
They do so by biting their ton
gue, breathing slightly faster,
rubbing a toe against a nail in a
shoe and the like.
Stone also advises people to
refuse to answer questions that
are personal and may be a basis
for illegal discrimination, such
as questions pertaining to one’s
religion, political beliefs, sex,
marriage, physical and mental
handicaps or national origin.
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