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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 1983)
Thursday, October 20,1983/The Battalion/Page 17 ene find could bring MS cure closer United Press International FRANCISCO — Biologists 'have isolated a gene vital to the ner vous system and found that it is defec- entered ,,tive in mice with a nervous disorder— isianaStiia discovery that could provide new s Ted), [tools for investigating multiple scler- xas Ai| -osis, a major crippler of young people. Bin a report to appear today in Cell, latch will)|he world’s leading molecular biology !ch. Cha:Journal, scientists from tfte California ins atlHtitute of Technology and the Uni- ■sity of California, San Francisco, said they isolated the gene that codes for the major protein of myelin. Myelin is a covering or insulation around nerve cells which aids the travel of impulses along nerves. The scientists found the gene is defective in a mutant strain of mice which exhibits a nervous disorder. This is the first time a neurological disorder in a mammal has been traced to a specific gene defect, they said. The findings could prove signifi cant in the treatment and cure of such human muscle-weakening diseases as multiple sclerosis or Guillain-Barre’s syndtjome. “For years people have been trying to find the cause of multiple sclerosis, the major crippling illness of young adults, but everybody has drawn a blank,” said Dr. Stanley Prusiner, UCSF associateeee professor of neurology. “We wanted to isolate the gene that codes for myelin protein. Then we could take the isolated gene and do genetic maps on peple with MS to see if something in the genetic back ground is responsible for the develop ment of that disease,” he said. “We’ve isolated that gene, a very important step which can allow us to apply modern biological tools to study people with MS,” Prusiner said. The researchers isolated and cloned the gene for myelin basic pro tein (MBP) from rat DNA. Scientists think some human dis eases are caused by defects in the myelin gene. Since the rat gene for myelin basic protein is almost identical in structure to the human gene, the researchers expect to be able to use it to isolate the human gene in normal and diseased humans for comparison. “(Multiple sclerosis) may represent an immune reaction to a defective myelin basic protein,” Dr. Leroy Hood, professor of biology at Caltech, said. “If so, we should be able to iden tify differences between the normal and abnormal genes.” The scientists studied the nature of the gene in shiverer mice, which appear normal at birth, begin shiver ing two weeks later, develop paralysis and seizures and, 50 to 100 days later, die. The scientists found large portions of the myelin gene were missing from the mice’s DNA. the team J g to dofel to world sthewomc [ match LSUwoJ >mpelitiot ty even to "It should % n : : I «essarv [oijJ i of our ||| Id* ■*% e item lull said. I . ABC J unions sal oik undfisl ng, butthsi manciahsi g the nun Iregins its si i. rhech* be playedjfl Br '.y ,> $ '-' .A 1 JC- RtNT? lilt’ irginiai ;st Virgin! in in f ' ebestquatlj of the s ’ )lay," he sj mind i lown, I infidentlc But yotii until youdl xles scholati ege, said hil / one. s easy not ^ [there.' ou’re n aid. jJH it like the |» f tting hinise |®|» : ■■ p..'% ” ”, 4 Sir* *315- ’35°- isigiK art •Hfvhllif ViiW XS! A rainbow of colors... staff photo by John Makcly Suzan Bruce a senior history major from Beaumont is painting pipes in Room 211 of the Old State Chemistry Building. Suzan and a group of friends decided that the room looked boring so they did something about it. The colors are green, yellow and lavender. physical h I ig nd thecd he press a: ^ if you want demand a df it comett ity official resigns ifter sex incident wants i territory, W United Press International SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — A iWingfield city manager who Bended a policewoman for iern losing nude in Playboy maga- ine resigned Tuesday after * ||hg questioned by police ab- SS1PP ,UI picking up a prostitute. riBom Bay, 51, was unavailable A, T^dfeomment Wednesday. Police Li Ulard Bay told them he had ^ Bed the woman $50 for her lBtenn^lV‘ ces - A police spokesman EANS-Eflj h was not immediately dear DupreeulB Bay was not arrested in the rsity ofS«B ent - ind begin f S ^ a y suspended Barbara iming.antw 11112 f° r days last summer Vednesdat er s ^ e posed nude for an -viewwith'Ijr^P 3 ? 6 pictorial, entitled nnp/Thf S® u ty and the Badge,” in the saidhe« fa ) 1982 Playboy. a ynightatiliil^he was suspended for viola- ol H °i 19 department regula- toenrolltli<n s including conduct unbe- said inar ^ 111111 .? a police officer and not wiving prior approval from :ly officials to pose, Bay said. incident. Doughty, a well-known cri- “Bay is a very controv ersial figure in Springfield. I think he was emotionally premature in the ac tion he took. Nobody had legally estab lished (that) he soli cited her or she soli cited him. ”■—attorney James Doughty. minal lawyer in Springfield, said he felt Bay’s resignation may ne mraa 1 ses start lomaloJ suspended Bar- m seclusionB ra Schanlz for 37 since, becai, . r second re'Pys last summer ai- he annoup| er she nosed nude urn to pb r . . tor an eight-page pic- i Mississippijorfif, entitled ‘Beau- g“«!il and the Bad g e " in m rntjuff e May 1982 »pi»m«i , X bo r nan TroplDj the season irds andscOwfter the suspension she re in his roolBed to the force and married ; became lffl ce officer James Buffington, klahonta af Buffington is on maternity sick. Be and refused to comment nildnotbeffliay’s resignation. uthernMisifH er attorney, James Dough- epiid she will not talk about the MSC AMATEUR RADIO COMMITTEE A tour of the TAMU Wind Tunnel Thursday October 20 7:30 PM Room 140 MSC 4r W5AC Ships may burn wastes at sea United Press International WASHINGTON — The En vironmental Protection Agency has given a hazardous waste dis posal company preliminary approval to burn more than 80 million gallons of toxic wastes at sea. The action, taken despite protests of environmental groups and many Gulf Coast re sidents, means the EPA has de cided to grant individual per mits for incineration ships. Flowever, the EPA has yet to adopt broad regulations for burning chemical-laden wastes on ocean-going vessels. Rebeccah Hanmer, acting assistant EPA administrator for water, approved the draft of three three-year permits Mon day for incineration of wastes aboard the ships Vulcanus I and Vulcanus II, owned by Chemical Waste Management Inc. of Oak- brook, Ill. If the permits are approved, the ships will burn a wide range of wastes. Some of these wastes contain cancer-causing polych lorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, and up to two parts per million of dioxin, considered the most toxic chemical made. The two ships will be allowed to burn up to about 80 million gallons of wastes over 80 to 85 voyages. The third permit, a six-month research permit, will allow Vul canus II, the newer of the two ships, to incinerate up to 264,000 gallons of li. uid DDT. Last week more than 20 orga nizations, including the newly formed Gulf Coast Coalition for Public Health, filed a petition asking that the EPA set criteria for evaluating permit requests before issuing any permits. Environmentalists also assert the EPA has failed to consider the catastrophic consequences of a toxic spill. Alan Rubin, chief of the EPA’s water quality criterion section, said the EPA’s office of general counsel has concluded that under the agency’s current ocean dumping regulations, it can issue permits for ocean in cineration ships if environmen tal studies have been conducted and it has information on the wastes to be burned, the method of incineration, and the equip ment and vessels to be used. He said those conditions have been met, and stressed that the permits will require destruction of 99.99 percent of wastes, while international treaties set a less stringent standard of 99.9 per cent efficiency. Rubin also noted that the draft permits will require the company to monitor the inciner ators, and to pay for indepen dent, on-board observers to watch the process round-the- clock. He said public hearings on the permits are now scheduled for Nov. 21 in Brownsville and Nov. 22 and 23 in Mobile, Ala. The two cities were chosen be cause Brownsville is considered the closest city to the burn site far in the Gulf of Mexico, and Mobile is near a Chicksaw, Ala., port where the company hopes to load the ships. * First Presbyterian Church 1100 Carter Creek Parkway, Bryan 823-8073 Dr. Robert Leslie, Pastor Rev. John McGarey, Associate Pastor SUNDAY: Worship at 8:30AM & 11:00AM Church School at 9:30AM College Class at 9:30AM I Bus from TAMU Krueger/Dunn 9:10AM Northgate 9:15AMI Youth Meeting at 5:00PM Nursery: All Events 8 R f TEXAS AVE 3 2 O > ’ir o < CARTER CREEK PKY First -f- Presbyterian ■ Church STUDENT GOVERNMENT TEXAS A M UNIVERSITY Applications are being accepted for Advisory Board for Student Financial Aid 6 Positions Open Prefer Students who have used Financial Aid Services Applications Available beginning Oct. 17, due by 5pm on Oct. 21 at 219 Pavilion For further info, call 845-3051 or come by 219 Pavilion. have been premature. “Bay is a very controversial figure in Springfield ,” Doughty said. “I think he was emotionally premature in the action he took. Nobody had legally established (that) he solicited her or she soli cited him.” The suspension of Mrs. Buf fington was the subject of a tele- vison movie, ‘‘Policewoman Centerfold,” aired this week. Mrs. Buffington said she thought the movie was “fairly good” and accurately dealt with the emotions she experienced during the controversial period. Springfield city officials were polled following the movie for their impressions of the film. Bay said he skipped it to watch Monday night football. 4$ COPY CENTER M-Th 7-10 Fri. 7-6 Sat. 9-6 Sun. 2-5 707 Texas Ave. fl 693 COPY 0CT066RF6ST ALL TH6 B€€R Si BRATUJURST VOU CAN CAT & DRINK!! G6RMAN MUSIC for students, faculty, families & guests in RNR department AND persons interested in Reneojable Natural Resources. CENTRAL PARK PAVILION College Stotion, SRTURDAV, OCTOB6R 22, 1983 3:00-7:00pm COST: $4.50/oduit $2.25/child Purchase tickets at: FRANCIS HflLl ] st floor Thurs. & Fri. or at the Octoberfest. 4r Black Awareness 9? Voices Of Praise Presents Gospeffest October 22 7:30 pm TICKETS:MSC Box Office $2.00 Student $3.00 Non-Student Rudder Theatre - Texas A&M