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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 1985)
Tuesday, October 22, 1985/The Battalion/Page 5 Warped by Scott McCullar (%W, LET'S I FEED, r GETSOWE- OF / THIWK you iHEWPto/cy-j oughta 5PRA1 ON \5EETHI5... TH05E SHELVES OVER THERE-. id. n-and-® tasked ini is ofihtFi ingkdon emy.Tlit|| le snowi io has der Chna ir thenffi) I raws hot in realize 3 t, bill 15 Li ancetod •of thelm convent death i» :r every»« s, Cyn» 3 by ones: -ead Chrii anehasltji rs. As he i ane realne the letteit bottom ol s before. I ne tells hii he dies. PROBABLY 'CAUSE THIS COPIER NEVER MAKES DECENT PHOTOCOPIES. Exotic A&M researchers find odd creatures in Gulf University News Service Exotic sea creatures have been discovered thriving deep in the Gulf of Mexico in a region polluted by oil and gas seeping naturally from be neath the ocean floor. Reporting in Nature Magazine, a six-man team of Texas A&M ocean ographers said it found dense com munities of clams, tube worms and other animals at a depth of about 1,800 feet in an area 150 miles off the Louisiana coast. The creatures apparently feed on bacteria that ex ist with no sunlight. Sunlight is re quired for photosynthesis. Rather than photosynthesis, the scientists speculate the bacteria use a process called chemosynthesis as an energy source for growth. These bacteria also appear to be feeding on the hydrocarbons that seep from the Gulf floor. “This report significantly expands the geographical area in which one would expect to find such commu nities in the deep ocean,” Dr. Mah- lon Kennicutt II said. “It also sug gests that oil and gas seeping to the surface from deeper hydrocarbon reservoirs can support, by chemo synthesis, vent-type organisms in the deep ocean.” Hydrocarbon seepage occurs nat urally in many ocean shelf and slope regions, Kennicutt said, making it probable that these sea creatures are more widely distributed than pre vious discoveries suggested. The discoveries were made last December and May when the re search team — made of Kennicutt, “This is an area of active seepage. We saw oil rising to the surface. Given what we know about pollution, one might not expect to find biological commu nities that are thriving. But we did. ” — A&M oceanographer Dr. Mahlon Kennicut James M. Brooks, Robert R. Bidi- gare, Roger R. Fay, Terry L. Wade and Thomas J. McDonald — trawled through a region where they had earlier discovered the occurrence of gas hydrates, icelike formations of methane and water that may have potential as an unconventional en ergy source. Chemical analyses were per- formed on the organisms to deter mine their food source. Like other exotic communities re cently reported at hydrothermal vents and a Florida Escarpment sa line seep, the oil seeps contain hy drogen sulfide which can be used as an energy source by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria that are then eaten by the other animals. But, unlike other finds, the Louisiana seeps also leak hydrocarbons that appear to play a part in the food chain too, explained Kennicutt. “This is an area of active seepage,” he said. “We saw oil rising to the sur face. Given what we know about pol lution, one might not expect to find biological communities that are thriving. But we did.” The researchers plan to return to the site next year with the Johnson Sealink I submersible to learn more about where the animals actually live. They also may perform studies at the site aboard a Navy submarine. Their findings include two new species of tube worms and a slender black tube worm that may represent a new class. “We want to learn how these ani mals can live in such toxic com pounds and what special mech anisms make it possible,” Kennicutt said. Clue found to Alzheimer’s disease Associated Press DALLAS — Researchers have identified a new kind of abnormality in the brains of people with Alz heimer’s disease that could be the best clue yet to the cause of the debil itating affliction. The scientists found that the dis ease produces unusual changes in the fibers that serve as “skeletons” inside brain cells to help the cells hold their shape. No one believes these fibers are the cause of the disease, said Dr. Daniel Selkoe of Harvard Medical School Sunday. But, he said, they are an important step closer to the cause. Scientists have known for a long time that the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients contain microscopic fibrous tangles and hardened depos its called plaques, but where these tangles and plaques came from was not known. Selkoe and other researchers have now shown that the tangles and plaques contain some of the same proteins, or portions of the proteins, that are contained in the cytoskeletal fibers in normal brain cells, or neu- nins.— The finding adds to indications that the cause of Alzheimer’s may lie in the process controlling formation of the cytoskeletal structures. Further, it allows scientists for the first time to begin using the power ful techniques of gene-splicing to fight Alzheimer’s. They can now use that gene to track Alzheimer’s dis ease in the unusual cases where it is inherited in families, Selkoe said. While in many cases family mem bers of Alzheimer’s victims appear to have an unexplained predisposition to develop it, only rarely is the dis ease passed on like classic hereditary diseases, such as cystic fibrosis. The reason for the variability could be that several genes may con trol the disease. These genes could interact in different ways in differ ent individuals. At present, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, and nothing can be done even to alleviate its symptoms or to detect it early, before symp toms appear. About 20 percent of the U.S. pop ulation will eventually get Alzheim er’s, and the number of cases is in creasing as the population ages, said Dr. Clifford Saper of the University of Chicago during the ne.urojscience meeting. In about 35 years, one in four Americans will be over age 65, he said. Care for Alzheimer’s victims now costs $20 billion a year, Saper said. The disease, which causes at least 100,000 deaths a year, was first de scribed in 1907 by Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist. Alzheimer noted the symptoms: a progressive loss of memory and mental function and eventual inability to speak or perform routine tasks. Alzheimer was the first to note the tangles and plaques that occur in the brains of those wuth the illness. Men’s: All 100% cotton washed herringbone mountain shirt, Billy Goat canvas pant and web belt. RoyBi Robbins With thirty years of mountaineering experience, Royal and Liz Robbins de sign clothing with a simple philosophy of products true to their own Feelings for the outdoor life. Royal Robbins styles have the timeless classic look of honest, reliable comfortable clothing for all seasons. Women's: Crinkle canvas shirt, Wallace Beery jersey, washed drill pant and web belt all 100% cotton. Ramie/cotton cardigan for men and women. Whole Earth Provision Co. 105 Boyett College Station 8^6-8794 1 «A. fL'./.w’ -C:« ; ■ CL ,1, -... • "^7 With purchase of one at regular price. Thru October 28,1985 X TACO ‘BELL Limit one coupon per person per visit: 11 am -11 pm. Not sood with any other offer. Valid only at Bryan/Collese Station TACO BELL® Restaurants. ^ T exas ASM Flying Club Monthly Meeting Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., Oct. 22 at the Airport Clubhouse. For More Information Call Don Read, 696-9339 Radial Tire Sale TlftER paw® with ROYAL SEAL’ ■ Automatic and permanently seafs most' tread punctures 3/16” in diameter or less. ■ Free replacement road hazard warranty during first 24 months or 30% of tread depth, whichever comes first. 99 P185/80R-13 P185/75R-14 P195/75R-14 P205/75R-14 P205/75R-15 P215/75R-15 P225/75R-15 P235/75R-15 UNIROYAL PRICI $79.99 86.89 92.51 97.00 101.12 105.19 109.32 114.33 SIZE PRICE P185/80R-13 $48.88 P175/75R-14 51.76 P185/75R-14 53.06 P195/75R-14 55.94 P205/75R-14 59.26 P215/75R-14 62.36 P205/75R-15 62.07 P215/75R-15 64.26 P225/75R-15 67.34 P235/75R-15 69.84 LAREDO RALLYE 280 155SR13 32 54 ; — WZt PRICE 155SR13 $32.54 165SR13 36.06 175SR14 42.21 185SR14 47.25 175/70SR13 40.40 185/70SR13 45.19 185/70SR14 48.56 S RALLYE 340 71 71 175/70HR13 BUY 3 & GET 4th TIRE FREE JOL 175/70HR13 185/70HR13 185/70HR14 195/70HR14 205/70HR14 185/60HR14 195/60HR14 205/60HR15 2EI 71.71 76.39 78.85 87.31 93.39 98.07 109.53 125.07 'certain sizes in Rallye 340 may have to • ^ L- ■ T 0* ^1 s LAREDO RV BIAS LUG 31x10,50-15 SIZE m PRKI 31x10.50-15-4 ply R/W/L $74.40 31x11.50-15-4 ply R/W/L $87.07 31x12.50-15-4 ply R/W/L $93.40 Armstrong CORONET SX/A STEEL BELTED RADIAL W/W Armstrong CORONET2 + 2 BIAS-BELTED W/W SIZE PRICE /givW'W P165/80R13 37.95 / jp.. i \\\\ if P175/80R13 41.95 P185/80R13 43.95 .'f 1 l « Sr / Of P185/75R14 44.95 ) V P195/75R14 45.95 P205/75R14 47.95 \ \ tMmmivKmt' P205/75R15 47.95 P215/75R15 49.95 P225/75R15 52.95 P235/75R15 57.95 SIZE PRICE P165/80B13 29.95 P185/80B13 32.95 P195/75B14 35.95 P205/75B14 37.95 P215/75B14 38.95 P215/75B15 39.95 P225/75B15 41.95 P235/75B15 43.95 SERVICE SPECIALS Wheel Alignment 19 95 •Inspect ail tires .Correct air pressure .Inspect steering and suspension 'Set front wheel cam ber. caster and toe to proper alignment .Most cars. 2» Most Cars- & Lt. 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