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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 1989)
be Battalion TATE & LOCAL 3 Wednesday, February 8,1989 mm Biology students study computer aliens By Fiona Soltes STAFF WRITER If E.T.’s spaceship had crashed in Aggie- land instead of Elliot’s backyard, it’s possible Texas A&M biology students could have used computers to cure his ills. Computers were once thought to be the teaching tool of the future. But now that they’ve become commonplace, educators are looking at another method of teaching — ex amining extra-terrestrials in biology class. Dr. C.O. “Pat” Patterson, a Texas A&M bi ology professor, and Dr. Robert Kosinski of Clemson University have developed software “scenarios,” including one in which students examine extra-terrestrials, to teach students to focus on learning processes rather that just memorizing them. The “Alien” scenario turns the student into a world-famous physiologist asked by NASA to analyze an extra-terrestrial that came to earth in a space probe. All the student knows is that the alien is al ive and that if killed, interplanetary war may be declared. The student must perform several experi ments to analyze the alien. “Some of the experiments offered will be useful and help you find the answers you’re looking for,” Patterson said. “Some will be useless, not adding to your information but not harmful to the alien. And others offered will not only be useless, but also dangerous.” Patterson said because the subject is com pletely fictitious, the student merely can’t look up the answer and memorize it. “The scenario helps students focus on how to go about finding the answers to problems,” he said. “The focus is on techniques: setting up, conducting the experiment, analysis and reaching conclusions. It’s how to get the an swer, not what the answer is.” The scenario was designed about five years ago for use in freshman biology classes but has become applicable in other settings, Pat terson said. He and Kosinski are showing the program to high school teachers in Texas and South Carolina in hopes that the idea will catch on. Patterson said it also has been shown to a pub lisher for national distribution. “From what I’ve observed, it’s something the students really enjoy,” he said. “It’s some thing like a game and involves competition with the other members of the class. It re quires thought and interaction.” However, Patterson said there are disad vantages to the program. “It is expensive,” he said. “You must have a computer, and you really can’t have more than a few students working at a terminal at a time. Essentially, you’d need many computers for an entire lab class.” Patterson said the program can be used with either an Apple He or IBM computer. “Another disadvantage is that it could get carried too far,” he said. “We don’t want to teach biology second-hand or have the stu dents learn only by the computer. The pro gram should not replace the traditional lab, but they do give us the chance to do things not possible before because of money or time limitations.” Other scenarios also have been developed by Patterson and Kosinski, all through a pro gram sponsored by the National Science Foundation. One such program, called “Seedling,” lets the student decide how to allocate nutrients picked up through the photosynthesis of a plant. Facing growing seasons in either El Paso, Charleston, S.C., or San Juan, Puerto Rico, the plant must choose between adding leaves, increasing leaf surface area, increasing stem height, increasing stem diameter or increas ing root length to ensure maximum growth potential. Patterson said Kosinski is working on an other scenario called “Fish Farm,” concerning managing the water temperature, food amount and other variables of a fish hatch ery. 'TT 1 ragt our first woi ;r you broke: muscles. No, d do after you self, “My God, Then get up efore someone in the ground. tggie Shuffle: f ile alone youn urself and noth elp you. Just im across campir t a dry spot. Is ickets. Before ’ve hit the grot bust open a wi! gain consciousa resemble a lai ith a bloody Hi hadn't bemfe iends could agged you oven r prompt, qual ell, a band-aids a.) So remetnie lit huffle r lias taken a tir he shuffling d ile. But if they r not to do tfiei er the influence: i wouldn’t want s a junior jourt on page editori ult uld ask him fo day afternoon my car and g» needed to main icel-drive jee| from Pampa (ni istomed to drivi vas my only come out and nch and he use! f the ditch. Not abandoned thee rrney home. Aft it 12 miles, hm ites and an horn :e hall at 3:15s a two-and-a-h ic nine hours. out Sunday the ditch with without any uckily no dat )ly similar to he his past weeket dped many oil n a time of I and Keith and good hum n for helping® 1 sophomore el and a column Lawyer faces jail, fine for shooting rare crane CORPUS CHRISTI (AP) — A Houston attorney who fatally wounded one of the world’s few remaining whooping cranes last month was indicted on a charge of violating the Endangered Spe- des Act. Mario Max Yzaguirre, 28, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Corpus Christi last week. If convicted, he faces a maximum of a year in jail and a $100,000 fine. He is to be arraigned Feb. 17. Texas Parks and Wildlife De partment officials have said the department also will seek $ 11,000 in restitution from Yzaguirre, a lawyer with the law firm of Vin son & Elkins. Yzaguirre was out of his office Tuesday, his secretary said, and could not be immediately reached for comment by the Associated Press. At the time of the killing, how ever, Yzaguirre, who is the son of Brownsville pharmacist Mario Yzaguirre, a member of the Uni versity of Texas board of regents, said he mistook the whooping crane for a snow goose. The whooper was flying through heavy fog with her mate, he said. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials also have said the shoot ing appeared to be a mistake by Yzaguirre. A federal official, however, said Yzaguirre allegedly buried the bird but later turned it over to authorities. Environmentalists said the whooper, killed near Aransas Na tional Wildlife Refuge north of Corpus Christi, was unusual be cause it was only 4 years but had already had a chick, while most female whoopers first have chicks at age 5. About 200 whooping cranes exist today, and about 130 of them roost each winter along the Texas Gulf Coast. IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME STUDY $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 Wanted: Symptomatic patients with physician diagnosed $ 1 0° Irritable Bowel Syndrome to participate in a short study. 5" 100 $100 incentive for those chosen to participate. 00 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 X ASTHMA STUDY goo $200 Individuals who have regular asthma to participate in $200 f 200 an asthma study. $200 incentive for those chosen to $200 S Participate. $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 SORE THROAT/STREP THROAT STUDY For individuals 12 years and older with sore throat willing to participate in a study to treat strep throat. Diagnosed strep throat welcome. $100 incentive for those chosen to participate. $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 CEDAR/WINTER ALLERGY STUDY S100 Looking for mountain cedar allergic individuals to partici- s 100 pate in a short ^llergy study. $100-$200 incentive for 5-1 qq those chosen to participate. Free skin testing available c-iqo to determine eligibility. ^ 00 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 *J°° ACUTE BRONCHITIS/PNEUMONIA *100 $100 D° you have any of the following? 1. Productive $100 cough 2. Fever 3. Rattle in chest. Call for information $100 about a three week antibiotic reseach study with close MD 5100 $100 supervision. $100 incentive for those who qualify. $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 PEDIATRIC SORE THROAT STUDY Children 2 to 12 years with sore throat pain to participate in a currently over-the-counter available pain relief medica tion study. No blood drawn. Free strep test. 2 hours in the office-4 hours at home. $50. for those who qualify. $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $300 $300 $300 $300 $300 $300 $300 $300 $300 $300 X HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE STUDY $300 Individuals with high blood pressure medication $300 fggg daily to participate in a high blood pressure study. $300 $300. incentive for those chosen to participate. $300 $300 $300 $300 $300 $300 $300 $300 $300 $300 $300 PAIN STUDY Do you take at least one over-the-counter pain reliever per month for any reason? If so, you may be eligible to participate in an at-home analgesic study. Monetary incentive for those cho sen to participate. CALL PAULL RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 776-0400 Constituents criticize Wright for handling of pay raise bill FORT WORTH (AP) — While Speaker of the House Jim Wright rapped his gavel for a vote on the proposed congessional pay raise in Washington, his constituents in Texas sounded off against the man they helped put in office. Calls by Fort Worth residents to a KLIF-AM radio talk show Tuesday were highly critical of Wright’s handling of the proposed wage in crease. The callers were not required to identify themselves, and few did. “I’m very disgusted in Jim Wright,” said one caller. “I really think he’s about the biggest crook in Texas. I’m going to work as hard as I can to get him out of office.” Another caller told the listeners, “If there’s someone running against him (Wright) who has some decent qualifications, there’s no doubt that I would probably think twice about voting for Jim Wright.” Other respondents were dis turbed that Wright was not explain ing his position to them. “I really feel that Jim Wright’s opinion of my opinion doesn’t amount to a bucket of warm spit,” a caller said. “I wrote him; I sent him a tea bag; I called his office. And, so far, I’ve gotten two copies of the same letter saying he wasn’t going to do anything.” One caller was philosophical about Wright’s position: “I think he typifies the problem with Congress right now.” Dissatisfaction with the informa tion out of Wright’s home office in Fort Worth was another caller’s gripe. A spokesman for the office said all inquiries are routinely routed to the speaker’s office in Washing ton. Calls to Wright’s Washington of fice by the Associated Press were not immediately returned. Wright’s position as speaker has changed his view of his constituents, one caller said. “I feel like that since he’s been speaker of the house, he’s almost like a power monger,” a caller said. “I don’t think he represents Fort Worth any more. I voted for him in 1980. But that’s when I was still pret ty politically ignorant.” Wright told the Fort Worth Star Telegram on Jan. 26 that he ex pected to be ridiculed for some of his decisions. “The speaker is supposed to take some heat,” he was quoted as saying. “If you’re a leader in an institution you’re expected to be a lightning rod. . . . I’m doing the best I can to put it in perspective. Sometimes that is difficult for a congressional leader.” Letters to the Star Telegram’s opinion-editorial page over the past few days have said Wright has lost sight of what his job is Smoke fills skyscraper in Houston HOUSTON (AP) — An explo sion and fire ripped through the fourth floor of a downtown skys craper Tuesday afternoon, spreading smoke throughout the 34-story tower and forcing the evacuation of office workers, au thorities said. There were no injuries, but damage to the floor at One Allen Center appeared to have been se vere, Houston Fire Chief Robert L. Clayton said. The fire erupted around 3 p.m. in an area where construc tion crews were removing asbes tos from the building, Clayton said. Smoke rose up stairwells and elevator shafts to the upper most floors. More than 90 firefighters re sponded to the blaze, which was invisible from the icy streets where passers-by and evacuees stood surrounded by rows of fire trucks and ambulances. There were initial reports that some office workers were over come by smoke and trapped in an upper stairwell, but fire depart ment spokesman Mike Warnke said firefighters searched the en tire building and found no one. Attorney Bob Blend said he and others in his office smelled smoke before an alarm was sounded. “When we smelled the smoke I went out in the hall and the far ther I walked the stronger the smell,” said Blend, whose office is on the top floor. “When I opened the fire (stair) door, the smoke just billowed into the hall.” Warnke said an explosion of unknown size apparently sparked the blaze but that the exact cause was not yet known. The fire was controlled within 30 minutes, he said. “Some of the walls were blown out, but we haven’t been able to tell yet just how bad the damage is,” Warnke said. Authorities said they would look into reports that office work ers were unable to activate the building’s fire alarm. ^IcwnHaii Welcomes: MANURE RICKY VAN SHELTON Friday - February 10th G. Rollie White Coliseum 8:00 p.m. TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE Tickets are $15.50, available at the MSC Box Office & Dillards in the Post Oak Mall. For more information call 845-1234. I SWensen’S ITS ALMOST More than YOG CAN EATI Good For Up To ^ 4 Per Coupon 1/3 LB. HAMBURGER WITH FRIES LARGE SOFT DRINK SUPER SUNDAE ONLY 3.99 8 WITH COUPON S / I *3.99 BIG MEAL DIAL Get a 1/3 lb. Hamburger with French fries, large soft drink and a Super Sundae with vour choice of toDDinos. ■GOOD FOR UP TO 4 PER COUPON, CHEESE AND/OR BAC0N EXTRA. OFFER OfTER VALID AT TH€ FOLLOWING SWtNSENS Culpepper Plaza College Station, Texas PLE> WK/ALID WITH Ah PLEASE PRESENT WHEN ORDERING. GOOD ONLY WITH COUPON DURING SPECIFIED DATES NOT WITH ANY OTHER DISCOUNT SPECIAL OR PROMOTION. ONE COUPON PER CUSTOMER VISIT UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. % 1 H Expires 2-20-89 ■ I SWe»«en^ Extra Ctwrg* on Tafce-Om Valentine Love Lines We don’t always remember to say “I Love You”, “I Care”, “You’re Special”. A Valentine Love Line in The Battalion is the perfect way to remind them of exactly how you feel. Plant your ad in The Battalion Classified and harvest the RESULTS! Your Love Line Will Appear Tuesday, Feb 14th. for help in jjjacinc^ounad.