September 7, Wednesday • September 7, 1994 increai from the bonfe mirse it’s a fool )” from there, 3 officers have booby traps, speculated the to violence criminal efforts ited by an ini il presence icy has boost area in respi numbers ofil The battalion The Battalion • Page 5 White men score higher than women on nedical school science test, study shows SAE Presents 2 nd ANNUAL AGGIE KICK-OFF Featuring CHICAGO (AP) — White men score high- than women of all races on the science hm medical students must take to become censed doctors, and a researcher said cul- jiral obstacles faced by women may help ex- Jain why. Women also may not approach the test as who are heir impetitively as men, the researcher said, e Mexico-New! | a study of more than 10,000 medical stu- >y a Border f pnts, white men generally did better on the ong the RioGi pt than all women, even after discounting lor differences in their undergraduate educa- ;|on and in scores on medical entrance exams. White men also did better than men from Ither racial groups, with Asian-Pacific Is- , , landers being the only group where the dif- help recover «£, ^ , i • j u j-w alf of the misij ection still lid ference was not explained by differences in Irior education, researchers reported in 1 Wednesday’s issue of The Journal of the A K •( 'J merican Medical Association. 0 e r ® ai | The findings suggest either that the test State 8 in th ■ ^ awec ^ ' n some wa y or that the lower-scor- n the MeadorsF ^ ^ rou P s were deficient in the subjects on : of any such it nave nothing which they were tested, said an editorial ac companying the study. Beth Dawson, a biostatistics professor at Southern Illinois University School of Med icine and the study’s lead author, said she believes women may face cultural disad vantages. “What kind of family support do they have?” she asked, adding that fewer men than women are expected to handle tasks around the house while in school. “They have to get home and ... do their own laun dry and housecleaning. And THEN they have to study.” Women also have fewer teachers and role models of their gender helping them succeed, Dawson said. A third possibility is that women may not strive as hard on the test because they are less likely to seek competitive residencies such as orthopedics and ophthalmology, for which the test is a screening tool, she said. In 1988, 89.9 percent of white men passed the test, compared with 86.6 percent of Asian- Pacific Island men; 71.6 percent of Hispanic men; and 53.9 percent of black men. The same year, 84.1 percent of white women passed the test; 78.9 percent of Asian- Pacific Islander women; 55.8 percent of His panic women; and 44 percent of black women. The exam — Part I of the National Board of Medical Examiners test — deals with sciences such as physiology, biochemistry and microbi ology. Doctors must pass all three parts of the test to obtain a license to practice. The study did not explore Parts II or III, which cover clinical skills. Previous research indicates women do as well as men on Part II, the authors said. “We really don’t know the relationship be tween performance on (Part I) and the per formance of physicians,” Ms. Dawson said. She added that many skills, such as ques tioning and examining patients, have noth ing to do with science knowledge. of detnil about gh I am told I ics that have Results show Lorenzo s oil a possible cure for patients its whether pi ng around Ni mt the represt Wednesday ■ Satuiday 25f Energy’s oci i,, he Panteu icility near If inent storage®! c waste. E was sc ilic hearingtoJij 3 part of itsse! a long-term si! is of plutonium nuclear weap# earing is a«® xans, espei ) Richards ed represent^' )E that we rel« imping ground ng, a spokes® ^en. ng, presidents n Growers Ass resident of Di® 5 storage at Pi eaten crops mous by the 1992 movie “Loren zo’s Oil,” starring Susan Saran don and Nick Nolte as Michaela and Augusto Odone. The Fairfax, Va., couple helped create the sub stance for their son, Lorenzo, who has the disease, called adrenoleukodystrophy. Now, even medical journals call the treatment, a mixture of derivatives from natural cooking oil, Lorenzo’s oil. The Odones say the therapy stopped Lorenzo’s de cline and partly reversed it so that the once-vegetative boy, now 16, can communicate slightly us ing hand movements. The disease, caused by a ge netic defect, destroys the sheath that covers nerve fibers. Women who carry a copy of the bad gene may show some symptoms, but their sons experience the devas tating cases. The most severe form usually hits boys ages 4 to 8, stealing their ability to see and speak in as little as two years and eventu ally killing them. The adult form progresses more slowly. The disease affects one or two people in 100,000 in the United States. A hallmark is the buildup of substances in the blood called long-chain fatty acids. Lorenzo’s oil returns these levels to normal. The theory is that these fatty acids enter the brain and cause inflammation that then causes the disease’s symptoms. But Lorenzo’s oil, despite acco lades by the Odones and other pa tients, was never proven to work. Now Moser, once Lorenzo’s doctor, has evidence it can fight the disease’s progression if giv en to boys before symptoms ap pear. “1 was very dubious about it,” he admits. “This confirms statistically the fact that Lorenzo’s oil is a helpful preventive,” said Mrs. Odone. “It’s been there all along, but hal leluiah, they’re now seeing it.” In the journal International Pediatrics, to be published later this month, Moser reported re sults from 50 boys who have tak en Lorenzo’s oil anywhere from one to seven years. Fifty-six percent have re mained stable, including one who started taking Lorenzo’s oil when he was 10 years old and now, sev en years later, is healthy, has normal intelligence and is apply ing to college. It didn’t always work. Two boys died and several others de teriorated. Interestingly, brain scans indi cated worsening lesions in 14 percent who showed no physical changes. Moser doesn’t know if that means Lorenzo’s oil made a difference or if the scans just show trouble well before symp toms appear. THE BIG PARTY AFTER THE AGGIES BEAT THE HELL OUTTA O.U. I SATURDAY, SEPT. 10™ AT 8PM I AT WOLF PEN CREEK AMPHITHEATER RIGHT AFTER THE GAME $ 8 00 IN ADVANCE $ 10 00 DAY OF CONCERT TICKETS AVAILABLE AT ROTHER S BOOKSTORE & MAROONED RECORDS FOOD AVAILABLE BY FAJITA RITAS COSPONSORED BY DICKSON PRODUCTIONS, POPULAR TALENT & STUDY BREAKS PORTION OF PROCEEDS BENEFIT UNITED WAY FREE PRACTICE LSAT 1 pm Sunday September 18th at KAPLAN 707 Texas Ave. Suite #106E College Station 696-3196 For more Information I GIELANi # TEXAS HALL OF FAME Your #1 Live Country Night Spot! Thurs. Night - Penny Pitcher Night. 8-10 pm. $1.00 Shots of tequila all night long. Doors open at 8, dance till lam. $3.00 Cover. Fri. Night - 25*1 Bar Drinks & Draft Beer 8-11 pm. $2 off with current student/faculty/staff ID. Doors open at 8, dance from 9-1 am. Sat. Night- $1.50 Pitchers 8-10pm. $ 1 Zima & Firewater shots all night long. $2 off cover with current student/faculty/staff ID. Doors open at 8, dance from 9-lam. Sept. 17 ,h E.T. Conley & Sept. 24 ,h Rick Trevino 822-2222 2309 FM 2818 South Have You Considered the Dynamic World of Management Consulting? Management consulting provides the unique opportunity to leverage critical skills developed through engineering studies with opportunities to develop and apply essential management skills. If the prospect of broadening your current base of engineering training with experience in management decision-making interests you, then management consulting may be a career you should consider. McKinsey & Company, Inc. The leading international management consulting firm seeks December 1994, May 1995, and August 1995 graduates with excellent academic credentials (GRA > 3.5) and strong leadership skills for its 2-3 year Business Analyst Program on Thursday, September 15 Please join us • from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in 301 Rudder to learn more about our Business Analyst Program Please submit your resume to the Placement Center by noon on Friday, September 23, if you would like to be considered for an interview