Monday • October 17,
lay • Oci
Healthy dieting
key to weight loss
By Michelle Morat
A.P. Beutel Health Center
In our sedentary, food-filled
environment, obesity is a com
mon health problem and a major
risk factor for diabetes, cancer,
high blood pressure, strokes
heart disease and arthritis. Be
ing overweight increases body
mass and blood volume, and
makes the heart work harder.
We all need to find the balance of
energy input and output for our
own individual metabolism.
Eat right - Weight manage
ment need not be difficult and
frustrating. Although an abun
dance of methods exists for losing
weight, many do not provide last
ing results and may actually
cause additional problems. Med
ical complications can actually re-
sult from poor eating habits.
Also, before starting any weight
management program, a person
should ask these seven questions:
(1) Does it include foods from all
the groups in the Food Guide
Pyramid? (2) Is it based on a se
cret no one has discovered? (3)
Does it promote rapid weight
loss? (4) Are unlimited amounts
of food promised? (5) Could you
live on the diet for the rest of
your life? (6) Is the author a cred
ible one? and, (7) Has the author
properly supported higher suc
cess? If the answers to questions
1, 5, 6 and 7 are yes, a person is
probably on the right track.
The word “diet” means the
types of food consumed, not a re
striction in calories. However, in
society today, the diet has devel
oped the negative connotation of
self-deprivation. While we rec
ommend an eating plan based on
the Food Guide Pyramid, many
times people try different diets.
Before making major changes in
Correction
In the Oct. 13 issue of the
Battalion, a Student Senate
bill was incorrectly identi
fied. According to the bill,
senior and juntor workers
will register on the last day of
honors registration, sopho
more workers will register on
the last day of senior registra
tion, and freshmen will regis
ter on the last day of junior
registration.
eating habits, a person should
check with a registered dietitian
and physician.
The dietary guidelines are rec
ommendations to help improve
the food choices that people
make. These suggestions can
help most people make better
choices for good health. They in
clude (1) eat a variety of foods, (2)
maintain a healthy weight, (3)
choose a diet low in fat, saturated
fat and cholesterol, (4) choose a
diet with plenty of vegetables,
fruits and grain products, (5) use
sugars only in moderation, (6)
use salt and sodium only in mod
eration, and (7) if you drink alco
holic beverages, do so in modera
tion. The Food Guide Pyramid
helps individuals follow the di
etary guidelines. It is not a rigid
prescription like most diets, but a
general guide that lets a person
choose a healthy diet that is right
for that person. The pyramid
calls for eating a variety of foods
to get the nutrients a person
needs, and at the same time, the
right amount of calories to main
tain healthy weight.
Exercise - Keep in mind that
the desirable percent body fat
for general health for men is 15
percent and for women is 22
percent. If a person is over
weight (by height-weight stan
dards), due to a large lean body
mass, but not overfat, the per
son should relax. If a person is
overweight and overfat, the
person should use exercise or
combine a mild to moderate
calorie restriction with an aer
obic exercise program. This
will ensure that any weight
loss is from fat. If a person is
overfat, but not overweight,
due to a small lean body mass,
the person should shape up
with aerobic exercise.
Exercise has many mental and
physical benefits. Exercise bene
fits a person mentally because it
helps a person to relax, cope with
stress, gives extra energy to work
and study, and improves self-es
teem because, it makes a person
look better. Exercise helps a per
son physically because it tones
muscles, burns fat, controls ap
petite, and weight. Exercise can
help a person live longer because
it helps the heart and lungs work
more efficiently so it decreases
the chances of having a heart at
tack. It can also help control
high blood pressure and diabetes.
Texas A&M research team discover:
method of synthetically cloning
New genetic engineering process to
increase availability, reduce costs
By Katherine Arnold
The Battalion
Texas A&M researchers have discov
ered a new method of synthetically pro
ducing drugs that could revolutionize
drug availability.
Dr. Ian Scott, director of the Center for
Biological Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, is
leading a team of researchers that discov
ered a way to use genetic engineering oO
produce drugs from organic compounds in
a single test tube method.
“We discovered we don’t need a living
system to synthetically produce drugs,”
Scott said.
Scientists started 25 years ago in an at
tempt to find out how enzymes were pro
ducing vitamin B-12. Scott said they had
no idea they would find this new process.
Dr. Neal Stolowich, senior scientist in the
Center for Biological Nuclear Magnetic Reso
nance, said the project changed direction
about five years ago when the team realized
molecular biology could be used.
"It is usually a 50 or 60 step process to
synthetically produce a compound,”
Stolowich said. “Using enzymes, we can
reduce the process to about 20 steps.”
The process involves knowing which
genes produce the compound. Much of this
research had already been done for vita
min B-12, so Scott and his team of scien
tists were able to use this information in
their study.
After cloning and isolating the neces
sary genes, the genes are implanted into
yeast or bacteria. The bacteria then be
gins to produce vitamin B-12.
The scientists were able to complete all
but three steps of the process for vitamin
B-12. The remaining steps can be com
pleted through simple chemical reactions,
Scott said.
The next step is to test the process on
other substances that come from plants,
Scott said. The researchers are currently
working on synthesizing taxol, which is a
drug that works to cure ovarian cancer.
Taxol is a product of a yew tree,
mainly found in the Pacific I
Farms and nurseries raise the trees
for the production of taxol, Scott said,
“If we can successfully produceti
pounds through molecular biology, tha
are doing in a few days what would ids
years to do organically,” Scott said.
The process has many benefits,
Many drugs are produced from rare sa
of plants. If these drugs can be pr
thetically, then the process could saveei
gered species. The process also hasm
byproducts, he said.
A larger amount of the product
also be produced, Stolowich sa
greater supply could be made quicker,
the cost would be cheaper. But for
the process is still expensive.
Researchers are looking to appl;
process to other drugs as well.
“No one has done this yet,” Scott
“Once the process is set, I think it
work for anything.”
Dr. David Thompson, professor of
macology and toxicology in the
Medicine, said producing drugs by
method could be very beneficial.
“This looks like very feasible and pi
ing research,” Thompson said, “A lot
search areas could benefit from it.”
A&M, Dallas join together on internationa l 1
' Inued from
waste management training center project
Project to create industrial park, research
facilities to advance recycling industry
By Katherine Arnold
The Battalion
Texas A&M and the city of Dallas are
working together on a $9.6 million pro
ject that will create an international
waste management technology and train
ing center.
The project will create an industrial park
and research facilities to expand on the re
cycling industry, Dr. Kemble Bennett, direc
tor of the Texas Engineering Extension Ser
vice (TEEX), said.
“The plan has all the ingredients for
success,” Bennett said.
“Coupling Dallas’ facilities with uni
versity research should be successful and
attract a lot of international attention,”
Bennett said.
The center will be located next to the city-
owned McCommas Bluff Landfill in Dallas.
The landfill, which is the largest in the
Southwest, currently receives recognition
for its efforts in recycling.
“Dallas had been trying to find more
ways to deal with waste management,
and TEEX has been training in that area
for years,” Bennett said.
“This works out great for both par
ties,” Benntt said.
Ted Benavides, assistant city manager of
Dallas, said the city was looking for ways to
make the landfill more of an asset.
“The new center will spur economic
growth,” Benavides said.
“We were looking for ways to create
more jobs and businesses, and this project
will hire local people and hopefully attract
small businesses,” Benavides said.
The University will be providing train
ing classes when the center opens in the
fall of 1997.
Courses will not be for academic
Instead, most courses willbecerti Id preven
tion courses in recycling and Em rom comin
mental Protection Agency requiremeiil , Their a
Goals for the research facility inti don as an
coming up with ways to improver! ms said ht
cling efforts and landfill management se to his
“We are going to see whatwei mwere ha
make of this facility,” Benavidessaii han respoi
"Research will look into energy) dons 0 f ra
duction, plastics, and marketing itly, inclu
byproducts of recyclable material,’Bf jblicans d
vides said. _ some mil
“A lot of good things will come oil doffensive
this,” Benavides said. j ever rea
The facility is not yet fully fum Ugst/’ s
Most funding will be from federal
The project is expected to span
areas of interest, Bennett said
“The spinoffs from the center wili
wealth of opportunity for many
Bennett said.
“Businesses will be involved, as
as science, engineering, and agricult
Bennett said.
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Family’s genetic mutation protects from clogged arterie
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cristoforo
Pomaroli and Rosa Giovanelli had a
son in 1780 in their small town in Italy,
never knowing they bequeathed a ge
netic legacy that offers hope for revers
ing heart disease two centuries later.
The boy’s descendants in Limone
inherited a genetic defect that pro
tects them from the scourge of West
ern living — fatty deposits that clog
the arteries.
The 38 lucky carriers have a simple
mutation in a protein of so-called good
cholesterol that lets them eat red meat,
sausage and butter without artery-clog
ging deposits.
They range in age from the teens to
nearly 90. And they have never worried
about strokes or heart attacks since
longevity runs in the family.
“They are almost all smokers. They
eat like hell, the worst diet,” said the
University of Milan’s Dr. Cesare Sir-
tori, who screened residents of Limone
for the miracle mutation.
Ever since Sirtori discovered the mu
tation, called Apolipoprotein A-l Mi
lano for the university where he is a
pharmacology professor, doctors have
wondered about harnessing its power to
eliminate coronary artery disease.
“Eventually it is not inconceivable
that the gene could be transferred to
the liver or other organs of very high-
risk people who could then end up man
ufacturing it on their own,” said Dr.
Fh-ediman K. Shah, director of the car
diac care unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center in Los Angeles.
Shah leads a U.S.-Swedish team
examining the more immediate po
tential to reduce the deadly reclog
ging that occurs after a blocked ves
sel has been cleared with balloon an
gioplasty surgery.
In the October issue of the American
Heart Association journal Circulation,
Shah reports injections of a genetically
engineered version of the protein dra
matically reduced the reclogging of rab
bits’ coronary arteries.
Before and after the surgery, eight
rabbits got injections of Apo Milano at
tached to a fat molecule that targets
the proper site. Eight others got injec
tions of only the fat molecule. Four rab
bits got no treatment.
“The striking finding was in the rab
bits that received the recombinant ver
sion of the Apo Milano, the amount of
plaque that built up was 70 pert
less than the (untreated) coat!
group,” Shah said.
Sirtori said he will publish siaii
results in December showinf
plaque at all” in rabbits injected*
Apo Milano. Shah said Friday he*
test monkeys, pigs and mice before#
sidering human trials, a pointt!
could take several years to reach,
Shah learned about the Limonet
tation two years ago while search
for sources of synthetic high-dens
lipoprotein, HDL, which is cholest#
that might reduce reclogging.
Cjofde n %ey
tAlationaf iHonor Society
JOIN US
Questions? Coll Jennifer Umphress 694-2278
AGGIE RING ORDERS
THE ASSOCIATION OF FORMER STUDENTS
CLAYTON W. WILLIAMS, JR. ALUMNI CENTER
DEADLINE: OCTOBER 19, 1994
Undergraduate Student Requirements:
1. You must be a degree seeking student and have a total of 95 credit hours reflected on the
Texas A&M University Student Information Management System. (A passed course, which is
repeated and passed, cannot count as additional credit hours.)
2. 3Q credit hours must have been completed in residence at Texas A&M University. If you did not
successfully complete one semester at Texas A&M University prior to January 1, 1994, you
will need to complete a minimum of 60 credit hours in residence. However, should your degree
be conferred with less than 60 Texas A&M University resident credits, this requirement will be
waived after your degree is posted on the Student Information Management System.
3. You must have a 2J) cumulative GPR at Texas A&M University.
4. You must be in good standing with the University, including no registration or transcript
blocks for past due fees, loans, parking tickets, returned checks, etc.
Graduate Student Requirements:
If you are a December 1994 degree candidate and you do not have an Aggie ring from a prior
degree year, you may place an order for a '94 ring after you meet the following requirements:
1. Your degree is conferred and posted on the Texas A&M University Student Information
Management System; and
2. You are in good standing with the University, including no registration or transcript
blocks for past due fees, loans, parking tickets, returned checks, etc.
If you have complete all of your degree requirements prior to October 14, 1994, you may
request a “Letter of Completion” from the Office of Graduate Studies and present it to the
Ring Office in lieu of your degree being posted.
Procedure To Order A Ring:
1. If you meet the above requirements, you must visit the Ring Office no later than
Wednesday, October 19, 1994, to complete the application for eligibility verification
(requires several days to process).
2. If your application is approved and you wish to receive your ring on approximately
December 13, 1994, you must return and pay in full by cash, check, money order, Visa or
Mastercard no later than October 21, 1994.
Men’s 10KY-$313.00
14KY-$427.00
Women’s 10KY-$175.00
14KY - $204.00
Add $8.00 for Class of '93 or before.
The approximate date of the ring delivery is December 13, 1994.
The Battalion
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