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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 2000)
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SOME RESTRICTIONS MAY APPLY. with this coupon MUST REDEEM BY 09/04/00 with this coupon My Campus Trode\ 3 ! j p p students www.mgcamJ»usfra<le.com nood books, furniture, electronics, collectables, automobiles, etc.. r \ ^ Page 6A SCIENCE & TECH THE BATTALION Buggin’ out Entomology grad studen ts share research Tuesday, August 29. s sday, August 29 a By Arun Arjunan The Battalion Fire ants are a continual annoy ance in Texas. However for many Texas A&M entomology graduate students, they are also fascinating. These and other pests were the cen- ■ ter of academic scrutiny at the De partment of Entomology Graduate Student Forum, which was held Friday at the Minnie Bell Heep Center. Several entomology graduate stu dents had the opportunity to present their current research to a panel of four academic evaluators. This annual confer ence, which was first organized by Dr. Patricia Pe- trantoniom, gradu ate student forum chair and an assis tant professor in entomology, has now been imple mented as part of the doctoral ento mology program. Dr. Julio Bernal, forum committee mem ber and assistant professor of ento mology, said this forum gives grad uate students an arena to share their research. “The seminar allows graduate students to display their research in a competitive and professional set ting,” Bernal said. Each of the 13 student presenters was evaluated on the quality of the presentation and completeness of the research. The research was diverse, ranging from foraging patterns of fire ants to forensic entomology. Jason L. Mottern studied the bio logical control of fire ants using phorid flies. Instead of using chemi cals to kill the ants, the introduction of phorid flies disrupts ant colonies These investiga tions provide new knowledge of [the fire ants'] forag ing behavior and population dy namics and hopefully provide new ways to manage these pests” because the flies compete with the ants for the same resources. Doctoral student F. Mariana Tenorio concentrated her research on the development of DNA iden tification protocol for three differ ent species of the key blow fly that inhabit Central Texas, especially in Brazos and Burleson counties. These organisms aje important be cause they are scavengers, often burrowing into decaying corpses. Investigators can determine the time of death by identifying the species of the key blow fly and counting back the time based the fly’s stage of de velopment. Doctoral candi date, Ronald D. Weeks, investigat ed the spatial dis tribution in rela tion to the fire ants’ foraging behavior. His study explored the impact of the concentration of fire ants on the en vironment. “These investi gations provide new knowledge of their foraging be havior and popula tion dynamics and hopefully provide new ways to man age these pests,” Weeks said. Texas A&M students will com pete in the Entomological Society of America’s national competition. Jarrad Prasifka, president of the Entomology Graduate Student As sociation and one of the conference presenters, said this conference helps students prepare for future competitions. “The forum allows us to prepare for the national competition as well as our professional careers,” he said. Awards for the third annual Grad uate Student Forum will be an nounced later this fall. SCI F.Y.l Boy sts irothei DALLAS (A joking for ar Question: Why does mouth feel cold when you breal in after eating a breath mint? ected of att£ Id brother-in- nife early Me The suspec sgedlywas in lorrison whei aying, "I’m g till.” Yow the ght nipple an pie times in /ith a butcher Morrison < ehicle and tiles through school for I eports. “He's in b£ heryl Conve trthe Dallas I A police re slso has thre Search escalat — Ronald D. Weeks Entomology graduate student speaking at annual forum. Answer: Breath mints cod your mouth in the same way sweat cools your skin. The Encyclopedia of Med and Herbal ingredients states lb the active ingredient in mints is a derivative of thepef- permint plant. This derivative® tains high concentrations of met- ioy’s mother, thol, which you may know from its inclusion in cough drops,Vafor rubs and menthol cigarettes. Menthol, like other forms I alcohol, is a highly volatile com- pound. You may have witnessed high volatility if you haveevet spilled rubbing alcohol onatal and watched it disappear almost immediately. When a liquid somethin' evaporates, it uses up heat caus ing the surface from which it evaporates to cool down.Thisis why sweat, which evaporates from your skin, helps coolyoa down when yoii overheat. Also, according to several area [ggg 1 pharmacists, menthol irritates the*' sensitive tissues in the mouth The “Have .,. , , Jards distribu These pharmacists said thattheit- .vinri^nr rnn ritation from the menthol make the nerves in your mouth extra sensitive (even though enousl menthol will eventuallynumbie nerves). This extra-sensitivity in tensifies the cold feeling. 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