AGGIE
the batt*
Sci Tech
ermite attack
Scientists warn springtime
rings out termites
By Mandi Vest
THE BATTALION
Aggies beware! There is a
it-so-new predator in town, and
eryone should be on the look-
t. Texas A&M experts are
laming the community to look
" u 11 sv of siAR'If ( r s jgns of termites.
1 I Termites, though small and
' ll (1 oi t of sight, can be dangerous to
V- VJllVBjjijing structures.
Dr. Roger Gold, a professor
the Department of
tomology, said Texas weather
conducive to these insects,
he warmth and humidity, corn-
lined with wood in the ground,
provide optimal conditions for
mites.
Though termites can live in
I building structure all year,
fiey may not be seen until
eir mating season, which is
^ithe spring.
“Swarming season is when
idult termites, or kings and
peens, come out of the ground
o reproduce," Gold said.
In the spring, residents may
itart to notice black swarms,
which can be thousands of ter
mites. The tennites come above
ground and move up a mud tube
along the side of a structure.
They stay in contact with the soil
by moving the soil with them.
Seeing soil along the base of a
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home could be a
sign that ter
mites have
invaded.
The insects
eat wood
and take it
down to the colony
underneath the
surface.
Dr. Bob
Wharton, a professor
in the Department of
Entomology, said it is
always termite sea
son. If termites are
noticed on the side of
a home, the insects
may have been living
beneath the structure
for some time.
There are also ter
mites that live above the surface
and eat wooden structures that
are higher off of the ground.
These insects, called dry wood
termites, may be harder to see.
In the past, Chlordane, a com
mon pesticide, was used to treat
building structures and would
last for up to 30 years. But
Chlordane was banned by the
Environmental Protection
Agency in 1978. Since then,
other chemicals, called termiti-
cides, have been developed to
prevent termite infestations.
Termiticides such as
Dursban can be found at home
CHAD
improvement stores or other
shops, but Gold recommended
that people hire professionals to
spray homes and businesses for
termites.
“The major problem with
self-application is that the aver
age person does not have the
equipment needed for the
amount of spraying needed,”
Gold said.
Treating buildings for ter
mites can be quite expensive.
Gold estimates that A&M
spends several thousand dollars
a year on termite treatments.
Proteins cause disease
i (AP) — New research suggests
Besses as diverse as Alzheimer’s,
^eutzfeldt-Jakob disease and
M-onset diabetes are caused by
pteins that fold themselves into
pective shapes, rather than pro-
Ps that have undergone harmful
pfmical changes.
[ As they develop, these aberrant
Pein forms can
in principle.
pump together and
pk molecular
Nc on healthy
Ns, according to
studies in
hursday’s issue of
pjournal Nature.
Previously, sci-
Imists believed
N misfolding
r as an unusual
^currence limited
’Perhaps 20 or more protein types.
Instead, the effect may be com-
P 0n t0 any protein in the body, the
Searchers reported. Why it
Incurs remains unclear, but the
l r °cess is believed to be associated
pth diseases that take decades to
pelop.
There is lots of evidence that
7 Protein can form these structures
Principle,” said Christopher
r°bson of the University of
pmbridge in England, who helped
pd one of the studies.
Thomas Sudhof, a Dallas-based
investigator with the Howard
Hughes Medical Institute, called the
paper a major advance because it
demonstrates the particular stage at
which the toxic effects of the mis-
folded proteins can be gauged.
Proteins are the agents of change
and chemical messengers in cells,
and they carry out the instructions
encoded in genes.
. The specific roles
There is lots of pi a y are jig.
evidence that any protein tated by both their
can form these structures makeu P and the
U
— Christopher Dobson
University of Cambridge
99 three-dimensional
shape they take on
when folded.
On occasion, that
folding can go awry.
Accumulations of
these rogue proteins
are common in what researchers cate
gorize as protein deposition diseases.
In Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease — a
degenerative brain disorder that
resembles mad cow disease in its
effects — a type of misfolded protein
known as a prion may replicate itself
and spread to other cells to cause
progressive neurological damage.
In diabetes, protein misfolding
may be responsible for the blood
vessel damage, blindness and other
debilitating effects of the disease.
NASA gears up
for new missions
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is
taking more heat for space station spending as it
gears up for another major phase of high-flying
construction work.
Space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to lift off
Thursday with the newest piece of the international
space station, a 44-foot girder. The elaborate, wired-
up beam will form the foundation for a framework
that ultimately will stretch longer than a football
field and support a dazzling collection of solar wings
and radiators.
Under new anti-terrorism precautions, the 5:13 p.m.
launch time was kept secret until late Wednesday after
noon, 24 hours in advance. Until then, NASA had said
only that the launch would take place between 2 p.m.
and 6 p.m.
There was a 40 percent chance that rain or thunder
storms could force a delay.
While technical successes continue to mount in
orbit, the latest flap on Earth is over how NASA buys
spare parts for the space station. A report by NASA’s
inspector general office says the space agency has no
assurance it is paying a fair price for these parts.
NASA spent $334 million on station spare parts
through 2000. But because the space agency did not
negotiate for separate prices and did not adequately
keep track of what it paid in the past, it had no way of
knowing whether it paid too much, according to the
inspector general’s report, released Tuesday.
In addition, primary contractor Boeing omitted cer
tain associated costs and, as a result, NASA ended up
understating in its annual financial statements the
value of space station parts by $39 million from 1995
through 2000, the report said.
ATTENTION-OWNERS WHO PURCHASED HOUSES OR OTHER STRUCTURES AFTER
m AY 3,1999, WITH LOUISIANA-PACIFIC EXTERIOR INNER-SEAL SIDING INSTALLED
BEFORE JANUARY 1, 1996.
this NOTICE MAY AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY.
a PP’Y 10 you. you maybe eligible to opt out of the IP national siding class action settlement
°“tof tlv i filing an 0pt 0ut Re 9 uest form with the LP Siding Litigation Claims Administrator. If you do opt
Lf- ,s c ass action settlement, you will no longer be eligible to receive any benefits under the settlement
i ant You would be pennitted, however, to pursue whatever legal remedies may be available to you.
^ 0r an Opt Out Request form is June 17, 2002. To request additional information
leither "- ’ , ° 11 can determine whether you are eligible to opt out of the class action settlement or to request
ntainist < '^ rn Forrn or an 0pt 0ut Request form, you may contact the LP Siding Litigation Claims
aq ree rator ' 'f V°u have damaged LP siding that is eligible for compensation under the settlement
i„. ant and desire to file a claim, you must complete a Claim Form and return it to the LP Siding
Claims Administrator postmarked on or before December 31, 2002.
Tor information contact: LP Siding Litigation Claims Administrator
P.0. Box 3240 Portland, OR 97208-3240
Toll-Free: 1-800-245-2722 www.lpsidingclaims.com
AGGIELAND VISITOR CENTER
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at the Aggieland Visitor Center
First Floor, Rudder Tower
Applications are available and accepted
March 19- April 12, 2002
For more details, call 845-5851
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MALLAM • THE BATTALION
and he said about $350 million
is annually spent in Texas on
treatments. He said the aver
age household spends about
$ 1,000 a year.
For those who want a more
environment-friendly approach,
Gold recommended termite
bait. In this method a bait, laced
with poison, is planted for the
termites to find. The termites
consume the bait and take it
back to the colony where it will
be shared with the other insects.
But Gold said this method
takes much longer than others
to be effective.
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