Cornell University News Service Releases

August, 2003

Index to all months

For the full text of any story, click on the headline. Electronic queries may be made to cunews@cornell.edu.

Few Filipino farmers know of the benefits of golden rice
It is not that Filipino farmers don't want to grow genetically engineered "golden rice." It's just that most have never heard of it. In the Philippine province of Nueva Ecija, most farmers don't know that golden rice exists, even though the crop is fortified with beta-carotene to alleviate vitamin A deficiency, particularly in children. But if farmers could be convinced the rice is healthy to eat, marketable and provides a good yield, then they would consider growing it, according to Mark Chong, a Cornell University doctoral candidate in communication, reporting his exploratory research in the latest issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology (Correspondence, Sept. 1, 2003). (August 29, 2003)

Lehman appoints Barbara Krause senior advisor to the president
Cornell University President Jeffrey S. Lehman announced today (Aug. 29) that he has appointed Barbara L. Krause to the position of senior advisor to the president, effective Sept. 1. In that position she will advise the president on a wide variety of issues related to the university and will accept special assignments from the president as needed. (August 29, 2003)

Cornell Plantations 'goes to seed' with Sept. 21 Judy's Day festival
"Seeds: Super Storehouse to Sensational Sprout" is the theme for the 2003 Judy's Day festival Sunday, Sept. 21, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Cornell Plantations' F.R. Newman Arboretum on the Cornell University campus. Billed as a day for kids of all ages, the annual hands-on educational event is free and will be held, rain or shine, under tents at the arboretum. Newman Arboretum is located between Cornell's central campus and state Route 366, with the vehicle entrance and parking off of Forest Home Drive. (August 28, 2003)

Poll: NY residents split on use of biotechnology in food and agriculture
A recent survey of New York state residents on the use of biotechnology in food and agriculture finds the public almost evenly split between those who oppose its use, those who favor it and those who are undecided. The findings were among the results of a special-topics survey on biotechnology as part of the 2003 Empire State Poll, an ongoing poll of New Yorkers' views conducted by the Survey Research Institute at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. (August 28, 2003)

EDUCAUSE IT leadership award to Polley Ann McClure
Polley Ann McClure, Cornell University vice president for information technologies, has been named this year's recipient of the EDUCAUSE Award for Excellence in Leadership. It is the highest individual award given by EDUCAUSE, an association addressing the complex issues of incorporating information technologies and resources into the higher education mission. The award will be presented Nov. 6 at a general session of the EDUCAUSE annual conference in Anaheim, Calif., which is expected to draw more than 6,000 professionals involved in the management of information resources in higher education. During a featured session later that day, McClure will describe lessons learned as a biologist, a professor and a partner of her dog, Ivy, with whom she competes in agility trials, and describe how these experiences contribute to understanding effective academic and IT leadership. (August 26, 2003)

Peace activism to be celebrated on campus Sept. 19-21, with visit by activist Father Daniel Berrigan
To raise awareness about social justice and peace movements and to reflect on the work of peace activist Father Daniel Berrigan and the late Rev. Jack Lewis, who led Cornell United Religious Work (CURW) during the tumultuous anti-Vietnam War era, a weekend of festivities titled "Celebrating Peace Activism: America Is Still Hard to Find" and a visit from Berrigan are slated for Sept. 19-21 at Cornell University. Coordinated by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy (CRESP) at Cornell, the weekend includes a festival of music that includes Michelle Shocked, Stephan Smith, and Bread and Puppet Theater on the Arts Quad, a debate on the role of direct action and voting in political discourse, and remarks and a sermon by Berrigan. (August 26, 2003)

National Stop on Red Week means 'zero tolerance' for motorists who run red lights and stop signs
Cornell University Police is participating in National Stop on Red Week 2003, Aug. 30-Sept. 5 -- a national law-enforcement program dedicated to educating American motorists about the dangers of running red lights. Cornell Police will enforce the program by fielding extra traffic patrols on campus during that week. Cornell officers will monitor intersections on the university's central campus and issue traffic citations for all traffic infractions observed. Various intersections will be monitored randomly during this period, including intersections with stop signs. Motorists who run red lights and stop signs and who fail to yield the right of way to pedestrians will be ticketed and charged in this zero-tolerance enforcement effort. (August 25, 2003)

Patient receives first-ever gene therapy for Parkinson's at New York Weill Cornell Medical Center
New York, NY (August 20, 2003) -- Surgeons at New York Weill Cornell medical center performed the world's first gene therapy for Parkinson's disease on a 55-year-old New York man on Monday, August 18. The historic surgery, which also marked the first-ever in vivo gene therapy in the brain for an adult neurological disease, was part of a phase I clinical trial approved by the Food and Drug Administration in October 2002.

The five-hour procedure was performed by Dr. Michael G. Kaplitt, Director of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College. The patient is recovering normally and is expected to return home today, just two days after the surgery was performed."Monday's surgery represents the realization of nearly 15 years of research in this area," said Dr. Kaplitt. "The goal of our gene therapy approach is to 're-set' a specific group of cells that have become overactive in an affected part of the brain, causing the impaired movements associated with Parkinson's disease. We hope that this trial, which is the first of its kind, will prove to be a safe treatment to allow gene therapy to move forward for Parkinson's disease and other brain disorders."

'Antigone' by Sophocles is the topic for the 2003-04 New Student Reading Project
It's become an annual Orientation week rite of passage at Cornell University -- the New Student Reading Project, which involves programs surrounding the reading of a text in common by all first-year students, as well as many other members of the Cornell community. And once again, members of the Ithaca community will join in, too. The 2003-04 reading project kicks off Sunday, Aug. 24, with a Barton Hall faculty panel discussion on this year's required text, Antigone by Sophocles. More than 3,000 new students, as well as many faculty, staff and continuing students, will attend the discussion at 3:30 p.m. in Barton Hall, which will be broadcast live on Time Warner Cable Channel 10. (August 21, 2003)

Wanted: essays, art and photographs that reflect on peace activism for celebration, Sept. 19-21
To involve the Cornell University and Ithaca communities in an upcoming celebration of peace activism that includes a visit by the Rev. Daniel Berrigan, the Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy (CRESP) at Cornell is calling for submissions of art, personal essays and photographs. The works will be displayed on campus Sept. 19-21, and some will be selected for publication. The Celebrating Peace Activism weekend will reflect on the work of noted activist Berrigan and the late Rev. Jack Lewis, who led Cornell United Religious Work during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The weekend's events, in addition to the exhibition, will include a sermon and a presentation on campus by Berrigan, a music festival with local and nationally known musicians and a round-table debate on the roles of direct action and voting in political discourse. (August 21, 2003)

Protein is shown to aid cell's reading of genetic code
The process by which a cell reads the genetic code in its DNA in order to manufacture a protein is complex, involving dozens of enzymes and other biological molecules working together. Now, research at Cornell University, using the fruit fly as a model system, has confirmed a theory about one step in the process by showing that a protein complex known as FACT is positioned in living cells at sites where chromosomal DNA is unpacked so that its code can be read. It is part of what the researchers call "a sophisticated molecular machine" that is not yet completely understood. The research is reported in the latest edition (Aug. 22) of the journal Science. (August 20, 2003)

Plague course shows how insects carry diseases
A flea lands on a man's arm and bites it. He scratches. The scratching aids the passage of the bacteria carried by the flea into the man's bloodstream. His temperature soars, his lymph glands swell and quickly his heart, liver and spleen are destroyed. He goes into septic shock, then into coma and finally dies. And that was just the bubonic plague. (August 21, 2003)

Orientation 2003 events will be augmented by Welcome Weekend for all students
With the arrival of new students Friday, Aug. 22, Cornell University's Orientation 2003 shifts into high gear, with campuswide activities continuing through Wednesday, Aug. 27. And this year, Orientation will be partnered with another welcome-to-campus initiative -- Welcome Weekend. In past years, Cornell's Orientation has taken place over 10 days, and it was open only to new students. This year Lisa K'Bedford, Cornell assistant dean of students for new student programs, has shortened Orientation to six days and has added what is hoped will be a new tradition -- Welcome Weekend. This new initiative will take place over five days -- Aug. 27-31 -- and will be open to all new and returning Cornell students. Welcome Weekend will offer a full slate of entertaining, non-alcohol activities. (August 19, 2003)

New Carol Tatkon Center on North Campus has grand opening, Aug. 22
The newest addition to Cornell University's North Campus is the Carol Tatkon Center, an academic center for first-year students, located in the south wing of the university's Balch Hall. A grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new center will be held Friday, Aug. 22, at 5:15 p.m. The Carol Tatkon Center was designed to connect the academic heart of the university with the residential center for first-year student life on North Campus. It is administered by Cornell's Office of the Dean of Students in collaboration with the vice provost for undergraduate education and the Campus Life office. (August 19, 2003)

'One Vision, Many Voices' initiative will help give students perspective on diversity at Cornell
A diversity-education initiative for new students at Cornell University, called "One Vision, Many Voices," will begin its sophomore year on campus during Orientation 2003. Its goal is to facilitate discussion among students about issues of diversity and inclusiveness. "We had a great response from students last year and are looking to surpass attendance numbers this year," said Ednita Wright, assistant dean of students for diversity education and outreach at Cornell. (August 19, 2003)

Cornell-organized Engineers Without Frontiers-USA helps students bring hope and water to a needy world
Shawhin Roudbari, a graduate student in Cornell University's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is working to help rural communities in South Africa hold on to more of their precious resource of water, which appears only briefly in late summer, leaving dry farmland when winter returns. He is one of six EWF-USA volunteers who are using their engineering skills to make a difference overseas this summer. He is spending three months designing and building rainwater storage tanks and installing them in eight villages, supported by a partnership of the International Water Management Institute, a research organization headquartered in Sri Lanka, and Engineers Without Frontiers USA (EWF-USA), a two-year-old national nonprofit group based at Cornell and supported by the university. (August 19, 2003)

Leading bacterial pathogen is sequenced
The complete genome sequence of a leading bacterial plant pathogen offers new ways to stave off agricultural loss and perhaps foil animal or human infection, says a Cornell University researcher. According to Alan Collmer, Cornell professor of plant pathology, the sequencing (that is, determining the base sequence of each of the ordered DNA fragments in the genome) could help farmers repress tomato speck and other plant diseases. Medical researchers could be aided in comparing a related bacterium that causes fatal lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients. And environmentalists could be provided with a new tool in understanding how another related bacterium can live in soil and dine on toxic waste. (August 19, 2003)

Lung cancer ct screening is cost-effective, Weill Cornell study shows
New York, NY (August 18, 2003) -- Physician-scientists at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College have shown that low-dose computed tomography (ct) screening for lung cancer may not only improve a lung cancer patient's chances for a cure, but is also likely to be cost-effective when compared with other widely accepted cancer screening methods. Published in the August Chest, the analysis demonstrates that annual low-dose CT screening for lung cancer compares quite favorably to cost-effectiveness ratios of other screenings. The study -- a collaboration between NewYork Weill Cornell Medical Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and Columbia University Graduate School of Business -- finds that the yearly cost of saving one life using a single low-dose CT scan could be as low as $2,500. The analysis is based on data from the Early Lung Cancer Action Project (ELCAP) study, which analyzed the response of low-dose CT screening for 1,000 high-risk individuals. The current study's estimation of cost effectiveness is the first to employ detailed data from an actual screening study, unlike previous cost effectiveness studies that relied upon assumptions and hypothetical models.CT screening for lung cancer may be significantly more cost effective than annual PAP smear for cervical cancer screening, which costs approximately $50,000 per life-year saved, or annual mammography, which costs about $24,000 per life-year saved -- two well-accepted early detection strategies to decrease cancer mortality.

Image, not issues will win for Schwarzenegger
So far Arnold Schwarzenegger has approached the Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election in California by avoiding issues and scattering one-line sound bites, an ability he made famous through his tough-guy acting roles. This strategy should win him the election, says a Cornell University polling analyst. "Schwarzenegger needs to be as vague as possible," says Dietram Scheufele, Cornell assistant professor of communication, who teaches a course on polling techniques. He has examined recent polls and concludes the California election is not about issues but about images. (August 18, 2003)

Cornell researchers and cooperative extension offices get $240,000 in N.Y. state agricultural grants
Cornell University research faculty, agricultural programs and cooperative extension offices have received more than $240,000 in grants from the Grow New York Food and Agriculture Industry Development (FAID) Program. The funds, designated for innovative programs and part of a $470,000 grant package, were announced Aug. 12 by Gov. George Pataki and Nathan L. Rudgers, commissioner of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. "With the rapid development of new technologies and innovations within the agriculture industry, we must do everything we can to ensure that New York maintains a competitive edge," said Pataki in a statement. "Our Grow New York grants will provide vital assistance to farmers, cooperatives and researchers across the state. [This] will bolster efforts to develop new products, and help find better and more efficient ways to process and distribute them to market." (August 14, 2003)

Cornell and Mac Farms create nutritious milk beverage for young adults, to be bottled in Cooperstown, N.Y.
A nutritious carbonated milk beverage for grown-up tastes called Refreshing Power Milk, or RPM, developed in Cornell University's Department of Food Science laboratories, is being put into production. The beverage will be made at a new dairy plant run by Mac Farms Co. in Cooperstown, N.Y., beginning Aug. 27. Mac Farms, headquartered in Burlington, Mass., is the company that introduced e-Moo, the carbonated milk drink for children, also the product of Cornell research. E-Moo also will be made at the Cooperstown plant. (August 14, 2003)

New treatment for enlarged heart effective, New York Weill Cornell study shows
New York, NY (August 12, 2003) -- Physician-scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital have demonstrated that, among hypertensive patients with electrocardiographic evidence of a type of enlarged heart condition called left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), the drug Losartan is more likely to reduce the severity of their condition than the drug Atenolol. Losartan's benefits were demonstrated throughout the five-year study period, irrespective of a number of factors, including the severity of the condition. LVH, a condition in which the heart's lower-left chamber (left ventricle) has grown thicker, is a risk factor associated with heart failure, myocardial infarction, and cardiovascular death.The study, published in the August 12 issue of Circulation, and available online, confirms earlier findings of the Losartan Intervention For Endpoint (LIFE) Reduction in Hypertension multicenter study of 9,193 hypertensive patients. The research shows that Losartan-based therapy was more effective at reducing LVH than the beta-blocker Atenolol, according to two electrocardiographic-based measurement standards: Sokolow-Lyon voltage and Cornell voltage-duration (Lancet 2002).

Hotel strategies for Internet room bookings
Hoteliers must do a better job of managing the Internet distribution channels for their hotel rooms, say two Cornell University faculty members in a new report. By 2005 an estimated 1 in 5 hotel bookings will be made online, up from 1 in 12 in 2002, note Bill Carroll and Judy Siguaw, both affiliated with the Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) at Cornell's School of Hotel Administration. Hotel chain Web sites will control only half of those bookings, say the researchers, with online third-party intermediaries capturing the other half. And that's not counting bookings based on Internet research but made via a phone call. (August 12, 2003)

Cornell on the Commons seeks campus participants for Aug. 30 event
Cornell on the Commons, formerly known as the College and Community Expo, is seeking university-affiliated departments and outreach offices that want to showcase their programs and services to undergraduate students and the greater Ithaca community. The annual event will be Saturday, Aug. 30, from 1 to 4 p.m. on the Ithaca Commons. Cornell on the Commons is a featured event in the university's Welcome Weekend program, and attendance of more than 1,000 students and community members is expected. In addition to three stages of entertainment and other events, there will be a repeat of last year's highly successful "Iron Chef" competition between a Cornell and a community chef. (August 12, 2003)

Incoming Cornell students will participate in a week of community service
Cornell University is announcing its eighth annual Pre-Orientation Service Trips (POST) program for new Cornell students. POST, a program of the Cornell Public Service Center, provides a group of first-year and transfer students with a head start on making friends, an introduction to community service work and a familiarity with the Ithaca community before the start of the school year. Beginning Aug. 17 and ending the morning of Aug. 22, 75 incoming students, aided by 14 upperclass team leaders, will spend their days and nights exploring the Ithaca community through service work and recreational programming. The students come from 21 states, Puerto Rico and Singapore. (August 12, 2003)

Offering legal help to area business startups
A new program at Cornell, Entrepreneurship Legal Services (ELS), will soon be offering professional-quality legal services to emerging growth-oriented businesses. The program is sponsored by the Johnson Graduate School of Management and Cornell Law School and affiliated with the New York State Science and Technology Law Center, a nonprofit organization that works to expand entrepreneurial resources. (August 11, 2003)

Architecture master's degree program for college grads who haven't studied architecture
Cornell University is launching a new professional program in architecture at the master's degree level for students without prior training in architecture. The new degree program, M.Arch.-I, takes three and one-half years to complete and is designed for applicants who hold a four-year bachelor's degree in any area and are interested in a career in architectural practice, teaching or scholarship. It will be housed in Cornell's Department of Architecture in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, considered one of the best architecture programs in the United States. (August 11, 2003)

Marguerite Spencer and Jeffrey Silber are named to executive positions in the Division of Financial Affairs
Cornell University's Division of Financial Affairs has announced that Marguerite Spencer has been named director of university policy and division communications and Jeffrey Silber has been named director for financial research administration. Both report to Joanne DeStefano, vice president for financial affairs and university controller. (August 11, 2003)

Deer help disperse seeds--including noxious weeds
SAVANNAH, GA. -- About the hoofed mammal gardeners love to hate, there's good news and the other kind from Cornell University researchers who study plant-eating habits of the white-tailed deer. Speaking at the Ecological Society of America (ESA) annual meeting Aug. 3-8 in Savannah, Ga., Mark Vellend will report his discovery that a significant role in seed dispersal is played by deer browsing on vegetation wherever they wish and depositing seeds, in their pellet-like feces, to germinate and produce new plants up to two miles away. (July 31, 2003)

Temporary contractor parking lot will be created for West Campus project
Cornell University, on a temporary basis, will be using a portion of Libe Slope on West Campus to allow for contractor parking for the West Campus Residential Initiative project. The work on creating the temporary parking lot will begin this week and will be completed prior to the Aug. 22 arrival of students for the fall semester. (August 7, 2003)

Container gardening secrets are revealed in Cornell Plantations display and new brochure
Summer visitors to Cornell Plantations have been marveling at the brilliant flowers and foliage in the container plantings on display at Plantations' Lewis Education Center. Now the Plantations gardeners who created the display are sharing tips for successful container horticulture in a newly published brochure, which is available free of charge at the Plantations gift shop. "This display, along with an informative interpretive brochure, was made possible through the generosity and thoughtfulness of the Cornell Class of '53," notes Plantations Director Don Rakow. The container gardens were officially dedicated in June 2003, at the class's 50th reunion. (August 7, 2003)

Subsidies for corn-based ethanol criticized
The U.S. Senate passed an energy-policy bill July 31 that would double amounts of corn-based ethanol in American gasoline. At the same time, a Cornell University agricultural ecologist has renewed his criticism of what many believe is a renewable fuel. He claims that drivers who fill their tanks with gasohol (a blend of gasoline and corn-based ethanol) are paying three ways for a product that, he says, is both inefficient and environmentally harmful: once at the pump, once in taxes to fund government subsidies and once in higher food prices. (August 1, 2003)