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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 1997)
University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon An independent newspaper Volume 98, Issue 83 TUESDAY, JANUARY 28,1997 INDEX Opinion News Sports Classifieds Horoscope Crossword OJ CO to CO CO N TODAY The Career Center is sponsoring the Career and Internship Fair in the EMU today and Wednesday. INSIDE The Emerald previews the Career Center’s sixth annual Career and Internship Fair The Club Sports hockey team sweeps Washington to end its regular season WEATHER Still more rain. High 50. Low 30. MATT GARTON/Emerald University students Jeffy Stevens, a senior majoring in biochemistry, and Michelle Orr, a junior majoring In biology, separate strands of DNA taken from the zebrafish in test tubes at one of Streisinger Hall’s science labs. Zebrafish studies net $1 million grant ■ BIOLOGY: Scientists use the simple fish in place of ‘higher’ life forms to study DNA and mutations By Laura Cadiz Higher Education Editor In the basement of Huestis Hall sit rows of fish tanks, each occupied by about 50 one inch long zebrafish. These fish have helped University scien tists discover genetic muta tions and DNA patterns simi lar to those in humans, and they are the reason the Insti tute of Neuroscience received a$l million dollar grant. Awarded last month by the W.M. Keck Foundation, $650,000 of the grant will be used to renovate the zebrafish facility, and $350,000 of the grant will be used for the ex pansion of an on-line interac tive database, which will con tain scientific knowledge about zebrafish. “It’s a very significant award and will make a big dif ference in the group’s ability to continue their world-class research,” said Steadman Up ham, vice provost for research. The zebrafish research team is headed by biology profes sors Chuck Kimmel, John Postlethwait, Monte Wester field, Jim Weston and associ ate biology professor Judith Eisen. “This group of researchers is probably the best at what they do in the world,” said Up ham. Because zebrafish have a similar genetic make-up to hu mans, University scientists study them to understand the nature of the human nervous system and genetic abnormali ties, said Postlethwait. “We’re vertebrates too,” said Sarah Douglas, professor of computer and information science. “A lot of our genetic material is shared with other vertebrates, such as ze brafish.” The research was devel oped by the late geneticist George Streisinger. He began using zebrafish in 1981 and introduced zebrafish as a model of studying the human Turn to BIOLOGY, Page 4A MATT GARTON/Emerald Kristy Mann, a freshman majoring in journalism, works at the University's Ze brafish Facility in Streisinger Hall as part of her work study job. Councilors seek input from public ■ MEETING: The Council has scheduled town-hall meetings/or mid-February to get citizen input By Eric Collins Community Reporter While developing a plan to reduce city services, city councilors are calling for other agencies to step in and help maintain cur rent services. In a Monday night work session designed to high light plans for defining es sential city services, City Councilor Bobby Lee con tinually stressed this idea of working with other agencies to alternatively fund some of the non-es sential services, instead of just eliminating them. “I just hope [alternative funding] doesn’t slip through the cracks,” Lee said. “I want to know where we will see alternatives in the plan.” City Councilor Scott Meisner agreed, adding that ideas on alternative funding could be found more easily from citizen in put. This citizen participation was a main focus of the cities proposed plan to identify important city services. Councilors are discussing ways of involv ing the public through special town-hall meetings beginning in mid-February. The purpose is for citizens to voice their opin ions on services that must be maintained and services that they could live without. “We need to find out what people believe the bottom line mission is and what alterna tives they’d like to see,” said Councilor Tim Laue. "We must find out what makes this community livable.” The council must complete a plan to re duce city services by April 28 in order for the plan to be included in next year’s bud get. The final plan for services reduction is set for June or July. Earlier in the session, councilors unani mously voted to approve all the short-term Turn to MEETING, Page 4A Torrey to answer I questions at City Hall | Students and citizens are invited to express their concerns to Mayor Jim Torrey from 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesday in the Council Chamber at City Hall. Torrey is now scheduled to hold TORREY one-on-one meetings with the public on the fourth Tuesday of each month. For more information, call 687-5010.
