Our Bio-Future program tackles genetic issues
■ Professor George Sprague
discusses the implications of
genetic mapping in humans
By Brooke Ross
Oregon Daily Emerald
Keeping up to date with the latest
scientific advancements and main
taining a healthy lifestyle go hand-in
hand.
This was a key message of Our Bio
Future, the first in what organizers
hope will be an annual seminar series
sponsored by PeaceHealth and Lane
Community College’s Center for
Leisure and Learning.
More than two dozen participants
attended Saturday’s seminar, which
explained how to maintain healthy
lifestyles and discussed new scientif
ic trends that may affect one’s life
span. Events included presentations
on scientific news such as the Human
Genome Project and interactive
workshops concerning topics such as
clinical drug trials and legislative is
sues surrounding health care for sen
ior citizens.
George Sprague, a University biol
ogy professor, addressed the crowd
about the future implications of ge
netic mapping and the importance of
DNA research in relation to the use of
specific drugs and medicines.
He spoke about the Human
Genome Project, which involved
identifying all 30,000 genes in hu
man DNA. He said even though hu
man DNA is more than 99 percent
identical, there are still one million
differences between every individ
ual.
“These million differences are
what make us different from one an
other in how we look and how our
bodies behave,” he said.
The differences also determine
how a person will react to a certain
medication.
“If I’m sensitive to a particular drug
that others can take, I still shouldn’t
take it,” he said.
Sprague also discussed the ethics
surrounding gene therapy, a tech
nique in which faulty genes are re
placed with healthy genes in an effort
to combat sickness. He said while
most people are comfortable with us
ing the technique on patients’ tissues
and cells to help rid them of a disease,
most are uneasy with the idea of us
ing gene therapy to create “perfect
humans.”
“People start to fantasize and want
children to be 6-foot-5 basketball
players,” he said. “We need to find a
between ground.”
Educating participants about how
drugs reach the marketplace was also
the focus of one discussion.
Donald England, medical director
of Radiant Research in Eugene, dis
cussed the importance of clinical
drug trials, in which a company tests
its drugs on volunteer subjects. He
said even testing of a pre-existing
drug is needed if the drug is going to
treat a different disease than the one
originally intended.
“You never know how drugs are
going to perform with humans until
they’re given to humans,” he said.
In the same discussion, Alan Ben
nett, a public affairs specialist for the
Food and Drug Administration in
Portland, spoke about marketing
drugs and warned participants about
media hype declaring major medical
breakthroughs and cures for serious
diseases.
“There are very few miracle
drugs,” he said.
Bennett reminded the audience
that there are several good generic
prescription drugs that fulfill the
same purpose as high-priced brands.
Peggy Hudson, LCC seniors proj
ect coordinator, said she is always
looking for programs of interest that
can help improve participants’ stan
dards of living.
“People are getting to be 50 or 60
[years old] and are thinking maybe
they could live to 120,” she said.
Hudson said she hopes to offer
three or four similar events each year.
“We like to bring in the experts and
see what they can tell us,” she said.
Travis Geny for the Emerald
Participants in the Our Bio-Future seminar listen to one of the event’s many speakers.
The seminar was held Saturday at Lane Community College.
Judge
continued from page 1
encouraged her to drink, and once
she was drunk, he invited her to
come home with him. Once they
were at his house, he pressured her
to have sex with him. She said no',
but he thought she didn’t mean it. He
raped her, and to this day, Crane said,
Suzy still bears the emotional scars
of that night.
Although the incident he de
scribed took place in Florida,
Crane said sexual assault is a
problem that needs to be ad
dressed at college campuses
across the nation.
A member of the Sigma Phi Ep
silon fraternity, Crane said it is espe
cially important that this issue be ad
dressed in the greek system because
of the negative perceptions that
many people have about fraternities
and sororities.
He urged audience members, most
of whom are involved in the greek
system, to change the way their
houses are perceived. They can do
this, he said, by looking out for their
friends if they seem to be in a poten
tially dangerous situation. This
might mean stopping a drunk
woman from going home with a man
she doesn’t know, or taking the keys
away from a friend too intoxicated to
drive, he said.
“Do what you think is necessary to
prevent a tragedy,” Crane said.
Panhellenic Council spokes
woman Hannah Unkefer said the
Greek Life Department sponsored
the event not as a response to prob
lems within the University’s greek
system, but as a proactive measure to
prevent future problems.
Michael Kubas, spokesman for the
Interfraternity Council, added,
“We’d rather stop it before it hap
pens.”
Ben Fuchs, vice president of Sig
ma Nu Fraternity, said the group be
came involved with the event in an
effort to educate people on how to
party safely.
“We want to promote awareness
in the community about safe drink
ing habits,” Fuchs said.
Former Sigma Nu president Nick
Tomasulo said he hoped the speech
would change negative perceptions
about the greek system.
“We want to get fraternities back to
the fundamental ideals they were
founded on,” Tomasulo said.
Institute for the
Development of Educational Achievement
College of Education
University of Oregon
Undergraduate Research
Fellowship Program
• Full-time juniors & seniors
•Oregon residents only
• All majors, 3.5 cumulative GPA or better
•Strong interest and commitment to research and inquiry
• Thition paid for 2001-2002 academic year
Deadline: May 4, 2001
Application found at idea.uoregon.edu
or pick one up at the Education Annex
Questions: call Tanya Sheehan at 346-3562
Tomorrow
Street Fair
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il 25, 26, 27
Food $ Crafts $ Musi;
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