Amazing Science News from Iowa!
"Zoologists at Iowa State University Announce
Aging Surprise" and "Former ISU Professor Says Coverage of Mad Cow Disease Is
Overblown"
The Iowa Caucuses are over, and would have been
forgotten had not Dean's (aka Beelzebub) human likeness generator malfunctioned.
The reporters who staged bucolic shots of fields and barns but were really in
downtown Des Moines have left us to chew our cuds in simplistic contentment.
But the unsuspecting public should take note of recent science news from the
region that bi-coastal travelers call "the fly over
zone."
Listed as #62 in the 100 Top Science Stories of 2003 in Discover Magazine: Zoologists at Iowa State University have discovered that the telomeres (repetitive pieces of DNA at the ends of chromosomes) of storm petrels actually lengthen with age instead of shrinking each time the cell divides. The shortening of telomeres is believed to be one cause of aging. The researchers hope to study the relationship between the birds' immune systems and the enzyme telomerase, which maintains telomere length. "Although telomerase could somehow slow aging" states the article by Michael W. Robbins, "it is also found in most tumor cells, where it aids the uncontrolled growth that characterizes cancer." Ironically, there are no storm petrels in Iowa, so the researchers are recruiting from a colony on Kent Island, New Brunswick.
I think it is safe to say that there aren't any mad cows in Iowa, either. And if retired ISU professor Dr. Bill Switzer has anything to say about it, there's good news for the cows living elsewhere who are mad about the negative press they've been getting recently. This past weekend, an Ames Tribune article by Mark Krapfl (who, in my opinion, should change his name or get out of the public eye), cites Dr. Switzer's critical analysis of the possibility that humans could develop a variant of Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease by eating infected beef. "Chicken Little would look brave compared to this," Switzer is quoted. Since the National Animal Disease Center, where all the mad cows are tested, is right here in Ames, there's a lot at stake. Harley Moon, the Center's director from 1988 to 1995, says, "It's a market issue, not a science issue." Yes, and that's why all the cows are hiring PR managers ...
Listed as #62 in the 100 Top Science Stories of 2003 in Discover Magazine: Zoologists at Iowa State University have discovered that the telomeres (repetitive pieces of DNA at the ends of chromosomes) of storm petrels actually lengthen with age instead of shrinking each time the cell divides. The shortening of telomeres is believed to be one cause of aging. The researchers hope to study the relationship between the birds' immune systems and the enzyme telomerase, which maintains telomere length. "Although telomerase could somehow slow aging" states the article by Michael W. Robbins, "it is also found in most tumor cells, where it aids the uncontrolled growth that characterizes cancer." Ironically, there are no storm petrels in Iowa, so the researchers are recruiting from a colony on Kent Island, New Brunswick.
I think it is safe to say that there aren't any mad cows in Iowa, either. And if retired ISU professor Dr. Bill Switzer has anything to say about it, there's good news for the cows living elsewhere who are mad about the negative press they've been getting recently. This past weekend, an Ames Tribune article by Mark Krapfl (who, in my opinion, should change his name or get out of the public eye), cites Dr. Switzer's critical analysis of the possibility that humans could develop a variant of Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease by eating infected beef. "Chicken Little would look brave compared to this," Switzer is quoted. Since the National Animal Disease Center, where all the mad cows are tested, is right here in Ames, there's a lot at stake. Harley Moon, the Center's director from 1988 to 1995, says, "It's a market issue, not a science issue." Yes, and that's why all the cows are hiring PR managers ...
Posted: Wed - February 11, 2004 at 01:23 PM
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Published On: Feb 11, 2004 05:10 PM
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Published On: Feb 11, 2004 05:10 PM