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MSU

Command post cabana

Lindsey Poisson
July 13, 2006

A four-wheel, hitch trailer with four expandable rooms, a fuse box for a power generator, collapsible railings on the roof for observation, removable insulation, air conditioning and heating. It has about 480 square feet of room, weighs about 90,000 pounds and costs about $100,000. What might make a swanky fold-out camper is actually the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety's new mobile emergency center called a "cabana," which officers used Wednesday in a training exercise. Purchased using a $300,000 homeland security grant issued from the state, the cabana can be used as a command post, first aid facility or area for emergency workers to rest in an ongoing incident. MSU police Inspector Bill Wardwell said the department made a case that MSU is a potential terrorist target because of the amount of research the university does, the amount of people who come to public events —including football and basketball games — and the number of influential people who visit the campus. "We identified several things that would help us respond to a terrorist attack, this being one of them," he said.

MSU

MSU joins partnership to increase Mich. tourism

Justin Kroll
July 13, 2006

Unlike other states across the nation, Michigan's tourism industry has not seen the type of growth it would like to see. But Travel Michigan, a group that helps plan statewide travel, and the MSU Tourism Center have formed a council to make a strategic plan to help the tourism industry in the future. Michigan ranks about 13th nationally in the tourism industry, said Don Holecek, the tourism center's director and the team leader of the plan.

MSU

MSU day camp educates kids about paleontology

Andrea Byl
July 12, 2006

Several children surrounded Danita Brandt as she pointed to the details of a freshly found fossil at the MSU Museum's Fossil Camp on Tuesday. "A lot of people confuse paleontology and archeology, but the kids have it straight," said Brandt, a professor of geology at MSU who teaches the camp.

MSU

Study links brothers, gay men

Amy Oprean
July 11, 2006

The more biological older brothers that a man has, the more likely he may be gay, according to a recent study performed at Brock University in Ontario, Canada. The study was conducted by Anthony Bogaert, a professor of community health sciences and psychology at Brock University, and was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on June 28.

MSU

MSU group compiles bug book

Justin Kroll
July 11, 2006

To some a spider isn't just a creepy insect, but a helpful and invited guest in gardens or crops. A new pocket guide created by MSU's Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, is meant to help people identify insects, like spiders, that could be beneficial or harmful to their plants. Mary Gardiner, an MSU entomology graduate student, decided to create the guide, "Identifying Natural Enemies in Field Crops," about six months ago. Doug Landis, a professor of entomology and Gardiner's adviser, said the guide was never planned, but was conceived coincidentally. "The project was originally intended to focus on soybean aphids," Landis said.

MSU

Italy beats France

Stephen Patterson
July 10, 2006

The crowd packed into Crossroads Food Court in MSU's International Center didn't just observe a heated match Sunday — it became part of a World Cup final experience.

MSU

MSU student wins LGBT scholarship

An academic, an activist, a role model and now a Point Scholarship recipient — Lauren Beach has accomplished many things during her time at MSU, and she said she is by no means close to finished in the pursuit of her goals. Beach, a social relations and microbiology senior, was surprised she won the prestigious scholarship for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, students. "It was like a big fluke," she said.

MSU

Funeral to be held for assistant professor

Dr. John W. Kim, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, died Sunday. Kim, 39, practiced with Lansing Neurosurgical Associates, 575 Ramblewood Dr., and helped train medical school residents during their rotations. The funeral is today at 11 a.m.

MSU

Professional program spreads diversity

Justin Kroll
June 29, 2006

A program through MSU is helping professionals from other countries connect with those in the workforce in the United States. The Visiting International Professional Program, has been teaching foreign professionals for more than 15 years about business, culture and other global issues that help make them more diversified. "We are helping people who are employed in various degrees, from journalism to business, and teaming them up with one of our own professionals to help understand more about their working area from another point of view," said Sung Soo Chung, head of operations and planning for the program.

MSU

Medical simulation comes to MSU

Stephanie Pittman
June 29, 2006

First-year doctors can find out how they will fare in real-life medical situations by working with actors and mannequins at MSU. Faculty of the MSU College of Human Medicine are using standardized patients — actors trained to exhibit symptoms of any ailment — and computerized dummies with programmable vital signs to assess the strengths and weaknesses of residents. Residents are doctors who have completed medical school and work in hospitals while pursuing further studies in their preferred areas of specialization. About 250 residents will be participating in the Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation program of the MSU College of Human Medicine. The program began on Friday and will continue on selected days until August at the new Learning and Assessment Center in Fee Hall. "When residents have a clear idea of their skills sets, they can feel more comfortable in their new roles as doctors," said Dr. Dianne Wagner, associate dean for Graduate Medical Education for the MSU College of Human Medicine. Wagner worked closely with other doctors from area hospitals during the past year and a half to develop the evaluation program. Participants are videotaped and evaluated as they go through 10 different stations and perform basic medical procedures on a standardized patient, such as performing a medical examination, evaluating symptoms and recommending treatments, Wagner said. She added that in these scenarios, the actors who stand in as patients also provide feedback to MSU faculty on the interaction skills of the doctor. "This is a good way to take knowledge we learned in school for the past four years and apply it to clinical situations," said Dr. Tracy Riddle, who went through the program and is a physician at the Ingham Regional Medical Center. The doctors also get the chance to save SimMan and MegaCode Kelly. SimMan is a computerized mannequin that can cough, wheeze, gasp and produce different heart and lung sounds. It can be programmed to mimic a critically-ill patient with changing vital signs and can even say, "I'm going to die," Wagner said. MegaCode Kelly is a less sophisticated version of SimMan with changeable parts that can make it either a male or female patient. It got its name because "Kelly" can either be a man or woman, Wagner said. "Working with the dummies gives you a chance to interact with a patient that was not really dying but has serious respiratory and cardiac issues," said Dr. Andrew Riddle, another physician at Ingham Regional Medical Center.

MSU

3 new languages could enter MSU's curriculum

Khmer, Indonesian and Uzbek could be additions to the course catalog as new language programs this fall if funding from the federal government is approved, said Marilyn McCullough, assistant director of the Asian Studies Center. Uzbek is the official language of Uzbekistan, and Khmer is spoken in Cambodia.

MSU

Partnership to create Big Ten TV Channel

Justin Kroll
June 28, 2006

A new deal between Big Ten universities and ABC and its affiliates could not only bring more financial help to schools like MSU, but exposure as well. The deal, announced June 21, would extend coverage of men's football and basketball, women's basketball and volleyball to ESPN and ABC sports for another 10 years.

MSU

Drugs' environmental impact to be studied

Stephanie Pittman
June 27, 2006

What happens when a fish ingests Viagra? Scientists aren't sure, but MSU researchers are looking for ways to prevent pharmaceuticals from reaching unintended patients, specifically, marine life in lakes and rivers. An MSU study on how microbes break down pharmaceutical components that are discharged into the environment received a grant of more than $375,000 from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Inc. "Pharmaceuticals are reaching the environment because it's used in humans and animals; yet, in some cases, we do not know about the environmental fate of these chemicals," said James Tiedje, director of the Center for Microbial Ecology and one of the principal investigators for the study. Hui Li, an associate professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, and Mary Beth Leigh, a research assistant at the Center for Microbial Ecology, are also helping lead the study. When a person ingests medicine, what is not absorbed into the blood stream passes out of the body with stool and urine that is flushed down the toilet, said Amy Perbeck, a toxicologist at the Water Bureau of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. The waste water then goes to a treatment plant and is released into streams and rivers or is sprayed out to fields or sand basins, Perbeck said.

MSU

MSU hosts 4-H exploration

Andrea Byl
June 22, 2006

MSU's campus began flooding with people Wednesday as more than 2,500 4-H members and chaperones lined up to sign in for the 36th annual 4-H Exploration Days youth development conference.

MSU

Linguistics group assembles at MSU

Amy Oprean
June 22, 2006

The nationwide summer meeting of the Linguistic Society of America is being held on campus beginning today and runs through June 25. About 70 graduate students and professional linguists are expected to attend the event, which kicks off at the Kellogg Center, society president Sally McConnell-Ginet said. The event will include more than 30 graduate students presenting their papers and attending panels on finding jobs, receiving grant money and getting published. "It's a chance to present your work to some people who are going to be your colleagues throughout your career," she said. McConnell-Ginet said the event is more intimate and less intimidating than two other events the society holds — its annual meeting in January and an institute held every two years.

MSU

Innovations: Economical engines

Mara Deutch
June 22, 2006

Name: Professor Harold Schock Department: Mechanical Engineering Location: MSU Automotive Research Experiment Station, 3361 Hulett Road in Okemos Type of research: Research to improve engines, making them more fuel-efficient and economical Date of research: The research, which is done for the U.S.