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Research Roundup at MSU-Bozeman (#210)
November 21, 2002 -- By Annette Trinity-Stevens and Evelyn Boswell
Colonial terrorism
Bioterrorism isn't new, according to a recent speaker at MSU. In 1763, officers at Fort Pitt tried to overcome hostile Indians by giving them two blankets and a handkerchief contaminated with smallpox. It was the best-documented case of germ warfare in history, Elizabeth Fenn said at the third annual conference on Medical History of the American West. Smallpox was a normal childhood disease in Europe, but not in Colonial America, she added. That's one reason why smallpox epidemics were able to spread so rapidly and far in this continent. Today, despite brewing fears that terrorists will use smallpox as a weapon," the world is free of smallpox. "It's one of the great medical achievements of the 20th century," Fenn said.
Community pride
This is the third year for a program that strengthens ties between Native American youth and their communities, says Jolee Barry, manager of the Montana JASON project. Called Civic Investment in Montana (CIM), the program began in 2000 and involved the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Reservations. The second year involved the Fort Peck, Fort Belknap and Rocky Boy reservations. This year it's back on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Tribal college students and local school teachers and students work together on projects that use technology and the JASON Project to increase the sense of commitment to community. CIM is sponsored by Brown University and Campus Compact.
Grizzly hairs
Counting grizzly bears in two million acres of wilderness is a daunting--and expensive--task. Rather than use radio collars and helicopters in the Glacier Park ecosystem, U.S. Geological Survey biologist Kate Kendall uses grizzly hairs snagged in barbed wire traps. Scientists extract DNA from the hair to count and monitor bear populations. Now MSU student John Shier is making a documentary film of Kendall's groundbreaking project. Titled "Saving the Grizzly, One Hair at a Time," the 15-minute film will be done by January and shown in and around Glacier National Park. Shier plans to create a longer version for possible broadcast on public television. The National Park Service is sponsoring his work.
Soy and stress
Each time you eat, the membranes surrounding fat molecules--especially the "bad " cholesterol--are stressed. This "oxidative stress" is behind cardiovascular and other diseases. One theory holds that antioxidants found in soy protein can minimize that damage, said MSU nutrition assistant professor Christina Campbell. Long-term studies have shown this to be true, but does soy foods have a protective effect within a few hours of eating? Campbell has a grant from the Montana Network for Biomedical Research Opportunities (BRIN) to find out. She's doing the second in a series of studies to isolate the effects of soy protein and to understand its role in preventing a host of chronic diseases including diabetes.
Annette Trinity-Stevens, (406) 994-5607 or annettet@montana.edu
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