IN THE NEWS - LINKS TO PENN STATERS IN THE NEWS
Penn State faculty are often quoted in the news and this periodic column will bring some of those stories to your attention. Some media web links are good only for the day posted, others remain available for several days. Sometimes only the citation is available
*** "Faded Mosaic, The Emergence of Post-Cultural America," by English Professor Christopher Clausen, was reviewed in the Washington Post this morning. The reviewer Jonathan Yardley says, "This brief but closely argued book provides a bracing antidote to much of the conventional wisdom." Look for it at http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/style/books/
*** Article on "Net-Surfing for Fun and Credits" cites Penn State as among the first to offer a BS in technology management. Business Week, May 29.
RESEARCHER IDENTIFIES GENE TO BLOCK METASTASIS IN BREAST CANCER
Researchers at Penn State's College of Medicine have discovered a gene that blocks metastasis in breast cancer. The gene is called breast cancer metastasis suppressor or BRMS1 and is located on chromosome 11. BRMS1 has not been identified before, while similar genes showed the same effects in lung cancer. Danny R. Welch, Ph.D., associate professor of pathology, and his team measured the activity on BRMS1 in a number of breast cell lines ranging from nearly normal cell lines to highly metastatic ones. They found that BRMS1 was expressed less as a cell's malignancy increased. Welch estimates between half and two thirds of patients with late stage breast cancer lose copies of chromosome 11. Welch and his team then introduced chromosome 11 into a metastatic breast cell line. While the cells still had the ability to form tumors, their ability to metastasize was greatly reduced. Go to http://www.collmed.psu.edu/news/pr/jun/060100.htm for the full story.
COMMUNICATIONS STUDENTS TO USE NGA AS PRACTICUM
College of Communications students will learn practical skills and gain valuable experience when the National Governors' Association (NGA) holds its 92nd annual meeting on campus in July. Lecturers Steve Manuel and Russ Eshleman are each offering three-week intensive summer courses in public relations and journalism, respectively. The "practica" will allow students to work alongside the influx of communications professionals that will visit State College. Manuel's students will cover the conference from a public relations angle, producing a daily newsletter that will be delivered to the attendees. In addition, the students will work closely with the NGA's public affairs office, assisting with the conference's public relations activities. Eshleman's students will work as freelance reporters, operating from the Centre Daily Times' newsroom. The students will write general news features and cover the conference's day-to-day activities, which may result in bylines in local papers like the Centre Daily Times as well as other papers that are part of the Knight-Ridder chain. For the full story, go to http://www.psu.edu/dept/comm/news/05-31-00news.shtml
FIRST HAND TRAINING PAYS OFF IN URBAN SCHOOLS
Darlene Watkins and many other first-year public school teachers find children are unable to give their full attention to school for many reasons -- a young boy fidgets because his shoes are two sizes too small, and a girl can’t concentrate because her family’s food stamps have been cut and she’s hungry. But, she and other graduates of the Urban Early and Middle Childhood Education program at Penn State Delaware County feel they are better equipped to cope with these problems because of the nature of the Penn State curriculum. According to Grace Stanford, assistant professor of education, the program, which is offered only at Delaware County, is field-based and students as early as their junior year participate in the daily activities of an urban school. School officials say that student teachers, without the urban education advantage, don’t understand the complexities and disadvantages of poverty and urban blight, and aren’t prepared for the experience. For the full story by Debbie Blanton, which appeared in the Philadelphia Tribune this spring, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2000/urbanexp.html
PENN STATE BASEBALL ONE STEP FROM WORLD SERIES
The Penn State baseball team (45-17), ranked No. 18 in the latest Collegiate Baseball poll, will travel to Austin, Texas, for a best-of-three game series this weekend against the University of Texas (44-19) in the NCAA Super Regional. The winner advances to the NCAA College World Series, held June 9-17 in Omaha, Neb. Game times are set for 7 p.m. CDT on both Friday and Saturday. Sunday's game three, if necessary, is slated for 2 p.m. CDT. The games will be broadcast by WMAJ Radio (1450 AM) in the Centre Region, and will also be available on the Internet at the Penn State Athletics Web site: http://www.psu.edu/sports. Making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1976 and 19th overall, Penn State has won its last four games and will vie for its World Series berth in 27 years.
Unfortunately, Penn State baseball coach Joe Hindelang will not be joining the team on this trip. He suffered a mild heart attack Wednesday morning and is expected to be released this weekend from the Hershey Medical Center. Pitching coach Randy Ford will serve as the acting head coach for the games in Texas. See stories at: http://www.psu.edu/sports and http://www.centredaily.com/