CHAPEL WITH A HISTORY GETS A NEW LIFE
Historians say abolitionist John Brown sought comfort in Emmanuel Chapel at Mont Alto just before his unsuccessful raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859, and later, one of his men was captured there while looking for food. Purchased from the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania for $1, the 146-year old stone chapel is now undergoing a $325,000 renovation. The building will be used for theatre productions, speakers and other campus events, and a campaign to create an endowment and preservation fund for the chapel is now in progress. For more information, contact Marge Taylor at 717-749-6116.
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WHICH WAY IS UP? NASA FUNDS STUDY OF WEIGHTLESSNESS
Which way is up? That’s a good question if you are in outer space without gravity’s pull to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground. Through research funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Lawrence Sinoway, director of the General Clinical Research Center in the College of Medicine, delves into understanding how the human body fares under prolonged periods of weightlessness. Sinoway simulates the effects of weightlessness by having his study patients stay in bed for two weeks, prone with their heads tilted at a 60 degree angle. This study and others help him understand the effects of stress or reduction of stress on the sympathetic nervous system. For a longer version of this story, which appeared in the Winter 2000 edition of Penn State Medicine, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2000/weightlessness.html
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A LOOK AT WORK IN PROGRESS IN ANTHROPOLOGY
Bones, skulls and lots of hard work are all part of Anthropologist Alan Walker’s laboratory in Carpenter building. He was part of an international team that discovered African fossils that might resolve questions about the most ancient upright-walking ancestors of humans. This semester, his students are helping to fill in some of the gaps in the evolutionary timeline of primates. For photos go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/INTERCOM/lab.html.
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LIVE GARDENING CALL-IN ON WPSX-TV
Next week, WPSX-TV host Patty Satalia will conduct a live daily call-in, Ask About Gardening, at 5:45 p.m., Monday to Friday. Experts from Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences will answer viewer questions. Topics will be: pest-free trees and shrubs, Monday; managing the home orchard, Tuesday; selecting plants, Wednesday; early vegetable crops, Thursday; and newest flower varieties, Friday. Call the show at 1 800-543-8242 to speak to the experts.
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BOARD OF TRUSTEES ACTION, INFORMATION ITEMS
Shorts on informational reports and action by the Board of Trustees today will be sent at the close of the Board meeting this afternoon. For the complete packet of Board of Trustees stories, which will be posted at the end of the day, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/NEWS/TRUSTEES/index.html.