Friday, October 29,1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A • Page 3
KU kidney research to expand
Med Center awarded grant worth $5 million
By Todd Halstead
By Todd Halstead
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Researchers at the University of Kansas Medical Center were awarded $5 million this month in the form of a five-year grant by the National Institutes of Health to study the most common life-threatening genetic disease — polycystic kidney disease.
"It will really help," said Robin Maser, research assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. "The money will enable researchers to collaborate together on research."
The disease, referred to as PKD, causes cysts to develop on both kidneys.
Cysts range in size from that of a pinhead to a large grapefruit. Research showed that more than 60 percent of PKD cases would lead to renal failure.
Maser said that between 12 and 15 million people were affected by PKD,
making the disorder more prevalent than cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, hemophilia, Down's syndrome and sickle cell anemia combined. She said that one in 500 people had the dominant gene that could result in PKD and that two genes — PKD1 and PKD2 — recently had been identified as possible culprits.
The grant was awarded by NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in collaboration with the Polycystic Kidney Research Foundation. The Kansas City, Mo., foundation is geared entirely toward PKD research. The grant will subsidize research on five different areas and one pilot project. Each of the areas will investigate various details concerning the disease, from gene mutations in primitive organisms to the cause of cysts in mammals.
"Finding a cure for PKD will be long-term," Maser said. "We don't expect to find a cure in five years, but we hope that the research in the short-term will lead to better therapies."
She said that kidney dialysis and
transplantation were the only treatments now available for PKD.
Maser said that almost 10 percent of the money spent on kidney dialysis went to treat patients with PKD.
To study the hypothesis, a PKD1 gene mutation will be caused in mice, and at a later point a second mutation will be induced externally to determine if outside factors were needed to cause the disease.
Kenneth Peterson, principal investigator in the pilot project, said he was involved in researching a theory that the disease was caused by internal and external forces.
"We hope that by understanding the cause of the disease, we might be able to find points to intervene and treat it," Peterson said.
"I'm testing the two-hit hypothesis," said Peterson, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. "It actually takes two mutations to cause the disease, one inherited and one external cause where both alleles are mutated."
— Edited by Jennifer Roush
Lawrence women unite to oppose violence
Continued from page 1A
"We are resilient," she said. "We can make what is, into what it should be."
women would be the target of sexual abuse, emerging programs could offer hope.
Sharon Levin, co-editor of The Liberty Press, spoke about a type of abuse rarely discussed.
"For three long years," she said, "I was beaten and abused repeatedly in my home by my girlfriend."
Levin said she didn't tell anyone because she wanted heterosexuals to see her relationship as a positive example.
The organization Foods Not Bombs served dinner before the performances and speeches, and booths from community organizations circled the park.
Lisa Miller, volunteer for the Douglas County AIDS Project, said the organization's booth offered a convenient way to get information without a lot of questions.
The Clothesline Project, consisting of about 70 T-shirts, also was on display.
Volunteer Breeze Luetke-Stahlman pins a patch on second grader Tracy Carter at Womyn Take Back the Night at South Park. Patches could be purchased for one dollar. Photo by Melissa Thornton/KANSAN
The project is a visual testament to violence against women and children. T-shirts were color-coded to designate types of abuse and offered messages such as, "Sweet 16: Her favorite uncle beat her, raped her, knifed her."
The display also included six white marker T-shirts that replaced shirts
Instead of T-shirts, the event sold patches with this year's logo for $1.
Last year, T-shirts were available for $5.
stolen at a past rally.
At 8 p.m., the women went to Watson Park, between Kentucky and Tennessee streets, to conduct the women's circle. In the circle, the women could tell their stories of abuse and even name their abuser.
In addition to the advocates trained to deal with abused women, substance- abuse advocates were on the site this year for the first time.
The men stayed behind at the gazebo for the men's circle, led by Robert Minor, professor of religious studies.
Minor said the men's circle was important because it allowed women to take back the night without men playing the rescuer.
Following the circles, the women marched back to South Park down Massachusetts Street. The event finished with women demanding an end to violence against women and children.
Edited by John Audlehelm
these photos and others will be on exhibit tomorrow at the Spencer Museum of Art. The exhibit is titled "Facing Death: Portraits from Cambodia's Killing Fields." Contributed Photos
Art museum to exhibit photos from Cambodian killing fields
Erinn R. Barcomb
Special to the Kansan
Visitors to the Spencer Museum of Art will look death in the eye during a photography exhibit that begins tomorrow.
"Facing Death: Portraits from Cambodia's Killing Fields" features photographs of political prisoners minutes before their torture and execution.
"They are strange photographs to see in an art museum," said John Pultz, curator of photography for the art museum. "Museums have embraced all sorts of photographs. I had seen about 22 of them at the Museum of Modern Art in New York."
The collection of 100 prints, on loan from the Photographic Resource Center at Boston University, will be shown at the Kress Gallery until Dec. 19.
Two American photojournalists cleaned up nearly 6,000 black and white negatives in 1994. The negatives had been kept in S21, a Cambodian prison until 1979 when the Vietnamese army liberated the prison and made it a museum of genocide.
From 1975 to 1979, Cambodians suspected of betraying leader Pol Pot and his regime, the Khmer Rouge, were sent to S21. A 16-year-old boy took most of the photographs as part of a meticulous record the regime wanted to keep.
"It's a gruesome idea that you make them a kind of record of the people who went on to be executed." Pultz said.
In the photographs the prisoners wear identifying numbers and stare blankly from a plain background.
Some controversy surrounded the exhibit's proposal. Discussions ensued as to whether placing photographs of genocide in an art museum made them art.
"We're not saying they're art," he said. "We're not saying they're beautiful. We're saying they are powerful images that need to be looked at. To not show them is, in some ways, to be collaborating with the genocide."
Although only a few of the 6,000 negatives will be shown at the exhibit, a Web site with 5,000 photographs is available. Pultz stressed the importance of the site, especially for family members trying to locate those who had disappeared.
During the exhibit, a computer in the gallery will be logged on to the site, www.vale.edu/cgp/.
"It's not just about the pictures on the wall," Pulz said. "It's about the 5,000 pictures, and people trying to locate family members."
In addition to the photographs, the art museum will offer other programs relating to the exhibit, including KU Perspectives lectures and tours.
Mike Cuenca, assistant professor of visual communications, knew about the exhibit, but because of the strong content, did not want to use it for his photojournalism class.
"I don't have the guts to go see it myself," he said. "I don't want to go see it, but I’m glad it’s here."
Cuencia said important lessons could be learned by displaying photographs of genocide in an art museum.
"You could criticize the Holocaust Museum for the same thing, but it's incredibly important to learn these lessons," he said. "I don't think we should put them in a box somewhere."
— Edited by Darrin Peschka
Creepy Crawly Cauldron of prizes & coupons, Kansas & Burge Union stores
Register to win a signed copy of "Fear Nothing" by Dean Koontz in the Mt. Oread Bookshop, Kansas Union
Specials Include:
• 25¢ Cake Donuts
• 1/2 Price Chili
• Count Dracula Bites
• Halloween Oasis Drink
• Pumpkin Soup
available in the Hawk's Nest &
Union Square, Kansas Union
20% off bulk Candy
Candy Corn Count - Guess the correct number of candy corn and win a free pound of candy of your choice!
Register to win a Techno-Party for five, includes unlimited bowling & shoe rental
Level 1,864-3545
Free Halloween Candy & Pumpkin Painting
$1.50 Techno-Bowling
9 a.m.- 3 p.m.
Specials Include:
· 25¢ Cake Donuts
· 1/2 Price Chili
Free Halloween Candy & Pumpkin Painting
Specials in the KU Bookstore and free treats in the Crimson Cafe
Sponsored by the Kansas and Burge Unions · 864-4596 · www.jayhawks.com/unions