THE UNIVERSITY OF HARVARD
MONDAY FEBRIARY 19, 2007
-
NEWS
3A
Meet and greet
Jae C. Hong/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama (D-II), center, is greeted by supporters as he arrives at the Clark County Government Center in Las Vegas on Sunday. Obama raided against "slash and burn" politics in Washington in a brief stop in Los Angeles, his first since the Democrat declared his presidential ambitions.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Homemade bombs become new threat
BY LARA JAKES JORDAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
QUANTICO, Va. — Kirk Yeager makes bombs from the stuff found under kitchen sinks. He does it to help the FBI defend against what officials say is the next frontier for terrorists in the United States.
Ten years ago, peroxide-based bombs were mostly the work of young pranksters. But the easy to make yet deadly chemical cocktails were embraced in the late 1990s by Palestinian militants and suicide
bombers bent on killing large groups of people.
Now, Yeager says, the "Mother of Satan" explosives are considered the most likely weapon that terrorists will use against the U.S., more so than a nuclear or radiological bomb.
"Every serious terrorist group knows about them and knows how to make them," Yeager said. The forensic scientist heads the explosives unit at the FBLs laboratory in Quantico, Va., about 35 miles south of Washington.
"Bad guys are bombers. You don't
have to have the level of sophistication to make a bomb that you need to get nuclear materials." Yeager said.
The bombs are made by mixing chemicals that are used in common household items, including hydrogen peroxide and paint thinner, and easily found at drug stores or hardware stores. Experts know them as TATP, short for triacetone triperoxide, and HMTD, or hexamethylene triperoxide diamine.
Counterterrorist authorities say terrorists planned to mix a solution similar to TATP in last summer's
thwarted attacks on as many as 10 London-to-U.S. flights — leading to the crackdown on bringing liquids aboard airlines.
Also, ecoterrorists and animal rights extremist groups such as Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front are believed by authorities to use peroxide-based explosives.
Yeager, 41, who helps solve bombing cases by investigating the crime scene debris, is the only U.S. official who makes TATP and similar explosives in mass quantities.
HEALTH
Tasty medicine
BY RANDOLPH E. SCHMID ASSOCIATED PRESS
Antioxidant in cocoa increase blood flow to brain
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO - A nice cup of the right kind of cocoa could hold the promise of promoting brain function as people age.
Medical researchers are seeing more cases of dementia and are looking for ways to make brains work better.
One potential source of help may be flavanols, an antioxidant found in cocoa beans that can increase blood flow to the brain, researchers said Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
lan MacDonald of England's University of Nottingham reported on tests given to young women who were asked to do a complex task while their brains were being studied with magnetic resonance imaging.
Among the women given drinks of cocoa high in flavanols, there was a significant increase in blood flow to the brain compared with subjects who did not drink the cocoa, he said.
This raises the prospect of using flavanols in the treatment of dementia, marked by decreased blood flow in the brain, and in maintaining overall cardiovascular health, he said.
The next step, MacDonald said, is to move from healthy subjects to people who have "compromised" blood flow to the brain.
Norman Hollenberg of Harvard Medical School said he found similar health benefits in the Cura Indian tribe in Panama. They drink cocoa exclusively.
But the cocoa typically sold in markets is low in flavanols, which usually are removed because they impart a bitter taste. Hollenberg said. He also said the findings did not mean people should indulge in chocolate.
"Chocolate is a delight. It can
never be a health food because we have a calorie problem," Hollenberg ...34
But, he added, in cocoa a lot of fat is removed from the chocolate.
Hollenberg, an expert in blood pressure, studied the Cuna because those who live on native islands do not have high blood pressure.
He said he found that when tribe members move to cities, their blood pressure rises. A major difference is the consumption of their own prepared cocoa, which is high in flavanols. In native areas, that is all they drink; in cities they adopt the local diet.
In addition to having low blood pressure, Hollenberg said, there were no reports of dementia among the native Cuna.
Henriette van Praag of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies discussed the effects of a specific flavanol, Epichatechin, in tests in mice.
She said when that chemical was added to their food, the mice showed improved ability to solve a maze and remembered it longer than mice without the flavanol. She said Epichatechin affected the hipocampus, the brain area important in memory.
In a study reported a year ago, older men in the Netherlands who ate the equivalent of one-third of a chocolate bar every day had lower blood pressure and a reduced risk of death.
The researchers said, however, it was too early to conclude that chocolate led to better health. The men who ate more cocoa products could have shared other qualities that made them healthier.
Hagen Schroeter of Mars Inc., the candy company that paid for some of the research reported Sunday, said that in addition to cocoa, flavanols occur in other foods such as fruits, tea and wine that have been associated with dilation of the arteries.
THIS WEEK ON CAMPUS
2007 KU Jewish Film Series
All films are FREE
All films are FREE
February 6 - FREE ZONE
7:30PM - Adrian Addison Auditorium Kansas University
for free with admission to the film. Free with up to two tickets. Free with up to three tickets. Expiration date:
February 13 - NOBODY'S BUSINESS
7:03PM - Woodward/Austinfield - Kansas State
*Inbound* Alexander explores the details of a father's failure to provide his child with the necessary life skills after the birth. *Co-Explainer* with the Department of Education
February 20 — WHEN DO WE EAT?
7:30PM · Audition Auditorium · Kansas University
6:14 Group and Matt Kail Song · A family-friendly
song by Joshua McKinney performed on the Performance
Hall of the Professionals. Performance Hall was
February 27 - SHALOM Y'ALL and DELTA JEWS
7:30PM - Alden Auditorium - Kansas Union
Dedicated Feeder! See two notes on the baskery and
battery for more information.
Sponsored by the Earl J. and Lenna K. Transl
Special Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation
KU
Kluwer Jewish
Middle
School
LJCK
Sports Marketing Club
Charity Flag Football Tournament
Benefiting: The Health Care
Access Clinic
When: This Saturday!
Were: Broken Arrow Park
(31st and Louisiana)
Boys: 9:00am
Girls: 11:30am
Great Prizes Available!!
•KC Royals Tickets
•KU Cross
•NFL Apparel
•Gift Certificates
•much much more
- All participants will get a free t-shirt and a chance to win courtside tickets for KU vs. Texas!
"Handicapping the 2008 Election"
An Interview with America's Foremost Political Prognosticator
Charlie Cook
Publisher of The Cook Political Report
http://www.cookpolitical.com/
February 19th,2007
Wednesday
Feb. 21, 2007
7:30pm
At the Institute
Attention
YOUR AD HERE
ROBERT J. DOLE
INSTITUTE OF POLITICS
1280 Park Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20006
www.robertj.dole.edu
Attention Student Groups: If your student organization is registered with the Student Involvement and Leadership Center, you may get FREE ADVERTISING here in the Kansan through Student Senate!
If you have any questions contact
Andrew Payne
apayne@ku.edu
Email chrisblackstone@ku.edu for more information.
Student Senate
The Student Snate is looking to fill the following empty seats:
2 Fres./Soph. CLAS
1 Engineering
4 Graduate
2 Non-Traditional
If you are interested in filling one of these open spots, pick up an application in the Student Senate office, Room 410
Kansas Union.
KU College Republicans
Meeting TOMORROW February 20th at 7:00pm Parlor Room Kansas Union
Sports Marketing Club
Come join the KU Sports Marketing Club and guest speaker
Chris Theisen,
Assistant Athletics Director for Media Relations.
Tomorrow at 7:00 p.m.
English Room, 6th Floor Kansas Union
THE STREET WEEK
February 19:24
Monday, Feb. 19 Hawks for Health
Tuesday, Feb. 20
Jubilee Care
Student tutoring for literacy information
Lawrence Humane Society
Healing Unit Generations (HUG)
Wednesday Feb. 21
Music Merge: Drips or jigsaw?
Mids with Kids and Gifts Club
Natural Tie of All: Basketball Game
Natural Tie of All: Basketball Game
Thursday, F22
EARTH Recycle - A-thon
Veggie Lunch
Wakayama wetlands tour
Friday, Feb. 23
Jukebox Case
Empty Boat Project
Alternative weekend Beaks' Lawrence
Kansas CONNECTIONS Helping Small Town Students Succeed
Join us for events throughout the semester!!!
From trips to the pumpkin patch or special gallery tours, from our mentoring program to service projects we are here for YOU!
All are welcome, membership is free,and meetings and event times vary.
For more information, check out our website (http://www.ku.edu/-connect) or email us at ksconnections@ku.edu.
PAID FOR BY KU
A four week look at dating marriage and fig leaves Tuesdays @ 8:00 p.m. February 6th,13th,20th,27th
GET NAKED Redefining Intimacy
www.wesleyku.org
Sexuality Education Committee Presents:
Sexuality Education Committee Presents:
Human Sexuality in Everyday Life With Dr. Dennis Dailey KU Professor of Social Welfare
This non-credit course is designed with the realities of the collegeaged person in mind, with a focus on how sexual development has occurred thus far in their lives, how it is presently being experienced and expressed, and what might occur in the continuous development of healthy adult sexuality.
Thursdays 6:30-8:30pm Beginning February 1 for 10 sessions at the ECM
Register at the FCM any day from 10am-4pm
Students $15 and Non Students $45 ($55 late registration fee after
January 26th)
For more information contact the RM office at 843-4933.
blueprints leading the colorado
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2007
9:00AM - 2:30PM
KANAS SUNION
IS10 REGISTRATION
SCHOOL DISTRICT 10
Student Leadership &
Leadership Center
Student Senate
Coca Cola
www.cocacola.com
9