WSM Spring 2002

Spring 2002

Treatments for congestive heart failure focus of study

For this alum, age is no obstacle

“I asked what would happen if I die before the research is over. They said, ‘We’ll try to find out where you are and sue you.’ ”—Dr. Gordon Maurice

With some amusement, Dr. Gordon L. Maurice (’40, Chem) describes the call he received last year from the Canadian National Heart Institute. Canadian health officials wanted him—at age 83—to be a primary investigator in a four-year international study on congestive heart failure treatments.

No matter that he retired from his cardiology practice 17 years ago and works in clinical research only three days a week. The Canadians knew Maurice … » More …

Spring 2002

Shanthi delivers 350-pound calf

The wait is over.

Shanthi, a 25-year old Asian elephant (Washington State Magazine, Nov. 2001), delivered a 325-pound male calf November 25, 2001 at the National Zoo in Washington, DC.

Janine Brown (’80 M.S., ’84 Ph.D. Animal Sci.) coordinated the artificial insemination of Shanthi 21 months earlier. A former graduate student of Jerry Reeves, professor of animal science at Washington State University, she is the senior endocrinologist at the Smithsonian Institution National Zoological Park.

Shanthi was given to the zoo in 1976 by the people of Sri Lanka, where she was orphaned as a baby. She delivered her first calf, Kumari, at the zoo in … » More …

Spring 2002

A salon of their own

Good conversation should bring about a transcendental melding of minds and dissolve class and ideological differences.

The funniest things Washington State University historian Steve Kale ran across in researching his latest book were the accounts of how much early 19th-century French women hated going to England. For England was much like the provinces. In other words, it was not Paris.

On social occasions, English men and women would eat dinner together, but not talk much. Afterwards, the men would retire to the salon, where they would smoke cigars and talk politics. English women would drink tea and chat. “The French women,” says Kale, “found it … » More …

Spring 2002

“You’ll miss it”

“I liked science classes because they were applicable, and I’ve always been logical. But music adds some structure.”

Nothing navigates the left brain-right brain divide more effectively than guilt and loyalty.

For proof, just pick the brains of Washington State University plant pathologist/cellist Jane Jung-Hae Choi. She switches with ease between running through experiment protocols and symphony movements, thanks to the bicameral prick of expectation.

It worked that way in her science. Offered the choice in summer 1996 between two fellowships through the State University of New York, one at Syracuse Medical Center and one at Geneseo in plant research, Choi chose the plant research … » More …

Spring 2002

It came from outer space

The dust on your mantelpiece may be more interesting than it appears at first swipe. Some of it may be from outer space. While that may not make much difference to your dust rag, some feel that extraterrestrial dust might help explain the cyclical nature of the Earth’s climate, says Ed Brook, assistant professor of geology and environmental science at Washington State University’s Vancouver campus.

Brook and his collaborators have developed a method to measure the extraterrestrial dust found in the ice cores taken at Vostok, Antarctica. It involves filtering the dust out of the ice core, a process that takes four days per sample, … » More …

Spring 2002

The other side of the coin

Making financial decisions is difficult to begin with—even more so when we let our emotions get in the way.

“Greed is good,” says Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street.

Although I would not go quite that far, greed is a natural human emotion. A Wall Street adage states that two factors move the market: fear and greed. This perception is fueled partly by the media and partly by reporters who wish to be dramatic but may not fully understand what truly drives the market. While ideas of fear and greed have dramatic potential, the characterization is far too simplistic. The human mind is too … » More …

Spring 2002

The Cougars win their place in the sun

Forget the adage, “Nice guys finish last.” Coach Mike Price and his Washington State football team are proof to the contrary. The Cougars overcame a 20-17 halftime deficit to defeat Purdue 33-27 December 31 in the Sun Bowl at El Paso. The crowd of 47,812 included more than 5,000 diehard Cougar fans.

WSU surprised nearly everyone, except possibly the Cougar players themselves and their coaches, after the media picked WSU to finish in the Pac-10 cellar. The Sun Bowl win improved the Cougars’ record to 10-2. Only the 1929 and 1997 teams have fared as well since football became a fall pastime in Pullman in … » More …

Spring 2002

Track—Women’s team strong, men’s team well-balanced

“We need the new people to raise that level of performance and take over leaderships roles in some areas.”—Coach Rick Sloan

Coach Rick Sloan has good reason to be optimistic. He welcomes back five All-Americans to the Washington State University women’s track and field team. Joining them will be several top returnees and a bevy of talented newcomers.

“The women’s team seems to be very strong right now,” says Sloan, entering his 29th season at WSU and eighth as head coach. “We’re real excited about what the newcomers are going to be able to accomplish.”

The fact that WSU will host the Pac-10 Championships May … » More …

Spring 2002

Mooney banking on improved pitching

Good pitching is like money in the bank. It’s there when you need it, and it can carry you over the rough spots.

That’s the philosophy of Washington State University baseball coach Tim Mooney.

Last season, Mooney’s first at WSU, quality pitching was thin, particularly in the tough Pacific-10 Conference where teams typically play three games in three days. Too often, he was forced to remove his starting pitcher as early as the second, third, or fourth inning of a game and bring in a succession of other arms. That’s no way to succeed, he says. If a starting pitcher can go seven innings “that’s … » More …

Spring 2002

What’s killing Lassie?

For years, veterinarians and dog owners have known that some collies can die when given Ivermectin, a drug commonly used against parasites in animals and humans. But no one knew why.

That is until Katrina Mealey, a researcher in the Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, suspected P-glycoprotein was involved. P-glycoprotein is thought to have developed to protect the body from environmental toxins.

To test her theory she needed blood samples from collies. Enter Dot Newkirk, a microbiologist with an office a few doors down from Mealey’s. Newkirk, a collie owner, enlisted the help of the Inland Empire Collie Club in Spokane.

“I expected … » More …