OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY CORVALLIS, OREGON 97331
The Daily Barometer
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DAILYBAROMETER
MONDAY APRIL 27, 2015 VOL. CXVII, NO. 124
@DAILYBARO, @BAROSPORTS
G a w Sorority
celebrates quinceanera Kappa Chapter of Gamma Alpha Omega Sorority, Inc. celebrates 15 years By Jyssica Yelas
THE DAILY BAROMETER
Saturday night, cheerful yells and music rang out from the Memorial Union Horizon room, where the Kappa Chapter of Gamma Alpha Omega Sorority, Incorporated at Oregon State University was celebrating its quinceanera. That is, the sorority was celebrating 15 years of Kappa Chapter sisterhood on campus, making the chapter the See GAO | page 2
‘Dear OSU’ forum for student feedback THE DAILY BAROMETER
“Dear OSU” returns Tuesday April 28. The event, hosted by the Associated Students of Oregon State University, is an opportunity for the Oregon State University community to give feedback to ASOSU. Formerly known as the Annual Gripe Fest, “Dear OSU,” serves to “provide a safe and inclusive forum for students to voice their comments, concerns and constructive criticisms about their experiences at Oregon State,” according to the ASOSU website. The website states that the information collected from the “Dear OSU” event will be distributed to “key decisions makers across campus.” The event takes place in the Memorial Union Lounge from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 28. The Daily Barometer
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A glance at OSU’s chapter of Society of Women Engineers News, page 3
Meghan Vandewettering
| THE DAILY BAROMETER
Andrew Pham, a senior in microbiology, inspects petri dishes containing his bacterial strain of Stephylococcus aurea. Pham investigates natural products’ potential to fight against diseases.
Little microbes, big possibilities Undergraduate research assistant hopes to discover the next best antibiotic in nature
Oregon State University’s Chemistry Department, National Institute of Health award-winning researcher and a native from Germany. “Since we’ve been at Oregon State, we’ve discovBy Meghan Vandewettering ered many active strains, several of THE DAILY BAROMETER which are anti-cancer, antibiotic and How would you react if someone some anti-viral. Since we’re just a year told you that the next penicillin was and a half in the game, we’re still kind in production nearby the Memorial of figuring out the best ways to find Union Building among the various and identify new chemistry.” The focus of Loesgen’s illustriblooming plants? Andrew Pham, a senior studying ous career in science, which has included awards microbiology, is and fellowships an undergraduate with NIH and the research assistant Industry moved away German Research working in Sandra from antibiotics and Foundation, has Loesgen’s Chemistry natural prodfocused on synthetic been lab in Gilbert Hall. ucts and drug Pham’s research chemistry, but it didn’t discovery. focuses on natural really work. Nature “All my postproducts — manudoc was centered does it still better. factured compounds around natural from the world’s products,” Loesgen tiniest organisms Sandra Loesgen said. “Natural prodthat could have an Assistant professor in the Chemistry ucts are all molincredible impact Department ecules we find in on drug design and nature, produced by medicine. plants or microbes, that don’t have “It’s actually pretty funny — we found a real purpose — so molecules that one bacterium close to the Memorial are produced under certain environUnion Building. We grabbed soil sam- mental circumstances. For example, ples there; you don’t have to go far,” penicillin,” said Loesgen. “That’s what said Loesgen, assistant professor in we do. We work with microbes to try n
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Oregon State softball faces defeat against the Bruins Sports, page 5
Meghan Vandewettering
| THE DAILY BAROMETER
A controlled temperature bacteria refrigerator contains the various bacterial strains used by Sandra Loesgen and her lab. and find new chemistry.” Loesgen studies drug discovery at OSU for a reason. According to Loesgen, pharmaceutical companies are becoming less and less interested in the expensive and time-consuming process of developing new antibiotics. “You take an antibiotic when you’re sick with a certain infection, and after two weeks, you’re cured. There’s not much money to make and the development for those drugs is a really,
“Yoga Pants” poem in question odd, but not sexist Forum, page 7
really long and expensive process. Over 50 percent of our drugs are made from compounds found in nature, but it’s a long process to find those and to analyze natural products,” Loesgen said. “Industry moved away from antibiotics and focused on synthetic chemistry, but it didn’t really work. Nature does it still better.” They begin their drug discovery process by growing a species of bacSee RESearch | page 4
Dr. Tech on how we sometimes foreshadow the future Forum, page 7