Fall 1992 by Endeavors

VAI{IAGE POIII'T

Making the U.S. Competitive

fF I I

n. University of North Carolina at

Chapel Hill serves muttiple constituencies. And

it pursues multiple

missions. Undergraduate education is easily understood. The ioyous mood of commencement is set by undergraduaies, who have surprises in store as they scimper across Kenan Stadium. North

Carolinians understand and appreciate this function of their university because so many of them have been undergraduates here. A second function, that of professional education, is easily understood in community life, where the benefits of service are apparent. Tar Heels know that physicians and nurses, pharmacists, school teachers, librarians, journalists, lawyers, and business professionals come from somewhere and all have an idea where,..lrom professional schools like those at UNC{hapel Hill. A third function, however, is less visible. Society seems not to know whence spring the professors who teach ttre undergraduates and professional students...where it is that those "great professors" they so enioyed actually came from. Indeed, the citizens of North Carolina may not know that 35% of the enrollment of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill already holds a B.A. or B.S. degree and is pursuing a graduate (28%) or prolessional degree (7%). A fourth mission is research, often presented in public debates as antithetical to good unde4raduate education. Yet Chapel Hill remains excellent at both. We are a distinguished graduate research university, yet one in which senior laculty revel in teaching lower dMsion courses and in sharing the insight that Imowledge is contingent, always subiect to revision. How does UNC relate to the debate on national productivity? A consensus is emerging that investment in education is crucial to improving our global competitiveness. Effort is clearly needed at the most basic level, helping all citizens to become literate, numerate, and to have skills valued in the marketplace. Another educational challenge will come from training the next generation of professors and researchers, upon whom we depend for organizational and technical innovations. Graduate education produces such innovators. UNC awarded its iirst Ph.D. in 1883, hard on the heels of Johns Hopkins, the first U.S. universi$ to offer

doctoral education. Growth in gaduate education was slow until the post World War ll era. In the 1920s only 600 doctorates were awarded annualty from 14 U.S. universities, but by 19i0, more then 33,000 were awarded by 350 U.S. institutions. While the number has remained constant for the last 20 years, the makeup of advanced degree aspirants has not. Doctoral education has become intemationalized-3O% ol these students are non<itizens. The representation of women in graduate programs is also increasing-from a stagnant 15%

in the late 60s to more than 30% by 1990. 0f increasing concern, however, is the fact that Alrican Americans and Hispanics are poorly rEresented among doctoral recipients, particularly if professional fields are excluded. What are the implications of these trends lor national competitiveness? First, a significant percentage ol the international students we train will retum home. They will speak English, have technical skills and will understand how the U.S. works, Who will the U.S. produce who speals Japanese or Korean, who has technical skills and understands the Far East? And if the U.S. were to produce

such people, could it happen without graduate education? Scond, early in the 21st century the total of AIrican-, Hispanic-, Nativ+, and Asian-Americans will constitute a majority of this society. Can we be competitive if we fail to unleash the talent ol any of these groups? 0r ol women? National competitiveness equals skilled labor power throughout the whole of society. With Dean Henry H, Dearman and the Administrative Board ol the Graduate School, as with individual departments and curricula, my office will work to enhance UNC's century-long tradition of graduate education by recruiting, nurturing and monitoring the career progress of a new generation ol UNC graduate degree holders, which must of necessity include lar more femaies and people of color.

,,41/ 0 n/ lr l7t4 4UL Crtaztcaa_ -

Marv Sue

cdrrn

Vice Chanceltor for Graduate Education and Research Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics

Recommended reading: IV.G. Bowen and N.L. Rudenstine, In Pursuit of the Ph.D., Princeton Uniuersity hess, 1992.

Research and Graduate Education at The University of North Carolina

at Chapel

Hill/ Fall 1992 lVolume

DEPARTMENTS

Endeavorr

Reseuch and Graduate Educatlon at The University ol North Carolina at Chapel Hill

NEIVSMAIGN: Carolina Faculty in the Hmdlines DNA Delivery

lS2

Fall

X, Number I

Univenity Research and the MARIOIPLACI Edgell's Cells

Volume X, Number I

A May Apple a Day

Endeauon is a magazine published three times a

year by the 0flice ol Research Services at

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Each issue ol fndeauon describes only a lew of the

many research prolects undertaken by laculty and

Cystic Fibrosis, see poge 10

DIAIOGIJE: Issues in Higher Education Library Resources Networking for the Future by Will )wen Preserving the Printed Page by lohn B. Rutledge CAROIINA OPINION: Tar Heels Speak Out

students ol the University.

Environmental Concerns by Beuerly Wigins Rquests lor permission to reprint matuial, rcders'

VITA: A Profrle Joseph Carter

comments and requests for extra copies should be sent to Editor, &dear,on, Cffice o{ Research Services, CB# 4100, 3,00 Bynum Hall, The

Carolina at Chapel Hill,

Unhusig ol North

Chafl l{ill,

WHERE IS. . ,Ihe Tooth FairT From? A Carolina Expert Explains

SCH0IARIY PUNUITS: Student Research

NC 275994100

(919/96&5620.

Partners in Cleanup Child's Play

Chancellor Paul Hardin Vice OtancelW for Gmduote Studies and Research

Mary Sue Coleman

COVER STORY

Director, Afice ol Research Senices Robert

Iownan Small Claims, see page 12

tj J

Hot Enough ForYou? Professor Questions the Greenhouse Effect

by kott Lowry

Adoiswy Bmrd for ORS Arb/icotrons Philip Carl Kenneth Coleman Katherine High

FEAIURIS

Douglas Kelly Carol Reuss

Editor

lT?ffii,ffflment

lssistant Milon

f, 12

Lisa Blansett Dottie Hom

ftott

Seeking Justice What Small Claims Litigants Want from the Law by Dottie Hom

Lowry

Christina S. Stock Photographer

Wll 0wens Design

MartellDesign

ror cystic Fibrosis by Chistina S Stocft

Brenda Powell

Mollushs and Dental Folhlore,

t t l+

ARavofHone Electiic Ray bystrophin and Muscular Dystrophy by Dottie Hom

see page 18

H'lltf,il'ffinword

Herps Historicar Linguists Recover

Forgotten Languages @1992 by the University of North Carolina at

by koft Loury

Chapel Hill in the United States.

AII rights raerved. No part of this publication may be rEroduced without the consent ol The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

C)VER: hofessor Peter Robinson of the geography department, uho has spent tuo decades studving the clinate of Chapel Hitl and the southeastem United States. has found thal many popular perceptions about the climate are wrong. Feu people, for instance, reolize thlt the region has actually cooled ouer the pasl four decades or that the term "greenhouse effect" is a misnomer.

Carolina Faculty in the Headlines

NEWSMAKERS

"We can

nou deliuer bigger

DNA, more

DNA and DNA of any functional design into cells. Because

of the strategt ue employ,

we haue the potential to accomplish this in

a much safer manner than with other systems. " Curiel -David

"We can now deliver bigger DNA, more DNA

DNA Delivery

and DNA of any functional design into cells," Curiel esearchers at UNC-CH have discovered a

says. "Because of the strategy we employ, we have the potential to accomplish this in a much safer

revolutionary way to deliver healthy genes into genetically defective human cells. This

manner than with other systems."

process of replacing defective genes with healthy

Curiel's technique involves Iinking segments

ones offers a potential cure for many illnesses, such

of DNA (the healthy genes) to inactivated adeno

as cystic fibrosis.

viruses (doublestranded DNA viruses), a process

Dr, David Curiel, assistant professor of medi-

very much like hitching a trailer (the genes) to a truck (the virus), he explains. Curiel says he chose adenoviruses, which are usually responsible for colds and other respiratory diseases, because of their affinity Ior epithelial cells

cine and member of the University's Cystic Fibrosis Center, uses viruses to transport an unprecedented

number of healthy genes into cells.

lining the airways. Although potential safety hzards

exist when using viruses, Curiel says it will be possible to selectively exploit the portion ol the virus that enters the cell and dispense with the poten-

tially hazardous viral

genes.

When the adenovirus, the truck, delivers the DNA, the trailer, the virus drives throush the cell's

outer membrane and penetrates the nucleus, where the defective genes lie. Until now, senes had to be carried inside viruses,

which meant only a limited number of genes could be transported. Also, because they were inside, the genes had to be compatible with the virus's own genetic information, thus limiting the design of the genes. Curiel's approach, carrying genes on the

outside, overcomes these obstacles. Curiel and seven colleagues copublished a paper 0n these innovations in the April issue of the journal Humcn Gene Therapy. Drs. Ping{huan Hu,

.:-:

Santosh Agarwal, Cheng-Ming Li and Steve Loechel

of UNC{H and Drs. Ernst Wagner, Matt Cotten and Max Birnstiel of the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (lMP) in Vienna, Austria, coauthored the paper.

The University and IMP have applied for three patents on their new approach to gene therapy.

! O

l'h' f)Ltt'rtl ( irrrel uses iiderroi;uuses to hanspott healthv genes inb rlefactirc

ccLls

Uniuersity Research and the

MARKETPI.ACE

Edgell's Cells

A May Apple a Day

f f ur* blood will clot when it contacts most 7ft fl tittuo of the body+xcept endothelial cells. I I lttrese cells line all blood vessels and play I

Lee and his colleagues haue synthesked

Cherokee used its roots to induce vomit

an essential role in circulation. Research on endo

ing, purg. ttr. ryrt., *O kill intestinal worms. ln the nineteenth century doctors claimed it cured warts and restored hearing. Today,

thelial cells is important for understanding aspeds

two l.lNC{H researchers have derived a drug from

of a rrariety of serious aihnents: AIDS, cancer, high blood

the North American May apple which may prove an

pressure, atherosclerosis, transplant rejections,

effective lorm of treatment lor several types of cancer.

diabetes and arthritis, to name a few

and tested about 400 comryunds under the support of o gront from the Ameican Cancer Society. Its proiected use is to combat smallcell lung cancer, says Dr. Wouter Latour, director of corporate

Dr. KuoHsiung Lee, Kenan professor at the

development at Genelabs.

school of pharmacy, and Dr. Yung{hi Cheng, a former

The short life span of human endothelial cells in culture consistently plogues efforts

to undentand them, but Edgell

deueloped o line that can continuously regenerate in culture. Her continuous

The compound seems to work by causing

professor of pharmacology at UNC{H, now with Yale University's medical school,

breaks in the DNA inside cancer cells, Lee says. It

extractd the experi-

also inhibits an enryme called topoisomerase Il.

menial compound lrom the flowering herb in 1988.

"GLl)31 blocks the catalytic actMty of the

Genelabs Technologies Inc. of Redwood City,

enzyme by stabilizing an enzymeDNA complex in

Califomia, Iicensed rights to the compound through UNC{H's patent office. The company named the

which the DNA is cleaved and covalently linked to the enzyme," Lee says. "This may be the key step leading to the death of cancer cells."

semi-synthetic compound GL33l.

In animal tests, GI^331 appears to be five to l0 times more potent, yet less toxic, than a standad cancertreating drug called etoposide, also known

human cell line, E4,hfr26, is a hybid of an endothelial cell from an umbilical cord uein and a cell of an established

it seems that aginst cells that have become

as VePesid or M']-16. In addition, GI-331 is effective

human cell line, A549.

resistant to etoposide, a major problem in cancer chemotherapy. Properties ol endothelial cells, however, pose

Researchers at the UNC{H

serious practical problems to the researcher, maling

work on them dfficult and frustrating, Because these

cells are only found in blood vessel linings, they are very hard to isolate, Cora-Jean Edgell, associate

professor of pathology, explains. Besides the rela-

compounds under the support of a grant from the

American Cancer Society.

.g .a

to be able to replicate and they die,'a predictable characteristic of human cells, she says.

The short life span of human endothelial cells in cultue consistently plagUa efforts to understand

l J

them, but Edgell has developed a line that can con-

tinuously regenerate

an established human cell line, A549. More than a dozen pharmaceutical companies have licensed Edgell's cell line for research, including Bayer, ParkeDavis, Glaxo and ICI Pharmaceutica.l.

r ...,i.,:

independent investigators around the world: in Canada, Holland, Australia, Italy, Spain, Belgium and

The May apple or Podophyllum pelatum could be

the United States.

derived cells make a blood pressure regulating molecule called endothelin. Others are interested

in arthritis. It is very uselul to have endothelial cells in culture to leam about their role in such inflammatory diseases."

Scandinavia, Hong Kong, England, Germany, France,

are interested in EAhy926 because endothelium-

able to do just

that.'

Genelabs develops products for diagnosing

North America and Pacific Rim countries. Latour says he does not want to raise expectations beyond reasonable levels but adds that the drug appears very promising, "lf the drug work well in clinical trials, it could be on the market within a few years after

She has also supplied EA.b,926 to almost 200

number of companies

the drug resistance problem, Latour says. "Tests performed to date indicate that GI-331 might be

established in 1984, concentrates 0n markets in

thelial cell from an umbilical cord vein and a cell of

There is a big push in the pharmaceutical industry t0 come up with drugs that can overcome

and treating viral diseases and cancer. The company,

culture, Her continuous

human cell line, EAhy926, is a hybrid of an endo

Edgell says,

colleagues have synthesized and tested about 400

E l

tive scarcity of these cells, they also have a short life span outside the body. "They no longer seem

fthoolof Pharmacy's

Natural Products Laboratory have been loohng for altematives to etoposide since 1987. Lee and his

possible cancer dnq.

that," Lee says,

/ssues in Higher Education

DIATOGT]E

Networking for ttre Future by Will Owen

f f I UU YY

hile it cannot be disputed that campus uDra.es nee. more money Io acquue and provide access t0 libiary maierials,

rapid changes in technology are bringing about important differences in the way researchers access and use information formerly available only on the

printed page stored in a library building. lf the University is to provide scholars and students with the texts, statistics and tools they need to create and pass on new knowledge, a significant investment in computing and networking technologies must be made. The University must

find resources to build an inlrastructure to deliver and manipulate the vast and ever-increasing amount

ol electronically stored information available to the scholarly communig. At the same time, we must

maintain the integrity of the library's traditional

printed collections. Doing both will be the great challenge facing universities in the coming decade.

While certain inlormation important to

provide high-speed telecommunications links be

searchers has been available in electronic form for

tween campuses, is an important step forward. But

many years-the U.S. Census reports are an example

il a comparable networhng system does not exist

-the

use of these machinereadable documents

was formerly limited to a small number of researchers and required considerable technical expertise. But in the past decade two great changes have

occuned to fundamentally alter the relative importance of computing in the academic environment. The lirst of these changes was, of course, the

on our campus, then the value of the national network to local researchers is severely restricted. The metaphor ol the nation's superhighway system is often used to explain the problem. Huge amounts of data can travel across the country at "65 mph" using NREN, but without the appropriate local infrastructure, they wilt be forced to bump along on the

widespread introduction of personal computers

campus network's "30 mph" back roads.

within the university and the resulting enormous increase in computer literacy. The second was the beginnings of a world-wide, high-speed, telecommunications network that linked computers and com-

0n campus that will answer these concems, the University needs to support local computing re

puterized resources in a way most researchers

obtained over the network. Personal computers

could buely have imagined a decade ago. The first change meant that many more people were able to

and worktations that can reach remote information resources will need to be purchased, installed

exploit the power of computers to advance their research. The second meant that researchers no

and maintained 0n campus. Likewise, adequate storage for the creation and maintenance of locally

longer had to assemble painfully the primary mate

created databases of electronically archived mate

rials they needed and laboriously build their own

rial will be required.

data sets: Thousands of these data sets, from the U.S. Census

to the plays of Shakespeare, were pG

tentially available to them. For that potential to become a reality, the University must invest in its own intemal telecommunications network. The National Research and Education Network (NR$i"), which will in the future

In addition to creating a fiber optic network

sources that can manipulate the data that can be

Most importantly, qualified staff who can assist researchers in the location, transfer and ma-

nipulation of electronic information resources must be available. The University's libraries have a long tradition, not only of acquiring and storing information, but also of providing access to and interpreting

their collections for the research community. Given the appropriate resources, the University libraries can continue and even expand these services. University Librarian James F. Govan has often noted that the major problem facing the research community these days is not so much a lack of oppor-

tunities for expansion as the necessity of choosing among the opportunities available. ln the coming decades, funding for the creation of a technological infrastructure t0 support research must be provided

along with funds required lor print resources. By doing both, generations of scholars and students

to come will have the resources they need.

WILL 0WEN is systems librarian at UNC{H's Academic Alfairs Library.

Library Resources

While rising prices threaten our ability to

Preserving the Printed Page

acquire information from around the world, acidic paper attacks our other flank, leaving our mid-l9th

by John B. Rufledge

f I I

.an

the

ri$t

t is axiomatic that scholars need book. lf we understand how they conduct research, we

r..

they are disidvantaged by not having

boola available when needd. In the humani-

ties and social sciences the researcher often needs

to have many books on hand merely lor consultation. For example, to form a critical assessment of the

novel Rcney one needs to have available not only the great classics of literature, but also other novels from its period lor comparison. The scholar who can g0 t0 the stacl$ and consult a book immediately has

an advantage over the researcher who has to borrow it from another institution at a twoweek delay. Serendipity sometimes promotes our understanding of literature and history, which are among the areas traditionally strong at UNC{H: availabil-

ity and proximate shelving of books lead to new discoveries and insights. ln addition, the systematic display of a body of works on the shelf is in itself educational: "This is Cabell's literary output. This is what the books looked like when they came

out.'

Since the first pieces of vellum were bound

together at one edge t0 create a book, the book has been one of the most important means of recording

human history and of passing krowledge and information from one individual to another. It still is. Nothing else has proved as handy or as enduring.

century and more recent books embrittled. Under use, many of these older books crumble and break.

Libraries face the twosided problem of preserving the older boola in our collections, all the while knowing that many of the new bools entering the collections will someday too be in wretched condition. Scholarly joumals present a special problem. For some disciplines, rapid access to the knowledge contained in joumals is more important than books. Yet the price of joumals rises more sharply each year than the consumer price index. While journals

in the humanities have remained relatively affordable, journals in the sciences can now cost thousands of dollars a year. The relative size and strengh of collections entice professors to leave a poor institution to go

The news is not all bad. UNC{H is not alone in the problems it faces: other libraries feel the budget squeeze as well. The library's friends have come t0 her succor. Walter R. Davis recently contributed nearly a half million dollars to buy books for the library named alter him. Librarians have been able to win grants to preserve and build the collections. There is an active lriends group. The library system faces constant pressure to continue to achieve excellence in traditional ways and at the same time t0 incorporate innovation, change and technical progess. We should not let the

glamor, novelty and appeal of technology blind us

to the importance ol book. Both are necessary.

JOHN B. RUTLEDGE is bibliographer of West Euro

pean resources at UNC{H's Davis Library.

to a better site for research. As our relative size decreases, we become less attractive as a place

to do research. At UNC{H it has been possible until now to conduct many diflerent types of research. Visiting scholars from other countries often remark on the excellence of the collections and services we

pro

vide. The U.S. library system has been the enry of the world. Maintaining this strengh should be a national and local priority.

Good paper can last 500 years. New technologies have come along, but at present, at least, they exist

alongside books. Researchers often use electronic

tools in conjunction with books, increasing the need for printed sources. Electronic tools now enable scholars to identify more articles and bools to consult. As a result of this increased awareness, researchers 0n campus borrow more heavily from other libraries than previously. (JNC{H of course

H ffi tril ffi E ,E ffi IE H

lends many more titles than it borrows.) Despite a slight recession-produced decline, book production has not been seriously curtailed. Leading pubtishers in science, medicine and technology now command $100 for a single book. The United States produces some 80,000 new books each year. Maior western European countries rival

us in scholarly output. However, our ability to acquire necessary books has sulfered not only from diminishing state revenues, but also from the

dollals fall in the world market.

ffi

â&#x201A;Ź

Tarheels Speak

)ut

CAROUNA OPINION This column features information

fron the Carolina Poll conducted by the UNCTH School of loumolism

and Mass Communication and the Institute for Research in Sociol Science

Environmental Concerns by Beverly WiEins The poll asked North Carolina residents how

ost North Carolinians are concerned about environmental quality and act to protect

much they personally worry about several environ-

or improve it, according to a recent study.

mental problems. Not surprisingly, North Carolinians

While respondents reported their own efforts to

In the survey, conducted by the UNC-CH School of

worry most about environmental problems that

improve the environment, they were Iess sure about national efforts. When asked "Do you approve or disapprove of the job that President Bush has done to

Joumalism and Mass Communication and the Institute

affect them directly. North Carolinians report worrying

reduce pollution and protect the environment?",

Ior Research in Social Science, North Carolinians report high levels of environmental concerns and activity.* For instance, even during tough economic times, three out of four North Carolinians favored protecting the environment at the risk of curbing economic growth. Moreover, fewer than one in Iive

"a great deal" about pollution of drinking water (65%), the contamination of soil and water by toxic

North Carolinians were evenly split-39% approving and 39% disapproving, wilh 22% undecided.

waste (62%), air pollution (55%), the loss of natural

Republicans were more likely to approve than were

habitat for wildlife (50%), and the contamination of

Democrats or Independents (52%, compared with

soil and water by radioactivity from nuclear facilities

30% and 36%,

(50%). Considerably fewer of the state's citizens

Bush's environmental policies were also higher

favored policies that $ve priority to economic growth il the environment will suffer t0 some extent as a

expressed concern about more global threats-the loss of tropical rain Iorests (35% "worry a great deal'),

among whites (40%) than African-Americans (33%),

c0nsequence,

acid rain (30%) and global warming (the "green-

with less than high-school, 49% for high-school

"These results suggest that concern about environmental quality is very strong," says John Shelton Reed, director ol the Institute for Research in Social Science at UNC-CH. "The same survey

house effect" 28%).

graduates, 33% for those with some college and 24%

North Carolinians report that they expressed their environmental concerns by participating in conservation and recycling activities. Eighty-seven percent of those questioned indicated that they

for college graduates). Males (44%) approved of

found that North Carolinians are leeling the effects ol the recession," he says, "Satisfaction with their

respectively). Approval rates for

and among those with less education (42% for those

Bush's policies more often than lemales (35%).1 BEVERLY WIGGINS is associate director for research

have voluntarily recycled newspapers, glass, alumi-

development at UNC{H s lnstitute for Research in

family finances is at the lowest point in three years.

num, motor oil or other items. Seventy-one percent

Social Science.

But even in these hard times, they are not willing to sacrifice the environment to promote economic

reported having cut their household's use of energy by improving insulation or changing their heating or air conditioning system. Sixty-five percent said

growth." rSee

poge

for the couer story, "Hot Enough for

they avoided buying or using aerosol sprays; 45% said they have contributed money to an environ-

You?

North Carolinians favor protecting the environment over economic growth:

mental, conservation or wildlife preservation group;

hofessor Questrbns the Greenhouse Effect" uhich feahtru Peter Roblnson, a UNC-CH climatologist.

and 39% said they have avoided buying a specific

product because it was not recyclable.

Io Protect environment

75%

2 f

,9 @

They worry most about problems elose to

home

E 8

less about global issues:

65%

I I

6T/o

EEo/

Ilcnntu,ill

ll l;r"""-' lliliffiy ll l,n,,u,,nnllm:ldo' ldrinkinp

lltoxic

lwater"

ll*urt.

io%

soYo

If-----l[.**il

,'.o/

30%, llllro',ot lll:ffi'lr*--l ll;;i;;y I lLo',or ll

! ai

z}o/o

llAir llwildlife llradioac- lltrooical ll llGlobal llpollutronlltaulat llri,irv ll'a;ritn'estsll,qciarainllwarmingl

lnlormation in this article was gathered in the 0ctober 1991 Carolina Poll, in which 604 adult North Carolinians were interviewed by telephone. The expected error is about plus or minus four

They translate environmental concerns into action:

87%

percent lor the total sample, but is larger for comparisons between groups.

E.N.D.E.A.V.O.R.S

Hot Enough forYou? hofessor Questions the Greenhouse Effect by Scott Lowry

hose who wish to hide their heads in the

sand rather than face the real possibility of the gradual increase of the earth's mean temperature, known as global warming, should take note: over the past 40 years, while many regions have been heating up, the Southeast has cooled

by about 1 degee Fahrenheit. "But it's the sort ol thing only a statistician

could love,' cautions climatologist Peter Robinson, an associate professor in the geography department who has spent the past 20 years studying the climate

of the southeastem United States. He knows better than to believe that the Southeast is guaranteed an exemption from the eflcts of the sotalled greenhouse effect. "This is a very minor cooling trend

with lots of wiggles. It's quite possible that the Southeast may continue to cool. But then, the last two or three years, it seems t0 be getting a little bit warmer.'

The cunent global warmtng started not 10 years ago or euen 50 yean ogo

but

150

yean

ago.

That short warming trend has many supporters of the greenhouse theory saying "l told you so!' But again Robinson urges people to look carefully. "lf you draw the big graph, it tends to look like just another little blip. No telling what's going to happen next year:

it could go up or it could go down. I

wouldn't want to make too much of these trends.' Indeed, increasing average temperatures are nothing new Regional records show that, except for the past 40 years or so, there has been a general warming since the time of the CMI War. But that should be n0 more surprising than the increasing average daily temperatures we see every spring,

For in a way, we are coming out of a long winter: Robinson points out that tree rings, historical records and other evidence indicate that the world eperienced a little ice 4ge from the midlSth century

to the mid-l9th century. What is going on? Some areas are wuming

while others are cooling. The current global warming started not l0 years ago 0r even 50 years ago but 150 years ago. Scientists wamed 20 yeus ago that we might be sliding into another ice age; now

Peter Robinson, at the heyboard uith graduate students in the geolog department, maintains that the media hype surrounding the so<alled greenhouse effect has distracted attention from the real implications of qlobal climatic change.

EoN.D.EoA.V.O.R.S

we worry about the possibility of a greenhouse

Climate is too complex to untangle qutckly, euen uith the assistance

supercomputers.

invest soon in new facilities or we will face brown-

effect. And as Robinson emphasizes, atmospheric

outs. But if those expensive facilities are built and

warming does not work on the same principles as

we have n0 more days in the 90s than we do now, utilities may not sell enough to pay for the new

do greenhouses, which stay warm by reducing evaporation inside and keeping the wind outside. Faced with such conflicting information, what hope can we have that climate

equipment, requiring the government to make yet another costly bailout.

will be stable?

None. "We know that the climate is going to change," says Robinson.

Those who study it hnow that

"lt has been changing for

the last 4.8 billion or s0 years, and I do not believe

climate is also wind, pollution, solar

that it's suddenly going to quit changing now And because we tend to be more and more sensitive to climate, it becomes important that we look forward so that whatever happens, we're prepared."

radiation, pressure, cloud couer

and myriad other factors. People want answers now, but climatolo$sts cannot oblige them. Climate is too complex to untan$e quickly, even with the assistance of supercomputers.

Most of us oversimplify, thinking of climate as temperature and precipitation. Unfortunately, Robinson says, these are not the only variables, simply the easiest to measure. Those who study

it know that

climate is also wind, pollution, solar radiation, pressure, cloud cover and myriad other factors. The intricate interactions among them make current attempts at global prediction little more than guesses.

The problem becomes even more complex as millions of people begin to wonder how global

warming will alfect climate in their own neck of the woods. "We get more and more questions in terms of 'What's the climate going to be like for me? How will it affect my job?' We can't deal with all those,' Robinson admits. "There iust aren't enough climatologists to go around." But people still need to Changing climate means more thun chonging temperatures. Robinson uses compute$ both

study past precipitation

patterns. as uith this graphic shcsu,ing rainfall ocross r\orth Carolina on )ctober 30, 1971 , and to anticipate future patterns using software he is deueloping as a folloaup to TempScen, his program for predicting temperoture pottenls.

Agriculture offers perhaps the best example

Most of us ouers@W, thinhtngof climate os temperature ond precipitation.

plan for the ellects ol climate change where they live and wor\ so Robinson dcided to gve them the tools to answer their own questions. He became a computer programmer, developing TempScen so that laypeople could in elfect become climatologists. TempScen (for temperature scenario) is a

ol our increasing vulnerability to changing climate.

software program which combines past temperature

Modern seed stocls produce yields unimaginable a generation or two ago. But this harvest is not with-

records, general circulation models and projections developed in Robinson's laboratory to allow laypeople to make their own predictions about

out price. "ln the good old days," Robinson explains, "you could throw the seed corn out and it grew It may not have been a fantastic feld, but you got it,

temperatures in their locality for different rates of increasing carbon dioxide levels. The program

almost whatever the climate was. Now, as long as

allows anyone with access to a personal computer

the climate behaves the way you want, you have a phenomenal yield, but if the climate changes a little

and an optical disc reader (the computer equivalent

bit-poof." ,Agriculture may be the extreme

case, but

virtually every segment of our specialized society has grown more or less dependent on a predictable climate. If our climate is beginning a shift, we need

of a stereo's compact disc player) to develop temperature predictions for any place in the United States. A test project, TempScen uses the simplest

to adjust quickly.

component of climate to see if it is possible to help people make their own predictions and assess the confidence they can place in those predictions.

So in the past decade, Robinson has seen policy-makers join people like farmers, energy man-

are interested, but Robinson's real goal is t0 get the

agers and water supply oflicials seeking advice from

climatologists. Decisions need to be made. If hotter weather is going to increase demand for electricity

to run air conditioners, power companies must

Climatologists across the United States and Europe program into the hands of people like farmers in Iowa and policy-makers in Califomia. "lt's a demo cratic country," he notes, "and people have got to make decisions. We provided something that helps.

Anyone that wants it can use it."

E.N.D.E.A.V.O.R.S

Robinson decided to giue them the took

to ansuser their own questions. He fucame

a computer programmer, deueloping TempScen so that laypeople could in

effect become climatologists.

9 a

= .9

o Planners ond poLic,v-makers need nrcasures to

knoLL:

uhether to expect more selere u'eother in giuen areas so they can take couer patterns to uiolent slorms such as this ktmado

miimize the intpact of euerything from neu cloud

The problem becomes eDen more complex

as millions of people fugin to uonder hou global uarming

oun

uill affect climote in their

neck of the woods,

Robinson says he is excited that the study is producing useful information. "We've found that if a system is coming straight across from the west, we tend to get long storms, giving plenty ol rain west ol the mountains and less east 0f the mountains. If it sweeps down from the northwest and comes from

the southwest around the Appalachians, we just II TempScen proves as useful as hoped, a

companion program lor predicting precipitation patterns seems a logical follow-up. It is a daunting projecl although records go back as far for both, we lmow far less about precipitation than temperature. Rain is much more haphazard, so a rain gauge in Chapel Hill tells little about what happens in Dufram,

or even in Carrboro. In lact, it tells little about what happens in Chapel Hill: only how much rain fell. We learn nothing about how long

it fell, whether it

came in a violent cloudburst or a soaking daylong

rain, whether rainfall was continuous or sporadic. But the difficulties are worth overcoming because changing patterns demand careful poticy-making. For example, Robinson noticed an unexpectedly high number of local thunderstorms scattered throughout North Carolina during the drought of 1988. The

jet stream, he explains, had fallen into

pattems associated with fewer fronts and depressions in this area but more thunderstorms. Reasoning that climate changes will involve a changing mix of jet stream patterns and hence changing predominant rainfall pattems, Robinson began an extensive investigation of precipitation in the Southeast. The

first order of business was definitional: everyone "knows" what a rainstorm is, for example, but no one had developed a workable definition.

flip it around. We never knew that." If we can pre dict which pattern will predominate as the climate changes, he points out, we can anticipate where

flash floods are more likely, where development should be encouraged or discouraged, where to take water to supply large metropolitan areas like

Atlanta or Charlotte. Although TempScen has been modified to work throughout the United States and much of Europe, Robinson usually limits projects to smaller areas, most often the Southeast. "[f we've got global change, that's fine, but I don't know anybody who

lives globally, despite what the media say," he explains. So Robinson looks into the kaleidoscope of regional patterns to see how climate shapes the lives of the local population. "The concern of the moment is 'When we have global climate change, how is

it going to affect

us?"'notes Robinson. He relishes the chance to help. "We climatologists are having our 15 minutes of fame, and it's lasted an incredibly long time,' he says.

'We're having a lot of fun doing a lot of usefulwork."

EoNoDoEoA.VoO.R.S

Breathing Easier A

Promising Treatment for Cystic librosrs by ChriSina S. Stock

f I

arug treatment that may stem deterioratlve

I L

tung diseas+the primary cause of prema-

According to the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 30,000 Americans suffer from the disease

did not know what the *l

came back one aftemoon and tried it on our cells and it was just like tuming on a light svitch. It was just one of those eqeriments

that worked wonderfully on the lirst try. It was very efficient in tuming on this chloride secretory

expectancy approaching 30 and endure chronic

respome we want in both normal cells and CF cells.'

problems with their gastrointestinal, reproductive

ATP and UTP, says Boucher, Iulfilled all of the criteria he and the other researchers insisted upon

and respiratory systems. CF patients have a genetic delect that impairs the hydration of the airway secretions (mucus) in

in a lung drug for CF patients: "We had been looking for a compound like this for a while. We wanted the

their airways. Because ol this defect, thick, sticky mucus clogs lung passages, making people with CF

compound to be a natural substance that normally would be found in the animal or plant hngdom. It is

especially prone to chronic lung disease.

easier to get those ttrough the tDA since we wantd to bring something quickly to man and CF patients

iI ,9

o 5

Dr. Michael Knowles, associate professor of

medicine, describes the chain ol circumstances that .CF is characterizes CF pulmonary complications: an excellent example of an 'experiment ol

nature'-

in puticular.' Not only were they loohng for a natural

there's a genetic abnormality in the control of ion

drug but the researchers at the CF Center wanted a compound patients could inhale directly into the

transport, which leads to abnormal airway secretions,

lungs. Boucher explains why: "We wanted a com

which leads to chronic lung disease and early death.' uia aerosol

CF cells, he

compound would do. He recalls the first experiment

among whites. People with CF have an average life

Cystic fibrosis is the most common genetic disease

CF receiues medication

with ATP on

he perlormed with ATP:

ture death in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients.

A child with

When Boucher perlormed the first oeeriments

team of UNC{H researchers is developing a

He explains the crux of the problem: CF pa-

pound people [could] inhale into the lungs, because you get a lot of specificity, that is, you deposit the

tients' inability t0 transport ions across their lung

drug right at the taryet, which in this case is the

cells, "The body doesn't have any water pumps, so it pumps ions like common table salt (sodium and

diseased lining cells of the lung. You don't load the

chloride) and then water follows. The normal airway cell pumps chloride into the airway and then

from that is no side effects.'

water follows to hydrate the airway secretions and

one could inhale, Boucher and the others began

keep the surface of the airways

wet. In CF the abil-

ity to secrete chloride, thereby the ability to secrete liquid into the airway lumen [tubes], is abnormal.' Knowles, in conjunction with Dr. Richard

rest ol the body with a lot of drugs, What you gain Having discovered a natural compound that several years of experimentation. Mason, whose 7yearold daughter, Jamie, has CF, did much of the

preliminary laboratory work with Boucher. To study where the water was going, Mason and Boucher

Boucher, director of UNC{H's Cystic Fibrosis Cen-

used a device to detect where ions flowed, by

ter, and Saratr Mason, research fellow, were unsuc-

measuring how their electrical charge alfected

cessfully trying to bypass this genetic abnormality

an electrical field. She describes the research.

through drug treatment, when alter heaing a lecture 0n campus by T. Kendall Harden, professor of phu-

.and

macology, Boucher had an idea. In 1989 Boucher

response to that drug, then we will see a change in

decided to apply the chemical compounds ATP

the electrical impulses that we're pichng up on the

(adenosine triphosphate) and UTP (uridine triphos-

instruments. Looking at the electrical impulses is

phate) onto the outside ol CF cells in the laboratory.

like reading a meter to see if the water pumps are

Ordinarily, says Knowles, one think of ATP existing insrde practically all human cells, acting as a source

operating.'

of high energy. Boucher says that when the idea

first struck him, it seemed somewhat absurd to put a chemical on the outside of a cell, when the problem

was inside.

-We

apply a drug to the cell,' Mason says, if the cells are going t0 move ions in and out in

E.N.D.E.A.V.O.R.S

Boucher and his team made the surprising finding that ATP is more effective in the cells of cystic fibrosis patients than it is in healthy cells.

hne

Clarke, who is a veterinarian worhng in the

laboratories in the Cystic Fibrosis Center, solved

this mystery. Boucher, citing Clarke's discoveries, says that ATP recovered the missing chloride permeability which is characteristic of CF cells. Boucher illustrates what this means:

.[Normally]

individuals have five units of chloride secretion in a baseline or a resting state. When you put ATP or UTP on the airway surface of a normal indMdual, you g0 to ten. A CF patient unfortunately

but when you put ATP or UTP on, they go to ten.' With the understanding of what made ATP research associate prolessor of medicine, looked at the mechanism that makes the compounds work.

tl\

Boucher explains that it appears the mechanism is

), ,, )i'-u

l".ttt:l

lirluri,-lz '

")\? 0

and UT? more effective in CF patients, Dr. Jack Stutts,

somewhat like a lock and key. The lock is the

o\o

starts roughly at zero units ol chloride secretion

i.r .9

chlo

ride channel and ATP or UTP is the key. When the compound is placed on a cell's surface and nestles

in its receptor, it tums on the chloride channel in the cell. This direct response has been a highlight of the team's discoveries, Boucher says. -The

beauty of that is, again, spcificity, Youte hitting the target that you want without having a lot ol ripples going through the pond (which would be

the inside ol the cell).' Knowles, in the meantime, was studying the effectiveness ol ATP and UIP in living subjects. He was applying the compounds to the nasal tissue

CF patients and people

without CE "We actually

perfused it into the nose because the cells in the nose are like the cells in the lower airways. And

the nasal tissue is more accessible for studies." His conclusion was the same as Clarke's: ATP and UTP are more eflective in the cells of CF patients. People with cystic fibrosis not only have a

problem hydrating their airways, but they also have an excessively rapid absorptive process. To combat this malfunction in CF patients, the team at the CF Center is testing another drug, amiloride, which would be used in conjunction with ATP and

LIP

It has been used for years as a diuretic or "water

pill,' Boucher

says.

The goal

of Drs .\lichael Knou,les and Richard Bouchers u:ork

As ATP and UTP induce secretion, amiloride

would block excessive water removal. Glaxo is now conducting nation-wide trials of the drug on CF

in the lung cells by gene therapy. (See Newsmakers, p.

He is conducting the doubleblind testing at UNC-

gene, which would enter the cells and correct them.

CH. According

t0 sources at Glaxo, the trials, when

completed, will have tested the treatment on 320 CF patients for six months. The subjects are inhaling the drug or a placebo four times a day.

went swimmingly well, if we didn't run into any side effects or adverse events, and the drug

surmises

Boucher, Knowles and Mason say they are all very positive about gene therapy although much long-

term research will be required.

[JIP]

at the CF center agree ATP and amiloride will prob ably be the most effective way to preserve lung Iunction ol CF patients.

was

clearly useful, we could talk about having this avail-

Knowles and Boucher's worh has been supported in

able for the general treatment of CF in live to seven

part by appr\ximately $6,428,010 from the National

years." Sources at Glaxo would not comment 0n a possible availability date for amiloride.

Institutes of Health.

The researchers at the Cystic Fibrosis Center say they envision these drugs as an eflective means

to considerably slow down lung deterioration.

deteriorative lung disease in CF patients, He believes that the drug could extend people's lives by decades.

coryction uith omilonde, could pmctically halt deteioroliln hngdireose in CY pnent.

Such therapy would require inhaling a healthy

Until such therapy is available, the researchers

It may still be some time before either drug appears on the market. Knowles says, "lf things

Center say they enuision these dnqs as

W, Boucher that ATP and W, pelrups in

not be known until January of 1994, Knowles says.

conjunction with amiloride, could practically halt

a uery early

by the CF Foundation. The results of the trials will

Boucher surmises that ATP and [-IIB perhaps in

ments begin at

halting lung disease, an ultimate goal of many

researchers is actually t0 correct the defective gene

The researchers at the Cystic Fibrosis

down lung deteioration, If regular treat-

Although ATP and UTP in conjunction with amiloride could prove to be an elfective means of

patients at about a dozen sites officially recognized

If regular treatments begin at a very early age,

an effectit)e means to considerobly slow

ts to phttnnucoktgrcalLr conect CF cells

Dr. Beall, executive medical director of the

national Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, says the drugs' future look bright. "We re very excited about the potentials of these drugs to treat the basic physi ological defect in CF patients." The loundation has backed its enthusiasm impressively. Drs. Boucher and Knowles received $2,440,643 from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to conduct their research.

E.N.D.E.AoVo0.R.S

Seeking Jusfice What Smoll Claims Littgants Want from the Law by Dottie Horn

ark buys a bedroom suite for himself and his fiancee Susan and has it delivered to her mother's house, When the engagement

breala off, Mark wants the bedroom suite back. Susan reluses, saying

it was a gift. Mark takes her

to small claims court. This scenario dacribes a straightforward

Conley and O'Barr studied small claims trials in six North Carolina, Colorado and Pennsylvania cities. The trials were lrom 10 minutes to more than

legal

and Wittiam O'Barr, professor of cultural anthropol-

ory and sociolory at Duke University, argue that more is at play. After studying 156 small claims trials,

looktng at the law through the eyes

an hour long. "The central body of data in each case

the lttigant."

was the trial itself," says Conley. In addition to

observing and tape recording the trial, the

problem. But John Conley, UNC-CH professor of law,

"There's uery liftle precedent for

-John

Conley

searchers collected supplemental data by inter-

respond when her social network breaks down:

viewing some litigants before the trial about their goals, expectations, preparations and intended presentation of their case. After the trial, they inter-

"l'm getting crippled up and I can't bend down, sir,' she tells the judge, "and here I was still taking out those trees and he [Bennett] wasn't coming to help

viewed some litigants about how satisfied they were

me like he said he was," However, because Rawls cannot provide information about the location of

focusing on what litigants say, the researchers claim that conventional legal problems are often a proxy for broader social problems. What Mark and

with the trial and whether it met their expectations. Conley and 0'Barr organized research groups of four to six people, including themselves, gradu-

the property line, and the iudge considers her personal circumstances irrelevant, Rawls is unsuccess-

Susan really want, the researchers argue, is for

ate students and sometimes faculty colleagues, to

ful in suing Bennett.

someone to pass judgment on who was right and

who was wrong in their breakup. Conley and 0'Barr wanted to leam what lay people expect and want from the law "There's very little precedent for

analpe the data. Research group members would listen to the trial and any supplemental interviews

she learns the court will not intervene in her social

several times and then discuss them. "From that," says Conley, "we drew inferences-for example,

relationships, and again, her reaction is typical of many litigants. "The idea that the law is a narrow

lookng at the law through the eyes of the litigant,"

about what they thought about the place of the

system of precise rules seems Ioreign to large numbers

Conley says.

court in society."

of people in this society," says Conley. He adds that

Conley and 0'Barr started working together in 1974, when Conley was a graduate student in

The researchers'findings debunk a myth popular among those in the legal profession, says

the

anthropology and a law student at Duke and O'Barr was in his cunent position on the Duke faculty.

Conley. "We in the law all too routinely deride lay

people as being illogical, imprecise, vague and ram-

cerned with social harmony rather than rule viola-

Their early work found that litigants who use pow-

bling," he explains. The researchers found that lay

tions, these litigants are loohng for.

erless language, such as hesitant speech, were regu-

people are not illogcal, but their logic differs from the law's. "ln particular, unlike the law, they're not

litigants often wanted the most from the courtroom

lady iudged as less intelligent, less credible and less trustworthy witnesses. After Conley's appointment

oriented toward rules, violations of rules and pre

Rawls is surprised and disappointed when

lEal systems in many traditional societies, such as those of the Tiv of West Africa and the Cheyenne of North America, deliver just the sort of justice, con-

Conley and O'Barr also discovered that what

cise remedies," says Conley. "Ihey're oriented toward

experience was the chance to tell their story. "You would assume that people would be happiest when

began worhng together again, remembering a litigant

the social network in which they find themselves.

they won. The law makes that assumption," says

complaint that repeatedly surfaced in their first

They take seriously breaches ol social obligation."

0'Barr "But if you actually talk to people about the

as a LINC{H law professor

1983, Conley and

0'Ban

project. Conley recalls, "That theme was people

O'Barr gives the example of a woman, Ms.

experience, they are happiest not when they won

saying, 'lt was a tenible experience. I never would

Rawls, who sues her nextdoor neighbor, Mr. Bennett,

have agreed t0 come had I known what they were

for removing a hedge from her property. "What the court would like to hear is a specific and focused account of where the property line was and who

are often unhappy because they do not get to tell

had the right to cut down the hedge," explains 0'Ban

their

going to do to me.'And finally many people said, 'l never got a chance to tell my story.'" Conley and

0'Barr wondered what would have happened had these witnesses had the chance to tell their story.

or lost, but when someone listened to the story they came to tell." For example, plaintifls who win by default, because the defendant does not show up,

Despite the efforts of the iudge to shape her account, Rawls does not focus on this legal issue. Rather, she

story "Someone listening to your story and affirming that you have right on your side is some thing that people seek deeply," says 0'Barr. That

is small claims court. In this court, because litigants

relates the history of the years-long dispute over

same need may be why many people in our society

are not represented by lawyers, the judge asks the

seek a therapist, he adds. "Many people are willing

have the opportunity to structure their explanations.

the shrubbery The researchers conclude that Rawls is looking for a solution to a social problem: a way t0 get along with or get back at a difficult neighbor.

"They include the pieca that they think are important and necessary to arrive at a particular conclu-

searchers say, because she feels that those in her

sion," says 0'Barr. These stories provide evidence

social network, such as a landlord or business per-

do not always get to tell their story without inter-

of what the speakers want in court, their strategies for getting it, and their reasoninq processes,

son, are obligated to make exceptions lor her when she is in need. She also expects the legal system to

ruption, Rather, they interact with other litigants

The place to look at that question, says Conley,

litigants, "Why are you here?'The litigants then

Rawls is typical of many litigants, the

to pay others hundreds ol dollars an hour to listen to their problems. There's a whole profession built around that," says 0'Barr. "But, the law is not." Even in small claims court, however, litigants

E.N.DoE.AoV.O.R.S

"filf you actually talh to people about the [courtroom] expeience, they are happiest not uhen they won or lost, but when someone listened to the story they came to tell." -william o'Barr and the judge. For this reason, Conley and 0'Barr also listened to what sma]l claims judges said in court as they heard cases and announced decisions. In prevailing popular and legal views, say the re searchers, the law is seen as neutral, invariant and

consistently oriented around legal principles. Conley and 0'Barr found otherwise: the 14 judges they observed were more diverse than the hundreds of litigants they studied. The researchers identified live types of small claims judges: The strict adherenl lo the lau sees his or her role as a mouthpiece for unyelding principles. The lawmaker will bend laws 0r create new ones in order to achieve fair results. The authoitatiue iudge presents judgments based on personal opinion. The mediator lries to avoid pronouncing a judgment and uses his or her authority to try to bring about compromise. The proceduralisl often focuses on procedural details rather than substantive concems.

The different sorts of judges responded in varying ways to litigants seeking help with a social problem, with mediational judges most interested. "Judges interested in mediating tend to be women,"

O'Barr observes. One mediational judge, Conley remembers, tried a case where a woman sued her sister lor debt. "They immediately went into all sorts of other problems they had in their relationship," Conley says. "This judge became engaged in

their discussion of these problems and eventually worked out a solution whereby they would have to talk to each other on some regular basis and installment payments would have to be made from time to

time, unless the money wasn't available for a certain reason." [t was a rare example o[ people getting the social mediation they wanted, says Conley. What can be done if litigants so rarely get what they want from the small claims system? 0'Barr Because small claitns litigunts frequenth u.unt help u,ith social relationships,

lhet'ure often

dissoti.sfied

uilh strlcfll'

lega| remedtes, suy Williatn )'Ban, Duke [,hlL'eni4, professor of cultunl unthrr4nlog ond socldo{tl and Conlet, L:.\'C-CH prrlessor of lau.

hlm

hopes society can more effectively respond to the need pointed out by his and Conley's research. 'There are many people seehng solutions to problems who can't find a place to get help," 0'Ban says. "There's nobody in the business of giving it. The Iaw denies that responsibility. So does everyone else." Conley adds, "l'd like to see the law take seriously the needs and thinking of the people it presumes to serve. Not necessarily that the legal system can or indeed should deliver what litigants want. But it's got to be aware.'

E.N.D.E.A.V.O.R.S

ARayof Hope Electric Ray Dystrophin and Muscular Dystrophy by Dottie Horn

he pathways to knowledge are often con-

with which the nucleic acid is taken up into muscles is

voluted. When Robert Sealock, associate professor of physiology, began studying

very, very low. And currently existing vectors into which we can put the nucleic acid for dystrophin

tissues from electric rays, he did not know that his work had any relevance to Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), more commonly known simply

don't like very big pieces of nucleic acid, and the dystrophin nucleic acid is very long." Successfully treating patients with this method might be more

as muscular dystrophy. By an unexpected tum,

probable, says Sealock, il scientists could design a

however, Sealock's investigations of the ray's electric

shorter form of the dystrophin<oding nucleic acid

organs could help develop a treatment for the fatal

which would fit into the existing vectors.

human disease.

"The essence of designing a short form of

Sealock began by studying the contact between

dystrophin," says Sealoc('$ould be to retain those

the nerve and the electricity-producing, or electro genic, cell in electric rays. "But our real aim," says Sealock,

.was

parts of the dystrophin molecule which are neces-

to provide rules and principles that

would dealwith the brain, with contacts between

don't yet know what those parts are. That's where

the therapy and our work potentially interact."

nerve cells." The nerveelectrogenic cell contact, says

Sealock's interest is in identifying the other proteins

Sealoch is an excellent model of the contact between

nerve and muscle in humans. This nervemuscle, or neuromuscular, contact is in tum an excellent model

This electric ray shwhs predators and animals it feeds

of the nervenerve contact that takes place in the

on using the hidney-shaped oryans found on both sides of its head. These electric orgtns contain poteins similar to those in human muscle.

brain."We were interested in proteins associated

with the surface membrane of those electrogenic cells, right at the point of contact with nerve,'says Sealock. "We found one very large protein which particularly intrigued us." At this time, in 198i, a team led by Dr. Louis

sary lor function and throw away the others. We

in the membrane with which dystrophin interacts: "lf we could identi$ these other proteins and then identify which part of the dystrophin molecule is involved in that interaction, we would have an idea about what parts of the dystrophin molecule could be thrown away." But, Sealock cautions, developing a therapy for DMD is going to be a long-term proiect:

over the inside of the surface membrane of the electrogenic cells and is not confined to the contact

between the nerve and the electrogenic cell. The

"We hope that the information we produce will feed directly into therapeutic approaches." His work may also contribute to an under-

Kunkle at the Children's Hospital in Boston an-

similarities were strihng enough that Sealock tested

standing of why the muscle cells failwhen they do

nounced the discovery of the protein dystrophin.

his electric ray protein with antibodies that recog-

These researchers were trying to find out why DMD

nize dystrophin and discovered that the protein he had been studying uas dystrophin.

not have dystrophin. 'And that is going to come through understanding these other proteins,' says

patients' muscle cells progressively die, causing patients to gradually lose use of their muscles until

Sealock's work instantly took on new potential

they die because their respiratory muscles become too weak to provide sufficient breathing. By com-

applications, related to a particular approach to the treatment of DMD patients. Sealock explains this

paring the genetic material of DMD patients to that

approach: "You take the nucleic acid that codes for

of those without the disease, Kunkle's team discovered that DMD patients have a mutated gene for dystrophin, leading to an absence or very low

dystrophin and insert it into a piece of nucleic acid called a vector." The vector functions to carry the dystrophin+oding nucleic acid into the cell. "The

amounts of dystrophin in their muscle cells.

vectors can be injected into muscle, and by

Sealock, "as well as dystrophin itself."

Much of Sealock's work has focused on a particular protein that associates with dystrophin, called the 58K protein because its molecular mass is 58,000 Daltons (1 Dalton = r/iz the mass of one carbon atom). "We don't know what the function of the 58K protein is," he says, "but it's very possibly

cesses that are poorly understood, some of the

involved in muscular dystrophy, since if the dystrophin is absent on the membrane of muscle in muscular dystrophy patients, the 58K protein is also absent

realized that the larye protein he had found inter-

dystrophinroding nucleic acid will be taken up by

or reduced in quantity."

esting in the electrogenic cells was remarkably similar to dystrophin. In particular, his electric ray protein was like dystrophin in that it is found all

muscle cells." The muscle cells will then produce

Soon after Kunkle's announcement, Sealock

pro

dystrophin, but says Sealock, there are two prob lems with this potential treatment: "The efficiency

E.NoD.E.AoVoOrRrS

.These

are made up of building blocks called amino acids.

nerve cells on a sheet of paper, explaining how the first ol these brain cells transmits a message to the

"The properties ol the protein are very much deter-

second. "There's where dystrophin is,'he says,

mined by the particular sequence ol those building

indicating the spot where the second cell receives

two things are not incompatible,'says -Whatever dystrophin's loing all over the muscle cell, may simply be required at this local spot in the nerve. Either way, it makes it likely that anghing we find out about dystrophin in muscle, may well be relevant to the brain.'The intricate ways of science twist on, tuming away from their

blocls, is it A" B, C, D; or is it A, C, B, D? It makes world of diflerence. A protein ol 58,000 could be expected to have about 500 amino acids in it.'

the first's message. In the brain, he explains,

destination and unerpectedly back agin.

Sealock intends to determine the Iunction of

the 58K protein. "These days, one ol the best ap proaches to that is to determine the amino acid sequence,'says Sealock He explains that proteins

For the past ten years, Sealock has collaborated

with Dr. Stanley C. Froehner. This year Froehner moved from Dartmouth University to become the

have in the treatment of DMD, he has not veered too lar astray from his initial interest. A member of

the neurobiology cuniculum, Sealock sketches two

Sealock.

dystrophin is lound only at the point at which nerve communicates with nerve, while in muscle,

Since 1979 Sealuh's worh has been funded in part by

dystrophin is at the neuromuscular junction as well as all over the inside surface of the cell membrane.

$1,370,555 from the National Instilute

of Neurclogical

Disorders and Strohe.

chair of UNC{H's physiology department. Froehner has determined most of the amino acid sequence of

the 58K protein.-These days," says Sealock, 'then you have the amino acid sequence of a protein, you go to a data bank and compare it to the sequences

ol all other known proteins, II the sequence of the one you're interested in is similar to one that has been well studied, you may, iust like that, find out its activity.' Thus far, says Sealock, it seems that

the 58K protein is entirely new, unlike any protein lmown so far. Although the amino acid sequence has not revealed the protein's function, Sealock's work has yielded evidence of the 58K protein's close associa-

tion with dystrophin. Sealock did an experiment using an antibody that recognizes dystrophin to purify dystrophin lrom a solution of surlace membranes from the electrogenic cells. Not only is the dystrophin purified, the 58K protein is purified along with it. The same is true in reverse, After

Froehner developed an antibody that recoEizes the 58K protein, Sealock used it to purify the 58K protein from a solution ol surface membranes from

the electrogenic cells. Dystrophin came along too. "That's very good evidence that these two are assG -Short

of actually visualizing ciated,'says Sealock the association in the electron microscope, that's about as strong a proof as you can have.' Sealock, however, wants the stronger proof

of using the electron microscope to see the 58K protein associated with the dystrophin. He is working to overcome some of the difficulties involved .The most

when using the electron microscope.

important part of it is having the dystrophin complar in a reasonably pure form,' says Sealock. When he removes dystrophin and its associated proteins hom a solution ol electrogenic surface membranes, Sealock obtains a solution that contains many proteins in addition to the ones he is *When you go to the electron micro interested in. scope, you see each and

wery protein,'says Sealock

Thus far, when he has attempted to use the electron microscope, the dystrophin has been buried among

these ertra molecules.

0nce his solution is pure, Sealock should be able to visualize the 58K protein associated with the

dyshophin, and he will continue to collect data after that. Whatever relevance his work proves t0

studying electric ray proteins Rofurt

kaluh

wswiate profesor of physiologt, may leam why the human diseax

Duchenne muscular dystrophy causes muscle cells to die.

E.NoDoE.A.VoO.R.S

Untying llongues Finding the Right Word Helps Histoical

L@ists

Recouer Foryotten Languoges

by Scott Lon'ry

istorical linguists would have a much easier time of

it if only there were more

Rosetta stones lying about. Discovered by Napoleon's troops in 1799, the stone bore a document in Egptian hieroglyphs next to a Greek translation, finally providing the key to understanding ancient Egyptian writing. But no such multilingual

1940s. The only Anatolian

languap linguists

understand better is Hittite. But the other languages

Melchert studies-Lycian, Lydian and Palaic-have yet to yield such breakthroughs. The Hittites themLydian were replaced by Greek, so there iust isn't enou$ to work with, 'We have a little Palaic bcause

and vocabulary. That adds a bit of challenge to

the Hittites wrote some liturgical texts in that lan-

historical linguist Craig Melchert's iob. Melchert, a professor in the linguistics depart-

guage t0 address Palaic gods; we have a couple of

ment, studies Anatolian languages. Two of them,

have maybe 100 inscriptions in Lydian, but only a

stone" was not found until the 1970s: a trilinEal text translating a Lycian passage ol about 40 lines

into Greek and Aramaic finally gave linguists the starting point they needed. Applying the new howledge from this trilingual, Melchert recently made a breahhrough in Lycian, finding evidence of what linguists call the middle voice. English must put verbs of the active voice into a reflexive construction ( hid myself) to do what the middle voice

4,00Oyearold Anatolian languages excite him because scholars can leam not only about those languoges but also the people who spohe them.

bilingual of Hieroglyphic Luvian and Phoenician in the late

texts exist for many ancient languages, and even when we have multilinguals, they typically offer only a fragmentary picture of forgotten gammar

Hittite and Luvian, have been fairly well understood for some time. But for another, Lycian, the "Rosetta

Professor Craig Melchert says his discoueies about the

Luvian presents an exception: great strides in understanding followed the discovery of an enormous

selves probably obliterated Palaic, while Lycian and

dozen texts which are all just chunh, pieces. We few dozen are very complete. Lycian is the one we understand best; we have over 150 texts. Unfortunately, most of them are tomb inscriptions and so they're pretty similar," says Melchert. The short Lycian trilingual does provide Anatolian specialists with the tiniest lirst step. But unless archaeolo$sts find a cache of texts (prefer-

ably including a few multilinguals) written in the minor Anatolian lanEages, the rest of the joumey

will be slow and tortuous. Yet that joumey is underway. Melchert says he is excited because a chain of

does more efficiently: show that the verb's action

realizations and discoveries stemming from his

reflects back on the subject. Melchert's discovery holds implications not only lor Lycian, but also for

efforts to translate a single sentence of Lycian have helped carry linguists a little closer to understand-

the ProtoAnatolian from which it came and even

ing that language, its siblings and even their parent. 0ver the past few years, Melchert has repeat-

the ProtolndoEuropean language from which historical linguists believe most European and Indian

edly tumed his efforts to the one krown long Lycian

languages trace their heritage.

text, the socalled inscribed pillar ol Xanthos. Only

Covering much of Asia Minor, Anatolia was settled by lndoEuropean intruders 4,000 years ago (see map). LinEists believe that, much as today's Romance languages developed from Latin, the nu-

merous Anatolian lanpages of Biblical times evolved from the ProtoAnatolian language spoken by those ancient immigrants. Melchert and others are reconstructing that longJost parent language. But to do that, they must first understand its descendants-not an easy task. "These languages are all extinct,' says Melchert. "Our evidence comes

from maybe 1600 B.C. to something like 400 B.C. Hittite is the language for which we have the most written evidence, since they built an empire: we have several thousand clay tablets. There are also several minor sister languages, but through the accident ol history, we don't have much evidence for many ol them,"

a few ol its words happened to be shared with the trilingual, but one sentence seemed tantalizingly near solution. "We Imew it had to be, 'l did some thing to them (or lor them) as a judge,'' he reports. "Now that's getting pretty narrowed down. All that

was missing was the meaning of the verb. It seemed

t0 me we ought to be able to fiEre that one out." Like so many revelations, the answer came late at night. Melchert realized that the verb was being divided in the wrong place. With the conect dMsion, the root was that of the word for "to make.' Other Anatolian lanEages put their words for "to make" into the middle voice to say "became", but no one had recoEized the middle voice in Lycian before that night. II the sentence did indeed mean,

"l became a iudge for them," there must be other instances of the middle voice in the few suMving Lycian texts. Melchert set out t0 find them.

E.N.D.E.AoVoO.R.S

"l had some idea where to look," he explains. "[n the other Anatolian languages, the most com-

)ther Anatolian langurys put their

Why the excitement over conjugating a couple of verbs? Because, Melchert explains, the Anatolian languages are thoroughly interwoven. "The larger

mon verbs in the middle voice are 'to sit' and 'to

uords for "to mahe" into the middle uoice

tomb inscriptions, what verb would you expect t0

interest of this, ol course, is not the particular verb for 'l made myself' or'he lies,' the larger thing is

find? 'Here lies Soand-so.'' Linguists had been

that this tells us something about the middle voice

bothered for years, however, because the form of the

in the parent Anatolian that we didn't Imow before,"

verb in these inscriptions did not fit expectations for the third person active voice. Realizing that

voicel has this particular shape, then that confirms

the form was instead probably the middle voice,

a claim of a colleague that a set of sounds underwent a

lie.' Since the corpus of Lycian texts is almost all

to soy "fucame," bfi no one hadrccryized the middle Doice in Lycian before,

he says. "And if it's accepted that [the Lycian middle

particular shift across the entire family, And if that claim is correct, certain other things become possible. It's a domino effect." Historical linguists hope that when dominoes

Pala

start falling, they won't stop until reaching all the way back to the hypothetical ProtolndoEuropean Ianguage. Such a lanEage would have been spoken 6,000 or more years ago, the ancestor of modem

Hattusa

Ianguages as diverse as Bengali, Persian, Italian and

Nese

0tr'r,T=

Lydia

Lycia

English. We do not know the ethnic background of the ProtolndoEuropeans or where they came from,

r.onP\RE

but Anatolia was apparently among the earliest a

Luvia

places they went with their language and culture.

That gives the Anatolian family particular significance for IndoEuropeanists like Melchert. "Since

I 6

we're trying to get back to the starting point," he says,

"it's helpful t0 start as far back as we can. The older we get, the fewer changes we have to undo." Although many laypeople see reconstruction

Lycian and the other half4ozen ancient Anatolian languages that Craig Melcheft studies deueloped from a single language spohen bv lndcEuropeon peoples who moued to Asia Minor from north of the Black Sea by 2000 B C.

ruged terrain, these kingdoms deueloped different languoges ouer the follouing centuries until the Nesites conquered the city of Hattusa and expanded hon there to establish the Hitttte Empue The sands of time haue obliterated euidence of all but a feu Numerous small hingdoms formed, including Lycia, Lydia, Pala, Luuia and Nesa. kolated by

of ProtolndoEuropean as an end in itself, Melchert emphasizes that the recreated protolanguage is

simply a hypothesis, a means to other ends. The reconstruction is an explanation of why krown languages look the way they do. And many linguists

of these extinct languages

take the next step, reasoning that a language can

struction. Rather than working back from known

tell us much about its speakers. "l am interested in the language history as part of the overall history," says Melchert. "For me, part of the interest of all

languages, he considered how a Lycian third person

this is that real people presumably spoke these

Melchert turned to the technique of forward recon-

Histoical hnguists hope that when dominoes start falling,

they won't stop until reaching all the way bach to the hypothetical

hotalndaEuropean language.

middle voice may have evolved from that of the

languages. The fact that people say certain kinds

presumed Anatolian parent. The steps led to the

of things and don't say others can tell us some

form found in the tomb inscriptions, but the reasoning was uselessly circular unless his prediction for

Although strictly speaking the Anatolians and the

the form of the middle voice of "to lie" in another

ProtolndoEuropeans aren't our ethnic ancestors,

person (such as the lirst person "l lie") could be

we are in some sense inheritors of their culture."

Iound in the limited collection ol Lycian texts.

"Although strictly speahing the Anatolians

and the fuotalnbEuropeans aren't our ethnic ancestors, u)e are in some sense inheitors of their culture." -craig

Melchert

thing about how they thought and how they lived.

So historical linguists around the world are

ment: no exact match with the anticipated form tumed

worhng together, drawing threads from thousands of years of languages as they try to recreate the tapestry of intellectual development. Melchert

up, only one example ol a slightly different form

points out, the process requires an open mind and

which had been dubiously accepted as an infinitive form of "to lie." The actual form o{ the word was

a willingness to change your theories as other

uncertain, however, because it lies at the edge of the

where much of the evidence may be

stone and has been partially broken away. What

but theories never can

A search of modern transcriptions of the few surviving Lycian

work

at first brought disappoint-

remains could be read as the transcribed form, or as the form Melchert predicted. Finally, Melchert

ran across a footnote in the basic edition ol the text which provided strong evidence for his arEment, mentioning that a scholar in 1892 apparently found the word still complete. His reading was the same as Melchert's prediction a century later.

searchers improve on them. This is one discipline

be.l

carvd in stone,

A Profile

VITA

Jooeph Carter hat do you do if you grow up in Kansas

but love seashells? Become a paleontolo$st, of course. At least that's how it worked out for holessor Joseph Carter of the geolory

department. "When you live in eastem Kansas, the easiest way to collect seashells is to go into your back yard and look around for fossils weathering out of lime stones roughly 300 million years old. It's just like going to the beach to pick up seashells."

The boy's backyard collection of fossil seashells has grown into the professor's collection ol a wide variety of invertebrate fossils spanning 600

million years of evolution, from localities throughout the world. One of these shells Carter has studied has been making waves with paleontologists. It is an unremarkabl+looking shell given to him by an

amateur collector in ltaly, but Carter is convinced that it confirms a controversial idea proposed over 100 years ago that the ancestors of the modem edible oyster evolved directly from pearl oysters

rather than through scallops. Today's scallops and oysters may have very differently shaped shells, but their largely calcitic mineralogy and bladelike foliated microstructures have lead many paleontologsts to believe they descended from a common ancestor that shared these features. Pearl oysters, on the other hand, differ in their largely aragonitic mineralogy and nacreous (motherof-pearl) microstructure, which looks rather like a mosaic of flat tiles under the scanning electron microscope. Carter's ltalian shell resembles a modern oyster in its elongated shape, crinkled shell margins,

muscle attachment scars and hinge area, but it has the mineralory and microstructure ol a pearl opter. Furthermore, the oyster lived around the same time,

hofessor loseph Carter digs into the euolutionary mysteies of mollushs and dental folhlore.

about 230 million years ago, as the first true oysters

with modem mineralogy and microstructure. Molluscan evolution has occupied Carter for the past 20 years. He has organized a reference collection of bools and joumals which rivals that of the Smithsonian Institution in Washingon, D.C., and his illustrated card catalog of 40,000 fossil and modem seashells from the Westem Hemisphere provides a

unique research tool for him and his graduate students. Cabinets heavy with lossils climb toward the high ceiling of his office and spill into the hallway, around the corner and halfway down another hall.

As bewildering as this array is to the uninitiated,

Carter can dash down the hall to pull out a particular shell before a visitor can catch up,

This 23\million-yearold

oyster shell is forcingpaleonlologisfs

reuise their

theories on the euolution of mollushs. Apparently the missing linh fututeen nodern edible oysters and prehistoric pearl oystels, o/sters lihe the one that

inhabited this shell liued during the time of the dinosaurs.

WHTRE IS... The Tooth Fairy From? Recovering missing fossils by filling cavities is natural to Carter: he is the son of a retired children's dentist. "My father had contact with parents from all over the world," Carter remembers, "and he would ask them about their toothache lolklore and that

sort of thing. We published a short book on folk dentistry and dental folklore, sort of a lamily affair involving my brother, myself and my father. But a

lot remained untouched in this initial work, and the

i....

excellent medical and folklore literature at UNC led O

me to continue this study as a hobby. 0ver the past

A Carolina Bryert hqlaim

seven years, I have used the UNC libraries and their

cultures around the world, representing some 5,000

(I \ U

years ol history."

and tooth-fairy

excellent interlibrary loan programs to glean information of folk dentistry and dental folklore from o Photographed u,ith

scanning electron microscope, this

23OmiLlion-yearold oyster she/1 shoas a microstructure of motherof-pearl. a feature shared aith ancient pearl q'sters but not u,ith the scallops long belieued to be the modern oyster's ancestors.

"Let me show you some of the world's best,"

This hobby has resulted in four booklets

frl+ M1l

came from Eurone-and wasn't

necessaritv a she at lirst. Further-

rnor., sayi paieontolo$st, professor

epert Joseph

Carter, the tooth

fairy probably sprang from tooth mice.

lore and shed tooth rituals. These include informa-

The idea of mice taking children's shed teeth has probably been popular in much

tion from ancient Babylonia to modern times about

of Europe since the Middle Ages. But some

everlthing from blackening and whitening teeth to

time before any of us lost our baby teeth,

about folk dentistry, herbal dentistry, dental folk-

toothache charms, folk dental remedies and dental

those household rodents gained a reputation

bEan tosing their toothrelated

he says. "Those shells were only 3 million years old.

superstitions. So far the most popular booklet has

as vermin and

These are roughly 45 to 50 million years old, from the

been the one on the cultural evolution of shed tooth

iobs to fairies in many areas, eventually meeting cultural extinction in England.

famous French Calcaire Grossier

Ms.

These are the

shells that the famous l9th<entury evolutionary

biologists-lamarck, Cuvier and Darwin-were loohng at, thinhng about the evidence for biolo$cal evolution and striving to understand how it operates." Why would one choose to study fossil mollusk

rather than a more glamorous group such as dino saurs or primates? "Dinosaur bones and other bones are generally rather difficult to find," Carter explains.

rituals, i.e., tooth mice, tooth fairies and the like (see "Where Is..."). But it is not his work on shed tooth rituals

that excites Carter most about this hobby. Comparing lolk remedies around the world, he plotted where various cultures applied irritant plants or

mouse. While some believe that St. Apo[onia,

acupuncture to the body as treatment for toothache.

"lt turned out that ancient Greek and Roman irritant

French folklorist Francois Loux that the idea probably evolved from a l7th-century story

plant treatments, which I call acuplasters, are virtu-

written by MarieCatherine dAulnoy ol France,

"lt is commonly said about vertebrate paleontology

ally identical with modern Chinese acupuncture

that there are more bones to pick than there are

sites for toothache. This is suggestive that some of

bones. However, clams and snails leave much more abundant fossils, so you don't have to rely on sheer luck to fill in gaps. Once you take much of the guess-

No one knows for sure what gave some parcnt the idea of substituting a fairy for a

the ancient European plaster remedies have been

patron saint ol toothache suflerers, may be the link to human form, Carter agrees with

In her story a changeling fairylmouse saved a young princess from an evil king: in

mouse form, it hocked out four of the

unjustly dismissed by medical folklorists."

king's teeth belore freeing the child lrom

To Carter, tracing the evolution of dental folklore is conceptually similar to paleontology,

the dungeon with its magic wand. Iater, the

even more interesting questions like how fast they

and equally challenging. Just as species evolve and

lairy brought the $rl treasures. I{any elements of modem tooth fairy rituals are scattered

evolved and when and why they went edinct.'

usually go extinct, leaving a fossil record if we are

through the tale, waiting for some creative

A S$gallon drum of paste latex has helped Carter and his students fill in many gaps in the

lucky, ideas too evolve and sometimes go extinct, leaving written records or memories of past tradi-

parent to put them together to create a

fossil record-literally fill them in. Pumping latex into cavities in shell beds thought to be too poorly

tions. Both biological and cultural evolution give us

preserved to work with, the UNC{H researchers

about who we are and how we came to be.

work out ol how things evolved, you can get t0

make castings of dissolved fossils accurate enough

a sense of history which tells us something valuable

Piecing together answers from scattered evi-

for systematic measurement and description. The

dence characterizes Carter's intellectual pursuits,

Joumal of Paleontolory recently published an article

from the evolution of life to the source of legends. "Biological and cultural evolution are like gigantic

documenting its results: several new species in one of the common limestones quarried for road building in eastern North Carolina, a limestone which is roughly 30 million years old.

10,000 piece puzzles in which you may have only

200 pieces. There's lots of room for interpretation,

but I'm intrigued by the mysteries."

mouseless myth. That parent may well have lived in

l8th<entury England, says Carter, noting the tooth fairy's virtual monopoly in all countries where English is the primary language.

Ttmugh advertising and other

means,

the tooth fairy is slowly being introduced to

the rest of the world, but few children from non-English-speakiug countries in Africa and Asia know her yet.

To get an expert's ansuer to

ylur oun

ques-

tion about the imryrtant little thr/{J in life,

unte Endeavors ot CB#

4100 or

call 96G5625.

Student Research

SCHOIARLY PURSTMS

Parfrers in Cleanup

all those concerned with contamination, such as

artnerships between individuals can be

residents alfected by pollution or representatives ol wildlife groups, are considered stakeholders.

difficulL when two countries work toward a common goal, difficulties multiply. The

"0n the shared areas of concern, the United States and Canada are both stakeholders and should act

United States and Canada, however, sought to overcome this maxim, and drew up the 1987 Protocol

to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978, which recommends that Remedial Action Plans be Iormed for each of 42 severely polluted "areas of concern." While most ol these areas fall in either

Child's Play

f I

parent in the 18th century wishing to give a child a special treat might buy ihe lrtttle

I L

netty Pochet Book.which came with a toy-

Herag

a ball for a boy and a pincushion for a girl. The

The Remedial Action Plans that Michigan and

emergence of gender-specific toys is one of the

as a team, like all the other stakeholders," says

Ontario are creating have three stages. Stage one

many evidences that children became the subject

will define how the concerned area is impaired, for

of unprecedented interest 200 years ago. Judith

example, by fish contamination, beach closings or

Burdan, a doctoral candidate in the English depart-

habitat loss. Heraty says she hopes her policy recommendations will aid cooperation in stages two

ment, is writing her dissertation on this lSth<entury

two countries: two by New York and 0ntario and three by Michigan and Ontario. Because states and provinces operate in such different ways, New York

and three, when the state and province decide how to restore the environment and monitor progess.

children in social and literary history are related.

chose not to work with 0ntario. Michigan and Ontario,

however, have worked together on the Remedial

environmental regulation with entirely diflerent philosophies. For instance, in the United States,

Action Plans for more than two years. In research

water control is structured using monitoring based

done for her master's thesis in the Department of

on scientific evidence. In Canada, Heraty says,

ol study such as pediatric medicine emerging, but the general public developed an appetite for child-

City and Regional Planning, Maureen Heraty found that the state and province encountered difficulties cooperating because of their different philosophies,

regulations are much more likely to be based on public opinion. These two approaches clashed when

rearing manuals that discussed, lor example, how t0 ensure a child's psychological well-being.

Michigan and 0ntario tried to decide whether an unusually high percentage of tumors in turtles was

scientific, and literary discourses 0n the less ex-

The water quality agreements are built on the ecosystem approach that encourages state and province to work together. "All parties-whether

a problem. Ontario oflicials were concemed because

plored topics of the regulation and exploitation of

the public was afraid to eat the turtles. But, as sci-

children; childhood sexuality; and theories of child-

entific research had not been done to substantiate

hood. Burdan's study of the status of children in

communities or industry along the area of concern

whether water toxins caused the tumors, Michigan

literary history reveals, for example, the increasingly important role of childhood in characters' Iives in novels. In Daniel Defoe's 1722 novel Mol/

Canada or the United States, five are shared by the

governmental structures and procedures,

-are

part ol the ecosystem of that area, and are

focus on children, studying how representations of Burdan says that studies of i8th<entury

Heraty found that the two countries approach

social history show that the increased locus on children went beyond a growing demand for books, toys and clothes. Not only were professional areas

Burdan examines l8th<entury popular,

balked at labeling the tumors a problem. Such stand-

il formal

responsible for managing it as one body," says Heraty.

ofls could be avoided, speculates Heraty,

"With this approach, you can't isolate elements and

compromises, which meet both U.S. legal require

Flanders, says Burdan, childhood is more a matter

say, 'We're going t0 regulate the lake at certain

ments and 0ntario's less formal goals, had been

of circumstance than individual identity, "What's

points and ignore other parts of the ecosystem that

worked out early in the Remedial Action Plans.

important in Moll Flanders' childhood is that she's a convict's orphan," says Burdan. "Early in the 18th century, characters'childhoods give them a social place." But by the l9th century, when for instance, Charlotte Brontb writes lane Eye, childhood has become such an essential part of a character's

are alfected."' All those contaminating the lake and

"$*."*:

identity that many novelists provide extended descriptions of children and childhood.

,iqr

ffi

* Beach closings, fish contamination and other deuastations of poLlution conuitced offtcials to u,orh together to clean up common areas.

in ittichigan and )ntario