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A NEWSPAPER FOR THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
Southern Connecticut State University
NOVEMBER 2013 • Vol.17 No. 2
INSIDE:
4 Shoring up the Beaches 5 The Voice of NPR Pens a Book
A Patented Approach to Fighting Cancer CHRISTMAS FERNS ARE PRETTY ORDINARY PLANTS in the botanical world – they are in abundance in the eastern half of the United States, and if you walk through a shaded area of a park, you can find them pretty easily. Yet the properties inside this ostensibly unremarkable fern may be a catalyst toward combatting an aggressive form of brain cancer. So says Sarah Crawford, a professor of biology at Southern, who has an extensive background in cancer research. But her statement is more than just an abstract theoretical possibility. An extract made from the Christmas fern has demonstrated anti-cancer properties in pre-clinical testing conducted by Crawford and her students. In fact, the results were impressive enough to spur the U.S. Patent Office to award Crawford, as well as Erin Boisvert, a former student of Crawford, a patent for the extract. “This is really exciting news,” Crawford says. “I applied for the patent more than six years ago and was hopeful we would be granted approval. But it’s a long, thorough process. You’re never quite sure whether it is
going to be approved or not.” The extract was tested as part of a threecomponent cocktail – carmustine, a powerful chemotherapy drug used to treat brain cancer; curcumin, the active ingredient in the spice turmeric that has anti-inflammatory qualities; and polystichum acrostichoides, the technical name for the Christmas fern. The plant is believed to have antioxidant properties, but to Crawford’s knowledge, it has not previously undergone rigorous testing for its anti-cancer ability. The tests showed that the cocktail was effective in killing nearly half of the cancer cells in tiny tumors created in the Biology Department lab – far more effective than use of any of the three substances alone. “I won’t rest until we can kill 100 percent of the cancer cells, but it’s a good start,” she says, adding that she plans to experiment by using different levels of each substance to see if that increases the efficacy of the extract’s anti-cancer properties. She also says she may test other chemotherapy drugs with the Christmas fern and curcumin. Crawford says that a reduction in the level of carmustine, while maintaining or increasing
Sarah Crawford (left), professor of biology, and Paulina Mrowiec, a student, continue to test the efficacy of an anti-cancer extract that has shown promise in pre-clinical testing. Inset is a photo of a Christmas fern.
the effectiveness of the cocktail, would be ideal. That could reduce the side effects commonly associated with chemotherapy drugs. The tests were conducted on glioblastoma multiforme, considered to be the most deadly form of brain cancer with a fatality rate of more than 90 percent within five years.
Two current students are assisting Crawford with this project. Brielle Hayward, who is a graduate fellow, is examining the Christmas fern’s antioxidant properties and comparing its anti-cancer effects with other phytochemical antioxidants, such as PATENT CONTINUED ON PAGE 6.
Research Center Marks a Quarter Century of Computer Ethics Study THE TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE HAS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY over the past quarter century and continues to do so on a daily basis. Accompanying these changes are many new issues in the field of computer ethics — intellectual property, privacy, computer security, access to computing resources and downloading music and film off the Internet, to name a few. During this time, the Research Center on Computing & Society, based at Southern, and headed up by Philosophy Professor Terry Bynum, has established itself as an international leader in analyzing and promoting the ethical use of computer technology. The one-of-a-kind center has also advanced computer ethics as an academic discipline through teaching, networking, research, publications and a website that offers articles and papers, multimedia materials and links to other computer ethics resources. To mark the center’s 25th year, Bynum is planning events in the fall and spring semesters that address current topics in the field of technology. President Mary A. Papazian praises Bynum and his faculty colleagues associated with
the center: “Their ongoing commitment to exploring the complex issues raised by new technology is a valuable societal contribution – and in so doing, they have given Southern international recognition in this groundbreaking field.” Bynum, who began the center at Southern in 1987, is one of the world’s foremost computer ethicists. In 1995, he traveled to England to assist a colleague who was starting a computer ethics research center there and to help put a conference together. ETHICOMP95 became the first in a series of international computer ethics conferences. Bynum says by now there have been 15 of them in 11 countries in Europe and Asia as well as the United States. In addition to his work with the center and ETHICOMP, Bynum has conducted workshops, given speeches and addresses, produced and hosted video programs and published articles on computing and human values. For 25 years he was editor-in-chief of Metaphilosophy, an international scholarly journal, now edited by Armen Marsoobian,
Terry Bynum (left), professor of philosophy, and Jin Tong, a Chinese scholar, are working together on a book about ‘flourishing ethics.’
professor of philosophy. Over the years, many scholars, both international and American, have come to Southern to give presentations and participate in roundtables sponsored by the center. On Nov. 8, the center will hold a miniconference on computer security. Five scholars will present papers in the morning, and in the afternoon, the 2013 Norbert Wiener Address will be given by Donald Gotterbarn, director of the Software Engineering Ethics Research Institute at East Tennessee State University. Gotterbarn is also chairman of the Association for Computer Machinery’s (ACM) Committee on Professional Ethics and a leading author of the Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice, which promotes ethics among software engineers. Bynum says that ACM is the largest computer professional organization in the world. The namesake of the Norbert Wiener Address, according to Bynum, was an MIT mathematician whose study of information feedback systems during World War II was really the beginning of
the computer ethics field. The second event to commemorate the center’s anniversary, planned for the spring semester, will focus on the social and ethical implications of MOOCs and other forms of online education. MOOCs (“massive open online courses” aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the Web), have been much in the news lately, as more and more educational institutions join the movement toward online education. In addition to these projects, the anniversary is also being marked by the presence of Chinese scholar Jin Tong, who is working at the center this year. She and Bynum are now working together on a book on “flourishing ethics,” a new ethical theory that, according to Bynum is “informed and grounded by recent scientific insights into the nature of living things, human nature and the fundamental nature of the universe – ideas from today’s information theory, astrophysics and genetics.” Bynum is also working on a history of the center and intends to produce a publication in honor of its milestone anniversary.
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A Focus on Ethics
The Research Center on Computing and Society is holding two events this month as part of its 25th anniversary celebration. A mini conference: “Ethics in the Information Age,” will be held Nov. 8 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Engleman Hall, Room A120. Presentations will be made by the following: Terry Bynum, "What is Computer Ethics"; Krystyna Gorniak, "Robotic Caregivers: A New ‘New Frontier’ in ICT Ethics"; Anne Gerdes, "Fighting Emerging Organized Crime:
Privacy Issues"; Jin Tong, "On the Citizenship of a ‘Netizen’"; Fran Grodzinsky, "Deception and Trust on the Internet" and Richard Volkman, "Digital Culture, Collective Intelligence and Ethical Individualism." Later, Donald Gotterbarn, director of the Software Engineering Ethics Research Institute, will deliver the 2013 Norbert Wiener Address: “Virtue Ethics and the Cybersecurity Professional(?) – a missing link” at 2 p.m., also in Room A120.