Spartan Daily Vol. 162 No. 40

May Day protests span across Bay

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#1: Members of the Service Employees International Union distribute snacks and masks to protesters at the entrance of Roosevelt Park.

#2: Local union members answer questions from curious onlookers.

#3: Performers wearing face paint entertain families as they dance to drums.

#4: Protesters from various organizations wave their flags in between speakers.

#5: Protesters hold sign to rally against corporate greed as part of the May Day movement.

#6: Protesters with SEIU Local 2015, California's Long Term Care workers organization march in unison. 5 4 6 1 2

PHOTOS BY ETHAN LI

Professor talks microbial systems

By Nikita Bankar SENIOR STAFF WRITER

A San José State chemical and materials engineering professor presented the rules of life and the possibilities of biomanufacturing on Wednesday afternoon in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.

Katy Kao spoke to audience members in person and over live stream, and said she hoped to educate everyone on addressing the challenges in biomedicine and biotechnology,

Before joining SJSU, Kao was an associate professor in the chemical engineering department at Texas A&M University and received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from UC Irvine.

Koa also has a doctorate in chemical engineering from UCLA and was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, according to the SJSU website.

Kao’s work currently involves understanding microbial adaptation for strain development and stress tolerance in human fungal pathogens, according to the Silicon Valley Women in Engineering website.

Microbial adaptation is the term used to describe the ability of microorganisms to endure the pressures of their surrounding environment, according to Lippincott Journals.

Kao said her topic of focus is adaptive evolution, but more specifically microbial systems.

“All living organisms have this amazing capability to adapt and evolve to new environments,” she said. “My lab has been focused on developing methods to essentially take advantage of this capability to address challenges in biomedicine and biotechnology.”

Adaptive evolution, which Kao discussed near the beginning of her presentation, is the process through which species evolve over time to

be better fit for their environment, according to Biology Simple. These changes allow species to survive and reproduce more successfully, according to the same website.

Kao also discussed the concept of antimicrobial resistance, and how the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in humans, animals and plants are the main drivers in the development of drug-resistant pathogens.

Antimicrobial resistance is when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer react to antimicrobial medicines, according to the World Health Organization.

As a result of such resistance, antibiotics become ineffective and make infections challenging to treat, according to the same website.

Kao said she discovered her love

for such science and specifically chemical engineering when she was in high school.

“I really loved video games and I loved programming,” Kao said. “I would stay up all night programming, and at some point knew I could not do it for a living.”

She said her uncle then gave her the idea of pursuing chemical engineering.

"I just loved it,” Kao said. “When I was an undergrad, I got into a research lab and one of my chemistry professors recruited me to do research with him on bioremediation.”

Bioremediation is a branch of biotechnology that uses living organisms such as microbes and bacteria for the removal of contaminants and pollutants from soil, water and other environments,

according to an April 15 article from Investopedia.

Kelly Masegian, career counselor and liaison to the College of Engineering, said she appreciates the diversity that Kao shared in her presentation.

“Even though her research shows a particular focus, she still showed the different applications that it can be applied to,” Masegian said. “That is what I try to get students to understand. Even if you are thinking about one particular topic, it can be applied to different things depending on your changing interests.”

Chemical engineering graduate Kathy Tong said she has worked with her for a while, and said she loves that she got to see a window of where Kao’s interests lie.

Tong said seeing someone who is

so passionate about what she hopes to pursue is quite meaningful to her.

“The presentation was impactful, as it is the study of genes and science that make(s) a difference in modern medicine today,” Tong said.

She said many students have professors who they do not really connect with aside from being taught twice a week.

“Seeing how passionate Professor Kao was about her field and why she has been invested for so long is so inspirational,” Tong said. “Research is not easy for anyone so diving into it, especially on a whole microbial scale is incredibly monumental.”

Follow Nikita on Instagram @nikitabankar

NIKITA BANKAR | SPARTAN DAILY

San José State professor Katy Kao discusses antifungal

Urban Putt is put in Downtown San José

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#1: Urban Putt hosts a curated selection of exclusive San José themed attractions, including the famous Winchester Mystery House.

#2: Urban Putt manager Monica Macer presents a mini-golf hole that resembles Downtown San José.

#3: A circuit board themed course is available for golfers to enjoy.

#4: One course’s obstacle involves shooting a golf ball at a prop duck, serving as a throwback to the 1984 Nintendo video game “Duck Hunt.”

#5: Patrons enjoy themselves at Urban Putt’s full bar as they wait to check in at the front desk.

#6: The golf course displays a colorful Cinco de Mayo themed hole. 5 4 6 1 2

PHOTOS BY ETHAN LI

Smile lines are perfectly normal

Christine Tran OUTREACH EDITOR

It seems like every time I open TikTok nowadays, my restful dose of screen time gets abruptly interrupted by a product advertisement.

The black-arched fulllength mirror in my bedroom I purchased from TikTok Shop proves that users can be especially vulnerable when it comes to things we need – or at least think we do.

Back in August, I realized both my roommate and I didn’t own a full-length mirror and I decided to purchase one to fill an empty corner in our room. I browsed the mirrors offered at Target which were selling for $80 to $115 and as a broke college student, I knew I could not buy one in good conscience.

I was pleased to find one that was similar to Target’s selections on TikTok Shop for only $30 and the app even offered me a coupon for my first purchase.

Besides my cherished fulllength mirror, I usually scroll past advertisements fairly quickly for trivial products like the shot straw that claims to mask the burning sensation of drinking alcohol.

The videos promoting products that target my face or my body, on the other hand, capture my interest more than I’d like to admit. On days that

I struggle with my self-esteem, I have been tempted to add a tummy control waist trainer and a chin strap to lift my double chin – which looks just as absurd as it sounds – to my shopping cart.

Amid all of these new items I feel compelled to keep track of, the last thing I need to stress about is something I can’t control – getting older. The latest product being marketed to women on TikTok Shop is the Lipzi, a glass anti-wrinkle straw that is different from a regular straw since users can drink from it without pursing their lips.

It’s ridiculous to think there are young girls out there who are purchasing this abomination of a horizontal straw to prevent lip lines and creases – a feature that naturally comes with aging.

To my surprise, the inventor of this anti-wrinkle straw is a father – Tim McManaman from Illinois – who presented the prototype to his wife and children before distributing the straws on Amazon, according to an April 15 New York Times article.

While reading Lipzi’s home webpage, it says children should not use these glass products but it doesn’t specify what age defines children.

It’s ironic because Lipzi’s target audience is basically Gen Alpha or Generation Alpha, young girls who all begged their parents for a Stanley Quencher drinking cup just to participate in a TikTok phenomenon.

It’s hard enough as is being a woman in my early 20s. Every morning as I wash my face and stare at my reflection in the

mirror, my mind is instantly preoccupied with blemishes I can see forming or why my face looks puffier than usual.

Wrinkles that I can’t see yet are the least of my worries.

As negative as I can be about my appearance, I try to shake off these insecurities and not let them ruin my day because I know I’ll only ever be this young and beautiful now.

I see many older celebrities online indulge in facelifts and other cosmetic procedures to prevent them from looking their age. Oftentimes, the feedback is positive and the public is amazed these celebrities still look young.

Wrinkles aren’t exactly the beauty standard. Naturally, my brain is programmed to fear aging and the physical changes

that will occur to me.

This isn’t to say I don’t take care of my skin now – I’m not a barbarian.

I have been applying sunscreen since middle school and this has been a staple to my morning routine. My mom tells me to put on sunscreen even during winter because she knows I should still be wary.

Sunscreen does help prevent premature aging, but it also has other benefits including protecting the skin against skin cancer, according to the Johns Hopkins Medicine webpage.

I see sunscreen as an addition to my life, unlike the Lipzi straw which only creates fear among young women specifically.

If I have to be mindful of every little thing I do and

how it can be detrimental to my future appearance, that’s not considered living to me. For that reason, I will not be purchasing a Lipzi straw. We should just embrace what we look like right now and focus on the present instead of dwelling on the natural occurrence of aging.

When wrinkles do form around my lips as I get older, I’ll be happy knowing that I spent my youth smiling from ear to ear and reveling in the fact that I didn’t just spend it sipping from a horizontal straw.