January 23, 2013

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volume 132, number 10

wednesday, january 23, 2013

Intercollegiate Athletics resolution vetoed ASUCD Senate to see modified version this quarter

By JESSICA GRILLI Aggie News Writer

ASUCD President Rebecca Sterling recently vetoed Senate Resolution 2, which called for increased transparency and greater student influence in regard to decisions concerning the UC Davis Department of Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA).

Former senators Patrick Sheehan and

Justin Goss authored the resolution.

Sheehan said he wanted students to have a well-established, formal space to publicly air concerns about the program's direction. Students currently contribute roughly $18,000,000 to ICA — 75 percent of the program’s total budget.

“Students should be given a reliable medium to learn about the major decisions facing the ICA program and be able

News iN Brief

to comment on them before they've been made,” Sheehan said.

The resolution passed with a vote of 10-1-1 on Nov. 15. Sterling’s veto was upheld with a vote of 6-5-1 on Jan. 10.

Paul Medved, a UC Davis alumnus who graduated with a bachelor’s in civil engineering in 1978 has been vocal on the Senate floor about his support of the resolution.

“That any elected representative of the students should decide that less transparency is better than more would be difficult for me to understand. That an ASUCD president should unilaterally reach such a conclusion in this case, in opposition to the will of the student Senate, is even more difficult to understand,” Medved said.

See ATHLETICS, page 2

Dutch Bros. Coffee offers 24-hour service

Shields Library fire alarm goes off due to restroom leak

Students find advantages to late-night coffee

At approximately 2:45 p.m. last Thursday, the fire alarm went off in Peter J. Shields Library. Staff and students in the library evacuated the building and remained outside for around 20 minutes before firefighters cleared the building for re-entry.

“People were hesitant, there was some confusion and then people started to leave,” said second-year English major Lauren Ashe, who was in the reading room when the alarm went off. “I wasn’t panicked about there being a fire, but I wanted to leave just in case.”

Some students in the library did not appear to be alarmed by the disruption.

“I had just left a meeting and as I walked through the reading room, there were still students present,” said Amy Kautzman, associate university librarian for humanities and social sciences. “I shouted, ‘This is a fire alarm, please exit the building.’

Students should know that the fire department does not test the alarm system unannounced during regular hours, so if they hear the fire alarm, they should always take the nearest exit immediately.”

According to UC Davis Fire Chief Nathan Trauernicht, the alarm went off due to a water leak from the women’s restroom.

“The water leak caused one detector to go off, and that sets off the entire system,” Trauernicht said.

Facilities fixed the leak and the problem was resolved.

— Meredith Sturmer

Symposium organized to address water laws The Ninth Annual Water Law Symposium will be held Saturday, Jan. 26 at the UC Davis School of Law and the UC Davis Conference Center from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The event, titled “Beyond the Water Wars: Collaborative Management Solutions for a Shared Resource,” will feature expert discussion of controversies surrounding California’s water law.

Topics will also address the Klamath Basin agreements, California groundwater and drinking water contamination, state water markets, groundwater overdraft and salmon restoration science, according to the event news release.

Scheduled speakers include United States Rep. John Garamendi; Frances Spivey-Weber, vice chair of the State Water Resources Control Board; Art Baggett, former chair of the State Water Resources Control Board; Harrison “Hap” Dunning, professor emeritus at the UC Davis School of Law; and Justices Gregory J. Hobbs (Colorado Supreme Court) and Ronald B. Robie (Third District California Court of Appeal).

Registration for the event has ended. It is open to a limited number of students with a current school ID. People can be added to the waitlist by emailing waterlawsymposium@ gmail.com. More information can be found at www.waterlawsymposium.com.

— Muna Sadek

Rhetoric and Multimedia talk Thursday Andrea Lunsford, English professor and Director of the Program in Writing and Rhetoric at Stanford University will visit campus Thursday to speak at the first Winter Quarter meeting of the Rhetorical Studies Cluster.

The group assembles twice a quarter to discuss rhetoric-related research from various University disciplines.

The talk, titled “Rhetoric and (Multi) Media Writing in the 21st Century,” is co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching and Learning, the English Department and the University Writing Program.

It will take place Thursday, Jan. 24 at 4:10 p.m. in the School of Education building, room 174.

For more information contact Michal Reznizki at mreznizki@ucdavis.edu or Heather Jennings at hhjennings@ucdavis.edu.

— Muna Sadek

Today’s weather Afternoon rain High 56 Low 40

Shazib Haq / Aggie

Dutch Bros. Coffee on West Olive Drive is open 24/7. The shop takes over the space previously occupied by Caffino.

By PAAYAL ZAVERI Aggie Staff Writer

Dutch Bros. Coffee, located on West Olive Drive, is quickly gaining popularity with students and Davis residents since its opening in November 2012.

Store manager Erin Backman said that business is going great so far and they are starting to see some regular customers and many more new ones each day.

The shop took over the space previously occupied by the Caffino coffee stand. It has multiple drive-thru windows and a walk-up window. It stands out from Starbucks, Peet’s Coffee, the ASUCD Coffee House (CoHo) and other coffee shops because it is open 24/7.

“It’ll be helpful to students during midterms and finals week since the other closest 24-hour coffee place is in West Sacramento,” said third-year electrical engineering major Gurprit Singh.

Backman said she was surprised that there are no other places in Davis that offer services like Dutch Bros.

People have had varied responses to the beverages at Dutch Bros. The general consensus has been positive.

“It was really tasty and the prices definitely aren't bad, especially with all the promotions that they announce on Facebook,” said third-year biological sciences major Elaine Trang.

Each month the shop has promotions in which they offer special deals on certain days. For example, on Monday, all medium drinks were $2.

In addition to the standard drinks most coffee places serve, Dutch Bros. offers a few unique flavors. One such flavor is The Annihilator, which has espresso shots, chocolate macadamia nuts and their special kick-me mix.

Second-year undeclared major Pablo Maheda tried the ER 911 coffee, which has a mix of six espresso shots.

He said he was hoping he wouldn’t have to actually call 9-1-1 because of the amount of caffeine the drink had.

The drink only ended up making him very jittery.

Dutch Bros. also serves several flavors of smoothies, tea, frozen coffee drinks and energy drinks.

People agree that the shop is open in a prime location, and it is a common complaint by students that there are not enough late-night places in Davis. Even those who are not regular customers mentioned the benefits of Dutch Bros.

"Dutch Bros. is a good idea, and their customer service is great, but I can't say that I've went out of my way to go to them,” said third-year international relations major Peter An. “I have to be in the area or happen to stumble upon them.”

PAAYAL ZAVERI can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

Striving to stay sniffle free As flu cases in California increase, vaccinations are encouraged

By HANNAH KRAMER Aggie Features Writer

The flu season makes everyone a little nervous.

Friends become cagey and skeptical when around one another, not wanting to share drinks or make physical contact. Surface area contact with door handles is minimized. Hands become chapped and dry from overscrubbing. A small sneeze becomes suspect; a scratchy throat must signal the beginning of the end. And if it is even thought that a fever is coming on, it’s reason to resort to getting to bed at 7 p.m., just to be safe.

It’s hard to blame us for over-analyzing our bodies and fearing the flu. The media has a tendency to senForecast

A major change in the weather change will bring rain to the area, beginning Wednesday evening and ending early Thursday morning.

Dry weather is forecast for Thursday before another storm clips the area late Friday night, which will likely bringing showers.

Jonathan Huynh, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team

sationalize the flu through death tolls and descriptions of the annual virus as some sort of never-before-seen outbreak.

Thankfully, a number of techniques exist to help avoid the flu.

“People tend to stock up on Vitamin C, Zinc and Airborne before the season starts. While these help, the vaccination is the best way to prevent getting the flu,” said Rite Aid Pharmacy Manager Rami Saad.

Demand for the vaccine has been high for the Russell Boulevard location in the last few weeks since the return of students from winter break. Because appointments are not required to receive the vaccine, it’s hard to project how many will

Thursday

Friday

Partly cloudy

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High 57 Low 40

want to take the shot.

“We actually ran out at one point,” Saad said. “With the recent outbreak and media attention, I’ve already hit and overcome my target number for vaccines by over 100, and it’s not even the end of the flu season yet. We ordered another shipment and are restocked and ready for walk-ins.”

It’s not surprising that the return of students was correlated to the spike in demand. The chances of becoming exposed to the the flu at Davis at some point are extremely high. Most live in dorms, apartments or homes with multiple people only to sit in classrooms with thousands of other students each day. It’s important to take every pre-

caution possible.

“I recommend that everyone gets [the vaccine]. It’s protection. I vaccinated my whole family. It takes 15 minutes. Why not?” Saad said.

Many students share Saad’s sentiments.

“I don’t want to get sick, and I know [the vaccine] is an important part of preventing that. I mean, it doesn’t hurt, it’s an easy thing to do,” said Elizabeth Aleman, a fourth-year psychology major.

Because the virus evolves, the vaccine must be updated each year. While some areas offer an inhaled vaccine, the most common method of delivery is a shot, which, for some, is reason enough to forgo the extra protection.

See FLU, page 2

Men who kiss their wives in the morning live five years longer than those who don’t.

Something to keep in mind for later in life!

Amanda Nguyen

page two

2 wednesday, january 23, 2013

daily calendar dailycal@theaggie.org

WEDNESDAY

Stranger. The presentation will be followed by a brief Q&A period and book signing.

Free Compost Class 6 to 7 p.m.

Hallmark Inn Attend a free composting class in the Sequoia Room of the Hallmark Inn, focusing on simple, pest-free methods of composting food scraps. After attending a class, Davis residents can sign up to receive a start set of composting worms and residents in a single-family home can receive a backyard compost bin for $10.

Class attendees that live in Davis can enter to win a free Home Composter backyard compost bin. To register, call the Public Works Department at (530) 757-5686 or email pwweb@cityofdavis.org.

Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Davis United Methodist Church Are you having trouble controlling the way you eat? Free yourself from excess weight and/or obsessional thoughts about food and body image. Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) is a 12-step fellowship based on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Meetings are open and free to the public. Visit foodaddicts.org for other meeting locations.

FRIDAY David Simpson — A Talk Noon to 1:30 p.m.

The Store Lounge, Memorial Union Join David Simpson, professor of English at UC Davis, as he talks about his new book, Romanticism and the Question of the

Kaffeehausgespräch 4 to 5 p.m.

Konditorei Austrian Pastry Café Join the monthly literary salon for a discussion of works from their reading list in English and German.

Knockout Slavery 6 to 7 p.m.

ARC Pavilion Join the Catalyst Fellowship of Davis as they attempt to break the world record for the largest game of Knockout, the free-throw basketball game. Participants are asked to make a $10 donation to register for the game. Every donation will be gifted to the International Justice Mission, an organization that frees slaves around the world.

SUNDAY Tour the Domes 11 a.m. to noon Orchard Park Circle Join us for a half-hour guided tour of the Domes! Learn more about this experiential living community’s history, its present and its future! All prospective applicants are welcome! Contact erpearson@ucdavis. edu for further information.

To receive placement in the AGGIE DAILY CALENDAR, email dailycal@theaggie. org or stop by 25 Lower Freeborn by noon the day prior to your event. Due to space constraints, all event descriptions are subject to editing and priority will be given to events that are free of charge and geared toward the campus community.

surviving the season than a shot in the arm.

Some turn to extreme methods, such as quarantining themselves completely from others.

“What I try and do is avoid people who are sick like the plague,” said Cary Westendorf, a third-year chemistry major.

Others take a more traditional approach.

“Honestly, sleep makes a big difference in avoiding getting sick. I shoot for at least six hours a night,” Koeneke said.

If all else fails, and you do start to feel under the weather, there is still hope to be found in over-thecounter medications.

Acetaminophen, ibuprofen and DayQuil knock out the muscle aches, fever, fatigue, cough and congestion that accompany the flu. However, the flu can become life-threatening if it develops into a more serious condition such as pneumonia.

“It’s time to see a doctor and get an antiviral medication when symptoms turn to severe all-over muscle aching, sweating and a fever that doesn’t go away,” Saad said.

With California’s flu status being raised to widespread by the CDC as of early January, it’s time to make whatever plans necessary to avoid the flu. Vaccines are available at most pharmacies, hospitals and UC Davis Student Health and Counseling Services. If you are a student who is already sick and suspects that it could be the flu, call the SHS Advice Nurse at (530) 752-2349.

flu

Cont. from front page “I haven’t gotten the vaccine because I’m scared of being vaccinated. I don’t like getting poked with needles,” said Beatriz Aguilar, a graduate research lab assistant at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

Others avoid the yearly injection because of the cost, their busy schedules or doubt about the protection it provides.

“I didn’t get vaccinated.

I’m bad about it ... it’s not my number-one priority. I feel like the vaccine is only halfway effective anyway,” said Kaitlyn Koeneke, a fourth-year animal science major.

According to early data from the Jan. 11 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, those who have taken the vaccine have had their risk of going to the doctor for the flu reduced by 60 percent.

The vaccine’s effectiveness, according the the Center for Disease Control, depends on how similar a particular flu strain affecting an area is to the strains contained in the vaccine.

Additionally, for those who have taken the plunge only to come up sick a day later, the CDC also notes that the vaccine needs two weeks to help produce enough antibodies to work effectively. Furthermore, it only protects against the flu and not other, similar viruses that spread during the flu’s October-February season.

Because not everyone has the opportunity or desire to get the vaccine, HANNAH KRAMER can be reached at clearly there is more to features@theaggie.org.

reasoned they could measure the relative importance of events associated with that year. They arbitrarily chose 1950 to begin.

Sean The graphical results Lenehan show that prior to 1950, few people wrote about Memory 1950. Then, unsurprisingly, the amount 1950 is mentioned spiked dramatically during the year 1950.

And then something peculiar happened. People continued to write steadily n 1936, science-fiction about 1950, until the year writer H.G. Wells ex1954, when talk of 1950 depressed the idea of a scended almost as hur“permanent world encyclo- riedly as it rose. The bubpedia,” a repository of all ble burst, as the researchhuman knowledge availers put it. able to every person on the Further investigation planet, no matter their soshowed that each year’s cial standing. This new enbubble tends to burst more cyclopedia would unite in quickly than the last. us a common understand The bubbles are geting of our past, and conseting bigger too. Each year is quently, our present. written about with increas Mr. Wells optimisticaling amplitude, as more and ly prescribed this encyclomore books are published. pedia, this “World Brain,” Even if we dwell in the as a remedy to humanipast, it is an increasingly ty’s problems — enlightmore recent past. The presenment for all. Ignorance, ent is becoming louder. inequality and war would Other trends studfade into darkness. ied with the Ngram view The World Wide Web er included censorship exemplifies his utopian of certain authors in Nazi dream, albeit in a gleefully Germany, the chronology messy rejection of convenof flu epidemics, linguistional encyclopedias. tic evolution, the rise and Replete with rage comics fall of famous names, genand lolcats, Mr. Wells might der inequality, prevalence object to certain portions of the word God and adopof online life. “I Can Has tion of new technology.

Cheezburger?” is surely Though implications of not one of the fundamendecoding human histotal questions of knowledge ry on such a grand scale that he sought to answer. are impressive, there are of Happily, there is an affili- course problems. Many of ated development that car- the books could not go into ries his lofty aspirations. this nascent version of the Google is digitizing books, Ngram viewer. Some books surpassing the 20 million were less legible, without scanned last year. They bean author, without a deflieve they can finish the inite place or time of orirest of an estimated 130 gin. As a result, the Cultural million unique books by Observatory could only the end of this decade. search 5 million books for Researchers recognized their first paper. This fracthe significance of fully tion of the codex still comwordprises over searchable billion Even if we dwell in the past, 500 texts via words. computer. it is an increasingly more Moreover, All books these are recent past ever written only books. could The Ngram be read viewer does simultaneously. not contain periodicals, One group of researchscholarly articles, tweets, ers, called the Cultural pictures, paintings, videos, Observatory, has dubbed status updates — to name their new field “culturomics.” a few. These are all valid They are led by Harvard cultural expressions, and duo Jean-Baptiste Michel the Cultural Observatory and Erez Lieberman Aiden says it is hopeful it can in— taking on the formidable clude more. task of organizing a deluge This is not a replacement of information. Along with of traditional close reading, Google, they constructed an either. Culturomics is comenormous dataset, capable plementary. Just as we canof measuring the amount not read all the books ever a word, phrase, name or written, a computer cannot number came up in books understand why they are dating back to 1800. important to read.

Speaking statistics, these If the World Brain and variables being measured culturomics interest you, are called Ngrams.

I suggest a search for the The product of this effort Cultural Observatory’s TED is a powerful query machine, conference presentation the Google Ngram viewer. on YouTube, entitled “What With this tool, the rewe learned from 5 million searchers quantified culture books.” After all, I have lit— observing generational tle more than 700 words, trends in a few seconds. while they have over 500 One particularly notable billion. trend is that we’re forgetting the past with increasAccording to the Ngram viewer (books. ing speed. google.com/ngrams) “hipsters” have been By searching for a partic- on the rise since the ‘80s. SEAN LENEHAN ular year, the researchers is at splenehan@ucdavis.edu.

Culturomics

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athletics accuracy The California Aggie strives to ensure that all of its facts and details are accurate. Please bring any corrections to our attention by calling (530) 752-0208.

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Cont. from front page Medved said that, because student contributions provide such a large sum to the funding to the ICA, students should have knowledge about and influence on inner workings of the program.

Due to campus-wide budget cuts, four sports — women’s rowing, men’s wrestling, men’s swimming and diving and men’s track and field — were discontinued in April of 2010. The act was to save $2.4 million, with ICA to absorb $400,000 in operational cuts.

Instead, ICA administration expenditures increased by approximately $200,000, the resolution stated.

Sterling said there were parts of the resolution that she did agree with.

“Students have a high level of investment in the UC Davis Athletics Department, so we do deserve a high level of involvement and access to decision making. A resolution stating that would have very much been ap-

and not just to others, because only you can truly feel what works and what doesn’t.

On that note, if weed is Leo honestly something that Ocampo helps calm your head, Some shake then I wholeheartedly encourage you to smoke on.

Breathing exercises (especially while stretching) have been the most helpful in treating my own anxiety. While it might sound too simple, taking long, deep breaths usually relaxes my body and refter a shitty second leases some of the steam week of this winter that seems to build up my quarter, I thought head.

I’d give a little bit of advice on some ways to treat “Tapping” is another helpful technique that anxiety and stress. simply requires you to Of course, I am not at massage or tap different all a professional on the parts of the body (on subject, but I have sufthe forehead, between fered from a nervousness the eyebrows, for and panic disorder for a example) while verbally while now. I simply hope repeating some positive that by sharing some of reinforcements. the techniques that help While it sounds cheesy, keep me calm, I can help this exercise actually reothers who suffer from minds the body of its rethe same problems and silience and strength who feel like they’re runwhile making it more ning out of options. alert to whatever prob Personally, anxiety feels lems you tell it you’re faclike a hot wave of pain ing. One good reinforceand confusion that usualment is “Even though I’m ly begins in my head before spreading to my chest having a hard time, I still love and accept myself.” and the rest of my body.

Though, the more specif Sometimes it only last a ic you are to your situafew seconds, but, as was tion, the better. the case for me last week, Chewing gum and hot it can also literally last for herbal tea also have an days. immediate comforting ef As odd as it might fect on my nerves and are sound, it got to the point also great for relaxing the that I had to completestomach. ly avoid the Unitrans bus Music also has a soothes and instead I chose to ing effect on the body, walk the couple miles to but I would recommend and from school every that you avoid using earday. phones. Personally, using I had to do this because earphones while anxious even sitting in a slightonly makes me feel even ly crowded bus would more trapped, so I pretrigger my anxiety: my fer to just let the music (or head would get sore, my heart would get heavy, my the TV) fill the room.

I understand that runhands would get cold and ning out of I would to have to While it sounds cheesy, this options calm your force myself to put exercise ... reminds the body of anxiety is its resilience and strength ... one of the up with worst feelthis exings in treme disthe world. comfort until the end of While I prefer natural rethe slow and miserable laxation methods, if none bus ride. of these work for you, Since I usually ramble there are plenty more about the fun effects of chemical options that a weed, I thought it would doctor can prescribe to be important that I point help you out. out that all of last week I Last week I was preavoided ingesting any of scribed Ativan, and it because, personally, it would only make my anxi- while I have not had to use it, I feel comfortety worse. ed knowing that I have it Even though I love in case my anxiety ever to smoke, I also strive gets unbearable. to be a responsible and While there is unforhealthy adult, so I could tunately a bit of a stignot ignore the fact that ma against these kinds of this was something that medications and the peowas not mixing well with ple who need them, you my condition. should not be ashamed Even though some about bringing it up with would actually recomyour doctor. mend pot to help with Finally, while I wouldn’t anxiety, as a freethinkplan on using medicaing adult I accepted that tions permanently, evit was not the treatment erybody is different, and for me. Everyone is differI would never deprive ent, and on your journey anyone of the only thing to healing yourself you’re that’s keeping them alive. going to come across a lot of methods that may or LEO OCAMPO feels a lot better after may not help you. It is up to you to listen to yourself, sharing all this and invites you to do the

Treating anxiety

A

propriate to me, but this resolution had statements that were inappropriate and unproductive,” she said.

According to Sterling, the lack of student athletes involved in the creation of the resolution was another primary reason for her veto.

“There should be involvement from student athletes who are often the most informed about the effects of policy decisions on the department,” she said.

To this point, Sheehan argues that the resolution would not change how the ICA program interacts with athletes.

“I don’t think many athletes would protest being given more control over their own outcomes. And while my stint throwing Javelin on the Track and Field team was brief, I think I have a good understanding of what it means to be an athlete and what athletes care about: ‘Don’t cut funding for my sport,’” Sheehan said.

Sterling states that, while she disagreed with the resolution, there are still improvements to be made to the

same at gocampo@ucdavis.edu.

ICA program.

“The Intercollegiate Athletics department must pursue feasible and long-term solutions to its challenges, many of which are budgetary, and I would argue that since Athletic Director Terry Tumey’s appointment this summer, they have been taking positive steps in this direction,” she said. “UC Davis ICA faces many unique challenges, so in order to keep to the Davis way and have a successful department it will take continuous and strategic re-evaluation.”

In a final summary of his points, Sheehan lays out his own hopes for the future of ICA. “This is what I want for the ICA program: I want them to be upfront with students in a formal space, tell us what they’ve got planned for the future and then take our input to heart,” he said.

ASUCD Senator Kabir Kapur is expected to introduce a modified version of the resolution to ASUCD Senate this quarter.

JESSICA GRILLI can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

The california aggie

Science &Technology

wednesday, january 23, 2013 3

Don’t free your fish Discarded ornamental fish pose threat to native species

By NICOLE NOGA Aggie Science Writer

Most animal enthusiasts are familiar with the concept of freeing captive animals. Even bringing up the subject conjures mental images of the morose circus lion longing to roam outside his small cage. It seems that some aquarium owners have taken to this concept — perhaps inspired by the film Finding Nemo — and are emptying their tanks into nearby streams or bays.

While well-intended, sending aquarium fish into the wild can prove destructive to the natural ecosystem.

Susan Williams, an evolution and ecology professor with the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory, found that 13 non-native ornamental species of fish were present in California waters.

While 13 species may not seem like a lot, Williams’ report to the California Ocean Protection Council cautioned that 69 percent of non-native species artificially introduced have established themselves successfully.

“For example, Caulerpa displaces seagrass, which provides critical habitat for California halibut, lobsters, Dungeness crab and rockfishes,” Williams said.

Caulerpa taxifolia is an invasive species of seaweed used in aquariums. It thrives in temperate waters and has compounds toxic to herbivores, making it very difficult to control. In Crete,

the spread of Caulerpa has contributed to a decline in fisheries. The economic costs do not stop there: It cost $6 million to eradicate in Agua Hedionda Lagoon, a coastal marine lagoon located in Carlsbad in San Diego County and in a portion of Huntington Harbour in Orange County. The process also took half a decade after the initial sighting in 2000. It is currently illegal to own, distribute or purchase nine different species of Caulerpa.

Williams continued that one of the most troublesome consequences of introducing non-native species is that they often out-compete native species with high economic value to a region.

“Most introductions probably fail … but if it does reproduce and many people are dumping in the same place then that can actually result in the same species being there and establishing a population,” said Jay Stachowicz, professor of evolution and ecology and member of the state’s Ocean Protection Council. “Most species that have been introduced into any place don’t spread and become a big problem but the issue is that there are few that have become a big problem … once a species has arrived and started to spread, it is very difficult to remove.”

Pterois volitans, more commonly known as the lionfish, is another species of particular concern. The lionfish, native to the east coast of Australia and Indonesia,

The educators

W courtesy

A UC Davis ecology professor found that 13 non-native ornamental species of fish were found in California waters. Invasive species pose a threat to the local ecosystem.

is most well-known for its poisonous fin rays and its highly aggressive nature.

In humans, lionfish venom can cause systemic effects such as extreme pain, nausea, breathing difficulties, convulsions and numbness.

In rare cases, stings cause temporary paralysis or even death. It has been sighted in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and the Caribbean.

While it has not invaded California waters yet, it is still being imported daily through San Francisco International Airport (SFO), and due to its ability to withstand cooler temperatures, could establish itself further north than the San Francisco Bay. “It is one of these situations where we could have a very damaging species introduced into the [San Francisco] bay waters,”

said Ted Grosholz, a coauthor on the study.

Aside from the lionfish, there are 34 different aquarium species being imported that have the ability to tolerate cooler waters, meaning that if released, they could pose a serious threat to the established food web and ecosystem.

According to Grosholz, the environmental damage from invasive species is like a “killer earthquake.” It has not happened yet, but it is only a matter of time.

“Don’t dump your aquariums,” Williams cautioned.

“Take your unwanted organisms back to the vendor or contact your fish and game or wildlife department to learn how to dispose of the organisms properly and humanely.”

NICOLE NOGA can be reached at science@ theaggie.org.

Deteriorating judgment Older adults more often victims of fraud

courtesy

A study by the AARP found that people over the age of 50 are more susceptible to fraud.

By VICTORIA TRANG Aggie Science Writer

According to the May 2011 survey conducted by the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), individuals over the age of 50 take fewer precautions to prevent fraud and are therefore more susceptible to it. With a large portion of the population reach-

pursue a life dedicated to improving humanity? Who inspired them to work hard with little to no care for recognition? The educators.

When I say educators, I Hudson am not just talking about Lofchie teachers in the common sense, i.e., middle school and high school teachers and college professors. Educators are the individuals who bring knowledge and a passion for learning to the world at large. Sure, a college professor may teach upwards of 10,000 students during a tenure, but what about peohen asked to name ple like Carl Sagan, Neil some of the peoDeGrasse Tyson and the lessple who changed er-known Marvin Minsky? the world, there are a few When individuals such as obvious names that come these write and speak, their to mind: Martin Luther voices reach millions of peoKing Jr., Winston Churchill, ple, from thousands of comShakespeare, Darwin, munities, in hundreds of Newton, Mozart, Einstein, countries.

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs If their voices inspire just … the list goes on ad infione person to take up the nitum. Why do we remem- torch for improving huber these people though? manity, then they have Although there are thoudone their job. However, sands upon thousands of it is not just famous inone person fluential Educators are the individuals who who is inhumans bring knowledge and a passion for spired by throughthese eduout hislearning to the world at large cators. It is tory who hundreds of have forevthousands er altered every year. It could be a the course of human histo- college dropout working a ry, how many millions are dead-end job who hears a there whose names we will speech or reads a book and never know? is inspired to go back to If you have the time to do school and learn the workso, stop reading this article ings of the universe in biolfor five minutes and comogy, chemistry or physics. pile a list of the 100 most It could be someone who influential humans you can is already working towards think of. Go ahead … I’ll this goal, but is questionwait ... all done? Your list ing whether it is actually probably had some of the what they want. After hearnames I listed above. But ing these men speak, their I am willing to bet mondrive is rekindled and their ey that you didn’t list Tim efforts redoubled.

Berners-Lee, the totally Now don’t get me wrong. awesome dude who actuThere is absolutely no subally invented the internet stitute for quality teachers while working at CERN. Did at every level of education. your list have Avicenna, the A great education begins Islamic scientist who came the first day a student enup with the idea of medical ters a classroom. I know my quarantines? preschool teachers instilled What about Karl in me a curiosity about the Landsteiner, the doctor wonders of the world when who discovered the difwe first mixed oil and waferent blood groups (A, B ter and watched how they and O) and discovered the separated. In elementapoliovirus? And I bet you ry school, these learndidn’t even think to mening experiences become tion John Bardeen, the dis- more important as intercoverer of superconductiv- ests begin to form in highity and the inventor of both er definition. Then on to CAT scans and the MRI. high school and university, What differentiates the where a student can truly influential world-changbegin to pursue their pasers we all know about, and sions. There is no substitute the world-changers whose for the personal teaching names we will never know? experience.

Like I said earlier, there These great educators are individuals numbermay not be known for their ing in the millions who have own research or their own changed the course of hudiscoveries … They are remanity, and in all likelihood, sponsible for inspiring the we will never know who next generation of people they are. And the best part whose names we won’t reis, many of those nameless member. To be a great edpeople probably have litucator is to be a leader of tle to no worries that their leaders. To be a great ednames are not inscribed on ucator is to inspire those the sides of skyscrapers. who follow, to succeed.

Where did these people come from? Who convinced HUDSON LOFCHIE can be reached at science@ these nameless youth to theaggie.org.

ing that susceptible age, many groups interested in protecting the interests of older adults seek to understand why members of this age group become victims of fraud so often. A recent two-part study headed by UCLA’s Shelley Taylor sheds some light on the problem.

The study concentrates on how young adults and relatively older adults perceive trustworthy and untrustworthy faces. Participants in the study had healthy, aging brains — a requirement in testing individuals’ judgments unhindered by brain conditions such as strokes or dementia.

The participants were shown multiple portraits and asked to rank the trustworthiness of the individuals in the photos. The participants’ rankings were compared to responses given from other test groups.

According to professor Wesley Moons, a psychologist involved with the study at UCLA who has recently moved to UC Davis, untrustworthy

traits could refer to the actual architecture, or physical characteristics, of the face or expressions.

Elizabeth Castle, a graduate student at UCLA and lead author of the study, listed a few of these “untrustworthy” traits, including narrow chin, scrunched up eyebrows, shallow cheekbones, deeper indentation between eyes or a wider nose.

“A smile that is in the mouth but doesn’t go up to the eyes, an averted gaze and a backward lean could indicate untrustworthiness,” said Taylor, the lead researcher on the study, in her interview with NPR’s Patti Neighmond.

The researchers asked the elderly test subjects to rank the trustworthiness of two sets of faces—both sets had already been rated as trustworthy or untrustworthy by a younger control group.

See FRAUD, page 6

The power of the sun Algae create fuel from sunlight

courtesy

UC Davis assistant professor of chemistry Shota Atsumi and his research team developed a method to enable cyanobacteria to produce 2,3-butanediol, which can be used in the production of fuels and solvents.

By VICTORIA TRANG Aggie Science Writer

As nations grow and the supply of fossil fuels diminishes, demands for alternative fuel sources rise. The miniscule blue-green

algae, or cyanobacteria, provide a means of producing alternative fuels and other commercial products.

In UC Davis, Shota Atsumi, assistant professor of chemistry, and his research group have developed a method to en-

able cyanobacteria to produce 2,3-butanediol, a type of butane. This butane is a key chemical in producing fuels and solvents.

As a result of the single-celled nature of cyanobacteria, it is easier to introduce DNA fragments that help with the synthesis of 2,3-butanediol from pyruvate, a sugar found in plants.

“Cyanobacteria [are] easy to manipulate.

[They] can grow much faster than plants, and the carbon dioxide exchange is faster,” Atsumi said. “In the cynanobacteria, they don’t have any enzymes to create [butane], but [they] can produce pyruvate. We can create a DNA fragment that produces a gene encoder enzyme, and then we install the fragment into a chromosome on the cyanobacteria.”

In essence, the cyanobacteria become genetically modified to create 2,3-butanediol from pyruvate.

In addition, the cyanobacteria have relatively easier and cheaper means of cultivation. While yeast and E. coli have been considered for biofuel production, they require sugar to start their cultures — cyanobacteria does not.

“We use a shake flask and put [the cyanobacteria culture] at 30 degrees Celsius.

The cyanobacteria can use light energy and carbon dioxide to grow,” Atsumi said.

Brendan Higgins, a graduate student researcher in UC Davis’s JeanVanderGheynst’s lab, gave a few more reasons why algae are considered.

“The algae we work with [are] microalgae and it produces a lot of oil, like vegetable oil — high-energy molecules,” he said.

Jean VanderGheynst, a professor of UC Davis’s department of biological and agricultural engineering and head of the VanderGheynst Lab that works with different microorganisms such as chlorella, also gave these reasons for why algae in general are good organisms to work with.

“Algae are very attractive because they can be grown in a way where they have a very high photosynthetic efficiency. Algae are also very interesting in a biofuel perspective because they can be grown on marginal lands using waste waters.”

This makes it possible for algae to be a good biofuel organism because they do not directly compete with other food crops such as corn.

“In many cases [the cyanobacteria] can treat the water as they accumulate oil and starch that can be converted into biofuel. Algae are often able to remove some of the components in the water that makes it difficult to irrigate land,” VanderGheynst said.

According to VanderGheynst, algae are a superior producer of biofuels because other crops used for biofuel production, such as corn, have evolved to resist being broken down by microorganisms.

While algae are superior to crops such as corn for making biofuels, mass cultivation of the 2,3-butanediol-producing-cyanobacteria in open ponds poses several problems.

“Using open ponds is easy but has many issues such as slow growth and

See ALGAE, page 6

classifieds

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FOR RELEASE MARCH 12, 2010

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle The california Aggie Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Pilot producer 6 Deep-sixed 15 “Are we __?”: Sondheim lyric 16 They make lots of contacts 17 Old Renault 18 Lucille Ball was one, slangily 19 Low-quality trumpets and trombones?

21 Greek liqueur 22 Con lead-in 23 Metric wts.

26 Letters on old rubles 28 Slight push 31 Squire 32 Sound from the bleachers 33 Spread unit 34 Man with a mission 35 “How many fools do we have here?”?

39 “Christina’s World” painter 40 Criticize 41 [snicker] 42 Drooping part of a Concorde 43 Cheri who portrayed a “Morning Latte” co-host on “SNL” 45 Hard-earned degs.

46 Bring action against 47 VII x LXXIII 48 Happy Meal choice 50 Grades in standup comedy class?

55 Ingredient in green salsa 58 “Giant Brain” unveiled in 1946 59 Wading, perhaps 60 “Soon It’s __ Rain”: “The Fantasticks” song 61 Messy places 62 Second of the five stages of grief DOWN 1 Dutch artist Frans

3/12/10

By Brendan Emmett Quigley

2 12-member cartel 3 Tortilla chip topping 4 Slow online connection 5 Pollo partner 6 Clock sound 7 Hawaiian food fish 8 Undiluted 9 “Yes __!”

10 Cut-rate, in company names 11 A Morse “I” requires two 12 Nosebag bit 13 Game with a discard pile 14 1/48 cup: Abbr.

20 Large sea snail 23 “The Radiant Baby” pop artist 24 Ate like a mouse 25 Brand owned by Pabst 26 Ceremonial headgear 27 Favor asker’s opening 29 Google hit datum 30 Score before ad in 31 “I’m mad!”

33 Dresden “D’oh!”

Tuesday’s Thursday’spuzzle Puzzle solved Solved

(c)2010 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

34 Clotheshorse 36 Abbr. in Québec place names 37 Make a dent in 38 Puncture 43 Durable leather 44 Best-seller list entries 45 Expect 47 Plane that competed with Lockheed’s L-1011

3/12/10

49 Last in a series 50 Baseball’s Maglie and Bando 51 “Sorry if __ you down” 52 Police 53 Rosebud’s owner, in film 54 War memento 55 Old salt 56 __ trial basis 57 NASDAQ, e.g.

Sudoku

Events BRUNCH WITH THE SCIENTISTS! Nothing to do on a Saturday? The Genetics Club is hosting our annual brunch with the scientists! Eat and mingle with researchers in the fields of biotech, medicine, genetics and ag science. WHEN: SAT. Jan 26, 2013 - 10am-1pm @1132BAINER. ADMISSION: $5 Presale for members, $7 for non-members. $10 at the door. Contact Lauren @lamwalker@ ucdavis.edu Upper-division Composition examination sign-up at writing.ucdavis.edu/ compexam/

Meetings Are you interested in a health related field? Join C.H.E. and learn more about our pre-health organization!

Meetings every Tuesday at 7:10pm to 8:00pm. For more information, contact Fabiola Sanchez at fsanchezmartinez@ucdavis.edu. See you soon!

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Easy

Overpopulation is sexually transmitted. http://population.sierraclub.org/ population/

House for Rent 4 Bedroom 2 Bath House for Rent on Sycamore Lane. $2300/mo. Please call 415-948-8278 for more info.

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Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit.

So must every column, as must every 3x3 square. Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing.

The california Aggie

wednesday, january 23, 2013

5

On to the next

Aggies beat UC San Diego to remain undefeated

By LUKE BAE

Aggie Sports Writer

The UC Davis Ice Hockey Aggies extended their winning streak to 13 over the weekend. They defeated UC San Diego (7-3) on Saturday by a score of 6-3. Freshman Gordon Dickson had five points.

The Millbrae native leads the nation in points with 84, averaging 6.5 points per game through 13 games. To put the numbers in perspective, the nation’s player with the second-most points is Derek Grove of University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, who has 64 points in 24 games. Grove's average comes out to 2.7 points per game.

"Obviously it's been a great season so far with the 13-0 record,” Dickson said. “All the guys try to get along with each other well.”

Gordon described what it meant to have so much success and attributes a lot of his

success to his teammates.

"I don’t score most of the goals. I usually pass and they get me scores," he said.

“I think there's a lot more that goes into it than just an individual player. For all my goals, there's definitely four other guys on the ice that have an impact on it. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to do anything."

After defeating their last four opponents by an average of 8.25 goals, the Aggies struggled on offense against UCSD. "We weren't clicking 100 percent like we normally do, but everyone was skating really hard. It's important that even if you show up at the rink and you're not playing your best and find a way to work hard and win the game anyway," said coach Spenser Wagner.

"We were getting bad bounces, we weren’t passing the puck cleanly like we normally do. It was 4-2 for a long time so we had to keep working hard the whole

Justin Timberlake is bringing Myspace back

By Matt Grippi

Daily Forty-Niner (California State University Long Beach)

A sentence that once seemed implausible has now become a reality: I just signed into Myspace with my Facebook account.

For most people, Myspace is a distant memory of a prototypical social network that was basically a glorified blog with an obnoxious amount of customizability.

Now, years after Facebook and Twitter forced Myspace into obscurity, musician and actor Justin Timberlake has released a new version of the site. Despite the name, the site is nearly unrecognizable. Gone are the glittery backgrounds and annoying automatic profile songs. Instead, the new Myspace is going for a simplistic profile style, which asks for very little besides name, age, sex and a brief description of yourself. In fact, you can sign into the website with the click of a button using your Facebook or Twitter account, something that would seem insane to someone living through the social network wars of the early 2000s.

Myspace isn’t trying to compete with other social networks anymore. It’s trying to be “one more thing” instead of “the next thing.” As Google+ proved a few years ago, it is extremely difficult to convince people to jump ship to another system when they are so deeply invested in something else already.

The new Myspace homepage is made up of large tiles, each one representing a news story, band, movie trailer or music video.

The tiles change depending on the user’s interests. The goal is to help users “discov-

er” new things that they may like instead of simply viewing the things they already enjoy.

Timberlake has not been focusing on his music as much as he used to, but it is very clear that the new Myspace is music-oriented and hopes to compete with streaming options such as Spotify and Pandora.

The site aims to make sharing and discovering new music a social activity. Users create their own mixes and playlists that can be shared with their friends, while also being shown new artists and songs that may interest them. This is an interesting middle ground between Spotify, which primarily streams music that the users choose themselves, and Pandora, which plays music randomly based on a theme that the user chooses.

However, the big question here is whether or not people want to add another tab to their online social activity. With Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, Youtube, Pandora and more, it is likely that web users are already over-saturated with social options.

For now, it will be most useful to fans of the indie music scene, who can follow and discover lesser known bands easily and add and share new music to their “mix.”

Indie bands may also have more success connecting with an audience if this format becomes a success.

We will have to wait and see if Myspace can really return from the grave as another website to check every day, or even take over for one we’ve already grown accustomed to. For now, it’s just another pretty time waster to click around while you’re supposed to be working.

game," he said.

The Aggies have a challenging task ahead of them going against Santa Rosa Junior College. After coming out on top in both the contests earlier this season, the Aggies will face them again on Saturday. The previous scores were 8-7 and 12-4, respectively.

SRJC added five new players over the winter break, but Wagner is familiar with the acquisitions and also knows how to prepare for the game.

"I know three of them personally. They're good players," he said. "Specifically, I want to focus on our power play because they tend to take a lot of penalties."

The Aggies should be well rested for SRJC after coming off five days of rest, and are continuously maintaining their focus.

"Once we finish our game over the weekend, we start focusing on whatever we're doing this upcoming weekend. Now we're

thinking about Santa Rosa and Santa Clara, and UCSD is history,” Wagner said. “We're not worried about the past. We're more worried about the upcoming weekend now."

The upcoming game will have extra visitors in the stands as the UC Davis Banduh! will attend the game for the first time this year. The team is excited not only because of the big game, but also because of the extra support.

"Everyone says that [having] the band at the games are the best," Dickson said.

Friday's game will be played at Vacaville Ice Sports. Following that game, the Aggies will face Santa Clara University for the latter half of a back-to-back on Jan. 26 as the visitors. The Aggies have dominated the season series thus far, winning all four matchups against the Broncos.

LUKE BAE can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Sickle cells may be a tool against tumors

By Andrew Luo

The Duke Chronicle (Duke University)

Sickle red blood cells, more commonly associated with disease, may also play a role in treating cancer tumors.

Researchers discovered that sickle cells, unlike normal red blood cells, can obstruct up to 88 percent of tumor blood vessels. When combined with chemotherapeutic agents, the sickle cells may be an effective method of attacking cancer tumors that are resistant to existing treatments. The study was published in the Jan. 9 edition of PLOS ONE and was a joint study among researchers at Duke Medicine and Jenomic Research Institute, a biotech company based in Carmel, California.

Sickle cells are more commonly known for its role in sickle cell anemia, a genetic disease that causes normal red blood cells to take on an abnormal crescent shape. In the study, researchers injected sickle red blood cells into mice with cancerous tu-

mors. The sickle cells were found to clump in the blood vessel vessels of the tumor and its surrounding cells. In contrast, normal red blood cells moved freely through tumor vessels without sticking to one another.

“The tumor blood vessels and the sickle cells are uniquely joined at the hip,” said David Terman, head of Molecular Genetics at Jenomic. “It’s like two pieces of Velcro that are reciprocally sticky.”

The use of sickle cells is especially effective in treating hypoxic tumors, which are tumor cells that have been deprived of oxygen. These tumor cells are particularly resistant to conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and this study may be the beginning of a new treatment method, said Mark Dewhirst, professor of radiation oncology at the Duke Cancer Institute.

Dewhirst added that another reason for hypoxic tumors’ resistance is because hypoxic cells do not divide. Conventional cancer treatment methods work best on cells that are

dividing. Additionally, hypoxic cells are located far from major blood vessels, so drugs do not reach the tumor sites as readily.

Terman, who developed the research concept for the study in 1998, said that he brought his ideas to Duke in 2006 seeking collaboration. He currently holds the patents on the findings of the study.

“We managed to bring this project along, albeit slowly,” Terman said.

“We were able to punch through the major impediments and proceed through to the endpoints.”

In order to continue research on the project, Terman noted that the next part of the research was to optimize the sickle cells so they can be more effective in attacking tumors, such as by loading the sickle cells with chemotherapeutic or tumorkilling toxins. He hopes that the study will move forward into human clinical studies within the next five to 10 years.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

INSIDE

the game with...

By VEENA BANSAL Aggie Sports Writer

Liliana Alvarez is a master of the breaststroke and has displayed her talent to the world in numerous occasions over the past couple of years.

From finishing 23rd at the NCAA Championship to placing ninth in the Aggie record book to competing for the Olympic Trials, Alvarez has proved that she is a worthy competitor time and time again.

Alvarez took the time out of her busy training regime to answer a few questions from Aggie Sports Writer Veena Bansal about her experiences and preferences.

What’s your favorite stroke and why?

I do the breaststroke. I’m actually only

good at the breaststroke. It’s funny though because Pete, our coach, says that in order to swim the breaststroke well you have to be weird … so I guess I’m weird.

Do you have any superstitions before you compete?

I have to compete on a full stomach. A lot of people like to never eat, but I have to have a big breakfast.

What got you into swimming?

My older sister swam so my parents signed up me and my twin sister up for swimming. At first we hated it because we were so tiny and the water was so cold, but we stuck with it. We actually didn’t start competing competitively until high school, which I think was a good idea because we aren’t burnt out

Liliana Alvarez

now.

What was it like being a part of the Olympic Trials? How was the entire experience?

For me, it was a really big learning experience because I’m not really used to competing at meets that are at such a high level. It was really out of my comfort zone, but it was also really fun.

I didn’t really know anyone except my teammates, but it was really fun swimming and getting to see all of the Olympians up close. I met a lot of the former Olympians and a couple of the current Olympians. It was a really humbling experience.

How did being part of the Trials affect your performance back at home?

It only just motivated me to try even hard-

er and go faster.

So far, what has been your most memorable moment for this season?

I swam the 100 breaststroke three times one day at Missouri so I could get a faster time. I swam at 9 p.m. by myself which was pretty memorable because I ended up doing pretty well. I had everyone on my team wait for me!

Are there any particular goals you have going into the future?

In terms of personal goals, I want to get into the NCAA meet. It’s pretty hard to qualify for, so I want to continue to go to that. I might go to the Olympic Trials, but we’ll just wait and see what happens.

VEENA BANSAL can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE RECYCLE THE AGGIE

SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES DO NOT WORK

6

wednesday, january 23, 2013

the california aggie

Cruising after boozing A ride-along with Tipsy Taxi

By ALYSSA KUHLMAN Aggie Features Writer

The smell of beer begins to fill the void in the van, and I suddenly feel very lucky for sitting up front in the passenger seat instead of the middle and back where the windows are quickly fogging up. One of the 13 passengers crammed in clutches a trash can in his lap, and I am certain he will puke any moment.

Shortly after midnight on Friday, Jan. 18, I rode along with the friendly and sober driver of UC Davis’ own taxi service designed for sober, tipsy or drunk passengers. Tipsy Taxi costs $3 per person, with additional tips always accepted. The service only operates within city limits and runs from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Thursday through Saturday.

Tipsy Taxi and Unitrans driver Tom Anderson, a fourth-year engineering major, said working as a Tipsy Taxi driver is a popular option for Unitrans employees. Drivers receive around $11 per hour, plus tips.

Arranging a pick-up from the Tipsy Taxi has become undeni-

ably easier.

“We have improved the system since the last few years … we have email and chat, so even if the phone lines are busy, you can get ahold of someone,” Anderson said.

The Special Transportation Services also provides charters such as limos.

Anderson has worked for Unitrans and Tipsy Taxi for three years, and he’s experienced many crazy stories in his tenure.

“One time I picked some people up downtown … seven guys, country boys … and the last guy to get on dropped a handle of tequila out of his pants outside the van. It shattered on the ground and he got back in and told his friends, and they [asked] if they could go grab something that fell outside,” Anderson said, adding that passengers aren’t allowed to bring beverages on board.

Tipsy passengers are also notorious for providing entertaining comments.

“Two of my friends were riding along with me [one time] and one of my friends was Asian and one of the guys [said], ‘Man, I just really love Asian girls.’ And she [said], ‘Oh,

this is awkward,’”Anderson said.

After listening to such debacles, I waited aboard the Taxi with anticipation.

A couple leaving the Theta Chi fraternity house boarded the Tipsy Taxi first. “[I drank] some scotch, and some beer and champagne … kept it kinda mellow tonight.

We’re older now,” said the male passenger, whom we shall call #1 for the sake of anonymity.

He explained his theory that college upperclassmen learn that they must party safe in order to maintain a clear conscience to complete their studies and not receive too many hangovers.

Later, anonymous passenger #1 and his date, whom we shall call #2, loudly argued about silly topics.

“Cows are so dumb…”#1 said.

“Well, do you drink milk?”#2 said.

“From the udder? No!”#1 said.

“Well do you drink milk period?”#2 said.

“Uh … ya … but I don’t drink the milk from Davis. They do, like, experiments on them here. If you [eat] the meat from here you can

Interview with Mary Schoeser Design Museum to open Global Textile Exhibit

Zach Land-Miller / Aggie

The UC Davis Design Museum will open its new exhibit, Structures, Signifiers and Society: People and Textiles on Thursday, Jan. 24. The exhibit is a celebration of the artistic and cultural significance of the pieces.

By CRISTINA FRIES Aggie Arts Writer

The UC Davis Design Museum is to open its winter exhibit, Structures, Signifiers, and Society: People and Textiles, with a special discussion with the guest curator and UC Davis alumna Mary Schoeser, Thursday, Jan. 24. The exhibit features global textiles, coincides with the release of Schoeser’s new book, Textiles: The Art of Mankind and exhibits over 1,000 global textile objects from the last 2,000 years.

In an interview, Mary Schoeser discussed how the exhibit at the design museum came to be realized.

“The collection results from the fact that I just wrote a book that’s about the continuity of creativity, that’s half historical material and half contemporary material,” she said. “I knew that this collection hadn’t been widely published, so it was a real chance to highlight some of the objects that have gone into the book.”

From African to Guatemalan to Afghan textiles, this exhibit offers a unique look at rare objects found through anthropological expeditions and donations by a diverse crowd of designers, scientists and anonymous students.

“The exhibit is almost all by donation. Part of what makes this collection so good is that

so many of these donors were, or still are, textile artists and teachers,” Schoeser said. “The objects were collected if they were expressive, creative, whimsical or if it had some interesting design aspect.”

This exhibit is both a celebration of the artistic and cultural significance of the pieces and an opportunity to teach students and the public about the historic and all-encompassing relationship humans have with textiles.

The exhibit is divided into four main sections that cover different themes.

“The first is the human compulsion to make portraits of themselves on textiles,” Schoeser said. “The second looks at social meaning of textiles, all those special event textiles, like weddings, funerals and fiestas. The third section looks at the symbolic relationship humans have with textiles and our environment, and the different techniques used to draw on textiles.”

Schoeser discussed the relationship between textiles and computer science.

“The fourth section looks at the structure of textiles. It looks at the grid structure, which then links to the QR codes, which have complex grid structures relevant to textile structure.”

Part of what Schoeser hopes to convey in this section is the interconnectivity between

the physical structure of textiles and the way our brains are structured.

“Scientists say the act of making baskets and weaving patterns in the grid structure is what developed the human brain to be the complex mechanism that it is now,” Schoeser said.

Schoeser also discussed the different topics within the exhibit.

“We’re trying to show how allembracing textiles are, through the donors (geneticists, psychology, teachers, designers, regular people) and objects themselves. The topics covered show why textiles have to do with absolutely everything — how textiles are connected to people in all walks of life all around the world,” Schoeser said.

After three years of preparation, this exhibit is a milestone in the design collection.

The exhibit opens Jan. 24, with a free opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. and a lecture by Mary Schoeser in which she plans to talk about her research and her professional journey after graduating from UC Davis, followed by an informal walk-through in the museum. A second free tour will be held Sunday, Jan. 27 from 2 to 4 p.m., led by Schoeser and curator Adele Zhang.

CRISTINA FRIES can be reached at arts@ theaggie.org.

hear it mooing,”#1 said.

Tipsy Taxi runs an 11-seater van and also a larger shuttle bus.

In the smaller space of the van, conversations are easily overheard and often interrupted.

“We should go to Chinatown and buy chickens,” said #1.

“They’re chicks!” #2 said.

“Human beings are being sold?!” a third anonymous passenger said, overhearing from the back of the van.

Adam Debow, a first-year grad student at the UC Davis School of Law, and Casey Thompson, a fifth-year kinesiology major at Sacramento State University, unexpectedly found the Tipsy Taxi waiting for a passenger off Russell and conveniently caught a ride.

“I drank a lot of beer … played one game of beer pong, just hanging out with friends,” Thompson said.

Debow recounted an adventurous night.

“We were at [a friend’s] house, and we decided we were about to leave and … broke out of the window. And we locked the window behind us and then I remembered I left my wallet and my phone in

fraud

there … so then we had to break back in, and that meant just knocking on the door,” Debow said. “Well, we could’ve just walked out, but then we would have had to say ‘goodbye.’”

Debow, a former Unitrans driver himself, helped a large party of 11 passengers crammed on board come up with their $33 fee. Three $5 bills, several $1 bills and a whole collection of change to make up the last dollar are dropped into Debow’s hand to give to the driver.

“I mean I woulda tipped him! I gave him a couple dollars, maybe like five,” Debow said.

Regardless of a passenger’s name or alcohol intake, every passenger appreciates the swift cruise of Tipsy Taxi’s convenient, late-night service.

“My name is 007… I came from a ‘function,’” a fourth anonymous passenger said. “I had a beer and Captain Morgan, vodka and cranberry [to drink] and [riding the Tipsy Taxi] has been a fucking awesome experience.”

ALYSSA KUHLMAN can be reached at features@ theaggie.org.

be involved. Older adults tend to be more content and have stronger positivity biases. The positive leaning would make it harder for older adults to draw on knowledge of negative cues.

In tandem with a lowered anterior insula response, the positivity bias along with many other factors could account for older adults’ increased susceptibility to fraud.

However, positivity bias is not a negative thing.

“It’s not a bad adaptive response, because it helps against the loss of loved ones, loss of control or loss of choice in where you live,” Miller said.

Another study to investigate trustworthiness versus untrustworthiness is underway, headed by Castle and Taylor. The study will involve videos in order to better simulate a real-life situation.

Until more research comes out about the anterior insula response or other factors responsible for susceptibility to fraud, older adults will have to keep a sharp eye out for con men trying to take advantage of them.

“Some strategies [to avoid fraud] are to always delay your response.

Give yourself time to distance yourself. Basically, give yourself time to rationalize through the pros and cons. This is the number one way to prevent fraud,” Moons said.

In addition, consulting other adults of varying age ranges could also contribute to more informed decision making.

If gut instinct is failing, it helps to avoid situations where it needs to be relied on. Do not fall for those “free” events designed to lure people in, and simply just say “no.”

For more information go to aarp. org/money/scams-fraud.

Cont. from page 3 “The older adults rated the trustworthy faces and the neutral faces exactly the same as the younger adults did,” Taylor said.

However, when it came to predetermined untrustworthy faces, results differed.

“When it got to the cues of untrustworthiness, [the elder participants] didn’t process those cues as well. They rated those people as much more trustworthy than the younger adults did,” Taylor said.

In the second part of the study, the researchers looked to ROI (region of interest) analyses of fMRI scans to determine what parts of the brain helped differentiate trustworthiness from untrustworthiness. Researchers discovered from the results that the anterior insula response, the source of the “gut reaction,” did not trigger within older adults. This lack of a gut reaction is why untrustworthy faces were rated as trustworthy by the elder study group.

To ensure that it was indeed the anterior insula, researchers used a neutral base study, such as gender identification, to see if the anterior insula activated only in cases that would involve gut reaction or bodily unease. According to Castle and Moons, both of these reactions originate in the anterior insula.

However, while a lack of an anterior insula response could explain why it is easier for older people to become victims of fraud, the research is still fairly new and there could be other factors that have not been identified yet.

Lisa Miller, an associate professor of human development at UC Davis, suggested that positivity bias, which allows people to remember positive memories bet- VICTORIA TRANG can be reached at science@theaggie. ter than negative memories, could org.

algAE

“Design of photobioreactors that maximize solar energy capture and conversion to biofuels has been one of the major challenges in this field.” Atsumi said.

Higgins added, “They can cost a lot at setup. Usually photobioreactors are for products like pharmaceuticals or other more valuable products.”

Even if the value of large-scale cultivation of 2,3-butanediol producing cyanobacteria does not seem cost efficient, Atsumi’s work has contributed much to the other fields regarding biofuels. His techniques for inserting DNA fragments into single-celled organisms could further research regarding genetic modification of single-celled organisms.

“We need chemists, biologists [and] engineers all working on this problem of producing biofuels from algae economically,” VanderGheynst said. “The collaboration is critical for what an engineer would do in her lab.”

Cont. from page 3 contamination,” Atsumi said.

Since cultivation in ponds depends on natural weather and day-night cycles, the algae are at a higher risk for contamination from other organisms, and growth stops completely during the night hours.

“The main concern for us as algae researchers is contamination of our cultures,” Higgins said. “You could spend millions of dollars creating an organism that creates valuable product. It’ll suffer some contamination or shutdown period. You could restart with a fresh culture, but if you invest millions of dollars in that organism you probably want to make sure it can not be contaminated.”

With these factors in mind, Atsumi intends to step up the smalllab cultivation of 2,3-butanediol cyanobacteria to a large scale through closed structures called photobioreactors. However, there are still challenges to the photobioreactor VICTORIA TRANG can be reached at science@ system. theaggie.org.