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l thursday,
june 20, 2013
l serving
texas a&m since 1893
Standing as one Brazilian students to march in support of South American protests
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research
Antibodies in cows could help improve immunology Allison Rubenak The Battalion
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days. Citizens are crying out about the injustice of the government, which they say refuses to solve problems in its infrastructure including education, healthcare and transportation. The protests began in Sao Paulo on June 13 after police clashed with demonstrators over increased bus fares. Protest organizers said more than 100 demonstrators were injured. Police said 12 officers were hurt and more than 230 people were detained and later released.
he ordinary farm cow has roused excitement throughout the scientific community from findings on their remarkable potential for future human immunology use. On June 6, The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., released an 18-month investigation involving cattle and humans. The study debuted on the cover of “Cell,” a leading academic journal among biology and biomedical journals, and was coauthored by three Texas A&M researchers from the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Titled, “Reshaping Antibody Diversity,” the study examines the unique antibodies cows produce. With Texas A&M’s accessibility to cattle, it made a suitable fit as a secondary research location needed for collaboration. “It was fortuitous through a mutual collaborator of mine at Scripps, down the hall from the guys who started the structural work on these cow antibodies,” said Michael Criscitiello, a co-author of the paper who had originally been working on shark antibodies in California. “We were brought into the project due to our expertise in immunology, bovine vaccine development and genetics.” Described by Criscitiello, antibodies are proteins that have the ability to “neutralize viruses.” The research uncovered that the molecular structure of some cow antibodies are considerably longer and project much farther than human antibodies, allowing for them to successfully rid the body of the substance being harbored. Waithaka Mwangi, an assistant professor at A&M and co-author on the paper, noted how the molecular structure of an antibody bares resemblance to a lobster, with two “arms” reaching up in order to bind with substances called “antigens.” The antigens are often hidden by the pathogen. “These antibodies have great potential to effectively immobilize these pathogens. These antibodies are rare in a sense,” said Mwangi, describing how the longer structures bind more conveniently.
See Protest on page 2
See Antibodies on page 4
Sarah Hoffschwelle — THE BATTALION
Nickollas Nunes, junior civil engineering major, and Danielle Bressiani, environmental engineering graduate student, show protest signs in both Portuguese and English outside the Memorial Student Center.
Sarah Hoffschwelle The Battalion
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n support of a protest in Brazil that began as a demonstration against increased bus fares and escalated into a fight against political repression, Brazilian Texas A&M students will organize in front of the Memorial Student Center on Thursday in their own form of protest. Nickollas Nunes, junior civil engineering major, said the group’s main purpose for protesting in College Sta-
tion is to support their fellow Brazilians. “It will allow us to show our support for them and bring awareness to this issue,” he said. “They are citizens who are fighting for their rights and that is something to be proud of. We believe they are heroic for what they are doing. People need to be aware of what is going on in the world and in other countries. We are calling students to come protest for democracy — for a better Brazil.” Protests in multiple Brazilian cities as well as protests around the world in support of Brazil have increased in recent
student activities
Sport Clubs claim 23 national titles Sean Lester The Battalion
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he 2012-2013 sports season at Texas A&M came to a close with much buzz still surrounding the excitement of a first season in the Southeastern Conference. But as the focus turned to the offseason for varsity sports, another group of A&M athletes were celebrating national championships of their own. The Texas A&M Sport Clubs Program claimed 23 national champion teams and individuals this year among the program’s 34 sports. “To have 23 [championships] this
year, that’s a high end for us,” said Keith Joseph, Sport Clubs director in the Department of Recreational Sports. “Since our Sport Clubs Association started in 1974 we have 208 national championships and it’s because of the dedication and the passion of the sport that all these athletes play in.” Some of the championships this year included gymnastics, fencing, trap and skeet, powerlifting, taekwondo and archery. Joseph said the accomplishments by these athletes come in sports that some-
COURTESY
The Texas A&M Trap and Skeet Team finished runner-up in division one of the Association of College Unions International championships.
See Sport Clubs on page 2
politics
Presidential approval rating down, poll shows Sarah Hoffschwelle The Battalion
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CNN/ORC poll shows a 17-point decline in President Barack Obama’s approval ratings among the 18-34 age group. A youth advocacy group, Generation Opportunity, released a statement Monday with a possible explanation to the decline. “CNN confirmed a trend we have been noticing on the ground for quite some time now,” said Generation Opportunity President Evan Feinberg. “Young people are very concerned about a government that they see as bloated, inefficient and in some cases,
threatening to its citizens.” The poll was conducted by CNN/ ORC via phone interviews from June 11-13 of 1,014 adults. Of the respondents, 31 percent described themselves as Democrats, 25 percent as Republicans and 44 percent as independent or members of another party. Highlights from the poll included a 3 percent increase in disapproval with the president’s handling of the economy and a 9 percent increase in disapproval of the way Obama is handling his job as president. It also showed that 62 percent of those interviewed believed the federal government has become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the
rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. Texas A&M students gave their own views on these poll results. Emily Brockelman, a kinesiology graduate student, said she disapproved of President’s Obama’s decisions and that young people are sometimes unaware about current events. “Young people can often be stupid and blind to the issues,” Brockelman said. “They voted with the trend: let’s change history. People think that the government will take care of them and therefore they do trust the government, but people have had cause in the last month to worry about ‘big brother See President on page 4
Alice Chang — THE BATTALION
Chart reflects data collected by a CNN/ORC poll conducted via telephone to adults aged 18-34.
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