WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2018 STUDENT MEDIA
PROVIDED
Dance lessons begin at 9 p.m. on Wednesdays at The Village Cafe.
Decade of dance Graphic by Nic Tan — THE BATTALION
Bryan restaurant approaches 10th year of hosting salsa lessons for participants of all skill levels
Since human cases of the West Nile Virus have been recently confirmed, doctors recommend taking precautions to prevent mosquito bites.
By Vanessa Hernandez @Galileaaa6
Prevention and protection
Newcomers and experienced dancers alike gather at The Village Cafe on Wednesday and Saturday nights for salsa lessons and social dancing. The Village Cafe in Bryan began hosting Wednesday salsa sessions in 2009 after the start of Salsa Saturday. The Saturday lesson consists of the same half-hour “Intro to Salsa” lesson every week, but after noticing the attendees wanted a more indepth lesson, Salsa Wednesday was born. The instructors focus on teaching salsa, merengue and bachata. Wednesday sessions begin with a one-hour dance lesson at 9 p.m. followed by social dancing until midnight. According to instructor and host Chris Zebo, Wednesday’s lesson is more comprehensive and progressive, meaning students who show up on multiple begin times will have an arsenal of moves to launch on Salsa Saturday. “Saturday is about the energy people take away,” Zebo said. “It’s hard to sleep after a Salsa Saturday because your body is still running on ‘salsadrenaline’ hours after the lights come up. They often say about Aggieland, ‘There’s a spirit can ne’er be told.’ Well, you might not hear it, but you sure can feel it on the dance floor.” Zebo said salsa clubs usually attract diverse crowds, hosting people from all over the world each week. “I think salsa, merengue and bachata is some of the best music written and performed in human history,” Zebo said. “It’s not only sophisticated musically, but it’s also so catchy. It seeps into your soul really quickly, and once it’s in there, it makes you move. You just can’t help it; it’s contagious.” The events have attracted students such as biomedical science freshman Lily Pena and biology freshman Maria Gonzalez. After an exciting introduction to the salsa scene, Pena said she plans
After two confirmed cases, community health officials look to stop spread of West Nile Virus By Meagan Sheffield @mshef350 The Texas Department of Health Services confirmed a case of West Nile virus (WNV) in a resident of Brazos County last week — the first human case in the county since 2016. A second case was confirmed on Monday. Additionally, a pool of mosquitoes found in Brazos County during the week of Sept. 10 tested positive for the virus. Alternate health authority for the Brazos County Health Department Dr. Seth Sullivan said the first person who tested positive for WNV has recovered, and humans testing positive for WNV is not as common as mosquitoes testing positive. “There are some years where you can see them more than others,” Sullivan said. “It might have been 2012 or 2013 where we saw more cases in the summer, but we haven’t seen any in the past couple of years before this case.” According to Sullivan, the symptoms of WNV include fevers, muscle aches, joint aches and flu-like illness. In more serious cases, people infected with the virus also experience headaches and meningitis. “[To prevent getting WNV], you prevent the mosquito bite,” Sullivan said. “Wearing long sleeves, avoiding dawn and dusk, which are the times that mosquitoes are most likely
to bite, and making sure that the area around you is free of standing water.” At the Brazos County Health Department, Sullivan helps raise public awareness of mosquito bite prevention. “All mosquito season long, we do testing looking for infection that could be transmitted through the mosquito population,” Sullivan said. “We do our best to reduce mosquito populations through these outreach efforts.” Although many types of mosquitoes can transmit WNV by biting humans, the southern house mosquito, or Culex quinquefasciatus, is the most common in the Brazos County. Prepared pools of mosquitoes are submitted by the Gabriel Hamer Lab at Texas A&M to the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostics Lab for testing. The lab then uses the polymerase chain reaction technique to amplify any trace amounts of the virus’ DNA or RNA, and if there is any present in a pool of mosquitos, the test will be marked positive. Kurt Johnson, environmental health specialist for the Brazos County Health Department, said the county is avoiding large scale pesticide use in favor of more long-term solutions. “Pesticide spraying is usually the last resort in mosquito control [because] you can achieve only temporary relief,” Johnson said. “Mosquito control is best accomplished by source reduction, the elimination of breeding habitat around the home, and through the use of larvicide, available from both City of Bryan and College Station through their mosquito abatement programs.”
SALSA NIGHT ON PG. 2
Heaps earns $2 million grant Professor’s research examines effects of exercise on heart health By Shakirat Adetunji @shakeerah
PROVIDED
Veterinary medicine and biomedical sciences professor Cristine Heaps is using her grant to research heart health.
Texas A&M professor Cristine Heaps has received a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study how exercise helps in the prevention and treatment of heart disease. Regular exercise is beneficial to the body and is known to reduce the risk of numerous medical issues. However, little is known about how exercise specifically affects the prevention of heart disease. Heaps, an associate professor in the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology at A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM), has extensive experience researching how the human heart functions under various conditions. “Heart disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women in the U.S., with projected annual costs of over $100 billion in health care expenses and lost productivity,” Heaps said. “The goal of our research is to determine the adaptations that occur with exercise training and how those
contribute to the prevention and treatment of heart disease.” Heaps received the $2 million research project grant to investigate the effect of exercise on coronary heart disease. According to the CVM website, this grant is one of the largest of its kind awarded to a single investigator in the CVM’s history. Heaps said the research project examines the control of blood flow to the muscle from both healthy and diseased hearts. “The function of the heart is very important because the heart is what supplies blood to the rest of the body,” Heaps said. “If the heart is not functioning properly, the rest of the body does not get sufficient blood flow and cannot function at its best.” Undergraduate and graduate students have opportunities to participate in many of the research projects in Heaps’ laboratory. “One of my favorite parts of our project is giving students what is often their first exposure to a research environment and providing them with very novel experiences that will contribute to their education and knowledge base, and remain with them for a lifetime,” Heaps said. “Our project would not be successful without the contributions of these talented and dedicated individuals.” HEART HEALTH ON PG. 2
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2019 AGGIELAND!
AR Photography will be set up to have your FREE portrait taken for Texas A&M University’s 2019 Aggieland yearbook.
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PROVIDED
Salsa Wednesday started in 2009, making it the longest-running salsa night in Bryan-College Station.
SALSA NIGHT CONTINUED
Megan Rodriguez, Editor in Chief Luke Henkhaus, Managing Editor Taylor Fennell, News Editor Anthony Pangonas, News Editor Jordan Burnham, Asst. News Editor Kathryn Whitlock, Life & Arts Editor Hannah Falcon, Life & Arts Editor Samantha Mahler, Asst. Life & Arts Editor
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THE BATTALION is published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during the 2018 fall semester and 2019 spring semester (except University holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Offices are in Suite L400 of the Memorial Student Center. News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in Student Media,a unit of the Division of StudentAffairs.Newsroom phone: 979-845-3315; E-mail: editor@thebatt.com; website: http://www.thebatt.com.
to continue attending. “It was honestly such a great experience because you’re surrounded by people who are genuinely curious about learning the different dances and are all there to have a great time together,” Pena said. Gonzalez is from Laredo, where
HEART HEALTH CONTINUED Heaps said exercise creates adaptations that directly improve the health of the heart and reduce many of the risk factors associated with heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity. “Recommended exercise is 150 minutes per week of moderate activity [such as brisk walking] plus muscle strengthening exercises two days
people can cross the Mexican border in five minutes and enter the Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo. “Coming from a Mexican family and area filled with the Hispanic culture, the ambiance, people and music took me back home,” Gonzalez said. “I have to admit I was a little intimidated at first, but after seeing everyone enjoying themselves, I realized I was worried
for nothing.” Salsa Wednesday is approaching its 10-year anniversary, making it the longest-running salsa night in Bryan-College Station history, according to Zebo. “We’ve taught over 30,000 people how to dance in the past decade, and we’re going to teach even more,” Zebo said.
per week,” Heaps said. “However, for those that don’t like to exercise, keep in mind that some physical activity is better than none and some health benefits can be gained by participating in any amount of physical activity.” Heaps said her passion for sports inspired her research field. Her strong athletic background involved playing numerous sports as a child and in high school. Heaps was also an avid runner and cyclist during college and graduate school.
“I have always found the human body and how it works fascinating,” Heaps said. “I remember having the anatomy coloring book as a kid and I loved learning about the different parts of the body and the functions of the parts. My research allowed me to merge these two passions. As a result, I really like my job and look forward to coming to work every day.” More information on Heaps’ research is available on the NIH website at tx.ag/heaps.
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