inside
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lifestyles | 3 Moulin Rouge preview MSC OPAS presents the ballet adaptation of Moulin Rouge at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Rudder Auditorium. Get a sneak peek at the show in the preview on page three.
thebattalion VirusKiller ● tuesday,
january 31, 2012
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2012 student media
Compound dissolves HIV on contact
lifestyles | 3 ‘The Grey’ wows
JJessica Orwig The Battalion T
It’s only January, but “The Grey” is already one of the year’s best films.
A faint cough oor minor cut m may not seem like a cause for concern conce to most Americans, America but for the more than th 1 million diagnosed with human hum immunodeficiency virus (HIV), (HIV) coughs and cuts can be far from minor. For decades, humans have battled HIV — whethe whether fighting the AIDS-causing virus after diagnosis or searching s for a cure. A group gr of scientists from A&M, A the Scripps Research Institute in Res C California and Drexel U University College of Medicine in Pennsylvania recently introduced a new weapon. Researchers developed a synthetic, molecular compound known as “PD 404,182” that kills HIV on contact. They reported their findings in a paper published in November. ing
lifestyles | 3 Best Picture nominees The Academy posted its nominations for best picture. What’s your pick for the best film of 2011? Tweet your thoughts @thebattonline and you may see your views printed in The Batt this week.
Clinical testing process ◗ After the drug undergoes initial tests, it is tested on animals. ◗ Then, during clinical trials, the drug goes through three phases of human testing. ◗ It costs a total of $1.3 billion to put a drug to market.
◗ Clinical testing usually takes 10-15 years. ◗ The drug can prove undesirable at any stage of testing, including after it has been released on the market.
Jorge Montalvo — THE BATTALION
campus news
Program lessens threat Thanks to $65 million in funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Texas A&M Blue Angel program will research ways to mitigate the threat of widespread disease outbreak by working to increase the efficiency of vaccine distribution. The Caliber Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Facility in Bryan is home to more than two million hydroponic plants that researchers hope will expedite the vaccineproduction process. Dr. Brett Grior, the vice chancellor of Strategic Initiatives at Texas A&M, said plant-grown vaccines will allow the country to be protected in the event of a bioterrorist attack.
See Compound on page 5
campus
Lawmakers, University seek textbook cost solutions In 1990, the MSC Bookstore signed a contract with Barnes and Noble to operate the bookstore. Jowever, students can still purchase books from other vendors.
Barrett House The Battalion Students may have noticed changes in University practices while registering for classes, a result of legislation passed at the state and federal levels. Passage of the Higher Education Opportunity Act in 2010 required “textbook publishers and institutions of higher educations to provide greater transparency of pricing information at the time faculty members select texts for the classes they teach and when the students register for classes.” Transparency efforts include professors posting course syllabi that include textbook requirements at least one week in advance of the first day of class. This gives students the opportunity to enroll in classes knowing how much it will cost to purchase study materials. As a result of similar legislation in Texas, the University instituted policy to align with state law, including when faculty should have their required and recommended textbook list submitted to the Memorial Student Center bookstore.
Jay Kapadia — THE BATTALION
“When the Texas legislator said, ‘OK, there’s a federal bill. We need to create our rules for how Texas is going to do,’ they added the element that the book list be posted 30 days prior to the first day of the semester,” said Chad Wootton, associate vice president for the Department of External Affairs. “The spirit of the law is helping students make informed decisions.”
Wootton said a separate state law requires the University to inform students that they do not have to purchase their textbooks from the campus bookstore. The MSC bookstore was created in the 1980s to centralize the book-buying process as a service to faculty and students. Instead of individually going to vendors to order books, University administration decided that faculty
See Bookstore on page 7
campus
Damaged water line shuts down Blocker Robby Smith
Joanna Raines, staff writer
Roger Zhang — THE BATTALION
Hallways in Blocker were covered in water from the damaged valve.
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should go through one place to order textbooks. “It could be an auxiliary source of revenue for the University, but more importantly, we had each department making contracts; we had other vendors setting up shop,” Wootton said. “What we ought to do is have one
The Battalion Classes in the John R. Blocker building were canceled Monday after a break in a water line flooded parts of the structure’s bottom floors. At approximately 10:13 a.m., a two-inch pressurized, chilled water line broke between the second and third floors of the building. “A contractor was working on one of the remodeling projects and was removing drywall when they hit the water line,” said Karen Bigley, communications manager for the Division of Administration.
Bigley said the water was turned off, and the building was immediately evacuated. At 1:15 p.m., the fire alarm system was restored. Faculty and staff were allowed to reenter the building with escorts to retrieve personal items until 5 p.m. Custodial crews worked through the day to vacuum up water and clean carpets while police and security kept students out of the building. The contractor for the remodeling project sent additional personnel to help with the cleanup. “This should not set back the reSee Flood on page 7
1/31/12 12:40 AM