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Front Page News at Indiana University

June 20, 2008

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With I-Light 'backbone' completed, Indiana sets stage for high-speed growth
Comcast/Big Ten Network agreement increases exposure in the Hoosier State
IU Simon Cancer Center priority: reduce cancer incidences, mortality among state's diverse populations
Microscopic "clutch" puts flagellum in neutral
Families are aging: Research participants sought for IU study
Indiana University to Host National Biorepository for Gene Therapy
Indiana University podcast innovators announced
Risk Factors for Sudden Death For Adult Muscular Dystrophy Identified
Kelley Scholars announced at Indiana University
IU Scientists Uncover Potential Key to Better Drugs to Fight Toxoplasmosis Parasite
IU Kokomo interim chancellor named
IU Bloomington Scoreboard

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With I-Light 'backbone' completed, Indiana sets stage for high-speed growth -- Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie today (June 20) announced completion of the "backbone" of a high-speed, fiber-optic network that will provide every public and private college campus in Indiana with digital communications at least 20 times faster than a typical home Internet connection. Known as I-Light, the network involves more than 1,000 miles of fiber-optic cable reaching every corner of the state and is larger, per capita, than similar networks in neighboring states. More than 40 higher education institutions will use the system for educational and research purposes. Read the complete story.

Comcast/Big Ten Network agreement increases exposure in the Hoosier State -- With the Big Ten Network announcing a long-term multimedia agreement with Comcast today, Indiana University expects the reach of the network to increase to 90 percent coverage within the state when the cable company begins airing BTN programming on Aug. 15. "I am extremely pleased that this agreement between Comcast and the Big Ten Network has been reached," said IU President Michael A. McRobbie. Read the complete story.

IU Simon Cancer Center priority: reduce cancer incidences, mortality among state's diverse populations -- Cancer knows no boundaries. It strikes men and women. Rich and poor. Young and old. One difference, however, is the frequency and severity of the disease when diagnosed. Too often minority groups and rural area populations face higher cancer incidences and higher mortality rates. As part of a continuing effort to improve the health and well-being of racial, ethnic and rural area populations, the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center has established a new Office of Health Disparities, Research and Outreach. Rivienne Shedd-Steele has been named its director. Read the complete story.

Microscopic "clutch" puts flagellum in neutral -- A tiny but powerful engine that propels the bacterium Bacillus subtilis through liquids is disengaged from the corkscrew-like flagellum by a protein clutch, Indiana University Bloomington and Harvard University scientists have learned. Their report appears in this week's Science. Scientists have long known what drives the flagellum to spin, but what causes the flagellum to stop spinning -- temporarily or permanently -- was unknown. Read the complete story.

Families are aging: Research participants sought for IU study -- People with developmental disabilities are living longer, healthier lives than at any point in history. Planning for this population has become very important. The Indiana Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services, Family and Social Services Administration, has identified a need to gain a deeper understanding of the range of possible supports that might enable aging parents and siblings to retain their adult family member with a developmental disability in the home environment, where such a goal is shared by all. Read the complete story.

Indiana University to Host National Biorepository for Gene Therapy -- Indiana University School of Medicine will be home to the nation's sole National Gene Vector Biorepository and Coordinating Center (NGVB) for gene therapy research with a three-year, $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The program is directed by Kenneth Cornetta, M.D, Joe C. Christian Professor and chair of Medical and Molecular Genetics and professor of medicine and of microbiology and immunology. The three year grant to the School of Medicine was effective June 15. Read the complete story.

Indiana University podcast innovators announced -- The Indiana University Faculty Podcasting Initiative will support more than 60 innovative IU faculty members as they explore the potential of podcasting in higher education and student learning. Supported by Apple and AT&T with equipment and software -- and with the guidance of the IU centers for teaching and learning -- faculty projects will commence in the fall semester of 2008. While podcasting is not new to IU, this initiative broadly expands the activity across the university and integrates multiple paths for faculty podcasters, offering a variety of ways users can choose to access IU content, and enabling instructors to accelerate their use of podcasting. Read the complete story.

Risk Factors for Sudden Death For Adult Muscular Dystrophy Identified -- The largest assessment of people with adult muscular dystrophy has identified risk factors that can lead to sudden death for individuals with the most common form of this disease. The results of the multicenter study, led by the Indiana University School of Medicine, are reported in the June 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Neurologists and cardiologists at 23 neuromuscular disease clinics nationwide affiliated with the Muscular Dystrophy Association assessed 406 adult patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 using clinical history, genetic assessment and electrocardiograms (ECG) to determine the risk factors that cause arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Read the complete story.

Kelley Scholars announced at Indiana University -- Eleven Kelley Scholars have been selected by the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University Bloomington. Kelley Scholars, all incoming freshmen this fall who intend to major in business at IU Bloomington, will receive full tuition and fees, a stipend for living expenses and funding for academic activities such as overseas study. The award is for four years and has an annual value of more than $15,000 for recipients who are Indiana residents and about $30,000 for those who are non-residents. Read the complete story.

IU Scientists Uncover Potential Key to Better Drugs to Fight Toxoplasmosis Parasite -- Discoveries by IU School of Medicine scientists have opened a promising door to new drugs for toxoplasmosis and other parasites that now can evade treatments by turning dormant in the body. Their findings help explain how the parasite that causes toxoplasmosis transforms into a cyst form that resists drugs and the body's immune system, yet can emerge from its dormant state to strike when a patient's immune system is weakened. Read the complete story.

IU Kokomo interim chancellor named -- Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie June 17 announced the appointment of an interim successor for Indiana University Kokomo Chancellor Ruth Person, who is leaving this summer. McRobbie said that -- pending approval by the IU Board of Trustees during its June 20 meeting -- Stuart Green, vice chancellor for the IU Kokomo Office of Academic Affairs, will take over leadership of IU Kokomo as interim chancellor for two years beginning Aug. 18. Read the complete story.

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Indiana University Bloomington Scoreboard

Results from Wednesday, June 18:
Women's Swimming: The 2008 U.S. Olympic Diving Trials got underway Wednesday night with three of Indiana's four entrants taking part at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis. Read the day's results.

Results from Thursday, June 19:
Women's Swimming: Indiana University senior Christina Loukas is one step closer to a spot on the U.S. Olympic team with a first-place showing in the quarterfinals and prelims of the three-meter springboard Thursday at the U.S. Olympic Diving Trials at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis. Read about Loukas' dives.

Schedule for Friday-Sunday, June 20-22:
Men's and Women's Track: USATF Jr. Championships, Columbus, Ohio
Women's Swimming: Olympic Diving Trials, Indianapolis, Ind.

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IU in the news

Looking back on Hep's legacy; A year after his passing, players and coaches remember Terry Hoeppner
Indiana Daily Student, June 19 -- A year ago today the IU football program lost its leader, the coaching ranks lost a respected colleague and those who were fortunate to have known former coach Terry Hoeppner lost a friend. Hoeppner died of complications from a brain tumor only months before the start of the 2007-08 season, forcing the IU players and coaching staff to come together and deal with the loss in the midst of preparations for the new year. "We went into last season with a real sense of purpose," IU coach Bill Lynch said. "We had a goal in mind and we were united in that goal. And that was to get to a bowl game." Full story.

Purdue, IU pose request for $70 million
Journal & Courier, June 19 -- Purdue and Indiana universities are trying to create a partnership that could draw businesses and more research funding to the state. University officials are announcing today a request to the 2009 General Assembly to create the Indiana Innovation Alliance. They would need $70 million from the state over two years to fund the proposal. Vic Lechtenberg, Purdue's vice provost for engagement, said the money would be used for several purposes: Making aging labs at the universities state-of-the-art; Drawing bioscience companies to the state by offering training opportunities and the use of university labs; Creating a pool to match federal and private research grants; and Expanding the enrollment of the IU School of Medicine. Full story.

The Lycra Swimsuit That's Worth Its Weight in Gold
Discovery, June 17 -- On a Saturday at 7 a.m. at a gym in Briarcliff Manor, New York, Henry Donahue, DISCOVER's CEO and a recreational triathlete, was struggling to suit up for his regular swim. Although the Tracer Light -- TYR's new swimwear for the 2008 Beijing Olympics -- screamed "speed" in sleek brown and green lines, Donahue was taking more than a little time squeezing himself into it. After some help with zipping his shoulders into the skintight, shoulder-to-ankle racing suit, Donahue walked to the pool looking like a capeless superhero -- or a guy in a sleeveless, lightweight wet suit. "I don't think it's that cold in there," the lifeguard said. Cold is not the enemy. Drag is. Tracer Light's tight fit is intended to rein in body parts such as breasts and buttocks that wobble in the water and increase resistance. "Nothing is wiggling," Donahue confirmed. TYR says the girdlelike garment streamlines the swimmer better than a full-body shave. Athletes sometimes compress their bodies during a workout to decrease recovery time, but TYR's secondary goal (after undulation elimination) is to "maximize oxygenation . . . for optimum performance." How exactly does squeezing make you swim faster? I asked physiologist Joel Stager, who studies oxygen transport during exercise and directs the Counsilman Center for the Science of Swimming at Indiana University at Bloomington. He couldn't give a direct answer, although he had done a bit of research. "When I started asking around about this, nobody had ever heard of it. I called up a guy who had just finished a textbook on muscle physiology and the guy was like, 'What?'" Stager said. "Show me the data!" Full story.

It's Hotter Away from Home; Yet another good reason to go on vacation: better sex
Newsweek, June 16 -- According to researchers at the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, sexual response and desire reflect the relative power of two competing and relatively independent systems within the brain: an activating one and a suppressing one. The balance between the two determines a person's sexual response, something Kinsey's Erick Janssen likens to the gas and brake pedals in a car. One factor that presses on the gas to increase sexual desire and responsiveness is, not surprisingly, mood. For most people, negative mood--sadness, anxiety, anger--acts as a sexual brake, leading to loss of sexual interest and impairment of arousability. Vacations tend to improve mood, if only because you have left the immediate demands of home and office behind; with the brake disengaged, interest and arousability rise like Fourth of July fireworks. Full story.

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