xt7z08638g5d https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7z08638g5d/data/mets.xml University of Kentucky. Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies Kentucky University of Kentucky. Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies 1998 volumes. Call Number: LD2762.9 .K38c. Accession Number: 2018ua049 journals LD2762.9 .K38c English Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies  Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection University of Kentucky Odyssey Magazine Research -- Kentucky -- Periodicals Education -- Research -- Periodicals Research -- Kentucky Odyssey: The Magazine of University of Kentucky Research and Graduate Studies, Spring 1998 text images Odyssey: The Magazine of University of Kentucky Research and Graduate Studies, Spring 1998 1998 1998 2026 true xt7z08638g5d section xt7z08638g5d  

UK’s Tobacco and Health Institute Branching Outz’ “
Tobacco as a “Factory” to Grow New Products ‘

  

 

 

 

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University of Kentucky
Research and Graduate Studies
Centers and Institutes

Advanced Science and Technology
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I? a 223 . ODYSSEY

L'K‘S TOBACCO AND
HEALTH INSTITIYTE
BRANCHING OUT: 5

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\WHY DO ADULTS HOLD
'IEENAGERS‘ANDCHILDREN
IN SUCH LOW] ESTEEM? 8
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UK RESEARCHERS SURGING
AHEAD W 1TH HIGH-SPEED
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WHY Do ADULTS HOLD
TEENAGERS AND CHILDREN
IN SUCH Low ESTEEM7, P. 8

DEPARTMENTS

SPOTLIGHT ON GRADUATE
EDUCATION 21

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Challenge; q/‘Graziztate Education

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UPDATE 36

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Slty or nentucky

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U N IVE RS 1 TY Office of the Vice President
OF K ENTUCKY for Research and Graduate Studies

0 JilT,\Ll!lllHI'~lL|i1()H Building;

1 1m t-rsm ml Keniiick}

Dear Friends 0F UK.

It is with a great deal oF optimism and enthusiasm that I take this opportunity to write to
you on the work oF our Research and Graduate Education (RCJF ) FTask Force. Last May
higher education reForm 111 Kentucky resulted in legislation known as House Bill I that set
goals to be achieved by the year 2020. One goal is For the University 0F Kentucky to be
ranked among the top 20 public research universities in the country.

Our current national standing oF45th out oF the top 100 public institutions as measured by
research expenditures, combined with the new state commitment For Funding research and
graduate education, positions us well to move toward this goal.

The RGE Task Force. under the leadership oF Dr. Dan Reedy, Former dean oFThe Graduate
School, was appointed to make recommendations on strategic priority areas For investment.
Every university group From chancellor's, deans and Faculty to students and administrators
provided ideas For the improvement oF research and graduate education. Each academic and
research unit across campus submitted program reports that were analyzed on several levels
by the task Force.

The Following distinguished, nationally competitive programs have emerged as targets oF
opportunity toward achieving top 20 status: Aging & Gerontology, Agronomy Anatomy dc
Neurobiology Biochemistry Chemistry Chemical & Mateiials Engineering English
Geography Hist01y, \lathematics, Microbiology 81 Immunology Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Physics EX Ast1onomy, Physiology Psychology Public Policy (Sc Administration Spanish
Special Education, Toxicology, and Veterinary Science. Another 13 programs have been
identified as positioned to achieve national stature.

The task Force has also made recommendations For strengthening our research inFrastructure
and For increasing student and Faculty graduate education support.

The Final report oF the RUE Task Force has been issued, and we are in the process oF
reviewing it For incorporation into the university‘s Strategic Plan. As we continue to build on
our solid base 0F research excellence, we ask For your continued partnership and support.
Together we will achieve our mission For research and graduate education at the University
oF Kentucky: Challenging the Future, Changing Lives.

Yours truly

{W35 flaw/WW

Fitzgerald B. Bramwell

 

 

 

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 UK’S

OBACCO AN

 

 

 

IN ST. UTE BRANCP

here‘s a new breed of re—

searcher at UK's Tobacco

and Health Research Insti—
tute (THRI) who might also be
thought ofas a factory worker. The
"factory," in this case. is the to—
bacco plant.

Researchers in recent years have
found that tobacco‘s large green
leaves can be an incredibly prolific
seedbed, a kind ofsuper—rich petri
dish in which to produce every-
thing from antibiotics to sugars to
industrial enzymes — even anti—
cancer and AIDS—fighting com—
pounds. “Because its genes and
biology are so easily manipulated
tobacco ls probably the best white
rat in the plant kingdom. says
(ilenn Collins, UK professor of
agronomy. who adds that because
tobacco has been the primary plant
ofchoice for genetic bioengineer—
ing for a number of years now.
there'salargedatabankfromwhich
to draw information about the
plant‘s genetic structure and its
potential for being manipulated
genetically.

uIn the past year and a half, THRI has
undertaken a major refocus ofits mission,n
says Maelor Davies, director of the insti—
tute. “We now have in place a comprehen—
sive plant biotechnology program whose
goal is to help develop new products based
on transgenic tobacco. The purpose is two—
fold: to explore the use and potential of
genetic engineering to create new crop op—
portunities for farmers. and to seek indus—
trial partners who will collaborate with the
institute to grow useful new products in the
tobacco plant.”

This new commercial mission of the

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

institute follows two decades of work in
which THRI was devoted almost entirely
to tobacco—related medical research. This
previous pure—science mission focused on
how tobacco use causes diseases. Projects
ranged from work on the effects oftobacco
on the human cardiovascular and pulmo-
nary systems. to the effects ofenvironmen-
tal smoke and the relationship between
smoking and other diseases. “THRI isnt
moving totally away from delving into
health—related issues, not at all." says Davies.
“But presently two—thirds ofour efforts are
targeted to transgenic tobacco.n

This shift of focus to developing new

 

ODYSSEY

DHEALET
GOL..:

Tobacco a5 a “Factory ” to Grow New Products

 

 

w
A

 

 

crop possibilities forfarmers should
be good news for Kentucky, where
the farm economy has historically
been so dependent on tobacco. Pri—
marily because of growing public
awareness ofthe dangers ofsmok—
ing, the long—term economic po—
tential for tobacco production
remains cloudy, and in recent years
there has been considerable inter—
est in developing new crops for
Kentucky farmers.

“New crops imply change, and
few people like fundamental change
because it creates uncertainty,“ says
Orlando Chambers, a newly hired
agricultural economist in THRI‘s
Tobacco Biotechnology Group.

Farmers like the crops bthey know
how to produce and which are
adapted to their soil s and their ma—
chinery. Many ofKentucky ssmall
family farms have survived largelv
because of the nature of tobacco
production. The small acerage re—
quirements and the large potential
profits make finding alternatives to
tobacco very difficult."

There have been several enterprises sug—
gested to farmers as a way to buffer any
declines 1n tobacco income, for example
vegetable production. There have been some
successes with alternative crop—growing,
but a tobacco farmer who suddenly goes
into the tomato business takes a risk that
there might not be much ofa need for this
crop locally, or that the market is overly
competitive.

“A major point we need to emphasize is
that we‘re not talking about new plants as
much as new markets, " savs Davies “What
we re really triing to do for the tobacco
farmer 1s to help develop a new commercial

tuH/IHHttl 4:11 [Jr/21’!

Ix’I:'.\'/:':1I\’(.'II {\1) (IR 1/)! HI. SII I)II: \ 5

 

  

   
    

WRITTEN BY
J E F F
WORLEY

  

“I helieoe this will he a snow—
halling/eintlofthing.‘ the more
companies that we can form
partnerships with — and who
realize the henefits of such a
partnership — the more will

jump on the hana'wagon. ”

 

 

opportunity.” Here is the scenario Davies
envisions: companies that want certain prod—
ucts will contract with farmers to grow a
specified acreage of transgenic tobacco. This
way, the farmer will have another unique
market to call his own.

There are sound reasons for developing
new crops based on transgenic tobacco,
according to Chambers. Tobacco produces
a large amount of biomass per acre (some
experimental methods have produced as
much as 90 tons per acre), it is easy to
engineer, and it is well suited to growing
conditions in Kentucky. “It’s important to
note that we’re not suggesting to farmers
that they quit growing their traditional
crops and gamble on transgenic crops; we’re
suggesting that farmers might want to con—
sider growing some acres of transgenic to—
bacco as an additional potential income
source,” Davies explains.

These secondary crops would add to the
already—impressive amount of tobacco
Kentucky produces. Tobacco is the state’s
No. 1 cash crop, and Kentucky is second
only to North Carolina in tobacco produc—
tion. In Kentucky the crop is grown by
67,000 farmers in 119 of 120 counties,
from the western plains to the steep hill—
sides in the Appalachians. Tobacco accounts
for 25 percent of total farm sales in Kentucky.

Laying the Groundwork at UK
for Tobacco Biotechnology
uHere in the College of Ag, we started

_ -. “"w

thinking in the early
’805 about harness-
ing the tools of ge—
netic engineering,”
says Collins, who is
currently marking
his 31‘[ year at UK.
“Now, as far as put—
ting foreign genes
into a tobacco plant
using newfound re—
combinant DNA, we
already have a very
solid knowledge

base.”

THRI DIRECTOR MAELOR DAVIES: “THRI ISN’T MOVING
TOTALLY AWAY FROM DELVING INTO HEALTH-RELATED
ISSUES, NOT AT ALL. BUT PRESENTLY TWO-THIRDS OF OUR
EFFORTS ARE TARGETED TO TRANSGENIC TOBACCO.”

Collins says a recent major event was an
international symposium on plant engi—
neering held at UK on October 1-4, 1995.
John Diana, former director ofTHRl, and
the THRI board of directors committed
resources to sponsor this symposium with
the specific focus of engineering plants for
possible commercial products and applica—
tions.

“This gathering was tremendously im—
portant, a huge success,” Collins recalls.
“We focused on five topical areas and at—
tracted 425 participants from 23 countries.
This was the first symposium ever held
specifically devoted to engineering plants
to make commercial products.”

One result of this conference was the
publication ofa special issue in the Annals
ofthe New York Academy ofSciences titled
Engineering Plantrfor Commercial Products
and Applications. The book, edited by
Collins and former UK agronomy profes—
sor Robert Shepherd, contains 20 articles
on a wide range of plant genetic engineer—
ing technology.

A nearly concurrent event, Collins says,
was the hiring in February 1996 of Davies,
who came to UK from industry with a solid
background in the genetic engineering of
plants. Davies, originally from Wales, had
worked at the Calgene company in Califor-
nia since 1981 , where he focused on geneti—
cally engineering canola, or rapeseed. which
has traditionally been used to make marga—
rine. (Acres of rapeseed, also known as
mustard, make an indelible visual impres—
sion — a field of flowing, brilliant gold.)
The purpose of Calgene‘s work with this
crop was to alter the composition of the oil
for new applications, for making detergent
products, soaps and shampoos, for example.

“This work at Calgene was very much a
collaborative effort,” Davies explains. “I
managed the project with one other scien—
tist, and we were supported by several tech—
nical staff.” The goal of the research was to
cause the rapeseed plant to manufacture
lauric acid, an important ingredient in de—
tergent products and soaps. This acid is
currently obtained from palm kernel and
coconut oil.

“A million tons of lauric acid are im-
ported by the US. every year, and as the
demand for various soap products was ris—
ing worldwide, US. companies were inter—

 

4 ODYSSEY

 

 

  

 

ested in finding a domestic source for
lauric acid." Davies says. Huge new
markets for personal care products were
then opening.
ing countries like China where more
and more people could suddenly afford
to buy products like laundry detergent.

I11 their work. the (jalgene team used
a local wild plant — the California bay
i which also produces lauric acid. The
researchers put a gene from the bay
plant into the rapeseed plant to see what
changes would occur in oil composi—

he explains. in develop-

tion. Once they had a base measure—
ment of the changes that resulted. the
group. by increasing the number ofbay
genes inserted. “tuned the process up“
to get higher lauric yields. The result.
after eight years of work with the rape—
seed plant. was a commercially Viable
product that is now in successful pro—
duction.

\1aelor was hired here primarily on
the basis of his very successful work at
(:algene. (.ollins says. There s a com—
monality of course in using the tech—
niques of biotechnology with various
plants. and Maelor was eager to take up
the challenges here of bioengineering

film/:1 I11 I111 Ilmmm

the tobacco plant for commercial po—
tential."

New Faces at THRI
“\X'hen I saw thead for this job. it iust spoke
to me,“ says Assistant Professor Deane
Falcone who joined the plant biotechnol-
ogy group at TIHR in lanuary of last year.
Falcone who has al I.’h I). in microbiology
from Ohio State Lniversity . came from the
Carnegie Institution of \X’ashington at
Stanford University. where he worked as a

postdoctoral fellow for four years.

“At Stanford I worked with Chris
Somerville. one of the top plant biologists
in the country.“ Falcone says. “This was a
tremendous experience for me. since Chris
is one ofthe pioneers in using mutagenesis
to solve problems in plants." Mutagenesis is
a process of generating stable. genetic
changes in plants.

Falcone‘s research plan is focused on a
new way ofgenetically engineering tobacco
to make various compounds, some ofwhich
may have commercial uses. Falcone ex—
plains that plants already make a diverse

._.W____._

4

 

ORLANDO CHAMBERS IS INVOLVED IN IDENTIFY—
ING COMPANIES THAT MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN
USING THRI'S EXPERTISE IN PLANT BIOTECHNOL-
OGY IN ORDER TO “GROW" SPECIFIC PRODUCTS IN
TOBACCO.

array of compounds. that 25 percent ofall
medicines. in fact. are made by plants.
Falcone characterizes the tobacco plant as a
“willing factory”; his work specifically in-
volves tinkeringwith tobacco‘s genetic struc—
ture in order for the plant to make its less
abundant compounds in much greater
amounts.

‘A Although tobacco makes hundreds of
compounds naturally. in order for them to
be useful commercially we hay e to cause the
plant to ov er—accumulate these substances

says Falcone By useful Falcone specifi—
cally means useful to firms in the business
worl Id that might be interested in striking
up a partnership with LIK. companies which
would use THRI‘s technology in order to
“grow“ their products in tobacco.

Falcone describes the work he does in the
lab as “complicated science but simple pro—
cedure." admitting that what he does isn‘t
exactly a spectator sport.

His genetic tinkering takes place in a

“/13

petri dish. in which a cut tobacco leafis
exposed to a culture of bacterium com—
monly used as a transport system for any
genetic material Falcone wants to put
into tobacco to cause it to over—accumu—
late already—presentsubstances. The gene
is introduced into the bacteria which. in
turn. invade and infect the exposed cells
of the plant. inserting the introduced
genes into the plant‘s cells. “We can then
grow an entire tobacco plant from just
one ofthese cells.“ Falcone says. “We call
the process ‘regeneration‘; the payoff is
that every cell of the new plant will
contain the new gene.

“But don‘t the bacteria kill the plant
cells?“ Falcone asks rhetorically. in an—
ticipation of that question. “No ~— be—
cause any ‘bad genes‘ have been taken
out of this particular bacterium.“

He explains that plant geneticists com—
monly use a species of bacteria called
Agrobacterium. which causes galls —
large tumor—like protuberances — in
plants. This bacterium introduces part
ofits own DNA into a plant cells DNA
and overwhelms the infected cells: the
galls are the dramatic evidence of the
bacteria‘s success.

“The tumor—causing genes have been
removed. though. from the bacterium
we use: it is disarmed. \V'hat‘s‘ left is the

DNA necessary to do the transformation."
falcone says.

In this process. falcone doesn't know
exactly which substances will over-accu-
mulate in the altered plant. The important
thing. he says. is that the over— produced
compounds can now be identih d( by bio—
chemical assay s or analytical methods) and
then isolated.

This basic science is not onIy important
in furthering knowl ledge of plant genetics.
Falcone sat s but is also 11 starting point to
interest business and industrx 1n the possi-
bility of using L K developed tecf hnology to
make naturally
from insecticides to pharmaceuticals.

As a result of work on the basic science of
plant bioengineering. another aspect ofthe

deriv ed materials ranging

process will be better understood —~ the

development of “promoters.” Promoters

are sections ofDNA which must be coupled

with a gene in order for the gene to ”ex—

t‘vtriliri 1:111’ 1111 [1113411 11

Iii/(CH .1.\/) ([1111])! .1775 NT! UNIX j

 

   

Kentzw/q, ‘
tobacco
accounts for

25 percent
of total fizrm sales.

press,” or function, in plant tissue.

“Ifwe want to put a plant or animal gene
into tobacco, we have to attach it to a
promotor for the gene to work, ” says Davies.
“It kick-starts the gene into action, you
might say.” The gene itself, Davies ex—
plains, is like the software on a computer: it
can’t be activated without an operating
system. What’s important about a pro—
moter is that it activates the gene and also
tells it when to turn off.

Part ofthe swirl ofactivity at THRI now
involves the development and, hopefully,
patenting of new genetic promoters and
“switches” which will serve as the starting
motors in the process of turning tobacco
plants into gene-making sources of new
products. This research focus is what led
another new hire — Susheng Gan — to
THRI.

“I came to UK from the University of
Wisconsin because of the unique, new pro—
gram here in biotechnology,” says Gan. “I

 

like to do both basic and applied
research, so this is a perfect setting
for me.” While at the University of
Wisconsin, Gan invented a mo—
lecular technique that delays plant
aging. According to Gan, this tech—
nology can be used to create new
crops that will have higher yields as
well as vegetables that will remain
fresh much longer.

“This technology has been pat—
ented and licensed out to several
biotechnology companies,” says
Gan. “I am very happy to see my
research being put to practical use."

It was through several years of
intense work on plant aging at Wis—
consin that Gan discovered and
identified six “aging genes" from a
weed called Arabidopsis. He iso—
lated the promoters of these genes
and coupled one of the promoters
to a well—established anti—aging gene
and, in a sense, turned the aging
process against itself.

“When we put the new hybrid

 

 

 

 

 

DEANE FALCONECHARACTERIZES THE TOBACCO

gene into a plant at the onset 9f PLANT AS A “WILLING FACTORY.” HIs WORK
aglng, the aging promoter 15 aCU' INVOLVEs TINKERING WITH TOBACCO’s GENETIC
vated t0 dlr€Ct the anti-aging gene STRUCTURE IN ORDER FOR THE PLANT To MAKE

to manufacture cytokinins(a type ITS LESS ABUNDANT COMPOUNDS IN MUCH
of plant hormone that inhibits ag— GREATER AmoUNTs.

ing). In doing this we, in a sense, re—
program the plant’s aging process,” Gan says.

The results ofthe genetic inducement are
dramatic. A non—engineered control tobacco
plant begins to show some yellowing leaves
after six weeks; at 20 weeks, the plants leaves
have nearly all turned brown and have wilted.
The 20—week—old transgenic plant is vibrant
and green, its leaves still sturdy.

Gan is continuing his research on what he
calls “leafsenescence” at THRI, work which
will not only contribute to basic knowledge
regarding how and why plants age, but will
also allow plant geneticists to devise more
sophisticated ways to genetically manipulate
senescence for agricultural improvement.

“Senescence research will lead to the de—
velopment of new tools for tobacco biotech—
nology,” Gan says.

“Susheng and Deane were hired for their
expertise in specific areas of plant bioengi—
neering research,” Davies says. “And Or—
lando Chambers was an important new
addition, since he has a very relevant back—

ground as an ag economist." Indu Maiti,
who has a solid background in developing
promoters, and Quinn Li, who has consid—
erable experience developing transgenic to—
bacco plants, complete the program team.
“These are the most ideally suited individu—
als you could imagine to move our work to
the next level,“ says Davies. An additional
scientist with expertise in disease resistance
will join the group in the near future.

The Commercial Payoff
Even though the THRI program is in its

early stages, the business community has
already shown an interest in the growing
UK expertise in genetic manipulation of
plants. One company that is collaborating
with THRI is Biosource Technologies Inc.
ofVacaville, California. Biosource has been
operating a 22—acre tobacco field in
Owensboro, Kentucky, for two years, pro—
ducing genetically engineered proteins for
use as infection—fighting drugs.

 

6 OD YSSF Y

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“We ground up 163 tons of tobacco
leaves 111st summer,“ says Barry Holtz, Vice
president of process development for the
companV who adds ""This isn‘t 11 drill —~—
this is the real thing The real thing in this
case. the end product. is an antibiotic that
kills bacteria in a new way —~ by creating a
hole in the cell membrane of bacteria.

The tobacco institute can not only offer
such companies the facilities to carry out
this kind ofhigh-tech agriculture, but can
also provide the technical and academic
expertise to support it. Davies says.

""One reason BioSource decided to estab—
lish its field operation in ()Vvensboro was
the expertise at the University ofKentucky
in plant biotechnology.“ Holtz says. “The
fact that Maelor was brought in (he used to
work just down the road from us in
\'aca\‘ille) and the work we"ve done with
Scott Smith in agronomy and with others

at UK added up to a nice confluence of

factors that helped us make up our minds."

Another TH R1 research collaboration is
with lnterl ink Associates Inc ofl’rinceton
.\eVV_]ersey.1h1s relationship which be—
gan last 11th combines Interlink s deVel
opments of novel. bioactive peptides with
THRl‘s expertise in plant transformation
and the development ofgenetic promoters.
" 1 his Is an ideal relationship 1s1Vs Dav ies

""\\ e haVe the technology 11nd knowhow
theV haVe the marketing ideas. lhey can
develop commercial possibilities, which is
difficult for universities to do, and which
would be outside THRks mandate.“

The objective of this work will be to see
if the InterLink peptides introduced into
tobacco by THRI scientists will raise resis—
tance to plant diseases such as tobacco blue
mold, and to assess the potential for large—
scale production ofsuch peptides using the
tobacco plant.

Blue mold is a major nemesis oftobacco,
and currently all breeders can do to fight it
is use the natural defenses of the tobacco
plant and try to breed in characteristics
from other tobacco varieties to strengthen
this resistance. ""lfwe had some agent that
could kill blue mold. we could introduce
that into the plant. even ifit‘s an antifungal
agent made by spiders — or giraffes,“s says
Davies. Last year in KentuckV blue mold
caused an estimated loss to farmers of S 1 63
million.

A third THRI industry relationship was

established last November. This agreement
between THRI and United Agi Products
(UAI’) of Lubbock, Texas, is enabling the
company to develop new crop varieties
containing a genetic promoter which was
developed at THRI by Robert Shepherd
and 1ndu Maiti owaK’s agronomy depart—
ment. UAP is interested in developing a
series of major agricultural crops with im—
proved farming practices. The soybean will
be the initial crop ofinterest.

While THRI‘s focus remains firmly on
tobacco. Davies is pleased to see THRI—
developed technology used by others to
improve other crops farmed in Kentucky.
“And by establishing these relationships
with companies, we have their attention
when we make newsworthy developments
with tobacco." he says.

The Future
of Plant Bioengineering

Many questions remain unanswered con-
cerning this new tobacco production. In-
tellectual property rights. the cost of" crop
development, 11nd how this new tobacco
production will coexist with the produc-
tion oftraditional tobacco must be consid—
ered.

“For commercialization to be feasible, it
will be necessary for the production to be

profitable for the farmer and for the proces—
sor," says Chambers. “Markets for the prod—
ucts will need to be available and long term
to ensure an adequate return on the cost of
118(1).“

And if this is to be the growing area of
research and development that it appears to
be. the question could be asked where the
plant biotechnicians ofthe future will come
from.

fe"ll be supplying our fair share from
right here at UK," is Collins" answer. “\X’e
started a new undergraduate degree program
in 1988 in agricultural biotechnology,"‘ he
says, “and this program has taken off tre—
mendously." The program currently has
about 110 students enrolled and it gradu—
ates from 16 to 20 a Vear Collins says

In looking back at his Vear and a half of
working to get the THRl plant biotechnol-
ogV program offand running. DaV ies saV 5 he
is pleased that UK has built several new
relationships with companies and has revi—
talized others.

""Things have moved along faster than 1
would have thought." he says. ""1 believe this
will be a snowballing kind ofthing: the more
companies that we can form partnerships
with — and who realize the benefits ofsuch
a partnership — the more will jump on the
bandwagon. These next few years are going
to be very exciting." E

 

 

 

 

 

SUSHENG GAN HAS INVENTED A MOLECULAR TECHNIQUE THAT DELAYS PLANT
AGING. THIS TECHNOLOGY CAN BE USED TO CREATE NEW CROPS THAT WILL HAVE
HIGHER YIELDS AS WELL AS VEGETABLES THAT WILL REMAIN FRESH MUCH

LONGER.

IV’]:‘_\"/:'.1/\’(f/l :1.\'l) (1/6111)! .~1"1"l:' 57‘! l)lI:"_\" 7

 

  
 

ODYSSEY

 

 

TEENAGERS A
CHHDREN IN SUCH

13W ESTEEM?

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UK Researchers Respond to Public Agenda Study

 

ids and teenagers are ruder and wilder
and more irresponsible than ever
efore. This is the conclusion that
could be drawn from a recent national study
by a public policy research organization
based in New York. The study, titled “Kids
These Days: What Americans Really Think
about the Next Generation,” found a stun—
ning level of antagonism not just toward
teenagers but toward young children as
well. Ninety percent ofthe respondents said
youngsters have failed to learn values.
“Adults are not confused and they’re not
ambivalent,” says Deborah Wadsworth,
executive director of Public Agenda, which
conducted the study. “Instead, they’re vir—
tually riveted by the need to teach kids
integrity, ethical behavior, respect and ci—
vility." Only 12 percent ofthe 2,000 adults
surveyed said it was common for children to
treat people with respect.
Are kids and teenagers really so bad these

when adult—child interactions occurred less
regularly, he explains.

At the same time, other social norms are
in flux, Turner adds. “Whereas a genera—
tion ago children were likely to be encour—
aged to be polite, courteous, and respectful,
especially toward adults, today messages
from the significant adults in their lives are
likely to emphasize self—respect, self—
assertiveness and self—esteem. Children are
constantly being reminded of the virtues of
standing up for their rights and having
positive self—esteem.”

These messages often pose a conflict for
young people who may not know where to
draw the line between asserting themselves
and respecting others, he says. “Whereas
there is virtue in these self—respect messages,
unfortunately, the messages extolling the
importance of respecting others, especially
those who are older, are often lost.”

As general exposure between adults and

children has increased, adults also receive
more exposure to the aberrant behavior of
some kids through the media, according to
Turner. “Children are often presented as
violent, dangerous and disrespectful toward
adults.”

In contrast, he says, TV shows in the ’50s
to the ’805 tended to present kids in a more
favorable light, and conflicts could be re—
solved in half an hour by all—wise parents
and a little ingenuity. Consequently, adults
often expect children to be like the Brady
Bunch or the Huxtable Kids, and instead
are confronted with latch-key youngsters
having to raise themselves, or street gangs,
teenage parents and drop—outs.

The news media also tend to report vio—
lent behavior more than in the past, Turner
says. Landmark events such as children
murdering their parents occurred in previ—
ous decades, but those events were far less
likely to receive the barrage of media cover—

 

days.>

Several researchers at the Univer—