Story Ideas for Media - 03/07/05
News
The ‘Atlantic Monthly’ awards prize to creative writing student -- Kyle Minor, who is pursuing a master’s in fine arts at Ohio State, won second place in The Atlantic Monthly’s 2004 Student Writing Contest, one of most prestigious literary prizes available to students anywhere in the world. Minor’s story, “Lay Me Down in the Blue Grass,” is a nonfiction essay about the aftermath of the suicide of his wife’s nephew in Kentucky. The award offers a $500 prize, and his story will be considered for future publication in the magazine. CONTACT: Amy Murray, University Relations, (614) 292-8385.
Experts
Expert can discuss Supreme Court ruling on juveniles, death penalty -- Professor Katherine Hunt Federle, director of the Justice for Children Project, an educational and interdisciplinary research initiative that seeks to remedy both systemic and individual problems affecting children nationwide, is an internationally renowned expert on issues regarding children’s rights and criminal law. Federle can discuss the conference, “The Mind of a Child: The Relationship Between Brain Development, Cognitive Functioning, and Accountability Under the Law,” which is being held on March 10 and 11 at the Moritz College of Law, 55. W. 12th Ave. The interdisciplinary symposium will look to recent developments in the science of brain development and function and how it can be applied to the state of mind when a child commits a crime. The conference is open to the public. She also is available to speak with media about last week’s Supreme Court ruling that applying the death penalty to crimes committed by juveniles is cruel and unusual punishment, which is barred by the Constitution. CONTACT: Katherine Hunt Federle, Moritz College of Law, (614) 292-9177; or Liz Cutler Gates, Moritz College of Law, (614) 292-0283.
Research
Compound inhibits one critical pathway in breast cancer growth -- A compound that suppresses the growth of cancer cells and is relatively non-toxic to normal cells may one day be useful for treating several types of cancer, researchers report in this week\'s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Laboratory experiments in human breast cancer cells suggest that the compound inhibits the constant activation of a protein called Stat3 that is found in several different types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, lung, prostate, head and neck, skin, pancreas and ovaries as well as lymphoma and certain kinds of leukemia. Stat3 is constantly activated in about 60 percent of breast tumors, said Jiayuh Lin, the study’s lead author and an associate professor of pediatrics. All cells contain Stat3 protein, but in normal cells, Stat3 activities are only turned on temporarily. Researchers do know, however, that Stat3 is constantly turned on in certain tumor cells. “The cancer cells we studied seem to depend on Stat3 for survival,” said Lin. “When we blocked the chain of events that activate Stat3, the cancer cells died.” For more information, see http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/stat3.htm CONTACT: Jiayuh Lin, Department of Pediatrics, (614) 355-2652; or Holly Wagner, University Relations, (614) 292-8310.
Events
Jungle Jack Hanna and friends to teach docs about bites, stings – March 8. -- Jack Hanna, national wildlife expert and director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, will be speaking to emergency medicine staff at The Ohio State University Medical Center at 10 a.m. on Tuesday (3/8) about animal bites and insect stings. The event is part of a weekly educational lecture for residents and faculty in the department of emergency medicine. Reporters and videographers are welcome to come and capture superb visuals as various animals will accompany Hanna on his visit. The event will be held in the auditorium of The Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital. Media parking will be available in the driveway in front of the hospital. CONTACT: Sherri L. Kirk, Medical Center Communications, (614) 293-3737.
Expo features spring eyewear collections from many manufacturers – March 8. -- The Ohio State Optometry Services’ Eyewear Gallery for Great Vision will host the biannual Frame Fashion Expo Tuesday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday (3/8) at Fry Hall, 320 W. 10th Ave. In addition to the normal selection of 2,200 frames, representatives from six of the world’s finest eyewear manufacturers -- PRADA, OGi Eyewear, Kenneth Cole, Takumi, Manhattan, and EZ Twist -- will present their spring fashion collections. Featured frames will be specially priced. The licensed optician instructors at the Eyewear Gallery specialize in matching patients’ visual and lifestyle needs to specific lens options. The Eyewear Gallery Frame Fashion Expo has truly become central Ohio’s most prestigious fashion eyewear event. CONTACT: Karen Greene, College of Optometry, (614) 292 0818
Event commemorates Japanese American Internment – March 10. -- Ohio State’s Asian American Studies Program is hosting a capstone event for its month-long commemoration of Japanese American Internment, “Faces from the Past, Voices of the Present,” from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday (3/10) at the Hale Black Cultural Center, 153 W. 12th Ave. A reception will follow the presentation. The program will feature student-created documentaries and performance art based on interviews with former Japanese American internees who currently live in Ohio. In attendance will be the individuals that they interviewed. The oral history/performance art project is co-sponsored by the Multicultural Center Collaborative Programming Grant. For more information, see http://japan.osu.edu/remember.html CONTACT: Judy Wu, Department of History, (614) 292-9331.
Researcher to discuss spinal cord injury research – March 14. -- A free public lecture on spinal cord injury research will kick off Ohio State’s commemoration of Brain Awareness Week 2005, which will be held March 14-20. Lyn Jakeman, assistant professor of physiology and cell biology, will speak at noon Monday (3/14) in room 14 of University Hall, 230 North Oval Mall. Her talk is titled “Spinal Cord Injury Research: A History of Promise and Challenges.” CONTACT: Jeff Grabmeier, University Relations, (614) 292-8457.
The person listed as CONTACT will have the best information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for help with any Ohio State story – Elizabeth Conlisk, (614) 292-3040; Liz Cook, (614) 292-7276; Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385, and Shannon Wingard, (614) 247-6821.
