Thursday, August 20, 2009
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Former president preaches importance of religious unity Gov. Brad Henry joins Jimmy Carter in emphasizing the need for balance between faith and modern ideas RICKY MARANON The Oklahoma Daily
During their Midwest regional meeting Aug. 7 in Norman, former President Jimmy Carter said the debate and tension between Christianity’s unchanging principles and society’s progression led him to help create the New Baptist Covenant. He said the effectiveness of the Christian church depends on the church working together, rather than feuding about social policy issues. “It’s not the missionaries or the wonderful preaching of great men like Billy Graham who shape the opinion of Christianity in the world,” Carter said. “Don’t get me wrong, these men are very effective and eloquent in their service to the Lord, but what is shaping the view of Christianity around the world is that they see Christians struggling for authority, having petty disputes and the church appears incapable of coming together.”
OUR COMMITMENT TO ACCURACY The Daily has a long-standing commitment to serve readers by providing accurate coverage and analysis. Errors are corrected as they are identified. Readers should bring errors to the attention of the editorial board for further investigation. A Feb. 5 article on page 1A of The Oklahoma Daily, “Domestic homicide spree grips state,” incorrectly identified Rebecca Pierce as Rebecca Butler. An article on page 7C of The Oklahoma Daily’s Back-toSchool edition incorrectly reported the date of the U2 concert as Oct. 2. The concert will be held Oct. 18 in the Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. An article on page 10A of The Oklahoma Daily’s Backto-School edition incorrectly identified the India Student Association as the Indonesia Student Association.
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He said using the Bible as a defense in arguments is a hindrance to the purpose of the Christian church. “Our arguments between each other [are] a cancer in the body of Christ, and [they pervert] the image of the one who we claim to worship,” Carter said. “We all have the great temptation to redefine the gospel. Growing up, I can remember growing up and hearing Bible verses being used to encourage blacks and whites not to be together.” Carter reminded attendees not to focus on their differences, but on the ministry of Jesus. He asked the audience to help churches find policies that will make a difference in the world, instead of dividing the church. “Are we going to allow women to serve the Lord to the best of their ability as deacons and missionaries and pastors, or are we going to focus on telling a wife to be submissive to her husband?” Carter said. “Are we going to forever dispute whether the earth was created in 4,004 B.C., or are we going to finally see that God created the universe ... through science and evolution? And are we finally going to recognize the vision of Thomas Jefferson by having total separation of church and state in this country? Elected leaders do not need
POLICE REPORTS The following is a list of citations and arrests, not convictions. The information presented is compiled from the Norman Police Department and OUPD. All people listed are innocent until proven guilty. ASSAULT AND BATTERY J.O. Clark, 43, 505 Highland Parkway, Monday Noe Lopez Moreno, 37, 505 Highland Parkway, Monday Michael Melvin Patterson, 26, 604 Dakota St., Tuesday COUNTY WARRANT Tony Clinton Cox, 39, 201 W. Daws St., Monday Herbert Adam Sheets, 33, S. Pickard Avenue, Tuesday PUBLIC INTOXICATION James Bryan Hunt, 30, E. Gray Street, Monday MUNICIPAL WARRANT William Brent Lawrence, 51, 2400 W. Main St., Monday Gary Lynn Norman, 40, 201 W. Gray St., Monday Edward Wayne Turner, 31, 2420 Classen Blvd., Monday Shelly Lee York, 36, 711 Monnett Ave., Monday Juan E. Garcia, 18, 900 24th Ave. SW, Tuesday POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE Ramon Hernandez, 20, 2400 W. Lindsey St., Tuesday Makram Issam Shayya, 24, 1222 Trout Ave., Tuesday POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA Dana Michael Horn, 32, 333 N Interstate Drive, Tuesday POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA Shelly Lee York, 36, 711 Monnett Ave., Monday
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to be interpreting scripture for the rest of us.” Gov. Brad Henry also spoke and shared his faith before introducing Carter. “Giving my testimony and sharing my faith is not easy for me,” Henry said. “My faith is a very personal thing to me, and [it] has sustained me in good times and in times of tremendous tragedy.” Henry also spoke about his fourth daughter Lindsey, who died as an infant from a rare neurological disease and how his faith helped him through it. “Were it not for our church family, pastors and my relationship with God, I don’t think [my marriage] would have survived this tragedy,” he said. “It is because of my personal experiences with my faith ... why it concerns me to see far too often public officials wear their religion on their sleeve and use it to judge others.” Henry said Carter is a mentor to him on how faith, peace and justice work together. “There have been few people in my life who have been as inspirational,” he said. The Midwest regional meeting of the New Baptist Covenant was a two-day convention of Baptist churches that offered workshops, congregational singing and sermons
CHARLES WARD/THE DAILY
Former president Jimmy Carter addresses the New Baptist Covenant at its Midwest Regional meeting Aug. 7 in Norman. to attendees. Carter and Henry addressed the meeting at the Norman Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center.
Genetic research could affect high blood pressure treatment Anti-aging klotho gene could yield new treatments for hypertension JARED RADER The Oklahoma Daily
OU Health Sciences Center researchers have found the first link between a recently discovered anti-aging gene and high blood pressure. The results could yield new and inexpensive treatments for hypertension and uncover mysteries of aging, several OU researchers said during a news briefing Tuesday at the OU Health Sciences Center. Dr. Dwight Reynolds, section chief of cardiology at the OU Health Sciences Center, said the research was a major development in medicine. “To be on the cusp ... of being able to find something that would contribute dramatically not only to the control of hypertension but to the ravaging effects of hypertension on the eyes, on the kidneys, on the heart, on the brain, and to all the blood vessels of the body is truly remarkable,” Reynolds said. Dr. Zhongjie Sun, associate professor of physiology, led a team of researchers in experimenting the effect of an antiaging gene called klotho on reducing high blood pressure. The results found the increased expression of the gene in laboratory subjects not only halted rising blood pressure, but also lowered it. The results also yielded total reversal of kidney damage, which can occur with persistent high blood pressure and can lead to kidney failure. Sun said the injection of the gene would have no side effects and would be less expensive and more comfortable than pharmaceutical drugs, which need to be taken daily and often cause harmful side effects. “One single injection [of the klotho
gene] can produce months to years of anti-hypertensive effects,” Sun said. The klotho gene exists naturally in humans, but it loses its ability to produce klotho proteins over time. Because of the klotho gene’s ability to decrease blood pressure and maintain health of vital organs such as the kidneys, increasing the potency of the gene has the potential to increase lifespan. During testing, Sun said the lifespan of animals tested increased 20 to 30 percent. “The big deal here is that cardiovascular problems are a primary difficulty as a function of age,” said William Sonntag, Ph.D, director of the Reynolds Oklahoma Center on Aging. “If we can have an intervention that targets those endpoints, we have something that could be very powerful to increase lifespan, increase health span.” The klotho gene is delivered by using a FDA-approved virus currently used for other gene therapies to direct the klotho gene into a person’s DNA, causing the body to create klotho proteins on its own, Sun said. The treatment could theoretically be permanent, though Sun said further testing will be needed to determine the exact results. Receiving approval from the FDA to use the gene for patients is the next step, a process that could take one to five years, Sonntag said. However, Sun said the proteins produced by the klotho gene are already FDA-approved and could possibly be put into a shake and drunk. The effects would not last as long as a direct injection of the gene, but would not need to be taken as often as pharmaceutical drugs. Sonntag also noted the implications the research could have on health care costs. According to the American Heart Association, about one in three U.S.
adults suffers from high blood pressure. Since hypertension has no symptoms, most people do not know they have it, which is why the AHA has dubbed it the “silent killer.” “If we can increase the health of people for long periods of time, we increase their ability to be active and we decrease healthcare costs,” Sonntag said. Though Sun’s research is groundbreaking, he will continue to seek answers to many more questions, such as why hypertension increases with age and how exactly the klotho gene works to reduce blood pressure. “That’s what scientific research is all about,” Sontag said. “We still don’t have all the answers at this point.”
PHOTO PROVIDED
Zhongjie Sun, M.D., Ph.D, principal researcher and expert cardiologist, works in the lab at OUHSC. Sun’s research revealed a gene found to reduce blood pressure and provide clues on aging.