Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013 | Volume 209 | Number 36 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890. | A 2010-11 ACP Pacemaker Award winner
Borlaug Lecture celebrates world ag By Caitlin.Deaver @iowastatedaily.com
Brandi Boyett/Iowa State Daily October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Its icon, the pink ribbon, expresses support for those who have been affected by cancer in the past.
keeping
ABREAST
Student reflects on mother’s cancer fight By Ryan.Anderson @iowastatedaily.com
Cancer has affected many lives at Iowa State, including that of Carolyn Clark, whose mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011. Clark is currently a junior in
agronomy. “She had stage 1; it was ductile infiltrate carcinoma,” Clark said. Breast cancer is a type of cancer that typically affects women older than 40; however, there are cases of younger women receiving such a diagnosis. In their lifetime, one in eight women are likely to develop breast cancer, one of the most invasive cancers among women. Clark’s mother was
in her early 40s when she noticed a lump in one of her breasts. The several mammograms she had had over the years missed the cancer. Women have multiple options when it comes to checking for breast cancer symptoms. For a woman in her 20s, self-breast examinations are the most common according to the American Cancer Society. If changes occur, then it is time to seek a health
care professional for a full examination. “It was really scary because she discovered it herself,” Clark said. Once the cancer was discovered, Clark’s mother went through both chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Those treatments are very common when the cancer has not spread throughout the body. Clark, who is the survivorship chairwoman for Colleges Against Cancer,
Signs of breast cancer ■■ swelling of all or part of breast ■■ skin irritation or dimpling ■■ nipple retraction ■■ redness or thickening of the nipple or breast skin ■■ nipple discharge other than breast milk
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The 12th annual Norman E. Borlaug Lecture, “Scientific Discovery and the Fight to End Global Hunger,” was presented by the three 2013 World Food Prize joint recipients, Marc Van Montagu, Mary-Dell Chilton and Robert Fraley. Borlaug, known as the father of the Green Revolution and as the “man who fed the world,” established the World Food Prize back in 1986. The prize recognizes the contributions of scientists to the world food supply and health through better nutrition. Before the lecture started Monday night, select agriculture students showcased their posters about the research they did while visiting other countries. The laureates went from poster to poster as each student presented their findings. At the end of the lecture, six students had their posters recognized. “This interaction between scientists and future scientists working together is special,” said Wendy Wintersteen, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “The interaction of the laureates with our students is a real opportunity.” Van Montagu, Chilton and Fraley, all advocates of genetically modified plants, made innovations in the world of agriculture through their work in molecular biology and plant science. These innovations improved crop yields to feed an ever-growing population. Genetically engineered crops can now be resistant to disease and insects, tolerate varying climate changes and require less chemical fertilizer. Van Montagu’s work is marked by his discovery of the Ti plasmid, a large, circular molecule of DNA, while working with the
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Army ROTC takes 1st in fitness By Mackensie.Moore @iowastatedaily.com The ISU Army ROTC program once again has been named No. 1 in the United States in physical fitness. The program has, for the second year in a row, achieved the highest average in the nation on the Army Physical Fitness Test. “Anything that is consistent year after year is hard,” said Lt. Col. Richard Smith, professor and chairman of military science. “I think that the program we have in place sets our cadets up for success.” When Army ROTC members finish their third year, they participate in a camp over the summer. This camp is known as the Leadership Development Assessment Course. The course works as a stepping stone for their future positions in the Army, determining branches and ranking systems for cadets wanting a career with the army. It consists of leadership development tests and an fitness test. The physical fitness portion of the assessment course the cadets on how many sit-ups they can do in two minutes, how many pushups in two minutes and how quickly they can run 2 miles. The standards for age groups are set with a possible scoreout of 100. While there is a maximum score of 300, cadets can go above this by exceeding the set standards of the course. During the summer, 27 ISU juniors took the test. Competing against 274 schools and a total of 5,909 cadets. Iowa State’s average score was 292.4, 19.4 points higher than the cadet command average for the na-
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons The emerald ash borers have been found in in Cedar County, Iowa. The outbreak is the state’s fourth in the past three years.
Emerald ash borers return threat to Iowa By Julie.Paulson @iowastatedaily.com
Courtesy of Lt. Col. Richard Smith Amanda Veen, senior, does the Flexed Arm Hang at the Army Physical Fitness Test last month. The ISU ROTC brought home top honors in fitness for the second year.
tion of 273. Smith said the only reason the program is so successful is because of the cadets’ dedication. “It’s about the entire program being successful,” Smith said. “They all want to be a part of the program,
to win and to be No. 1.” Iowa State’s cadets prepare for the assessment course throughout the year with their own physical fitness test.
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The movement of firewood and wood chips from Iowa could soon be under quarantine as emerald ash borers have been found in Mechanicsville, Iowa, in Cedar County. This is the fourth outbreak of the pest found in Iowa, following infestations in Allamakee, Des Moines and Jefferson counties, all in the last three years. The emerald ash borer is generally spread by the movement of firewood, though it can also be spread through landscaping. The borers are exotic beetles from Asia that is generally half an inch long or smaller. They feed solely on ash trees, which are one of the most abundant tree species in America.
“[The emerald ash borer] is very destructive,” said Mark Shour, entomologist at Iowa State and member of the Iowa Emerald Ash Borer Team. “It will kill healthy or declining trees. … It takes two to five years to destroy one tree.” Ash is used in a number of products including: firewood, paper, baseball bats and basket weaving, as well as being a common shade tree in urban areas. Replacing all 38 million urban ash trees in the United States would cost $25 billion, and replacing the 8 billion forest trees would cost $282 billion. Since its discovery in 2002 in Detroit, the beetle has spread to 22 states and destroyed tens of millions of trees, according to the U.S.
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