P u b lis h e d b y th e S tu d e n ts ’ S o c ie ty o f M c G ill U n iv e r s ity
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Genetic resistance to AIDS vims sheds new light on research Scientists may have discovered a genetic reason fo r why some people are more immune than others B y A m y D iN o l o
In the past month, scientists at the National Cancer Institute in Washington, D.C. have come out with groundbreaking research regarding genetic resistance to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Dr. Steve O’Brien of the NCI has been conducting a study of approximately 1,900 American men and women who have either been at high risk of contracting HIV but have not, or who have been carrying the virus for years without develop ing full-blown AIDS. Apparently, this pseudo-immunity is of a heredi tary nature. Viruses cause their damage by entering the cells of a host organism to propagate. Once the parent virus has successfully reproduced, its replicates break out of the host cell, thereby damaging or killing it.
Retroviruses, such as HIV, work by incorporating parts of their RNA into the genetic code of the host cell. In the case of the AIDS virus, these hosts are white blood cells, which provide resistance to infection and illness. However, in certain people, the virus has trouble attaching to the membrane of the cells. This is due to a defective protein in the cell membrane called CKRS. “We all carry the genetic blue print for CKRS,” noted Dr. Norbert Gilmore of the McGill Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law, and associate director of the McGill AIDS Centre. “If you’ve inherited the gene which codes for the defec tive protein, then you will be rela tively resistant [to HIV].” “Not only is it hard to get C ontinued on Page 13
Stomp hammers Montreal B y Rachel S t o k o e
Like a minivan full of hyper kinetic siblings deprived of their Ritalin, Stomp rode into Montreal last week to help christen the Black and Blue ceremonies with some noise. You’ ve probably seen the broom-banging troupe before. If not on the David Letterman show or the Academy Awards, then in the Coke commercial a few years back when they stomped across T.V. screens holding ice picks atop trash cans. Created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, Stomp has received international critical acclaim since their premier at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh, gar-
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nering more then a handful of per formance art and fringe awards. While most know Stomp from tele vised productions, nothing rivals the intensity and energy of their live per formance. The directors and performers all have long histories of creative expression. The performers’ differ ent background add a richness and creative diversity reflected in their stage show. In this cast, members’ previous experiences include puppeteering, theatrical work, modern dance, and, of course, percussionary expression. Dressed in chalk covered street clothes and sporting a belligerently playful attitude, Stomp’s one part slap-stick, five parts percussion stage show rings in your ears and quickens your heart rate whether you want it to or not. When Stomp came out in 1991, critics launched lengthy diatribes on how the group’s stage show was a commentary on the decrepitude of an Industrial world. Their popping plas tic bags and broom dances represent ed the rage and alienation of the C on tin u ed on P age 15
One o f C a n a d a ’s oldest museums, Redpath is a neglected treasure on campus. Story on p a g e 11.
Suspected beverage doping at McGill: two incidents reported at Gert’s Pub
Increasing concern over illicit substances used as ‘date rape d ru g s’ has touched on college campuses around North America. This year has seen an increase in such incidents in Montreal, and now two suspected cases at McGill. B y Jo y c e La u
Two incidents of beverage dop ing have been reported on McGill campus. The cases have been unoffi cially linked to the tranquiliser Rohypnol, a designer ‘date rape drug’ which has been gaining popularity in Montreal and other North American cities. The Sexual Assault Centre of McGill’s Students’ Society reports that at least three women were offered beers by an unidentified man between the hours of midnight and 2 a.m. on Thursday, October 3 at Gert’s Pub. Two of the women accepted the beer, and within five to ten minutes displayed symptoms of severe intoxi cation — including total memory loss, partial paralysis, and hallucina tions. After a few hours, panic attacks and convulsions set in. According to a SACOMSS report called in by a friend, one of the women was sexually harassed before she was coerced to take the drink. The incident happened when the woman was alone waiting for her friends.
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The report states that “[a] man approached [the woman] and kissed her. She pulled away and went to buy a beer. He stopped her and insisted on buying it for her. He then returned with a beer [and] handed it to her.” After a few minutes the woman began physically “falling all over.” At this point, the man “asked the woman to come home with him. She refused.” The friend, who then took the woman home, described her as being “very suddenly incoherent, disorien tated, confused, shaking and convuls ing. [She] has no recollection of the night’s events after leaving the bar.” Another report was written by a friend of another one of the victims. He had stayed with the woman through the weekend. His account was distributed around campus as a flyer titled “McGill Community Awareness Message,” which warns students against Rohypnol. The author writes, “As I took [my friend] home she insisted she was only drunk...By the time I carried her home, she had no idea who I was, or where she was, yet gave me no
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resistance. She was up for hours, tossing and turning, disoriented and frightened. The next morning, when she woke up she couldn’t even remember after drinking the beer, how she got home, that she had even been drugged.” In an interview with the Tribune, the author of the flyer said that his friend only had one other beer. “It happened so fast. We spent less than half an hour in the bar. The scary thing is that if I didn’t know C ontinued on Page 4
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Blood drive: SSMU council discusses divisons............ Pg.2 The homeless: Pilot program pro vides psychiatric treatment...Pg.12 AIDS: immunity under the micro scop e......................................Pg.12 Virtual choreography: new devel opments in dance........... Pg. 74 Redmen soccer: clinches division title in weekend victories. Pg. 17 What's On listings........... Pg. 19