TECHNICIAN
monday february
2
2015
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
IN BRIEF Research improves vaccines
Eighth student since August dies at ASU Boone Police reported an Appalachian State University student from Charlotte died Friday evening, bringing the number of student deaths at ASU to eight since August. The Boone Police Department reported that it along with Boone Fire Department and Watauga Medics found Michael C. Schmitt, 23, in “distress” after responding to a “medical emergency.” The Boone Police Department said there are no indications of foul play, but the investigation into Schmitt’s death is ongoing. Schmitt is the eighth ASU student to die since August and the third in last two weeks. At least four of the students committed or appeared to commit suicide. Two students died in car accidents. SOURCE: High Country Press
Crowley’s neighborhood bar closes
Jakob Hjelmquist Correspondent
According to new research from NC State, vaccines may become more effective than ever before at preventing disease. Since the summer of 2013, Cathy Fromen, a recent Ph.D. graduate from NC State, and her colleagues have explored how using nanoparticles not previously used in inhalable vaccines could improve the immune system’s response time to a vaccine in order to make it more effective at enabling the body to fight off diseases, such as tuberculosis and influenza. A nanoparticle is a small object that behaves as a whole unit in terms of its transport and properties. For
all intents and purposes, a nanoparticle can act as a deliveryman for the proteins of the vaccine, making it easier for the body to recognize the antigen protein. “This creates a faster immune response time from the body,” Fromen said. “Using a nanoparticle also makes the immune response stronger and more effective. Overall, the immune system is much better prepared to fight a real virus.” Because the inhalation method of receiving a vaccine is easier for the user, this research could possibly have an effect on the way vaccines are distributed to people living in third-world countries, according to Fromen. “The inhalation method is painless and doesn’t create biohazard
waste like a syringe would,” Fromen said. The research team looked at the features of the nanoparticles, explicitly at their surface properties, in order to determine what types of properties give the strongest response from the immune system. The research looked specifically at the inhalation method of receiving vaccinations. There is currently a nasal spray version of the influenza vaccine available for those who do not wish to have the shot, Fromen said. “Receiving a vaccine to the lungs is better than the shot,” Fromen said. “It makes it easier for the body to process the vaccine.” The form of vaccine using nanoparticles is still currently in
VACCINE continued page 3
JACKETS DEFEATED AT THE BUZZER: SEE PAGE 8
A capella competition fuses two cultures
After decades as a popular NC State student hangout, Crowley’s restaurant and bar abruptly closed its doors Thursday, giving no prior notice or explanation. The site at 3071 Medlin Drive, just off of Dixie Trail north of Wade Avenue, is locked and now displays a leasing sign in the window. Calls to the bar Thursday were unanswered. Earlier this month, a new bar called The Medlin opened in the same shopping center in a space that was previously occupied by a convenience store. Crowley’s fans mourned the loss of the store this past weekend, as many current NC State students and alumni alike have made memories at the self-described neighborhood bar over the years. SOURCE: Triangle Business Journal
Marcus Blyden Correspondent
Highly-coveted whiskey draws 541-person waitlist in Wake County
Pappy Van Winkle, a bourbon liquor produced by the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery in Kentucky, has garnered a 541-person waitlist in the Triangle. Some people hoping to get a bottle of the ultraspecial-order product have indicated they are willing to pay as much as $250 for a fifth of the bourbon whiskey. The Wake County Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control pulled it from its stores several years ago. It now stores shipments, which it receives yearly or biannually, at a central warehouse. The product, sold in the back at some bars in Raleigh, can cost up to $105 for a 1.5 ounce shot of a 20-yearold vintage Pappy. SOURCE: The News & Observer
insidetechnician
OPINION Why ‘That’s not what I meant’ is not a good excuse (no matter how easy it is) See page 4.
FEATURES Pushing for cheaper textbooks See page 6.
development, as the team is still researching what happens to the nanoparticles once the body has absorbed the proteins and how to apply this approach to many different types of diseases. The implications of this research could be enormous and there have already been clinical trials testing types of nanoparticle vaccines, according to Fromen. Nicholas Martin, a junior studying biology, said he thinks this method of vaccination could become very popular. “If the cost of the inhalation method is as much or only a little more than a standard syringe, then I see this as a beneficial progression,” Martin said. Although the research is still
JOHN JOYNER/TECHNICIAN
Redshirt junior guard Trevor Lacey drives into the paint during the basketball game against Georgia Tech in the McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta on Saturday. Lacey sealed the Wolfpack’s 81-80 victory with a three-point buzzer beater in overtime.
The Ohms from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology won first place in front of 500 guests at the South Asian a cappella contest Sangeet Sagaar in the Talley Ballroom Saturday evening. Sponsored by NC State’s Delta Sigma Iota Fraternity, this was the first year that this type of event was held on the East Coast. “It had never been done by us, and we didn’t know how it would
A CAPELLA continued page 2
Professor talks film on monthly radio segment Russ Ash Staff Writer
In December 2013, Marsha Gordon, a professor teaching film studies at NC State, and Laura Boyes, a film curator at the North Carolina Museum of Art, agreed to discuss holiday-themed films on the North Carolina Radio program “The State of Things.” The two have hosted a monthly segment on the show ever since. During the segment, called “Movies on the Radio,” Gordon and Boyes discuss movie-themed topics. Thanks to brainstorming sessions between the two hosts and idea crowdsourcing through social media, Gordon and Boyes have kept the monthly segment going for more than a year now. The show crowdsources ideas from followers of “The State of Things” on Facebook and Twitter, and the producer picks ideas from among them to feature on the program, according to Gordon. Gordon said the show has been a great opportunity to relate her professional work with a nonacademic audience. “As academics, we have a fairly limited audience within an academic environment,” Gordon said. “This is really a chance to talk to a much wider, more diverse kind of audience than we normally have the opportunity to do as professors.” Boyes said the subject of the shows can be fairly topical depending on when the show is running. The last show they ran was on the best and worst films of 2014, and the next show, airing on Feb. 11, will be a Valentine’s Day-themed segment about the most memorable kisses in film. “We talk about what we think the audience might be interested in,” Boyes said. According to Gordon and Boyes, one of the more interesting segments was called “Movies
ELIZABETH DAVIS/TECHNICIAN
Marsha Gordon, film professor at NC State, appears on “The State of Things” on WUNC with host Frank Stasio and film curator Laura Boyes. During the monthly show, Stasio and guests discuss old and recent films. Gordon and Boyes began to appear on the series in December 2013.
That Traumatized You as a Kid” and garnered a multitude of different responses. “I love the show we did on films that traumatized you as a child because everyone’s got one,” Gordon said. “People had so much fun kind of going back to think about that film they saw when they were too young or that was too scary.” Boyes said even after the show, people approached her to share their own experiences with traumatizing films. “I had all kinds of people coming up to me very anxious to share the movies that traumatized them as children,” Boyes said. “That just turned
out to be a really interesting topic in general.” Boyes said the responses people give to each idea have continued to surprise her, including the ones she has heard for the upcoming segment on memorable kisses in film. She had expected to hear people talk about scenes from the “Lady and the Tramp” and “Casablanca,” but has encountered some responses one might not think to hear. “People talked about the kiss of death that Michael Corleone gives Fredo in ‘The Godfather’ and the kiss between Charlton Heston and the ape doctor in ‘Planet of the Apes,’” Boyes said. “It was really interesting to see people taking these
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