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PROVIDED

Dance lessons begin at 9 p.m. on Wednesdays at The Village Cafe.

Decade of dance Graphic by Nic Tan — THE BATTALION

Bryan restaurant approaches 10th year of hosting salsa lessons for participants of all skill levels

Since human cases of the West Nile Virus have been recently confirmed, doctors recommend taking precautions to prevent mosquito bites.

By Vanessa Hernandez @Galileaaa6

Prevention and protection

Newcomers and experienced dancers alike gather at The Village Cafe on Wednesday and Saturday nights for salsa lessons and social dancing. The Village Cafe in Bryan began hosting Wednesday salsa sessions in 2009 after the start of Salsa Saturday. The Saturday lesson consists of the same half-hour “Intro to Salsa” lesson every week, but after noticing the attendees wanted a more indepth lesson, Salsa Wednesday was born. The instructors focus on teaching salsa, merengue and bachata. Wednesday sessions begin with a one-hour dance lesson at 9 p.m. followed by social dancing until midnight. According to instructor and host Chris Zebo, Wednesday’s lesson is more comprehensive and progressive, meaning students who show up on multiple begin times will have an arsenal of moves to launch on Salsa Saturday. “Saturday is about the energy people take away,” Zebo said. “It’s hard to sleep after a Salsa Saturday because your body is still running on ‘salsadrenaline’ hours after the lights come up. They often say about Aggieland, ‘There’s a spirit can ne’er be told.’ Well, you might not hear it, but you sure can feel it on the dance floor.” Zebo said salsa clubs usually attract diverse crowds, hosting people from all over the world each week. “I think salsa, merengue and bachata is some of the best music written and performed in human history,” Zebo said. “It’s not only sophisticated musically, but it’s also so catchy. It seeps into your soul really quickly, and once it’s in there, it makes you move. You just can’t help it; it’s contagious.” The events have attracted students such as biomedical science freshman Lily Pena and biology freshman Maria Gonzalez. After an exciting introduction to the salsa scene, Pena said she plans

After two confirmed cases, community health officials look to stop spread of West Nile Virus By Meagan Sheffield @mshef350 The Texas Department of Health Services confirmed a case of West Nile virus (WNV) in a resident of Brazos County last week — the first human case in the county since 2016. A second case was confirmed on Monday. Additionally, a pool of mosquitoes found in Brazos County during the week of Sept. 10 tested positive for the virus. Alternate health authority for the Brazos County Health Department Dr. Seth Sullivan said the first person who tested positive for WNV has recovered, and humans testing positive for WNV is not as common as mosquitoes testing positive. “There are some years where you can see them more than others,” Sullivan said. “It might have been 2012 or 2013 where we saw more cases in the summer, but we haven’t seen any in the past couple of years before this case.” According to Sullivan, the symptoms of WNV include fevers, muscle aches, joint aches and flu-like illness. In more serious cases, people infected with the virus also experience headaches and meningitis. “[To prevent getting WNV], you prevent the mosquito bite,” Sullivan said. “Wearing long sleeves, avoiding dawn and dusk, which are the times that mosquitoes are most likely

to bite, and making sure that the area around you is free of standing water.” At the Brazos County Health Department, Sullivan helps raise public awareness of mosquito bite prevention. “All mosquito season long, we do testing looking for infection that could be transmitted through the mosquito population,” Sullivan said. “We do our best to reduce mosquito populations through these outreach efforts.” Although many types of mosquitoes can transmit WNV by biting humans, the southern house mosquito, or Culex quinquefasciatus, is the most common in the Brazos County. Prepared pools of mosquitoes are submitted by the Gabriel Hamer Lab at Texas A&M to the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostics Lab for testing. The lab then uses the polymerase chain reaction technique to amplify any trace amounts of the virus’ DNA or RNA, and if there is any present in a pool of mosquitos, the test will be marked positive. Kurt Johnson, environmental health specialist for the Brazos County Health Department, said the county is avoiding large scale pesticide use in favor of more long-term solutions. “Pesticide spraying is usually the last resort in mosquito control [because] you can achieve only temporary relief,” Johnson said. “Mosquito control is best accomplished by source reduction, the elimination of breeding habitat around the home, and through the use of larvicide, available from both City of Bryan and College Station through their mosquito abatement programs.”

SALSA NIGHT ON PG. 2

Heaps earns $2 million grant Professor’s research examines effects of exercise on heart health By Shakirat Adetunji @shakeerah

PROVIDED

Veterinary medicine and biomedical sciences professor Cristine Heaps is using her grant to research heart health.

Texas A&M professor Cristine Heaps has received a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study how exercise helps in the prevention and treatment of heart disease. Regular exercise is beneficial to the body and is known to reduce the risk of numerous medical issues. However, little is known about how exercise specifically affects the prevention of heart disease. Heaps, an associate professor in the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology at A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM), has extensive experience researching how the human heart functions under various conditions. “Heart disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women in the U.S., with projected annual costs of over $100 billion in health care expenses and lost productivity,” Heaps said. “The goal of our research is to determine the adaptations that occur with exercise training and how those

contribute to the prevention and treatment of heart disease.” Heaps received the $2 million research project grant to investigate the effect of exercise on coronary heart disease. According to the CVM website, this grant is one of the largest of its kind awarded to a single investigator in the CVM’s history. Heaps said the research project examines the control of blood flow to the muscle from both healthy and diseased hearts. “The function of the heart is very important because the heart is what supplies blood to the rest of the body,” Heaps said. “If the heart is not functioning properly, the rest of the body does not get sufficient blood flow and cannot function at its best.” Undergraduate and graduate students have opportunities to participate in many of the research projects in Heaps’ laboratory. “One of my favorite parts of our project is giving students what is often their first exposure to a research environment and providing them with very novel experiences that will contribute to their education and knowledge base, and remain with them for a lifetime,” Heaps said. “Our project would not be successful without the contributions of these talented and dedicated individuals.” HEART HEALTH ON PG. 2