Anza Valley Outlook by Village News, Inc.

The Anza Valley Outlook • www.anzavalleyoutlook.com • August 29, 2014

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Education

13-year-old girl discovers fungus grown on trees is deadly to AIDS patients human infections. “Just as people who travel to South America are told to be careful about drinking the water, people who visit other areas like California, the Pacific Northwest and Oregon need to be aware that they are at risk for developing a fungal infection, especially if their immune system is compromised,” said Deborah J. Springer, Ph.D., lead study author and postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis at Duke University School of Medicine. A few years ago, Duke’s chairman of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Joseph Heitman M.D., was contacted by longtime collaborator and UCLA infectious disease specialist Scott Filler, M.D., whose daughter Elan was looking for a project to work on during her summer break. They decided it would be fun to send her out in search of fungi living in the

Researchers have pinpointed the environmental source of fungal infections that have been sickening HIV/AIDS patients in Southern California for decades. It literally grows on trees. The discovery is based on the science project of a 13-year-old girl, who spent the summer gathering soil and tree samples from areas around Los Angeles hardest hit by infections of the fungus named Cryptococcus gattii. Cryptococcus, which encompasses a number of species including C. gattii, causes life-threatening infections of the lungs and brain and is responsible for one third of all AIDS-related deaths. The study, which appeared in PLOS Pathogens on August, 21, found strong genetic evidence that three tree species – Canary Island pine, pohutukawa and American sweetgum – can serve as environmental hosts and sources of these

greater Los Angeles area. The student sampled 109 swabs of more than 30 tree species and 58 soil samples, grew and isolated the Cryptococcus fungus, and then sent those specimens to Springer at Duke. Springer DNA-sequenced the samples from California and compared the sequences to those ob-

tained from HIV/AIDS patients with C. gattii infections. She was surprised to find that specimens from three of the tree species were genetically almost indistinguishable from the patient specimens. The researchers also found that the C. gattii isolated from the environment were fertile, repro-

ducing either by sexual or asexual reproduction. “That finding is important for long-term prevalence in the environment, because this fungal pathogen will be able to grow, reproduce, disperse spores, and serve as a source of ongoing infections,” Springer said.

Mt. San Jacinto College Art Gallery presents “Lost and Found” a community outreach art exhibition

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Mount San Jacinto College (MSJC) Art Gallery is hosting a new show, “Lost and Found,” beginning Thursday, September 4. The A.R.T.E.R.Y. – art recognition transition education reciprocating youth – youth will showcase its artwork between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the Mt. San Jacinto College Art Gallery through Thursday, October 9. The exhibit will open with a public reception on Thursday, September 4 from 4 to 8 p.m. The exhibition is made possible by the cooperative efforts of the Mt. San Jacinto College Art Gallery, California Family Life Center (CFLC) and its affiliates in Hemet, Rubidoux, and Lake Elsinore. The primary goal of A.R.T.E.R.Y. is to provide at-risk youth opportunities for safe and positive self-expression in the visual and language arts. The letter T, representing transition, is one of the key components of the program.

This component provides a smooth or less intimidating transition into higher education for CFLC students and is supported through the collaborative outreach between California Family Life Center, Mt. San Jacinto College’s Art Gallery and Art department. Due to this important collaborative outreach, incoming atrisk youth have continued higher academic transitioning through art and their voices for more than eight years. Annual art themes are centralized on the importance of youth voices, issues and CFLC strategic planning outcomes. The exhibition is a culmination of youth artwork and community service from CFLC’s Empower Youth Center Hemet, Planet Youth Elsinore, and the Youth Opportunity Center Rubidoux. The sculpture exhibit reflects the lost and found stages of CFLC’s at risk youth and the mentors who have helped them navigate through

life. The art concept and introspective stories are based on Homer’s “Odyssey,” and “Book II of The Odyssey.” An important component of the exhibit is the interactive portion where visitors are invited to remove and red the introspective stories written by the youth artists. The stories can be found within envelope sculptures throughout the exhibit. The exhibition reflects the three phases of the A.R.T.E.R.Y. program, community service, individual interpretive artwork and the collaborative mentor project. The exhibition is free to the public. The Gallery, open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. is located on the San Jacinto Campus of MSJC located at 1499 State Street in San Jacinto. For more information about the exhibit contact Joe Posadas at (951) 487-3585 or send an email to jposadas@msjc.edu.

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