July 9, 2001
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Where are our wetlands going? – Despite 20 years of progress in restoring and creating wetlands, we still have not stopped the loss of wetlands in America, according to a report released by the National Research Council (NRC). William Mitsch, director of the Olentangy River Wetlands Research Park at Ohio State, served on the advisory committee for the report, “Compensating for Wetland Losses Under the Clean Water Act.” Mitsch, who also holds professorships in natural resources and environmental science at Ohio State, said the report “recommends improving current federal mitigation laws to achieve the goal of stopping the net loss of wetlands.” Mitigation usually means creating or restoring more than one acre of wetlands for every acre of wetland filled. For more information go to www.osu.edu/researchnews/archive/mitigate.htm or contact William Mitsch, (614) 292-9774.
OSU genetics researchers propose new, detailed map of human genome – A team of Ohio State University genetics researchers have produced a third map of the human genome, this one containing twice the number of genes proposed by two earlier maps and providing annotations that explain the function of all 66,000 genes. While earlier reports propose that the human genome consists of some 35,000 genes, the Ohio State effort adds a third major map of the human genome and may accelerate the use of the genome in the diagnosis and understanding of diseases. Bo Yuan, head of Ohio State's Division of Human Cancer Genetics bioinformatics group, headed the project. He says researchers ended up with a higher estimated number of genes than the other two teams because they compared 13 different gene databases to the DNA sequences in the draft genome produced by the Human Genome Project. Contact: Bo Yuan, (614) 292-0656 or see www.osu.edu/researchnews/archive/genome.htm
Study confirms ugly year for retirement investment 401(k) plans – For the first time in the 20 year history of the popular 401 (k) retirement savings plan, most accounts lost money last year. And the trend is continuing so far this year. 401 (k) plans allow workers to decide how much to contribute to the retirement plans and how to invest their money. As the stock market improved, so did the balances of the retirement plans. But stock market declines over the last year are being seen in the bottom line of 401 (k) statements. G. Andrew Karolyi, an associate professor of finance at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business, offers expertise in stock market volatility. Contact: Andrew Karolyi, (614) 292-0229.
Lawmakers debate campaign finance reform – OSU study shows we want it – More than two-thirds of Americans want to change or replace the current campaign finance system, according to a new nationwide survey by Ohio State University. Ohio State’s Survey Research Center interviewed more than 1,200 people late last year and found the strongest support for reforms among political independents, younger people, the highly educated, those who knew the most about the campaign finance system, and those who trust the government the least. Researchers found the most support for reforms that would limit campaign spending, require more money to be raised within the states where candidates live, and limit soft money contributions. Contact: Janet Box-Steffensmeier, political science, (614) 292-9642 or (614) 326-2533.
Medical Center offers dialysis at home, overnight – Patients suffering from chronic kidney failure, and who are doing well with their current dialysis therapy, can receive an alternative dialysis treatment in their own home, in their own bed, while they sleep. Dr. William Bay, director of renal dialysis at The Ohio State University Medical Center, says overnight dialysis is really a quality of life issue for patients who have renal failure. Patients would typically have to go to an outpatient dialysis clinic during the day to receive their dialysis treatments three times a week for up to four hours at a time. But nocturnal dialysis patients can receive their treatments for up to eight hours every other night while they are sleeping, and patients are getting better results with prolonged dialysis. Contact: Jill Boatman, Medical Center Communications, (614) 293-3737.
The person listed as Contact will have the best information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for help with any Ohio State story – Elizabeth Conlisk, (614) 292-3040; Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385; Lesley Deaderick, (614) 292-0569; Karissa Shivley, (614) 292-8295, and Shannon Wingard, (614) 247-6821.
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