July 30, 2001
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Researcher warns against West Nile Virus. The West Nile Virus, which is spread by mosquitoes, infects people, horses and birds – and can be fatal. Testing for the virus is currently under way in several central Ohio communities including Columbus. Bill Saville, extension epidemiologist for the Ohio State University Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, says there may not be a way to absolutely prevent the West Nile Virus, but there are relatively simple ways to try. Because mosquitoes are known to breed in standing water, he suggests getting rid of scrap tires and emptying out those kiddie pools. Another way to prevent the virus is by spraying pesticides to kill mosquitoes and their eggs. For more information on the West Nile virus, visit the Ohio Department of Health site at http://www.odh.state.oh.us/ODHPrograms/ZOODIS/WNV/wnv1.htm or contact: Bill Saville, (614) 292-8553 or saville.4@osu.edu.
Traditional screening methods might miss some cases of prostate cancer. Traditional screening methods for prostate cancer might overlook the disease in one in seven cases, according to a new study conducted at The Ohio State University. In traditional screening for prostate cancer, a physician will take six tissue samples from the prostate. But in this study, researchers expanded the number of tissue samples to 12. The additional samples yielded evidence of cancer in 10 of the 74 study subjects. “That’s a substantial portion of cancers that would have been missed if we hadn’t done a more extensive set of biopsies,” said Robert Bahnson, study co-author and a professor of surgery and chief of urology at Ohio State University. This year alone, physicians expect to detect an estimated 198,000 new cases of prostate cancer. Somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of the cancers in these men might otherwise be missed by using the traditional biopsy approach. Contact: Robert Bahnson, (614) 293-3646. For more information go to http://www.osu.edu/researchnews/archive/prostest.htm.
Don’t get too excited about the Next Big Thing. The shine may be off of e-commerce in the American economy, but that hasn’t stopped some business people from getting excited about the Next Big Thing – “m-commerce.” Mobile commerce (or m-commerce) will supposedly transform the economy by allowing customers to shop over the Internet using wireless devices such as cell phones. But as enticing as that might seem, you can count marketing expert Roger Blackwell among the early skeptics. Blackwell, professor of marketing at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business, is co-author of the new book Customers Rule! Why the E-Commerce Honeymoon is Over (Crown, 2001). As the title implies, Blackwell and co-author Kristina Stephan explain why e-commerce never took the economy by storm as many experts had predicted. Contact: Roger Blackwell, (614) 457-6334 or (614) 292-2129. For more information go to http://www.osu.edu/researchnews/archive/custrule.htm.
Lawrence Funderburke reaches out to area youth, endows scholarship, July 31. Lawrence Funderburke, Sacramento Kings forward and Ohio State University alumnus, will be on campus Tuesday (7/31) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with nine- to 13-year-old participants of his summer program at the Boys Club and Girls Club of Columbus’ West Side. The visit will be part of the announcement of the new Funderburke scholarship endowment to provide undergraduate college scholarships for disadvantaged youth wanting to enroll in Fisher College or other Ohio State undergraduate programs. Media are invited to check in at the Fisher College of Business if they want to join in any part of the students’ visit to campus or the formal presentation of a check by Funderburke to Joseph A. Alutto, dean of the Fisher College. Contact: Anna Rzewnicki, Fisher College, (614) 292-8937.
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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