January 14, 2002
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OSU researchers will study smokeless tobacco use in Appalachia – Despite repeated health warnings, millions of Americans continue to pinch, tuck, dip and spit one of Appalachia's most profitable products, smokeless tobacco, and researchers want to know why. A team of investigators from The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC) and Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Institute may soon be answering that question as it tracks smokeless tobacco use and cessation efforts in Appalachia over the next three years. The study team, led by Mary Ellen Wewers, a member of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program of the OSUCCC, will be supported by a recently awarded $1.3 million grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Wewers says the use of smokeless tobacco has risen dramatically recently, with sales of snuff tripling over the past thirty years. Studies indicate 17 percent of the U.S. population will use smokeless tobacco at some point during their lifetime. Contact: Michelle Gailiun, Medical Center Communications, (614) 293-3737
OSU Research: Listeners remember nuances of musical performance – When we hear a piece of music, our memories record not just the melody that makes up its musical structure. We also remember subtle features like intensity and duration of individual notes. Caroline Palmer, a professor of psychology at Ohio State, says the ability appears as early as 10 months of age. These features are what make two musicians sound different when they are playing the same music, and make two speakers sound different when they are saying the same sentence. Palmer says, “We wondered if listeners are equipped from birth with the right perceptual and memory abilities to remember particular musical performances and voices, and the answer was yes. Ten-month-olds can perceive the different performances and remember the ones they have heard before.” Contact: Caroline Palmer, (614) 292-7718; see http://www.osu.edu/researchnews/archive/musicmem.htm
Ohio 4-H celebrates 100 years – Jan. 15. On this date 100 years ago, A.B. Graham organized the first meeting of a “Boys’ and Girls’ Agricultural Club" in Springfield, Ohio. This club would serve as the model for other clubs that would later become known as “4-H clubs.” About 150 4-H professionals and volunteers will celebrate the beginnings of Ohio’s 4-H program in a kick-off reception from 9:30 to 11 a.m. on Tuesday (1/15) in the auditorium of the Agricultural Administration building, 2120 Fyffe Road. Several of A.B. Graham's descendents will be at the event to be recognized. After the program, a bus tour is scheduled to take dignitaries to Clark County where A.B. Graham held his first meeting; to Graham High School (named after A.B. Graham) in Champaign County; and then to the A.B. Graham Center, a museum and exhibit center in Miami County. Contact: David Farrell, 4-H Youth Development, (614) 292-6942.
Scientists report on pollution in southeastern U.S. Rivers – Jan. 18. The Byrd Polar Research
Center will present “ Results from Watershed-Scale Studies on Mercury and Methylmercury in Southeastern U.S. Rivers” at 3:30 p.m. on Friday (1/18) at 240 Scott Hall, 1090 Carmack Road. Adrian Green, a researcher in environmental geochemistry at the Byrd Center, will offer the lecture. Contact: Byrd Polar Research Center, 292-9909.
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; Randy Dunham, (614) 292-8295; Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385, and Shannon Wingard, (614) 247-6821.