January 2007

What's going on at Ohio State?

An Ohio State nutritionist offers tips on how to avoid winter colds and illnesses. The Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research reaches the $4 million mark. Students write a play for the city's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. An Ohio State program gets kids interested in science. Researchers determine that children can handle contact lenses. And it's time to strike a pose: We're soliciting submissions of alumni and friends showing us their Buckeye pride in exotic locations.

Flu fighters

Coughing, sneezing, nose-blowing: The soundtrack of winter can turn anyone into a borderline hypochondriac.

Ohio State nutritionists say the right diet--and maybe some supplements--can greatly help cut down on colds and the flu.

Read their recommendations for a healthy winter.

Battling breast cancer

In 1998, Chris Spielman put his football career on hold while his wife, Stefanie, fought breast cancer. The Spielmans vowed first to raise $250,000, then $1 million, for breast cancer studies at the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

Today, Stefanie is a three-time breast cancer survivor, and the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research has passed the $4 million mark.

Find out more about Spielman and the fund. And see The James' directions on how to perform a monthly breast self-exam.

Remembering MLK

For many Ohio State students, Martin Luther King Jr. Day isn't just a day off class.

Students honored Dr. King by writing a play to be performed at a citywide celebration and participating in service projects.

Find out more about Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Ohio State.

Wowing future scientists

Years ago, Ohio State Professor Susan Olesik noticed that one chemistry student didn't understand basic algebra.

Meanwhile, she saw her second-grade daughter's teacher struggle to explain science and math.

So Olesik started the Wonders of Our World program, which brought scientists to elementary and middle schools to show kids experiments designed to strengthen math and science skills.

Find out about the dramatic results W.O.W. schools have seen since the program started in 1999.

Contacts for kids?

Contact lenses seem like something for adults: There's eyeball-touching, cleaning, storing.

But Ohio State researchers say kids as young as 8 years old are capable of taking care of their contacts.

A recent study found that kids and teens who wear contacts report greater satisfaction with contacts than glasses--and, surprisingly, that vanity doesn't seem to factor into that preference.

Find out why kids prefer contacts and read more about the study.