A University research team, led by Gary Nabel, a professor of internal medicine and biological chemistry at the University Health System, has determined how the Ebola virus uses a glycoprotein to attack specific cells in the human body.
Nabel's research shows that one form of the glycoprotein interferes with the cellular response to virus invasion, while another form causes hemorrhaging in cells associated with Ebola.
This glycoprotein was discovered by researchers at the Center for Disease Control 20 years ago, but its effects were unknown at the time.
The team is continuing its work to determine how this new knowledge can help fight the virus. Researchers are looking for ways to activate the inflammatory defense system to prevent the bleeding and circulatory collapse caused by the Ebola glycoprotein.
The new findings also might be useful to fight other diseases that attack the human body on a cellular level, such as cancer and some heart diseases. The Ebola glycoprotein some day might be used to deliver therapeutic genes to diseased cells.
The University's database of digitized signatures for identification cards is being deleted, to the relief of many.
The signatures were digitized and stored in the database to simplify the process of replacing lost or stolen identification cards. But the digital images only were being used for IDs and were difficult to reproduce legibly, so officials decided to discontinue their use.
The risks associated with a database of digitized signatures are tremendous, according to the University's Information Technology Division.
Since a digitized signature can be reproduced exactly, the potential for fraud is extremely high, and the security measures required to protect such a database are extensive.
Giving up the use of these digitized signatures also eliminates the collecting and storing process, which speeds up the production of IDs.
Students with IDs that have digitized signatures on the back will not have to replace their cards, as the signature is just a hard copy, and is no more of a threat than any signed card.
The group's goal is to construct living quarters to relieve the housing shortage on the Rosebud Reservation and the Sinte Gleska University campus, while retaining traditional Lakota values and practices.
Traditional methods and locally available materials, such as earth, timbers and straw will be used in the construction.
The students have traveled to South Dakota to gain a further understanding of the terrain and Lakota culture before they start their project.
- Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Sam Stavis.
02-19-98
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