Southern Illinois University - Obelisk Yearbook (Carbondale, IL)

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Linking the past to the future Imagine what life would be without blue-green algae. J ohn Yopp has tried, and he cant. Heis convinced that the tiny organ- isms, which first appeared on earth about two billion years ago during what geologist call the Pre-Cambrian Period, are probably responsible for the oxygen in the air we breathe. ttThereis very convincing evidence that those blue-green algae were the first organisms on earth to use photo- synthesis to produce oxygen, he said. But Yopp, a professor in SIU-Cls Department of Botany, is also con- vinced that the ancient plants may hold a key to production of more food in the future. The blue-green algae Yopp is talking about dontt bear much resemblance to the scum that fouls your home aquar- ium or blooms on polluted ponds. Aauseugow plAEG Kq cloud -26 Many species of the tiny plants seem a to have survived and flourished through the eons by adapting success- fully to conditions so dry and salty that less hardy plants would shrivel . and die. In fact, they sponge up water so efficiently that they,d literally explode in a fish tank. He thinks the characteristics have helped the algae survive may be part of the plants genetic heritage. If true, that fact could help agronomists breed hardier food crops sometime in the future. Yopp says fossils found by geolo- gists indicate that the primitive algae once literally blanketed the earth. Hels convinced that all modern plants which use photosynthesis to produce oxygen are genetically descended from them. ttWe,re breathing the results of their photosynthetic activity? he said. This combination of tolerance for arid, salty conditions and apparent genetic kinship to plants that lived billions of years ago fascinates Yopp and his research colleagues at SIU-C and the N ational Aeronautics and Space Administration tNASAl. NASA is funding a three-year, $250,000 study of the algae by Yopp and an SIU-C research team, aimed at making that connection. The blue-green algae are useful to Yopp and his colleagues because the plants are what scientists call hex- tremely conservative organisms? ttTheytre evolving very slowly or not at all, he said. Even under powerful electron micro- scopes, its all but impossible to tell a two-billion-year-old fossil algae from one fresh out of a laboratory flask, he says. This makes it possible to use algae grown in campus labs to study Features

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h; h For the first time the Obelisk II Maga- zine Format Yearbook takes a look at research projects and at the Office of Research Development and Administra- tion, who coordinates such operations at SIU-C. We will highlight four of the Universityls on-going projects. These projects have gained a spot in the public eye over the last year and, we felt, merited attention. Keep in mind that these projects are only the tip of a large iceberg. We live in a time when new break- throughs in medicine, technology and human resources are daily occurences. Col- leges and universities across the nation and around the world play an important role in such advancements and SIU-C is no exception. Whether it be teaching people to fly in Nepal, putting books on the shelves of the library, researching feeding methods for farm animals or paying some SIU-C stu- dents for student work, the Office of Re- search Development and Administration headed by Dr. Michael R. Dingerson is involved. The call for such an office within the SIU system first came during the days of Presi- dent Delyte W. Morris. Morris belieVed that SIU-C should play a role in the develop- ment of southern Illinois. In reality, the Morris concept of community service trans- lates into seemingly small but important Features tasks like numbering houses in some of the smaller towns of the region or conducting water and soil tests at abandoned strip mines. Although there is no cost to such patrons the overall price tag for all these projects was more than $30-milli0n in fiscal year 1982; an increase of $2.5 million over the previous year. Four hundred and fifty-eight separate donors, ranging from federal to state to private sources, supplied these monies in 1982. A large portion of those external dollars comes from corporations who hope to en- hance the learning environment of SIU-C students, according to Dr. Diane Gilliland. Gilliland, a corporate relations coordinator for the Coal Extraction and Utilization Research Center, said, itCorporations are interested in our graduates and want their training to be the bestfi While there is no denial of the advantages of research projects, such programs are threatened most by budget cutbacks. Stan- ley McAnally, vice president for university relations and development, said in Sep- tember of 1982 that Whel hoped to raise money from private sources, predominantly alumni and friends? He believes that he can reach a goal of $5-million a year through gifts and contributions. In 1981, the University collected more than $1- million from private sources. El 25

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the genetic characteristics of their two-billion-year-old ancestors. Yopp and his research group are using 28 selected strains. If Yopp and his SIU-C colleagues are right when they theorize that todayts blue-green algae carry the same genes as their Pre-Cambrian forebears, it opens the possibility of using recombinant DNA techniques, or ttgene-splicing, to transfer the or- ganismst tolerance for arid surround- ings to modern plants such as corn or soybeans. If the idea works, it could mean more food for regions usually considered too dry to grow conven- tional crops. The three-year project is based heavily on nearly 10 years of NASA funded research conducted on blue green algae by Yopp and his SIUC co- investigators, physiologist Donald Miller and phycologist Donald Tin- dall, a specialist in algae. CI -University News Service Features Infant research finds answers How is language processed in the brain? Why are children able to pick up a language so quickly? Is there an innate component that gives some children a bias in learning a lan- guage? Wanting answers to these questions prompted a four-year study by Dennis and Victoria Molfese, SIU-C psychol- ogists. The Molfeses followed 60 chil- dren of low birth weight and normal birth weight from infancy to three years of age, analyzing brain wave tests and comparing those tests with language skills tests given to these children a year ago. The results show a strong correlation between the new- born infanfs brain wave pattern and the childrenis test scores three years later. Information from this and future studies could be a valuable assessment tool, enabling doctors to diagnose infants with language disabilities and hearing problems and correct the s problems. To analyze brain waves, electrodes are attached to the head and the. brains response to stimuli is recorded. A variety of vowel-consonant sounds were fed to newborns and amplified to see how the information was proc- essed. Babies who were able to differ- entiate between the sounds did better on the future language tests. The March of Dimes provided fund- ing for the project, wanting to know if there is a difference in language de- velopment between low birth weight tunder 5V2 poundsi and normal birth weight children. Dennis Molfese noted that people who have studied low birth weight In .9 c; o .. o J: n. x 3: III L o .2 : D