Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

TB or not TB?

Do Andrew Speaker’s now infamous journeys give Dr. Preston MacDougall pause? Well, he doesn’t think it’s any reason to panic. The MTSU chemistry professor points out that many varieties of tuberculosis can be cured by antibiotics, and the varieties that are resistant to antibiotics are relatively few and occur only rarely. This is a far cry from the situation only 100 years ago. “At the beginning of the 20th century, about one in seven North Americans died of tuberculosis, or TB,” MacDougall says. “TB had long been grouped with other wasting diseases and called ‘consumption’ before biologists identified the contagious bacteria that causes the disease and gave it its name. There are different varieties of tuberculosis bacteria, and they continue to evolve as all organisms do. Our immune system has built defenses against the disease, and many people are carriers of the bacteria but don’t show any symptoms, such as the persistent coughing.”

Contact MacDougall at 615-898-5265.
pmacdoug@mtsu.edu

“It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.”—R.E.M.

Are We Rome? The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America, a new book by Cullen Murphy, asserts that there are parallels between American society today and ancient Rome right before the fall of the great empire. Dr. Louis Haas, history, says, “The decline and fall of the Roman Empire has been a favorite topic of study for any political entity or people for eons and is always seen in the light of a political entity as a living being—birth, maturity, decline, death. We always wonder about ourselves—where do we fit in there? And we always presume that for ourselves there will be some magic saving grace that will prevent us from going the way of Rome … if we just acted on it. … We have been here before then with this model, but I have always found it overdrawn.”

Contact Haas at 615-898-5828.
lhaas@mtsu.edu

Good buy or good-bye?

Consumer confidence in the region has sunk to its second lowest level since 2000, according to the latest Middle Tennessee Consumer Confidence Index conducted by MTSU’s Office of Consumer Research. Dr. Tim Graeff, director of the office, says, “The only time that the … index was lower than its current level was in the beginning of 2003 following a year of news reports of corporate accounting scandals and uncertainty about the war in Iraq.” The index fell 26 percent from 278 in April to 206 in May. The percentage of consumers saying that business conditions nationwide are good declined from 36 percent in April to 33 percent. And those saying that business conditions in Middle Tennessee will be better six months from now fell from 35 percent to 27 percent.

Contact Graeff at 615-898-5124.
tgraeff@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

THAT’S A TAKE!--Don’t wait to give your child an exciting, fulfilling way to spend part of his or her summer! Registration runs through June 15 for another recording workshop for children ages 12-17 at MTSU. The workshop will be conducted from June 21-July 15 in the John Bragg Mass Communication Building under the tutelage of Ryan York, who also teaches guitar, bass and drums at Chambers Guitars and Musical Instruments in Murfreesboro. For a fee of $125 per student, York will introduce the youngsters to cassette four-track recording, digital eight-track, computer recording and electronic music. The workshop is sponsored by the Youth Culture and Arts Center, a project of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities, a nonprofit organization. For more information, or to enroll, contact York at bororecording@gmail.com.

THE GRIDIRON GIRLS, WHOSE THEME SONG IS “THANK YOU FOR BEING AN END”--MTSU Head Football Coach Rick Stockstill and the MTSU football staff invite you to join them for the 2007 Ladies Football Clinic on Saturday, July 14 in Murphy Center. The clinic, which will feature seminars on strategy, equipment, training and rules, will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with registration slated to start at 8 a.m. Ladies will be encouraged to take part in coaches’ drills and demonstrations. The goal is to provide a fun learning experience. Participants will receive commemorative T-shirts and lunch will be provided. The cost of the clinic is $25 dollars. For the children, the Rick Stockstill Youth Camp for rising 1st through 8th graders will be held June 4-7. For more information, contact Danny Lewis at 615-898-2311.