Community Briefs

New UC medical school application

Due to technical problems in processing and transmitting the
American Medical College Application Service applications to
medical schools, the five UC medical campuses are requiring a new
application form specific to UC medical schools.

The UC’s form is derived from the AMCAS version that was
used up until 2001. It will allow students to apply directly to any
or all UC medical campuses.

The application will allow the UC to begin processing
applications immediately. Final admission decisions will await the
receipt of materials from AMCAS.

Further information on the UC Schools of Medicine initial
application can be found on the Web sites of any one of the five UC
medical schools.

Men’s Gym will close for upgrades

The Men’s Gymnasium will close Saturday as construction
initiated by the Student Programs, Activities and Resource Complex
referendum and seismic restructuring begins.

The Men’s Gym is scheduled to re-open in 2004 and will
provide air-conditioning and more office space after
renovations.

The gym still has cracks in the walls left-over from the 1994
Northridge earthquakes.

The SPARC referendum marked the third time in UCLA history that
students voted to increase student fees to pay for construction of
student facilities.

In 1958 an increase in student fees was used to build Ackerman
Union. In 1978 an increase was used to build the Wooden Center.

UCLA students get down to business

The Anderson School of Business will be offering a “mini
MBA” program this fall, a 10-week course designed to hone the
business skills of entrepreneurs.

The management development for entrepreneurs program is offered
twice a year ““ at UCLA in the fall and in Northern California
in the spring.

Participants work one-on-one with faculty in addition to
participating in group discussions and work shops.

The course centers around the Business Improvement project. Two
months of lectures culminate in students interpreting what they see
to be the solution to their company’s problems.

The program works in conjunction with Anderson students.

New pill will fight severe form of PMS

A new oral contraceptive may be a pharmaceutical damper to
premenstrual dysphoric disorder, a severe form of PMS that affects
more than 3 million women in the United States.

PMDD is characterized by severe monthly mood swings and physical
symptoms which may interfere with everyday activities.

Depression, anxiety, irritability and bloating are far more
intense than that common in PMS.

The effectiveness of the contraceptive may come from its
components, which differ from current oral contraceptives.

The contraceptive, Yasmin, combines progestin drospirenone and
estrogen ethynyl estradiol.

This hormonal combination differs from the standard progestins
typically found in oral contraceptives because it treats fluid
retention.

It also contains anti-mal hormone properties which discourage
unwanted facial hair growth, acne and irritability.

Because the contraceptive increases potassium levels, it may not
be suited for women with kidney, liver or adrenal disease.

First cloned calf dies at UC Davis

The first calf cloned and delivered at the University of
California, Davis, died Saturday, just three days after its
birth.

Results of the animal autopsy, which should pinpoint the cause
of death, are pending.

“We’re saddened and disappointed by the death of the
calf,” said animal science professor Gary Anderson, an
authority on embryonic development in mammals and lead researcher
on the cloning study.

“And yet the birth itself is a milestone,” Anderson
said.

“We’re hopeful that the continued research will help
us improve the cloning technique so that it can be useful in animal
agriculture, ultimately for producing more healthful meat and milk
products.”

The brown and white Hereford calf was delivered by Caesarean
section at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.

The UC Davis calf was cloned from a skin cell taken from the ear
of a 15-year-old Hereford cow and was carried by a surrogate
mother.

The cloning research will continue at UC Davis with a half-dozen
other cows now in the very early stages of pregnancy with cloned
embryos.

Calves resulting from those pregnancies will be born in early
spring.

Reports from Daily Bruin staff and wire services.