Daily News

Posted on Nov. 13: Some tickets give wrong start-time for Marauder’s football game

Another overflow crowd of 7,000 plus is expected back at McMaster University's Les Prince Field on Saturday as the Ontario university champion McMaster Marauders face Atlantic conference winners Saint Mary's Huskies in the Churchill Bowl. Tickets, which went on sale Monday, are selling briskly, leaving McMaster officials expecting another wall-to-wall crowd. One glitch, however, could result in a late crowd. Tickets sold at McMaster erroneously list game time at 1 p.m., one hour later than the actual kickoff. The game will be broadcast live on radio station CFMU 93.3 and nationally by TSN. "It's going to be packed," confirmed Robert Hilson, manager of marketing and communications for the Mac athletics department. "Ticketmaster called today and said they needed another block of tickets. "Our student numbers should go up. People went last week and had a good time and told two of their friends," he said, referring to the 7,000 plus crowd that watched McMaster win the Ontario championship over the Queen's Golden Gaels last Saturday. Click here for the complete story in today's Hamilton Spectator.

Posted on Nov. 14: New centre of excellence proposed for McMaster

McMaster University has learned that it will be a major part of a new centre of excellence on electricity which is being proposed by the Ontario government. Yesterday, energy minister John Baird announced a series of initiatives the Province will undertake as part of their action plan to lower hydro bills. The centre of excellence, also involving the University of Waterloo, was among the initiatives. Mamdouh Shoukri, vice-president (research & international affairs) and a member of the Advisory Committee on the Centres of Excellence a committee made up of industry, university and government representatives to provide advice on the operation and strategic direction of the centres of excellence program to the Minister of Enterprise, Innovation and Opportunity says there has been talk of such a centre for some time. Many of the details are still being finalized but Shoukri expects the centre will be based on the same model as the other centres which bring together universities, industry and government. "The Province has had great success with the existing centres and they are confident it is a winning formula," says Shoukri. "All four centres Materials and Manufacturing Ontario, Photonics Research Ontario, Communications and Information Technology Ontario and the Centre for Research in Earth and Space Technology have proven track records."

Posted on Nov. 12: Redman lecturer debates science of stem cells Nov. 18, 19

George Daley, Whitehead fellow at the MIT-affiliated Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, and assistant professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, will deliver the 2002 Redman Lecture on the topic of stem cells. His talks are scheduled for Monday, Nov. 18 and Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. in the Health Sciences Centre, Room 1A1. Monday, Nov. 18: "The Science of Stem Cells" In 1999, Science Magazine highlighted Stem Cells as the "Breakthrough of the Year", based on the isolation of human embryonic stem cells, startling revelations about stem cell plasticity, and the conviction that patients of the 21st century stand to benefit from harnessing the potential of Stem Cells for cellular and genetic therapies. Tissue replacement is the optimal treatment for a wide array of degenerative disorders, especially since organ transplantation cannot meet all the needs of an aging population. The realization that Stem Cells from embryonic and somatic tissues can differentiate into a diversity of tissues and provide a renewable resource for regenerative therapies has stimulated enormous interest in these versatile cells and their applications in human disease. Daley will provide a layman's overview of the exciting science behind the revolution in stem cell biology and the brazen new technologies for therapeutic and reproductive cloning, while providing a realistic projection about the immediate and future prospects for medical breakthroughs. Tuesday, Nov. 19: "The Stem Cell Debate: Science Confronts Politics" The isolation of human embryonic stem cells entails the destruction of human embryos, and this has stimulated a debate about the morality of this research. One perspective holds that human life begins with conception and that a human life should not be sacrificed even for medical therapies to help scores of others. On the contrary are those who believe that embryonic stem cells represent the best hope for cures for countless human diseases, and that the needs of patients justifies the sacrifice of early embryos. Alongside this debate is the concern that research in stem cell biology might lead to human reproductive cloning. Daley will recount the history of the stem cell debate and highlight the controversial questions concerning embryonic and adult stem cells, and therapeutic versus reproductive cloning. Daley, M.D., Ph.D., created the first mouse model to demonstrate that the BCR/ABL oncogene causes the human leukemia CML. He received a bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Harvard University (1982) and a Ph.D. in biology from MIT (1989) where he studied in the laboratory of David Baltimore. Daley was only the twelfth individual in the history of Harvard Medical School to receive the M.D. degree summa cum laude (1991). He served as chief resident in Internal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and is currently a staff member in Hematology/Oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Children's Hospital in Boston. His awards include the Leon Reznick Memorial Research Prize from Harvard Medical School, the New England Cancer Society Research Award, a Research Award for Clinical Trainees from the National Institutes of Health, the Burrough's Wellcome Fund Career Award in the Biomedical Science, and Scholar Awards from the Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America.

Posted on Nov. 12: Chomsky talks about impending war on Iraq

Leading American political dissident Noam Chomsky says we needn't fear Saddam Hussein because the reviled Iraqi leader doesn't possess any nuclear weapons. "Nuclear weapons are of no use unless people know you have them," Chomsky told a roomful of journalists at McMaster University yesterday. "If I have nuclear weapons in my garage and nobody knows it, I can't use them as a threat or a deterrent. You have to make it obvious you have them. But the minute Saddam indicates he has them, it's suicide. The moment Iraq lets on it might have nuclear weapons, it will be obliterated." Yesterday's press conference kicked off the noted linguist's week-long visit to the Steel City, including two public lectures that sold out within an hour of tickets becoming available. Organizers say people from across the region and as far away as Montreal called for tickets. Hundreds had to be turned away. Graeme McQueen, a McMaster professor of religious and peace studies, chalks it up to "people's desire to listen to an informed person who has the courage to tell the truth. In a time of lies and great danger, this can be an intoxicating experience." A slim volume simply titled 9-11, containing excerpts of Chomsky's interviews with journalists from around the world immediately following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists attacks in the United States, remains on the best-seller lists in the United States, Canada and abroad. In his book, Chomsky says he's been quoted by the mainstream media much more often since 9-11 than he ever was before. Yesterday, he said he's constantly in demand to give public talks and that he hasn't seen an audience of fewer than 3,000 people in a long time. And everybody wants to talk about the impending war on Iraq. "There's huge opposition to it, in fact, it's completely without historical precedent," Chomsky said. "There are huge demonstrations of protest. "Ask yourself, when in the entire history of European imperialism, counting the U.S. as part of Europe, has there been massive opposition to a war before it's begun? People mention Vietnam but the U.S. had been attacking South Vietnam quite publicly for four or five years. They had practically destroyed the country before there was any protest." He boils down the present situation to "two extreme positions" : That the Bush administration believes it alone has the authority it needs to attack Iraq. The Arab League endorsed the UN Security Council resolution calling for Iraqi disarmament with explicit guarantees from Secretary of State Colin Powell that the resolution "is not a trigger for war." "The Arab League statement is calling for regional disarmament, not just Iraqi disarmament," Chomsky noted, adding their position goes back more than a decade, predating the Gulf War and, in fact, might have prevented it. Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait was on the table but was contingent upon a conference on regional problems of armament threats "which is really code for Israeli weapons of mass destruction." He says the proposal was turned down by the U.S. and not reported by the mainstream media. Even retired general Lee Butler, former head of the U.S. strategic forces who once had the American nuclear arsenal under his command, pointed out in recent years that "the main problem of proliferation in the region is Israel's nuclear capacities which are far beyond anyone else's and part of the U.S. system of regional and global dominance," Chomsky said. No one in the Middle East is in favour of a war on Iraq, he noted, even Kuwait and Iran, which were both invaded by Iraq. "Most people in the region hate Saddam Hussein but they don't fear him because they know there isn't much he can do. The only people afraid of Saddam Hussein are Iraqis ... and for good reason ... and the U.S., and they're terrorized by George Bush telling them that if he doesn't do something, they're going to bomb us tomorrow." Meanwhile, the war on Iraq is serving to distract voter attention from tax cuts for the rich, a fiscal crisis manufactured to justify cuts to social spending and an environment facing destruction, Chomsky said. (The Hamilton Spectator, Nov. 12, 2002)

Posted on Nov. 12: New undergraduate chemistry labs ignite students’ discoveries

Future scientists, engineers and health researchers studying at McMaster University are honing their skills in new chemistry labs that rival the industry standard. The University community and guests, including Ontario Labour Minister Brad Clark, celebrated today the official opening of the newly retrofitted undergraduate chemistry labs that are equipped with state-of-the-art fume hoods, measurement tools and lab equipment. The $11.3 million retrofitted labs feature more than 150 new fume hoods that will allow first and second year students to conduct experiments in a controlled setting that mirrors the industrial environment. McMaster is the only university in Canada to offer chemistry courses to first year students in labs equipped with fume hoods. The University has more than 3,000 students from various disciplines enrolled in Level 1 and 2 chemistry courses. The new labs, located in the Arthur Bourns Building, span four floors and occupy 20,000 sq. ft. of newly-renovated space.