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.