.i
Travis Heying/DN
James Dewey Watson speaks to reporters at the Wick Alumni Center Friday.
James
Continued from Page 1
science and information that has
come out of universities, he said.
A dedication ceremony held at
the Beadle Center after Watson’s
presentation also stressed the im
portance of continuing education,
research and quality professors.
Rep. Doug Bereuter, who spoke
at the dedication, recalled his own
days as a student.
“Since I was a student I have
been concerned about the need to
build buildings,” Bereuter said.
“The most important element of a
university is the people in the build
ings who teach.
“We need to adequately staff,
pay, recruit and sustain good pro
fessors.”
The Beadle Center will bring
science and students together from
both UNL campuses to share scien
tific knowledge, Bereuter said.
This sharing will benefit every
one, Gov. Ben Nelson said at the
dedication.
“Science, technology and the
addition to education is the way for
life to get even better than the good
life we live today,” Nelson said.
DJNA expert defends genetic research
By Kelli Bamsey
Staff Reporter
Science is under attack, said
James Dewey Watson, though
science’s main concern is to help
people.
Watson, president of the Cold
Springs Harbor Laboratory in Long
Island, N.Y., spoke Friday at the
dedication of the George W. Beadle
Center for Genetics and
Biomaterials Research.
Earlier that day, Watson spoke
to reporters about the criticism of
DNA experiments, especially the
human genome project, for which
the Cold Springs Harbor Labora
A
tory is known. The project re
searches how to map genes.
“People against the human ge
nome project are, for the most part,
those who haven’t suffered from a
defect,” Watson said.
People have been playing with
genetics and li fe forms since Ameri
can Indians turned com to maize,
Watson said.
One of the main worries the pub
lic has about DNA experiments,
Watson said, is the ethics of the
experiments and what effect they
could have on future generations.
Watson said that from the begin
ning, 3 percent of all money spent
on the human genome project has
gone to an ethics program, making
it one of the largest ethics program
in the world.
“I’ve never lost a minute’s sleep
over the ethics of the project,”
Watson said.
Many people worry about sci
ence because they do not under
stand nature’s stability, he said.
Biotechnology has never made any
one sick, he said.
“You’ve got to try to improve
your life,” Watson said.
Watson said he disagreed with
most government regulations that
attack genetics, limiting research
ers’experiments.
“Some of it is just downright
stupid. They get carried away,”
Watson said. “They can pass laws,
but sometimes laws are against re
ality.”
Watson pointed to historical set
backs that countries experienced
when genetics research was lim
ited. Russia was set back when
Stalin tried to block genetics re
search, he said.
A lot of people are worried about
change, when change is absolutely
necessary, he said.
“Some want to dismantle every
thing we’ve done in the past 50
years. It’s a lot of crappy nostal
gia.”
Phoenix to
recognize
survivors
By Jenny House
Staff Reporter
A phoenix is a mythological bird
that endures destruction by fire, but
arises triumphant from its ashes.
The Lincoln Action Program wants
to recognize people who — like the
phoenix — have been restored after
suffering, said Deb Daily, acting vol
unteer coordinator.
The program is now accepting
nominations fromihe community for
its Phoenix Award.
“Our award is for low-income indi
viduals that turn around their lives,”
Daily said. “We wanted to honor self
sufficient individuals.”
Many low-income people in the
Lincoln community have overcome
tremendous obstacles to achieve eco
nomic independence, she said. The
Phoenix Award would be given to
someone who had faced such bleak
circumstances.
“This individual mightbc a mother
who has moved out of a shelter, turned
around her life, earned her GED, gone
on to college and entered the work
force,” Daily said.
- The Lincoln Action Program will
recognize the Phoenix Award winners
at the program’s annual meeting Nov.
16.
It will mark the nonprofit
organization’s seventh year honoring
individuals with the Phoenix Award.
Last year’s winners included five
people from Lincoln and one from
Ashland. Additionally, three honor
ary winners were chosen by the LAP
Board of Directors’ Special Events
committee and the Low-Income Cau
cus.
People wanting to nominate some
one for the Phoenix Award should
contact Deb Daily at 471-4515. The
deadline for submitting nominations
is Oct. 13.
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