Researcher finds protein By Michelle Starr Staff writer A UNL researcher is studying the protein That might help aid in the pre yentioirof cancer. —. — For the past three years, Vadim Gladyshev, an assistant professor of biochemistry at UNL, has been work ing with a protein that helped synthe size selenium. Selenium might be important in preventing cancer and supplementing the cancer patients’ diets. “I think Vadim is on to something very big,” said Dolph Hatfield, chief of the section of molecular biology of selenium at the National Cancer Institute at the National Institute of Health in Maryland. Gladyshev’s research might also be a preventative method for those with a high risk of cancer. The selenium causes die protein to be synthesized in higher amounts. The 14 Kilodalton protein, or 15 KD, which Gladyshev discovered in 1997, may serve as the agent in cancer pre vention. Outof a few possible proteins con tainingjf lenium that wouldfit the description of aiding cancer patients, 15 KD protein is one of them. Gladyshev is trying to find if it is the ft—— I think he is showing a correlation between 15 KD and prevention of prostate cancer.” " — Dolph Hatfield National Cancer Institute protein, and if so, how it works. “1 think he is showing a correlation between 15 KD and prevention of prostate cancer,” Hatfield said. The 15 KD is thought to be the helping protein because high levels have been found in prostate tissues, but in malignant tissues the protein is highly reduced, Hatfield said. Previous research raised a red flag concerning selenium and the preven tion of cancer. A study in 1997 led by Larry Clark of the University of Arizona gave sele nium to half of the 1,300 participants and a placebo to the other half to try to fmd a link between selenium and skin cancer. Instead of treating the skin cancer, the research found a 67 percent reduc tion in prostate cancer, 57 percent -reduction in colon cancer, a 35 to 40 percent reduction in liver cancer and a 50 percent reduction in mortality rate, Hatfield said. Gladyshev then looked for seleni um’s role in the decrease and found the 15 KD protein. “Most people don’t know its effects yet, but it’s becoming more common,” Gladyshev said. Selenium is commonly found in food, and the intake of selenium is easy to obtain, Hatfield said. One brazil nut contains a day’s supply of selenium, and taking in too much would make the substance a toxin, Hatfield said. He said he thought cancer patients might want to increase their intake by about 200 to 400 micrograms a day to help supplement their diet. The exact role of the protein is unknown, and it is only speculation that 15 DK is the correct protein, but the research to date shows promise. “It certainly would be advisable (for patients) to add selenium in their diet. It could serve as a chemo preven tion,” Hatfield said. Kuwaiti women refused right to vote KUWAIT (AP) - Kuwaiti women lost the chance to become part of the political scene in their oil-rich state Tuesday when Parliament rejected a bill to give them the right to vote and run for office. The 32-30 vote was the second letdown for women in a week in this conservative society. On Nov. 23, the all-male legisla ture killed a decree by the emir grant ing women political rights because most members believed it was uncon stitutional. Tuesday’s bill, proposed by five liberal lawmakers, was seen as an acceptable constitutional replace ment but did not win thefequired” approval by a simple majority vote. Forty-nine lawmakers and 15 Cabinet ministers attended the ses sion. Ministers have the right to vote in Parliament, and all of them voted for the proposed law. Two Parliament members abstained. Hundreds of men, who almost filled t;he galleries of the house, cheered and applauded when the result of the vote was announced. The women, who were seated separately, filed out silently. “This is not the end. We will con tinue to fight,” Sheikha al-Nisf, a women’s rights activist, told The Associated Press. She said two votes was not a large margin, and one day women would win. Most pro-government lawmakers voted against the bill, tipping the bal ance iniavor of Sunni fundamentalist Muslin^ who vehemently-oppose Women’s rights because they do not want women to mix with men. Although all Shiite members sup ported women’s rights according to their interpretations of Muslim teach ings, one, an Iran-educated cleric, abstained. Adnan Abdul-Samad, a Shiite, voted yes. But he said many lawmakers voted no because pressure from their constituents turned out to be much stronger than that exerted by the gov ernment. Only 113,000 men are registered to vote, out of a Kuwaiti population of around 793,000. Although Kuwait boasts the only legislature in the Arab Gulf, its 37-year-old democracy is known as that of the “chosen few” because it represents less than 14 per cent ofKuwaitis. Only men over 21 who have held Kuwaiti nationality for at least 20 « Yes, we should broaden the base of democracy, but surely not through women.” Ahmed al-Shraian tribal lawmaker years can vote or run for office. Women and members of the armed forces and police are kept out. “Are you saying that a woman should be able to go cast her ballot ^while her husband who works for the military stays home to mind the kids?” asked Ahmed al-Shraian, a tribal lawmaker who voted no. “Yes, we should broaden the base of democracy, but surely not through women,” he said. Kuwait is the only “Muslim democratic country in the whole world” where women cannot vote, said Abdul-Wahab al-Haroun, one of the five lawmakers who proposed the bill. “It can’t be that the billion Muslims in these countries are wrong, and we are right.” Suad al-Munayes, a 40-year-old businesswoman, told die AP: “I don’t know how we are going to enter the 21st century with this kind of mental ity.” Not far from her, standing near the gate of the white tent-shaped Parliament building, Hassan al Azimi, a 36-year-old civil servant, could not understand why women want to bother with politics. “Men are doing a good job at pol itics,” he said. “Women should stay home and take care of the children.” r m -\ \smj ^■■■^bJp^ [coupon! 15%OFF : j Regular Priced Merchandise | ■HSraifer! l“ Lincoln - 14th & P J | Omaha-132nd 1 Center J ■ Not valid on Dr. Martens, Lucky, prior I Distinctive uotmng, Sportswear and Shoes for Men and Women JJacohi-14