Boldly ... or blindly?

"Star Trek's" mission was "to boldly go where no one has gone before." More often than not, such endeavors placed the crew of the Enterprise in jeopardy, notes Dr. Stephen Wright, microbiologist. "Today we are not so different in terms of emerging infectious disease. The human race finds itself going places and doing things that have not been done before and sometimes getting ourselves in trouble." All that we do can have a dramatic impact on the natural cycles of disease in animal populations, he says. "We would do well to reconsider our ever-increasing desire for new places to live, food to eat or pets to adopt."

Contact Wright at 615-898-2056.
smwright@mtsu.edu

Education worth the hike

College tuition increases are part of a nationwide trend of shifting the costs of higher education from taxpayers to students, says Dr. Reuben Kyle, professor, economics and finance. Even though Tennessee students pay larger shares of their costs than students in most neighboring states (which was not the case 10 years ago), public education is still a relative bargain, Kyle notes. Despite the double-digit increases over the past three or four years, enrollments keep increasing--an indication that people see the benefits of furthering their education.

Contact Kyle at 615-898-5617.
rkyle@mtsu.edu

MT economy, jobs

Increased consumer confidence can lead to significant growth in the economy, says Dr. Tim Graeff, director of MTSU's Office of Consumer Research. Consumer spending comprises two-thirds of the American economy. June survey results of residents in the Middle Tennessee indicate that half of all respondents feel that business conditions will be "better six months from now" in the region (up from 44 percent in April). But fewer people think jobs are "easy to find"--and 37 percent say they expect "more job openings" in the next six months in Middle Tennessee, a figure that remained unchanged. Only 18 percent in a national survey say they expect more jobs to be available in the next six months.

Contact Dr. Tim Graeff, OCR director, at 615-898-5124.
tgraeff@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

TODAY AND TOMORROW--The MTSU Biotechnology Workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Davis Science Building. Rutherford and Williamson county teachers will gain experience in separating DNA mixtures, transforming bacteria with an animal gene, and more. Contact Dr. Rebecca Seipelt at 615-904-8393 or the NPA office at 615-898-2919. Media welcomed.
TODAY (weather permitting)--The Pearl-Cohn teens involved in the "Gear Up Institute" at MTSU for the past three weeks will go on plane rides at the Murfreesboro Airport, provided by members of the MTSU aerospace department. The "Gear Up" graduation ceremony will be held tonight at 6:30 at Pearl Cohn High School. Contact Dr. Catherine Stogner at 615-898-5522 or the NPA office at 615-898-2919. Media welcomed.