A study conducted by the UC Office of the President released Oct. 25 concluded that scores on the S.A.T. II achievement tests are better predictors of academic success in college than scores on the S.A.T. I reasoning test. Also, the study showed that S.A.T. II scores are less affected by differences in socioeconomic backgrounds.

The study examined the relationship between test scores and academic outcomes of 78,000 first-time freshmen who entered the UC system over a four-year period.

The University of California has required freshman applicants to submit both S.A.T. I and S.A.T. II scores since 1968. The study utilized the University of California’s extensive database on the two tests.

UC President Richard C. Atkinson proposed to the University of California’s Academic Senate that the S.A.T. I scores no longer be required for freshman admission. His proposal is under review by the Senate, which is a representative body of the UC faculty.

No changes will be implemented for students applying for fall 2002 admission.

Speech and Debate Team wins third place at Azusa

The UCSD Speech and Debate team traveled to Azusa Pacific University to compete in the Cougar Classic Speech and Debate Tournament on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22.

A team of Clint Burr and Danny Cantrell won third place in varsity parliamentary debate.

The duo made it to semifinals, winning five of six preliminary rounds. In semifinal competition, Burr and Cantrell debated the resolution, “”the dominant paradigm should be overturned,”” a question over intellectual property rights patents.

UCSD debated as the opposition and lost on a 2-1 decision.

UCSD’s Speech and Debate team took eight competitors to the event. The team won a team sweepstakes award for overall performance.

The team has another tournament at Cal State Northridge in early November.

UCSD researcher gets grant to study manic depression

UCSD School of Medicine associate professor of psychiatry William Perry received an Independent Investigator grant from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression.

The project that won him the grant was titled “”Gating Deficits in Bipolar Manic Patients With and Without Psychosis.””

NARSAD is the largest donor-supported organization worldwide funding research of brain disorders. The Independent Investigator Program supports scientists at the point between initiating independent research and achieving sustained funding.

The two-year award of $94,712 will fund Perry’s studies of sensorimotor gating problems, which may account for the overwhelming input of stimuli that many bipolar patients are unable to filter.

Marine bacteria may be source of anti-cancer drug

Researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography found further evidence that bacteria living inside a small marine animal may be the source of a new drug compound, Bryostatin 1, being developed to fight cancer.

Margo Haygood, Seana Davidson, Scott Allen, Grace Lim and Christine Anderson, all of SIO, co-authored the paper, which appeared in October’s Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Haygood was the senior author of the paper.

She and her co-authors identified a gene of the type that produces the compound thought to have the ability to treat a variety of cancers.

The anti-cancer element is found in bacteria living in the marine invertebrate Bugula neritina, a brown bryozoan animal that looks like algae. Bryozoans are widely known by boat operators who often scrape them off their vessels’ hulls.

Haygood is conducting further research, which addresses two areas: the cultivation of the bacteria outside the Bugula neritina and the cloning of the genes that make the drug.

CalBioMarine Technologies, Inc. of Carlsbad, Calif., has signed an agreement with UCSD to commercialize Haygood’s findings for the eventual commercial supply of bryostatin.

International Affairs Group gives presentation on witches

The International Affairs Group is presenting the Halloween special “”Witches, Pagans, Spirits and More …”” on Oct. 29 at the Pepper Canyon Lodge on the Eleanor Roosevelt College campus.

The event begins at 7 p.m.

The forum will provide information on the Wiccan religion, its history and its modern rituals.

Daryl and Kathryn Fuller, leaders of The Circle of the Wildewood Wiccan Coven, will speak at the event. The pair is active in local and national networking for witches.

The event is sponsored by International House.