Life Sciences Values and Society continues lecture series ANN ARBOR—The second year of a University of Michigan lecture series focusing on new developments in the life sciences begins Sept. 29 with a lecture by biologist Julian Adams on the forensic uses of DNA. U-M’s Life Sciences Values and Society Program hosts the Outreach Lecture Series on Sunday afternoons. The discussions of scientific developments and related social effects feature U-M experts presenting a wide range of topics. Rebecca Eisenberg, U-M professor of law and a nationally known expert on intellectual property and biotechnology, moderates the discussions. Speakers scheduled to present this fall are:

· Sept. 29—"Forensic Uses of DNA," by Julian Adams, professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology. Adams teaches and carries out research in genetics and evolutionary biology, specializing in microbial evolution and human population genetics. His lecture will focus on how DNA evidence is used in solving crimes.

· Oct. 13—"The Genetics of Colorectal Cancer," by Steve Gruber, assistant professor of both internal medicine and epidemiology. Gruber is a medical oncologist and cancer geneticist who studies how genetics and the environment contribute to colorectal cancer. His talk will focus on what genetics can tell us about our risk of colorectal cancer. Some genetic changes can carry a higher risk of developing cancer than others. With some genetics changes, modifying the environment can help to decrease the risk.

· Oct. 20—"The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, 30 years later," by Joel Howell, the Victor Vaughan Professor of the History of Medicine as well as a professor in the Departments of History, Internal Medicine, and Health Management and Policy, and Director of the Program in Society and Medicine. His research focuses on social and cultural issues in health care and health care research in the 20th century. In this lecture he will explore the origins and results of the experiments done on, in, and around Tuskegee, Alabama, which were finally halted thirty years ago.

· Nov. 3—"Sex in the 21st Century: Past, Present and Future of Assisted Reproduction," by Nancy Reame, professor, School of Nursing. Reame is a nurse, reproductive scientist and women’s health advocate. Her research and lecture relates to the long-term social and ethical implications of assisted reproduction. She was one of the first researchers in the country to examine the consequences of surrogate motherhood on women’s lives.

· Nov. 10—"Evolution and Genetics of Vision," by Tom Glaser, associate professor of internal medicine and human genetics. Glaser’s research focuses on the molecular genetics of eye development of mammals. His talk will emphasize how eye formation is fundamentally similar across a wide variety of animal species and why basic life science research is important to understand the ways that human diseases such as glaucoma cause blindness. All lectures are scheduled for 4-5:30 p.m. in room 100 of Hutchins Hall, in U-M’s Law Quad, at the corner of State and Monroe streets in Ann Arbor. Informal discussion and refreshments will follow. There is no cost to attend. Lectures are videotaped for broadcast on UMTV, channel 22, (http://www.itd.umich.edu/umtv/external/calendar.html)and are scheduled to air Mondays at 7:30 p.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m., beginning Oct. 14. Tapes are also available for purchase through LSVSP. In addition, on weeks when no lecture is scheduled, the Values and Society program will host a Values Café Discussion Series, moderated by Rebecca Walker. Values Café also takes place 4-5:30 p.m. at Shaman Drum book store, 313 S. State St. in Ann Arbor. Topics scheduled are:

· Oct. 6—"Uses of DNA: Privacy vs. Protection" · Oct. 27—"Medical Research on Vulnerable Populations in the 21st Century" · Nov. 17—"Is reproductive cloning ethical?" For more information about the life sciences at Michigan, an initiative that builds on U-M’s long tradition of ground-breaking advancements with major investments in new facilities and faculty, visit http://www.lifesciences.umich.edu/.

To learn more about the Values and Society program, visit http://www.lifesciences.umich.edu/values/index.html. To join a mailing list for this lecture series, send an email to [email protected] with "subscribe" in the subject line. For a map of U-M’s central campus: http://www.umich.edu/~newsinfo/ccamp.html

For more about the lecture series speakers, visit these U-M web sites:
· Julian Adams http://www.biology.lsa.umich.edu/people/faculty/julian.html
· Steve Gruber http://www.medgen.med.umich.edu/clinic/sgruber
· Joel Howell http://www.med.umich.edu/csp/Howell_CV.html
· Nancy Reame http://www.nursing.umich.edu/faculty/reame_nancy.html
· Thomas Glaser http://www.med.umich.edu/hg/RESEARCH/FACULTY/faculty1.htm
· Rebecca Eisenberg http://www.law.umich.edu/_FacultyBioPage/facultybiopage.asp?uniqname=rse