PSU Magazine Spring 1996

avoids it. To measure the acute effects of alcohol on body temperature, both strains of mice are injected with a moderate dose. To study alcohol toler– ance, both strains are injected every day for three days. Response changes between the first and last day are then compared for both strains. "Temperature differences show up more dramatically in mice than men," Crawshaw explains. "We're doing a whole series of experiments, so we can find all the places on the genes where alcohol has an effect." So far, experiments have involved only male mice of the same age for consistency in comparisons. But biology graduate student Helen Wallace '95 wants to branch off the main research path slightly to explore how male and female mice differ in the way they metabolize sugar and alcohol. "Among chronic human alcoholics, females tend to get thinner while males tend to get overweight, even when the caloric intake is about the same for both. There's something going on that we don't quite under– stand yet," Wallace says. This spring Wallace is comparing weight changes and temperature regu– lation among male and female mice, and will attempt to develop a model showing how the sexes differ in terms of alcohol metabolism. As in any long-term research, it's hard to gauge just what Crawshaw and his associates will be looking at, or will have discovered, five years down the road. "This is the nature of research," he says. "You're continually getting new results and altering your hypotheses. By the end of these five years we'll be doing more advanced experiments. We'll be doing things we didn't antici– pate doing. This kind of research evolves and changes with each piece of data we get." But Crawshaw's research goes beyond finding answers that can have long-range societal impact. It helps shape students' perception of the world around them. PSU senior Robin Jensen spends about 20 hours a week in the lab, wiring and setting up equipment, proofreading lab results, and taking care of the mice. It's a major commit– ment, especially since Jensen is major– ing not in biology but in English literature and teaching English as a second language. "I had a few friends who were biol– ogy majors, including one working on this research project, and they needed an extra helper/' says Jensen, who's done lab work for more than two years now. "This has expanded what I'm interested in. I've been pushed to do things I wasn't trained to do, learning by doing." Most of Crawshaw's undergraduate lab helpers are taking biology courses such as human anatomy, physiology, and neurophysiology, but Crawshaw says the discipline involved in research can help people of all backgrounds. "Realistically, anyone who is careful and willing to learn the techniques can contribute," he says. "They can gain an understanding of science that they couldn't get from a survey course. That's partially why it's important to have research in the university-to make this type of experience available." Students can obtain the extra satis– faction of knowing that they're partici– pating in research that may help clarify the genetic puzzle involving alcoholism. "This kind of research is helping solve a major societal problem in a very analytical, positive way," Crawshaw says. "We're much farther along than we were just five years ago. We now Biology Professor Larry Crawshaw is taking part in an $8.5 millio study looking at the genetic links to alco· holism. A lab mouse (left) peers at researchers from a chart that compares mice and human genes affected by alcohol. can point to some sites on genes that may be influencing alcoholism. We couldn't do that five years ago." 0 (Brian White is a staff writer in PSU's Office of Public Relations .) SPRING 1996 PSU MAGAZINE 15