Protestors gather to fight global poverty
Last Wednesday, the McGill School of Social Work joined the Millennium Campaign and the Global Call to Action against Poverty in their campaign to "Stand Up and Speak Out Against Poverty," staging a walking protest that started at the Milton Gates.
Around 40 students showed up to the protest, which aimed to draw attention to issues of child poverty, disparities in the standard of living between aboriginal Canadians and the greater Canadian population and to encourage greater equity in international trade rules.
"The idea isn't to say that poverty is bad because we all know it's bad, but to encourage our leaders to act," said protest organizer Joey Berljawsky, U3 social work. "We know they're doing things, and we want to encourage them to continue."
The Millennium Campaign is an inter-agency initiative of the United Nations that seeks to support citizens and encourage governments to work toward their Millennium Development goals, which aim to cut world poverty in half by 2015. The Global Call to Action against Poverty is comprised of various trade unions, non-governmental organizations, faith groups and women and youth organizations, which together make up the world's largest civil alliance.
Helen-Margaret Nasser, U3 international development studies and political science, participated in the protest, and was "a big fan of the smallest amount of raising awareness." During the 24 hours between Oct. 16 and 17, the campaign to Stand Up and Speak Out Against Poverty hoped to show that millions were ready and willing to take action," she said.
Berljawsky hoped the protest would help break the turnout record held by last year's Stand Up and Speak Out demonstration, which united over 23 million people in 87 countries. The 2006 protest holds the Guinness world record for the largest coordinated mobilization of humanity in history.
-Karenna Williams
Pink ribbons abound as breast cancer awareness rises
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and researchers at the Royal Victoria Hospital are studying the genes that underlie the four categories of breast cancer.
The genes are being studied to find out what caused them to mutate in the first place. Medicine and biochemistry Professor William Muller investigates the HER-2 growth gene, which is abnormal in a third of all breast cancer cases.
"Generally an individual will have two copies of the gene, though someone with breast cancer can show as many as 1,000 copies of the gene," Muller said. "These excess copies result in the cell replicating uncontrollably, making the tumour grow."
According to Muller, 23 genes have been identified as having metastasis potential.
"It is the spreading of these cancerous cells to other parts of the body that is the main killer of breast cancer patients," he said.
Once genes are identified, antibodies can be created to target the cancerous cells, though it is not always effective. In the case of the HER-2 gene, an antibody exists that is effective only 50 per cent of the time. Given these findings, research today is moving away from the 'one solution fits all cases' mentality-such as chemotherapy, for example-and towards a 'personalized medicine' where each case is analyzed and a specific treatment is prescribed.
Early detection was essential to the treatment and subsequent remission of McGill Professor Nicole Beauchemin. A researcher at the McGill Cancer Centre was able to catch a small but aggressive tumour in the early stages of her breast cancer.
"80 per cent of breast cancer patients suspected or felt something was wrong prior to their diagnosis,"
Beauchemin said.
-Stephanie Tombari
2008 Woodie Awards
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