Kececioglu

Someday, genomic sequence testing will help doctors identify whether newborns will develop health problems later in life.

That may seem like science fiction now, but improved technologies and techniques are making genetic sequencing quicker and far less expensive.

Mapping the human genome the first time cost about $3 billion, said John Kececioglu, University of Arizona associate professor of computer science and BIO5 Institute member. Some operations have brought the price down to $5,000.

Kececioglu is conference chair for RECOMB2009, an international conference on computational molecular biology research that will run Sunday through Thursday in Tucson.

Genomic sequencing determines the order of key components in genetic material. Abnormalities such as mutations can mean certain diseases are likely to develop.

All biological processes are governed by the 3 billion lettered segments and their order in human DNA, he said.

“There is a goal to have a $1,000 genome test that a person can actually purchase,” Kececioglu said. “Companies are making use of this data to uncover what disease susceptibilities an individual has.”

Genomics and the environment, including such behaviors as smoking and drinking, contribute to disease, and researchers are trying to offer insights on DNA’s role in the equation, he said.

In addition to identifying the diseases a person is likely to get, markers in a sequenced genome can offer information on which drugs and therapies will best help a person prevail against a specific type of cancer or other disease, he said.

“It’s key to prevention,” Kececioglu said. “It could make health care much more efficient and effective.”

“It’s certainly becoming affordable,” he said. “You do it once in a lifetime. Your genome does not change.”

Continued decreases in price could make use of the tests more commonplace.

If the cost drops to $1,000, it could make economic sense to sequence DNA on all 4 million children born in the United States each year, said Rade Drmanac, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Complete Genomics Inc.

Drmanac will participate in a RECOMB2009 industry panel discussion on personalized genomics.

His Mountain View, Calif., company offers sequencing to research organizations and drug discovery firms for $5,000.

Sequencing efficiencies are expected to increase in the next two to three years, he said, and costs will continue to go down, opening the door for widespread use of the technology.

“The bottom line is we know that having complete and accurate genome sequencing is an absolutely necessary basis for the advance of low-cost health care,” Drmanac said. “We need to do complete genome sequencing to find the genomic basis for disease.”

Pre-diagnosis leading to targeted checkups and early detection can save lives.

Although information from sequencing can benefit health, some fear it could also be used by insurance companies to deny coverage, Kececioglu said.

“The privacy issues are very important. That information is not shared with anyone besides the patient,” he said.

RECOMB2009 will attract 275 top researchers in the computational, mathematical and biological sciences coming from 18 nations, Kececioglu said. It is not open to the public, however.

The BIO5-hosted event, he said, will offer the latest information on how computers help make sense of the huge amount of bioresearch data being produced.

Gibson

University of Arizona engineering junior Malcolm Gibson is focusing on developing tiny robots to precisely deliver medicine and other treatments in the human body.

NASA announced Tuesday that Gibson was awarded a two-year aeronautics scholarship valued at $40,000.

Gibson has been working for two years on MEMS, or microelectromechanical systems, that can be steered through the bloodstream to a specific organ to deliver treatments exactly where needed.

While such microbots may appear to have little to do with flying, biomedical engineering plays a big role in aeronautics, said Tony Springer, lead for communications and education at NASA Aeronautics Research.

About 500 “cream of the crop” students applied for the 20 undergraduate and five graduate scholarships offered, Springer said.

The scholarship program’s goal is to attract top engineering talent to NASA in particular and the aerospace industry in general, he said.

Jeff Goldberg, dean of the UA College of Engineering, said, “We like to think our students are really strong and this shows they are strong on a national level.”

Gibson, 21, who is pursuing double majors in aerospace and mechanical engineering, said his research work and educational background helped him earn the scholarship.

“Even though the global aspect of the project is not related to aerospace, I’ve been focusing more on the mechanical aspects,” he said. “They are looking for motivated students who are involved in research, even if not directly related to aeronautics.”

The scholarship, which begins in September, offers $15,000 per year to cover tuitions costs for two years and $10,000 for use during a 10-week summer 2010 internship at a NASA research center.

Gibson, who plans to continue his MEMS research through graduation from UA, will leave in mid-August for five months of research and study at the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems in Zurich, Switzerland.

Their spending more than triples since 2001

Ana Cota, Carlos Silva and their daughter, Carla Silva, 7, of Hermosillo, Son., arrive at Park Place mall, where they planned to shop for clothing and a large-screen television. The family makes the 4- to 5-hour trip to Tucson to shop about once a week.

Mexican visitors’ annual economic impact on the Tucson area has grown dramatically and is approaching the $1 billion mark, according to a University of Arizona study released last week.

“It’s a huge economic driver for us here in Tucson,” said Felipe Garcia, vice president of community affairs and Mexico marketing at the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Metro Tucson reaped a $968.7 million direct economic benefit from Mexican tourists from July 2007 through June 2008, up 245 percent over the $280.2 million in 2001, according to “Mexican Visitors to Arizona: Visitor Characteristics and Economic Impacts 2007-2008.”

Pima County reaped the largest share of their economic impact in Arizona, with more than 36 percent of the $2.7 billion in statewide spending occurring here, the report said.

Carlos Silva, Ana Cota and their daughter, Carla Silva, 7, make the four- to five-hour drive from Hermosillo, Son., weekly to shop in Tucson.

Tucson offers a better selection of products than he can find at home, Silva said Sunday as the family prepared to enter Park Place, ranked in the study as the No. 2 shopping destination in Tucson, behind Tucson Mall.

The family’s favorite stores at the mall are Old Navy, Sears and Macy’s, he said. They also like to get to Tucson Mall, Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Target, he said.

Silva said he was looking for clothing for Carla and a large-screen television.

The family typically spends six to eight hours shopping per trip to Tucson, he said.

Carla said the trips are about more than shopping. The family had breakfast at IHOP to celebrate Mother’s Day before hitting the mall, she said.

And her mom would be getting a nice gift at the mall, Carla said.

About 65,000 Mexican residents on average came to Arizona each day to legally work, visit friends and relatives, shop and play in 2007-08, the study says.

That comes to 24 million visitors for the year, a 4.9 percent increase over the 2001 total of 22.9 million.

Each day, visitors from Mexico spent $7.3 million in Arizona stores, restaurants, hotels and other businesses, an increase of 213 percent from 2001.

“Over 5 percent of taxable sales in Pima County are attributed to the Mexican visitors,” Garcia, of the visitors bureau, said. “It’s really good for us.”

The study was prepared by Vera Pavlakovich-Kochi and Alberta H. Charney of the University of Arizona Eller College of Management’s Economic and Business Research Center for the Arizona Office of Tourism.

Mexican tourism “really plays a significant role,” Pavlakovich-Kochi said. “Spending has occurred when our regional economy shows signs of recession. It has really offset to a degree the effect of the declining regional economy.”

Mexican consumers seem to be more willing to spend during the current economic downturn than Americans, Garcia said.

“When we talk to our visitors, they don’t seem to have a lot of anxiety about the economic turmoil,” Garcia said.

“They don’t stop spending because of what they see and read. The Mexican consumer is more used to it, better prepared, and they know things happen. They say things are bad but we’ll get out of this.”

More staying overnight

Local efforts to boost Mexican visitors and spending have paid off, Garcia said.

Mexican visitors who stayed here overnight jumped from 4 percent in 2001 to 16 percent in 2007-08, Garcia said.

“Overnight visitors always spend more than day trippers,” Pavlakovich-Kochi said.

A Tucson tourism office in Hermosillo, Son., has helped boost the number of visitors and their spending in recent years, Garcia said.

The office sells tickets for concerts or shows at Tucson-area casinos and offers other Tucson tourism services, he said.

Lower prices and greater product selection draw shoppers from Mexico, Garcia said.

Many textile and electronic products sold in Mexico are imported from Asia, he said.

Mexico and China are engaged in a “non-declared” tariff war, which means high prices for goods in Mexico, which pushes shoppers to Tucson, Garcia said.

Growing challenges

The Convention & Visitors Bureau has increased its spending aimed at attracting Mexican visitors from $30,000 to $300,000 in recent years, Garcia said.

But other communities – Scottsdale, Phoenix, Tempe and Las Vegas – are also going after Mexican visitors, he said.

Maricopa County’s economic benefit from Mexican visitors jumped from $36.5 million in 2001 to $694.2 million in 2007-08, an 1,800 percent increase.

“We’re definitely ahead of the curve,” Garcia said, “but there are a lot of communities that are trying to position themselves and gain market share. Here in Tucson, we know that retail is directly impacted by tourism. We cannot slow down, we cannot say we have been successful.”

One area being investigated for growth is drawing visitors here from Mexico for medical services.

That includes cosmetic and elective surgery, Garcia said.

“We are working with the medical industry to develop more medical tourism into Tucson,” he said.

“They come here and they pay cash. No insurance, no billing.”

A slide in the peso’s value against the dollar has made it more expensive for Mexicans to shop in the U.S., so fewer customers may be crossing now.

In April, the average exchange rate was 13.3944 pesos to a U.S. dollar compared with 10.5146 in April 2008, a decline of 27 percent.

Increasingly restrictive regulations for crossing the border and more stringent entry documentation policies could pose another challenge to Mexican visitor spending, Pavlakovich-Kochi said.

Making it tougher for Mexican visitors to get here means less revenue for local merchants – something few people consider when pushing for making crossing more difficult, she said.

“The focus has really been on the border issues and the illegal immigration,” she said. “This (economic benefit) has been on the back burner.”

While spending by Mexican visitors may decrease from 2007-08 levels, the area will continue to reap some economic benefit, Pavlakovich-Kochi said.

“Realistically, looking at the near future, we will probably expect a decrease in total spending,” she said.

“Maybe we had an extraordinary year of Mexican visitors and expenditures in Arizona. But it will continue: It is not something that will be totally erased overnight.”

Cronkite News Service contributed to this report.

———

TOP DESTINATIONS

Where Mexican visitors to metro Tucson shopped 2007-2008.

Malls/shopping centers

1. Tucson Mall

2. Park Place

3. Foothills Mall

4. Plaza Palomino

5. El Con Mall

6. St. Philip’s Plaza

7. La Encantada

8. Casas Adobes Plaza

9. Crossroads

Other stores

1. Wal-Mart

2. Costco

3. Best Buy

4. Target

5. Ross

6. Mervyn’s*

7. Walgreens

8. Circuit City*

8. Marshall’s

9. Home Depot

10. Food City

* now closed

Metro Tucson attractions visited by Mexican tourists

1. Casinos

2. Reid Park Zoo

3. Old Tucson Studios

4. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

5. Other museums

6. Saguaro National Park

7. San Xavier Mission

8. Tucson Convention Center

9. Concerts/theaters

10. Colossal Cave

11. University of Arizona

12. Downtown

———

WHY TUCSON?

A number of factors led to an increase in local expenditures by Mexican visitors between 2001 and 2007-08, said Vera Pavlakovich-Kochi of the University of Arizona Eller College of Management’s Economic and Business Research Center.

Metro Tucson saw a fourfold increase in overnight visitors from Mexico, she said.

The peso/dollar exchange rate was very favorable to Mexican visitors, who could purchase more goods for their cash, particularly in the first half of 2008, she said.

Fears of an impending peso devaluation, which occurred later that year, saw Mexican consumers increase their Arizona spending during the time of the study, she said.

And 2008 was the last year Mexican visitors were allowed to enter the U.S. before more stringent documentation requirements were enforced, she said.

———

$968 million

Tucson-area expenditures by Mexican visitors in 2007-08

245%

Increase in Tucson-area expenditures by Mexican visitors from 2001 to 2008

5.2%

Portion of taxable sales Mexican visitors accounted for in Pima County in 2007-08

Hollywood stretches scientific accuracy in a new action thriller starring Tom Hanks, a University of Arizona researcher said.

“Angels & Demons,” which opens Friday, tells the tale of bad guys who threaten to destroy Vatican City with an explosive device containing a tiny amount of antimatter.

“We’re debunking the premise that you can really create a dangerous device out of antimatter,” said Erich Varnes, associate professor of physics at UA. “I don’t want people to worry that terrorists are going to build an antimatter device and hold it over us.”

Varnes will discuss the science of antimatter and how it applies to the movie at 8 p.m. Wednesday in the UA Harvill Building.

When antimatter collides with matter – for example, a normal electron with a negative charge meets an antimatter electron with a positive charge – they are annihilated and converted into energy, Varnes said.

Since e=mc2, or energy equals mass multiplied by the speed of light squared, it would take a lot of antimatter to create an effective bomb, he said.

“If you had enough antimatter you could release huge amounts of energy,” he said. “The key point is there is really no practical way to generate or store enough antimatter to do any serious damage at all.”

If U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois ran flat out for 20 years producing antimatter, and if you could store that much antimatter – which you can’t – you would have the equivalent of 10 pounds of conventional explosives, Varnes said.

The movie is accurate in stating that antimatter can be produced in a lab, and if you get enough, it would annihilate with matter and create a lot of energy, he said.

Scientists see public interest in the movie as an opportunity to inform the public.

“The movie uses particle physics as the basis of its entire plot,” he said. “This is a chance for people to learn what is real in the movie, what is exaggerated, and where we are at the cutting edge of particle physics today.”

The movie is based on a novel by Dan Brown, who also wrote the novel on which a 2006 movie, “The Da Vinci Code” was based.

———

IF YOU GO

What: Angels & Demons: The Science of Antimatter and the Large Hadron Collider

When: 8 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Room 150 of the Harvill Building, 1103 E. Second St.

Speaker: Erich Varnes, University of Arizona associate professor of physics

Cost: Free

———

WHAT IS ANTIMATTER?

Antimatter is made up of elementary antiparticles, like protons and electrons with an opposite electrical charge. When matter and antimatter come into contact, they release energy while being destroyed.

Peter Smith

The Phoenix Mars Lander mission has been a successful steppingstone to greater discoveries on our neighboring planet, Peter Smith said Tuesday night.

Smith, the principal investigator for the University of Arizona-led mission, told about 125 people attending a Flandrau Science Center science cafe event that mankind is likely to set foot on Mars.

“Eventually I think the human race will get to Mars,” he said.

“There are no technology hurdles that would stop you from sending people to Mars. But you really want to be sure you are bringing back live astronauts.”

He said the seven-month journey each way and planet positioning means that the mission would likely last three years.

Current plans call for such a mission to take place between 2030 and 2035, he said. But if there are problems with efforts sooner to send people to the moon again, there will be a delay going to Mars.

The Phoenix Lander tasted frozen water in material scooped from the planet’s northern arctic region, but found no conclusive evidence that life exists or existed on the planet.

That will likely change.

“I’m predicting that in 10 years we will have found strong signatures of life on Mars or the other planets we’ve discovered,” Smith said. “We’re not trying to make Mars into something it isn’t – it may not have life. If that’s the case it’s still a great planet that has no life.”

Smith fielded many questions from the capacity crowd at Cushing Street Bar & Restaurant, which featured a special $4 Martian margarita to mark the occasion.

When asked if Mars is the new high ground for U.S. military imperialism, Smith said no, adding tongue in cheek that the moon would be a much better choice for a military outpost.

“I don’t think there is any military use of Mars – not in a decade, a century or a millennium,” he said.

He said there was no question about basing the mission in Tucson.

“I didn’t want to participate if we didn’t do it my hometown. I grew up here,” Smith said to applause from the crowd.

Steve Walkosak, 69, a Tucson Realtor and investor, said the presentation was great.

“We got to see what they had to go through to put it together and see what they found out,” Walkosak said.

Sean Miller (left) asks Alejandro Leyva about his project, the Full Spectrum Imaging System, on Tuesday at the University of Arizona Student Union. Leyva's senior engineering project was one of about 70 on display.

University of Arizona engineering senior Javier Heyer cooked his Cinco de Mayo quesadillas with the power of the sun.

Heyer and his team were among 70 groups participating in Engineering Design Day at the UA Student Union Memorial Center.

Four- and five-person student teams demonstrated projects that covered a broad spectrum of engineering disciplines, said Jeff Goldberg, dean of the College of Engineering.

Student projects displayed included a missile blast deflector for an Apache helicopter, a variety of unmanned aerial vehicles, a full-spectrum imaging system, a leave-behind remote sensor, solar cars, an ultraviolet pasteurizer for milk, a photovoltaic energy system for remote power applications and a pepper spray mount for an M-16 rifle.

Senior student teams worked for two semesters to solve problems presented by industry partners, Goldberg said.

“The primary goal is to give students design experience with a real client in a practice mode,” he said. “We want to give them a rehearsal.”

Student teams also competed for more than $10,000 in cash prizes donated by event sponsors, Goldberg said.

Heyer’s team built a solar cooker that uses a Fresnel lens to focus the sun’s energy to heat mineral oil.

The oil is circulated to warm stovetop heating elements, he said.

The oil can be circulated to heat cooking elements inside the home or restaurant, as well as outside where the solar collector is located, he said.

Despite Tuesday’s overcast skies the solar cooker reached 330 degrees while grilling cheese quesadillas, he said.

One team developed a portable device to detect gluten, a substance found in cereal grains to which many people have allergic reactions.

Food can be tested to see if it contains gluten and is safe to eat by people with a gluten intolerance, said team member James Nimlos.

The device’s portability means it can be used to test restaurant food for gluten, Nimlos said.

At the other end of the digestive spectrum, a team developed a device to remove loops that develop in a flexible colonoscope instrument that is being pushed through a person’s bowels during a colonoscopy exam.

Looping of the colonoscope inside a person means the examining doctor must spend time straightening out the instrument, said Blake Randolph, team member.

The improved way of straightening out an inserted colonoscope could cut 30 minutes off an exam, Randolph said.

A UA senior engineering team developed a device to warn drivers who doze off behind the wheel.

Their brain wave activity alarm, a lightweight wireless device that detects when eyes get droopy and close, could improve driving safety, said team member Joseph Bitz.

The devices, which can be manufactured in large quantities for $6.52 each, could have other uses including medical monitoring of brain activity, team member Henry Barrow said.

The device could hit the market within the next year or so, Bitz said.

UA engineering sophomore Kevin Ferguson viewed the senior project demos and said Engineering Design Day showed him what his professional future holds.

“It gives you a very real idea of what you are getting into and what you can do with an engineering degree,” Ferguson said.

The event contributed to the seniors’ grades, as well as showcasing their engineering skills, said Martha Ostheimer, director of the UA interdisciplinary engineering design program. She said 65 judges from 40 companies spent hours judging the teams for prizes and grades.

Javier Heyer cooks a quesadilla on his senior engineering project, the Concentrated Solar Cooking and Heating System.

On Arizona Skin Cancer Institute’s Web site

A new tool to detect skin cancer has been made public by the Arizona Cancer Center’s Skin Cancer Institute.

“Skin Cancer: Learn to Spot it Early” is a 12-minute video that shows how to do skin self-exams to find growths that could be or lead to cancers, said Lois Loescher, the institute’s director of education and behavior research.

The video may be found at www.azskincancerinstitute.org/SCVideos.aspx.

“The whole purpose of doing the video is getting people to do skin self-exams,” she said. “Everyone should know how to examine his or her skin regardless of risk factor.

“Early detection really plays a role in survival from skin cancer,” Loescher said. “It’s very important to protect yourself from the sun, but if you don’t catch it early, you increase your chances of having the disease be much more serious.”

A study proved the video’s effectiveness, she said.

“We found a highly significant change – more people were doing skin self-exams after viewing the video,” Loescher said. “We also found a very significant change in knowledge; they had more knowledge about melanoma.”

The video stresses the importance of early detection of skin cancers. Melanoma survival rates are 98 percent if detected early, she said.

The video recommends that people carefully examine their skin each month for changes in moles and spots.

Hand-held and full-length mirrors are needed for an effective self-exam.

Things to look for in moles and spots include asymmetry, border irregularities, color variation, diameter larger than a pencil eraser and changing appearance and feel.

People finding anything suspicious should contact their primary care physician or dermatologist.

Producing the video and testing its effectiveness were funded with a $25,000 Laurence B. Emmons Endowment, said Loescher, principal investigator of the project.

The video was released on the institute’s Web site Friday and shown at a Living in Harmony with the Sun event Saturday and Sunday at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. The event was to promote sun safety, awareness and skin cancer prevention.

A follow-up video on skin cancer prevention tactics is planned, Loescher said.

The video won the American Academy of Dermatology’s Gold Triangle Award, said Jennifer L. Allyn, spokeswomen for the Schaumburg, Ill., organization.

The award recognizes efforts that further understanding of dermatologic issues and encourage healthy behaviors in the care of skin, hair and nails, Allyn said.

———

RELATED

Arizona Cancer Center Skin Cancer Institutes video site: www.azskincancerinstitute.org/SCVideos.aspx

The search for life on Mars continues.

The Phoenix Mars Lander mission led by the University of Arizona tasted frozen water in material scooped from the planet’s northern arctic region.

And other discoveries since the Lander’s surface operations ended six months ago have expanded researchers’ understanding of our neighboring planet, said Peter Smith, who led the Phoenix mission.

On Tuesday Smith will discuss efforts to find evidence of life on Mars at a UA Flandrau Science Center science cafe event.

Science cafes are casual forums where people can discuss a topic with UA researchers in a relaxed atmosphere.

“It’s not just about the Phoenix mission; it’s all about the search for life on Mars,” Smith said. “I will try and broaden it out a bit.”

Smith’s presentation begins at 6 p.m. at Cushing Street Bar & Restaurant and will be followed by an informal public discussion on Martian exploration.

“There are a lot of other people studying Mars,” Smith said. “There have been some very interesting developments in the past six months, even since Phoenix.”

UA’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera circling the planet aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter satellite found evidence of sub-surface ice at 43 degrees north latitude – south and closer to the Martian equator than where Phoenix landed, Smith said.

The HiRISE camera photographed white material in five craters caused by meteorite impacts. The white material, believed to be frozen water, disappeared over time as seen in subsequent HiRISE images. Researchers believe the frozen water sublimated, or turned into gas, and disappeared into the atmosphere.

The thick ice layer appears to begin a half meter to a meter below the surface, Smith said.

Earth-based telescopes have discovered high concentrations of methane gas jetting out of regions on the Martian surface, Smith said.

Methane, which is closely linked to biological activity on Earth, could point toward evidence of living material beneath the Martian surface, Smith said.

Smith said researchers are closing in on discovering some form of life on another planet, possibly Mars.

“I don’t know what it’s going to be or where it’s going to be,” he said. “All I’m trying to say is we are hot on the trail of finding life.

“With the intensity of study on this problem I think there will be results within the next decade. It’s a prediction,” Smith said. “We are getting close.”

———

IF YOU GO

What: Flandrau Science Center science cafe

Topic: “Journey of the Phoenix”

Presenter: Peter Smith, principal investigator, Phoenix Mars Lander mission

When: 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Cushing Street Bar & Restaurant, 198 W. Cushing St.

Cost: Free, with food and beverages available for purchase

Applications must be in by 5 p.m. Friday

Recreation aide Vanessa Piña helps Juan Quevedo (left), 15, as he works on his résumé at the John A. Valenzuela Youth Center Thursday afternoon as part of his summer job search. At right is Robert Garcia, 15.

Federal stimulus money will fund an estimated 2,000 local youth jobs during what experts say is the worst summer in many years to be seeking employment.

Pima County will receive between $1.5 million and $2 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to pay for the jobs, said Dana Katbah, program manager with the county’s Summer Youth Program.

Job applications must be in by Friday at 5 p.m., she said. Applicants must also call 798-0533 to schedule an assessment to find jobs that best suit them, she said.

Teens know what’s in store for them when it comes to finding a job this summer.

“The economy is pretty bad,” Robert Garcia, 15, said. “Right now I am looking for a job – whatever is good.”

The Pima County program includes jobs in the public sector, such as in libraries and the Department of Transportation, Katbah said.

It will also cover salaries for youth working in the private sector at participating local businesses, she said.

“All the money is going for youth salaries, and we figure we can do about 2,000 jobs,” she said.

Jobs will run four to seven weeks for 30 to 40 hours per week at $7.25 per hour, she said.

More than 3,000 have already applied, she said.

“There are applicants who won’t get selected, but we are doing the best with what we have,” she said. “We can make a little dent in it.”

The federal youth job funding has been a godsend, she said.

“If we did not have the stimulus package, we would have had only 250 to 500 (youth) jobs,” she said. “It really saved us.”

Even with the stimulus package jobs, teens face a tough row to hoe this summer.

“I would think this is the toughest labor market for summer jobs we have seen for a very long time,” said Marshall J. Vest, director of the Economic and Business Research Center at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management.

“The unemployment rate continues to march upward, and business leaders indicate they are very cautious with regard to hiring people,” Vest said.

Katbah said it will be more difficult for teens to find a job this year than last.

“This is probably the worst year for youth jobs since I’ve been involved in work force development, but that doesn’t mean it is hopeless,” she said.

In Tucson, of 1,300 applicants and 600 people who were interviewed, 200 will secure summer jobs with the city Parks & Recreation Department, said Margaret Loquasto-Jaquay, youth program supervisor.

The jobs, paying from $7.81 to $8.71 per hour, include working at city KIDCO recreation, therapeutic recreation and sports programs, Loquasto-Jaquay said.

The city youth jobs program had far more applicants than last year, she said.

Teens face an additional challenge this summer as adults with work experience apply for jobs normally filled by youngsters, she said.

“With the economy, people are trying to find anything they can to hold them over until they find what they consider a real job,” Loquasto-Jaquay said.

Eegee’s is seeing some adults trying for entry-level openings that pay $8.20 per hour, said Rick Maes, training and development supervisor.

A couple of years ago, eegee’s moved away from hiring 50 to 100 teen summer workers and toward hiring employees who would work year-round, Maes said.

“The opportunities are there, but not so much if they just want a summer job,” he said.

The firm sees a 20 to 25 percent increase in head count when business spikes in June and July as the thermometer tops 100 degrees, Maes said.

The tough job market also means people are more likely to hang on to their jobs, Maes said.

Area teens at the John Valenzuela Youth Center, 1550 S. Sixth Ave. are receiving assistance finding summer jobs.

Center staffers assist youngsters with résumés, job searches and other things that can help them find work, center director Gloria Hamelitz said.

Garcia, Alejandro Gallego, 14, and Juan Quevedo, 15, gathered there Thursday afternoon to sharpen their job-hunting skills.

“It’s really difficult,” Gallego said. “A lot of people are looking for jobs.”

Quevedo said his age prevents him from getting a job in fast food or at an auto supply store.

He is hopeful, but realistic, about his chances.

“I’m not really sure,” he said. “It is difficult. There are a lot of teenagers who want a job. But because of the economy I wonder if I get to have a summer job.”

Despite the challenges, teens can still find summer jobs, said Sean Lopez, Pledge-A-Job coordinator for the Pima County Community Services Department.

“If you have a young person in high school who is motivated and understands they need to sell themselves properly, they can still get a job,” Lopez said.

Piña helps Alejandro Gallego (left), 14, as he works on his résumé, while Robert Garcia, 15 also takes advantage of the center's support while looking for a job.

———

JOB HUNTING TIPS

Here are some tips for teens seeking employment:

• Have a positive attitude and be self-confident

• Wear appropriate clothing that is clean, with no holes

• Have neat, clean hair.

• Hide tattoos and have no visible facial piercings when meeting with potential employers

• Get to know the company before you go

• Use eye contact and a firm handshake

• Relax even in a stressful situation

Source: Sean Lopez, Pima County Pledge-A-Job coordinator

———

Pima County Summer Youth Job Program

• Application deadline is 5 p.m. Friday.

• Online applications can be found at https://secure.pima.gov/summeryouth.

• Applicants must also call 798-0533 to schedule an assessment

• Employers interested in participating may contact dana.katbah@pima.gov

Proper protection and detection can allow you – and your skin – to live in harmony with the sun.

The Arizona Cancer Center’s Skin Cancer Institute will show you how this weekend.

Events to promote sun safety, awareness and skin cancer prevention will take place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, said Robin Harris, deputy director at the institute.

“Southeast Arizona has some of the highest skin cancer rates, other than Australia,” Harris said.

“Skin cancer is a treatable disease if found early,” she said. “Our goal is to make changes in the community.”

Arizona in 2008 had 1,380 new cases of melanoma, a skin cancer that can quickly spread to other parts of the body.

“Melanoma is deadly. If you have a more advanced case, the survival rate is not good,” said Heather Hiscox, a cancer research specialist.

The event will feature skin cancer screenings days, Harris said.

Eight volunteer dermatologists will do full-body exams, and advise people with suspicious skin features to seek further medical attention, she said.

The skin exams can accommodate about 100 people per day on a first-come, first-served basis, she said.

Attendees also can get an ultraviolet photo of their face taken, Hiscox said. The UV photo can show underlying skin damage that is not visible to the human eye, she said.

A device will be available to determine the level of UV protection different items of clothing offer.

A number of activities are aimed at youngsters, including educational puppet shows.

Protection from the sun can come in many forms, said Lisa Quale, health educator at the cancer center.

Clothing can protect the skin from the sun, she said. Long sleeves and hats are important, and she said many people forget about covering their feet for protection, she said.

Umbrellas are also an effective way to stay in the shade wherever you go, she said.

Exercising outdoors early or late in the day will avoid the worst of the sun’s damaging rays, she said.

And sunblock is a must, she said.

Effective sunblocks and sunscreens should have an SPF – sun protection factor – of at least 15 and contain one of the following ingredients: zinc oxide, titanium oxide, avobenzone or mexoryl.

Sun protection should be applied 30 minutes before going out, and reapplied every two hours, or more frequently if sweat or swimming dictate, she said.

A critical factor in preventing skin cancer is performing regular self exams looking for suspicious growths, Harris said.

Factors to look for include moles with asymmetrical shapes, irregular borders, varying color, large diameter and changes in shape or color, she said.

A partner can help check moles and growths in areas where you cannot see, she said, or you can use a mirror for areas that are difficult to view.

The Desert Museum event helps kick off May’s national Melanoma and Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month, Hiscox said.

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IF YOU GO

What: “Living in Harmony with the Sun” events promoting sun safety, awareness and skin cancer prevention

When: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Where: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, 2021 N. Kinney Road

Cost: Free with regular admission to museum: $13 for ages 13 and older, $4.25 for ages 6-12 and free for 5 and younger.

Stargazers will gather Saturday at the University of Arizona Mall to search the skies and raise money for youth astronomy education efforts.

The fourth annual Sharing the Sky Foundation star party and fundraiser will feature up to 40 telescopes available for public viewing from 3:30 to 10 p.m., said Liz Kalas, an event coordinator.

Six to eight scopes fitted with special solar filters will allow daytime viewers to safely see flares coming off the sun’s surface, Kalas said.

As it gets darker, lighting on the UA Mall will be darkened to allow better viewing of the night sky, she said.

Saturn viewing will be good Saturday night, with the planet’s rings appearing more flat and head-on than normal, she said.

First-quarter moon viewing also will be good, she said.

Attendees also will be able to see a wide variety of galaxies and nebulas.

The event is free, but donations will be accepted to fund the efforts of Vail-based Sharing the Sky Foundation, Kalas said.

The nonprofit foundation was started four years ago by famed astronomer and comet discoverer David Levy and his wife, Wendee Levy. The foundation runs programs locally and nationally that offer children motivation and inspiration to learn about astronomy, Wendee Levy said.

Saturday’s UA event will feature a “kids corner” area where children – and adults – can participate in hands-on activities that will let them better experience skygazing, Levy said.

The telescopes will be manned by members of the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association.

“These astronomers are some of the most enthusiastic people I have ever met. They just can’t wait to show off the sky,” Levy said. “These people just love what they do.

“This is the event to test drive a telescope – you’ll see all shapes, sizes and kinds,” she said.

The event is free and open to the public, and donations to the foundation are encouraged, she said.

“But we’re just hoping this will be a great event,” Levy said. “To raise awareness and get people excited, that is our primary goal.”

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IF YOU GO

What: Sharing the Sky Foundation sky party and fundraiser

When: 3:30-10 p.m. Saturday

Where: University of Mall near the Flandrau Science Center, 1601 E. University Blvd.

Cost: free, with tax-deductible donations accepted for the nonprofit foundation.

Area youths seeking summer employment have until Friday to sign up for the Pima County Summer Youth Program.

About 2,000 jobs are available, paying $7.25 an hour, program manager Dana Katbah said.

The jobs typically last four to seven weeks and range from 30 to 40 hours a week.

Apply online at https://secure.pima.gov/summeryouth.

Applicants who sign up online must call 798-0533 to schedule an assessment to find jobs that best suit them.

“We can’t help everybody,” Katbah said. “There are going to be applicants who don’t get selected, but we are doing the best we can.”

A free public lecture May 5 will offer insights on what causes the allergy and asthma symptoms that cause us so much grief.

Dr. Fernando Martinez, interim director of the University of Arizona BIO5 Institute, will give a presentation titled “Genes and Environment at the Onset of Asthma and Allergies” at 5:30 p.m. at DuVal Auditorium, University Medical Center, 1501 N. Campbell Ave.

Martinez, director of the Arizona Respiratory Center, is a leading asthma researcher.

A 5 p.m. reception precedes the lecture.

UA expert: Emissions feed droughts, which lead to more blazes

The Dude Fire, started by a lightning strike near Payson on June 25, 1990, killed six firefighters.

Man-caused fires play a significant role in global climate change, a University of Arizona researcher said Thursday.

“We found that approximately 20 percent of the warming effect of greenhouse gases is coming from deforestation fires set by people,” said Thomas W. Swetnam, UA professor and director of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research.

“This is more precise than what was previously available,” he said.

That figure includes only deforestation fires, or ones deliberately set to convert forests – often tropical rain forests – into farmlands and pasturelands, he said.

It does not include the wildfires – caused by man or acts of nature – that are seen regularly in the western United States and other areas, Swetnam said.

Large fires have a “feedback effect” that leads to more fires as well as climate change, Swetnam said.

“Warming conditions lead to more droughts, which lead to more fires. The fires release emissions, those go into the atmosphere and increases warming further,” he said. “Fire can actually generate more fire.”

This can include forest fires.

There are increasing numbers of so-called megafires in the western United States, Canada, Siberia and other regions, Swetnam said.

These megafires are at least partially driven by regional and global warming trends, he said.

“In the western United States, we have seen more than a sixfold increase in the total area burned the past two decades compared to the previous two decades,” he said. “Fire season in the western United States has increased by more than two months.”

Deadly fires in Australia are another example of the trend.

“Because of the high levels of industrial pollution that is changing the climate, we are already seeing changes in fire activity on Earth,” said David Bowman of the University of Tasmania in Hobart, Australia.

Bowman is a co-author of the paper that appears Friday in Science.

While the study more accurately reflects fire’s impact on climate change, much work remains, Swetnam said.

“In this paper, we make pains to talk about the difficulties and uncertainties that remain,” he said. “This is still a coarse-scale estimate on how much burning by people is contributing to global warming.

“It could be greater. There is potential for it to be considerably larger.”

The paper, “Fire in the Earth System,” calls for more research on the role fire plays in putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, Swetnam said.

“If we want to understand climate change in the future, we need to build fire into the models,” Swetnam said.

“Fire is affecting people and people are affecting fire . . . we need to put fire on the center stage of our understanding,” he said.

Smoke plumes from a 2007 southern California wildfire billow out over the Pacific Ocean. University of Arizona research didn't even take into account wildfires when they found fires account for 20 percent of the warming effects of greenhouse gasses. However, fires breed more fires - including wildfires, the team's research shows.

Partnership’s goal: Increase renewable energy use to 50%

The University of Arizona will soon make greater use of Tucson’s abundant sunshine by equipping more campus rooftops with solar panels.

UA’s goal is to increase its renewable energy generation to 50 percent within 10 years, President Robert Shelton said.

UA and APS Energy Services officials announced under sunny skies Wednesday – Earth Day – a partnership that will add 500 kilowatts of photovoltaic solar generation capacity.

In addition, thermal solar devices will heat swimming pool water.

The venture will decrease UA’s dependence on fossil fuels while reducing the school’s carbon footprint, Shelton said.

The project is expected to provide power to UA at about 9.5 cents per kilowatt-hour (normal grid rates), said Bob Georgeoff, APS Energy Services managing director.

APS will design, install, operate and maintain the system; UA will purchase the power generated, Georgeoff said.

This arrangement protects UA, and Arizona taxpayers, from financial liabilities for the project, said Ralph Banks, UA manager of engineering.

Installation of rooftop polycrystalline PV panels and solar thermal collectors is scheduled to begin in May and conclude by year’s end, Georgeoff said.

He declined to disclose the project’s cost.

The project continues the growth of UA’s renewable energy efforts, Shelton said.

“We will continue to add thermal and solar photovoltaic to the campus wherever we can,” he said. “In 10 years we should be able to generate half our energy through renewables.”

UA currently meets 5 percent to 10 percent of its energy needs through renewables, Banks said. The project will offset another 5 percent to 10 percent of UA’s energy needs to renewables, he said.

APS has worked with UA for more than 10 years to reduce energy use and boost the use of renewables.

Efforts have saved 55 million kilowatt-hours per year, Georgeoff said, as well as the carbon produced by 8,800 cars per year.

“UA is one of the most energy efficient campuses in the country,” said Leonard Byrd, project development manager at APS.

The project includes more than PV.

Thermal solar devices will heat pool water at Hillenbrand Aquatic Center and the Student Recreation Center, Banks said.

The solar devices will do away with the need for 50 percent of the natural gas energy used annually by UA to heat the 1.7 million gallons of water in the pools, Banks said.

PV panels installed on the roofs of the Second Street parking garage will help shade parked cars, and aid campus research efforts, he said.

The project is a step forward, but much remains to be done, Banks said.

The peak summer energy demand on campus is 25 to 30 megawatts, and the project adds 500 kilowatts, he said. A megawatt is 1,000 kilowatts.

“It’s still a baby step when you look at the overall demand,” Banks said

While APS will pay for and operate the solar project, Tucson Electric Power Co. will provide financial incentives in exchange for credits to meet Arizona Corporation Commission-mandated standards for renewable energy production, said Joe Salkowski, TEP spokesman.

The ACC requires that 2 percent of power sold by TEP and other Arizona utilities come from renewable sources this year. The requirement ramps up to 15 percent by 2025.

Byrd said TEP will provide 18 cents per metered kilowatt-hour generated by PV panels over 20 years.

TEP’s performance based incentive will pay $200,000 the first year of operation, with the figure falling slightly each year because of decreasing efficiencies in the solar generating system.

TEP’s incentive payments help APS provide UA power at a lower cost, Byrd said.

TEP’s customers benefit because the project uses the sun’s energy to offset power TEP would have had to generate using fossil fuels, Salkowski said.

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GLOSSARY

Watt, kilowatt and megawatt are measures of electrical power:

• A kilowatt is 1,000 watts.

• A megawatt is 1,000 kilowatts or 1 million watts.

• A kilowatt equals about 1.34 horsepower.

• A kilowatt-hour is the amount of energy expended if work is done at a rate of one kilowatt for one hour.