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THEY SAID IT “Get all the fools on your side, and you can be elected to anything." *age 5 FRANK DANE Friday, April 1, 2005 AUtHofc • v • K—i-mi | , _ : : i—■ --' — More than 50 South Carolina artists’ works will be showcased and on sale at the 11th annual McKissick Museum fund-raiser. McKissick Museum art gala, sale celebrate April Fools' festivities By SHANATILL and TAYLOR SMITH FOR THE GAMECOCK Reveling in the spirit of April Fools’ Day, McKissick Museum is holding an art gala tonight featuring original works from over 50 South Carolina artists. In the gala’s eleventh year, “fools for art” from across the state are invited to partake in an event aptly titled for April 1. Out of those eleven years, this will be the Museum’s first annual fund-raiser with an April Fools’ theme. Last year, the Museum did a conjunction exhibit with Zelda Fitzgerald. The gala will offer creative hors d’oeuvre, live entertainment and great artwork, said Karen Swager, curator of collections at the McKissick Museum. “We are working with Carolina Catering and are making foods that have funny names,” Swager said. “We are just trying to be silly, even though we are serious about raising money.” At the gala, guests can view and/or purchase original pieces such as paintings, photographs, drawings, sculpture and jewelry. Featured artists include Jill Allen and Carol Pittman from the USC art department, Mary Gilkerson from Columbia College, and regional artists Heidi Darr-hope and Marcello Novo. The gala should provide attention for both the museum and the university Swager said, but the real focus will be on the artists. “We are really excited about this, we have more than 50 artists participating,” she said. “Most of the artists that are participating are from regional offices, but we also have faculty from our department as well as Benedict. It is an opportunity to showcase that regional and university talent.” The gala will also be providing a motley assortment of music, magic and festivity. In addition to the cocktails and inventive finger foods, guests can mingle with magicians, balloon artists and a female impersonator. Music will be provided by Little Cat Z. Also, the Museum encourages guests to don “foolishly festive attire.” The McKissick Museum Advisory Council, which consists of university and community members, organized the event and has requested a festive evening that can reflect the holiday it is on. In planning the event since last summer, the council wants to emphasize the importance of supporting local artists. “The goal is to provide recognition for the theme and the University but also encouragement for people to visit the Museum,” Swager said. Hoping to take advantage of the progressively warmer weather, Swager said the gala fits perfectly with the April Fools’ holiday and spring time atmosphere. “I think people are in the mood to get outside, and April Fools’ is always a time for frivolity,” she said. “So, get on your festive attire and enjoy the spring.” The reception begins at 7:30 and lasts until 10:00 p.m. Tickets to the “A Fool for Art” gala are $45 per person or $80 per couple. Tickets can be purchased at the door or by calling 777-3708. Proceeds benefit the McKissick Museum Endowment Fund. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu IF YOU’RE GOING WHAT: A Fool for Art Gala WHERE: McKissick Museum ^ WHEN: Tonight 7:30-10 p.m. An assortment of original pieces of art will be on display including paintings, photographs, jewelry and sculptures. Have no fear: Bacteria is here ■ Studies suggest probiotic microbes can reduce health risks By JANET HELM KRT CAMPUS Bacteria in your food are a bad thing, usually: Think of E. coli or other harmful bugs. But a whole other world of “friendly” bacteria lurks out there. Called “probiotics” and found in such products as yogurt and yogurt drinks, they provide health benefits beyond the regular live cultures found in those foods. Probiotics are among the fastest-growing category of functional foods, according to the market research firm Mintel, which cites a 140 percent increase last year in the launch of new probiotic-fortified products. t I w So far, the strongest evidence on probiotics has focused on digestive-trad problems such as lactose intolerance and diarrhea — including infectious diarrhea among children and the type that develops after a person has taken antibiotics (which wipe out both good and bad bacteria in their path, altering the natural balance of the digestive tract). Additional studies suggest probiotics may help decrease the risk of colon cancer and ease symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and the more serious inflammatory bowel disease, which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Researchers also are beginning to see signs that probiotics may help lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels. Europeans have long embraced the concept of probiotics (which is derived from the Greek word meaning “for life”), but Americans haven’t fully warmed up to the idea of downing a drink swimming with billions of live microorganisms. “We’ve done a good job in this country “We’ve done a good job... scaring people to death of microbes.” MARY ELLEN SANDERS PRESIDENT, ISAPP of scaring people to death of microbes,” said Mary Ellen Sanders, president of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics, a non-profit scientific organization. “People don’t understand the important role microbe^ can play in our health.” Unlike antibiotics, which kill harmful microbes in the body, probiotics simply take up temporary residence and neutralize the negative effects of the “bad” bacteria living there. Some of the benefits of probiotics appear to be their feisty aggression toward these nasty bugs in our bodies, Sanders said. Some of the most exciting research on probiotics involves its potential to boost immunity, according to Allan Walker, a professor of nutrition and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, who is studying how exposure to good bacteria could help children decrease their susceptibility to infections and allergies. Probiotics appear to communicate with the cells in our intestines to turn on antibodies to fight infections, Walker said. This “cross-talk” helps rev up our immune response so we’re better prepared to *j,eal with invading bacteria and viruses that could make us sick, he said. Though research is preliminary, scientists are revealing some promising immune function benefits, particularly among children: Finnish researchers cut in half a baby’s risk of developing allergies early in life by giving probiotics to expectant mothers and their newborns who were predisposed to asthma, hay fever and eczema. A recent study published in Pediatrics found that infants fed formula containing probiotics had less diarrhea, and fever, and fewer clinic visits and absences from child care centers, compared to those who consumed a formula without probiotics. A seven-month study of more than 570 . children in day care centers found that | intake of a probiotic milk reduced the * number and severity - of respiratory ■ infections and the need for antibiotics.