WHO: DePaul University faculty from the departments of biology, chemistry and environmental science. Panelists are: Avrom Blumberg (chemistry), Joanna Brooke (biology), Phillip Funk (biology), Kathleen Helm-Bychowski (chemistry), Liam Heneghen (environmental science) and Stanley Cohn, chair of the biological sciences department and moderator.

WHAT: Will conduct a teach-in for faculty and students aimed at providing factual information on bioterrorism and the bacterial disease anthrax. The teach-in is entitled “Anthrax and Bioterrorism: Separating the Myth from the Microbe.”

WHERE:2320 N. Kenmore Ave., Room 161, on the Lincoln Park Campus.

WHEN: NOON TO 2 P.M., WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24.

TEACH-IN FOCUS:

· The organism itself – how it works, what type of strain it is, its relative danger compared to other organisms, how difficult it is to catch;

· The physiological response to anthrax – how the immune system deals with it, how it’s incorporated into the body and the effect;

· How it can and cannot be caught, how treatable it is;

· Historical incidents of biological weapons causing deaths;

· Why it’s very difficult to catch the more deadly form of anthrax that is caught through inhalation.

OBJECTIVE: To allay fears by providing enough scientific information about the organism anthrax to help people understand that is very difficult to catch and very treatable.