Interfaith Cooperation, Finances of College Athletics, Elephants

Interfaith Cooperation in Jordan (1:03) Guests: Dr. Yahya Al-Btoush, Grand Mufti, Jordanian Armed Forces; Father Nabil Haddad, Founder and Director, Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center  Religious beliefs can unify or divide. They are at the heart of so much conflict and misunderstanding around the world. They are also the source of great humanitarian efforts.  Father Nabil Haddad, an Arab-Christian and dean of Saints Peter and Paul Old Cathedral in Amman and Dr. Yahya Al-Btoush, one of the top Muslim leaders in Jordan as Grand Mufti of the Jordanian Armed Forces visit BYUradio to talk about efforts in their country to promote interfaith cooperation and understanding between Muslims and those of other faiths. The vast majority of Jordanians are Muslim, but there are Christians, too. They have long history in the country. Back in 2004, the King of Jordan launched a project called, “The Amman Message” to formalize interfaith cooperation – and also to clarify the true nature of Islam. Several hundred Islamic scholars back the Amman Message, which is an attempt to convince Muslims and non-Muslims alike that Islam is a religion of peace – not war – and that terror groups claiming to act in the name of Islam are not adhering to the religion’s tenets.  Finance of College Athletics (12:45) Guest: Jordan Bass, PhD, Assistant Professor of Physical Education and the Sports Management Program Director at the University of Kansas  Sports are the public face of so many universities – the first impression and the tie that keeps alumni excited about their alma mater. They’re also not funded the way most people assume.  Meaning, big athletics departments are not the big money makers a lot of people imagine. A team at the University of Kansas recently published a detailed study of how college athletics are funded in the U.S. Dr. Bass has co-authored a monograph on the subject, explaining how many teams can’t financially sustain themselves any longer.  Why Elephants Don’t Get Cancer (35:24) Guest: Joshua Schiffman, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Adjunct Professor of Oncological Sciences at the University of Utah  Here’s a scientific mystery to chew on - Elephants have 100 times as many cells as humans. So, it would be reasonable to assume that their chance of having any cell turn cancerous is 100 times more likely than a human’s. But turns out that elephants rarely get cancer.  Recently, researchers have been trying to figure out why, hoping the elephants might provide an answer that could help far-more-cancer-prone humans.  Desmostylia Fossils (50:39) Guest: Louis Jacobs, PhD, Vertebrate Paleontologist, Professor at Southern Methodist University  A pre-historic hippo-like sea creature that sucks up plants from the shore. Desmostylia – or desmos, as they’re often called – are getting some new attention thanks to fossilized bones uncovered on an Alaskan island when villagers started turning earth to dig a new school.  Parent Previews: Peanuts and Spectre (1:04:55) Guest: Rod Gustafson, Film Reviewer at ParentPreviews.com  Flu Drug (1:21:16) Guests: Dave Busath, Biology Professor at BYU; Mike Alder, Technology Transfer  It’s flu season. And the good news is this year’s flu vaccines are expected to work better than last year. There’s an element of guessing when scientists cook up the vaccine each year. . . they’re never entirely which flu strains will be most bothersome until the season arrives.  Influenza is a virus, as you may know. Especially if you visited the doctor with it recently and were told, no an antibiotic will not help, because what you have is not a bacterial infection. Rather, influenza has to be treated with antiviral medications. But, just like bacteria, viruses are capable of mutating to become resistant to those drugs.