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The Battalion
/ol. 82 Mo. 54 GSPS 045360 14 pages
College Station, Texas
Thursday, November 13, 1986
l&M research
nding ranks
Mth in country
■esman
ac said
u raged I,
tiscreet j
entsonii
1. iuendM . . . . . '
r n.noniB exas A&M, the leading research institution in the
mdotn omli and Southwest, now is ranked 11th nationally in
L San h funeling, according to the latest figures pro-
ided by the National Science Foundation.
"vBased on 1985 figures — the latest period for which
^^■parisons were available — A&M reported $146.4
lillion in spending for research and development, just
ehind UCLA and the University of California at Ber-
i®nly one other university in the South, the Univer-
ty l>r Fexas at Austin, was listed among the nation’s
ll( . ! >p 25 research institutions. UT ranked 18th with
lhest,, !2:i.3 million.
, wo ™B n iversity officials said they were pleased and grat-
at the rankings since scientific and engineering re-
tmgnxiB^ is becoming more important to the health of the
'ex.is economy.
“It’s no longer a secret that the investment in univer-
InkI ty research is closely tied to our ability to attract new
''"’businesses, spawn new jobs and develop new industry,”
lll0n Ihliicellor Perry L. Adkisson said.
“The National Science Foundation figures show that
ar,nfsB, re { | () j Ilt , well in comparison with other leading
■ ton! ni|ersities throughout the country,” he said. “We
,rali( not.' how important research is to our society and our
to tha^B oin y anc i we are competing with the best research
J ‘" Ik rams in attracting support and that can only be
s thao« for Fexas.”
thetfBhe report showed that 49 percent of A&M’s fund-
l0t tglcame from the federal government, 36 percent
1 tc tom state and local governments, eight percent from
riv.ite industry, two percent from institutional funds
nd live percent from other sources,
gim Research in agriculture and engineering account for
ami early 60 percent of the University’s total research ex-
lent I ilures,
lood i'K
Researchers find
Alzheimer’s gene
in chromosome
menu
ty of 1
f the if!
nd I
base
evisio
,d.
great-
acre ail
* SOClij
See related story, page 9
'StBASHING'ION (AP) — Government researchers
tid Wednesday that they have located the gene that
takes a protein that may play a key role in Alzheimer’s
’I" isease.
!. 1 igthe gene, a hit of genetic material that triggers pro-
;in production, had been sought by researchers
orldwide because its products seem to be involved in
(deposits that clog the brains of Alzheimer suffer-
cientists said.
Researchers from the National Institutes of Health,
tan unscheduled presentation at the annual meeting
f the Society for Neuroscience, said they used a ge-
eti< key from a product protein to backtrack to the
em.
! Dr. Dmitry V. Goldgaber said he and his colleagues
)i|id the gene on chromosome 21, a crucial repository
f genetic information that previously has been linked
| Alzheimer’s disease and Down’s syndrome,
i Other scientists at the meeting termed the work as
very important” and “brilliant.”
rorll
r Si
)ffense punishable by 2 to 10 years
Man charged in blow-dart shooting
ByJens B. Koepke
Assistant City Editor
| A Bryan man was charged Wednesday in the
27 blow-dart shooting of two Texas A&M
ttdents, says Bob Wiatt, director of the Univer-
ty I’olice Department.
Michael C. Garner, 18, of Route 5, Box 394G
^as been charged with two counts of aggravated
^Tilt with a deadly weapon, Wiatt says.
Bie of fense is a third-degree felony and car-
la punishment of two to 10 years imprison-
Ifh't and/or a $5,()()() fine.
^■iatt said Garner will be turned over to Detec-
|ve Will Scott of the University Police Depart-
^|t by his attorney, Roland Searcy Jr.
tuner will then be taken to the Brazos
lily Jail, where he will be booked, and bond
;ilH)e set, Wiatt says.
B two separate attacks on the night of Oct. 27,
In two separate attacks on the night
of Oct. 27, two A&M students were
hit with four-inch, needle-like
darts. Both students were on their
bicycles waiting for the light to
change at intersections in the cam
pus area.
two A&M students were hit with four-inch, nee
dle-like darts.
Both students were on their bicycles waiting
for the light to change at intersections in the cam
pus area.
Wiatt says the police investigation has revealed
that three other individuals were in the white
Camaro used in the attacks.
The identities of the individuals are being
withheld because the police are still Conferring
with the district attorney’s office on whether to
file charges of aggravated assault with a deadly
weapon against the other individuals, Wiatt says.
The identity of the driver is being withheld be
cause that individual is a juvenile, he says.
The investigation was a cooperative effort be
tween the University Police Department and the
College Station Police Department because one
of the attacks happened on campus and one oc
curred about a block north of campus in College
Station, Wiatt says.
Wiatt says several other attacks occurred the
night of the blowdart attacks, but no injuries
have been reported. He says no one has been ar
rested in connection w ith these incidents.
Reagan briefs
leaders on U.S.,
Iran relations
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi
dent Reagan briefed congressional
leaders Wednesday on U.S. relations
with Iran while his former national
security adviser said the Persian Gulf
nation is of “enormous importance”
to the security of America and its
Western allies.
Neither Reagan nor his
spokesmen commented on what was
said at the White House session.
However, The New York Times
and The Washington Post, in Thurs
day’s editions, quoted unidentified
administration officials as saying
Reagan had acknow'ledged sending
military equipment to Iran and had
defended his action as an effort to
establish ties with moderate factions
vying for power in Tehran.
The Times reported that an ad
ministration official paraphrased
Reagan at the meeting as saying the
United States would be at fault if
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini died
“and w'e had not made any prepara
tions for contacts with a future re
gime. The arms are necessary for
that.”
The Post reported that the covert
operation provoked angry ex
changes between White House chief
of staff Donald T. Regan and na
tional security adviser John M. Poin
dexter.
The two got into a “shouting
match” in front of the president in
the Oval Office on Nov. 6 on
whether to make some details of the
operation public, with Poindexter
arguing for secrecy and Regan for
some openness, the Post said.
Wednesday’s briefing was the first
since the emergence of reports of a
purported administration attempt to
complete an arms-for-hostages deal
with Iran to spring Americans held
captive in Lebanon.
Senate Democratic leader Robert
C. Byrd, D-W.Va., after the meeting
said, “I have not changed my mind.”
Byrd has sharply criticized w'hat
he said is the administration’s appar
ent violation of its own policy not to
negotiate with terrorists.
Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole,
R-Kan., had nothing to say and was
See Arms Deal, page 14
At least 180
die as ferry
sinks in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINGE, Haiti
(AP) — A 50-foot ferry boat sank
off Haiti’s west coast Tuesday,
and at least 180 people drowned
while 20 were rescued, the U.S.
Embassy reported.
Jeffrey Lite, an embassy
spokesman, said he received the
information from the Haitian
navy.
Radio Soleil, a Roman Catholic
station in Port-au-Prince, re
ported Tuesday night that its cor
respondent on the island of Go-
nave, 30 miles west of the capital,
reported that the vessel appar
ently was overloaded.
Government officials said the
ferry, the Oklele, had left on its
daily trip between Port-au-Prince
and Gonave but radioed an SOS
between noon and 1 p.m. The
distress signal wgs picked up on
Gonave, they said, and rescue
vessels were dispatched and
picked up the survivors.
Tax reform good news
for most A&M students
By Olivier Uyttebrouck
Staff Writer
The new tax law is good news for
most students and bad news for
some, a Texas A&M accounting pro
lessor says.
Dr. Larry Crumbley says a single
taxpayer who doesn’t itemize deduc
tions in 1987 will get a. standard de
duction of $2,540, which is great
news for students and other low-in
come people. He adds that married
couples filing jointly will be able to
knock $3,760 off their taxable in
come next year with a standard de
duction.
More good news is a $1,900 per
sonal exemption for all taxpayers
and dependents in 1987, a fat in
crease over this year’s personal
exemption of $1,080, Crumbley
says.
But the bad news is that, unlike
past years, students claimed as de
pendents on their parents’ tax re
turns won’t be able to claim the
exemption for themselves, he says.
And more bad news is that stu
dents with scholarships and
fellowships won’t be able to deduct
awards used for living expenses
from their taxable income in 1987,
Crumbley says.
In the past, any scholarship or
fellowship received by a degree
seeking student didn’t count as taxa
ble income even if part of the award
was used f or living expenses, he says.
He savs that under the new law, stu
dents can deduct only that part of
the award used to pay tuition, fees,
books and educational supplies.
The new law also has done away
with income averaging, and this may
af fect some new graduates who have
paid their way through school,
Crumbley says.
Before 1987, any taxpayer who
experienced a sudden growth in in
come — someone fresh out (if school
with a new job, for example — could
average his income out over four
years and take advantage of the
lower tax rate.
So under the old law, students
who paid at least 50 percent of their
educational costs out of their own
earnings could use income averag-
ing.
One provision of the new law that
may affect parents’ saving for their
children’s education is the elimina
tion of certain income shifting tech
niques called grantor trusts, Crumb
ley says.
With a grantor trust, a parent
could transfer money or property to
a child f or a period of more than 10
years, he says. All the income gener
ated by that property was taxed at
the child’s tax rate, which was of
course much lower than that of the
parent, he says.
But under the new law, income
earned by such trusts will be taxed at
the parent’s tax rate, eliminating any
benefit of opening a grantor trust,
Crumbley says.
Company unveils new space station simulator
BUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A
Ji Ui-scale, f unctional model of a crew
y iHglule for the U.S. space station
'J- as unveiled Wednesday, complete
■ ith private quarters for each astro-
aut, a direct message line to home,
^ da computerized helper named
^George.”
|)j Engineers have given that name
the electronic voice of a computer
yystem designed to monitor the
paousands of systems aboard the
■sBe station and warn astronauts of
j ny problem.
JjBhe computer system is a key part
/T die simulator displayed at the
Lushal! Space Flight Center by
Lu tin Marietta, leader of a team of
erospace companies competing for
lielspace station crew module devel-
''pnient contract.
The 43-foot-long cylindrical mod
ule is operated by 18 interlocked
computers that can simulate mal
functions just as they could occur in
space.
When a problem happens,
George announces the bad news in a
voice heard throughout the module.
“Our goal is to cut down on the
time astronauts must spend just on
equipment to keep them alive,” said
Tom Herraca, of Hamilton Stan-
dard, one of nine companies on the
Martin Marietta team. Having
George on watch will give crew
members more time to conduct sci
ence and manufacturing activities,
he said.
Bob Overmyer, a former astro
naut, demonstrated George’s abili
ties by turning a switch that shut
down a power circuit.
A caution light flashed on a panel
and George announced, “Four hun
dred power system circuit is open.”
The voice kept sounding until
Overmyer, muttering “Oh, shut up,
George,” restored the power.
Aboard the space station, the
computers will keep up with millions
of valves, switches and circuits and
such vital details as air pressure.
In addition to warning of prob
lems, the computer system will tell
crew members what corrective ac
tion to take. A computer screen, con
trolled merely by a touch, will dis
play what part is broken, where it is
located and what tools are needed to
fix it.
On the space shuttle, such infor
mation has to be supplied by radio
from the ground.
Overmyer said space station astro
nauts will have the largest and most
comfortable private quarters ever
put into orbit.
Each of the eight crew members
will have quarters “larger than your
typical walk-in closet,” Overmyer
said.
The bed will be a sleeping bag at
tached to one wall. On the other wall
will be drawers and storage compart
ments. There also will be a television
screen connected to both a personal
computer, usef ul for work or to send
and receive personal messages from
the ground, and a video recorder for
entertainment, Overmyer said.
And unlike the spartan space
shuttles, Overmyer said the final de
sign for the station will include an
enclosed shower for the astronauts.
With no gravity to drain away the
water, users will have to vacuum up
the water before leaving.
About 70 percent of the food
served in a galley on the station will
be frozen and a microwave oven will
he used for cooking.
Astronauts would be able to eat
their meals at a table beside a picture
w indow with a view of Earth.
The simulator, the first working
model of a space station component,
was developed by Martin Marietta at
a cost of $4.2 million, and will be a
permanent part of the engineering
testing and design facility at the
Marshall Space Flight Center.
John Vega of Martin Marietta said
engineers will use the simulator
perfect concepts and the placement
of equipment. Later, it will train as
tronauts who may live aboard the
space station for months.
The National Aeronautics and
Space Administration plans to as
semble a space station in orbit by
1994. Crews of up to eight people
would live aboard it, with members
rotated out every few months
aboard space shuttles.
Martin Marietta and its eight team
members are competing against a
team headed by Boeing Aerospace
for the NASA crew module contract.
In addition to the crew module,
NASA expects the space station will
have similarly sized compartments
for science experiments and for
to manufacturing.