Thursday, March 2,2®
DELUNI,
SCIENCE8TECHNOLOGY
\)b RioHT AFW
H
P Thursday, March 2. 2000
THE BATTALION
Page 5
Clogging the Internet
Universities restrict access to audio/video sites
IVIusic: down loaders use the IVIP3
format: to compress digital music
t BARRET]
finny Utah
BYSCOTTJENKINS
The Battalion
Texas A&M is bucking a nationwide
trend among universities to restrict access
to Websites that allow users to download
music and videos.
For now.
Increasing numbers of universities across
the country, including the University of
Texas, are using filtering programs to block
Websites that store and provide music aud
video online, such as Napster and iMesh.
Although there are copyright issues re
lated to downloading music and video from
the Internet, the more pressing concern for
universities is the network traffic generated
by the downloading.
Computer officials at Oregon State, the
University of Chicago and other universi
ties, said that downloading music and
videos creates a disproportionate amount of
network traffic since MP3 and other relat
ed files require a good deal of digital space.
For example, at the University of Illinois
atUrbana-Champaign, Napster has at times
accounted for 60 percent of the school's in
ternet traffic, according to a Feb. 26 article
in The Dallas Morning Meows.
Thomas Putnam, director of A&M
Computing and Information Services
(CIS), said that A&M has not had that kind
ofaproblem yet, but it may need to be dealt
with in the future.
“We’re watching it very closely,” Put
nam said. “We are also looking at how oth
er universities are handling this.”
According to Putnam, A&M provides
the network primarily for use in education.
Although taxpayers could probably tol
erate students using it for entertainment on
a limited basis, there is a problem when en
tertainment starts to infringe on the educa
tional mission of the University, he said.
“The question of
who's in trouble in
these cases is one
that is unanswered
in the law right
now."
— Don Tomlinson
A&M journalism professor
Still, CIS has no plans to use filtering
programs to restrict access to Websites, Put
nam said.
If network traffic becomes a bigger dif
ficulty, the University' could use other meth
ods to keep the electronic peace.
A university can approach the problem
by either increasing the capacity of the net
work or employing a bandwidth allocation
scheme, where a limit would be placed on the
amount of bandwidth, or data space for in-
fonnation transfer, that each user is allowed.
To increase the network capacity, Put
nam said, “the question becomes, who is
going to pay for it.”
CIS is watching the University of South
ern California carefully to observe the results
of a bandwidth allocation program there.
Theoretically, a scheme where network
users pay more individually for heavier
traffic is conceivable, but practical prob
lems of accounting and theft of bandwidth
space make it very tough to enforce, Put
nam said.
Issues of copyright infringement are
also being addressed in the world of music
downloading.
One of the “pertinent legal questions for
universities,” according to A&M journal
ism professor and media law expert Don
Tomlinson, is whether a university is liable
if its network is used for illegal copying and
distributing of downloaded software, mu
sic or videos.
“The question of who’s in trouble in
these cases is one that is unanswered in the
law right now,” Tomlinson said.
But with an increasing number of ac
tivity in this area and number of lawsuits,
that question may be answered in the near
future.
Analog sound wave pattern
O
!e
**—
O
CO
<p
JQ
ra
tn
o»
E
OIOIOOOI0010-111010-1 to
110100100111001001010
100100101010010010010
000010111000101010011
010010110010101010011
OOIOOIOOI100100100100
1 OO100101001010010100
0910100101111101010-10
0100101000101010111Ol
010101010101001110101
01010100101010010-1010
010100100100101011111
111111100100101110011
010100100101010010001
010100100101001001001
010101001010110010100
0101000101001 1 1 nooio
001010001001110010100
OOOIOOIOI111110101010
001010100100100101010
110101010001000100111
001010101010101010111
OOO1O1OO1O1oooooooooo
111010100100100111111
010010100100101000011
010101010100101010100
010101001001010101010
101010010010100110010
Tooioiooiooioioioi no
001010010010101010010
111110001001010100101
101010001010100110101
000010101001001010011
010101010010010100101
101001001010001001001
111011011110101001001
110100010010101010001
101010101000100010000
111010100100100110010
001010101010100001001
100100101010001001010
001001010101001000111
100010101001001101000
110101001001010101001
1 1 O 'I 01 on-- •««"> 1 O01 lOO
OOin nooi
•’NJ
Same analog pattern converted to
a digital signal
The digital information
on a CD requires 32
megabytes for a three
minute song.
The MP3 format
compression can reduce
the same song to about
three megabytes.
010100010010111010110
110100100111001001010
100100101010010010010
ROBERT HYNECEK/Thk Battaui>N
Gene therapy boosts blood clotting
?r own style ofmusit
; into classic country and felt!
opropri ate to be here where th
’here are things that l do mis
like my band.”
is currently touring solo,bit
ve a band with whom she plat
isits Los Angeles,
d that right now she is ink
stages, and is playing at bars,
slow process, but l am gett*
.id. “I can see people respond-
my music.”
said she writes her ownmiS
e wants to make sure thatsk
she feels.
usic is about my life andk
sxperience because that is
l can write the best about
d.
s concert begins at lOp.m®
t The Crooked Path.
(AP)—Amid controversy over the risks of gene
therapy, scientists reported that an experimental
gene-replacement procedure appears to improve
blood clotting in hemophiliacs without triggering
complications.
Researchers at Children’s Hospital*of Philadel
phia and Stanford University cautioned that.their
success in treating hemophilia B. a relatively rare
fonn of the illness, was encouraging but preliminary.
Just three patients participated in the experi
ment, in which researchers injected patients with a
healthy gene to stimulate production of a blood
clotting protein.
An expanded trial with more patients and high
er doses is under way.
If the method continues to work, it would be
one of the few successful genetic treatments of any
disease since the approach was introduced a
decade ago.
The new gene’s effect is “modest, but measur
able,’’said Stanford geneticist Mark A. Kay, who led
the study. “It changes from severe disease to mod
erate, which really increases the quality of life for
the individual.”
The hemophilia study appears in the March is
sue of Nature Genetics amid a public backlash
against gene therapy. The outcry was prompted by
the death last September of a Phoenix teen-ager who
had volunteered for a different gene experiment.
Jesse Gelsinger, 18, was the first person believed
to die as a direct result of a genetic experiment.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania
had infused his liver with a gene therapy aimed at
reversing a rare metabolic disease.
The procedure triggered an extreme immune-
system reaction that caused multiple-organ failure.
In recent weeks, several leading scientists, in
cluding Caltech president and Nobel laureate David
Baltimore, have questioned whether gene therapy is
too risky.
And the National Institutes of Health, which
hinds gene therapy research, is evaluating 400 trials
,CPQduc|gd with mope than 4,00.0 patients.
“There is a lot of uncer
tainty in the field now.
It's reassuring to see
some positive studies"
— Arthur Beaudet
Baylor College of Medicine geneticist
Other geneticists said the hemophilia B study in
Nature Genetics, while not conclusive, is a confi
dence-builder.
“What 1 like is that it was a very low-risk study,”
said Baylor College of Medicine geneticist Arthur
Beaudet. “There is a lot of uncertainty in the field
now. It’s reassuring to see some positive studies.”
About 5,000 Americans suffer from hemophilia
B. They produce insufficient levels of a clotting pro
tein known as Factor IX. As a result, blood leaks into
their joints.
Many patients are disabled by age 30.
Researchers believe hemophilia B is suitable for
gene therapy because the factor IX gene is small and
a healthy copy can be easily substituted.
FDA to inspect saline breast implants
GAITHERSBURG, Md. (AP) — Federal
regulators opened scientific hearings Wednes
day to determine if saline-filled breast implants
are safe enough for thousands of women to
continue getting — or if they break open and
deflate too often.
Some 9.2 percent of saline-lilled implants
given to breast cancer patients ruptured and de
flated within three years of implantation, man
ufacturer Mentor Corp. told a Food and Drug
Administration meeting.
That risk was three times greater for breast
cancer patients than for women who had their
breasts enlarged cosmetically, the study of
1,680 implant recipients found.
In addition, 40 percent of cancer patients
who received saline implants needed some re
peat surgery within three years, and 24 percent
of these implant recipients suffered breast
hardening from scar tissue, a complication that
can be very painful.
For cancer patients whose first implant de
flated, Mentor said the chance a second im
plant would break was 22 percent, the compa
ny said.
Data on the risks of saline-filled breast im
plants has long been awaited.
About 130,000 American women received
saline implants last year, even though the FDA
never has declared them safe.
Saline implants currently are sold because
of a government loophole: They hit the mar
ket before the FDA began regulating medical
devices.
These implants are the only option for most
women seeking breast reconstruction or cos
metic breast enlargement.
In 1992, the FDA banned silicone gel-filled
implants except for a small number of women
in strict clinical trials.
The FDA now is reviewing saline implants
to decide if they are safe enough to continue
selling and, if so, how to make sure women un
derstand that — despite what many plastic sur
geons now claim — their implants are not
guaranteed to last a lifetime.
About a dozen women, some angry and
some tearful, urged the FDA to declare the im
plants dangerous and defective.
Some held up implants removed from their
bodies that were blackened with fungus, and
blamed them for causing infections, excruci
ating breast pain or repeated surgeries.
The implants may have a higher failure rate
than any other medical device FDA lets sell,
said Dr. Norman Anderson of Johns Hopkins
University.
“Only fools will call these risks accept
able,” said Patricia Faussett of Henderson,
Nev., who said her illnesses disappeared once
her implants were removed.
But some breast cancer patients happy with
saline implants called them vital to emotional
recovery after a mastectomy. “It has given me
back my self-esteem and sexuality,” said Jen
nifer Gardner of Washington.
Tens of thousands of women in the 1990s
claimed implants gave them serious diseases,
from arthritis to cancer.
But after repeated scientific studies, the
prestigious Institute of Medicine last year
declared that breast implants, whether sili
cone gel- or saline-filled, do not cause ma
jor diseases. -
The FDA always has considered saline im
plants less risky simply because if they break,
they release salt water into the body, not a for
eign substance.
But officials are concerned about how of
ten the implants break or cause local compli
cations.
In addition, University of Maryland radiol
ogist Dr. Wendie Berg told the FDA it is -sig
nificantly harder for mammograms to detect
breast cancer when the X-rays have to pene
trate breast implants.
“We provide a safe and effective option iijf
women,” responded Mentor vice presidehi
Bobby Purkait.
Mentor cited studies that found no oape§-
diagnosis problems, and contended Jrraity
women have repeat surgeries because; they
want bigger implants or are upset that orjp
breast turned out larger than the other. . *
Implants were riskier for cancer pa.fiefits
because they already were in poor health,
prone to infections and undergo repeated k>fea$t
exams and treatments that could stress tl)e im
plant, company officials said.
In contrast, 3.3 percent of the implants psejd
in cosmetic breast enlargement broke aijd de
flated within three years, Mentor said. ’ »t f
Some 6.9 percent of the cosmetic patfenfs
had hardened breast tissue and 1.7 percent in
fections. 1
D
IS
U D E N
SI
intation at
g about
id.
jr questions
ation
FOUND AXIOJM
COME SHOW YOUR SUPPORT!
Aggie Baseball vs. Baylor
Friday, March 3rd
Enjoy Bevo BBQ before the game
Olsen Pavilion 3:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Student Foundation Members eat FREE
Friends eat for only $ 5
TRACK TEAM SOCIAL
Thursday, March 2nd
Come meet the track team and have fun!
Gattiland 7:00 p.m.
Cost $ 6
The Texas A&M University Student Media Board
is accepting applications for
The Battalion
— Including radio and online editions —
Summer 2000
(The summer editor will serve
May 22 through Aug. 11, 2000.)
Fall 2000
(The fall editor will serve
Aug. 14 through Dec. 15, 2000.)
Qualifications for editor in chief of The Battalion are:
• Be a Texas A&M student in good standing with the University and enrolled in at least six credit
hours (4 if a graduate student) during the term of office (unless fewer credits are required to
graduate);
• Have at least a 2.00 cumulative grade point ratio (3.00 if a graduate student) and at least a
2.00 grade point ratio (3.00 if a graduate student) in the semester immediately prior to the
appointment, the semester of appointment and semester during the term of office. In order for
this provision to be met, at least six hours (4 if a graduate student) must have been taken for
that semester;
• Have completed JOUR 301 (Mass Communication, Law and Society), or equivalent;
• Have at least one year experience in a responsible editorial position on The Battalion or
comparable daily college newspaper,
-OR-
Have at least one year editorial experience on a commercial newspaper,
-OR-
Have completed at least 12 hours journalism, including JOUR 203 and 303 (Media Writing I
and II); and JOUR 304 (Editing for the Mass Media), or equivalent.
Application forms should be picked up and returned to Francia Cagle in the Student Media
office, room 014A Reed McDonald Building. Deadline for submitting application: noon
Wednesday, March 22, 2000. Applicants will be interviewed during the Student Media
Board Meeting beginning at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, March 28, in room 221F Reed McDonald.
An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer Committed to Diversity.
The Texas A&M University Student Media Board T
is accepting applications for
Aggieland
2001
Qualifications for editor in chief of the Aggieland yearbook are:
• Be a Texas A&M student in good standing with the University and enrolled in at least six credit.*.*'
hours (4 if a graduate student) during the term of office (unless fewer credits are required to
graduate); • „
• Have at least a 2.00 cumulative grade point ratio (3.00 if a graduate student) and at least d * <<'
2.00 grade point ratio (3.00 if a graduate student) in the semester immediately prior to the ■
appointment, the semester of appointment and semester during the term of office. In order for • C
this provision to be met, at least six hours (4 if a graduate student) must have been taken for . ■
that semester;
• Have completed JOUR 210 (Graphics) and JOUR 301 (Mass Communication, Law and
Society), or equivalent;
• Have demonstrated ability in writing through university coursework or equivalent experience;
• Have at least one year experience in a responsible position on the Aggieland or comparable ' -
college yearbook. . "
Application forms should be picked up and returned to Francia Cagle in the Student Media ;
office, room 014A Reed McDonald Building. Deadline for submitting application: noor*' •
Wednesday, March 22, 2000. Applicants will be interviewed during the Student Medici -'
Board Meeting beginning at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, March 28, in room 221F Reed McDonald.- ’ ■
An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer Committed to Diversity. u ** ii