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Page 6A •Thursday, February 13,2003 Sci|Tech The Battalion Infant brain damage recoverable Study shows dramatic IQ increases for ‘preemies’ Standardized measure of intelligence From a study of very low-birth-weight infants 60Q-1250g - Normal childrens median scores increase 4.5 points from 36-96 months • VLBW infants median scores increase 10-11 points from 36-96 months 12.5% 9% ■■Scores increased 10 or more points Scores increased 5-9 points AgB/_ j ■■Scores increased 0-4 points ! Scores decreased 33% Actual score change from age 36 months to 96 months Travis Swenson • THE BATTALION By Lindsey Tanner THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHICAGO — Neurological damage in very small premature babies may decrease over time, according to research that tracked children through age 8 and found substantial mental gains. Many youngsters once considered retard ed ended up scoring in the nearly normal range on tests of verbal function and IQ, the study found. Children who received early intervention such as speech therapy, those from two-par ent families, and those whose mothers had high levels of education were found to expe rience the greatest improvement in mental function. The findings are surprising because previ ous research has found negative long-term results for very small preemies, and conven tional thinking says that IQ doesn’t change — at least in people bom at a normal weight. “We were thrilled by the findings and sur prised because previous reports suggested that there’s an adverse outcome for very low birth-weight babies,” said lead researcher Dr. Laura Ment, a Yale University pediatric neurologist. “We found children progressively getting better between 3 and 8 years of age,” Ment said. The study involved 296 children bom at 28 weeks and weighing just over 2 pounds on average. Results appear in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association. Children born extremely prema turely are at risk for a variety of neurologi cal problems, rang ing from cerebral palsy, mental retarda tion and vision trou ble to more subtle learning and behav ior difficulties. Ment said the study results echo recent research in animals showing that the developing brain can repair itself. A JAMA editorial suggests that broader tests of mental function would have had poorer results and notes that IQ improvements were still in the average to low-average range. “Despite the noted improvements in scores, such low average functioning can place a child at significant academic disad vantage,” said editorial author Glen Aylward, a developmental specialist at Southern Illinois University’s medical school. The youngsters were given a test of verbal abilities and three different IQ tests starting at Source: Journal of the American Medical Association age 3 and continuing through childhood. The average IQ scores increased from 90 to 95. The average score on the verbal test increased from 88 points at age 3 to 99 points at age 8. Data from normal birth-weight chil dren suggest average verbal scores improve by about 4.5 points over time, the authors said. A score of 100 would be average on both the IQ and verbal tests for a normal child. NEWS IN BRIEF 17 people Indicted for satellite TV theft LOS ANGELES (AP) - A federal grand jury has indicted 17 people who authorities say hacked into satellite television transmissions, causing millions of dollars in loss es to DirecTV and Dish Network, the U.S. Attorney's office said. Six of the defendants were charged with violating the anti encryption provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The other charges involved con spiracy or manufacturing a device for the purpose of stealing satel lite signals. All three counts carry a maximum prison sentence of five years. The indictments were returned last month and unsealed Tuesday. Defect blamed for loss of NASA probe SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) — An unmanned spacecraft that broke up last summer as it embarked on a mission to study comets was probably doomed by a defect in its design, NASA's chief engineer said Wednesday. Contour had been orbiting the Earth for a month when it fired its rocket motor for 50 seconds Aug. 15 to send it on a trajec tory to collect data from at least two comets. The spacecraft was never heard from again. Days later, telescope images showed pieces moving away from Earth along the same path and at roughly the same velocity Contour was expected to travel. Transcript records Columbia’s end By Paul Recer THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SPACE CENTER, Houston — NASA has released tran scripts from some of Columbia’s final radio trans missions, chronicling the efforts of Mission Control engineers as they became painfully aware that the shuttle had broken apart. In the conversations, released Tuesday, Mission Control reports a litany of problems that seem to worsen by the minute as the shuttle breaks into pieces. The first bad news came when Jeff Kling, the mainte nance, mechanical arm and crew systems officer, reported a sudden and unexplained loss of data from spacecraft sensors. “I just lost four separate temperature transducers on the left side of the vehicle, the hydraulic return temperatures,” Kling said. Flight director Leroy Cain quickly asked if there was any thing common to the sensors and got bad news in reply. Kling said there was no com monality, suggesting there was a general failure instead of a single system. Moments later, Cain asks Mike Sarafin, the guidance and navigation officer, if everything appears normal with the shuttle flight control. Sarafin assures him, “I don’t see anything out of the ordinary.” There is a short indistinct call from the spacecraft and. almost at the same time, Kling says the landing gear tires have lost pressure. Capsule communicator Charlie Hobaugh then address es the spacecraft: “And Columbia, Houston, we see your tire pressure messages and we did not copy your last. Columbia commander Rid Husband’s response - “Roger, buh ... “ - is abruptly cut off. It is 7:59 a.m. CST. Communication with Columbia was never regained. “MILA, the Kennedy spacecraft communication cen ter is not reporting any RF (radio frequency) at this time," says Bill Foster, a ground con troller. “OK,” says Cain, who then asks hopefully when a radar signal was expected. “One minute ago, flight,” comes the response from Richard Jones, flight dynamics officer. “We do not have any valid data at this time,” said Jones. He said there was a “blip” but it was bad data. Then a long pause, a silence of despair. Then Cain says the final words, the phrase that marked the lack of hope: “Lock the doors.” This meant nobody could leave Mission Control or even make phone calls. For the next several hours, the engineers have to ignore the certain loss of the crew and store the data in their computers, finish reports and then write personal accounts of what they said. The wedding was a huge success. The marriage was a different story. Life has a way of putting things to the test. Marriages especially. It's an uncommon feat to stay married these days. Like it or not, divorce seems fixed in our minds as a viable option. It looms at us like a red neon exit sign. Yet we also know the emotional and relational devastation that a divorce leaves behind. Maybe you've determined to make your marriage last. You don't want to make the same mistakes you've seen others make. Get some good advice before you take the big plunge. You can have a successful marriage. Find out how knowing God today can help divorce-proof your marriage in the future. See the feature article, Is There Hope for a Lasting Marriage? at EveryStudent.com. EveryStudent.com Paid for by Campus Crusade for Christ at Texas A&M University cru.tamu.edu Get in shape for spring break! join Gold’s Gym by February 28th and get a FREE MONTH OF TANNING $0* Gold’s Gym & The Washington Apple Commission join together to bring you the $500,000 Gold’s Gym Challenge. In just 12 weeks you can transform your body and your bank account! Stop by for details., PERSONAL TRAINING WOMEN’S ONLY AREA NUTRITION • KICKBOXING GROUP CYCLING BODY PUMP AND MORE! JOIN Bryan 725 E. Villa Maria #501 (979)822-8000 College Station 200 Brentwood Drive East (979)764-8000 FOR ^4 ONLY MS/ or Get 5 DAYS for $5 S GLYJSff. Bryan 979-822-8000 • College Station 979-764-8000 HURRY! OFFER EXPIRES 2-28-03 On Basic Plan One. First lime visitors only. Must be over 18 and local resident with valid ID. 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