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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 11, 2003)
Aggie Dance Team jg-4S is- Try-Outs -Aw^r May 3rd -JxJJr! Reed Building Gym 303 Prep Classes April 12th & 26th 690-1813 Jennifer Hart Aggie Pence Teem Pirector www.agg ieath ieTic &,eo m Jharfc^athletice.tamu.edu 6A Friday, April 11, 2003 NATION THE BAITALIOS Human cloning may be impossibk By Lauran Neergaard THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Ag...Ag... Parents...Ag...Ag... Parents Home Buying 101 Call a Coldwell Banker United, Realtors Sales Associate @ (979) 846-8400 or toll free (800) 359-6622 and let us help you move. Condos from $ 20,000- $ 80,000 Townhouses from $ 99,000 + 2, 3,4 Bedroom homes from $ 80,000- $ 150,000. Many are on the A&M shuttle route and we are members of the Multiple Listings Service. Open Saturday 9-5 Sunday 1-5 Weekdays 8:30-5:30 41 I Texas Avenue, College Station Spring Signing ‘Events! Texas A^gie Artist Free Personalizations Thursday - April 10th 3:00-6:00 PM Friday - April 11th 12:00-4:00 PM Saturday - April 12th 11:00-1:00PM & 4:00-6:00PM Friday & Saturday - May 9th &10th 12:00-6:00 PM Unique Fine Art Gilts TM The College Station Depot 405 University Drive East - 979-691-2787 www.benjaminknox.com WASHINGTON — Cloning humans, or any other primates, may be impossible with today’s techniques because of a fun damental molecular obstacle, say scientists trying to understand why attempts to clone monkeys have failed. From the very first step, cloned primate cells don’t divide properly, causing a helter- skelter mix of chromosomes too abnormal for pregnancy to even begin, University of Pittsburgh researchers reported Thursday in the journal Science. “Most people in the cloning field will be surprised by this,” said lead researcher Gerald Schatten. “This work demonstrates there’s a pothole in the process. We now know the depth and breadth of the pothole, and we’re designing strategies to get around” it. Dozens of animal clones — including cows, pigs, mice, goats and a cat — have been born since Dolly the sheep became the first new being created from an adult cell in 1997. But it’s still a very uncertain field: Many are stillborn and some survive only with severe defects. A cult group claimed in December to have cloned a person, something never veri fied. A doctor who separately is pursuing human cloning has reported in an Internet journal preliminary data on an early-stage cloned human embryo, but with no chromo some information. Cloning experts worry that attempting human cloning is dangerous not just because of all the barnyard clones with birth defects, but because attempts to clone monkeys — far closer genetically to people — using the Dolly technique so far have failed. To clone, scientists harvest an unfertil ized egg from a female donor, remov ing the genetic material and replacing it with new DNA from an adult cell of the animal to be cloned. An electric shock coaxes it into dividing. If all goes well, the egg grows into an embryo that can be implanted into a surrogate mother. It took 277 attempts before Dolly was born. Schatten’s group tried even longer to clone a rhesus monkey — 724 eggs that yielded only 33 embryos and not a single pregnancy. For cells to properly divide, chro mosomes must duplicate themselves and precisely line up along a zipper like structure called a spindle. Once the chromosomes are in place, the spindle helps the cell pull apart into two. During human reproduction, if the chromosomes don't split properly, defects such as Down syndrome result, or the pregnancy fails. Schatten wondered if chromo some abnormalities were behind failed monkey clonings. Indeed, inside cloned monkey cells, the Pittsburgh researchers discovered deformed spindles and chaotic chro mosome numbers. How cloning works An egg's nucleus is removed and replaced with DNA from the cell of the animal to be cloned. . Tiny proteins block cloning capabilities Scientists haven't been able to clone monkeys like they can clone barnyard animals. Now they've discovered why: proteins removed in the cloning process cause a chromosomal mismatch Motor proteins in the egg help d’ form zipper-like t , spindles that the chro- ' mosomes use to align. Once in place, the spindles help pull the cell into two identical parts. Spindle What goes wrong When the nucleus is removed from a monkey egg, motor proteins cling to it and are also removed That doesn't happen when cloning non-primates. Cells divide, but abnormal chromosomes can cause defects and effect the pregnancy. Healthy, developing embryo Abnormal cells intj: SOURCE: University oi Pittsburgh Emly Why? Eggs harbor proteins that act as molecular motors that are key to spindle for mation. In primates, those proteins are so tightly bound to the egg’s DNA that cloning’s first step of DNA removal pulls them out, too, dooming hope of later preg nancy, Schatten said. In other mammals, enough spindle-form ing proteins float in the egg’s remaining fluid for reproduction to occur, he said. The discovery is very important, said Dr. Duane Kraemer, a successful cloner of non primates at Texas A&M University. “The fact that they don’t get pregnancies at all is suggestive that there is somette different going on there than with otk species,” he said. “It points to a potent problem that may have to be solved befoi’ the next advance can be made.” It’s not just bad news for reproduce cloning. It also means the related field therapeutic cloning — using embryd stem cells to grow customized tissues h medical treatment — may prove harder.t« Schatten said. However, if 95 percent cells growing in a lab dish have abnom chromosomes, the remaining good 5 perce: could still be used, he added. STATE the batt Pr< fur AUSTIN - put off $318 chases are ca the publishinj the Texas texi “This is a tough, one mil it will all wort of important Watkins, a k group Ameri Publishers. “1 thought priority. We’vi cent cut in ii and it’s our N< The Texa; initially reque new textbool budget, more textbooks all printed by ] awaiting payr But a $9.5 no-new-tax-p across state money for n< Elck ‘V/•‘-O**''-' NEWS IN BRIEF Government looks to halt slavery tax scam WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department on Thursday asked a federal court to block a Georgia man from selling a slavery reparations tax scam. The government, in papers filed in Macon, Ga., allege that Morris James Sr. of Montezuma and his company, National Resource Information Center, went to churches nationwide promoting a bogus tax refund related to slavery reparations. The court papers say more than 6,300 customers purchased the tax preparation services. "Claiming tax benefits for slavery reparations, segrega tion, treatment as a second- class citizen, or on other similar grounds is illegal," said Eileen J. O'Connor, assistant attorney general for Justice's tax divi sion. "The Justice Department is taking vigorous action to stop schemes that undermine the federal tax system and leave honest taxpayers footing the bill." In a typical slavery repara tions scheme, a tax preparer charges the customer to pre pare a refund claiming the non existent credit. Taxpayers can face a $500 penalty for filing such claims. In 2001, the Internal Revenue Service received about 80,1 tax returns claiming $2.7 billot in reparations refunds. Hi majority of claims come ftoir taxpayers in the South. Af aggressive campaign by tli Congressional Black Cauaii and other organizations drasi cally cut the number. The Justice Departnw recently has obtained coil thdir orders to stop five other t preparers from promoting selling reparations schemes. Regulators plan to overhau FCC media ownership rule fort wc — The 89-ye her 71-year-c slain in their this week wei their neighboi “It’s just i to happen to neighbor B ‘They’re jusi over the neig the senior res authority over one had a qi plant someth] ones to ask.” Crime scei manic Wednesday a UT LAWRENCE MARSHAL! GET YOU INTO A CAR OR TRUCK TORAT! Bad Credit... No Credit... Foreign Students If you’ve been told you don’t qualify for a car loan, call the student loan specialists at Lawrence Marshall. We’ve been putting students on the road for more than 30 years. Let us get you into a car, truck or SUV with no hype and no hassle. Call Bob Griffey, Toll Free 1-866-540-3600 Even if you’ve been turned down by another “Special Finance” Lender. HEMPSTEAD By David Ho THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Fifteen senators asked regulators Thursday to disclose their plans for overhauling media ownership restrictions before going ahead with the changes. Debate over the Federal Communications Commission’s review has heat ed up as the agency’s planned June 2 vote nears. The FCC is studying whether decades-old ownership restric tions belong in a market altered by satellite broadcasts, cable tele vision and the Internet. The rules include limits on the national reach of television broadcasters, a ban on mergers between major television net works and a restriction prevent ing a company from owning a newspaper and a radio or televi sion station in the same city. In a letter to FCC Chairman Michael Powell, five Republicans and 10 Democrats, most of them on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said they were disappointed that the updated rules would be released “without any opportunity 1 Congress or the public to revie* them beforehand.” “Dramatic changes in tin structure of our media market place could have long-term CO- sequences on the diversity o voices and free expression our nation,” said the lawmakers including Sen. Ernest Hollins of South Carolina, the commit tee’s top Democrat. FCC spokesman Richard Diamond said the agency is working on a response. Last week, 12 other lawmak ers took an opposite position, calling the current ownership restrictions outdated and i Powell to complete the reviewer schedule. Those lawmakers included four members of tl* Senate committee and Rep. Tauzin, R-La., chairman ofthi House Energy and Comment Committee. The Small Business Administration wrote to Powell saying that the FCC has moved too quickly to alter the rules and should back off, allowing mol time for comments. Powell said the FCC will seek more comment, but hei- not inclined to do it with! good reason. Re Hwy 290 at Bryan/Hwy 6 Exit Buy in Hempstead Pay in Hempstead jEKscx>vc^JRBeseajrxJl x lot*. You may qualify for a clinical research study if you have any of the following conditions: <3L NECK OR BACK PAIN Recent onset of muscle pain in the neck or back with spasm (involuntary contraction) Must be 18 to 75 years of age Up to $200 paid for time and travel. ^ i ScoverySe FACIAL ACNE Male and Female 12 years of age and older Have mild to moderate facial acnc Reimbursement for time and travel. Olscoverfc' (888) 43 8-9 5 86 (979)776-1417 or Medical assessments, study-related diagnostic tests, and investigational medication are provided to qualified participants at no charge. ^