A.Dinosaurs In the
Dark
Narrator: This is Science Today. Several
years ago, paleontologist William Clemens discovered
the remains of a colony of duckbill dinosaurs that
lived in Alaska 70 or 80 million years ago. Alaska
was a lot warmer then, but it still got dark three
months out of the year, so scientists thought the
dinosaurs migrated thousands of miles to Canada
every winter.
Clemens: And this migratory hypothesis was
appealing, seemed logical, something to think about.
But then as we started looking at the micro fossils,
we found teeth of baby dinosaurs, little hatchlings.
Narrator: And that’s evidence, says Clemens,
that the dinosaurs stayed in Alaska all year round,
in spite of three months of winter darkness. The
fossil records shows that duckbills were conscientious
parents who didn’t abandon their young.
Clemens: I can see a big adult migrating
several thousands of miles in the course of a year,
but little babies? So I think the young ones probably
stuck it out up there, which gives us a another
window on the physiology and development of these
dinosaurs.
Narrator: For Science Today, I’m Larissa
Branin.
B. Stopping HIV When
It Starts
Narrator: This is Science Today. New AIDS
drugs called protease inhibitors seem to eliminate
the HIV virus from the body. But can people who
are taking the drugs still give the virus to someone
else, even though they seem healthy?
Kahn: We don’t know the answer to that.
Narrator: Dr. James Kahn of the University
of California, San Francisco works with AIDS patients
at San Francisco General Hospital. He’s on a research
team that’s studying newly-infected patients to
see if the virus in their bodies is still contagious
or even resistant to the new drugs.
Kahn: People with new HIV infection that
we can catch early enough are being offered treatment,
and we’re looking at their virus to see whether
the newly transmitted virus already contains resistant
mutations or not, and we’re offering early diagnosis
and treatment for these patients.
Narrator: Kahn says it’s too early to tell,
although he’s hopeful.
Kahn: We’ve actually been quite encouraged
that very early diagnosis and intervention might
hold some promise, but I think right now we would
really have to characterize it as exploratory.
Narrator: For Science Today, I’m Larissa
Branin.
C. Vitamin E vs. the
Ozone
Narrator: This is Science Today. New research
has linked problem skin with problem air. Studies
on hairless mice at the University of California,
Berkeley found that high ozone levels, usually found
in big city air, tend to strip the skin’s outermost
layer of vital anti-oxidants such as vitamins C
and E. Dermatologist Jens (YENS) Thiele (TEE-LA)
says topical Vitamin E-enriched creams do seem to
reduce damage to the skin’s fatty molecules, called
lipids.
Thiele: We found that topical application
in vitamin E cream in our case, did not totally
prevent lipid damage, but it was diminishing the
lipid damage significantly.
Narrator: But Thiele (TEE-LA) warns, don’t
stock your shelves just yet...
Thiele: There are so many creams and anti-oxidant
formulations on the market that its very hard to
say whether or not they are really beneficial and
I want to be very careful with any statement on
these products because the scientific link is, in
my opinion, missing so far.
Narrator: For Science Today, I’m Larissa
Branin.
D. Three Strikes is
Not a Hit
Narrator: This is Science Today. A recent
study on crime policy suggests California’s current
three strikes law doesn’t address the public’s concern
about violent crime. University of California, Berkeley
law professor Edward Rubin says that’s because the
California law and similar legislation in other
states are basically symbolic.
Rubin: That is to say, they seem to respond
to public concern, but they don’t really address
the issue. It’s like eating candy when you’re hungry...it
feels good at the time, but a few hours later, you’re
hungry again and you’ve got no nutrition.
Narrator: The real issue, Rubin says, is
shifting the four to five billion dollars it takes
to keep non-violent criminals in prison...
Rubin: ..and recoup some of that money for
prevention programs for police, for more secure
incarceration of truly violent people.
Narrator: Rubin and his colleagues are talking
with state legislators about drafting a more responsive
crime policy. For Science Today, I’m Larissa Branin.
E.What Doctors Would
Talk About If They Could
Narrator: This is Science Today. Dr. Donald
Abrams of the University of California, San Francisco
surveyed a group of doctors who care for AIDS patients
and found that over half had helped at least one
terminally ill patient commit suicide. But due to
serious legal consequences, it’s not something they
want to talk about.
Abrams: It’s not very frequently discussed.
The number of medical meetings I’ve gone to where
I’ve been asked to present on this topic has not
increased over the years.
Narrator: But informally, says Abrams, young
doctors are eager to talk about physician-assisted
suicide.
Abrams: When I’m doing medicine attending
rounds at San Francisco General Hospital, I have
discussed this with my house staff team -- my interns,
residents and medical students -- and I find that
they really glom onto it, they’re very very interested
and very excited to be able to talk about this seemingly
taboo subject in a very casual, open fashion. They
appreciate it because I think people perceive that
this is an ethical, personal, legal issue that they’re
going to have to deal with.
Narrator: For Science Today, I’m Larissa
Branin.
