Court overturns murder conviction of sky sniper BOSTON (AP) Hie state's highest < ourt Wednesday over turned the murder conviction of si man who shot his wife eight times, then buzzed neigh borhoods In a stolen airplane while firing an assault rifle The state Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a judge should have conducted a hearing on whether incriminating testi mony from Alfred | Hunter could lie used against him Hunter, 4f these worbho|K , stop by the University of Oregon Continuation Center at 3.U Oregon Halt, or simply call: 346-4231 Pre-embryo tested baby bom NOKi-OI K Vs (A I’) — A baby who was tested when she was onh eight cells old to ensure she would lie free ol the deadly Tay-Sachs disease w;is born Wednesday She was the first c hild to be sc reened for the incurable disease as a pre-embryo, a doctor said Bnltanv Nicole Abshirc and her mother were doing well, said Dr William K (.ibbons, the fami ly's doctor at the Jones Institute for Reproduc live Medicine in Norfolk Brittany was born at Baptist Hospital in Orange. Texas, near the DeRidder. La , home of her parents. David and Renee Ahshire. Brittany was tested ns an eight-cell pre-embryo that had not vet been implanted into her mother's womb Doctors used a needle one fifth as wide ns a human hair to withdraw a single* < ell from each of eggs that were fertilized "in vitro." or outside the mother, said Dr <»nrv D Hodgen. leader of the team that performed the procedure The eggs wore tested for i ns-Sachs, and three "clean" eggs were implanted in Abshire's uterus One developed into Brittany She was the- first child in the world to be sc reened for the inherited disease at that stage. Hodgen said Brittany. who weighed 5 pounds, l - ounc es. was (mm about three weeks early las ause Ahshire devel oped a common gall bladder problem and went into labor, said (iiblions. who also is chairman of obstet rics unci gynecology .it the I astern Virginia Medic al School The Jones Institute is part of the medic al sc hoot Doctors at the institute delivered the nation's brsi m vitro, or so c ailed "test-tulie babyin 1'itt 1 David and Kcmee Ahshire eac h c arry the- gene for Tay-Sachs which killed their first daughter at age t Without the test, they have a 2ii percent ( banc e of having a c hild with Toy-Sac hs Victims of Tay-Sachs are Ixirn without an enzyme ncs c’ssarv to remove fatly suhstnne es from the brain Most y ic tuns are blind and paraly zed by age l and die by age 5 There is no central registry for Tay-Sachs births, but about .it) Tas - Sachs < hildren were believed bom in the United States last year, said Debbie Gutter, director of National Tay-Sachs and Allied Diseases, which reviews research on about 40 genetic dis orders editions said the institute has not vet performed the Tay-Sachs test on other patients, but that some are in preparation, (.utter said three North American groups are more prone to carrying the Tay-Sachs gene Trench Cana dians. Jews whose families come from Kastern Turope, and people from a section of southwest Louisiana with a large Cajun population. Moth parents must carry the gene for the child to be born with Tay-Sachs. Dr Michael Studies of the department of obstet ric s and gvnnc ologv at the Baylor College of Med icine praised the work of Hodgen’s team. "I've seen the method that they've used to make this diagnosis, and it's gixid. solid work." he said The technology could help couples who carry other inherited diseases, such ns sickle-cell anemia and hemophilia, Doctors in Tngland recently used a similar priw edure to help a couple predisposed to (vstii fibrosis give birth to a healthy infant, Snabes said. John Tleti her. director of the Center for Hio rtiedic al Killies at the I University of Virginia, praised the procedure but said it raises questions about future developments in handling defective genes "What people are afraid of is, once you start manipulating genes in the embryo, you could move from treating the disease to nffec ting characteristics that don’t have anything to do with the disease, like skin t.olor, height, weight." Testing couples fur the Tay-Sachs gene is routine in mam Jewish communities, and in cases where both partners are carriers, they art1 advised of the risks of bearing children Clinton, celebrities list favorite books (iAROINKK. Maine (AP) The lifestyles of the rich and famous often include a good hook or two. Or, in the case of President Clinton, about 70 a year < linton was one of 50 celebri ties surveyed by librarian Clen ria Nowell who i ompiles an annual Who's Reading What?" list hoping to encourage others to wad "I can't imagine what my life would !*• like without reading,'' wrote Clinton, who said he reads about 70 hooks a year. He ( hose The Prim r of Tides and The ImsI of thr Mnhltuns as two ol his all-time favorites Among the other celebrity selections: Attorney General Janet Reno recommended Mary Poppins, ABC News' Sam Don aldson picked Plutarch's Lives and tennis star Martina Navratilova chose Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead "Accepting responsibility — wow. what a concept,” Navratilova said. "Too had politicians don't read these books.” We’ll ask you to do unusual things Well, not exactly dancing half-naked but many other interesting tasks Be a Resident Assistant University (lousing is looking fm active, enthusiastic [>eoplc vs ho would like to till the Resident Assistant positions in the residence halls tor the '94-*95 academic year Compensation: Room and board plus $600 per year Eligibility: Must have Junior standing by tall term 1994 and have a cumulative CPA of 2.5 or higher. You must also attend one of the following s orientation sessions: Tuesday, Jan. 25th 7 pm Cold Room (Carson Hall). Saturday January 29 2:45 pm F.WEB Building Community Room, 500 E. 4th Avc. Application deadline: Tuesday, Feb. 1st. 5 pm For more information contact: University Mousing or call 346-4277 By the way, if you like dancing half naked, dont hesitate to come. •An AAF.l) institution committed to cultural diversity and in compliance with the ADA.