News briefs
Viagra test on women fails
NEW YORK — Hopes that Via
gra would do for women what it
does for men were doused in the
first big study of the impotence
drug in women, according to a
study paid for by the drug’s man
ufacturer.
The study findings, being pre
sented Tuesday at the American
College of Obstetrics & Gynecol
ogy meeting in San Francisco,
confirmed smaller preliminary
tests that also showed that the pill
did not help women with sexual
dysfunctions, such as difficulty
getting aroused.
Viagra, the first pill to treat im
potence was an instant splash in
1998 when it was approved in the
United States to help men. The
pill had more than $1 billion in
sales last year, and its manufac
turer, Pfizer Inc., hoped to in
crease its profits by getting doc
tors to prescribe it to women.
Astronauts float into space
station for repairs
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. —
Space shuttle Atlantis’ astronauts
floated into the international
space station Monday night to re
place dying batteries, filling the
complex with voices for the first
time in a year.
American astronaut Susan
Helms and Russian cosmonaut
Yuri Usachev led the way into the
brightly lighted Unity module.
James Voss was close behind.
“Glad you left the lights on for
us,” Voss told Mission Control.
The three will move into the
space station for good next year.
They consider this visit a brief but
valuable sneak preview.
Fuel problems questioned
as factor in plane crash
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Inves
tigators on Monday were looking
into whether fuel problems
caused both engines to fail aboard
a charter plane that crashed,
killing all 19 people aboard. But
the probe was hampered because
the cockpit voice recorder was
not working at the time.
The National Transportation
Safety Board investigators
searched for clues in the wreck
age after Sunday’s crash of the Ex
ecutive Airlines twin-engine tur
boprop, which was carrying 17
passengers home from a gambling
trip to Atlantic City, N.J.
The two pilots, who also were
killed, had reported to air traffic
controllers that they lost both en
gines as they made their second
approach to the Wilkes
Barre/Scranton airport in the rain.
Aviation analysts said dual-en
gine failures are rare and can indi
cate a problem with the fuel sup
ply.
NTSB member George Black
said later that no evidence of con
tamination was found in a .pre
liminary test of the fuel from a
truck in Farmingdale, N.Y., that
had refueled the plane. The tests
were continuing and would in
clude a ground sample from the
crash site.
The Associated Press
Dog paws
continued from page 1
“It was a very clean, clean ex
traction of the two paws,” he
said, adding that the bone ap
peared to have been sawed. “It
shows that somebody took a lot
of time doing this.”
Wellington said the LCARA
was concerned by the meticu
lousness with which the paws
were severed.
“It follows suit with many of
the major serial killers,” he said.
On the other hand, Welling
ton said the paws were possibly
the remains of a dog kept by the
pet’s owner as mementos.
Though some people keep
locks of hair from deceased pets
and occasionally have beloved
animals stuffed, a person keep
ing dismembered body parts for
sentimental reasons is far
fetched, said Russ Bankel, a
Greenhill Human Society offi
cial.
“This is obviously something
we want to keep track of in case
it pops up again,” Bankel said of
the dismemberment.
Bankel said the ritualistic mu
tilations of dogs typically target
“dogs of power and strength”
and usually don’t target shaggy
domestic dogs such as Golden
Retrievers.
“It’s obvious somebody want
ed to send some sort of message,
but it’s unclear what that mes
sage is,” he said.
The LCARA is asking anyone
with information regarding the
paws to call 682-3645.
HIV tests
continued from page 1
“It would be most satisfying if
we went to capacity,” Dochnahl
said. “If people who take it are at
risk, then the test is most benefi
cial.”
When the health center offered
free HIV testing last year, approxi
mately 120 students took the ex
amination, which requires a sim
ple blood draw, Dochnahl said.
The health center’s HIV test can
be taken anonymously, with no
record of the student’s name, Uni
versity HIV counselor Ginger
Sands said. The test takes about
20 minutes, with a short counsel
ing session before and after the
test, and results are available after
two weeks.
“If for no other purpose, it can
establish a peace of mind,” 1
Dochnahl said.
The most important aspect of
the free testing program is that it j
promotes awareness about the
risk factors of HIV and other sex
ually transmitted diseases, Sands
said.
“It’s really important to get
help,” Sands said. “We want to
make students more aware of
what the risks are.”
Because there is no cure for
HIV, prevention is the key,
Dochnahl said.
Similar to the health center’s pro
gram, the Centers for Disease Con
trol and Prevention and the Nation
al Association of People With AIDS
are hosting the annual National
HIV Testing Day on June 27. The
purpose of the campaign is to en
courage those who are at risk for
the virus to learn whether they are
infected, NAPWA deputy execu
tive director Tony Farmer said.
“We have to do a much better
job of informing the public of the
benefits of testing early,” Farmer
said. “People wait until they are
extremely sick. Sometimes it gets
to a point where medication is not
very effective.”
The National HIV Testing Day,
which is supported by about
10,000 organizations across the
country, is aimed at everyone who
is at a high risk of contracting the
virus, especially minority groups
— African-Americans, Latinos,
Native Americans and Asian
Americans — and people under
the age of 25, who represent the
largest portion of those most re
cently infected, Farmer said.
“Even though we have one day
set aside for HIV testing, it’s im
portant to remember that testing
is something that goes year
round,” Farmer said.
To make an appointment for
the health center’s free HIV tests,
call 346-2770. After this term, the
test will cost $12.
The CDC also has a national
AIDS hotline — 1-800-342-2437
— for inquiries about the National
HIV Testing Day.
Fund raiser
continued from page 1
ers of Koala Construction. The
Robertses got to know University
President Dave Frohnmayer, his
wife Lynn and their efforts to fight
Fanconi Anemia — a genetic dis
ease that typically afflicts young
children and causes leukemia,
bone marrow failure and other can
cers — when they remodeled the
Frohnmayers’ southeast Eugene
home two years ago. The Frohn
mayers have lost two daughters,
Kirsten and Katie, to complications
from Fanconi Anemia, and the life
of their 13-year-old daughter Amy
is threatened by the disease.
The Robertses wanted to do
something to help support the
Fanconi Anemia Research Fund,
a non-profit agency founded by
the Frohnmayers in 1989 with the
goal of funding research toward a
cure or treatment for the disease.
So they did what they do best:
They built a house.
“It was an extremely heart
warming project to be a part of,”
Linda Roberts said.
Their original goal was to raise
$50,000 for the fund, but the
Robertses, with the help of 84
subcontractors who gave time and
materials, will donate $225,000
when the house is sold.
“It leaves you with a great sense
of pride and accomplishment,”
Linda Roberts said. The subcon
tractors who worked on the home
all received T-shirts with “I
helped save the life of a child”
printed on them.
She said she thought that solic
iting donations from subcontrac
tors would be the most difficult
part of the project, but she was
pleased to find that people were
more than willing to give.
“The community pulled togeth
er and wanted to be a part of it,”
Linda Roberts said. “Because [Fan
coni Anemia] affects children, peo
ple are more apt to do something. It
hits your heart pretty hard.”
The house, which is listed at
$725,000, includes such luxury
amenities as granite countertops
and marble in the master bath
room, a media room with Dolby
Surround Sound, a DVD player
and outdoor speakers shaped like
rocks in the front and back yards.
“It’s an absolutely wonderful
outpouring of community support
for the cause,” Dave Frohnmayer
said. “It will result in a substantial
boost for our research fund.”
He said the donation could rep
resent one-third or as much as one
half of the fund’s annual grant
budget. Researchers in more than
30 countries have received grants,
averaging $50,000 to $80,000, from
the fund. The donation from the
sale of the house could result in
seven or eight more research
grants, Frohnmayer said.
At 3265 Riverplace Dr., the
house is one of only about a
dozen in the Eugene area that ac
tually has a view of the
Willamette River flowing, he said.
Frohnmayer called the setting
spectacular and very peaceful.
The house is open Thursdays
and Fridays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
and Saturdays and Sundays from
noon to 4 p.m. through June 18.
Th(X Oregon Humanities Center presents:
The 1339-2000 Robert D. Clark Lecture
in the Humanities
Terry Tempest
Williams
in a lecture entitled
Hieronymus Bosch in
North America
‘Tuesday, May 23,2000
7:30 p.m. TJMU ‘Batfroom
Terry Tempest Williams is the author of many books,
including Refuge—An Unnatural History of Family and
Place (Pantheon, 1991) and An Unspoken Hunger (Pan
theon, 1994). Her most recent book LEAP, (Pantheon,
2000), is an exploration of Hieronymus Bosch's famous
15th century painting, "The Garden of Earthly Delights."
Copies of the book—as well as autographed broadsides
produced by the UO Knight Library Press—will be avail
able for sale at a book signing and reception immediately
following the lecture. The lecture is free and open to the
public. Seating is limited, so early arrival is recom
mended. For information or disability accommodations,
call the Oregon Humanities Center at 346-3934.
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