Around The World
SCIENTIST SAYS HE HAS A WAY TO CHOOSE THE SEX OF A CHILD
LONDON - A French scientist said he has devised a method to allow parents to choose the sex of their children.
Patrick Schoun, a researcher based in LaSeyne sur Mer in France, said yesterday his program, called the Selnas Method, is based on determining the alternating negative or positive polarity of the membrane of the woman's ovum, or egg. When the ovum is positively charged it attracts sperm with the `x' (female) chromosome, and when it is negatively charged it attracts the `y' (male) chromosome.
Using a computer and details about the woman's age, blood type and menstrual periods, Schoun says he can produce a calendar of her ovum's polarity giving details about the best time to try to conceive a girl or boy.
Tests in France on 155 couples have proven successful in 153 cases, he said.
Dr. George Hogewind, a consultant gynecologist at the London Gynecology and Fertility Center, said Schoun's research into the charging of the sperm and ovum is correct, but he argued that a trial of 155 women was not a large enough study or representative.
7 Israelis linked to plot to kidnap sole Onassis heir
GENEVA - A Geneva judge has issued arrest warrants for seven Israelis in connection with an alleged plot to kidnap Athina Roussel, the sole surviving heir to Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.
Judge Jacques Delieutraz said the suspects, several of whom are former army officers, had prepared the abduction by photographing the 12-year-old and her security entourage in Switzerland, where she lives with her father, Thierry Roussel.
The apparent plot was uncovered by Geneva police earlier this year but revealed in a family statement only this week.
Its disclosure has brought into the open a bitter legal battle between Thierry Roussel and four trustees who jointly manage the girl's fortune, estimated at $3 billion.
Athina was 3 years old in 1988 when her mother, Christina, died at 37 in Buenos Aires, leaving her as sole heir to the Onassis fortune.
Delieutraz said he had received assistance from Israel during the investigation.
Scientists say they can repair damaged brain cells in rats
LONDON - British scientists said today they have developed a technique to repair damaged brain tissue that could lead to new treatments for stroke patients, as well as for Alzheimer's disease.
The scientists, headed by Professor Jeffrey Gray, expect to start clinical trials on humans within a few years, said Dan Charlton, spokesman for the Maudesley Hospital's Institute of Psychiatry.
Gray's team caused severe brain damage in laboratory rats and then injected them with brain cells from mouse embryos. The rats recovered completely and performed complex tasks.
The breakthrough, the researchers say, is that the injected brain cells migrated to the damaged sites in the rats' brains and then adopted the characteristics of the dead cells.
Europe begins to feel pinch from French truckers strike
PARIS - From gasoline to fresh fish, yogurt and cauliflower, staples were starting to run short across France as striking truckers blocked roads and highways.
The strike has begun to pinch painfully at the arteries of Europe's increasingly integrated economy, which depends on deliveries by big trucks. British, Spanish, German and European Union officials have demanded that France act swiftly to end the strike.
A union leader reported progress today in overnight talks to end the strike, holding out hope for resolution by the weekend. Talks were to resume in late afternoon.
About one-third of France's service stations have run dry.
Venezuelan ambassador to Jamaica shot to death
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Venezuela's ambassador to Jamaica, Alfredo Vargas, was shot to death in his apartment early today, police said.
Local media reports said Vargas was shot in the chest when he discovered a gunman in his apartment in Kingston's upscale St. Andrew neighborhood.
He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.