SPORTS ARE TUESDAY
Weight watchers It still ain’t Falco January 27,1998
The Nebraska wrestling team is happy with the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart would have turned
way it has adjusted to the NCAA weight-cutting 242 years old today, and the Lincoln Symphony MERCURY’S RlSIN’
regulations. PAGE 7. is throwing a birthday party. PAGE 9 Partly cloudy, high 50. Cloudy tonight, low 26.
VOL. 97 COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN SINCE 1901 NO. 88
‘Brain gain’ bill presented to students
By Brian Carlson
Senior Reporter
Gov. Ben Nelson introduced his
plan to encourage the state’s top stu
dents to attend college in Nebraska
and contribute their skills to the
state's work force upon graduation.
At a press conference Monday in
Neihardt Residence Hall, the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln's
Honors Program Dormitory. Nelson
outlined LB1 176. dubbed the "brain
gain" legislation.
The bill, sponsored by state Sen.
Jon Burning of Omaha, calls for
scholarships for academically quali
fied students who attend college in
Nebraska, complete an internship
with a participating in-state business,
and work in Nebraska for three years
after graduation.
"The future of the state truly lies
in our young people, and this is an
investment in our young people and
their opportunities.” Nelson said
Nelson said he and his police
adeisers had talked to numerous
youth around the state who said the
proposed incentiees evould increase
the chances thee would go to school
in Nebraska.
If more talented students stayed
in Nebraska, the quality of the work
force would improve. Nelson said.
making the state more attractive for
businesses.
Nelson recently approached
Bruning. who graduated with honors
from UNL in 1990, about sponsoring
the bill. Bruning said he was passion
ate about the issue.
“I'm very pleased to have the
opportunity to match the ideas of
keeping students in the state and
helping businesses grow,’’ he said.
The bill calls for about $2 million,
enough for 200 to 300 scholarships
initially.
Scholarships would be distrib
uted according to work-force
demand with a majority going to stu
dents in those fields most in need of
employees, such as information tech
nology.
Qualified students could use the
scholarships at any accredited institu
tion of higher learning in Nebraska.
The scholarships, to be awarded
annualh, would pay half of tuition or
up to S5.000.
Scholarship recipients would be
required to complete an internship
with a participating business and
work in Nebraska for three years after
graduation. Students who fail to meet
these requirements must repay the
scholarship and pay extra penalties.
Please see GAIN on 3
Congressmen:
Hold judgment
By Ted Taylor
Senior Editor
As talks of a possible presidential
impeachment or resignation begin to
boil across the nation, cooler heads pre
vail with the Nebraska delegation.
Sen. Chuck Hagel, during a confer
ence call from his Washington office
Monday, said judgment against the
president must wait for due process to
take its course.
The Omaha senator did say, howev
er. that he was concerned the crisis in
the White House and the uncertainty
surrounding it would damper tonight's
State of the Union address.
Instead of the usual uplifting, feel
good-about-America atmosphere, he
expected only a “polite, somber and
respectful," audience of politicians in
the U.S. House of Representatives
tonight.
“It will not be enthusiastic," he said.
“There will be polite applause and civil
ity, but not much beyond that.”
On Monday, Clinton vehemently
denied both his alleged affair with for
mer White House intern Monica
Lewinsky and accusations that he
forced the 24-year-old to lie about their
relationship during her deposition in the
Paula Jones sexual harassment case.
Hagel said he and every Republican
and Democrat on Capitol Hill hoped the
situation would resolve itself quickly so
the new' congressional session, which
begins Tuesday, could get started on the
right foot.
“If this process goes on and on and
on," he said, “the atmosphere (in
Washington) gets more and more polit
ical"
Sen. Bob Kerrey. Reps. Doug
Bereuter and Jon Christensen were out
of their Washington offices on Monday,
but their staff members said the three
remained tight-lipped about the
Lew'insky situation.
John Gruhl, a University of
Nebraska-Lincoln political science pro
fessor, also agreed it was much too early
and the circumstances much too differ
ent to begin think mg back to Watergate
and the resignation of President Richard
Nixon.
“Nixon was involved in a whole
series of events that can be lumped
under the headmg of ‘abuse of power,"’
Gruhl said. “There was a much more
perv asive pattern of events.
“Clinton may have a pattern of
unappealing morals and interpersonal
relations."
Hagel said he found it “alarming”
the public has seemed to be so acceptmg
of the interpersonal relationship Clmton
Please see CLINTON on 3
Jonathan Houghton/DN
GOV. NELSON DISCUSSES his new “brain gain” legislation at Neihardt Residence Hall Monday morning as Tip
O’Neill, Michael Echols and Chancellor James Moeser look on. O’Neill was representing the Association of
Independent Colleges and Universities, and Echols was representing the Creighton Institute.
Vaccine could help soldiers
By Ann Mary Landis
Staff Reporter
Heightened tensions in the
Middle East have renewed concerns
that Saddam Hussein could use bio
logical weapons agamst U.N. and U.S.
soldiers.
But some UNL researchers could
save soldiers from the weapons' dev
astating effects.
Mike Meagher, University of
Nebraska-Lincoln associate profes
sor of food science and technology
and biological systems engineenng, is
leading an effort to create vaccines for
the deadly, easy-to-make biological
weapons called “bot bombs,” or botu
lism bombs.
“We're under a lot of stress here,”
Meagher said. "The Pentagon wants
this.
“They want it fast.”
Officials know Saddam has bot
bombs, Meagher said. Though they
are unsure whether he has used them,
they know he used other chemical and
biological weapons against the Kurds.
Bot bombs are based on botulism,
a severe type of food poisoning
caused by the microorganism
Clostridium botulinum, Meagher
said. Seven types of botulism exist, all
of which can kill an unprotected sol
dier within three to eight days.
“It's one of the deadliest toxins in
the world,” Meagher said.
The toxin causes muscles to get
progressively weaker and become
paralyzed. The toxin often leads to
death by respiratory failure.
Meagher’s group of researchers
already has developed a vaccine for
one strain of botulism, he said. Now,
the group is workmg to find a vaccine
for the next strain.
About three years ago, the U.S.
Army Medical Research Institute for
Infectious Diseases signed a contract
with UNL researchers to create vac
cines for biological weapons.
The contract, worth about
$690,000, expires in April, but
Meagher said he expects an exten
sion. Then UNL researchers could
fmd the vaccines for four other strains
of the toxin, he said.
Meagher said pressure to finish
the vaccmes has risen with the tension
between the United Nations and Iraq.
Even with the increased stress,
Meagher said he takes comfort in the
possibilities of vaccmes.
“It's kind of neat to think we will
save lives in a combat situation with
our work,” Meagher said.
In order to make the botulism vac
cine, UNL researchers received a
harmless part of the botulism toxin
from the U.S. Army. The researchers'
first botulism vaccine has been suc
cessful in tests on laboratory mice.
Last spnng, 20 nuce were injected
with the vaccine and a booster shot.
Then the mice were given a dose of a
botulism toxin. All 20 surv ived.
Human trials with the vaccines
should begin within two or three
months at the Walter Reed Army
Medical Center in Maryland.
Unlike UNL laboratories, the med
ical center is approved by the
United States Food and Drug
Administration to use vaccines on
humans.
During the human trials, the UNL
vaccine will be injected into Army
soldiers. Later, a sample of their blood
will be tested to see how well it resists
botulism toxins.
If allgoes well in the human tests
and the Army rushes its usual testing
procedures, Meagher said, the vac
cine could be ready in six or seven
months.
u
The Pentagon wants this.
They want it fast.”
Mike Meagher
researcher
Read the Daily Nebraskan on the World Wide Web at http: II www.unl.edu/DailyNeb