more accurate determination' of certain geo- 

 detic parameters that affect Air Force weap- 

 ons systems. Another part has led to an ex- 

 perimental result, which, according to the Air 

 Force, is "of fundamental scientific signifi- 

 cance: namely, that the mass responsible for 

 an object's inertia is equivalent to the mass 

 responsible for its gravity field. This is the 

 equivalence principle, the cornerstone of 

 Einstein's theory of relativity. According to 

 several recent theories of gravitation, howev- 

 er, the gravitational and inertial masses of an 

 object are not exactly the same if the gravita- 

 tional self-energy of the object varies with its 

 position in a gravity field. Such a failure of 

 the equivalence principle could not be detect- 

 ed in a laboratory experiment, but it would 

 cause an anomalous monthly variation of one 

 meter or more in the moon's motion about 

 the earth. Lt. King's five-year analysis of 

 lunar ranging data has shown that there is 

 no such variation to within the accuracy of 

 the range observations, about 15 cm." 



• Endorphin Research (NIDA): . . . The dis- 

 covery of endogenous morphine-like sub- 

 stances (endorphins) in the brain of man and 

 other vertebrates is a major milestone in the 

 efforts to understand the mechanisms of ac- 

 tion of narcotic drugs. Endorphins may be 

 involved in the addictive process itself, that 

 is, in the development of tolerance and de- 

 pendence in opiate (heroin) addicts. 'Endor- 

 phine deficiency' might be identified as a 

 genetic or acquired trait that predisposes 

 some subjects to become victims of opiate 

 dependence. The clarification of this notion 

 by intensive research efforts should be of 

 significance in developing new treatment 

 modalities or in designing better and more 

 effective prevention strategies for opiate ad- 

 diction. 



• Enzyme Transporters and Genetic Disorders 

 (NSF). Building on knowledge only recently 

 acquired in basic research on cell mem- 

 branes, scientists at New York University 

 (NYU) have taken an important step toward 

 treating some genetic disorders. Manmade 

 liposomes — artificial membranes — appear to 

 be able to carry enzymes to cells unable to 

 manufacture their own. The approach got a 

 big boost recently when Gerald Weissmann 

 and his colleagues successfully used it to 

 "cure" Tay Sachs disease in a test tube. 



There are at least 30 human genetic disor- 

 ders — Tay Sachs is one — in which certain 

 cells don't produce a specific enzyme needed 

 for normal functioning. But as Weissmann 



explains, merely injecting a missing enzyme 

 to treat the defect doesn't work; the body's 

 immune system rapidly engages and destroys 

 the foreign protein. What is needed is some 

 kind of biological "Trojan horse" that can 

 evade immune surveillance and deliver the 

 enzyme. Liposomes offer such a solution. 

 For one thing, they can trap and ferry en- 

 zymes. Weissmann and his colleagues have 

 discovered how to camouflage the liposome 

 so that it not only escapes immune assault 

 but also manages to deposit its valuable car- 

 go into enzyme-deficient cells. Thus the 

 NYU scientists succeeded in causing cells 

 taken from a patient with Tay Sachs disease 

 to ingest liposomes loaded with the enzyme 

 that is missing in the invariably fatal disor- 

 der. Following that favorable result, intense 

 efforts are now underway to find ways to 

 apply the technique clinically. 



Weissmann also has high hopes for the 

 technique in the treatment of local tissue 

 inflammation brought on by the release of 

 tissue-injuring enzymes. The idea would be 

 to treat diseases such as arthritis by introduc- 

 ing into the afllicted area liposomes laden 

 with agents that inhibit the action of the in- 

 flammatory enzymes. 



• Deep Sea Drilling Program (NSF): . . . Since 

 1968. NSF has supported the Deep Sea Drill- 

 ing Program (DSE)P) (Scripps Institution of 

 Oceanography). The Joint Oceanographic 

 Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling 

 (JOIDES) provide scientific advice to the 

 project. This has been the most successful 

 large-scale study of the earth ever attempted, 

 and it has provided the basic results on 

 which proof of continental drift and sea-floor 

 spreading is based. Over 50 separate cruises 

 have now been completed. To date, 36 vol- 

 umes detailing concise results have been pub- 

 lished. A wide range of current literature in 

 geology, geophysics, geochemistry, and their 

 marine counterparts is based on the results 

 of the project. 



• Slow Viruses and Neurologic Diseases 

 (NIH): ... An important recent accomplish- 

 ment in biomedical research is recognition of 

 the role played by what are known as 'slow' 

 or 'latent' viruses in disorders of the central 

 nervous system. These pathogens are viral- 

 type agents that require a long course of ac- 

 tion — months or years — before the conse- 

 quences of the infection become manifest in 

 illness or disturbed function. The first recog- 

 nition of their delayed action in human dis- 

 ease came from a study of kuru, a severe 

 motor disability resulting from cerebellar 



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