1406 



• Polish and Yugoslav scientists cooperating with our Agriculture Department 

 and supported with the equivalent of about $80,000 in U.S.-owned foreign 

 currencies have made important contributions to our understanding of how to 

 cope with the cereal leaf beetle. Yugoslavia is now the main source of the control 

 parasites being introduced into the United States. Agriculture Department 

 researchers believe the parasites will end the cereal leaf beetle problem in 3 to 5 

 years. It has been estimated that without the parasite American farmers eventually 

 might have had to spend $60-$ 100 million annually on pesticides to keep the 

 beetle in check. 



An agreement expected to be signed before the end of 1973 by the Department 

 of Transportation and the Ministry of Transport of Italy is expected to produce 

 this kind of indirect economic benefit. Under the agreement the Italians will 

 give us data from their ongoing SLIM project — a program of research and develop- 

 ment on a single-sided linear induction motor. This extremely advanced experi- 

 mental motor has the theoretical potential to propel tracked air-cushioned trains 

 or magnetically levitated trains at 300 to 400 miles an hour. In return for access 

 to Itahan work on this motor we will make available to Itahan researchers the 

 facihties of our High Speed Ground Test Center at Pueblo, Colorado. It will 

 enable them to develop experimental data which cannot be secured through 

 their own facility. The United States had been planning to start a research pro- 

 gram on this tyi)e of motor in about 2 years. The agreement with Italy will save 

 us at least 2 years in developing essential data on the possibilities of this type of 

 motor. Equally important, the data secured should help us aim our research in 

 the most promising directions. 



About 1 million Americans suffer from Parkinson's Disease, a potentially dis- 

 abling neurological disorder. Its treatment was largely ineffective until 1967, 

 when the combined efforts of Austrian, Canadian,- Chilean, Swedish, Swiss, and 

 American scientists created L-DOPA, a drug permitting the first effective treat- 

 ment of this malady. About three-quarters of those Americans afflicted with 

 Parkinson's Disease can now look forward to fully productive lives under con- 

 tinuing L-DOPA therapy. 



The treatment of amputees constitutes a little-known example of how Americans 

 have benefited from cooperative international medical research. Fitting prosthetic 

 devices has always been a long, painful process. But Polish researchers supported 

 by our Department of Health, Education and Welfare developed new procedures 

 to permit fitting immediately after surgery. The result: amputees return to 

 productive pursuits an average of 8 months sooner. More than 75,000 Americans 

 have already been helped by this dramatic advance in physical rehabilitation 

 techniques. 



As part of its program to reduce traffic fatalities, our government has entered 

 into agreements with the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, the United 

 Kingdom, France, Sweden, and Japan to exchange information on the design, 

 construction, and evaluation of experimental safety vehicles (ESV). These cars 

 range in size and weight from small economy models to full-size sedans. Four 

 vehicles already have been built abroad imder this program, and another four are 

 being developed. An ESV built by Fiat was recently sent to our Department 

 of Transportation for testing. It is expected that other vehicles will be made 

 available to us. . Meanwhile, we receive the data produced by the development 

 and testing of these foreign-built vehicles, just as the other nations receive informa- 

 tion relating to the ESV's built for the U.S. Government by American auto makers. 

 The Department of Transportation estimates that the foreign countries participat- 

 ing in the ESV program have already invested more than $100 million. 



The difference between what happened when a hurricane struck Corpus Christi, 

 Texas, in 1919 and the hurricane which hit the city in 1970 dramatically illustrates 

 the importance of early warning. The 1919 storm struck with almost no advance 

 warning, killing 284 persons. Corpus Christi at that time had a population of 

 11,000. In 1970 there was considerable advance warning before Hurricane Celia 

 struck, and only 13 persons died, even though the city's population has increased 

 tenfold. It is conservatively estimated that the early warning sj'stem resulting 

 from cooperation between our weather service and those of Latin American and 

 Caribbean countries saved about 2,000 fives during Celia.i" 



1" U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Scientific and Technological Affairs, Internatinnal 

 Scientific Cooperation— A Summary of Tangible Benefits, General Foreign Policy Series, no. 285, Publication 

 no. 8760, March 1974, pp. 3-6, 8-12. 



