inland. Reserve Mining said that the state's recommendation was eco nomically unfeasible, and that it would close down the taconite oper ation if it didn't get the permits. In January a special three-judge state court ruled that the agencies acted illegally in denying the permit; it was that ruling that the state Supreme Court affirmed. D
Hawaii work may lead to malaria vaccine Researchers at the University of Ha waii have successfully immunized monkeys against the deadliest form of human malaria, an important ad vance in developing a human malaria vaccine. Dr. Wasim A. Siddiqui of the University of Hawaii's school of medicine prepared an experimental vaccine from a culture of the malaria parasite transmitted by the anopheles mosquito. Siddiqui's antigen is effective against the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. He ad ministered the antigen twice at three-week intervals to each of three aotus monkeys. Three weeks later, these monkeys and two controls that had received no antigen treatment were challenged with P. falciparum parasites. Both of the control mon keys died within 13 days of injection with the malaria parasites. All three of the immunized monkeys are still alive and showed no detectable signs of parasite invasion one month after they were treated. There is at present no vaccine against malaria. Instead, the disease is treated and controlled by destroy ing the mosquitoes that carry the parasite to man and by using antimalaria drugs. But malaria cases have been increasing in some countries in recent years as more of the mosquito carriers become resistant to pesti cides, and the parasites themselves develop resistance to antimalaria drugs. The Agency for International Development, which supported Sid diqui's work, estimates there are about 125 million cases of malaria a year now, including 90 million cases a year in tropical Africa, where about 1 million children die of the disease each year. AID is the primary coor dinator of international research on malaria immunization. It currently supports seven projects, including the one at the University of Hawaii. Dr. Miloslav Rechcigl, chief of re search at AID, calls the monkey im munization a breakthrough in the development of a malaria vaccine for humans, but he cautions that there is still much work that needs to be done.
"This experiment demonstrated that it can be done," he says. "Now we need to focus on the engineering and safety aspects" of developing a fullscale vaccine. For instance, the adju vant used to enhance the effective ness of the antigen in the monkey experiments is not one that can be used safely in humans, so another adjuvant must be developed. Siddiqui's success comes about a year after another major advance in the development of a malaria vaccine for humans, also coming out of the AID-sponsored research. This was the development by Dr. William Trager of Rockefeller University of a method of culturing the human malaria par asite, P. falciparum, using human blood as the growth medium. To gether, these two findings give re searchers an effective animal model that can be used to further develop a vaccine, Rechcigl explains, greatly speeding up development. D
Fiber earnings begin to show new life The apparent bad earnings news in the first quarter from two top U.S. fiber producers is not as bad as it looks. Underneath, the potentially huge profits engine in fibers seems to be turning over at long last. Du Pont's earnings per share for first-quarter 1977 fell about 14% from levels for the same period in 1976, says chairman Irving S. Shapiro. Earnings for first-quarter 1977 were $2.40 per share on record sales of $2.3 billion. During the first quarter of 1976, they were $2.80 per share. They still are about 28% above fourth-quarter 1976 earnings. Shapiro told Du Pont's annual meeting. "Al though the results for January and February suffered from the severe winter weather, March came on strong and the first quarter turned out to be a distinct improvement over the closing quarter of last year." He indicates that he is encouraged by an improvement in the company's man-made fibers business. After an operating loss since the middle of last year, fibers took a clear upturn and finished the quarter with a nominal profit, he says. Celanese reports first-quarter earnings that are down sharply from levels of one year ago. John D. McComber, president and chief op erating officer, told the company's annual meeting in Charlotte, N.C., that earnings were 74 cents a share for first-quarter 1977, compared to $1.67 per share for first-quarter 1976. The low earnings for this year's first quarter are a continuation of weak
Shapiro: a distinct improvement
earnings for the third and fourth quarters of 1976—83 cents and 62 cents per share, respectively. Total sales were 3% lower than in firstquarter 1976, down from $562 million to $546 million. However, net income was down 54% from $24 million to $11 million. The fibers group was considerably weaker than a year ago with polyes ter/nylon earning 10 cents as against 42 cents last year, and cellulosics earning 7 cents this year compared to 31 cents the first quarter of last year. Non-U.S. fibers lost 42 cents per share for the first quarter in 1977. Last year's first quarter saw it break even. This brought the total fibers group to a 15-cent loss compared with a 73-cent gain for the corresponding period in 1976. McComber told the meeting that the company is seeing a turnaround despite the poor earnings showing for this quarter. A full two thirds of the earnings were generated in March and he is expecting upward trends to continue. Π
Soviet dissidents plan international seminar If all goes according to plan, more than 20 noted scientists from the U.S., Canada, France, and Sweden, and some 50 to 60 Soviet scientists— including Nobel Laureates George Wald of the U.S., Alfred Kastler of France, and Andrei Sakharov of the U.S.S.R.—will gather this week in a cramped private apartment in Mos cow for a highly unusual international scientific seminar. The seminar, to be held April 18 to 21, is described by its organizers as an attempt to help break the scientific isolation of dissident Soviet scientists, including both "refuseniks"—Jewish scientists refused permission to emi grate—and human rights activists. Entitled "The Many Body Problem April 18, 1977 C&EN
7
and Its Applications in Physics and Other Fields," the seminar will ac quaint the Soviet scientists with current western research ranging from quarks to biochemistry, and enable them to present their own, necessarily theoretical, research work. The international seminar will mark the fifth anniversary of the weekly interdisciplinary seminars organized in Moscow by refusenik scientists, and also honor the 60th birthday of refusenik Veniamin Levich, an eminent physical chemist. Cut off from labs, lecture halls, li braries, and contacts with Soviet and foreign colleagues because of their emigration requests or human rights activities, the Soviet scientists have sought through their weekly seminars to maintain scientific viability. Since 1972, despite official pressure and warnings, some 200 sessions have been held and about 300 papers pre sented, including visits by a number of western scientists. At press time, the 12 U.S. and Ca nadian participants in the interna tional seminar all had received Soviet entry visas and were preparing to leave. There had been no Soviet move to discourage the seminar—unlike in 1974, when a similar international seminar was prevented by arrest of Soviet participants and denial of entry visas to foreign scientists (C&EN, July 1, 1974, page 12). One possible reason for the difference: This time, the organizers have avoided advance publicity to prevent any appearance of a provocation to Soviet authorities. D
Commonwealth Oil financial woes worsen The Puerto Rican petrochemical business, in trouble for several years, has reached such straits that the largest producer on the island, Com monwealth Oil Refining, is in a seri ous cash flow bind. The situation is now at the point where the company has had to sit down with its major lenders, large customers, and the government of Puerto Rico to try to avoid default. The company first warned of the possibility of default in its fourth-quarter 1976 report (C&EN, Feb. 21, page 10). Commonwealth's strategy seems to be to tide itself over for awhile by selling its interest in one of its joint petrochemical ventures, Oxochem. The other partner in Oxochem is Hatco Group of W. R. Grace & Co. The sale would also involve Tenneco, which is negotiating with Grace to buy Hatco. Oxochem produces oxo 8
C&EN April 18, 1977
Commonwealth Oil earnings have been deeply in red
disparities in supplies of lower-priced hydrocarbon raw materials. However, even these entitlements did not save Commonwealth from heavy red ink last year, particularly in the fourth quarter. The fourthquarter loss of $29.1 million before an extraordinary item led to a total loss for the year of $36.9 million. D
FDA to classify saccharin as a drug
a After-tax earnings before extraordinary items.
alcohols at a unit in Commonwealth's production complex at Penuelas on the Puerto Rican south coast. In a statement late last month, Commonwealth said that $20 million of the money from the joint venture sale would go to reduce indebtedness. The remainder, about $6 million, would become working capital. Whether this measure would be enough remains to be seen. Com monwealth currently is negotiating with a large crude oil supplier, Gulf Oil, on an allegedly delayed payment of about $9 million on two recent oil shipments. This case has involved Commonwealth's lenders and has resulted in action to "attach" (freeze) part of the company's bank accounts and receivables. A further move by Commonwealth to obtain future funds has been to find a new equity partner. At present, a major lender to the company is Tesoro Petroleum, which owns about 37% of Commonwealth's stock. Commonwealth says that it is in dis cussions with a number of interested parties. However, the long-run solution to Commonwealth's needs has to be the restoration of health to Puerto Rican petrochemicals. The island's large petrochemical industry was set up to take advantage of Puerto Rican tax breaks and a world oil price that at that time was lower than the U.S. price. The reverse oil price situation caused by the steep increases by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in the past four years has wiped out an essential support. Commonwealth has recouped some of the loss by getting "entitlements" from the Federal Energy Adminis tration on its naphtha supplies. Entitlements are a system of pay ments among oil refiners to equalize
If the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bai ley circus weren't in the middle of its annual springtime run in Washing ton, D.C., the current debate over saccharin might be seen as the Greatest Show on Earth. Seldom has a serious scientific issue sparked from all sides an aura of show biz and public relations chutzpah as the Food & Drug Administration's decision to change the rules over regulating the artificial sweetener. At a press conference last week, FDA commissioner Donald Kennedy, only seven days on the job, an nounced that the agency would: • Ban saccharin from foods and beverages, as it said it would on March 9 when the Canadian studies on the carcinogenic properties of saccharin were announced. • Ban saccharin in cosmetics such as lipstick, toothpaste, and mouth wash as well as from drug coatings. • Propose that saccharin be ap plied for use as an over-the-counter drug. He says FDA would propose that a warning label would be re quired and that manufacturers would have to demonstrate its effective ness. "We believe that the actions we are proposing," Kennedy says, "will eliminate the risk associated with steady consumption of saccharin in foods and beverages and at the same time preserve its benefits for diabetics and others who may need it for some medical purpose." Immediately after the press con ference groups representing diabetics and dieters assembled to protest the decision in front of FDA's downtown building. Later a formal news con ference was held at the National Press Club, led by Dr. Leonard Himes, president of the American Society of Bariatric (weight control) Physicians, and Dr. John Davidson of the Amer ican Diabetes Association. The propaganda over coming weeks will be hot and heavy. And FDA will be faced with trying to ex plain on a cool scientific level why it did what it did. How makers will show how saccharin is effective is anyone's guess. Π
