December 29, 1998

The Doctor's World article by Lawrence K Altman on Babe Ruth's death in 1948 from rare naso-pharyngeal cancer that arose in air passages at back of his nose and mouth and later spread; Ruth was one of first patients to receive chemotherapy, and possibly the first to get combination chemotherapy and radiation; images of hoarse Ruth at Yankee Stadium farewell contributed to myth even among doctors that he had throat cancer, possibly linked to his heavy drinking, smoking and use of snuff; study of The New York Times microfilmed articles on death and autopsy report reveal details of treatments that dramatically eased his suffering, but only temporarily; Ruth, whose health started failing in 1946, may not have been told directly that he had cancer, but he was given experimental drug teropterin by Dr Richard Lewisohn's team at Mt Sinai Hospital, and, later, radiation at Memorial Hospital; he died of pneumonia on August 16, 1948; photos (M)

NBA Comr David Stern says there will be no more negotiations, tweaking of deals or give and take; urges that players be allowed to vote on owners' latest offer; Billy Hunter, union exec dir, says he believes there is still room for movement, still time to talk; photo of Alonzo Mourning and Karl Malone in Dec 19 exhibition game (M)

Anthony Tommasini Critic's Notebook column deplores Nicholas Joel's 'appallingly bad' production of Lucia di Lammermoor for Metropolitan Opera and the company's 'grostesquely overdone' Traviata, newly staged by Franco Zeffirelli; Joseph Volpe, Met's general manager, says company can take chances with 20th-century works but must stick with traditional approaches when it comes to 19th-century 'bread-and-butter' operas; photo (M)

Article profiles Germany's Interior Min Otto Schily, who typifies new class that has come to power and is changing country's political culture; new breed of politicians has more checkered past and more nuanced allegiances; represent departure from scene of more predictable German--solid, solemn and unsurprising--which US and allies find disorienting; Schily comments; photo (M)

Astronomers use natural phenomenon known as gravitational lensing to map otherwise invisible 'dark matter' surrounding distant galaxies; phenomenon occurs when a distant galaxy or cluster of galaxies intersects light from an even more distant galaxy on its way to earth; exploiting this trick with sensitive cameras and advanced computer technologies allows astronomers to make new measurements of age of universe, to search for planets and other unseen objects, to probe structure and nature of quasars and, of surpassing importance, to weigh the universe; Dr Christopher D Impey of University of Arizona and Dr J Anthony Tyson of Bell Labs explain; photos; drawings (M)