March 8, 2001

Study that tried to treat Parkinson's disease by implanting fetal substantia nigra cells into patients' brains not only fails to produce an overall benefit but also causes uncontrollable writhing and jerking in about 15 percent of patients; cells apparently grew too well in these patients, and there is no way to remove or deactivate them; study was controversial not only because it used tissue from aborted fetuses but also because it involved sham surgery in control group; drawing (M)

Daewoo Electronics Co, one of Daewoo group of companies that were taken over by creditors in mid-1999, is shutting down 8 of its remaining 62 overseas operations (S)

Early census data show that Hispanic population in United States has grown by more than 60 percent in last decade, to 35.3 million, which compares with 34.7 million for blacks; soaring Hispanic population is driven largely by waves of new immigrants, legal and illegal, as well as by census takers' improved ability to count group; Hispanics are still concentrated in Southwest, California, Florida and New York but new immigrants from Mexico and Central America have moved to states like North Carolina, Georgia and Iowa, whree Hispanic population was almost nonexistent a decade before; graphs (M)

Robots, controlled remotely by technicians, are being tested to install fiber-optic cables through sewer lines without having to tear up city streets; fiber optic cable is used for video, audio and data transmission; CityNet Telecommunications Inc purchased robots from Ka-Te System AG; photo; drawing (M)

Rally in China's small market for stocks denominated in hard currencies evaporates; speculators who poured into market last week begin pulling out, following lead of long-term investors, who began selling on March 6; photo (M)