September 22, 2003

Political Memo speculates on what Mayor Michael Bloomberg will do now that politicians and labor unions plan grass-roots campaign to defeat his proposal for nonpartisan elections in New York City(M)

Review papers published in several sports-medicine journals question weekend athletes' heavy reliance on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, known as Nsaids; note that not all the pain felt after exercise is caused by inflammation; some sports-medicine experts are concerned that athletes who rely too heavily on Nsaids may be at risk for serious side effects that can accompany chronic use of these drugs; while side effects are rare in those who use recommended dosage for short duration, there is evidence that many competitive athletes abuse drugs to squelch debilitating pain and to remain active (Special section, Men & Health) (M)

Sun Microsystems researchers are set to announce that they have found way to transmit data inside computer 60 to 100 times faster than possible now by placing edge of one chip directly in contact with its neighbor; revolutionary advance could make traditional circuit board obsolete; new technology is being developed as part of military-financed supercomputer effort; Sun executives say they seek commercial uses; breakthrough is based on insight by Sun vice president Ivan E Sutherland; photo; diagrams (M)

Pres Jacques Chirac says France will approve new United Nations resolution only if it recognizes need for immediate transfer of sovereignty in Iraq to Iraqis, int; lays out two-stage plan for Iraqi self-rule, with first stage being symbolic transfer of sovereignty from American hands to existing 25-member Iraqi Governing Council, followed by gradual ceding of real power over period of six to nine months; says France is ready to train Iraqi police officers and soldiers--either in or out of Iraq--if Security Council could agree on empowering Iraqis at once; says France has no intention of sending troops to be part of American-led occupation force, but suggests that circumstances could change; says he does not intend to veto Bush administration's proposed United Nations resolution to attract more foreign troops and international funds to Iraq unless it becomes 'provocative'; but says France will abstain unless resolution includes deadline for transfer of sovereignty and timetable for transfer of power, as well as 'key role' for UN; photos (M)

Researchers in Iceland say they have discovered first gene that underlies common forms of stroke, disease that affects more than 600,000 people a year in United States; say people with particular version of gene have three to five times greater risk of stroke; this is as large as or larger than known environmental risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking; Dr Kari Stefansson of Decode Genetics, company doing research, says new gene makes enzyme that is good target for drugs, and Roche pharmaceutical company in Switzerland is already testing several such drugs in laboratory rats; new gene had not previously been implicated in stroke; its detection may open new insights into mechanisms of disease; Decode's work is reported in journal Nature Genetics; Dr Jonathan Rosand, American stroke specialist, hails finding but cautions that study is unlikely to yield new treatments any time soon and needs to be confirmed by other researchers in other populations (M)