October 10, 2004

Anemona Hartocollis Coping column on what seems to be cultural shift in which fathers are bringing their infants and children to pediatricians on Manhattan's Upper West Side; John Edwards, film producer who seems to have started trend 15 years ago, says he never set out to change pediatrician etiquette; Dr Max Van Gilder, who Edwards once visited, says he no longer works in all-women's world; drawing (M)

Question of whether prayer can heal illness remains deeply controversial area of research; prayer researchers, many of them believers in prayer's healing powers, say scientists do not need to know how treatment or intervention works before testing it; critics express outrage that federal government has in last four years contributed $2.3 million in taxpayer money to finance prayer research which they say has nothing to do with science; Dr Richard Nahin, adviser at National Institutes of Health, says studies are meant to answer practical questions, not religious ones; notes that mechanisms of action of various antidepressants and general anesthetics are also under investigation; says recent government study found that 45 percent of adults prayed specifically for health reasons, and suggests that many of them were poor people with limited access to care; some studies detailed; photos (L)

New York Yankees player Ruben Sierra's three-run home run in American League Division Series game against Minnesota Twins helps lead Yankees to 6-5 win and prompts Sierra to admit he has matured as player since his notoriously rebellious initial seasons with Yankees; photos (M)

Sen John Kerry's elitist reputation is result of his unusual background, growing up in family with little extra money but with very wealthy and generous relatives; relatives helped pay for his education at exclusive private schools and at Yale; he spent summers at estate in France belonging to grandparents; he has been married to two very wealthy women, Julia Thorne and Teresa Heinz Kerry; Heinz Kerry owns four homes and fifth is co-owned with Kerry; they guard their privacy scrupulously; detailed look at Kerry's upbringing; photos (L)

Dexter Filkins article holds that Iraq has become shrinking country for dozens of newspaper and television reporters covering war; says business of reporting in Iraq has become truncated affair limited by violence all around; says vast and challenging land that we entered in March 2003 has shriveled into medievel city-state, grim and edgy place where only question is how much more territory we will lose; drawing (M)