ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 3, 1996 TAG: 9612030109
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
Spacecraft finds ice on moon
WASHINGTON - The moon, long thought to be bone dry, has a pond of ice hidden deep inside a crater, scientists disclosed Monday, increasing chances that humans may someday live on its surface.
The discovery came from the Clementine spacecraft, which used radar signals to examine the moon's deep craters.
Officials at the Pentagon, who co-sponsored the project with NASA, planned an announcement of the findings at a news conference today.
``If you could wish for any one thing there to make it easier to explore with, it would be water,'' said Anthony Cook, astronomical observer at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
The ice was found in a huge crater deep in the south pole of the moon, said Rick Lehner, spokesman for the Pentagon's Ballistic Missile Defense Organization. He said that a panel of scientists has concluded that the ice is frozen water.
- Associated Press
Woman wins Space Medal of Honor
WASHINGTON - Shannon Lucid, the astronaut who spent a record 188 days in space this year, became the first woman to be awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. President Clinton praised her as a ``determined visionary.''
- Associated Press
Start mammograms at 40, studies say
CHICAGO - Adding to the debate over how soon and how often women should be screened for breast cancer, three studies presented Monday suggest that women should begin having regular mammograms at age 40.
The findings contradict the position of the National Cancer Institute, which recommends regular breast cancer screenings for women in their 50s and 60s.
Dr. Stephen Feig, director of breast imaging at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, concluded they cost less for the lives they save than automobile seat belts and air bags.
Feig said annual screening could cut breast cancer deaths 35 percent to 40 percent among women ages 40 to 49, compared to only a 25 to 30 percent drop in deaths if women are screened every two years.
Dr. Barnett Kramer, deputy director of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control at the National Cancer Institute, said Feig's research - and the two other studies - aren't conclusive enough to recommend regular screenings beginning at 40.
In addition to the cost of mammograms - $40 to $150 - the tests can produce false results, which can mean stressful and unnecessary biopsies. ``There is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against routine mammography for women ages 40 to 49 or 70 or older,'' Kramer said.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Medium: 58 linesby CNB