up079601|Earth's inner core found to be spinning independently|<STRONG>Earth's core found to be spinning independently</STRONG><P>Scientists announced on July 18, 1996, that Earth's inner corerotates separately and at a faster speed than the rest of the planet. Scientists at the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory in Palisades, New York, a part of New York City's Columbia University, made the discovery. Earth's core is made up of a dense, solid inner portion consisting mostly of iron surrounded by an outer core of melted iron combined with a small amount of other elements, most likely oxygen or sulfur.</P><P>Scientists said that the 1,500-mile- (2,400-kilometer-) wide inner core rotates in the same direction as the Earth but completes its once-a-day rotation about two-thirds of a second faster than the entire Earth. Due to the inner core's extra rotational speed, it makes one more turn than Earth every 400 years, the scientists said.</P><P>The finding that Earth's inner core spins independently may help to explain how it contributes to the formation of Earth's magnetic field. A magnetic field surrounds the Earth and is similar to that which surrounds a coil of wire when electricity flows through it. The magnetic field extends into space and deflects deadly radioactive particles from the sun, allowing life to exist on Earth. The Columbia finding suggested that the interaction of the inner and outer cores is an important part of the formation of Earth's magnetic field.</P>
up079602|Researchers claim better AIDs treatment|<STRONG>Researchers claim better AIDs treatment</STRONG><P>Researchers touted the results of a new AIDs treatment in July 1996 that reduced the levels of HIV virus in many patients' blood to undetectable levels. The treatment involved a combination of three drugs and featured a new class of drugs called protease inhibitors. Researchers announced preliminary results of tests involving the new treatment at the 11th International AIDs conference, from July 7 to 12 in Vancouver, Canada.</P><P>The standard treatment for HIV infection in the mid-1990's was AZT along with one or more other drugs in the same class as AZT. These drugs, called nucleosides, work by blocking the action of an enzyme critical to the reproduction of HIV. Nucleosides do not eliminate HIV from the body, however, and scientists had sought a more effective treatment since the late 1980's. </P><P>The triple-drug treatment included a protease inhibitor along with AZT and another nucleoside, such as a drug called 3TC. Protease inhibitors work by blocking an enzyme called protease that the HIV virus needs to reproduce and infect other cells. Nucleosides work against other HIV enzymes. The United States Food and Drug Administration approved one protease inhibitor for treating AIDs in December 1995 and two more in March 1996.</P><P>Several studies reported at the July AIDS conference showed that the triple-drug treatment reduced the concentration of HIV virus in some patients' blood by as much as 99 percent. Following the treatment, the number of immune cells called T cells, which are crucial to a person's ability to fight infection, also rose significantly in many AIDs patients.</P><P>Since none of the studies lasted longer than 15 months, AIDs researchers said that they were unsure how long the triple-drug therapy would work, however. There were also side effects from the new therapy in some patients, including nausea, bloating, diarrhea, kidney stones, and numbness or tingling around the mouth. The high cost of the treatment--as much as $18,000 a year--was also a negative factor.</P>
up079603|Researchers regenerate spinal cords in rats|<STRONG>Researchers say spinal cord regeneration may be possible</STRONG><P>Scientists announced on July 26 that they had successfully regenerated nerves in severed spinal cords in rats, allowing the animals limited use of their paralyzed hind legs. Experts hailed the announcement as a breakthrough because it was the first time nerves had been regenerated in the severed spinal cords of adult rats. The experiment raised the possibility that doctors may someday be able to regrow severed or damaged human spinal cords. Researchers affiliated with the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and the National Yang-Ming University in Taiwan made the discovery.</P><P>The researchers regrew nerves across a gap created by slicing out a portion of the rats' spinal cord. They took pieces of nerves from the rats' ribcages and bundled them like a cable. They held the nerve bundle in place with other rat tissue and tiny wires.</P>
up079604|Burundi president ousted in coup|<STRONG>Burundi president ousted in coup</STRONG><P>On July 25, 1996, Burundi's Tutsi-led military overthrew President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya and installed Pierre Buyoya, a retired army major, as president. Buyoya had served as president of Burundi from 1987 to 1993 after seizing power in a coup.</P>
up079605|Graf and Krajicek take Wimbledon crowns|<STRONG>Graf and Krajicek take Wimbledon crowns</STRONG><P>Germany's Steffi Graf won her seventh consecutive Wimbledon singles title on July 6 with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Spain's Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Graf lost only one set during the entire tournament.</P><P>Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands won his first Wimbledon singles title on July 7 by defeating MaliVai Washington of the United States, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. Krajicek was Wimbledon's first Dutch champion. He defeated top-seeded and three-time defending Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras on his way to the finals. The men's final was the first played between two unseeded players.</P><P>Australia's Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde won their fourth consecutive doubles title on July 6 with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 decision over Byron Black of Zimbabwe and Grant Connell of Canada.</P><P>Martina Hingis and Helena Sukova of the Czech Republic won the women's doubles title on July 8 with a 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 victory over Meredith McGrath of the United States and Larisa Neiland of Latvia. At age 15, Hingis became the youngest woman ever to win a Wimbledon title. </P>
up079606|Arkansas governor Tucker resigns|<STRONG>Arkansas governor Tucker resigns</STRONG><P>Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker resigned on July 15, 1996, in the wake of his conviction in May 1996 on fraud and conspiracy charges related to a failed real estate development called Whitewater. Lieutenant Governor Mike Huckabee was sworn in as Tucker's replacement on the same day. Huckabee was only the fifth Republican governor of Arkansas since it became a state in 1836.</P>
up079607|Tom Lehman wins British Open|<STRONG>Tom Lehman wins British Open</STRONG><P>Tom Lehman of the United States won the British Open on July 21 by two strokes over Mark McCumber of the United States and South African Ernie Els. Lehman shot a 72-hole score of 271 on the Royal Lytham course in Lytham St. Annes. The win was Lehman's first of a major championship.</P>
up079608|Ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson dies|<STRONG>Ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson dies</STRONG><P>Ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson died on July 28, 1996, in Old Lyme, Connecticut, at the age of 87.</P>
