European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 15, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Focus of iceman s by Malcolm Ritter the associated press Ore than 5,000 years ago he Lay Down in c the tyrolean Alps and died. Three years ago his Frozen and exquisitely preserved body. Emerged from a Faciey and made worldwide headlines. Now scientists report they have used a rays and Modem technology to create highly accurate replicas of the Skull of the ancient iceman the accomplishment should help scientists study the iceman and recreate what the doomed Man s face looked like when he was alive the researchers say. The replicas should reveal for the first time just How the iceman s facial Bones were slowly distorted by sons of pressure from the glacial ice said team member Horst Seidler of the University of Vienna. A a a a a a. A c a. In prior a Ray studies of the Skull Quot no one saw the iceman s Skull is truly deformed Quot Seidler said. With the help of the copies researchers now can reconstruct Quot a nearly True face Quot he said. T to / a one analysis has revealed that the part of the iceman s face Between his upper Teeth and the top of his nose was pressed toward the rear of his head for example. That misled Seidler and colleagues in their earlier interpretation of How the upper Teeth originally met the lower Teeth. The iceman covered with leathery Orange Brown skin is now kept in Innsbruck Austria Frozen at High humidity to mimic the glacial conditions that preserved his body so Well. Researchers who want to examine it Are limited to about 20 minutes every two weeks. It austrian researchers decided to make the Skull of the iceman shows distortions that can Bea investigated through the use of a computerized copies right. Copies of the Skull so that scientists could study details of it at Leisure without disturbing the iceman said radiologist Dietzer Zur Nedden of the University of Innsbruck. Quot it s impossible to take All the measurements. It s impossible to see inside the Mummy because you can t destroy it Quot he said. He and colleagues used a technique called stereo lithography that also is used at a few medical centers to make models of body parts. The body part models Are useful for building nip replacements or planning Complex surgery to fix misshapen skulls. To copy the iceman s Skull researchers removed die iceman from its Freezer to an examination room kept at about 45 degrees fahrenheit. Then they scanned the head with an a Ray technique called computed tomography which allowed a computer to store electronic Quot slices Quot of the Skull. A second computer used this information to build Skull replicas slice by slice using a laser beam to shape plastic. The copies reveal not Only the exterior of the Skull but also its Interior shape and Bones. Quot scientists have made three Skull copies so far each better than the fast and Hope to reproduce the entire iceman Skeleton Zur Nedden said. By Robin Mckie London observer scientists have uncovered the nationality of the iceman found near the austrian italian Border his toilet paper shows he must have been italian. This bizarre piece of detective work has been carried out by researchers led by James Dickson at botanist at Glasgow University in Scotland who has been studying the 30 different types of mosses found near the iceman s body. Quot mosses were often used a until relatively recently a for wiping Quot Dickson said. Quot people would grab a clump and use it later. That is what the iceman must have  the discovery of the oldest intact human body almost triggered a diplomatic incident Between the two countries As scientists battled Over custody of the Corpse. A truce was called with the body being stored in Innsbruck Austria but where does he really belong was he from land that is now on the italian or the austrian Side of the Border this is a crucial question Given the fierce Battle that still surrounds ownership of his body. Archaeological studies suggested he was Quot italian Quot because the nearest known Stone age settlements to the site of his body s discovery were to the South in the Vinsch Gau Valley in the Sud Tirol of Italy. Now Dickson and his researchers have uncovered crucial evidence that they argue clinches the Issue. Quot among All the clothes and belongings that were scattered around the body were clumps and traces of Moss Quot Dickson said Quot and among those we found one Type Necker com Tanata in fairly Large  1 the nearest source of Necker co Planata is the Vinsch Gau Valley As researchers claimed. Quot the Bottom line is simple the iceman was italian Quot said Dickson. Scrip a Howard news service science shorts carrots Good for eyes Mother was right about carrots. They a along with a Host of other vegetables that contain carotenoids a do seem to help Ward off a degenerative Eye condition that a a leading cause of adult blindness according to a report in the journal of the american medical association. Studies of patients at four hospitals around the country found that the 20 percent who consumed the most carotenoids had a 43 percent lower risk of age related Macular degeneration which affects the Central Retina. Carotenoids Are any of a class of yellow to deep red pigments carotene found in Many Green Leafy and yellow vegetables and some animal products researchers at the Harvard medical school who conducted the study speculate that the nutrients help Block damage to the Retina and perhaps also help maintain blood flow to the eyes. Artificial elbows praised Siil us or in of Cut in file n re it. Is the Bone joint replacement operations. Though not performed nearly As frequently As knee and hip replacements artificial elbows Are very effective says Mayo clinic s or. Bernard Morrey head of the medical centers department of orthopaedics. Morrey said studies have shown that 90 percent of those who get total Elbow replacements have excellent Arm mobility and Are free of pain five years after surgery. Mayo has performed 500 of the surgical replacements in the past decade. He recommended the operation for patients who Quot have enormous problems in dealing with pain and in conducting their daily activities he said. Quot for severe arthritis there Are few other solutions that work As Well As total Elbow Arthro pasty Elbow replacement Quot advice on flu shots though experts Are predicting a moderate flu season people at High risk should still get flu shots this includes the elderly and people with impaired defense systems. This fall and Winter s predominant flu Likely will be influenza a the illness Milder version says or. W. Paul Glezen an epidemiologist at the influenza research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Influenza tends to run in cycles with a Strain flu dominating one year and a Strain the next he explained. This year its the a Strain s turn. The vaccine is about 85 percent effective and does no to cause illness Glezen said. Vaccinated people who get the flu will have a less severe Case. Testosterone and aging regular injections of the male hormone testosterone show Promise of being a min Fountain of youth for older men reversing some effects of aging according to a study released this summer. The shots increased muscle strength Antone improved body balance and boosted red blood cell counts a study at the St. Louis University school of Medicine found. The subjects also showed a slight improvement in memory and some of them boasted of increased sex drives. The study was conducted by or. Rahma Wati sch a research Fediow at the school s division of geriatric Medicine. She said that results Are preliminary and not a signal for widespread injections of testosterone which so far has been approved by the food and drug administration Only for treatment of male impotence. A from wire reports is i s i n a a y v i d or i. S a d it s c s i v n a. S i e 22 the stars and stripes tuesday november 15,1994