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Scientists record 3 more flares erupting from sun’s surface f BY JOSEPH B. VERRENGIA TilK ASSOCIATED 1’IIKS.S BOULDER, COLO. - The sun fired at least three more salvos of highly charged particles to ward Earth Sunday and Monday, and scientists said more explo sions from the sun’s surface were likely. The latest solar eruptions brought to six the number of huge flares noted since last Wednesday, one of the most tur bulent periods in solar observa tions since 1940. The sunspots.that have been generating the flares probably will rotate out of view in the next day or so, according to scientists. That would offer Earth a respite from the eruptions and the geo magnetic storms they trigger in the atmosphere, according to the Space Environment Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Sunspots are dark, cooler re gions of the solar surface filled with fierce magnetic energy that can blow like a cosmic volcano. The outbursts pose.no direct danger to people on Earth’s sur face, but satellite operators have been forced to take preventive measures to limit damage from the incoming particles. No problems have been re ported in the United States. Last week, two Japanese satellites were damaged and Sweden expe rienced a blackout, while airline communications on northern routes were disrupted. The speedy particles colliding with the upper atmosphere could generate colorful aurora displays in the night sky as far south as Colorado. ._J THE GAMECOCK Nobody copers USC better. Applications for the Senior Award (Who's Who Among College and University Students/Outstanding Senior) have been made available to nominees. The deadline for returning completed original applications for the Who's Who selection process is 4:00PM, Thursday, November 6, 2003 in the Office of the Director, Department of Student Life, Russell House 115. No late applications will be accepted; applications may not be faxed. The application forms may be downloaded from the Student Government web site, www.sg.sc.edu/apps.htm. Copies are also available in the Student Government Office, at the Russell House Information Desk, and in the Department of Studfent Life, Russell House 115. SusS1 *■ "Wtao BY ROBERT H. REID THE ASSOCIATED I’HESS BAGHDAD, IRAQ - Insurgents struck Tuesday at the center of the U.S.-led occupation, firing mortars after sundown at the heavily guarded district that includes ma jor American facilities. Three peo ple were wounded, the Pentagon said. Spain, a close U.S. ally, with drew many of its diplomats be cause of escalating violence. Huge explosions thundered throughout central Baghdad about 7:45 p.m. as the insurgents target ed the 2-square-mile “Green Zone,” which includes coalition headquarters, the military press center and other key facilities. Iraqi police said two mortars fell in the zone, but U.S. officials said the headquarters itself, locat ed in one of Saddam Hussein’s for mer palaces, was not damaged. However, the huge detonation sent coalition staffers running into the hallways. It was the second mortar attack against the Green Zone in as many days. At the Pentagon, spokesman Lt. Col. Jim Cassella said three peo ple were wounded in the attacks but it was unclear if they were mil itary or civilians. Cassella said there appeared to have been three explosions, possi bly from mortars or rockets. The attack underscored the pre carious security situation in the city: Late Monday, three mortars exploded in the center of Baghdad. U.S. officials said one struck a camp of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which provides security in the palace district. Officials said there was no damage or casualties. The deteriorating security sit uation has prompted the United Nations, the international Red Cross and other international or ganizations to reduce their foreign staffs. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Ana Palacio said Spain will with draw 25 of the 29-member Spanish diplomatic staff from Baghdad. Most will be relocated to Amman, Jordan. Spain has about 1,300 sol diers in Iraq and was one of the strongest supporters of the U.S. led invasion. Elsewhere, insurgents Tuesday ambushed a U.S. patrol with rock et-propelled grenades in Khaldiyah, a town west of Baghdad in the volatile “Sunni Triangle,” witnesses said. There were no reports of casualties and no confirmation from the U.S. command. The Arabic language satellite television station Al-Jazeera re ported an ambush Tuesday near Samara north of the capital and broadcast pictures of cheering Iraqis displaying American am munition as a truck burned in the background. U.S. troops, meanwhile, raided the village of Karasia near Tikrit late Monday, arresting two sus pects and seizing Kalashnikov ri fles, 14 mortar rounds, a mortar tube and rocket-propelled grenades and launchers, the mili tary said. In Mosul, gunmen killed a provincial judge Tuesday near his home. Ismail Youssef, a Christian, was a deputy to the head of the appeal courts in Nineveh province. On Monday, the head of an Iraqi court who was investigating members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party, Muhan Jabr al-Shuweily, was ab ducted and murdered in the southern city Najaf. A colleague who was spared said he believed the killers were supporters of Saddam. The Spanish withdrawal fol lowed the slaying of a Spanish navy captain in the truck bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad on Aug. 19, and the Oct. 9 killing of a Spanish sergeant working for mil itary intelligence. Security at the Spanish Embassy had been stepped up in recent weeks. —Associated Press writers Mariam Fam in Mosul, Katarina Kratovac in Tikrit and Bassem Mroue in Baghdad contributed to this report. Spain, a close U.S. ally, withdrew many of its diplomats because of the escalating violence. Security at the Spanish Embassy had been stepped up recently. » _ Phat, Phones' Motorola v6oi Nokia 3560 Nokia 636o full-color screen nr\ ) with sweet games. ) voice dialing. » ) custom ringtones. ) check out our cool calling plans, too. starting as low as $30 a month. AT&T Wireless WeGetlt. SunComl I Member of the AW Wireless Network SUNCOM STORE LOCATIONS STORE HOURS: M-F 9A-7P WEEKENO HOURS: SAT 10A-6P COLUMBIA Columbiana Centre Columbiana Place Two Notch Rd CAMDEN LEXINGTON FT. 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SunCom reserves the right to terminate your agreement if more than 50* of your minutes are not on the SunCom Networks. SunCom service available for residents of specified ZIP codes only. Other fees such as taxes, utility use. directory assistance, universal service fund, toll, roaming and long distance apply. See stores for details. ©SunCom 2003. BY LINDSEY TANNER THE ASSOCIATED I'llKSS * CHICAGO - Intravenous doses of a synthetic component of “good” cholesterol reduced artery disease in just six weeks in a small study with startlingly big impli cations for treating the nation’s No. 1 killer. “The concept is sort of liquid Drano for the coronary arteries,” said Dr. Steven Nissen, a Cleveland Clinic cardiologist who led the study. Larger and longer studies need to be done to determine if the ex perimental treatment will trans late into fewer deaths, but the ear ly results are promising, said Dr. Daniel Rader, director of preven tive cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The treatment used a laborato ry-produced version of an unusu ally effective form of HDL, the good cholesterol that helps protect against heart disease by removing plaque, or fatty buildups, from the bloodstream. “This is clearly on the level ot a breakthrough that will have far reaching implications,” pointing the way toward a rapid treatment for fatty buildups, said Dr. Bryan Brewer, chief of molecular dis eases at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The surprisingly quick re sults, though preliminary, shat ter a long-standing belief that heart disease is a slow-progress ing disease that takes a long time to undo, said Rader, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association. While some existing medicines target HDL, most conventional drug treatment works by reduc ing levels of LDL cholesterol, the bad kind that contributes to the formation of plaques that can clog arteries and lead to heart attacks. Nissen’s study is part of a bur geoning area of research that fo cuses on treatments that raise HDL levels or improve HDL’s plaque-fighting abilities. His findings stem from an un usual discovery about 25 years ago in the northern Italian village of Limone Sul Gardia. Italian researchers found that 40 residents there had very low HDL levels, yet paradoxically had low rates of coronary artery disease. Lab tests revealed a likely ex-, „ planation: All had a gene variatior in a key protein component of HDL. The variation contributed to larger-than-normal HDL parti cles, which is believed to make HDL cholesterol especially effi cient at removing plaque. Scientists made a synthetic form of the protein, which was found to reduce plaque buildups rapidly in mice and rabbits. The product was first tested and shown to be safe for use in hu mans. This latest round of experi ments is the first time the sub stance has been used to actually treat narrowing of the arteries in The study was funded by ' Esperion Therapeutics Inc. 01 Ann Arbor, Mich., a small biotechnology company that makes the product. In the study, 36 patients who had had heart attacks or severe chest pain received weekly in travenous infusions of the sub stance for five weeks. Eleven patients received dummy treatments. At six weeks, imaging tests showed the patients receiving the synthetic protein had a visible 4 percent reduction in plaque buildup in their coronary arter ies. There was no significant change in the placebo group. Rader called the results “sur prising to even the most opti mistic supporters" of using HDL to treat narrowing of the , arteries. \ Nissen said he envisions the treatment being used in combina tion with other therapy including LDL-lowering drugs, but that com mercial use is probably a few years off and will depend on the outcome of larger studies. SURFYOURSELF Visit the of the American Heart Association Web site at http://www.amcrlcanheart.org