The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • A10

By LAURA MECKLER Associated Press Washington President bioethics advisers rejected a permanent ban on cloning for biomedical research Thursday, taking a middle ground in the debate over the promise of science versus the perils of research using human embryos. The Council on Bioethics was itself divided on what course Congress should take, but neither of two recommendations put forward supports the permanent ban favored by Bush and approved by the House last year. The White House said the report would not change view on cloning for research. position is based on said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. attempt to clone a human being is morally The idea, not yet tried in humans, is to create a cloned embryo and then extract its stem cells, which may be developed into replacement tissue and organs for patients sick with a host of incurable diseases.

A cloned embryo might overcome tissue rejection problems, researchers hope. Opponents say wrong to create a human embryo a new life and then destroy it; supporters say more important to save existing lives through medical advances. A slim majority 10 of 18 members favored a four- year moratorium on research cloning to allow for further public debate. Seven members said scientists should be allowed to move ahead under strict regulations. One member who failed to attend most meetings took no position.

council, reflecting the differences of opinion in American society, is divided regarding the ethics of research involving cloned the report said. A divided report had been expected. In February, the chairman, Leon Kass, said opinions were so wide-ranging that he was abandoning hope of finding consensus. position was announced before the council began, and several members said their report belies those who said Bush was stacking the panel with people who agreed with him. report will put that charge to said Michael J.

Sendel, a government professor at Harvard University who opposed the moratorium. Bush panel split on future Slim majority favors stall for public talks Continued from A1 massive instrument that weighs more than 2 tons with his own hands and metal parts scrounged from Atlanta junkyards. In a field dominated by professionals, Puckett, 40, is proud to be an amateur, a term that he likes to point out refers to those who pursue an avocation for love, not money. He bought his first telescope in Atlanta at age 16. He built his first telescope, worth tens of thousands of dollars, when he was 25.

And when the lights of Atlanta got too bright for effective astronomy, he bought 15 acres outside Ellijay and moved his equipment there. may not look like the greatest place in the world to do astronomy, but I think the numbers speak for says Puckett. This year alone, his group has found 12 supernovas. astronomers tend to look down on us because we have Ph.D.’s,” he says, if amateurs find supernovas, they have anything to Cosmic flashlights Supernovas, most of them too faint to be seen by the naked eye, exactly rare. More than 200 are discovered every year.

But spotting them early is crucial to learning from them. Most fade and disappear within months. As the last gasps of dying stars, supernovas contain a wealth of information about stellar evolution. As veritable cosmic flashlights, the tiny points of light from distant galaxies may also help astronomers resolve one of knottiest questions: the rate at which the universe is expanding. Until a few decades ago, supernova discoveries largely were the province of major observatories.

But as their number and capabilities have grown, amateur astronomers have played a growing role in the process of discovery. Amateurs including a truck driver in Midlothian, a minister in Coonabarabran, Australia; a professional musician in Milan, Italy now make roughly a third of all supernova discoveries. discoveries have just been going through the says Michael Schwartz, who collaborates with the Lick supernova search program in California, which leads the world in supernova discoveries. amateurs like Tim Puckett are doing a real service for professional astronomers. They provide a steady stream of new ones to study before they fade.

a little like the farm system for the major For most amateurs, discovery is its own reward. That, and the chance to have your name forever associated with a dying star in a distant galaxy, often is the only reward. When it comes to exploding stars, however, supernova hunters find it hard to stop at just one. your 10th supernova is every bit as exciting as your says Alex Langoussis, a North Georgia amateur who works with Puckett. He has 11 with his name on them.

as amateurs get better, getting more difficult to be the first to find In the small circle of serious supernova searchers, there is no glory in being No. 2. The competitive nature of the quest assures that their work is a solitary, sometimes secretive, pursuit. Although they know each names from their reports to the astronomical union, many of them have never spoken to each other. Enterprising system Because supernovas appear randomly and without warning, discovery is a tedious process that requires comparing each pinpoint of light in a small patch of night sky with those in the same patch on a previous night.

If something new shows up, it might be an exploding star. The more sky a telescope sees in a given night, the higher the odds of discovery. And the faster images can be compared, the better. The secret of remarkable string of discoveries lies in the extensive sky coverage his telescopes have from the Ellijay hilltop and an enterprising system that makes use of a dozen pairs of eyes in the United States and Canada. Making preprogrammed sweeps of the night sky, two telescopes record up to 1,000 digital images about one a minute in a typical night, each covering a portion of the sky smaller than the disc of the full moon.

Miss a patch and a competitor in Tucson, may find a supernova in it two hours later. By the time telescopes shut down with approaching dawn, he has divided and e-mailed the images along with matching ones from a previous night for comparison to a handful of volunteers in the United States and Canada. Using proprietary search software, they compare the digital images and report back. Before nightfall, the volunteers notify Puckett if any of the images contain suspected supernovas. As soon as that region of the sky stars comes into view, he directs the telescope to that spot for a confirming look.

If the pinpoint of light is still there, he quickly notifies the Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, which tracks all reports of new celestial objects. a task that Puckett takes seriously. A string of cloudy days that prevent viewing is a cause for genuine anguish. If clear, holidays, weekends and special occasions get in the way of the search. a lot of work to send out all these files, but if I feed them to the volunteers, they may lose interest.

I have to keep them motivated and keep the stats Missing an emerging supernova, particularly one that is later discovered by some competing supernova hunter, is not recommended, even for unpaid volunteers. all make mistakes, but we had one fellow who missed four of Puckett says, shaking his head. not with us The current pace of activity leaves Puckett wondering if he could do more. In a decade or so, he suspects that most supernova discoveries will be done by totally automated search programs. In the meantime, building a third telescope that he hopes will accelerate his own discoveries.

people might think 54 is enough, but I he says, casting a look of disdain at the sky that promises a 10th straight night of cloud cover. There will be no new supernovas tonight. hundred is a nice round number. Maybe after that, find something else to Supernova scouts scour North Georgia skies RMAIN0712OA10FMAIN0712OA10 4 Star 10A 10A RR RR BlueRedYellowBlack BlueRedYellowBlack A10 Friday, July 12, 2002 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 4.