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ON 2-PAGE 8-PLAINDEALER - WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER M, 1*M I H News 1 Nation/World tar Wars' invades the ew laser technology causes weeds to self-destruct B| United Press International >AIGN, 111. -Weeds can a new class of plant- substances called laser rblcides without damaging i, University of Illinois scien- i have revealed. plant commits suicide in * sense that it has made a com- that is killing it," said Con- A. Eebeiz, a professor of t physiology and leader of the group that discovered i new kind of herbicides, fit makes that compound, ac- lulates it and when the sun. tes up, the plant self- Rebeiz said. chemicals in the herbicide light to kill and cause a plant to stockpile a virtual powder keg of light-sensitive chemicals. The rising sun then triggers a chain reaction of destruction and death, the scientists said. v Laser herbicides kill many weeds troublesome to farmers but leave corn, wheat, barley and oats unharmed, Rebels said, because those crops manufacture chlorophyll differently than the weeds* "The laser herbicide is very ef­ ficient at very low concentra­ tions," he said. "It is very specific and it is a natural compound, which means it's biodegradable and its environmental impact should be negligible." Announcement of the discovery was made jointly Sunday by the UP I photo YOUR WEDDING TUX *34.95! When you register by October 15,1984 The cost of formalwear doesn't have to be expensive! Stop in the store for details and let us show you the latest fashions and colors from... after 4% • WWMOLS Six * itrnfftifw On The Woodstock Square university and the National Science Foundat ion in Washington, D.C. The results were reported in the September issue of the British journal, "En­ zyme and Microbial Technology." The development of laser her­ bicides took advantage of recent advances in the understanding of the greening process in plants. That greening process is the way- plants make chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the green pig­ ment in plants that causes photosynthesis, the mechanism plants use to convert sunlight to plant material. Rebeiz said the prime ingre­ dient of the laser herbicide is an amino acid found in all plant and animal cells called delta- aminolaevulnic acid, or ALA. Specifically, ALA is used to make a group of extremely light- sensi t ive chemicals cal led te t rapyrroles that form chlorophyll in the presence of sunlight, its said. The lastr herbicide is sprayed just before sunset and absorbed by the plants. A chemical ac­ tivator in the herbicide is spurred by the darkness and tetrapyrroles are formed at a rapid rate. Since no light is present at night, the tetrapyrroles are not processed into chlorophyll. They build up a vast reservoir of light-sensitive chemicals. The situation resembles that of a keg of explosive black powder being filled a little at a time, and sunlight can be compared to a match. "If you let these biochemical precursors accumulate, as in daylight, then you won't have any problem -- only a steady fizzle," Rebeiz said. "But if you allow them to build up in large amounts and Ignite them all at once with sunlight, then the whole thing is going to explode. "By allowing them .to ac­ cumulate at night, you are letting them form a critical mass. The plant has allowed the black powder keg to build up, and in the morning you are putting a match to it." What happens in the first few hours after the sun rises is nothing short of an escalating chain reac­ tion of destruction, Rebeiz said. Presidential campaigning is strong in rural communities By United Press International - SPRINGFIELD, IU. - The residential batUe is brewing in II- inois, and nowhere is the fight more evident than in the rural areas of the state as both can­ didates try to harvest the farm vote. President Reagan and Democratic challenger Walter Mondale have made several trips to the land of Lincoln and other farm belt states and their inten­ tions, they say, are to make several more. Both men realize the farm vote, especially in a key state like Illinois, may make the difference in who resides in the White House the next four years. Each has pointed the finger at the other, claiming their policies have hurt or will in the future do damage to the men and women out in the fields. Reagan, in a recent visit to Decatur, used the rural backdrop to attack the policies of his predecessor Jimmy Carter and Mondale, the former vice presi­ dent, and to point to the positive things his administration has done for agriculture. "From our first day in office, we have been trying to help the farm community recover from past policy mistakes and economic dif­ ficulties," he said. Reagan said his administration insists that the Agriculture Department put farmers first and charged that practice was not a lways done in the past . Specifically, he is reminding farmers that it was the Carter ad­ ministration that was responsible for the Soviet grain embargo, which he cal led "cynical , wrongheaded, (and) totally un­ fair." The president also attacked Mondale's campaign promise to back domestic content legislation -- a plan requiring American parts and labor In certain pro­ ducts -- saying "a true friend" of farmers would renounce such "misguided" legislation. Elderly citizens join effort to save Statue of Liberty By United Press International BELLEVUE, Wash. -- A group of elderly men and women have enlisted in the campaign to restore the Statue of Liberty, which for many was their first sight of Aiherica as young im­ migrants. Residents of the Bellevue Ter­ race Nursing Center -- some con­ fined to wheelchairs or unable to walk without the help of a walker or cane -- will compete in a "walk for liberty" Sept. 25 to benefit a multi-million dollar restoration of the statue. Family, friends and other spon­ sors have pledged to pay a certain amount for every mile the 'pa­ tients complete on a quarter-mile course. "Our patients grew up with the Statue of Liberty," said Gina Williams, acUvity director at Bellevue Terrace. "They're a very patriotic group." The walk is part of fund-raising efforts nationwide sponsored by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation headed by Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca. So far, the foundation has raised more than $100 million to repair the corrosion that has eaten away at the statue since it was dedicated in 1886. Williams said she first learned of the statue's plight through her young daughter, who was taking part in a money-making event for x the statue through her school. ft She decided that senior citizens, too, should be encouraged to par­ ticipate. "I'd like to raise their self- esteem," Williams said. "So many of them feel they're not significant and they can't con- « tribute." As a result, the Bellevue effort has become a role model for the ' nat ional foundat ion as a fun- * draiser that specifically involves' senior citizens, said Esther ' Rosenberg, director of the founda­ tion's National Grassroots Cam- • palgn. "It's a terrific example to other communities," Rosenberg said. "It's a tremendous boost for us to : have this kind of activity." That such an effort is being con­ ducted on the other side of the na- ' tlon from the statue's location in - New YOrk harbor, Rosenberg • noted, "also demonstrates the very nature of the campaign. Peo- • pie have a very strong feeling for the project all over the country." The foundation has set a $230 million fund-raising goal for the statue, which France presented to the U.S. as a symbol of friendship. Restoration is scheduled to be completed on the Fourth of July, For many seniors, the statue has a special meaning -- a remembrance of their first sight as they entered the United States as immigrants in the early 1900s. Soviet religious attitudes not eased by Graham visit By United Press International MOSCOW -- Inviting the Rev. Billy Graham to preach in the Soviet Union, which is officially an atheist country, may seem puzzl­ ing at first, but the motive ap- parenUy lies in the American evangelist's self-imposed role as a promoter of The main questioh raised is why is he being allowed to preach to thousands of people and urge them to "let Jesus into your heart" when the Kremlin's official line is to denouce religion as anU- communlst. One Soviet official openly acknowledged as much. Arnolt Mere, a member of the Peace Committee in Tallin, Estonia, told Graham: "We know what role American religious organizations play in forming public opinion. And we are very glad that U.S.'; delegations put their efforts into peace." The Soviet government has in no way relaxed its hostility to religion. But Graham's 12-day visit also appeared aimed at con­ vincing the rest of the world that there is no religious persecution in the Soviet Union, as remarks on Moscow Radio last week in­ dicated. The government's real attitude to religious belief, however, was- conveyed by an article Saturday in the youth newspaper Moskov- sky Komsomojets. The article warned that religion is a "Trojan horse, a imed a t . disrupting the state from within." It said Western churches seek to "sow the seeds of doubt about communism." e Pope meets followers ; John Paul II acknowledges the crowds in Edmonton, Can., waited outside St. Joseph's Basilica to see him after arriving Winnipeg. The pope then moves on to Ft. Simpson and Van- ver. We've got truddoads of SMNUMNI instant prizes. »*Of> avary nifhf 'III 9pm rfa r: *"'••• Yeah, we've got us a $100,000 $100,000 cash! Grand Prize--one million cash, convoy all right. And remember, by playina paid all at once! 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