Living Today: Issues of modern living

SMALLPOX VACCINE PRODUCTION

The smallpox vaccines ordered by the United Kingdom and the United States likely will be equally effective or possibly, they may be equally ineffective, New Scientist reports.

The publication says neither is certain to work because the old tried-and-tested vaccine that eradicated smallpox were made on the skin of live animals and the new ones are not.

The United States currently has a stockpile of 165 million doses of the old style smallpox vaccine. Following Sept. 11, the United States decided to order an extra 55 million doses of new vaccine.

The old vaccines were made by infecting animals with the Vaccinia virus, a smallpox relative, and then scraping infected material off their skin. That is no longer an acceptable production method because of the risk of contamination with other pathogens.

The vaccines are being made under sterile conditions in large cultures of cells but, according to the European Union's governing body for pharmaceuticals, "There is little or no experience of the effectiveness of cell culture grown vaccines against smallpox."

NONEDUCATORS A TREND

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has chosen Joel I. Klein, a lawyer who never ran a school but headed up a corporation and prosecuted Microsoft, as chancellor of the more than 1 million-student city school system.

In choosing a noneducator for the post, Bloomberg puts New York among a growing number of cities that have looked outside education for their top education job, according to The New York Times.

Seattle turned to a general. Chicago picked a budget chief. Los Angeles tapped Colorado's former governor. San Diego selected a former federal prosecutor who served as former President Clinton's border czar on drug and immigration issues.

Their reasoning was similar. An urban school system with a multibillion-dollar budget is larger and more complex than most corporations and needs the same kind of experienced manager at the helm.

OLDER MOTORCYCLISTS DYING MORE

Pedestrian and other types of deaths in motor vehicle crashes are generally declining, but deaths of motorcyclists have been increasing since 1997, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

In recent years, the age mix of fatally injured motorcyclists has changed. More of the riders who get killed are in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, and fewer are in their teens and 20s.

Nationwide, deaths of motorcyclists 40 and older jumped 65 percent from 1997 to 2000 and the overall increase in deaths among older motorcyclists since 1990 exceeds 150 percent.

The repeal of helmet laws in some states and weakening of those laws in other states contribute to the increase in motorcyclist deaths, according to the IIHS.

HIGH TECH, HIGH SECURITY STADIUMS

Security at sporting events has been beefed since the terrorist attacks Sept. 11 so architects are designing the new facilities specifically with safety in mind.

At Houston's brand new Reliant Stadium -- a facility touted not just as the most hi-tech stadium but the most secure -- there are 80 cameras, rooms full of corresponding monitors, 2,000 plus smoke detectors, an integrated lighting control system, and 60 card access checkpoints.

The plan at Reliant Stadium is fans will be left to enjoy the stadium's wide aisles, seats with unobstructed views, luxury suites, and air conditioning designed to stay on even when the NFL's only retractable roof is opened.

It's believed the Houston stadium will become the model for sporting venues everywhere to help ensure players and spectators have a safe experience.