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Jason Emhoff, the firefighter burned in the Thirty Mile Fire in Okanogan County last month, was upgraded yesterday afternoon to satisfactory condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Emhoff was transferred out of the Burn Intensive Care Unit to the Acute Burn Center patient floor. If all goes as planned, his next surgery by Harborview surgeons will involve removing his left hand from the abdominal pocket and applying allograft, and autografting his ears and neck.

Two of the Northwest’s largest research institutions, the University of Washington and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, have agreed to jointly study the biological process that could hold the key to longer and better life.

The Parent-Child Assistance Program (P-CAP) at the University of Washington has received funding from the March of Dimes Washington State Chapter for a project called “Prevent Double Jeopardy” that will provide services to women who have a birth defect. The goal is to protect the next generation of children from this same debilitating birth defect.

One of the scientists leading the effort to understand exactly how infants go about learning language told a White House Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development today that the fundamental steps in language acquisition later play a critical role in the ability to read.

One of the joys of summer is finding a great new book to read. But it’s a pleasure that eludes millions of children and adults who have difficulty reading because of dyslexia. Because so many children have trouble reading, as well as with spelling or handwriting, researchers at the University of Washington’s Learning Disabilities Center have launched a major effort designed to find a genetic marker that will allow for the early identification of youngsters with dyslexia and specific writing disability.

New kinds of instruments and experiments — made possible with a just announced $5 million award from the W.M. Keck Foundation of Los Angeles — could give scientists the best way yet to study the rich microbial life that flourishes wherever the seafloor twists and buckles, and which is part of a biosphere beneath the Earth’s surface that may dwarf all life on land or in the sea.

The following statement is for attribution to Dr. David Eschenbach, professor and acting chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Washington School of Medicine:

President George Bush has named University of Washington Professor Marc Hershman — an expert on protecting and using coastal areas, developing seaports and the laws and policies governing U.S. ocean resources — and William Ruckelshaus as initial members of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. The announcement from the White House Friday said the two Washington state residents were selected for the 16-member commission from nearly 30 finalists.

The removal of a regulator gene that allows the tuberculosis bacterium to remain dormant in laboratory studies could point the way to new treatments for many tuberculosis patients. Research at the University of Washington by Dr. David Sherman, assistant professor of pathobiology in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, and his colleagues shows that by interrupting the function of this gene, the tuberculosis bacterium is unable to mount the appropriate genetic response. It thus may be unable to become dormant.

University of Washington researchers on Monday will discuss the first scientific results from Canada’s Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) — findings that will bolster the understanding of neutrinos from the sun, of the sun itself and of the effect of neutrinos on the evolution of the universe.

Dr. Constance H. Kravas, currently vice chancellor for university advancement at University of California, Riverside, has been selected as vice president for development and alumni relations at the University of Washington, President Richard L. McCormick announced. The appointment will be effective Aug. 16, 2001, subject to approval by the Board of Regents.