Word: method
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...rate among bilingual students, most of whom are Hispanic. Critics cite inefficient use of funds and the lack of dramatic results as justification for their eradication. They call for a return to the "submersion style" of language instruction, in which all courses are taught in English. Under this method, it is assumed that the students "submerged" in the language will eventually master it. It is also assumed that they will be able to pick up any instruction already lost...
...unlucky parachutist was Andrew Carter Thornton II, 40, a failed Kentucky lawyer turned smuggler and adventurer. He died while trying out the newest and most daring method yet of smuggling cocaine from South America to the U.S. Airplanes have long been a favored way to haul drugs, but federal authorities now use radar to track suspicious planes and keep watch on out-of-the-way airstrips. So smugglers have been trying to outwit police, and outdo James Bond, by using parachutes, night-vision goggles and radio beacons to make free-fall drops...
Scientists, however, have been making remarkable progress in a technique that can sharply focus their search for a desired gene. Known as restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), the method relies on enzymes that slice DNA in distinctive patterns; families with a history of a genetic disease will tend to have similar configurations, permitting scientists to zero in on the likeliest site of the offending gene. In recent weeks biologists have announced the discovery of RFLP distinctive patterns, or "markers," for cystic fibrosis, which afflicts about 30,000 Americans; cardiovascular disease susceptibility; polycystic kidney disease; and muscular dystrophy. Says Manuel Buchwald...
Other objections to testing include the claim that it is used mostly as a way to control subordinates, while higher executives are rarely tested. And there are many complaints about faulty screening. For urinalysis, a test called Emit (Enzyme Multiplied Immunoassay Test) is the method most commonly used to detect drugs. Though its manufacturer, the Syva Co., describes it as 97% to 99% accurate, critics say it is far less reliable in practice, in part because samples are not always properly stored or handled by lab personnel. "From the point of view of analytical chemistry, these Emit tests are unacceptable...
...This method has scored some dazzling successes over the years. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, for example, used it to trace prints from a box of pizza to a professional hit man who had gunned down a target while posing as a delivery boy. But some police complain that their computers are too slow and too undependable for routine police work. A typical computer search of the files can take more than six seconds per fingerprint and often overlooks prints that are even slightly smudged...