BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) —— A former medical school professor accused of fabricating research data on menopause, aging and hormone supplements pleaded guilty Monday to fraudulently obtaining a $542,000 federal grant.
Eric T. Poehlman, 49, could get up to five years in prison and $250,000 fine at sentencing July 18.
The former University of Vermont College of Medicine professor was accused of making up research between 1992 and 2000 to win millions of dollars in grant money from the federal government.
Under a plea bargain, he pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements in an application for a grant on hormone replacement therapy from the National Institutes of Health.
"This is an unprecedented case," federal prosecutor Stephen Kelly said. "We're taking an aggressive approach." The charge "gives us some assurance that we've corrected the scientific record."
Poehlman, who now works as research consultant in Montreal, also agreed to pay $180,000 to settle a civil complaint. In addition, he is barred by the government from receiving Public Health Research funds and must retract or correct 10 articles.
In a paper published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 1995 on the metabolic effects of menopause, Poehlman fabricated test results on 32 of 35 women, Kelly said.
Poehlman also made up the results from a 1999-2000 hormone replacement therapy study, prosecutors said. He suggested that hormone replacement therapy slowed weight gain in post-menopausal women.
"This not an excuse, but there is a lot of pressure on academic researchers to produce grants," defense attorney Robert Hemley said. He added that Poehlman "did a lot of very good important scientific work over a long period of time."
UVM started to investigate Poehlman in 2000 after one of his research assistants accused him of scientific misconduct. During the investigation, Poehlman deleted electronic evidence of his falsifications, presented false testimony and documents and influenced other witnesses to provide false information, prosecutors said.
Poehlman resigned from the medical school in 2001.
'Mona Lisa' gets a change of scene
PARIS (AP) —— The world's most enigmatic smile was getting a change of scene on Monday as the Louvre shifted Leonardo Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" to a renovated larger section of the museum.
The 500-year-old painting's new home is the Salle des Etats, which has undergone a four-year, $6.1 million makeover designed by Peruvian architect Lorenzo Piqueras.
"It's completely new, completely different," said Louvre press spokeswoman Veronique Petitjean.
Roomier than the Mona Lisa's previous home, the much smaller Salle Rosa, it will offer more space for the 6 million people who visit the museum each year, she said.
Because of the move, the painting was not on display for the public Monday and Tuesday, although the museum was open. The painting will be seen again Wednesday, still protected by unbreakable, non-reflective glass.
About 50 other 16th century Italian paintings, including the Louvre's largest painting, "The Wedding Feast at Cana" by Veronesi, will also be displayed in the room.
The famous portrait, believed to be of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of an obscure Florentine merchant, was painted between 1503 and 1506 on a thin panel of wood.
Da Vinci brought the painting to France in 1517. It has been in the Louvre since 1804.
Curators announced last year that the painting was beginning to show signs of warping, and would undergo scientific analysis. It is typically removed from its case once a year, so experts can monitor its deterioration.
Ancient Maya had extensive saltworks along coast
WASHINGTON (AP) —— Underwater archaeologists have discovered 41 new seaside salt production works used by the ancient Mayans in Central America.
The discovery at Punta Ycacos Lagoon in what is now Belize provides evidence of extensive salt production to serve the large Mayan cities on the interior of the Yucatan Peninsula, reports researcher Heather McKillop of Louisiana State University.
Her findings are reported in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
Four salt works had previously been known in that area. The discovery of 41 new works, along with the remains of wooden buildings from the era of A.D. 600 to 900, indicates salt was mass-produced and stored before shipment upriver, she reported.
Ceramic pottery was used for boiling water to produce the salt, she wrote, and a canoe paddle was also found, indicating that the salt was transported inland by canoe.
The research was supported by a grant from Louisiana State University.
Library assistant loses discrimination lawsuit against Harvard
BOSTON (AP) —— Harvard University did not discriminate against a library assistant who claimed she was repeatedly turned down for promotions because school officials saw her as "a pretty girl" whose attire was too "sexy," a federal jury found Monday.
Desiree Goodwin, who is black, also claimed that Harvard passed her over because of her race and gender. She had been seeking damages for emotional distress and lost wages.
"One of my friends said to me, no matter how it turns out, standing up for yourself is a victory in itself," Goodwin said after the verdict.
Harvard spokesman Joe Wrinn said the university was pleased with the ruling.
"Employment at Harvard is based on the specific work skills and work history applicants bring to specific jobs," he said. "We have always believed that to be the case and today the jury has agreed."
Goodwin, who has worked as a library assistant at Harvard since 1994, claimed in the lawsuit that she had been rejected for seven promotions at the library since 1999.
She said she was shocked when, in late 2001, her supervisor told her she would never be promoted at Harvard. In court documents, Goodwin said her supervisor told her she was "a joke" at the university's main library, where she "was seen merely as a pretty girl who wore sexy outfits, low cut blouses, and tight pants."
But Harvard attorney Richard Riley said Goodwin's supervisors encouraged her, helped her with her resume and recommended her for other positions. For each job she applied for, Harvard received applications from dozens of other qualified applicants from across the country, he said.
Goodwin's claims were dismissed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
Goodwin, 40, testified earlier in the trial that she overcame a childhood marked by poverty and a chaotic family life to attend Cornell University, Boston College and Simmons College, earning a bachelor's degree and two master's degrees, including one in library science.
She said she has no immediate plans to leave Harvard, although she is looking for library jobs elsewhere.
Odds and Ends
UINTAH HIGHLANDS, Utah (AP) —— Matthew Jean Rouse doesn't like his middle name and he's letting you pick a new one.
The 31-year-old father of two is selling the naming right on eBay. The "Buy It Now" price is $8,000. As of early Monday, there had been a total of 30 bids, with the high bid $2,175.
The winning bidder gets to choose a new middle name for Rouse, a software engineer.
Rouse also agrees to use his middle name "whenever plausible and not hide it."
"If he wants to walk around with 'Fool' as his middle name, that's his problem," said Rouse's wife, Corinna Rouse. "If someone changes his name to 'Poophead,' he may decide it's a little more important than he thought."
Rouse's middle name was taken from his late grandfather, Jean Stelter, with whom he didn't get along.
His older brother, Bill Rouse, 46, of Mesa, Ariz., bid $1,500 for the name. "Basically, he's trying to dump our grandfather's name, and I'm trying to buy it and make it stay as it is," Bill Rouse said.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) —— Mushroom hunters can breathe easier. Despite the rumors, the state of Illinois isn't charging fees and regulating the hobby this spring.
The Natural Resources Department tried to assure hunters Wednesday they do not have to get a state license and pay a $16.75 fee to hunt mushrooms.
Department spokeswoman Gayle Simpson said the agency received dozens of calls last week complaining about the purported change. She said the department discovered someone had taken a press release from the Internet and used it to craft a fake announcement of the new license and fee.
The hoax urged hunters to visit vendors that sell hunting and fishing licenses to get a mushroom license and said the proceeds would benefit biological and archaeological research in Illinois, Simpson said.
She said the agency doesn't know when the hoax was sent or by whom, but e-mails and faxes have spread it "like wildfire" through central and southern Illinois and the agency is investigating.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) —— A well-known deputy who has served with the Canyon County Sheriff's office for the past seven years has retired. He is, quite literally, a real hound.
K9 deputy Basco, a 9-year-old Belgian Malinois, is best known for his capture of serial murder suspect Michael "Cowboy Mike" Braae in July 2001 after a high-speed chase ended at the Idaho-Oregon line. Braae abandoned his pickup and jumped into the Snake River.
Basco and his handler, Cpl. Paul Maund, hopped a boat to follow Braae. Maund attached a towline to the dog and pushed him in the water to chase after the suspect. Basco bit onto Braae's back, and Maund was able to pull the two to shore.
Malheur County Sheriff Andy Bentz said Braae's capture would have been more dangerous without Basco. "Had it not been for him and the handler being there and being able to get on the boat, we would have had to use a lot higher level of force," Bentz said.
Maund said retirement as his pet might not be easy for Basco because he's worked for the sheriff's office most of his life—— tracking missing people, sniffing out narcotics and apprehending suspects.
Maund said he got a lukewarm reception after leaving Basco home a few days this month.
"When I got home, he was lying under a tree. I called to him. He looked at me and turned his head away," Maund said. "It's going to be a big transition for him."
DENVER (AP) —— Colorado is serious about its no-dawdling law in left lanes.
Drivers who insist on staying in the passing lane are risking tickets as the State Patrol has begun enforcing a law requiring motorists to use the left lane for passing only.
Since the patrol started enforcing the "Left Lane Law" three months ago, troopers have written about 460 tickets or about an average of five a day to drivers who dawdle in the left lane.
The law applies in zones with speed limits of 65 mph or higher. It took effect July 1, but troopers gave drivers until January to get used to the new law; warnings were issued instead of tickets.
Master Trooper Ron Watkins said that since the ticketing campaign began three months ago about 90 percent of the drivers he has pulled over for dawdling or cruising in the left lane said they didn't know that it was illegal to do so.
Violators of the left lane rule may be fined up to $41 and have three points tacked onto their driver's licenses. The law is not enforced when the highway is too congested to allow drivers to pass.
