Word: defectiveness
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...three months ago, but did little to head it off. Brandt, the brilliant idea man, remained characteristically aloof. He knew that his unstable coalition of Social Democrats and Free Democrats included some potential defectors on the treaty votes; they were treated like traitors, which simply strengthened their resolve to defect...
...ingenious and convincing. But Fritz the Cat is, for a cartoon, exasperatingly slow: Bakshi's sense of pace and editing is snail-like, and the dialogue mostly naive and muffled. Moreover, the characters are so ill-defined that Fritz's relation to them becomes incomprehensible-a sad defect for a movie that should have been as crisp and schematic as a puppet show. The voice-over acting constantly hovers just below the threshold of competence...
...cured. But as a result of recent scientific developments, many can be prevented. German measles, responsible for the birth of many retarded infants, has been nearly eliminated thanks to a nationwide immunization campaign. PKU's effects can be checked by a special diet if the defect is immediately identified; 43 states now require a PK.U test at birth. Doctors can recognize the chromosomal flaw that causes mongolism and 27 of the genetic quirks known to cause retardation. More important, they can diagnose these in the fetus by amniocentesis. A needle is inserted into the uterus to draw...
That kind of defect, however, accounts for only about 20% of the retarded in the U.S. For the other 80%. who are functionally rather than physically retarded, physicians can rarely find precise causes. A growing number of experts believe that this nonspecific, generally milder form of retardation, the primary symptom of which is poor intellectual performance, is a socioeconomic disease. While genetic, chromosomal and hereditary causes occur with about the same frequency in all racial and economic groups, retardation of unknown origin is nearly ten times more likely to occur among the poor, black and Spanish-speaking...
Ford now is analyzing why its tests failed to reveal the axle defect, with an eye toward possibly revising the test procedures. Motorists can only hope that there is a revision, and that G.M. will follow suit. The annoyance that drivers now feel about recalls will hardly compare with their emotions if they get the idea that they must do a good deal of the test driving on new cars themselves...