NOTEBOOK

By CHARLOTTE FALTERMAYER, JANICE M. HOROWITZ, DAWNICA JACKSON, LINA LOFARO, TYLER MARONEY, JODIE MORSE, AINISSA RAMIREZ AND JEFFERY C. RUBIN

WHO CAN HELP DOLE WIN?

The candidate needs to attract women and minorities. This is how some of the politicians most frequently cited as Veep contenders stacked up in their last elections.

WOMEN BLACKS HISPANICS

Senator John McCain (ARIZ.) 56% * 55% Governor Jim Edgar (ILL.) 61% 20% * Governor John Engler (MICH.) 65% 13% Governor Christine Todd Whitman (N.J.) 47% 25% * Governor George Voinovich (OHIO) 75% 42% * Governor Tom Ridge (P.A.) 43% 18% * former Governor Carroll Campbell (S.C.) 66% 14% * Governor George W. Bush (TEXAS) 49% 15% 28% Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (TEXAS) 60% 22% 32% Governor Tommy Thompson (WIS.) 65% * *

*Not statistically relevant Source: Voter News Service

HEALTH REPORT

THE GOOD NEWS

-- Don't bellyache--too much--about that ULCER. Research shows that patients with duodenal ulcers (near the stomach, in the small intestine) have a 40% lower risk than the rest of the population of developing stomach cancer.

-- The same anesthetic dentists use to numb gums may also alleviate MIGRAINE pain. More than half of migraine sufferers who are given lidocaine in the form of nose drops experience headache relief, although for some the pounder returns within an hour.

-- A new test to detect if PROSTATE CANCER has spread to other tissues has been recommended for approval by an FDA advisory panel. Called ProstaScint, it's six times as accurate as the CT scan and MRI imaging techniques used today.

THE BAD NEWS

-- Toss the Tums? The antacids and acid suppressors that ARTHRITIS SUFFERERS routinely down to alleviate the stomach distress caused by aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs may help the tummy feel better. But, warn researchers, they may also mask serious disorders like stomach bleeding.

-- The rate of CHOLERA in the U.S. has shot up fivefold since the 1980s as more Americans travel to the developing world and eat high-risk foods like raw seafood and unpeeled fruit.

-- British researchers have concluded that nearly two-thirds of SUDDEN-INFANT-DEATH SYNDROME cases are linked to tobacco smoke. Even if a baby is merely in a room where smoking has occurred, its risk of dying from SIDS can increase 800%.

Sources--GOOD NEWS: New England Journal of Medicine; Journal of the American Medical Association; Food and Drug Administration BAD NEWS: Archives of Internal Medicine; Journal of the American Medical Association; British Medical Journal

20 YEARS AGO IN TIME

Perfection Personified

Nadia Comaneci dominated the Montreal Olympic Games with her uncanny gymnastic poise: "Comaneci is an extraordinarily somber child...While waiting to take her daily medical checkup one morning, she watched Olympic swimming heats on TV, her dark, unblinking eyes fixed on the action...and her body perfectly still. The same, somewhat unsettling demeanor marked her press conferences. At times she would walk about holding tight to a large doll. Asked how she felt about becoming the focus of world adulation, she deadpanned: 'It's nothing special. I feel just the same as before.' Did she ever think she might not win a gold medal? 'No, I knew that I would win.'" --Aug. 2, 1976

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

LOUISE BROWN, 18; WHITCHURCH, ENGLAND; world's first test-tube baby

The world greeted the birth of Louise Joy Brown on July 25, 1978, with fanfare fit for a princess. Many hailed her as a technological godsend, dubbing her the "Baby of the Century." However, theologians and some scientists sounded ethical alarms. Others questioned whether the girl conceived in a petri dish could ever lead a normal life. The answer? Almost. According to London's Daily Mail, Brown works in a burger joint and is studying to be a school nurse--but is reportedly buoyed by a trust fund of earnings from TV projects and the book written by her parents. Brown is a firm believer in the technique that brought her into the world. She told the Daily Mail: "I want to have my own children, whatever it takes. I would use the in-vitro method if I couldn't have a baby."

--By Charlotte Faltermayer, Janice M. Horowitz, Dawnica Jackson, Lina Lofaro, Tyler Maroney, Jodie Morse, Ainissa Ramirez and Jeffery C. Rubin