Page 41 - 072817

Groton Daily Independent
Friday, July 28, 2017 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 028 ~ 41 of 54
to avoid disease “is inevitable and exciting,” and that “with proper controls in place, it’s going to lead to huge advances in human health.”
The need for it is clear, he added: “Our research has suggested that there are far more disease-associated mutations in the general public than was previously suspected.”
Hank Greely, director of Stanford University’s Center for Law and the Biosciences, called CRISPR “the most exciting thing I’ve seen in biology in the 25 years I’ve been watching it,” with tremendous possibili- ties to aid human health.
“Everybody should calm down” because this is just one of many steps advancing the science, and there are regulatory safeguards already in place. “We’ve got time to do it carefully,” he said.
Michael Watson, executive director of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, said the college thinks that any work aimed at pregnancy is premature, but the lab work is a necessary rst step.
“That’s the only way we’re going to learn” if it’s safe or feasible, he said. ___
Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP
Troubled trucking rm faces scrutiny after Texas deaths By RYAN J. FOLEY, Associated Press
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The trucking company linked to the recent deadly human smuggling case in Texas had promoted itself as an American success: a family rm whose hard-working drivers helped keep the U.S. economy running.
But behind that image was a cutthroat business that outed federal laws for years, yet managed to stay a oat despite nancial troubles and tangles with prosecutors, regulators and tax collectors, according to public records and interviews with former drivers.
Now, Pyle Transportation faces the biggest threat to its survival yet after one of its contract drivers was charged Monday in the deaths of 10 immigrants found in a sweltering Pyle trailer in San Antonio’s 100-de- gree heat. Investigators are scrutinizing Pyle’s claim that it knew nothing about an operation that federal authorities have described as sophisticated and possibly linked to a Mexican cartel. Federal regulators have launched an investigation into the company’s safety record.
The driver, 60-year-old James “Bear” Bradley Jr., has told investigators that he was unaware any immigrants were in the trailer, saying he heard their pleas after stopping Sunday at a Walmart to urinate. Investiga- tors say dozens of immigrants were packed into the dark trailer after being smuggled across the border.
Company owner Brian Pyle has denied any knowledge of human smuggling, but declined to comment Monday on the company’s operations and did not return additional messages left Thursday seeking com- ment. On its website, which has since been taken down, Pyle Transportation advertised its eet of high- end rigs and boasted of delivering refrigerated shipments of meat and produce on time to customers from its rural Iowa base. Playing upbeat music and ashing photos of smiling truckers, the site touted love of country, faith in God and the company’s slogan: “Keepin’ it Cool Since 1950.”
Yet former drivers told The Associated Press that the company routinely pushed them to violate federal safety rules. They say they were pressured to drive too many hours without rest, to falsify their logs to conceal those violations and to transport overweight loads on unrealistic deadlines. They said they faced retaliation if they complained and that Pyle refused to pay wages they were owed when they quit.
Two of Bradley’s former Pyle colleagues were stunned to learn about the deaths and struggling to un- derstand what happened.
“Knowing Bear, the pieces don’t t,” said Paul Terry, 68, of Denver. “I believe Bear was set up. He is a country boy and he don’t know that much. No way in the world could he orchestrate something like that. I will say that on my kids’ grave.”
Former driver Tim Mof tt said Thursday that he believed the company had to have some knowledge of the operation, calling it a good place to work only “if you don’t like rules.”
“They are always looking for ways to save money and make money,” said Mof tt, who has known Bradley