11WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG AUGUST 11, 2008

IN SEPARATE ATTACKS minutes apart in the early morning of Aug. 1, two University of California, Santa Cruz, biomedical science professors were vic-

tims of bombings at their homes, the apparent targets of animal-rights activists.

In one incident, a bomb destroyed the car of a professor, whose identity has not been released, at the university’s faculty housing. In the other, a bomb destroyed the front of the off-campus house of David Feldheim, an assistant professor in the department of molecular, cell, and developmental biology who studies the roles of certain genes in the visual systems of mice.

According to police, Feldheim, his wife, and their two small children were forced to leave their house out of a second-story window on a ladder.

The attacks have prompted a full-scale investiga-tion involving local and university police depart-ments, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.

Investigators say the incendiary devices were more powerful than a molotov cocktail.

On Aug. 4, Santa Cruz police announced a $30,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and pros-ecution of the perpetrators.

“The safety of our teachers and researchers is of high-est priority,” says university spokesman Guy Lasnier, who called the bombings a “pretty egregious personal attack.”

UCSC Chancellor George R. Blumenthal issued a statement deploring the bombings, calling them “crim-inal acts of antiscience violence.”

The bombings came just four days after a patron at

Santa Cruz’s Caffe Pergolesi discovered leaflets that listed names and addresses of 13 UCSC researchers, threatening them and calling them “animal abusers.”

Police said the leaflets contained numerous errors, including wrong addresses. Feldheim was on the list, but the other victim was not.

UCSC chemistry professor Pradip K. Mascharak was also one of those listed, although his research focuses on NO-releasing compounds (see page 38) and does not involve animal testing. Mascharak declined to speak further, citing the ongoing investigation.

“At this point, nobody has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but we’re focusing the investigation toward animal-rights extremists,” says Steve Clark, a captain at the Santa Cruz Police Department.

On Aug. 4, UCSC faculty organized a community-wide demonstration on campus protesting the incidents.

The university and law enforcement agencies say they’re offering protection at the homes and labs of fac-ulty who were on the list.

“We’re going to continue to offer that as long as there’s a credible threat,” Clark says.—ELIZABETH WILSON

Amid rising demand for crop commodi-ties, BASF Crop Protection will invest more than $225 million over the next two years to increase its capacity to produce fungicides, insecticides, and herbicides at production facilities in Germany, France, Brazil, and the U.S.

The firm anticipates that most of the new capacity will be on-line by 2010 and will include its two main fungicides, F 500 and boscalid; the insecticide fipronil; and the herbicide metazachlor.

The investments will help BASF, the

world’s largest chemical company, take advantage of strong demand for corn, soybeans, wheat, and canola crops. Like agrochemical competitors Dow and Du-Pont, BASF has seen its 2008 agriculture revenues and profits soar due to higher volumes and prices.

For corn, the increase in demand has been driven, in part, by its use as an etha-nol feedstock. Joseph Glauber, chief econo-mist for the U.S. Department of Agricul-ture, forecasts that production of the fuel will claim 31% of next year’s corn harvest.

BASF predicts that long-term trends—such as demand for renew-able energy, population growth, climate change, and increased meat consump-tion—will continue to drive high demand for commodities.

“Farmers are seeking to capitalize on the high prices for agricultural commodi-ties,” says Michael Heinz, president of BASF’s Crop Protection division. “That means getting the most out of every acre of farmland with innovative crop protec-tion products.”—MELODY VOITH

AGROCHEMICALS BASF to expand crop protection capacity over next two years

NEWS OF THE WEEK

BOMBINGS AT UC SANTA CRUZ

CAMPUS TERRORISM: Police are focusing investigation on animal-rights

extremists

A child looks at the shell of a car that was bombed in front of a biomedical science professor’s home at UCSC’s faculty housing.

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