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American Morning

Medical Research Data Lost in Houston Flooding

Aired June 13, 2001 - 11:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Memorial Herman is part of the Texas Medical Center, located in one of the hardest-hit areas of Houston. Flooding there killed tens of thousands of lab animals and submerged data stored in computers. Now, the loss is expected to be a major blow to medical research projects around the world.

Here's Deborah Wrigley of CNN affiliate KTRK.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH WRIGLEY, KTRK REPORTER (voice-over): Every medical advancement the Texas Medical Center has made has started with research, and in the span of 30 minutes this weekend, research has been washed away, destroyed. Within the flooded basement of the UT Health Science Center, the subbasement of the Baylor Medical School, are some 32,000 lab animals: the mice and rats unlocking door to autism; monkeys and other animals crucial to cancer and heart research, all drowned in their cages.

DR. CHRISTINE SMITH, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER: But of the animals that were presently under study, all of that data is lost. So, it sets us back for many, many months.

WRIGLEY: In addition to the animals, there's research data stored on computers now sitting in flooded basements. It's unknown that it can be retrieved.

DAVID BATES, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER: What they are facing here is a problem of how much of it they can save and can they ever get it all back and where do they go from here. A lot of them are on research grants that have very tight calendar deadlines. What do you do when those start slipping?

WRIGLEY: By tomorrow crews, will be able to wade into the basement to assess damage. The real impact, though, of what was lost here may be felt in the future when much-awaited cures and breakthroughs may be longer in the making.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Again, that report from Deborah Wrigley of CNN's Houston affiliate KTRK.

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