Baby Formula

The Palestinian immigrant and his brother lived next door to each other in homes in West Ocean City , over the years opening a number of businesses throughout the area — three pizza shops, a Mexican restaurant, a liquor store, gas stations, and development companies, court records show. This week, however, authorities in New York alleged that Basel, 42, and Samir Ramadan, 39, were also at the top of a multimillion-dollar cigarette-smuggling ring and said they believe members of the organization may have funneled some of their proceeds to terrorist groups.

The federal Food and Drug Administration has approved a formula for premature babies that uses a blend of nutrients created by Columbia-based Martek Biosciences Corp. The formula, Enfamil Premature LIPIL, is made by Mead Johnson Nutritionals using two Martek nutrients that are the building blocks of a baby's eyes and brain. Analysts said yesterday that approval of the formula won't have an immediate effect on Martek's finances but that it could benefit the company later. "The premature market is so small that this won't have a significant impact on finances right now, but with the strength of these ingredients, I would expect to see it in all formulas in the future," said Scott Van Winkle, an analyst with Boston-based Adams, Harkness & Hill.

CHICAGO - In the baby food aisle at the Dominick's supermarket in Elmhurst, Ill., small signs offer an apology: "Due to high theft, all powder formula is located in the pharmacy. When the pharmacy is closed, please ask at the service desk." At superstores and grocery markets across the nation, shoplifters have been zeroing in on powdered baby formula, sometimes clearing shelves of dozens of cans at a time. The thefts are the latest sign of a surprising black market in the innocent yet expensive white powder that comes packed in cans.

Shares of Martek Biosciences Corp. soared 25 percent yesterday on news that two major manufacturers will soon start selling infant formula with its nutritional oils for the first time in the United States. The manufacturers control about 85 percent of the U.S. infant formula market, the Columbia company said. One of the makers, Mead Johnson Nutritionals, plans to have infant formula with Martek's nutritional oils on store shelves by next month. The other maker, Abbott Laboratories' Ross Products Division, has plans for a launch early in the year.

Wall Street analysts have been predicting for years that Martek Biosciences Corp. would crack open the U.S. market and turn a profit. Finally, it appears the Columbia-based maker of a nutritional supplement for baby formulas may be about to succeed. Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, which already sells formula containing Martek's blend of nutritional oils in more than 60 overseas markets, is in discussions with the Food and Drug Administration about marketing the enriched formula in the United States, Wyeth spokeswoman Audrey Ashby said.

Baltimore police say a mixture of methadone and baby formula killed a 5-month-old girl and led to first-degree murder charges against the child's mother: Teresa Ann Younger, 25, of the 4600 block of Freedom Way in Northeast Baltimore.The infant, Matia Grant, died the morning of March 4 at Bon Secours Hospital.The baby was not breathing when Younger took her to the hospital for treatment.Younger, arrested Friday, is accused of lacing the baby's formula with methadone the night of March 3 because the child was restless, homicide detectives said.

Martek Biosciences Corp. said yesterday that it has placed its first consumer product on the market, as one of Maryland's brightest biotechnology hopes announced that a Dutch baby formula company has begun using a Martek-invented nutritional supplement.The product, a combination of two fatty acids that Columbia-based Martek derived from algae and fungi, is called Formulaid. A number of studies, including one last month in the prestigious British medical journal the Lancet, have said the two acids promote faster visual and mental development in infants, especially those born prematurely.

Grassroots Recycling Inc. opened with a bang yesterday at the Milford Mill Metro Station.The bang was from the glass containers and aluminum cans tossed into recycling bins by a steady stream of people. The center, which will be open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., also welcomes newspapers and plastic bottles, organizers said.There were cars in the parking lot even before the 10 a.m. opening."This is a great idea," said Nancy Dietz of Woodlawn. She said she has been recycling for years, although she had to travel farther to find a center.

Caaroline Gross, 53, New Hampshire's House majority leader, died Sunday of cancer in Concord. The Republican joined the legislature in 1983 and was serving her sixth term. She was named 1993 Legislator of the Year by the National Republican Legislators Association. She was a delegate to the New Hampshire Republican Convention from 1968 to 1978 and worked as administrative assistant to former Gov. Walter Peterson in 1969 and 1970.Margaret Landon, 90, whose book "Anna and the King of Siam" inspired the Broadway hit musical and movie "The King and I," died Saturday of a stroke in Alexandria, Va. She was principal of a girls' mission school in Siam when she learned of Anna Leonowens, who as secretary to King Monghut of Siam in the mid-19th century, introduced such concepts as personal freedom to the country.

Baltimore CityBURGLARY: Northern District -- Someone stole a television and video cassette recorder, all valued at $459, from a closet in the Waverly Recreation Center in the 800 block of E. 34th St. sometime yesterday morning.AUTO THEFT: Southwestern District -- A 1992 gray Dodge Spirit was stolen from the 100 block of N. Rock Glen Road yesterday between 5 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.AUTO THEFT: Southwestern District -- A 1978 Ford station wagon was stolen from the 1100 block of N. Woodington Road about 1 p.m. yesterday.