A Sampling of Clips for April 2 - 5, 2011

* UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing the University Communications Office

Bill Clinton Joins Local Students Helping Others
San Diego Union-Tribune, April 3 -- Harsha Viswanathan is only 19, but she is already changing the world. The sophomore at UC San Diego is working with other students to help a poor village in India with issues ranging from leprosy to the availability of clean drinking water. Now, Viswanathan can use ideas she learned from former President Bill Clinton to make the effort, known as “Project RISHI,” successful. She was a participant in the Clinton Global Initiative University conference held this weekend on the UCSD campus. More

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Richard Branson Plans Deep-ocean Submarine Dives
Forbes, April 5 -- Billionaire adventurer Richard Branson on Tuesday unveiled a new single-person submarine that he said will be used to set new world records by exploring the five deepest parts of the world's oceans. He is partnering with Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, among others. More

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After Breach, Companies Warn of E-Mail Fraud
The New York Times, April 4 -- Security experts said Monday that millions of people were at increased risk of e-mail swindles after a giant security breach at an online marketing firm. (Quotes Michael Kleeman, a network security expert at UC San Diego) More

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Japan Tsunami Debris to Wash Up on West Coast
MSNBC, April 1 -- John Anderson has discovered just about everything during the 30 years he's combed Washington state's beaches — glass fishing floats, hockey gloves, bottled messages, even hundreds of mismatched pairs of Nike sneakers that washed up barnacled but otherwise unworn. The biggest haul may come in one to three years when, scientists say, wind and ocean currents eventually will push some of the massive debris from Japan's tsunami and earthquake onto the shores of the U.S. West Coast. (Quotes Luca Centurioni, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego) More

Google Wades Into Global Warming Debate
FOX News, April 5 -- Google is diving headfirst into the climate-change debate with a "21 Club" of hand-picked experts that the search engine giant hopes will drive the conversation -- and guide investments -- in climate change.  But it's a discussion that even the club's members say is meant to be one-sided.  (Quotes Richard C. J. Somerville, a research professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

‘Citizen Scientists’ Help Search
for Tomb of Genghis Khan Via Photos of Mongolia
The Washington Post, April 4 -- Albert Lin, a researcher at UC San Diego’s division of Calit2, is hunting for Genghis Khan. Legend has it that Khan, the ruthless conqueror who was the first emperor of the Mongol Empire, was buried in an unmarked tomb in northern Mongolia about 800 years ago. More

Mummy Royalty Show Signs
of Clogged Arteries 3,600 Years Ago, Scans Show
Bloomberg, April 3 -- Clogged arteries seemed to run in the family of Ahmose-Henutempet, a queen during Egypt’s 17th dynasty almost 3,600 years ago, according to research based on body scans of mummies. Michael Miyamoto is a study author who teaches at UC San Diego. More

Why the UN Can Never Stop Climate Change
The Guardian, U.K., Opinion, April 4 -- On Sunday in Thailand diplomats opened another round of formal United Nations talks on global warming. For more than 20 years, the UN has been working on this problem, with little progress. Expectations have never been lower. (Written by David G Victor, professor at the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at UC San Diego and author of "Global Warming Gridlock: Creating More Effective Strategies for Protecting the Planet")
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Study: Hookah Use on the Increase Among Local Teens
KFMB, April 5 -- Tobacco smoking via hookahs might be on the increase among local teenagers, according to a survey at three San Diego County high schools that was released Tuesday. The study by the UC San Diego Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and San Diego State University looked at 689 students from high schools that were not identified. More

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UCSD Will Open Student-Run Health Clinic in Tijuana
KPBS, April 1, 2011— To coincide with the meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative University, UC San Diego said it will open a new student-run health clinic in Tijuana. Medical students from both the U.S. and Mexico will be involved. More

A Local Link to Japan, the Kyoto Prize Symposium, is Strengthened
San Diego Union-Tribune, April 4 -- On Monday, the Kyoto Prize Symposium opened its 10th year in San Diego with a new lease on life, a new partner and a new sense of the ties that bind us all. (Mentions UC San Diego, which is one of the prize’s hosts) More

Seafood Safe to Eat? San Diego Seafood Nuclear Fallout Concerns
San Diego 6, April 5 -- Harney Sushi is one of the more popular places for sushi in the North County.  Robert Ruiz is Executive Sushi Chef, every day he serves up the freshest fish from around the globe, even as far as Japan. "Fish like aji, or needle fish or the shellfish that we get they do come from very specific areas of Japan," said Ruiz. But, lately he's serving up more than just fish, also answers. (Quotes Luca Centurioni, from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

Japan Nuclear Crisis Fans Primal Fear Here
San Diego Union-Tribune, April 4 -- Nuclear engineers, along with social scientists, believe the biggest byproduct of the still-developing Japanese nuclear crisis — at least as it affects the United States — may be fear itself. They note that radiation traveling thousands of miles from Japan becomes no more of a threat than CT scans, the sun and other common sources of radiation in San Diego County. But they also extend sympathy to the concerned. (Quotes Nicholas Christenfeld, a professor of psychology at UC San Diego) More

Big Mexican Quake Changed Thinking About Faults
San Diego Union-Tribune, April 4 -- One year ago today (April 4), windows and walls wiggled and jiggled across San Diego County, set in motion by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that has notably changed scientist’s thinking about faults and the damage they can cause. Are there more to come? We posed questions about this intriguing event to leading scientists, including UC San Diego geophysicist David Sandwell. More

Nobel-winning Economist Draws Crowd at UCSD
San Diego Union-Tribune, April 1 -- The Price Ballroom at UC San Diego was crowded beyond capacity for a speech by a Nobel-prize winning economist last night, initiating a week of back-to-back events that will feature appearances by such speakers as former President Bill Clinton and Hollywood stars Sean Penn and Drew Barrymore. More

UCSD Makes History in Crew Classic's Copley Cup Final
San Diego Union-Tribune, April 4 -- The UC San Diego men rowed themselves into history Saturday at the 38th San Diego Crew Classic. For the first time in this storied event on Mission Bay, a San Diego school will row in the Copley Cup grand final. And for a school that hopes to jump from Division II to Division I in all sports, this is a really big paddle. More

Well-versed for the Times
San Diego Union-Tribune, April 4 -- At its best, “Money Shot” surprises with twists of syntax and turns of thought, as sudden as that moment the title of longtime UC San Diego professor Rae Armantrout’s most recent poetry collection references. The poems in this follow-up to Armantrout’s Pulitzer-Prize winning collection “Versed” spin together pop culture, science and the uncertainty of these financial times. More

HIV Study Done by Zip Codes
KPBS, April 5— If you’re an adult whose zip code is 92103 or 92104, you’re going to get a knock at your door from a researcher, who will ask: “ Would you be willing to take an HIV test”? Your answer will become part of a unique HIV research study and prevention project called “Lead the Way.” It’s considered the most comprehensive HIV-prevention campaign ever done in the United States. Dr. Susan Little is a professor of medicine at UC San Diego. She is also the lead researcher of the year-long study. More

Heart Specialty Center at UCSD Sits Empty Due to Licensing Delays
San Diego Union-Tribune, April 4 -- A cardiovascular center that opened with great fanfare at UC San Diego last month still has no patients because the state licensing process hasn't been completed, a UC San Diego Medical Center official said. More

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Pass Gene Therapy Test
North County Times,  April 4 -- Finally, some good news for advocates of using induced pluripotent stem cells for human therapy. Induced pluripotent stem cells corrected for a genetic defect do not acquire substantially more potentially carcinogenic mutations, according to UC San Diego research published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. More

High Technology is Advancing the Cause of Human Rights
KPBS, April 4 -- High technology, from satellite imaging to smartphones, is starting to help in the effort toward worldwide human rights. On our monthly segment on ethics in science and technology, we'll discuss how scientific innovations are helping oppressed people and the organizations monitoring human rights abuses. Guests discussing the issue include Michael Kalichman, director of the Center for Ethics in Science and Technology and Director of the Research Ethics Program at UC San Diego; and Dr. Eric Michelsen, a physicist who lectures at UCSD. Michelsen is also a volunteer member of Amnesty International USA's Executive Director's Leadership Council. More

The Few, the Proud, the Brain Donors
Voice of San Diego, April 4 – Bette Ferguson's ability to remember the cities she's lived in, jobs she's worked and, yes, all the men she's married, makes her very valuable to Jacopo Annese, a neuroanatomist at UC San Diego. Annese is director of The Brain Observatory, a research center at UCSD where brains are sliced up, laid out on slides and then scanned into digital images, which researchers can use to visualize what a variety of brains look like. Scientists can use Annese's images to see how diseases like Alzheimer's physically change the brain. More

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