A Sampling of Clips for Aug. 9, 2010

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

Doctors to Dolphin's Rescue
Good Morning America, ABC, Aug. 5 -- Surgery is performed on marine mammal suffering from kidney stones at Sea World. Dr. Roger Sur, director UC San Diego’s Comprehensive Kidney Stone Center, performed the surgery that saved Dottie the dolphin, who suffered from renal failure due to kidney stones. More

Donald P. Shiley, Co-inventor of Bjork-Shiley Heart Valve, Dies at 90
Los Angeles Times, Aug. 7 -- Donald P. Shiley, who was the co-inventor of an artificial valve that revolutionized heart surgery and who later used his fortune to support medical research, the arts and education, has died. He was 90. Shiley donated tens of millions of dollars to San Diego's blue-chip institutions: the Old Globe Theatre, UC San Diego, KPBS public radio and television, Scripps Clinic and the University of San Diego. More

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Kansas City Star
Contra Costa Times

University Library, or Fortress from a Sci-Fi Dream World?
Chronicle of Higher Education, Aug. 6 -- A bunch of Web sites are buzzing about the Geisel Library at UC San Diego, designed by William Pereira and built in 1970, and its resemblance to the snow fortress in Inception. The site MovieFill provides the most colorful analysis, saying that the two buildings look "a little too similar for mere coincidence." More

Pedestrian-Removing Software Makes for a Creepy Google Streetview
Discover Magazine, Aug. 6 -- Tired of the faceless urbanites crowding their Google Street Views, computer scientists aimed to remove the pedestrians entirely. The images above show they succeeded, mostly. The software was developed by Arturo Flores of UC San Diego; earlier this summer he unveiled the proof-of-concept. More

Christians Come Under Attack in China
Toronto Star, Aug. 7 – Christians exceed 100 million and is growing rapidly in China. That growth has stoked concern and even alarm among some government officials, who see the spread of Christianity as a threat to their authority. Officials here took the threat seriously and decided to act – with force. (Quotes Richard Madsen, head of sociology at UC San Diego) More

Beware Stem Cell 'Cures,' Doctors Say
Sacramento Bee, Aug. 8 -- Bogus cures are nearly as old as human disease, but they have found especially fertile ground in stem cell medicine – new, complex and perhaps dazzlingly promising in the long run. (Quotes Larry Goldstein, director of the UC San Diego Stem Cell Program and a board member of the International Society for Stem Cell Research) More

Similar story in
Modesto Bee

Team Rebuilds Spinal Nerves
The Orange County Register, Aug. 9 -- A research team including UC Irvine made nerve connections regrow in mice with spinal cord injuries – a scientific first that could lead to restoring function to paralyzed limbs in humans. It took two years for scientists at UCI and Harvard University to induce the nerve-cell re-growth in the mice. UC San Diego also took part in the study, published online in the journal Nature Neuroscience. More

SF Lawyer Confirmed as New U.S. Attorney
KTVU, San Francisco, Aug. 6 -- The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed San Francisco attorney Melinda Haag as the new U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California on Thursday. The decision came without debate shortly after the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved Haag's nomination for the position Thursday morning. Haag is a UC San Diego alumna. More

Teen's Untimely Death Left Others the Gift of Life
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 7 -- Ted McCrow vowed he would never return to San Diego after his 17-year-old son, Sam, had a brain aneurysm while surfing at Mission Beach three years ago. This week, on the third anniversary of their son’s death, the McCrows did revisit the beach where their teenager collapsed. And tearfully, with daughters Kristen and Kaisa, they began a series of reunions with the four people who are alive today because of Sam. One of the reunions took place in the Mission Valley offices of Lifesharing, a division of UC San Diego Medical Center that provides organ recovery, donor family support and educational services. More

Winless Summer Trip was a Net Gain for UCSD Volleyball Star
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 7 -- In the summer before he entered UC San Diego, Calvin Ross engaged in a campus conditioning program that enabled him to log significant playing time as a freshman on the Tritons volleyball team. Now, in preparation for his senior year, Ross is having another summer to remember. Days after last quarter’s final exams, the Carlsbad resident embarked on a three-week journey with Athletes in Action involving eight matches in Brazil against teams ranging from top national junior players to pros. More

Kids, Seniors Garden Together at Care Home
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 7 -- Sunshine Care is an assisted-living facility for people who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Most of the 50 residents are elderly, and many are just shells of what they once were. But twice each month, about 10 of the most lucid interact with children who come with their parents to participate in a garden club. (Quotes Christina Gigliotti, supervisor of the community health program at the Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, which is part of UC San Diego. She wrote her dissertation on horticulture therapy for Alzheimer’s patients) More

Five Architects Selected to Compete for Convention Center Expansion
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 6 -- Five architectural teams, some with wide international as well as local San Diego experience, were named Friday to compete for the estimated $710.8 million expansion of the San Diego Convention Center. The finalists are set to make individual presentations Oct. 13-14 to an advisory committee, which includes UC San Diego campus architect Boone Hellmann. More

Doctor Dedicates Career to Aiding Low-Income Families
Los Angeles Business Journal, Aug. 9 -- The 1960s were a time of upheaval in American society, but for Dr. James Cruz, there was inspiration to be found in political turmoil. His mother and father made a point of stressing to him the inequality that America struggled with at that time. With a goal of alleviating that inequality, he entered medical school in 1982 at UC San Diego. His professional life since graduation has been focused on serving low-income communities. More

Blown Away: College Students Develop a Passion for Glass
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 7 -- For more than three decades, furnaces have roared around the clock at Palomar College in San Marcos, supplying the oozing molten material that award-winning glass artists have used to hone their craft. (Mentions UC San Diego, which also offers glass-blowing classes) More

UCSD Makes Three 'Best Colleges' Lists
La Jolla Light, Aug. 6 -- UC San Diego is one of the best colleges in the West, according to The Princeton Review's "2011 Best Colleges: Region by Region" guide. The campus also is listed as one of the country's best institutions for undergraduate education in The Princeton Review's annual college guide, "The Best 373 Colleges." More

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