A Sampling of Clips for Aug. 12, 2010

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

Alzheimer's Test That's 100 Percent Accurate? Not Yet
ABC World News, Aug. 11 -- Researchers claimed to have identified markers for early Alzheimer's disease in some patients by analyzing results of a spinal tap, according to an article published Monday in the Archives of Neurology. Their results, they claim, are nearly 100 percent accurate in predicting Alzheimer's in some patients. ABC World News interviews Dr. Paul Aisen of UC San Diego as an independent expert. More

Stomach Reduction Surgery Via Mouth a U.S. First
BusinessWeek, Aug. 11 -- Doctors who performed a stomach reduction through a patient's mouth say it's the first time this type of surgery has been done in the United States. During the weight-loss procedure -- called a sleeve gastrectomy -- surgeons at the UC San Diego School of Medicine removed 80 percent of the patient's stomach. More

Gene Makes 'Superbugs' Resistant to Drugs
The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 12 -- Some bacteria in south Asia have learned a new way to deactivate the antibiotics that usually kill them, according to a new study, raising concerns about a novel wave of drug-resistant "superbugs" that travelers could spread world-wide. (Quotes Victor Nizet, a professor of pediatrics and pharmacy at UC San Diego) More

How Spammers Use Low-cost Labor to Solve CAPTCHAS
MIT Technology Review, Aug. 11 -- What can only be described as an epic new analysis by a cadre of researchers at UC San Diego has uncovered the seedy underbelly of a sophisticated, highly automated, world-wide network of services that help email, blog and forum spammers get past the CAPTCHAS that are designed to keep them out. More

Palin Joins Armey as Republicans Aid Tea Party Takeover
Bloomberg, Aug. 11 -- Even as candidates such as Paul tout their anti- establishment credentials, much of their financial clout comes from veteran Republicans such as Armey, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint and onetime U.S. Representative Chris Chocola, who aim to reshape their party. (Quotes UC San Diego political scientist Gary Jacobson) More

Climate Change: How Extreme Heat May Affect Your Food
TIME Magazine, Aug. 11 -- The oppressively high temperatures that gripped much of the U.S. during June—the hottest month on record worldwide, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—barely relented in July, when average temperatures around the country were 1.3 F higher than the 20th century norm.(Mentions research by  Jerrod Welch, a graduate student of economics at UC San Diego) More

Oceanography: Dead in the Water
Nature, Aug. 11 -- Every summer for the past nine years, water with lethally low concentrations of oxygen has appeared off the Oregon coast. The hypoxia may be a sign of things to come elsewhere. (Quotes Lisa Levin, a marine biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

Black Carbon and Climate Change
The World, BBC, Aug. 11 -- The leading pollutant blamed for climate change is carbon dioxide, but a new study says another form of carbon ranks a close second. (Features interview with V. Ramanathan, a researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

Brown Relishes Campaign Spending Gap
Marketplace, Public Radio International, Aug. 11 -- California gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown served two terms as governor in the '70s, and is now the state's attorney general. His campaign offers are meager compared to Whitman's. She's already spent $100 million so far. He, less than a million. And he seems to relish the spending gap. (Quotes UC San Diego political scientist Thad Kousser) More

Teen's Death Meant Gift of Life
Seattle Times, Aug. 11 -- ed 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. 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 at Lifesharing, a division of UC San Diego Medical Center that provides organ recovery, donor family support and educational services. More

San Diego Public Universities, Colleges Pass on Furloughs
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 11 -- Don’t expect to see a reduction in activity at UC San Diego, San Diego State University or area community colleges. Unlike last year when the California State University and the University of California systems issued their own voluntary furlough orders to employees to deal with funding cuts, the two institutions have no plans to do so this year. More

Chula Vista Elementary District Gets New Leader
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 11 -- A new superintendent has been named at the Chula Vista Elementary School District. Francisco Escobedo, 49, will officially take the reigns of the largest elementary school district in the state in January. In 2008, he earned a doctorate in educational leadership through a partnership between UC San Diego and San Diego State University. More

Geisel Library Shows Up (Kind of) in ‘Inception’
KPBS, Aug. 11 -- Is it really her? Architecture nerds and UC San Diego students alike are buzzing about the Geisel Library’s apparent cameo as the snow fortress in Christopher Nolan’s science fiction flick "Inception." More

Proton Therapy is Another Tool to Fight Cancer
KPBS, Aug. 12 -- More and more people are surviving cancer in the United States. Health officials say earlier diagnosis and improved treatments are major factors. (Quotes Dr. Arno Mundt, who chairs the radiation oncology department at the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center) More

Surfing for a Cure: Luau and Longboard Invitational Promises Swell Time
Del Mar Times, Aug. 11 -- According to its founder, Sam Armstrong, The Moores UC San Diego Cancer Center Luau and Longboard Invitational continues to be his "field of dreams of surfing" because of the connections it creates among cancer survivors, participants and researchers. More

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