A Sampling of Clips for Aug. 13, 2010

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

Lake Mead's Water Level Plunges as 11-Year Drought Lingers
The New York Times, Aug. 12 -- Lake Mead, the enormous reservoir of Colorado River water that hydrates Arizona, Nevada, California and northern Mexico, is receding to a level not seen since it was first being filled in the 1930s, stoking existential fears about water supply in the parched Southwest. (Quotes Tim Barnett, a scientist and Lake Mead expert at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography who sounded the alarm in 2008 with the prediction that Mead had a 50 percent chance of running dry by 2021) More

Stomach Reduction Surgery via Mouth a U.S. First
WBRC, Birmingham, Ala., Aug. 12 -- 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. The smaller stomach is thought to increase the patient's feeling of fullness and reduce food consumption. A patient generally loses two to four pounds a week after the surgery. More

Similar stories on
KPTM, Omaha, Neb.
WMFB, Myrtle Beach, Fla.
KTVN, Reno, Nev.

Where Politics and Science Should Not Mix
Minnesota Public Radio, Aug. 12 – Naomi Oreskes, a science historian at UC San Diego, explains why some scientists are trying to undermine recent research on global warming and spread mistruths.  Oreskes’ latest book is called "Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming." More

Similar story in
The Guardian, U.K.

Understanding Anorexia
ABC 7, Chicago, Aug. 12 -- For years, parents and doctors have blamed the eating disorder on society's obsession with being thin. ABC7's Healthbeat reporter Sylvia Perez took a look at different perspectives that involve not only the cause, but also the treatment. (Quotes Dr. Walter Kaye, a psychiatrist at UC San Diego) More

Study: Ballot Measure Wording Affects Outcomes – Sometimes
Sacramento Bee, Aug. 12 -- This year's statewide ballot measures, like those in other recent election years, have been subjected to complex litigation not on their provisions, but how those provisions are presented to voters in official ballot titles and summaries. Those who fight ballot language wars do so because they believe that how a measure is officially presented on the ballot could affect the outcome of the election. And -- in a masterpiece of timeliness -- two political scientists, including Vladimir Kogan of UC San Diego, have written a 28-page research paper delving into that belief, one aspect of which is the Proposition 8 language clash. More

Algae Turn Ocean Green; Scientists Said Plankton Pose No Danger
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 12 -- Green algae has invaded the southern California coastline from San Diego to Los Angeles. Local beachgoers reported seeing greenish tints in the water at Black's Beach, Windansea, Scripps Pier and Torrey Pines in recent days. (Quotes Melissa Carter, a research associate at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which is part of UC San Diego) More

Default Loans Bring Death to the Door
San Diego Daily Transcript, Aug. 12 -- The regulations to be drafted to implement the recent financial reform bill should provide for a Funeral Plan. That's the opinion of Takeo Hoshi, prize-winning economist from UC San Diego, speaking at the Economics Roundtable. More

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