A Sampling of Clips for Aug. 16, 2010

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

Signing, Singing, Speaking: How Language Evolved
NPR, Aug. 16 -- These words you are reading are really just a collection of arbitrary symbols. Yet, after some decoding by your brain, these symbols convey meaning. That's because humans have evolved a brain with an extraordinary knack for language. And language has given us a major advantage over other species. "The Earth would not be the way it is if humankind didn't have the ability to communicate, to organize itself, to pass knowledge down from generation to generation," says Jeff Elman, a professor of cognitive science at UC San Diego. "We'd be living in troops of very smart baboons," he says. More

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Few Nations Give Guarantees Like 14th Amendment
NPR, Aug. 14 -- The thought of revoking the 14th Amendment seems absurd, even impossible, to some. But few other countries in the developed world guarantee "birthright citizenship." John Skrentny, sociology professor at UC San Diego, fills in host Guy Raz about how jus soli -- "the right of the soil" -- is exceptional. More

Weight-Loss Procedure Removes Stomach Through Mouth
FOX News, Aug. 13 -- A California woman had 80 percent of her stomach removed through her mouth using a minimally invasive technique, according to surgeons who say it may be the first of its kind in the world. Surgeons at the UC San Diego Medical Center performed the sleeve gastrectomy on Aug. 3. The patient, Connie Harris of Carlsbad, Calif., is recovering at home and doing well. More

Ocean Color Can Deflect Hurricanes, Study Suggests
National Geographic, Aug. 13 -- For centuries, artists from Hokusai  to Hopper  have used the ocean's colors to move people. Now a new study says they have the power to move hurricanes  too. What's more, global warming may already be changing the ocean's color—and therefore helping to determine who hurricanes will hit, and who they'll spare. (Quotes Manfredi Manizza, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

Computer Hangs Ten on Surfboard
Discovery Channel, Aug. 16 -- Computers have crept into every part of our lives, from business to pleasure. Just look at what's happening to surfing. Several mechanical engineering students at UC San Diego have installed a computer on a surfboard to study its design. Right now, we know more about how to make environmentally friendly surfboards out of soy, than why some sticks work better than others. More

Russia's Damaged Wheat: a Glimpse of the Future?
Voice of America, Aug. 13 -- In a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers examined six years of data from 227 farms in six major rice-producing countries in Asia. They looked at how rice production varied depending on the weather, and extrapolated those effects over the past quarter-century. They found that "higher nighttime temperatures lead to lower yield," says lead author Jarrod Welch at UC San Diego. More

The American Dream
Mumbai Mirror, Aug. 14 -- Dileep Rao trained to be a surgeon. But after theatre and starring in two of the biggest hits of Hollywood, acting is his only call, says the Indian-American actor. As many Indian-American children, Rao first chose a traditional career, training to become a surgeon at UC San Diego. But then was bitten by the acting bug. More

Remembering 'FUTURAMA' Producer Alex Johns, 43
The Washington Post, Aug. 13 -- Alex Johns, a distinguished producer of animated entertainment for television and films, died Saturday, Aug. 7, at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles after a long illness. Johns, 43, served as co-executive producer of the hit film "The Ant Bully" and co-produced more than 70 episodes of Comedy Central's popular "Futurama, working closely with the show's creator, Matt Groening. He attended UC San Diego. More

Nerves Regenerated After Spinal Cord Injury
Los Angeles Times, Aug. 13 -- The long-sought goal of helping paralyzed people regain some ability to move is a step closer after researchers announced they have induced nerve regeneration  in mice with severe spinal cord injury. A team of researchers from UC Irvine, UC San Diego and Harvard deleted an enzyme called PTEN (a phosphatase and tensin homolog) which controls a specific molecular pathway that regulates cell growth. More

Vivid Dreams 'Improve Our Memories'
The Telegraph, U.K., Aug. 14 -- People who enjoy a dream-filled sleep are significantly better at recalling information and making links between facts when they wake, scientists found. But recharging with a shallow nap offers no such mental boost, the research suggests. Dr Sara Mednick, a sleep researcher at UC San Diego who led the study, believes that the formation of connections between previously unassociated information in the brain – which leads to creative problem-solving – is encouraged by neurological changes which occur during REM sleep. More

A Commitment to Sharing Wealth
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 14 -- Warren Buffett joined Bill and Melinda Gates in December in inviting a dozen or so West Coast billionaire couples to a Silicon Valley hotel for a secret afternoon meeting followed by dinner. One of the couples is from San Diego — telecommunications entrepreneur Irwin Jacobs and his wife, Joan. The Jacobses recently agreed to dedicate at least 50 percent of their wealth to charity. Currently, that would total about $600 million. (Mentions UC San Diego) More

Chancellor’s Wife Brought City and UCSD Together
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 15 -- La Jolla had not fully embraced the University of California San Diego when Laura Galbraith became the de facto first lady of UC San Diego. Despite the cool reception from some, Mrs. Galbraith eagerly took on the task of building bridges between town and gown. Mrs. Galbraith died of pancreatic cancer Monday at her San Diego home. She was 93. More

Life in Summer Not Necessarily a Picnic for Cleveland Orchestra Musicians
Cleveland Plain Dealer, Aug. 15 -- Being a member of the Cleveland Orchestra is never easy, but it's even tougher in the summer. While for audiences Blossom Music Center is a place for picnics, casual dress and laid-back listening, for the orchestra, summer concerts entail heavier workloads, higher stress and a more demanding schedule. We're in low gear; they're in high. Especially now, on the eve of a European tour. (Mentions Peter Otto, who is on the UC San Diego music faculty) More

Monterey Author Recounts Life as P.O.W., and Beyond
Monterey County Herald, Aug. 15 -- "I didn't want to just write another POW book," said retired Navy Cmdr. Phillip Butler of Monterey, who was held for nearly eight years in the "Hanoi Hilton" prison during the war and has just published a memoir, "Three Lives of a Warrior" (Camelot Press, Charleston, S.C.). Butler is a UC San Diego alumnus. More

Former Intensive Care Unit Patients and Staff Hold Annual Reunion
KPBS, Aug. 14 — The neonatal intensive care unit at UC San Diego holds its 14th annual reunion tomorrow at Mission Bay Park. Hundreds of former patients and their family members will celebrate with medical staff. More

UCSD Couple Creates Game to Thin Kids
North County Times, Aug. 13 -- Over the past four months, Jesica Oratowski-Coleman and Aaron Coleman, who both work at the Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems at the UC San Diego, spent their free time designing a game. The game with the most public votes will win a trip to the White House and $4,500, and this week their game, called "Food Buster," ran neck-and-neck with two other teams. The voting period ends Saturday at 9 a.m. More

Treatment Providers Target Teen Prescription Drug Abuse
North County Times, Aug. 13 -- The numbers of prescription drug abusers in San Diego County may be small, but signs indicate that pill popping may be on the rise, according to drug treatment professionals. On Friday, the question of how to prevent further abuse, particularly among teenagers, landed in the lap of about 150 treatment and care providers from around the county as they met in a San Diego hotel ballroom for a regional summit addressing the topic. (Quotes Robin Pollini, an epidemiologist with UC San Diego, who provided research showing the abuse of pain medications rose in San Diego County from 1998 to 2008) More

San Diego Shuffle
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 14 -- UC San Diego history professor Michael Parrish has penned a biography of Joe Rauh, the famed civil rights/civil liberties lawyer who represented playwrights Arthur Miller  and Lillian Hellman  during the McCarthy era. The book, “Citizen Rauh: An American Liberal’s Life in Law and Politics,” is due Aug. 28 from University of Michigan Press. Parrish’s research goes deep: A Washington Redskins fan, Rauh was an old buddy of the club’s GM, Bobby Beathard — before Beathard defected to the Chargers. More

Abandoned Oil Wells Still Sit Off Oceanside Coastline
North County Times, Aug. 14 -- The worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history seems worlds away in the Gulf of Mexico, but a dozen abandoned exploratory wells off the coast of Oceanside recall an era when California was a hub of offshore drilling. (Quotes Peter Lonsdale, a professor of marine geology at Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

Kids’ Museum Has Big Plans
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 13 -- The Escondido Children’s Museum is poised for growth thanks to donors’s support that has led to an influx of new leadership and expanded hours. “We really want to be the premier children’s museum in the region,” Executive Director Javier Guerrero said. He completed a management and leadership program at UC San Diego. More

Lack of Challengers Means Council Could Skip Election
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 13 -- The city of Solana Beach may cancel its second consecutive council election. With two incumbents running unopposed, the City Council will decide at a special meeting Wednesday whether it will allow the election to proceed, or simply reappoint Mike Nichols and Tom Campbell. (Quotes UC San Diego political scientist Thad Kousser) More

War Rarely Mentioned in Congressional Races
North County Times, Aug. 15 -- More than 150,000 U.S. troops remain at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, conflicts that cost the nation more than $11 billion a month, the Pentagon reports. Yet with fewer than 80 days before the midterm elections, the wars' costs and their tolls on American lives are rarely discussed in North County and Southwest Riverside County congressional campaigns. (Quotes UC San Diego political scientist Gary Jacobson) More

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