A Sampling of Clips for Dec. 7, 2010

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

Youth Sports May Not Offer Enough Exercise
The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 7 -- The majority of children participating in organized team-sports don't meet the federal recommendation of one hour a day of moderate-to-vigorous exercise, according to a study released Monday by researchers at San Diego State and UC San Diego. More

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BusinessWeek
MSN Health
TIME Magazine
U.S. News & World Report
Newsday

Could 'Love Hormone' Oxytocin Cure Our Ills?
FOX News, Dec. 6 -- In recent years, we've been bombarded with studies about the hormone oxytocin - researchers have demonstrated it increases trust and helps aid in social bonding. It has even garnered a reputation as the "love hormone." But what good is it for? Despite all these findings, the hormone's medical use remains limited to obstetrics - it is used to induce labor and aid in breastfeeding. (Quotes Dr. Kai MacDonald, an adjunct professor of psychiatry at UC San Diego) More

Head of MD Anderson Stepping Down
CNBC, Dec. 6 -- Dr. John Mendelsohn, who served has president of the world-renowned University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for almost 15 years, announced Monday that he'll leave that position after the center finds a new leader. Before coming to MD Anderson, Mendelsohn was founding director of the National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center at UC San Diego. More

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Austin American Statesman
Houston Chronicle

After the Ruin of the Midterms, Is There Hope From Down Under?
The Huffington Post, Dec. 3 -- The US mid-term elections brought the global climate campaign to its knees, but as November drew to a close we in Australia got the most promising signal for a long time that our own national leadership is beginning to take climate policy seriously. Is this real hope, or just clutching at straws as we sink into a bottomless quagmire? (Mentions “Merchants of Doubt,” co-authored by UC San Diego science historian Naomi Oreskes) More

How Some Politicians Stumble on Science
USA Today, Dec. 7 -- Last month, National Institutes of Health chief Francis Collins warned genetic researchers that promised budget cuts would likely drop their chances from a historically low 1-in-5 chance of winning federal grant money in half, to 1-in-10. Science magazine's executive publisher, Alan Leshner, last week urged researchers to educate their congressmen on the benefits of their research. (Quotes UC San Diego science historian Naomi Oreskes) More

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' May Put Soldiers' Health at Risk, Doctor Says
ABC 13, Dec. 1 -- A physician with experience caring for armed forces personnel says the U.S. military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy puts both service members and the general public at risk by encouraging secrecy about sexual health issues. "Infections go undiagnosed. Service members and their partners go untreated," Dr. Kenneth Katz, a physician at San Diego State University and UC San Diego, wrote in a commentary published Dec. 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine. More

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WTEN, Albany, N.Y., Dec. 1

Passings: Chane't Johnson
Los Angeles Times, Dec. 7 -- Chane't Johnson, 34, an actress who appeared in television series including "LAX" and "Brothers," died Thursday in Hollywood of a heart attack, said her friend, actor Lon Haber. She earned a master's in theater arts from UC San Diego in 2001. While at UC San Diego she appeared in "Boesman and Lena" in a production directed by the play's author, Athol Fugard. More

Science Focus: Ajit Varki
ASBMBToday, December 2010 -- In 1975, when Ajit Varki first set foot on U.S. soil to pursue his interests in hematology research, he couldn’t possibly have envisioned that someday he would be taking a sabbatical at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center to learn about chimpanzees or requesting fossil samples of Neanderthals while at the same time emerging as a leading expert in glycobiology. He also never imagined that his work would be recognized by such honors as election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Varki is a distinguished professor in the departments of medicine and cellular and molecular medicine at UC San Diego, as well as co-director of both the UCSD/Salk Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny and the Glycobiology Research and Training Center. More

Top 7 Papers in Cell Biology
The Scientist, U.K., Dec. 6 – The number one paper selected this year by The Scientist is co-authored by UC San Diego researcher Victor Nizet. Salmonella is able to outcompete resident gut microbes by deriving energy from the inflammatory immune response that is supposed to combat the pathogen, the paper explains. More

Martian Meteorite Not Evidence of Extraterrestrials, Scientists Say
SPACE.com, Dec. 2 -- What some argue is evidence of ancient life in a meteorite from Mars could have a simple chemical explanation, scientists now suggest. These findings could also shed light on of the tricky chemistry going on in the atmospheres of both Mars and Earth. Atmospheric chemist Robina Shaheen at UC San Diego discovered anomalously high levels of oxygen-17 in carbonates found on dust grains, aerosols and dirt on Earth as well. This hinted that a chemical process common to both planets might be at work. More

Arsenic-Polluted Water Impacts Work Arrangements in Bangladesh
EHS Today, Dec 2 -- New research co-authored by UC San Diego’s Richard Carson shows that the arsenic contamination of drinking water in Bangladesh – called the “largest mass poisoning of a population in history” by the World Health Organization and responsible for a host of slow-developing diseases – also impacts work arrangements, which creates an immediate and toxic effect on the struggling nation’s economy. More

How to Talk Science
Inside Higher Ed, Dec. 6 -- The doors opened and the 600 people who had been hovering outside poured in. They acted fast, maneuvering their way to the front, wanting to be as close as possible to the stage. Loud, anticipatory chatter filled the minutes leading up to the act, but the crowd fell silent virtually instantaneously at the sound of the microphone check. This may sound more like a rock concert than something akin to what it actually was: a plenary session at the Council of Graduate Schools' annual meeting Friday here at a Washington hotel. And the man responsible for generating all the excitement? Alan Alda, the actor, director and writer-turned-university curriculum creator. (Quotes Kim E. Barrett, a dean of graduate studies at UC San Diego) More

Hawthorne, Levanen Share City's Top Volleyball Award With Boykin
Los Angeles Daily News, Dec. 6 -- After leading Granada Hills to its second consecutive City Section Div. I girls' volleyball championship, seniors Amber Hawthorne and Hanna Levanen shared player of the year honors, along with Birmingham senior Danetta Boykin. Hawthorne, a UC San Diego-bound setter, and Levanen -- an outside hitter signed with Pacific -- were among five Highlanders selected to the Div. I roster, along with Tom Harp being honored as coach of the year. More

Drug-resistant Bacteria Loom as a Growing Health Threat
San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec. 7 -- Increasing antibacterial resistance has rendered many antibiotics ineffective or obsolete. Microbes are evolving faster than the development of new drugs. The Food and Drug Administration is considering offering financial incentives to the pharmaceutical industry, like tax breaks and patent extensions, to encourage greater, speedier drug discovery. Dr. Victor Nizet is a veteran of the antibiotic wars. A UC San Diego professor of pediatrics and pharmacy, Nizet’s lab investigates how bacterial pathogens interact with humans, and how best to kill, disarm or deactivate them. We asked for a report from the front lines. More

'A School Within a School'
Voice of San Diego, Dec 7 -- The reason that Mission Bay High is able to stay viable and bring in so many students from other neighborhoods is that it is a magnet school, with a unique theme that lets it draw from across the city. (Quotes Susan Yonezawa, a researcher at UC San Diego) More

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