A Sampling of Clips for February 17, 2010

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

Testing Curbs Some Genetic Diseases
MSNBC, Feb. 17 -- Some of mankind's most devastating inherited diseases appear to be declining, and a few have nearly disappeared, because more people are using genetic testing to decide whether to have children. (Quotes Dr. Michael Kuback, a professor at UCSD) More

Similar story in
The New York Times
Associated Press

New Transistors Mimic
Human Brain's Synapses
MSNBC, Feb. 17 – A new transistor designed to mimic structures in the human brain could pave the way for increasingly efficient computer systems that "think" like humans, scientists say. (Quotes physicist Massimiliano Di Ventra of UCSD, who was not involved in the study) More

Bees Can Stay ‘Stop’
Discovery Channel News, Feb. 17 -- Honeybees don't only waggle dance to tell hive-mates the whereabouts of good eats, they also bump and beep to warn others when big trouble awaits at some of those floral diners. The discovery of the "stop" signal made by UCSD scientists is the first negative or "inhibitory" message ever found in bees. More

Busting Blood Clots with Sound Waves
MIT Tech Review, Feb. 17 -- An ultrasound device designed to produce highly focused sound waves might one day be used to break up stroke-causing blood clots in the brain without surgery or drugs. So far, the system has only been tested on clots in test tubes and animals, but researchers aim to start human tests by the end of 2011. Thilo Hoelscher, a neurologist at UCSD, is attacking the clots with a device developed by Israeli ultrasound technology company InSightec. More

Incumbents on the Firing Line
Congressional Quarterly, Feb. 17 -- Both parties will try to channel the populist zeal sweeping the nation into election victories this November. Republicans are running against government encroachment and Democrats are ratcheting up their rhetoric against Wall Street financial institutions. But these themes will be tested in races held months earlier when several incumbents face rare primary challenges. (Quotes UCSD political scientist Gary Jacobson) More

Sempra Doesn’t Regret
Gamble on Natural Gas
San Diego Union-Tribune, Feb. 16 -- Just as San Diego-based Sempra Energy brings two expensive liquefied natural gas importation plants on line, energy prices have fallen because of lowered demand and increased supply. That has meant that a third LNG plant the company has proposed in Texas is on hold — and may be sold. (Quotes David Victor, an energy expert at UCSD) More

UCSD Unhappy With
'Ghetto-Themed' Student Party
10News, Feb. 16 -- UCSD administrators are condemning a weekend ghetto-themed party thrown off-campus by fraternity students to mock Black History Month, but they aren't likely to discipline anyone, it was reported Wednesday. More

Similar story in
San Diego Union-Tribune

Paging Pratt!
Riviera Magazine, February 2010 -- Art history is repeating itself at UCSD, where grads and faculty are hogging the art-school headlines, from museum showcases of standout grads to a high-tech detective hunting for a lost Leonardo. The university often viewed as the pocket-protected nerd to UCLA’s cinema stars and Berkeley’s edgy radicals is emerging as a cultural powerhouse—again. More

Grooming Theater's New Visionaries
San Diego Union-Tribune, Feb. 14 -- The San Diego theater-education organization, which rolls out its annual “Plays by Young Writers” festival this week at the Lyceum Theatre, makes a point of fostering student playwrights who speak their minds. (Mentions UCSD theater department founder Arthur Wagner and UCSD associate dean and costume designer Judith Dolan, who are judging the plays) More

Foreign Artists Embrace
an All-American Art Form
San Diego Union-Tribune, Feb. 14 -- Just how broadly jazz, America’s most revered music, has been embraced in Europe and everywhere else will be demonstrated at an array of concerts in San Diego over the next four months. (Mentions UCSD professor Mark Dresser) More

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