A Sampling of Clips for July 16, 2010

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

Robert Galambos, Neuroscientist
Who Showed How Bats Navigate, Dies at 96
New York Times, July 15 -- Dr. Robert Galambos, a neuroscientist whose work included helping to prove how bats navigate in total darkness and deciphering the codes by which nerves transmit sounds to the brain, died June 18 at his home in the La Jolla section of San Diego.  He was 96. (Robert Galambos was a former researcher at UC San Diego) More

Doctors Face Dilemma Over Prescribing Avandia
NPR, July 15 -- A panel of experts voted Wednesday to recommend that the FDA keep the diabetes drug Avandia on the market despite findings that the drug increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Now it is up to doctors to decide when the benefits of taking Avandia outweigh the risks. Michele Norris speaks with Daniel Einhorn, a clinical endocrinologist and medical director of the Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute in San Diego, about the ruling. (Daniel Einhorn is a clinical professor of medicine at UC San Diego) More

Divorce Clustering
New York Times, Opinion, July 15 – Researchers at UC San Diego and other universities have called it “divorce clustering” and say that a split up between immediate friends increases your own chances of getting divorced by 75%. The effect drops to 33% if the divorce is between friends of a friend, what the researchers call two degrees of separation, then disappears almost completely at three degrees of separation. It is not only the marital status of friends but also siblings and colleagues which has a significant effect on how long your own marriage might last. Breaking up will catch on among your friends, and the more divorcees you know, the higher your own chances of becoming one. (Mentions UC San Diego professor James Fowler) More

UC San Diego  Brings Back 'Old-Time' Radio Drama
San Diego Union-Tribune, July 15 -- Scott Paulson, the outreach coordinator at UC San Diego's Geisel Library, will bring together some fellow actors on Friday and do a live old-time radio re-enactment of "Tom Swift and the Visitor from Planet X." The show will be held at the library at 4 p.m. and is open to the public, without charge. More

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UC San Diego Scientists Using Algae to Produce Fuel
KUSI, July 15 -- The next time you fill her up you may get seaweed instead of gasoline. San Diego’s leading the way with a new type of fuel. KUSI’s Lena Lewis shows us how algae are being used to cut America’s dependence on foreign oil.  (Quotes UC San Diego professor Stephen Mayfield) More 

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Inherited Glycosylation Disorder:
Researchers Find Cause of Metabolic Disease -- And Possible Cure
ScienceDaily, July 15 -- An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has discovered the gene mutation responsible for a condition in which eye and brain development is severely disrupted in affected infants. More

Kathy Griffin All Torn Up Over Levi
San Diego Union-Tribune, July 16 -- Dileep Rao, a UC San Diego grad who played the part of Max Patel, the “good scientist,” in the mega-blockbuster “Avatar,” should be riding another hit this year. “Inception,” a sci-fi thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Christoper Nolan (“The Dark Knight”), opens in theaters today. More