A Sampling of Clips for June 17, 2010

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

Sensitive Test Spots Newest HIV Infections
Reuters, June 16 -- Standard tests for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can't identify people very recently infected with the virus, but a more sensitive test can, new research by UC San Diego scientists shows. More

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USGS Director Quietly Wages 'Fearless' War on Oil Spill
The New York Times, June 16 -- Though she has stayed behind the scenes for most of the federal response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt has emerged in the past week as a bold, forthright translator of the web of numbers and scientific estimates surrounding the spill. McNutt is an alumna of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. More

Defeating the Merchants of Doubt
Nature, June 9  -- Ever since Charles Keeling began systematic measurements of carbon dioxide levels as part of the 1957–58 International Geophysical Year, scientists have been working to understand the effects of that atmospheric change on our climate. (Co-authored by UC San Diego science historian Naomi Oreskes) More

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Cell Phone Air Sensors
Science Update, June 15 -- The Department of Homeland Security wants to put chemical sensors in cell phones – so they can detect toxins in the air, and relay the location to authorities. UC San Diego is developing one sensor in collaboration with a company called Rhevision. According to biochemist Michael Sailor, different areas on the thumbnail-sized chip can be engineered to detect different chemicals.  More

Metrics: A Profusion of Measures
Nature, June 16 -- Scientific performance indicators are proliferating — leading researchers to ask afresh what they are measuring and why. (Mentions the  h-index, which has been swiftly adopted by major online databases since being introduced in 2005 by physicist Jorge Hirsch of UC San Diego) More

Complicated Tango for Argentina’s Coach and Star
The New York Times, June 16 -- They will remain bound through the rest of the World Cup: Diego Maradona, 49, and Lionel Messi, soon to be 23. One perhaps the greatest soccer star ever, the other the best of his generation. One volatile, the other quiet. Both gripped in a complicated relationship with Argentina and with each other, dancing a mesmerizing soccer tango as Argentina seeks its first title since Maradona hoisted the trophy in 1986 with help from the so-called Hand of God. (Quotes Sebastian M. Saiegh, an Argentine who is a political scientist at UC San Diego) More

If There's Life on Mars, It Could Be Right-handed
New Scientist, June 17 -- Many amino acids, sugars and other molecules that are important for life are chiral - they come in two forms that are mirror images of one another. Life tends to prefer one form over the other, using only right-handed glucose molecules, for example. However, bacteria appear to be less selective. (Quotes Jeffrey Bada of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

How We Wait
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 16 -- We eat. We work. We play. We sleep. We wait. Ask people the details of their lives, and waiting barely gets mentioned - though it has a recurring role in the human condition, and these days, in the nation. (Quotes Robert Epstein, a lecturer at UC San Diego's Rady School of Management who studies waiting as it relates to innovation) More

Parkinson's Disease
10News, June 17 -- New research shows that Parkinson's disease doesn't only affect the motor system, it can also cause dementia in about a third of patients. This coming Friday, UC San Diego will be hosting a free memory screening clinic. Dr. Joanne Hamilton, from UC San Diego Medical Center, was here to tell us how this screening can benefit Parkinson's patients. More

Artist Blends Chinese and American Impressions in Escondido Exhibit
North County Times, June 17 -- Few artists can claim to be influenced by their father's propensity for re-imagining his house. But for UC San Diego alumnus Seth Augustine, watching his father constantly change the house's design made him see how flexible art can be. More

Revamped Show Premieres With Insights on Diabetes
La Jolla Light, June 16 -- San Diego-based diabetes expert and advocate Dr. Steven Edelman, diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 15, uses his nonprofit organization and video series "Taking Control of Your Diabetes" to empower people to take an active role in their conditions. Dr. Edelman and his team partnered with UCSD-TV to give the series a new look and add segments on exercise, nutrition and children with diabetes. The first program, "Diabetes Prevention," premieres at 8 p.m. June 24 on UCSD-TV. More

UCSD Alums Gather at Black's Beach
La Jolla Light, June 16 -- Part of the fun at UC San Diego's alumni weekend focused around the inaugural Beach Party and Surfing Invitational when hundreds gathered at Black's Beach for competition and lessons and sand-castle building. The event wrapped up with a family-friendly beach party and picnic lunch made from locally grown ingredients. More

Villa Musica Moves Into New Home
La Jolla Light, June 16 -- Villa Musica, San Diego's nonprofit Community Music Center, will host an open house celebration for its first dedicated facility from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 26 and 27 at 10373 Roselle Street, Suite 170 in Sorrento Valley. The new building will be home to six studios, rehearsal and recital spaces, and a gathering area where participants' family members can access the Internet, do homework and sip coffee. Villa Musica was founded in 2005 by Fiona Chatwin, a native of Australia and a graduate of the doctoral program in music at UC San Diego. More

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