A Sampling of Clips for March 17, 2010

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

Stem Cell Cures Any Closer?
CBS News, March 16 -- The number of embryonic stem cell lines funded by the government has doubled - from 21 to 44 today. More than 200 U.S. companies are researching stem cells. So the report card on stem cell research is promising -- but incomplete. (Quotes Larry Goldstein, director of the stem cell program at UC San Diego) More

Static Over Statins: Should Young People
Without Cholesterol Problems Take Statins?
Scientific American, April 2010 -- An expected National Cholesterol Education Program move to lower the treatment bar this year would follow a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel’s vote in December 2009 to broaden the prescription base of Astra­Zeneca’s drug Crestor (rosu­va­statin) to an additional 6.5 million lower-risk Americans. The FDA usually accepts the panel’s recommendations. (Quotes Joseph L. Witztum, an endocrinologist at UC San Diego)More

Vitamin D: Benefits Beyond Healthy Bones
FOX News, March 17 -- For decades vitamin D was associated only with bone-building calcium and healthy strong teeth. Today, we are beginning to understand just how important vitamin D really is to our overall health and that many of us are not getting enough of this vitally important vitamin. (Mentions research at UC San Diego) More

Problem Solved, LOL
Scientific American, March 17 -- Polymath began life on the blog of Timothy Gowers, a University of Cambridge winner of the Fields Medal, mathematics’ most coveted prize. In a blog post in January 2009, Gowers asked whether spontaneous online collaborations could crack hard mathematical problems—and if they could do so in the open, laying the creative process out for the world to see. (Quotes Rafael Núñez, a cognitive scientist at UC San Diego) More

School May Hold Lessons for UTSA
San Antonio News-Express, March 16 -- Nestled among tall eucalyptus and pine trees, UC San Diego has a camplike feel, reminiscent of the days when scientists bunked in seaside cottages pursuing the mysteries of the Pacific Ocean. More

Voyages to Vortex of Trash
San Diego Union-Tribune, March 16 -- Wanted: a seaworthy barge for picking up garbage from the middle of the Pacific Ocean. That’s what officials from Project Kaisei looked for recently in San Diego. The group is planning three monthlong collection voyages set to start in May, all part of a burgeoning effort to capture more debris from beaches, lagoons, harbors and the open ocean. Meanwhile, Miriam Goldstein, from the Scripps Insititutions of Oceanography, is seeking grants to pay for a second trip. She also hopes to catch a ride on a research ship to analyze whether similar concentrations of plastic are building in the South Pacific. More

San Diego Searches for Ways to Deal With Hoarders
KPBS, March 16  — Society is fascinated with people who acquire huge amounts of junk they can't throw away. And it's spawned at least one reality TV show, called Hoarders. But finding a way to deal with hoarders is not entertaining. Hoarding can cause neighborhood nuisances and public safety problems. That's why people have come together in San Diego county to try to create a consistent and effective community response to hoarding. (Quotes Sanjaya Saxena is a psychiatrist at UC San Diego and a renowned expert in compulsive hoarding) More

Avastin Helps Reduce Devastating Nosebleeds
North County Times, March 17 -- Patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), an inherited condition characterized by profuse nosebleeds, may find hope in a cancer-fighting drug called bevacizumab, also known as Avastin. The drug treats "cancers and eye disorders by restricting the growth of abnormal blood vessels," said Dr. Terence M. Davidson, professor of surgery and director of the UC San Diego Nasal Dysfunction Clinic. More

Despite Recent Warm Weather, Rain Still Likely
10News, March 16 -- San Diegans experienced summer-like weather around the county Tuesday, but weather experts said storms may be headed this way in the immediate future. (Quotes Scripps Institution of Oceanography researcher Sam Iacobellis) More

North County Reaching Out to Bring In Business Meetings
San Diego Union-Tribune, March 16 -- Listless leisure travel and sharp cutbacks in business expense accounts have taken their toll on North County’s hospitality industry, prompting tourism officials to launch a marketing campaign they hope will persuade groups and associations to think of the region when they’re organizing their next conference or meeting. (Mentions the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

Hearing on Climate Change Being Held Friday in La Jolla
San Diego Daily Transcript, March 16  -- Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) and members of the Senate Select Committee on Climate Change & AB 32 Implementation will hold a public hearing Friday, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. More

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