A Sampling of Clips for March 18, 2010

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

Another Joe Camel? Teen Girls Respond to Camel No. 9
Los Angeles Times, March 17 --  If you think teenagers today are less susceptible to smoking advertisements, you would be sadly mistaken. A study published this week in the journal Pediatrics shows that the 2007 R.J. Reynolds' cigarette campaign for Camel No. 9 had a significant impact on teen girls. Researchers at UC San Diego and the American Legacy Foundation enrolled more than 1,000 children, ages 10-13, in a study in 2003 and followed them through 2008, asking them their favorite cigarette advertisement. More

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Plastic Vortex Eyed as Potential Energy Source
Discovery Channel, March 17 -- Scientist Charles Moore has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the insidious plastic soup swirling in the North Pacific, but he has said that cleaning it up is impossible. A scientific mission is under way now to see if it's not only possible, but an opportunity for recycling. Project Kaisei, a diverse team of marine scientists, environmentalists and entrepreneurs sponsored in part by recycling businesses, is working in collaboration with researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. More

Drug Production Gets Aquatic
MIT Review, March 17 -- A huge number of so-called biologic drugs, made up of proteins rather than small molecules, are produced, en masse, by bacteria, yeast, or mammalian cell culture. But such methods can be expensive to set up and maintain. Stephen Mayfield, director of the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology at UC San Diego, believes that algae, which subsist on sunlight and carbon dioxide in the air, could be an ideal and cost-effective substitute. More

Dumpster Diving Tips: The Freegan Way
Huffington Post, March 18 -- Planet Green meets up with UC San Diego biology professor, Dr. Milton Saier, self-proclaimed freegan of 30 years. Watch as he shares his insights on freeganism, and takes some of his students on a dumpster diving lesson. More

Spammers Survive Botnet Shutdowns
BBC News, March 17 -- Spam levels have not been dented by a series of strikes against controllers of networks of hijacked computers. (Mentions research by Professor Stefan Savage and colleagues at UC San Diego) More

Weight Loss Surgery Without a Scar
ABC7, Denver, Colo., March 17 -- The stats may make you put down that next bag of chips or candy bar. The number of obese people just surpassed the number of overweight people in this country, according to UC San Diego and the National Center for Health Statistics. Fighting this epidemic is on the forefront in the medical world. Now, a new, less-invasive procedure may give people who need to lose weight new hope. More

Healthcare Reform Vote: Which Democrats Are Most Vulnerable?
Christian Science Monitor, March 17 -- Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky was the first-term Democratic congresswoman from Pennsylvania who cast the decisive 218th House vote for President Clinton’s budget reconciliation bill in 1993 – and then went on to lose reelection in 1994. Today, as the Democrats work to lock down just enough votes to pass an unpopular healthcare reform bill, “MMM” isn’t far from thought. No one wants to be the MMM of 2010. But there are several who could suffer that fate.  (Quotes UC San Diego political scientist Gary Jacobson) More

Henley Outswims the Competition
Ventura County Star, March 18 --  Not even capturing two national titles carries enough weight for a student-athlete to skip final exams at UC San Diego. Sophomore Alex Henley won the 200 butterfly and 400 individual medley in school-record times at the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships last weekend in Canton, Ohio. But as excited as Henley was, she didn’t have much time to celebrate. The biochemistry and cell biology major had to rush back to school to study for finals in Physics 1B, Organic Chemistry and Education Studies. More

Breast Cancer Trial Aims to Get New Drugs to Patients Quicker
KPBS, March 17 — UC San Diego researchers will take part in a clinical trial designed to develop new drugs for women with fast-growing breast cancers. One of the goals is to speed up the drug development process. More

Coping With Cancer
KUSI, March 17  -- Dealing with cancer can be tough not only on the patient, but also on family and friends. Dr. Danielle Casden, from the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, was here to spread the news about a program that helps teach coping skills so that patients and caregivers can make informed decisions. More

Home Prices Up for 6-county Region
San Diego Union-Tribune, March 16 -- Led by San Diego County, Southern California home prices rose in February even as sales stagnated, MDA DataQuick reported yesterday. (Quotes UC San Diego economist James Hamilton) More

San Diego Seniors Find Wii Bowling is Up Their Alley
SDNN, March 17 -- The Paulettes are part of the National Senior League, an organization of over 800 senior citizens on 144 teams who battle it out on the Wii bowling lanes. After last year’s “trial run” of the league, this is the first official year of competition, said Jeff Nystrom, the league’s commissioner. (Quotes Ipsit Vahia, a postdoc fellow at UC San Diego and mentions research by UCSD scientist Dilip Jeste) More

Celebrating Science: San Diego Science Festival 2010 Starts Saturday
Del Mar Times, March 17 -- Science lovers: Get ready for a weeklong adventure in science exploration with the second annual San Diego Science Festival 2010, which kicks off this Saturday, March 20, with Science Family Day at Balboa Park and concludes next Saturday at Petco Park. A countywide extravaganza, the San Diego Science Festival is organized by UC San Diego and is meant to inspire young learners and their families with curiosity, expanded knowledge and deeper appreciation for the wonders and beauty of science. More

Physician, Author and Patient Advocate is Revelle Forum Guest
La Jolla Light, Mar ch 17 -- Physician, author and Atlantic Monthly correspondent Abraham Verghese will visit UC San Diego to discuss his acclaimed novel, "Cutting for Stone," and to share insights on both the process of writing and the humanistic practice of medicine. More

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