A Sampling of Clips for March 22, 2010

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

Why We Need to Dream
The New York Times, March 19 -- When I can’t sleep, I think about what I’m missing. I glance over at my wife and watch her eyelids flutter. I listen to the steady rhythm of her breath. I wonder if she’s dreaming and, if so, what story she’s telling to herself to pass the time. (Mentions research by Sara Mednick, a neuroscientist at UC San Diego) More

Sleep Loss, Marijuana Use Linked in Teen Social Networks
Business Week, March 19 -- In a study of so-called "contagious" behavior, UC San Diego researchers have found a link between sleep deprivation and drug use in teen social networks. More

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Palm Beach Post

As Brazil Rises, Mexico Tries to Amp Up Its Own Clout
TIME Magazine, March 21 -- In the past decade Mexico’s diplomatic role seems to have fallen aside — apparent in the country’s failure to engage the coup crisis in Honduras last year — and has been assumed by its South American rival, Brazil. (Quotes Alberto Diaz-Cayeros, director of the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at UC San Diego and a former advisor to the Mexican government) More

Down Syndrome Patients Could Unlock Mysteries of Aging
USA Today, March 22  -- As they live longer, adults with Down syndrome — who have an extra copy of chromosome 21 — are teaching scientists about the genetic roots of aging, says Ira Lott, head of pediatric neurology at the University of California-Irvine School of Medicine. (Quotes William Mobley, a neuroscience professor at UC San Diego) More

Tried and Tested Ways to Woo a Half-hearted Terrorist
Financial Times, March 20 -- Eli Berman’s new book, “Radical, Religious and Violent,” is an attempt to construct a theory of rational terrorism. Berman’s argument is that effective terrorist groups are effective only because their members are cut off from the outside world and have little to gain from quitting the group. Berman is on the UC San Diego faculty. More

The Stem Cellsman: Lawrence Goldstein
San Diego Union-Tribune, March 22 -- Lawrence Goldstein may not be the face of stem cell research, but the professor of cellular and molecular medicine at UC San Diego is certainly among its most vocal and staunchest advocates — and a leading researcher in the field. This month, Goldstein and co-author Meg Schneider, a writer, published “Stem Cells for Dummies.” More

Reasons to Celebrate
San Diego Union-Tribune, Editorial, March 20— On Friday, the governor of California, the mayor of San Diego, members of the City Council and others are scheduled to gather on Torrey Pines Mesa to celebrate the start of construction on a state-of-the-art complex that will further cement San Diego’s future as a world-class player in scientific research. The complex itself is being developed on the UC San Diego campus for the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine. More

The Best Refrigerator Magnet Ever?
ScienceNOW, March 19 -- There are limits to just how magnetic a material can be. Or so researchers thought. A compound of iron and nitrogen is about 18% more magnetic than the most magnetic material currently known, a team of materials scientists claims. (Quotes Eric Fullerton, a physicist at UC San Diego) More

Alzheimer's Drugs Hurt Brain?
The Scientist, March 22 -- Drugs being investigated for Alzheimer's disease may be causing further neural degeneration and cell death, calling for a change in the way Alzheimer's medications are developed according to results published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. (Mentions research by nano-biophysicist Ratnesh Lal of UC San Diego and his colleagues) More

Researchers Selected to Probe Bee Problem
The Sacramento Bee, March 21 -- The San Francisco-based North American Pollinator Protection Campaign this week announced five grants totaling $30,000 for university- and government-based scientists to study causes of "colony collapse disorder" among honeybees. Two of the five one-year NAPPC grants are headed to researchers in California: at UC San Diego and the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in La Jolla. More

Planners Will Push Trolley Project
San Diego Union-Tribune, March 20 — Despite recent cuts to San Diego’s public transit system, regional planners are moving forward with a proposed 11-mile trolley line from the Old Town Transit Center to UC San Diego or the University Towne Centre. More

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SDSU’s Love Library Said to be At Risk
San Diego Union-Tribune, March 21 -- Nearly 180 public university buildings in California used by tens of thousands of people have been judged hazardous to occupy during a major earthquake, including libraries, classroom buildings, student apartments, gyms, a hospital and a child-care center, a California Watch investigation has found. (Mentions UC San Diego) More

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North County Times

Military Leaders Testify About Energy Efficiency
San Diego Union-Tribune, March 19 -- Two top military leaders told state senators that the armed forces are taking energy issues seriously — by working on ways to make their operations at home and abroad more efficient. The testimony, at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, was part of a hearing by a state Senate committee on climate change designed to gather more information on how energy use affects national security. More

Huge Science Expo Allows Kids to Experiment With Learning
North County Times, March 21 -- Expo Day is one of the signature events of the San Diego Science Festival, a monthlong celebration of science and learning that takes place at schools, libraries, universities and public locations. The event is run by UC San Diego in partnership with public agencies and private companies in the region. More

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State Legislators Want Answers From UCSD Officials
KPBS, March 19 — A group of state legislators will visit UC San Diego on Saturday to hear how administrators are addressing issues of cultural diversity and intolerance on campus. It's part of a community forum called "Addressing Intolerance in Higher Education." More

Women’s Hall of Fame Inducts Standout Women
San Diego Daily Transcript, March 19 -- The San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame will welcome several standout women at its ninth annual induction ceremony and dinner on March 27 at UC San Diego’s Price Center Ballroom East. More

Graduate Schools Ease Their Way Into Online Educational Realm
San Diego Business Journal, Marhc 22 -- Online learning is popular — and becoming more so — with San Diegans pursuing professional training, certificate courses and other continuing education options. Graduate degree programs at San Diego’s public universities are making the transition in a slower fashion. UC San Diego Extended Studies and Public Programs saw a 10 percent boost in its overall enrollments for fiscal year 2009 compared with the previous year, and online study contributed significantly to the boost. More

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