A Sampling of Clips for May 3, 2011

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

Climate Shift May Accelerate West Coast Sea Level Rise
Scientific American, May 3 -- Changing wind patterns could accelerate sea level rise along the West Coast, new research suggests. The cause is an apparent shift in a climate cycle called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, or PDO, said researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. More

Similar story in
Discovery Channel
North County Times

Are Al-Qaida and the Taliban driven by the Desire to Help Others?
The Guardian, U.K., May 3 -- However odd it may seem to use these terms of would-be jihadists and suicide bombers, some researchers describe Islamist terrorists as in the main rational, desperate figures operating in wrecked countries. (Quotes UC San Diego researcher Eli Berman) More

Similar story in
San Diego Union-Tribune

Screening: An Autism Questionnaire at Checkup Time
The New York Times, May 2 -- A questionnaire that parents can fill out in five minutes while waiting for the pediatrician can detect autism and other delays in 1-year-olds, a new UC San Diego study has found. More

Similar stories in
PBS News Hour
BusinessWeek
Boston Globe

Tattoos and Torah: One Woman's Journey to the Rabbinate
The Huffington Post, April 30 -- Rabbi Rochelle Kamins has not always felt Jewish ... enough. No youth group or summer camp. She never did all of the things that young Jewish people were "supposed" to do. But she always wanted to feel like she fit, and that she could belong -- tattoos, motorcycles and all. Sitting in her office, Rabbi Rochelle talks candidly about her non-traditional road to the rabbinate and why she doesn't plan on conforming anytime soon. She is a UC San Diego alumna. More

Festival of Books: Personal Beliefs + Science = What?
Authors Examine Why We Believe What We Believe
Los Angeles Times, April 30 -- You have to appreciate irony at a book festival. The panel on "Inconvenient Truths" wound up short one panelist, author Erik  M. Conway, who encountered an inconvenient truth about Los Angeles: Traffic. Conway never made it in time from his Pasadena home for the 11 a.m. start for a panel that aired live on Book TV. But his writing partner, Naomi Oreskes, a UC San Diego science historian, made it, joining fellow authors Timothy Ferris and Seth Mnookin to talk about the persistence of ignorance in national debates on issues of science. More

Similar story in
New Zealand Herald

California Democratic Gathering
Offers Chance to Celebrate, and Challenges Too
Los Angeles Times, April 30 -- California Democrats, kicking off their annual convention Friday in Sacramento, celebrated their statewide sweep in November that defied a nationwide Republican wave. (Quotes UC San Diego political scientist Thad Kousser) More

UCSD Holding Clean Innovation Conference Thursday
San Diego Union-Tribune, May 2 -- Business and political leaders will gather on the UC San Diego campus Thursday to talk about cutting-edge clean technology at the California Clean Innovation Conference. More

San Diego Schools Earn Recognition at National Science Bowl in D.C.
San Diego Union-Tribune, May 1 -- -- Both teams of budding student scientists from San Diego’s La Jolla High and The Preuss School at UC San Diego have been eliminated from the 21st annual U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C. “At first when we came out of the competition with these losses, there was a lot of people feeling disappointed,” La Jolla High team captain Renee Salz said Sunday. “But it quickly turned into determination to do better next year.” More

Cal Western, UCSD Hosting Conference This Week on Legal Pluralism
The San Diego Daily Transcript, May 2 -- California Western School of Law and UC San Diego are co-hosting a conference May 5-6 analyzing the challenges of creating functional, pluralistic legal systems in Latin America. More

What's It Like to Help Deliver Babies?
Voice of San Diego, May 2 -- Tuesday morning, I'll be interviewing Karen Perdion, director of the nurse-midwifery service at UC San Diego Medical Center, for our weekly Q&A. I want to know what you want to ask her. Perdion, who assists in about 80 births a year, is a certified nurse-midwife, which means she works to support a mother-to-be during pregnancy, labor and birth. It also means Perdion can do some things, like administer pre-natal care and deliver babies, beyond what nurses can. More

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