A Sampling of Clips for Nov. 8, 2010

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

U.S. Obesity Rate May Hit 42% by 2050
BusinessWeek, Nov. 5 -- Despite reports that the rate of obesity among U.S. adults might be slowing down, a new projection from Harvard University and MIT suggests otherwise. Instead, using a sophisticated model that views obesity like an infectious disease, the team predicts that adult obesity rates will rise for another 40 years before leveling out. And before reaching that plateau, 42 percent of adults will be obese, the team predict. (Quotes UC San Diego researcher James Fowler) More

Similar story on
U.S. News & World Report
KTVN, Las Vegas, Nev.
FOX19, Cincinnati, Ohio
ABC News 4, Charleston, S.C.
WTEN, Albany, N.Y.

A Composer's Muse Takes the Form of a Technology Institute
The Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 7 -- Composers have long been the beneficiaries of new technology, drawing inspiration from leading scientists and inventors and employing the latest innovations in their music. Now, Rand Steiger, a composer and professor of music at UC San Diego, will have the opportunity to work firsthand with scientists involved in cutting-edge research and even provide the engineers with new ideas about how their inventions can be used musically. More

UCSD and City Turning Sewage Gas to Clean Energy
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 5-- A project to use methane produced at the city’s Point Loma sewage plant to make clean power for UC San Diego will break ground before the end of the year. The project is unique because of the way it gets the gas to where it’s needed. More

Similar story in
Voice of San Diego

Husband Arrested in UCSD Burning Car Death
Los Angeles Times, Nov. 6— The estranged husband of a woman whose body was found in a burning car at UC San Diego last week was arrested on suspicion of murder in Tijuana Friday night, police said. More

Similar story in
Sacramento Bee
Contra Costa Times
CBS News 8, San Diego, Calif.
San Diego Union-Tribune

DARPA Plans Exaflop Supercomputer for 2018
Wired, Nov. 8 -- Less than two weeks after China declared ownership of the world’s most powerful supercomputer -- a 14,000 CPU beast capable of pumping out 2.5 petaflops of mathematical prowess -- US defense agency DARPA has already announced plans to take back the crown. (Mentions the San Diego Supercomputer Center) More

'The Scarlet Letter' at Intiman is a New Take on a Timeless Story
The Seattle Times, Nov. 3 -- If you are among the multitudes who read "The Scarlet Letter" in school, don't expect that "Scarlet Letter" on stage at the Intiman Theatre. Naomi Iizuka's 70-minute, world-premiere adaptation of the 1850 novel depicts central incidents from Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic study of sin, guilt and redemption in Puritan New England. Iizuka is on the UC San Diego faculty. More

Animal Research: Groupthink in Both Camps
The Chronicle of Higher Education, Opinion, Nov. 7 – Animal researchers and defenders of animals both employ groupthink, a mode of thought that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, where members striving for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action. (Mentions UC San Diego) More

Army Joins UCSD on Grants for Wireless Health Devices
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 8-- The Army has joined with UC San Diego and several other area organizations to search for new wireless health devices that can be used by soldiers. The Wireless Health Innovation Challenge is open to faculty members and graduate students in Southern California. Other sponsors are Qualcomm and the Wireless Life Science Alliance. As many as four winning projects will each receive as much as $75,000 each to move their projects forward. More

What Question Would You Ask NPR's Ira Flatow?
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 6 -- Fellow UT reporter Lily Leung and I will interview Ira Flatow next Tuesday when the host of National Public Radio's "Science Friday" visits the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla to accept the Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest. More

San Diego Green Tech Gets $1 Million Grant
KPBS, Nov. 8 — There’s good news for budding entrepreneurs at Southern California universities. The Department of Energy has awarded a new $1 million grant to UC San Diego and San Diego State University. The funding will help move renewable energy technology from university laboratories to the marketplace. More

UCSD Tries to Raise Awareness about Hepatitis B
KPBS, Nov. 8 — A campaign designed to raise awareness about hepatitis B hits the campus of UC San Diego today. The liver disease disproportionately affects Asians. About one in ten Asian-Americans has hepatitis B. The virus is spread through contact with blood or other body fluids of someone who's infected. More

Artist Kim MacConnel Gets His Due
KPBS, Nov. 4 — Artist Kim MacConnel is getting a lot of deserved attention of late. A retrospective of his work is currently on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and an exhibit of recent work opens at Quint Contemporary Art. We'll talk with the acclaimed artist about his career. MacConnel is a UC San Diego emeritus professor and a UCSD alumnus. More

San Diego Reaction to Prop. 19 Loss a Mixed Bag
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 5-- On the day after California voters rejected the legalization of marijuana, the editor and co-founder of NUG magazine was too busy working to grieve. News on the marijuana front was bad, but business for “San Diego’s original cannabis publication” was booming. (Quotes Mary Walshok of UC San Diego) More

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