A Sampling of Clips for Nov. 16, 2010

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

Life in Nemo’s World
The New York Times, Opinion, Nov. 15 -- Imagine being a small fish on a coral reef. My Ph.D. adviser once described the life of a reef fish as being similar to a small mammal in the waning ages of the dinosaurs: Millions of years ago, our warmblooded forebears were probably scampering around, perpetually paranoid that a big reptilian mouth would appear to end their furry existence prematurely. This image is now burned in my head, and I cannot stop imagining a Cretaceous scene as I watch fish on coral reefs. (Written by Stuart Sandin, an assistant professor at the Scripps Institution for Oceanography) More

Do Tweets Change Your Behavior?
CNN, Opinion, Nov. 16 -- Fans of new media say Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites are changing the world. They point to Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, the 2009 demonstrations in Iran and Moldova's "Twitter Revolution" in Eastern Europe in 2009 as evidence that all those tweets and status updates are making a difference. (Co-authored by UC San Diego political scientist James Fowler) More

The "Router" in Your Head—a Bottleneck of Processing
Discover Magazine, Nov. 15 -- The brain is, in the words of neuroscientist Floyd Bloom, “the most complex structure that exists in the universe.” Its trillions of connections let it carry out all sorts of sophisticated computations in very little time. You can scan a crowded lobby and pick out a familiar face in a fraction of a second, a task that pushes even today’s best computers to their limit. Yet multiplying 357 by 289, a task that demands a puny amount of processing, leaves most of us struggling. (Mentions research by Harold Pashler, a psychologist at UC San Diego) More

Freaks, Geeks, and Economists
Slate, Nov. 15 -- In the Darwinian world of high-school dating, freshman girls and senior boys have the highest chances of successfully partnering up. Senior girls (too picky!) and freshman boys (pond scum!) have the least. These are truisms known to anyone who has watched 10 minutes of a teen movie or spent 10 minutes in a high school cafeteria. Now, however, social scientists have examined them exhaustively and empirically. And they have found that for the most part, they're accurate. (Mentions research at UC San Diego) More

A Review of Gere's "Knossos & the Prophets of Modernism
The New American, Nov. 8 -- Cathy Gere’s new book, Knossos and the Prophets of Modernism, is of profound significance because it offers the reader an opportunity to examine the manner in which modern and post-modern ideological constructions have hijacked the archaeological study of ancient Crete in the service of various agendas. (Gere is on the UC San Diego faculty) More

Down Syndrome, Then Alzheimer’s
San Diego Union-Tribune, Opinion, Nov. 15 -- As recently as the mid-20th century, Down syndrome essentially was a child’s disease. Fortunately, much has changed. Shifting social attitudes and improved health care mean DS patients now routinely reach age 50 or 60, sometimes beyond. But the blessings of a longer life bring a dreadful curse as well: If they live long enough, people with Down syndrome are almost certain to fall victim to Alzheimer’s disease. (Written by Dr. William C. Mobley, a distinguished professor and chairman of the Department of Neurosciences at the UC San Diego School of Medicine) More

Expected the Unexpected Part 2:
Irwin Jacobs on the Balboa Park's Plaza de Panama Makeover
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 15 -- Lately, Irwin Jacobs has been interested in making Balboa Park's central square, the Plaza de Panama, more pedestrian-oriented. So, when I spotted him at the UC San Diego 50th anniversary gala Saturday night, I couldn't help but interrupt him as he was chatting with Chancellor Marye Anne Fox to find out how that conversion is coming. Jacobs, the founder of Qualcomm, also was a member of the UCSD faculty. More

Expected the Unexpected Part 1: Chargers Stadium
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 15 -- UC San Diego celebrated its 50th anniversary Saturday night with a glittering affair at its RIMAC athletic facility on campus. I was there on double-duty -- as a 1970 alumnus and as a reporter on the hunt for odd tidbits for news-hungry readers. The anniversary theme, "Expected the Unexpected," turned out to be apropos when it came to hobnobbing with the glitterati. More

Eating-disorder Expert Helps Girls With Self-esteem, Body Image
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 15 -- As a psychologist specializing in eating disorders, Divya Kakaiya knows all about research showing how the thin-obsessed media — especially television — negatively affects girls. Kakaiya runs a foundation called Healthy Within that’s an offshoot of her private therapy practice in Sorrento Valley. The foundation regularly sends trained volunteers into schools to teach girls about self-esteem and body image. (Mentions UC San Diego) More

Efforts to Diagnose Hip-joint Mismatch Improve
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 16 -- Patients with femoroacetabular impingement typically present with groin pain during sporting activities such as soccer, hockey or dancing. In fact, most adolescent athletes who have been told that they have “groin pulls” that last more than three months are likely experiencing symptoms of FAI. Delays in diagnosis are common, and many patients are not correctly diagnosed for years. Today, FAI is diagnosed based on a combination of a patient’s physical exam, X-rays, and possibly an MRI or CT scan. (Written by Dr. Andrew T. Pennock, a pediatric and adolescent orthopedic sports medicine specialist at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego and an assistant professor of orthopedics at UC San Diego) More

Drug Storage at Home is Health, Safety Issue
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 16 -- The typical household is chock-full of pharmaceuticals. In 2008, U.S. prescription drugs sales topped $234 billion. Over-the-counter drug sales added at least $16 billion more. According to a National Center for Health Statistics survey, 48 percent of Americans took at least one drug in the past month; 11 percent took five or more. We asked Sarah McBane, an assistant professor at UC San Diego’s Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, to talk about drug maintenance and safety at home. More

Neuroscience Conference Foresees Blindness Cure, Mobility for Paralyzed
North County Times, Nov. 15 --  Blind people will see with near-normal vision and the paralyzed walk in an "exoskeleton" controlled by their thoughts, said researchers speaking at the Society for Neuroscience's annual convention in San Diego. More sophisticated two-way communication with the brain is making these achievements possible, first in animals and later in humans, after the devices have been tested for safety, the researchers said. Just how long this will take is unclear, though. These ideas for what are called brain-machine interfaces were proven in principle years ago, and are being improved upon to the point of being practical, said Nick Spitzer, co-director of UC San Diego's Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind. More

Group Says Conditions for Navy Sonar Use Not Enough
KPBS, Nov. 16 -- A federal agency requires the Navy to protect marine mammals during sonar and explosives training off the West Coast. But an environmental group thinks more protections are needed. NOAA's Fisheries says the U.S. Navy must minimize impact to marine mammals when using sonar and explosives during training exercises off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. (Mentions the Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

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