A Sampling of Clips for Nov. 19, 2010

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

Obama Bestows Science, Technology Medals
CBS News, Nov. 17 -- From super glue to microchips to digital cameras, President Barack Obama on Wednesday celebrated the brains behind these inventions and other breakthroughs as examples of "the promise of science." In a ceremony in the White House East Room, Obama bestowed the National Medal of Science on 10 researchers, including UC San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox, and awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to three individuals and a three-person team. More

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The Wall Street Journal
Los Angeles Times
San Diego Union-Tribune
CBS News 8, San Diego, Calif.
10News
KPBS

UCSD's 50th Birthday Party a Formal Affair
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 18 -- With music, dance, videos and a long list of speakers, the UC San Diego community Thursday celebrated the 50th anniversary of the institution’s founding. “This is a remarkable moment for UC San Diego and for all of us,” Chancellor Marye Anne Fox told a crowd of about 400 seated dignitaries and 600 more students, faculty, staff and others who watched portions of the 90-minute formal ceremony. More

The Best Birthday Gift for UCSD
San Diego Union-Tribune, Opinion, Nov. 18 -- The 50th anniversary of UC San Diego invites assessment of the value of our campus to the region and to California. In particular, at a time of great fiscal stress in the state budget, when every dollar allocated and spent should be examined, we must ask whether our community and state extract appropriate value from its contribution. (Written by Larry Goldstein, a distinguished professor of cellular and molecular medicine and director of the Stem Cell Program at UC San Diego) More

UCSD’s 50 Years of Science Linked to Biotech Boom
KPBS, Nov. 17 — UC San Diego celebrates it’s 50 birthday on November 18, 2010. The university and our city’s booming biotech industry are directly linked. UC San Diego’s journey to becoming one of the nation’s top research institutions began in 1960. More

Trapped Antimatter Could Help Spill Universe's Secrets
Discovery Channel, Nov. 17 -- Physicists have succeeded for the first time in trapping atoms of anti-matter hydrogen, or antihydrogen. The feat takes researchers one step closer to seeing how antihydrogen might differ from normal hydrogen. (Quotes Clifford Surko of UC San Diego) More

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National Geographic
Los Angeles Times

Statins May Ward Off Serious Infections
The Independent, U.K., Nov. 17 --  Cholesterol-lowering drugs have a useful side effect - killing bacteria, UC San Diego scientists have discovered. The statin drugs taken by millions of people around the world to cut their risk of heart disease may protect against serious infections such as pneumonia, researchers believe. A US study found that the medications activate the bacteria-killing properties of white blood cells. More

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U.S. News & World Report

Irish Crisis: What's It All About?
CNN, Nov. 18 -- Ireland and the European Union are engaged in a strange and increasingly public tug of war. Dublin insists that it doesn't need money from abroad to stay afloat despite a crisis in its banking sector, while the European Union is already discussing a possible bail out. (Quotes Allan Timmermann, who holds an endowed chair of finance at UC San Diego) More

New Report Predicts Severe Climate Impacts on Lake Tahoe Area
The New York Times, Nov. 17 -- Iconic Lake Tahoe could see its regional snowpack decline by as much as 60 percent over the next century, with increased floods more likely around 2050 and prolonged droughts closer to 2100, according to a new report from scientists who have studied the lake for decades. Mike Dettinger from the Scripps Instititution of Oceanography worked on the report. More

One Nation, Divisible
The Economist, Nov. 18 -- If people feel as if the country is changing quickly, that’s because it is. The first set of numbers from the 2010 decennial census will be published in December. (Quotes UC San Diego political scientist Keith Poole) More

Few Businesses Sprout, With Even Fewer Jobs
The Wall Street Journal, Nov. 18 -- Fewer new businesses are getting off the ground in the U.S., available data suggest, a development that could cloud the prospects for job growth and innovation. (Quotes Rosibel Ochoa, director of UC San Diego’s William J. von Liebig Center) More

The Capitol’s Charity Case
Newsweek, Nov. 18 -- Last year was among the worst on record for charitable giving. But even with a rebound forecast for 2010, the world of good works will remain unnaturally depressed, according to a new study, and not because of the economy. The culprit is Uncle Sam. UC San Diego economist James Andreoni coauthored the study. More

Disease-in-a-dish Approach Gives Clues to Rett Syndrome
Nature, Nov. 17 – A 'disease in a dish' experiment, in which skin cells from sufferers of the neurodevelopmental disorder Rett syndrome were made to develop into neurons, has provided insight into what goes wrong in the brains of people with the condition. The result marks a crucial step towards clinical applications for a technique that is seen as a smoking hot field. Alysson Muotri, a neuroscientist at UC San Diego was one of the researchers working on the experiment. More

Former Labor Secretary Weighs In on San Diego’s Jobs Future
KPBS, Nov. 18 — Cities like San Diego cannot wait for the federal government to provide the investment and action needed to spur significant job growth. That’s what former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich told attendees of the Workforce Partnership’s annual summit at Qualcomm Hall in Mira Mesa Thursday morning. (Quotes Mary Walshok, dean of University Extension at UC San Diego) More

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