A Sampling of Clips for Nov. 23, 2010

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

Renowned Asia Scholar Chalmers Johnson Dies at 79
The Washington Post, Nov. 22 -- Chalmers Johnson, 79, a renowned Asia scholar and expert on the economies of China and Japan who later became a fierce critic of the expanded role of the American military in U.S. foreign policy, died Nov. 20 at his home in Cardiff, Calif. According to Ellis Krauss, a colleague at UC San Diego, Dr. Johnson was one of the eminent American scholars on the economies and political environments of China and Japan, about which he wrote "seminal, absolutely groundbreaking, influential books." More

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The Atlantic Monthly
The Huffington Post
Japan Times
San Diego Union-Tribune

Scientists Call for Nonpartisan Communication Initiative
The New York Times, Nov. 19 -- A collection of high-profile scientists, including  Richard Somerville, a climate modeler at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and communication experts are calling for the creation of a nonpartisan education service aimed at helping organizations and governments make informed decisions about climate change, the authors wrote in a letter published today in Science. More

Muslims in France Facing Job Discrimination, Study Shows
BusinessWeek, Nov. 22 -- Muslims in France have a lower chance of being hired than Christians, a study published by the Washington-based National Academy of Sciences showed. “We have established a clear, albeit uncomfortable, finding,” the study, carried out by researchers at Stanford University, Paris I Pantheon - Sorbonne University and UC San Diego, said in its conclusions. More

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Bloomberg
Discover Magazine

Carbon Math Doesn’t Compute When Scientists Check Gases in Air
BusinessWeek, Nov. 22 -- The world puts too much faith in government estimates of carbon dioxide, methane and other heat-trapping gases blamed for climate change, scientists say. That’s because companies and countries base emissions calculations on the raw materials that go into a factory or power plant; they don’t check the pollution that comes out. “It’s like going on a diet without weighing yourself,” explains Ray Weiss, a geochemistry professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California, who co-authored an article in the June issue of Science arguing for measuring the atmosphere. More

Tumors Grow Their Own Blood Vessels
Scientific American, Nov. 21 -- Tumours don't just rely on their host's blood vessels for nourishment — they can make their own vasculature, according to two independent studies from the United States and Italy. The findings offer an explanation for why a class of drug once heralded as a game-changer in cancer treatment is proving less effective than had been hoped. (Quotes David Cheresh, a cancer biologist at UC San Diego, who was not involved in either study) More

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Nature
Science

What Does the Irish Bailout Mean?
CNN, Nov. 22 -- Europe and the International Monetary Fund are discussing the final details of a rescue package worth up to 100 billion euros to bail out Ireland's banking sector. What are the implications of the bailout for Irish people and the rest of the world? (Quotes Allan Timmermann, who holds an endowed chair of finance at UC San Diego) More

Could This Kill Cancer?
Newsweek, Nov. 21 -- Cyanobacteria live in every ocean and on every continent in both salt and fresh water. One species causes a rash known as swimmer’s itch; another blooms in lakes and reservoirs, expelling a neurotoxin that can be fatal to humans. “They produce this huge diversity of compounds that have never been identified,” says Hendrick Luesch, who’s been studying them since 1997. Luesch has investigated cyanobacteria from around the world—Hawaii, Florida, Guam, Palau—and last year he made a startling discovery: a family of cyanobacteria called Symploca emits a toxin that attacks tumors. (Quotes Bill Gerwick, a professor of pharmaceutical science at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

Long-Term Statin Use Won't Up Cancer Risk: Study
BusinessWeek, Nov. 18 -- New research supports the notion that patients who take cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins may not have an increased risk for cancer, as some previous studies suggested. This latest study, slated for presentation Wednesday at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association in Chicago, was conducted by researchers from S2 Statistical Solutions, Inc., a company that does economic research for health care-related businesses; UC San Diego; and GE Healthcare, a division of General Electric, which provided the database for the study. More

Unavoidable Climate Change -- Past the Point of No Return
The Huffington Post, Nov. 20 -- It's too late. The world has missed the opportunity to avoid serious, damaging human-induced climate change. (Mentions “Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming,” co-authored by UC San Diego science historian Naomi Oreskes) More

Climate Skeptics Unwarranted: Author
ABC News, Australia, Nov. 23 -- Naomi Oreskes is the co-author of a book called, "Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming". She believes climate change skeptics are backed by well funded organizations and they're using the same tactics first employed by big tobacco companies more than 50 years ago. Oreskes is on the UC San Diego faculty. More

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The Australian

Social Sciences and Human Decency
Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 22 -- A researcher doing fieldwork in the southwestern U.S. happened upon something close to the anthropological Holy Grail: a small group of Native Americans who had never been exhaustively studied. (Quotes Dena Plemmons, a research ethicist at UC San Diego) More

California's New District Lines,
'Jungle Primary' Rules Could Imperil House Incumbents
San Jose Mercury News, Nov. 21 -- California House Democrats, thrust back into the minority by the midterm election, could be facing unprecedented threats to their long-held seats. A confluence of changes to California's election rules and congressional boundaries makes the nation's largest Democratic delegation especially vulnerable in the 2012 election and beyond. "Preservation of incumbents isn't going to happen,'' said Gary Jacobson, congressional expert and political science professor at UC San Diego. "There won't be any gerrymandering, and senior incumbents may find themselves knocked off." More

Similar stories in
The Oakland Tribune
Contra Costa Times

Staying Awake During Brain Surgery
KPBS, Nov. 19 -- Imagine having surgery to remove a tumor from your brain. Then imagine being awake during much of the procedure, so that surgeons can safely navigate around the area in your brain that controls speech. San Diegan Krista McFadden just went through this surgery at UC San Diego's Thornton Hospital. More

‘Bear’ Sculpture is Rock-solid Surprise in UCSD Campus Courtyard
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 21 -- San Diego is home to the world’s only two-story-tall, 180-ton teddy bear, a whimsical, floppy-looking totem made of hand-picked granite boulders. “Bear” is both a technical feat and a leap of the imagination − an immense surprise seated in a UC San Diego courtyard framed by three sleek buildings. More

SDG&E Proposes Piping Gas From Waste
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 23 -- San Diego Gas & Electric is proposing putting methane from landfills, sewage plants or farms in its pipelines, a move that would take greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, trash out of landfills and make money. The proposal comes after the company recently approved a first-of-its kind move to use its pipelines to move surplus methane produced at the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment plant to UC San Diego and a sewage pumping station in Otay Mesa. More

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