A Sampling of Clips for Nov. 24, 2010

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The Quest for Solomon’s Mines
PBS, Nov. 23 -- In the summer of 2010, NOVA and National Geographic embarked on two cutting-edge field investigations that illuminate the legend of Solomon and reveal the source of the great wealth that powered the first mighty biblical kingdoms. These groundbreaking expeditions, including one by UC San Diego’s Tom Levy, expose important new clues buried in the pockmarked desert of Jordan, including ancient remnants of an industrial-scale copper mine and a 3,000-year-old message with the words "slave," "king," and "judge." More

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Chalmers Johnson Dies at 79; Criticized U.S. Role in World
The New York Times, Nov. 24 -- Chalmers Johnson, an Asian studies scholar who stirred controversy with books contending that the United States was trying to create a global empire and was paying a stiff price for it, died Saturday at his home in Cardiff-by-the Sea, Calif. He was 79. Johnson was a professor emeritus at UC San Diego. More

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The Boston Globe
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KPBS

Scientists Discover the Bizarre 'Squidworm'
FOX News, Nov. 24 -- The bizarre, newly-revealed squidworm -- a free-swimming worm with up to 10 squid-like limbs -- is one of a host of strange discoveries that await scientists in the vast, largely unexplored spaces of the deep ocean. Using a remotely-operated submersible, a trio of marine biologists led by Karen Osborn of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California found the previously unknown animals in the Celebes Sea, located between the Philippines and Indonesia. More

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Anti-HIV Pill Protects Against AIDS
Science, Nov. 23 -- For the first time, a study has demonstrated that an anti-HIV pill can protect uninfected people from contracting the AIDS virus through sex. (Quotes Robert Schooley, a virologist at UC San Diego, who was not involved in the study) More

Face Shield May Prevent Military Brain Injuries
Discovery Channel, Nov. 23 -- Adding a face shield to the standard-issue helmet worn by U.S. troops could help protect soldiers from traumatic brain injury, the signature wound of the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Quotes Scott Matthews, a psychiatrist at UC San Diego, who studies mild traumatic brain injury in returning veterans) More

125 Glorious Years of Popular Science in One Giant Picture
Popular Science, Nov. 23 -- Lev Manovich, a new-media theorist and professor, has lately been constructing a few mega-collages to show at a glance how some of our longest-running magazines have changed. Science and Time have both gotten the treatment, and the newest is--surprise, surprise--us! This single image shows 125 years of Popular Science, from 1882 to 2007, in one monstrous 74-megapixel collage. Manovich is on the UC San Diego faculty. More

Palmyra Atoll: It's a Long Way From Tipperary
The Guardian, U.K., Nov. 23 -- Nigella Hillgarth, the executive director of the Birch Aquarium, which is the Scripps Institution of Oceanography's public science education center, writes about her recent visit to remote Palmyra Atoll and Kingman Reef, two specks of land that are located about as far from anywhere as you can get and still remain on Planet Earth. More

UCSD Students to Join Global Climate Talk
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 24 -- Four graduate students from UC San Diego will join Scripps oceanography researchers next week at a climate-change summit hosted by the United Nations. The purpose of sending international-relations students -- a first for the school -- is to enhance the dialogue about global warming and its effects, said Erica Jue, one of the students attending the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties, in Cancun. Delegates from the around the world are expected at the summit, set for Nov. 29 to Dec. 10. More

CT Scans Shown to Cut Lung Cancer Death Rates
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 23 -- Recently announced preliminary results from the National Lung Screening Trial have found that current and former heavy smokers are 20 percent less likely to die from lung cancer if they get an annual computer tomography or CT scan. We asked Dr. Eric Goodman, an associate clinical professor of radiology who served as principal investigator for the screening trial at the Moores UC San Diego Cancer Center, to interpret the findings. More

La Niña May Increase San Diego’s Fire Danger Next Spring
KPBS, Nov. 23 -- Climate researchers say a strong La Niña will bring below-average rainfall to Southern California this winter. (Quotes Scripps Institution of Oceanography researcher Dan Cayan) More

UCSD Marks its Golden Anniversary With a Gala for Scholarships
La Jolla Light, Nov. 23 -- As part of its yearlong collection of 50th anniversary events, UC San Diego hosted “an evening of the unexpected” on Nov. 13 with Celebrate50 at its RIMAC Arena. Guests, including community leaders, donors, alumni, faculty, staff and friends, gathered on campus to experience through music, dance and video, the historic events and people that marked UCSD’s transformation from ship to shore. More

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