A Sampling of Clips for Nov. 29, 2010

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

To Fight Climate Change, Clear the Air
The New York Times, Nov. 27 -- As the curtain rises tomorrow in Cancún, Mexico, on the next round of international talks on climate change, expectations are low that the delegates will agree on a new treaty to reduce emissions that contribute to global warming. They were unable to do so last year in Copenhagen, and since then the negotiating positions of the biggest countries have grown even further apart. Yet it is still possible to make significant progress. (Written by Veerabhadran Ramanathan, a professor of atmospheric physics at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and David G. Victor, a professor at the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at UC San Diego, the author of the forthcoming “Global Warming Gridlock”) More

'No Cure'? No Way.
The Washington Post, Nov. 23 -- For GQ magazine's inaugural Rock Stars of Science campaign last year, Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, donned sunglasses and rocked out on a guitar alongside Joe Perry of Aerosmith. The lineup this year, headlined by fashion designer Geoffrey Beene and his "innovative philanthropic business model," features rockers Bret Michaels and Deborah Harry, hip-hop's Timbaland, scientists such as Johns Hopkins cancer doctor Stephen B. Baylin and surgeon/talk show host Mehmet Oz, as well as UC San Diego’s Catriona Jamieson. More

Read the GQ section here
Read Jamieson’s profile here

The End of Deep-Water Drilling? Not in Brazil.
The Wall Street Journal, Nov. 25 -- The Deepwater Horizon oil spill brought deep-water drilling in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico to a halt, derailing decades of U.S. energy policy and casting a long-lasting pall over the industry that operates there. In other parts of the world, however, deep-water drilling has continued at a frenetic pace. (Quotes Jeremy Martin, director of the Institute of the Americas' energy program at UC San Diego) More

When Science Gets Subverted for Political Goals
Forbes, Nov. 24 -- When is a scientific debate finished? When should naysayers just be ignored? And in cases where the topic involves science-based public policy, deeply relevant to the well-being of the citizenry, when should doubters be denied the public forum of government funding and media attention? (Mentions “Merchants of Doubt,” co-authored by UC San Diego science historian Naomi Oreskes) More

The FP Top 100 Global Thinkers
Foreign Policy Magazine, December 2010 -- Foreign Policy presents a unique portrait of 2010's global marketplace of ideas and the thinkers who make them. UC San Diego political scientist James Fowler and Harvard researcher Nicholas Christakis are ranked 83rd for their investigation of social networks. More

Santa's Sleigh Stuffed With Science
USA Today, Nov. 28 -- Santa only arrives once every year, but popular science books land in our mailbag all year round. That means there is good news if you are still looking for that timely tome to park under your scholarly-minded loved one's tree. It has been a great year for science books. Books of the year include “Merchands of Doubt,” co-authored by UC San Diego science historian Naomi Oreskes. More

Ghostly Creature Emerges from Ocean's Depths
Discovery Channel, Nov. 24 -- Scientists unveiled on Wednesday a gossamer, ghostly creature discovered in the deepest reaches of the ocean between Indonesia and the Philippines. The squidworm, up to 9.4 centimeters (3.7 inches) in length, is far more elegant than its name would suggest. 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 at a depth of 2.8 kilometers (1.7 miles). More

‘Emissions Calculations are Clouded’
The Independent, U.K., Nov. 28 -- Companies use bottom-up calculations and report their emissions estimates based on inputs: how much coal a plant burns; how much oil a factory consumes; how much lime is added to cement. Countries tabulate these estimates and add nationwide figures: how many vehicles drive within their borders; how much waste people plow into landfills; even how many methane-belching sheep graze in pastures. Dozens of researchers say this bottom-up approach doesn’t reveal what we really need to know – what’s happening in the air. They’re sounding an alarm that greenhouse gases measured in the atmosphere can be double what companies and nations estimate. Ray Weiss, a geochemistry professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, is the co-author of a Science article that argues for measuring the atmosphere. More

Promise is Worth the Risk of Stem Cell Agency
The Sacramento Bee, Opinion, Nov. 28 -- As a scientist and one of the architects of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, I agree that steering between an over-optimistic view of what is possible and a hyper-pessimistic commitment to inaction can be difficult. But – viewed against scientific principles, medical need, history and logic – the state's stem cell agency is a calculated but not reckless risk, and it is not merely a bet on a narrow research avenue. (Written by Lawrence S.B. Goldstein, a professor of cellular and molecular medicine, and director of the stem cell program at UC San Diego) More

Nutrition Quiz: Foods That Present Pregnancy Danger
The Sacramento Bee, Nov. 28 -- The Pregnancy Health Information Line, a nonprofit based at UC San Diego recently issued a press release for the holidays with the heading "Pregnancy Dangers May Be Lurking on the Dinner Table." More

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Power to the Petaflops
San Diego Union-Tribune, Editorial, Nov. 26 – When the San Diego Supercomputer Center opened on the campus of UC San Diego in November 1985, it housed what was then the most powerful computer in the world – the Cray X-MP/48, capable of performing 1 billion calculations per second. That’s awesome computing power, and the UCSD supercomputer remains a nationally important research workhorse even 25 years later. More

Inspiring Science Instructor Puts Teens in Picture
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 25 -- There’s a project Sofia Sandoval does with her students every year. At the beginning of the year in her chemistry class, she has each student draw a picture of what they think a scientist looks like. They almost always draw a picture of an older man with a beaker that has smoke coming from it because he’s conducting an experiment. At the end of the year, she asks them to do the exercise again. “They put themselves in the picture,” she said. “The girl who didn’t know science or math, she’s drawing herself, and that’s such an inspiration, that they see themselves.” Sandoval is a UC San Diego alumna. More

San Diego Beaches Part of Coastal-ecology Study
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 25 -- More than 30 years ago, scientists surveyed 60 beaches in San Diego County and other parts of Southern California to create the area’s most comprehensive catalog of coastal species. Today, another group of researchers is revisiting that data to determine how much those beaches have changed. (Quotes Dick Norris, a researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla) More

UCSD Opens Door to Wilson's World With "Joe Turner's"
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 24 -- With a graduate program that's among the tops in the country, UC San Diego’s Department of Theatre and Dance stages shows that can give the pros a run for their money. But the department has a strong undergrad program as well, and for two more weekends, elements of both will be featured in the campus production of August Wilson’s richly textured 1984 drama "Joe Turner's Come and Gone." More

UCSD-TV: Using Barcodes to Identify Fish
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 28 -- Even the most experienced scientists can have trouble differentiating one animal species from another. That is especially true of many types of fish because they look so similar. Scripps Institution of Oceanography biologists Ron Burton and Phil Hastings are using a form of "biological barcoding" to make the process easier, and more precise. To learn more, watch Life Behind Bars, the explanatory video below. It was broadcast by UCSD-TV. More

Roller Hockey Tourney Headed to Escondido
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 28 -- When college roller hockey comes to the Escondido Sports Center next weekend, it also will mark the return of Stephen Lockwood and other North County players to the place where they grew up playing up sport. Lockwood, who last competed here for Poway High in 2007, returns as a senior for UC San Diego after helping the Tritons claim the last two regional titles and extend a streak of top eight national finishes to five straight years. More

EPA Wants States to Track Ocean Acidification
KPBS, Nov. 26 -- The Environmental Protection Agency has recommended that states begin identifying coastal waters impaired by ocean acidification. The idea is to find how pollution is affecting marine life. (Quotes Andrew Dickson, a professor of marine chemistry with UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

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