A Sampling of Clips for Oct. 21, 2010

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

Couple Invents Award-winning Food Ap for Kids
WOAI, Seattle, Wash. Oct. 20 - A California couple has won a nationwide competition sponsored by first lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative. They did it by creating an app called "Food Busters," a virtual game that teaches kids about healthy eating. Jesica Oratoski-Coleman works as a health educator at UC San Diego and husband Aaron Coleman is a web developer in campus, so when they heard about the "Let's Move" initiative challenge to create an app for healthy kids, they immediately wanted to try it out. More

Ran nationwide on NBC and ABC affiliates, including
WALB, Albany. N.Y.,
KOB, Albuquerque, N.M.
WGEM, Illinois
NBC2, Ft. Myers, Fla.
KVOA, Tuscon, Ariz.

Environment: Mexico's Scientist in Chief
Nature, Oct. 20 --  Cab drivers have heard of him. Political leaders seek his advice. Strangers often shake his hand in a mixture of congratulations and thanks. Such is the fame of Mario Molina, the 67-year-old chemist who has become something of a national icon in his hometown of Mexico City. Molina is a Nobel laureate and a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UC San Diego. More

The Best Cities for Science
MSNBC, Oct. 20 -- Beijing is turning into the world's top city for scientific research, based purely on quantity. But when it comes to quality, Boston is the place to be. That's the conclusion of an analysis published this week in the journal Nature as part of its special report on "Science and the City." (Quotes UC San Diego’s Mary Walshok) More

Similar story in
Nature

Octomom's Fertility Doc Testifies to Save License
Forbes, Oct. 20  -- The fertility doctor for octuplets mother Nadya Suleman choked on his words and wiped away tears as he testified at a hearing to keep his medical license. (Quotes Dr. Suraj Achar, who works for a program at UC San Diego that often assesses and educates physicians censured by the state medical board) More

Similar stories in
Los Angeles Times
Salon
KTVU, San Francisco, Calif.
Las Vegas Sun
North County Times

Some Businesses See Bad Economy as Chance to Find an Edge
FOX News, Oct. 20 -- For some franchises and chains, the recession has been a boon. Operations like Souplantation and Kreiss Furniture have figured out that a dip in the national economy might have its advantages, like cheaper rent and lower construction costs, as much as 20 to 30 percent in savings when it comes to opening store fronts. (Quotes Vish Krishnan of the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego) More

Bangladesh’s Bavarian, IPad Apps Spread Smart Buildings: Review
Bloomberg, Oct. 18 -- In one of Africa’s most remote places, a three-room school rises from a hot, dry plain. The metal roof arches over spidery steel rods and mud-brick walls. It’s stark, gorgeous, simple. We are looking at hope in the tiny village of Gando, Burkina Faso, West Africa, one of the exhibits in “Small Scale, Big Change: New Architectures of Social Engagement” at Manhattan’s Museum of Modern Art. Also featured in the exhibit is the work of Teddy Cruz, who is on the UC San Diego Visual Arts faculty. More

UofA to Head SW Climate Science Center
San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 20 -- The University of Arizona will head the Southwest Climate Science Center. It's one of eight regional centers being set up by the U.S. Department of the Interior to assess the impact of climate change on natural and cultural resources. One of the other institutions involved is the Scripps Institution of Oceaongraphy at UC San Diego. More

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CBS4, Denver, Colo.
Arizona Daily Star
Fresno Bee
KTVN, Reno, Nev.

Clock Affects RNA Splicing
The Scientist, Oct. 20 -- New findings help explain how the 24-hour light-dark cycle influences physiological processes -- by regulating how RNA molecules are cut-and-pasted after they are transcribed, according to a study published online today (20 October) in Nature. (Quotes molecular biologist Steve Kay of UC San Diego, who was not involved in the research) More

UCSD Part of $1.6 Million Smart-grid Grant
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 21 -- UC San Diego will host a project designed to test not only the most efficient way to run an electrical grid, but the most economical. The campus is interesting to researchers because of the way its power system is run. About 82 percent of the power used there is generated there. More

The Culture Club: The World of Algae R&D
and Commercialization, an Inside View, in Pictures.
Biofuels Digest, Oct. 13 -- Generally the high-tech world of algal R&D and commercialization is off limits, for the practical reasons of accommodating visitors to labs, as well as issues of data and process protection. In San Diego, all algae engineering roads lead in one way or another to Sapphire Energy.  Most of these pathways originate from two key sources: UC San Diego’s algae laboratory run by Dr. Steven Mayfield (where he serves as a founder and on the board of directors at Sapphire), and from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography lead by Dr. Greg Mitchell.  They are all within three miles of one another in La Jolla, CA adjacent to San Diego. More

UCSD Online Course Offerings Up in Last Year
10News, Oct. 20 -- The number of online continuing education courses offered by UC San Diego increased by 83 percent last year, the university announced Wednesday. More

Similar story on
KFMB, San Diego, Calif.

More Evidence Links Virus to Obesity, This Time in Kids
North County Times, Oct. 20  ---- New evidence indicates that children exposed to a virus called adenovirus-36 are more likely to be obese than those who are not exposed to it, and to be heavier than other obese kids who were not exposed to it, UC San Diego researchers said recently. More

By Design
San Diego CityBEAT, Oct. 13 -- Step inside Kim MacConnel’s secluded Encinitas pad—a Ted Smith-designed looker that MacConnel shares with his wife, artist Jean Lowe—and your eyes strain to take it all in. MacConnel, whose work takes over the La Jolla location of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego for Collection Applied Design, a career retrospective, forged his distinctive style—which began about 40 years ago, in the early ’70s—as a response to ’60s-era monochromatic minimalism. McConnell is a professor emeritus at UC San Diego, as well as an alumnus. More

Similar story in
Voice of San Diego

Scripps to Discontinue Measurements at Pier, Seek New Funds
Patch.com, Oct. 20 -- The Coastal Observing Research and Development Center at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography will no longer maintain a temperature chain on the Imperial Beach pier. Other instruments may also be discontinued as funding for projects to research the area have completed. More

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