A Sampling of Clips for Oct. 23 - 26, 2010

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

Alzheimer's Advances: Promising But Slow
Good Morning America, ABC News, Oct. 22 -- Scientists are working with a gene therapy to help grow essential proteins. Dr. Mark Tuszynski, director of the Center for Neural Repair at UC San Diego, is one of the scientists looking for a cure. More

Despite Shark Attack, Some Set to Surf as Beaches Reopen
USA Today, Oct. 25 -- Three Southern California beaches closed after a fatal shark attack Friday were scheduled to reopen Monday morning, and some surfers say they'll be in the water. (Quotes Andy Nosal, a biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

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Marathons Affect Heart, but Runners Bounce Back
BusinessWeek, Oct. 25 -- Running a marathon can damage your heart, with more than half of the segments in the heart's main pumping chamber typically functioning a little under par during the race, a new study shows. The good news? Other parts of the heart pick up the slack and the changes reverse within three months or fewer after the run, the researchers found. (Quotes Dr. Ori Ben-Yehuda, director of the coronary care unit and a professor of medicine at UC San Diego) More

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When Hormone Creams Expose Others to Risks
The New York Times, Oct. 25 -- Veterinarians around the country are reporting a strange phenomenon: spayed dogs and cats, even some puppies and kittens, are suddenly becoming hormonal. Now vets have identified the culprit. The pets were all owned by women who used hormone creams on their hands, arms and legs to counter symptoms of menopause. (Quotes Dr. Cynthia A. Stuenkel, an endocrinologist at UC San Diego, and a former president of the North American Menopause Society) More

The 'Incumbency Effect' Isn't So Effective This Year
National Public Radio, Oct. 25 -- The conventional take on national elections is: The candidate already in office nearly always wins. Political scientists call this "the Incumbency Effect." It's especially true in elections for the House of Representatives, which occur every two years. In the past 17 congressional elections -- since 1976 -- more than 90 percent of representatives in office have won re-election. But this year is looking different. And, for many Democratic incumbents, difficult. (Quotes UC San Diego political scientist Gary Jacobson) More

How Cities Get Science -- Or Don't
The Huffington Post, Oct. 26 -- Of course, science tells us, we’re all products of our environment. Just like our ability to be creative, our scientific prowess depends upon how easy it is for us to share ideas. And there’s no better place for that than the city. (Quotes UC San Diego’s Mary Walshok) More

The Revolution of Relevance
The Huffington Post, Oct. 22 -- The Boston-based website PatientsLikeMe.com has created a large community that works together "to enable people to share information that can improve the lives of patients diagnosed with life-changing diseases." (Mentions research by V.S. Ramachandran from UC San Diego) More

Whitman Had Rough Time in Previous Turnaround Try
The Telegraph, U.K., Oct. 26 -- Former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman says California needs a turnaround specialist with business experience to lift the nation's most populous state out of its economic despair and streamline its bloated bureaucracy. (Quotes UC San Diego political scientist Thad Kousser) More

Invasion of the Brain-Devouring Platitude
Mother Jones, October 2010 – Every election produces reams of analysis. Some of it is sharp, some—well, let's be charitable and say no more. But how can you tell the difference? One quick way is to look for dumb ideas. Call them memes, urban legends, conventional wisdom. But whatever you call them, they're ideas that deserve to die. As you plow through this year's election commentary, here are five to watch out for. (Mentions research by UC San Diego political scientist Gary Jacobson, debunking one of the five ideas) More

'Collection Applied Design: A Kim MacConnel Retrospective'
Los Angeles Times, Oct. 24 -- Ever since Renaissance Venice, painters have traditionally worked by painting on cloth stretched taut over a rectangular frame made from strips of wood. But in the mid-1970s, when some artists and critics were claiming that painting was dead and ripe for burial, Kim MacConnel instead changed the rules of the painting game. MacConnel is both a UC San Diego professor emeritus and an alumnus. More

UCSD Power Plant's Efficiency Gets EPA Kudos
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 23 -- The natural-gas fueled power plant that provides UC San Diego with 85 percent of its electricity is an example of how to do things right, the Environmental Protection Agency says. The agency gave the power plant a national "Energy Star" award for the how efficiently it's run. More

Ocean Circulation Expert Peter Niller had an Artistic Side
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 22 -- Peter Niiler had a passion for architecture, loved to paint and was a generous supporter of the arts, but it was in the ocean where he made his greatest mark. Dr. Niiler, prominent researcher and emeritus professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, helped shape how scientists study the ocean. His pioneering work in understanding global currents and their link to the world’s climate made him a leading authority on ocean circulation. More

Seattle's Intiman Theatre Premieres
a New Adaptation of 'The Scarlet Letter'
The Seattle Times, Oct. 23 -- It was a thing of beauty and a mark of shame, a red letter "A" so "fantastically embroidered and illuminated" it had the "effect of a spell" that enclosed its wearer, Hester Prynne, in "a sphere by herself." One of the most vivid, enduring symbols in American letters, the slip of cloth inspired the title of Nathaniel Hawthorne's best-known work, the 1850 novel "The Scarlet Letter." A new same-named play based by writer Naomi Iizuka on the book premieres next week at Intiman Theatre. Iizuka is on the UC San Diego faculty. More

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In the Spirit of Scriabin, Mahler, Surfeit’s Up
San Diego Union-Tribune, Opinion, Oct. 22 -- I was filling my car with gas the other day while watching Lindsay Lohan’s latest brush with the law on a little video screen built into the pump when the thought occurred to me: Maybe I don’t need to be quite this connected. (Written by Steven Schick, a music director and conductor of the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus and a distinguished professor of music at UC San Diego) More

Campaign for Governor Takes on San Diego Angle
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 24 -- While there’s nothing nuanced about the barrage of TV ads governing the tone of the governor’s race, Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown are using subtler strategies on the ground to win counties like San Diego. (Quotes UC San Diego political scientist Thad Kousser) More

As Election Day Nears, the Natives are Restless
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 23 -- A pioneer in public-opinion research, Daniel Yankelovich is one of the nation’s most influential takers of the collective pulse, a walking, talking mood ring. The color he sees now, with Election Day looming? Black. Very black. (Quotes Samuel Popkin, a UC San Diego political science professor) More

San Diego Artists Crash OC Party
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 24 -- In the biennials at the Orange County Museum of Art, dating back to the 1980s when the institution was the Newport Harbor Art Museum, San Diego generally has been an afterthought, if thought of at all. But for the 2010 California Biennial, which opens today, 10 of the 45 artists represented are from San Diego. Of the 10 artists in the biennial, seven have connections to UC San Diego, and several are connected to Point Loma Nazarene University and the University of San Diego. More

Allison Wiese's Art Inconspicuously Makes You Think
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 24 -- As part of a 2003 group show, Allison Wiese created “Porch,” a wood and fiberglass structure appended onto the glass entrance of the Glassell School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. Wiese is a UC San Diego alumna. More

Scientist Reinvents Himself for Second Act
North County Times, Oct. 24 -- UC San Diego professor Maarten J. Chrispeels is tackling one of the biggest challenges facing science. But the plant biologist had to retire first. Next month, Chrispeels will become director of ScienceBridge, an organization that brings UC San Diego research to San Diego County high schools. He speaks of his new commitment with youthful enthusiasm, not sounding like a septuagenarian who retired in 2008. More

CIRM Awards $5.8M to Two UCSD Researchers
San Diego Daily Transcript, Oct. 22 -- Two scientists at the UC San Diego School of Medicine have received grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine for stem cell research. The grants were part of $67 million in Early Translation II Awards, designed to move research out of the lab and into the clinic. More

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