A Sampling of Clips for Oct. 27, 2010

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

Whitman Had Rough Time in Previous Turnaround Try
CBS News, 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. Yet in perhaps her most high-profile turnaround attempt, Whitman says she fell short and conceded defeat well before her contract was up. Her experience at FTD, the iconic floral company, provides a parallel from the business world with what Whitman acknowledges she will inherit if voters elect her governor Nov. 2 -- a troubled state beset with outdated and ineffective systems. (Quotes UC San Diego political scientist Thad Kousser) More

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Robots of the Gulf Spill: Fishlike Subs, Smart Torpedoes
National Geographic, Oct. 26 -- This summer, as the world cringed at live video feeds of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico from a broken BP wellhead, one message was all too clear: Technology had gone horribly wrong. What viewers might have missed, however, was that the images were brought to them by a technology that went remarkably right—deep-sea robotics. That same tech allowed humans to drill in such deep and dangerous waters in the first place, then helped plug the leaking well, and is now contributing to groundbreaking research on the impacts of the BP spill. Among the monitoring 'bots was one of the Spray AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles) developed by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California. More

Gallery: Let Your Children Play With Robots
Wired, Oct. 26 -- Robots can help children become smarter and happier. Javier Movellan, who has spent the better part of the last three decades playing with kids and robots, is sure of it. Movellan, an associate professor affiliated with UC San Diego's Machine Perception Laboratory, is a psychologist and a robotics researcher. More

The Case for California's Prop 19
Guardian, U.K., Oct. 26 -- This November, the electorate of California, the nation's most populous state, will vote on Proposition 19, a measure to decriminalise marijuana, the most recent manifestation of nation's confused regulatory relationship with the devil weed. (Mentions research by UC San Diego’s Medicinal Cannabis Research Center) More

'Obscene Wealth' of eBay Boss Could Ruin her Political Dream
The Vancouver Sun, Oct. 26 -- The billionaire former head of eBay who is now running for governor of California is facing a voter backlash over the record amount of money she has spent on her campaign. Meg Whitman, the Republican candidate, has spent $141 million of her own fortune, the most ever by a U.S. political candidate. (Quotes UC San Diego political scientist Thad Kousser) More

Cameras Installed to Spot Wildfires Early
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 26 -- They are the modern-day lookout towers, digitally watching over San Diego County’s backcountry should wildfires erupt down below. About 50 of these live webcams are broadcasting fresh images every two minutes from the region’s mountaintops, including 16 high-resolution cameras installed over the past few weeks on Mount Woodson near Ramona and Red Mountain near Fallbrook. The cameras are tied into UC San Diego’s High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network, or HPWREN, which has used federal funding to erect other webcams, including at Lyons Peak, Mount Laguna and Cabrillo National Monument. More

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Global Warming Seen as Threat to State's Parks
San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 27 -- Stunted redwoods, flooded campgrounds and a mighty Yosemite waterfall reduced to a trickle. Those are a few of the dire consequences facing 10 California parks over the next century because of rapidly changing climate patterns, according to a new study by an environmental think tank. The 34-page report relied on weather modeling and greenhouse gas data from the California Climate Change Center, U.S. National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey and UC San Diego, among others. More

Joshua Tree: Temperatures Could Rival Death Valley, Study Finds
The Press-Enterprise, Oct. 26 -- Climate change accelerated by greenhouse gas emissions will raise temperatures in Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave National Preserve by about 8 degrees, pushing them well past the historic average at Death Valley by the end of the century, according to a study released Tuesday by environmental groups. (Quotes David Pierce, climate researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego) More

Execs and Academics Meet to Talk Algae
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 26 -- If a big part of the power of the future will come from algae, as several San Diego companies are betting, workers from lab techs to farmhands will need training in the industry. Beginning this spring, UC San Diego, San Diego State and Mira Costa College will begin offering classes aimed at creating a workforce for the industry. More

The Quest to Conquer Pain
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 26 -- Recently, scores of our peers – scientists, physicians and health-care professionals – gathered in San Diego to discuss pain: its nature, new methods of investigation and, most importantly, quicker and more efficient ways to convert discoveries made at the bench to treatments at the bedside. Called “Pain 2010” and sponsored by the Clinical and Translational Research Institute at UC San Diego and the journal Nature Medicine, the three-day symposium featured talks that were cutting-edge, illuminating and optimistic. Yet the more scientists and physicians learn about pain, the more we realize how much remains to be learned. More

San Diego's 15-month Home Price Rise Stalls in August
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 26 -- San Diego County’s housing market, which led the country in price rises for 15 straight months, turned downward in August as the rest of the nation also seemed to stumble, a widely watched housing index reported Tuesday. (Quotes UC San Diego economist James Hamilton) More

UCSD Researchers Say Depression
May Be Caused by Inflammation in the Brain
KPBS, Oct. 26 -- Researchers at UC San Diego say they've come up with a novel theory of depression. According to their theory, clinical depression is caused by the malfunctioning of the brain's repair system. More

Local Researchers Create Largest Quake Simulation
10News, Oct. 26 -- Many seismologists agree that another big earthquake will hit Southern California in the near future, and a new computer simulation is now providing information to help figure out how far and how strong the earth will shake. Waves will propagate down the fault about 6,000 mph," said Dr. Thomas Jordan, University of Southern California professor and director of the Southern California Earthquake Center. Jordan revealed the first-of-a-kind simulation to a group of researchers at UC San Diego's Supercomputer Center on Monday. More

Join 'Conversations' with TEDx San Diego's Speakers
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 26 -- TEDx San Diego, a daylong event featuring top innovators, is coming Nov. 8. Leading up to the event, organizers are holding online "conversations" between San Diegans and the speakers - experts in science, technology, the environment and entertainment. The second of three conversations, to be held 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday, will be with James Fowler, a professor at UC San Diego, who recently was named a fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. More

UCSD Lands $16.7M for Biomedical Data Center
Genome Web Daily News, Oct. 26 – UC San Diego plans to use a $16.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to create a national center for biomedical computing that will develop technologies to support genomics-related and other large-scale studies. More

UCSD 50 Years of Shaping the Region
San Diego Magazine, November 2010 -- UC San Diego has been known over much of its 50-year history as one of the nation's foremost research institutions. But the university also has made a noteworthy mark in the world of business. More

Despite Storms, La Nina Suggests Drier Days Ahead 
North County Times, Oct. 25 -- Recent downpours notwithstanding, North County may be drier than usual this year because of La Nina conditions caused by cool surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific, scientists said Monday. Despite predictions of a dry winter, the region has seen an unusually wet month, as low-pressure systems have dropped enough rain to more than double average rainfall in some areas. "This is an extremely wet October for La Nina conditions," said David Pierce, a climate researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. "It's the wettest so far for any La Nina on record." More

Looking at Nudity in American Art
KPBS, Oct. 26 -- UC San Diego professor emeritus Bram Dijkstra has been spending most of his time looking at nudes. The end result is the most comprehensive survey of nudity in American art and visual culture. The large coffee table book is called "Naked: The Nude in America." More

USCD Professor Wins Award for Arthritis Work
The San Diego Daily Transcript, Oct. 26 -- A professor, dean and associate vice chancellor at UC San Diego has been awarded the Jane Wyman Humanitarian Award, according to the school. Gary S. Firestein, M.D., a professor of medicine, dean and associate vice chancellor of Translational Medicine and director of the Clinical and Translational Research Institute at UC San Diego, won the prestigious award for his work with the Arthritis Foundation and leadership in rheumatology and philanthropy in the community. More

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