A Sampling of Clips for Sept. 15, 2010

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

The Price of Popularity
Reuters, Sept. 15 -- Think you're popular? Well, name a friend. It turns out that this person is probably more popular than you, a tendency that scientists might be able to use to predict the spread of disease. But the popular pay a price: they get flu first, on average two weeks sooner than most others, two experts report in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE. "Being at the centre of the network tends to make you happy but it also exposes you to disease," James Fowler of UC San Diego, who worked on the study, said in a telephone interview. More

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The Sydney Morning Herald
Toronto Sun
WTAQ, Green Bay, Wisc.

Gold Fever Strikes Mom and Pop Prospectors in US West
Reuters, Sept. 15 -- The poor economy and a record price of gold have renewed interest in prospecting in Western states where public lands are rich with deposits and small-scale operators are all but free from government regulation.  (Quotes UC San Diego economist James Hamilton) More

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KERA, Texas
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At Fort Hood, Wounded Soldiers' Mission Is to Heal
PBS News Hour, Sept. 9 -- A team from the NewsHour and London-based Independent Television News came to Texas to take a look at the care given to soldiers returned from Afghanistan and Iraq, and those hurt on base, in training or while deployed. (Quotes UC San Diego psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Stahl) More

To Help Kids Maintain Good Posture, Make It Fun
The Washington Post, Sept. 16 -- Kids "have bad posture because they have lost their core stability," says Scott Bautch, past president of the American Chiropractic Association's Council on Occupational Health, who used to run programs that encouraged good posture in Midwestern schools. As children's overall fitness has declined, the muscles in their abdomen, upper back, shoulders and lower back have become soft as well, Bautch and other experts say. (Quotes Todd Galati, director of academy for the American Council on Exercise and a former researcher on youth fitness at UC San Diego) More

Marimba Along the Camerata Pacifica
Los Angeles Times, Sept. 13 -- The egg scare is apparently over. As yet, we’ve heard of nothing avian to worry about in the upcoming flu season. So what’s a hypochondriac to do? Well, there is always marimba madness, a new contagion. Camerata Pacifica is among those spreading it. The chamber music series opened its 21st season over the weekend with a marimba-based program featuring an exceptional young player, Ji Hye Jung. (Mentions Chinary Ung, who is on the UC San Diego faculty) More

‘Giant’ in Cardiovascular Research, a Tenor in Choir
San Diego Unioin-Tribune, Sept. 14 -- Colin Mercer Bloor, internationally renowned cardiovascular pathologist, was perhaps best known for his work on the heart’s ability to develop collateral circulation following obstruction to blood flow. The Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Pathology at UC San Diego School of Medicine was among the first faculty members recruited to the school’s pathology department when it was founded in 1968, authoring more than 460 scientific publications and several books during his tenure. His research, which included the effects of exercise on heart function and the molecular basis of heart failure, was continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health, including a MERIT award. More

Knowledge Key in Surviving Prostate Cancer
San Diego Unioin-Tribune, Sept. 14 -- he American Urologic Association now recommends that men be screened for prostate cancer at age 40, rather than 50. A free seminar on prostate cancer, its treatment and prevention, will be held at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 23 with Dr. Christopher Kane, chief of the division of urology at the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center in La Jolla. Michael Haynes , National Football League Hall of Famer and prostate cancer survivor, will be there to share his personal story. We asked Kane about the disease and treatment. More

How Do Marine Mammals Hear?
San Diego Unioin-Tribune, Sept. 14 -- A team of researchers with San Diego ties has simulated the effects of sounds in whales' heads using computer software to model how marine mammals hear. The preliminary results are important in helping academic scientists and the U.S. Navy determine if sounds such as sonar harm whales and dolphins, said Petr Krysl, a structural engineering professor at UC San Diego and one of the researchers on the ongoing project. More

UCSD Researchers Discover New Genetic Link To Autism
KPBS, Sept. 14 — Researchers at U.C. San Diego have found a genetic link to Autism Spectrum Disorder. Lead researcher Palmer Taylor, Ph.D is the associate vice chancellor for Health Sciences at UC San Diego. More

The History and Legends of Mexican Independence
KPBS, Sept. 14 — Starting in the early hours of this Thursday morning, towns and cities all over Mexico will begin celebrating the bicentennial of Mexican independence. All this hour we'll be learning more about the history and the mythology that surrounds Mexico's struggle for freedom from Spain. And how that struggle has shaped both Mexico and the United States. Eric Van Young Ph.D., historian of colonial Mexico and a professor in the department of History at UC San Diego, talks about the issue. More

Finishing First is a Surprise to Nice Guy Peter Farrell
San Diego Unioin-Tribune, Sept. 14 -- Being named San Diego’s Nice Guy of the Year is, well, nice. The 2010 title will go to local business entrepreneur Peter Farrell, who will be feted Oct. 16. Farrell sits on the boards of UC San Diego’s Rady Business School and Jacobs School of Engineering. More

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