A Sampling of Clips for June 23, 2011

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

Poor Brain 'Sync' a Possible Sign of Autism
U.S. News and World Report, June 23 -- Researchers searching for an early indicator of autism say they've discovered a promising possibility: an impairment in the ability of the brain's right and left hemispheres to communicate with each other. "No one really knows why synchronization is important, but it's clearly a robust phenomenon apparent in the brains of animals and humans of all ages," said lead study author Ilan Dinstein, a neurobiologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, and a member of the Autism Center of Excellence at UC San Diego. More

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Area Colleges, Universities Buildings Aplenty During Real Estate Downturn
San Diego Union Tribune, June 22 -- From Palomar College in the north to Southwestern College in the south, at San Diego State and UC San Diego, cranes are towering over quads as new buildings rise on former parking lots and ‘60s-era structures give way to high-tech, low-energy-using, architecturally innovative projects. “I think it’s extraordinarily fortunate to have an influx of work in both the community college and university sector,” said Boone Hellmann, UC San Diego vice chancellor for facilities, design and construction. “I’ve had contractors over the past two years tell me we’ve been a stalwart in the community in keeping local business operations in existence.” By one calculation, workers on local higher-education projects will represent about 10 percent of all 50,000 construction jobs in the county this year. And that doesn’t take into account the architects, engineers and other professionals on the jobs. More than $1.6 billion in public college and university building projects are under way with hundreds of millions more on tap for the next few years. UCSD’s current five-year capital improvement program totals $2.1 billion with $478 million currently under way. They range from a remodel at Revelle College’s 1960s dorms to the $663.8 million Jacobs Medical Center east of Interstate 5, now in design. More

Four Ideas To Create New Jobs
CNN, June 23 -- If job creation is priority one, President Obama needs some new policy ideas. It is looking unlikely that there will be more stimulus from either fiscal policy or monetary policy. Former President Bill Clinton has called for suggestions for other policy options that might be helpful. Here are a few ideas along those lines. (Commentary by James D. Hamilton, professor of Economics at UC San Diego.) More

One Drink, Too Many
KPBS, June 22 -- The days of having a few drinks and driving home are long gone for most responsible drivers. But what about having one drink or some wine at dinner. Do you think you're okay to drive after that? A new study out of UC San Diego finds links between accidents and even a very small amount of alcohol in a driver's system. Supporters would like to see the research lead to a change in drunk driving laws. (Interview with David Phillips, a sociologist at UC San Diego and lead author of the DUI study published in the June 2011 issue of the "Addiction Journal.”)More

Women Knowing China Men Rule
Prove Mao’s Half the Sky Remains Unfulfilled
Bloomberg News, June 23 -- More than 40 years after Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed that “women hold up half the sky” and a week before the Communist Party celebrates its 90th anniversary, women are barely represented in the top echelons of China’s government and the biggest state-owned companies, according to figures compiled by Bloomberg. (Quotes Susan Shirk, a professor at UC San Diego. She was responsible for China at the State Department from 1997 to 2000.) More

Stinky or Sweet: The Scent of Our Favorite TV Shows is in the Air
Chicago Tribune, June 22 -- Scientists at UC San Diego are working with Samsung to create a teeny-weenie device for TVs and cell phones that allows users to smell what they're watching, according to a news release from the school. Katy Perry has had great success with this idea during her cotton candy-scented California Dreams tour, but we think the results could get a bit, well, smelly, when applied to our favorite shows. More

Community Leader’s View: Thank You
for Helping UCSD “Achieve the Extraordinary”
La Jolla Light, June 22 -- It’s hard to remember a time when UC San Diego did not sit atop the cliffs of La Jolla. The campus was established 50 years ago and has since become an integral part of the La Jolla community. Right before the community’s eyes, the university has been transformed from a fledgling campus to a world-renowned research institution. (Commentary from Chancellor Marye Anne Fox.) More

Famed UCSD Neuroscientist Puts His Mind to Problems Big and Small
San Diego Daily Transcript, June 22 -- San Diego neuroscientist Vilayanur S. Ramachandran has earned praised from world leaders and Nobel laureates, has been profiled in The New Yorker and Newsweek, and has been called the “Marco Polo of neuroscience” by famed evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. Time magazine recently named him among the 100 most influential people in the world -- alongside President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Sting. His advances in brain research have been well documented. Ramachandran is director of University of San Diego, California’s Center for Brain and Cognition, a UC San Diego professor of psychology and neuroscience, and an adjunct professor of biology at the Salk Institute. More

What 'Going Green' Really Means
San Diego Daily Transcript, June 21 – Unfortunately for [Leslie] Widner, and many teachers during the recession, teaching jobs were few and far between in 2008. Frustrated and desperate, Widner took a job at a large hotel chain as a front office supervisor. Once there she reignited her second passion -- caring for the environment. While reading an article about green events in San Diego, Widner came across UC San Diego Extension's Sustainable Business Practices certificate program. (Story by Henry Devries regarding sustainability programs at UC San Diego Extension and others.) More

Researchers Create Tool to Predict Solar Power Fluctuations
Ecoseed, June 22 -- Two researchers from UC San Diego developed a tool that can predict solar grid fluctuations due to cloud cover. The unpredictability in the output of solar power systems has long been of great concern to power operators worldwide. However, Professor Jan Kleissl and Ph.D. student Matthew Lave created a computer program that allows operators to easily predict fluctuations in the power grid. More

New Site Provides Nationwide Education Data
ABC News 10 (Sacramento), June 23 -- A new website launched this month weaves together multiple sources of education data into a single place, allowing parents, students and researchers to quickly size up schools. The site, www.EdBudgetProject.org, includes information for both K-12 school districts and colleges. Every school and district page includes financial, demographic and academic achievement information. Using the site, it's easy to see that tuition is more expensive at UC San Diego than at the Los Angeles or Berkeley campuses. UC Berkeley and UCLA also graduate more of their students in four years than the San Diego campus. More

UCSD 50th Anniversary
San Diego Daily Transcript, June 22 -- Join The Daily Transcript and UC San Diego in celebrating the institution’s golden anniversary. (Insert piece with articles on multiple aspects of the university.) More

Designer Genes: Craig Venter Negotiates with UCSD
San Diego Reader, June 22 -- Genomic-engineering pioneer Craig Venter appears to be on the verge of officially breaking ground on flashy new offices on state land at the UCSD campus, but university officials are reluctant to tell the public the terms of the deal. Back on May 9, the La Jolla Light reported that construction of the J. Craig Venter Institute’s “carbon-neutral laboratory facility,” near the intersection of Torrey Pines Road and La Jolla Village Drive, was under way. More

Research Report: Nanoparticles Communicate to Target Tumors
La Jolla Light, June 22 -- For decades researchers have worked to develop nanoparticles that deliver cancer drugs directly to tumors, minimizing the toxic side effects of chemotherapy. A team of researchers from MIT, the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and UC San Diego have designed a new type of delivery system in which a first wave of nanoparticles homes in on the tumor then calls in a much larger second wave of nanoparticles that dispenses the cancer drug. More

James Cameron, Enric Sala Named National Geographic Explorers
National Geographic, June 23 -- Two outstanding explorers — filmmaker and alternative-energy proponent James Cameron and marine ecologist Enric Sala — are the National Geographic Society's newest Explorers-in-Residence. After obtaining a Ph.D. in ecology in 1996 from the University of Aix-Marseille, France, he worked in California for 10 years as a professor at the prestigious Scripps Institution of Oceanography. More

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