A Sampling of Clips for April 16^th, 2009

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

Third-World Stove Soot Is Target in Climate Fight
New York Times, April 16 -- “It’s hard to believe that this is what’s melting the glaciers,” said  Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan (of UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography) one of the world’s leading climate scientists, as he weaved through a warren of mud brick huts, each containing a mud cookstove pouring soot into the atmosphere. As women in ragged saris of a thousand hues bake bread and stew lentils in the early evening over fires fueled by twigs and dung, children cough from the dense smoke that fills their homes. Black grime coats the undersides of thatched roofs. At dawn, a brown cloud stretches over the landscape like a diaphanous dirty blanket. More

The SAT ‘at War with Itself’
Inside Higher Ed, April 16 -- SAN DIEGO -- When American high school students take an SAT that is an hour longer than it used to be, and that includes a writing test many top colleges ignore, Richard Atkinson may be the man they have to thank. Atkinson is the former president of the University of California (and former chancellor of UCSD). When he announced in 2001 that he was recommending that the university system stop requiring the SAT of applicants, he got the attention of the College Board in a way that other critics of the test never could. The prospect of losing all of those University of California applicants led to all kinds of changes in the SAT (and succeeded in keeping the university among the institutions requiring the test). More

The Gift Card Economy
The Atlantic Magazine, May 2009 -- Mother’s Day is coming up. Which do you think Mom would enjoy more—a day-spa gift certificate that expires at the end of June, or an otherwise identical gift certificate that expires a year from now? “While individuals given a longer time frame are more positive about and expect to be more likely to complete an enjoyable task, they are actually less likely to do so,” the behavioral economists Suzanne B. Shu and UCSD Rady School Professor Ayelet Gneezy write in an article under review at the Journal of Marketing Research. More

Veteran’s Museum: History through the Eyes of a Veteran
Navy Compass, April 10 -- The Veteran’s Museum is located in the old Naval Hospital  chapel in Balboa Park, which already lends itself to richness of San Diego’s naval history. With cathedral ceilings and stained glass windows, I found myself wondering about the men and women who visited the chapel from the early 1920s, thru World War II and up to the Cold War. I was given a proper tour of the museum exhibits by Dr. Abraham Shragge, a University of California San Diego lecturer and historian and a museum volunteer. More

‘Black Box’ Could Redefine the Search for Music
Voice of San Diego, April 15 -- Luke Barrington wanted a good example of "funky music with a horn section for listening to at a party." The University of California, San Diego doctoral student typed the search term into his computer program and it told him to give James Brown's "Give It Up Or Turn It Loose" a try. It also suggested "Onyoghasayo" by Shankin' Pickle and "Super Freak" by Rick James. More

Research Report: Discovery Sheds Light on Mysterious Glow of Sea
La Jolla Light, April 15 -- Below the ocean surface in tropical seas are often seen dazzling displays of green light produced by marine fireworms. Now researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD have uncovered how (and why) the light is produced. (Also mentions UCSD Medical Center and UCSD School of Medicine.) More

Scientific Discovery Could Starve Brain Tumors
KPBS, April 15 -- A researcher at UCSD's Moores Cancer Center has learned how one genetic mutation feeds a deadly brain tumor. And this discovery could lead to a treatment. Kun-Liang Guan, a professor of pharmacology, says this gene mutation starts a biological chain reaction, which stimulates the growth of blood vessels that feed the tumor. More

California Funds Collaboration to Spur Solar Development
Environment News Services, April 15 -- The first California Solar Energy Collaborative was established today by California Energy Commission with a two-year, $700,000 grant to two University of California campuses. The University of California, San Diego, in collaboration with UC Davis will use the grant to expand the development and use of solar energy in the state. More

Alzheimer’s Controversy Solved
News-Medical.Net, April 16 -- For a decade, Alzheimer's disease researchers have been entrenched in debate about one of the mechanisms believed to be responsible for brain cell death and memory loss in the illness. Now researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of California, San Diego have settled the dispute. Resolving this controversy improves understanding of the disease and could one day lead to better treatments. More

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