A Sampling of Clips for 
August 18, 2005

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

Costly Gasoline: Inflation Foe?
Los Angeles Times, Aug. 18 -- How can expensive energy limit inflation? It can make it harder to boost prices on other goods and services. With more of their budgets going to gasoline, consumers have less to spend on other stuff. And that means sellers must think twice before raising prices -- on products as diverse as T-shirts at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and computers at Dell Inc. -- even if higher energy bills are driving up their costs. (Quote by James D. Hamilton, professor of economics at UC San Diego.) More

Health Mystery in New York: Heart Disease
The New York Times, Aug. 18 -- Death rates from heart disease in New York City and its suburbs are among the highest recorded in the country, and no one quite knows why. Heart disease is more common among poorer people. Yet Nassau County, one of the 15 highest-income counties in the country, suffers heart disease death at a rate 20 percent above the norm, a review of death certificate records by The New York Times shows. Some New Jersey counties have similar rates. All the city boroughs except Manhattan have rates as high as rural counties in the South and Appalachia. (Quote by Nicholas Christenfeld, a psychologist at UC San Diego, one of the study's authors.) More

US Economy, So Far, Shrugs Off Oil Surge
Agence France Presse, Aug. 18 -- The oil market's record-breaking surge has had surprisingly little effect on the US economy, which apart from an uptick in inflation has remained in rude health. Analysts say the world's biggest economy is not immune to the impact of dearer energy costs, which are seen most noticeably in sky-high prices for gasoline. But other factors have combined to counteract more expensive oil, not least the resilience of the US property market, which has encouraged a spending binge by consumers. (Quote by James Hamilton, professor of economics at UC San Diego.) More

Niche Magazines Go Heavy on Ads for Questionable Products
News-Medical.Net, Aug. 18 -- Magazines aimed at African-American and Hispanic women publish twice as many adverts for potentially health-damaging products, such as alcohol or junk food, as mainstream magazines aimed mainly at white women. Black and Latino magazines also publish four times fewer adverts for healthy products. (Cites research conducted by Susan Duerksen, Georgia Robins Sadler and colleagues at the Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center.) More

Surfers vs. Cancer
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 16 -- Surfing heroes, corporate executives and autograph seekers will converge at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography parking lot Sunday, Aug. 21 for the 12th Annual Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center Luau and Longboard Invitational. More