A Sampling of Clips for 
August 24, 2004

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

Tweaking the Math to Make Happier Medical Marriages
New York Times, Aug. 24—Earlier this month, a federal district court dismissed an antitrust challenge to the Residency Match, the program that assigns medical students to residency positions. The plaintiffs say they will continue their legal efforts, but whatever the outcome, the case has already captured the attention of mathematical economists, who are wrestling with a question at the heart of it: By making it difficult for students to negotiate the terms of employment, does the match program enable hospitals to underpay residents? (Quote by Vincent Crawford M.D., an economics professor at the University of California, San Diego.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/24/science/24matc.html

Geneticists Engineer Marathon Mice
Nature, Aug. 23—US scientists have genetically engineered two types of mice with exceptional athletic stamina, raising concerns that athletes might try to use similar strategies. Marathon runners have far higher physical endurance than an average person does. One reason is that their muscles have a greater capacity to generate energy aerobically, using oxygen. This mechanism allows them to keep producing energy for long periods of time, as opposed to anaerobic activity, which powers short, explosive bursts, such as sprints. Now two teams of scientists have hit upon molecules that might explain some of this muscular staying power. Randall Johnson of the University of California, San Diego, has created mice that were less able to switch to anaerobic activity.
http://www.nature.com/news/2004/040823/full/040823-2.html

Similar articles appeared in:
Hartford Courant, Aug. 24
http://www.ctnow.com/news/health/hc-front0824.artaug24,1,4650876.story?coll=hc-headlines-health

Similar article appeared in:
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 24
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20040824-9999-1n24mice.html


The Critics
The New Yorker, Aug. 23—In every Presidential-election year, there are news stories about undecided voters, people who say that they are perplexed about which candidate’s positions make the most sense. To voters who identify strongly with a political party, the undecided voter is almost an alien life form. For them, a vote for Bush is a vote for a whole philosophy of governance and a vote for Kerry is a vote for a distinctly different philosophy. To an undecided voter, on the other hand, the person who always votes for the Democrat or the Republican, no matter what, must seem like a dangerous fanatic. Which voter is behaving more rationally and responsibly? (Quote by Samuel Popkin, a professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego.)
http://www.newyorker.com/printable/?critics/040830crat_atlarge

Link Between Oil and Gas Prices
National Public Radio, Aug. 23—Oil prices are down today as Iraq resumed exports after various disruptions. But in recent weeks, the price of crude oil has soared. And despite that, during these weeks in most places, gas prices have been pretty stable. It's hard to figure out. Do any of us really know why gas costs what it does? (Interview with James D. Hamilton, a professor of economics at the University of California, San Diego.)
Day to Day audio (Radio)

Oyster Fishery Collapse Spread From Urban Areas, Study Shows
Bloomberg, Aug. 23—The collapse of oyster fisheries spread from urban areas including New York, San Francisco and Sydney because of overfishing and environmental damage, according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Centuries of harvesting and development that disturbed natural habitat harmed oyster-reef ecosystems adjoining urban areas, Michael Kirby of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, wrote in the study.
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000081&sid=aBdWy6pAncpc&refer=austral
 
Alcohol Use Cited in Lewis' Autopsy
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 24—San Diego Councilman Charles Lewis' sudden death this month was caused by inflammation and scarring of the liver from alcohol use, an autopsy report by county Medical Examiner Glenn Wagner concluded yesterday. His death was attributed to acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding from "advanced cirrhosis" of the liver "with alcoholic hepatitis," the autopsy report said. (Quote by Tarek Hassanein M.D., medical director of UCSD's liver transplant program.)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20040824-9999-1m24lewis.html