A Sampling of Clips for August 24^th, 2009

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

Martinez Departure Part of GOP Schism
The New York Times, Aug 23 -- Florida Sen. Mel Martinez's resignation closes the latest chapter in the Republican Party's tumultuous, decade-long effort to woo the nation's Hispanic voters. (Quotes Marisa A. Abrajano, a UCSD professor and co-author of an upcoming book on Hispanic political behavior in the U.S.) More

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ABC News
Salon.com
ABC7, Tampa, Fla.
KVOA, Tuscon, Ariz.

Pot Might Blunt Damage of Binge Drinking
U.S. News & World Report, Aug. 21 -- Marijuana may buffer the brain against the damages of binge drinking, a new study suggests. Researchers from UCSD used high-tech scans to compare microscopic changes in brain white matter in teens aged 16 to 19 who were divided into three groups: binge drinkers (boys who consume five or more drinks at one sitting, and girls who have four or more drinks); binge drinkers who also smoked marijuana; and a control group with little or no experience with either alcohol or drugs. More

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KTVN, Reno, Nev.
WMBF, Myrtle Beach, Fla.
Austin American-Statesman

Swimming 'Bomber Worms' Discovered
BBC News, Aug. 21 -- A group of glowing worms has been found dwelling in the deep ocean. A team of researchers from UCSD describe the bizarre "Swima worms" in the journal Science. More

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Kansas City Star
San Diego Union-Tribune

Men Carouse; Women Clean
The New York Times, Aug. 20 -- Two major films of the 1970s, John Cassavetes’s “Husbands” (1970) and Chantal Akerman’s “Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles” (1975) have recently reappeared on DVD, a coincidence that’s almost an act of film criticism in itself. Akerman’s cinematographer was UCSD Visual Professor Babette Mangolte. More

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FOX 31, Denver, Colo.

She’s Got the Right Stuff
Boston Globe, Aug. 24 -- Kate Rubins always knew she wanted to be a scientist. When she was 7 years old, she declared her career choices were astronaut, geologist, or biologist, in that order. At 30, she’s a rising star of molecular biology, known for researching dangerous viruses in the Congo. Now, ready for her next adventure, she is circling back to her first choice, leaving the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research to begin training today as an astronaut candidate. Rubins is a UCSD alumna. More

With Evolution, Scientists Must Watch Out for Unexpected Twists and Turns
The Christian Science Monitor, Aug. 24 -- Biologists have learned a lot about evolution since Darwin published his theory 100 years ago. But nature can still surprise them. The discovery that an ancient merger of microbes opened an unsuspected evolutionary pathway for higher organisms gives biologists a new perspective on earthly life. A new look at 200 million years of marine clam evolution reveals that some closely related clusters of species are more vulnerable to extinction than are life forms generally. Authors of the Science study included Kaustuv Roy at UCSD. More

No Dream Beyond My Reach
NBC San Diego, Aug. 21 -- Sopheap Ly was just five years old when the Khmer Rouge forced her and her family out of their home by gunpoint. Today, she works as a physician at a VA clinic in Vista and at UCSD. She tells her amazing story in the hopes of inspiring others. More

Legends of Surfing Gather at La Jolla Today
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 23 – Well-known names in surfing are taking part today in the 16th annual Moores UCSD Cancer Center's Luau and Longboard Invitational to raise money for cancer research. The invitational began at 7 a.m. More

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San Diego News Network

Scanning Bar Codes at the Bedside
NBC San Diego, Aug. 24 -- Bar codes have made it to the bedside at Tri-City Medical Center, where most nurses are now using hand-held scanners to make sure each patient gets the correct medication at the proper time and dose. UCSD Medical Center also uses the system. More

Similar story in
North County Times

Muslims Observe a  Month of Reflection
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 24 – When UCSD graduate student Juliann Saquib begins observing her first Ramadan today, the focus will be on what she gains, not what she gives up. More

Sherry Seethaler Defines the Problem
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 24 -- Sherry Seethaler is a writer, educator, director of science education outreach for the division of physical sciences at UCSD. Seethaler has published a book called “Lies, Damned Lies and Science” (FT Press), which is intended to help ordinary folk rationally assess often badly presented science news. More

‘Clunkers’ Provides Quick Test of Stimulus
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 23 -- One month after it began, the government's “cash for clunkers” program will draw to a close at 5 p.m. tomorrow, after doling out as much as $3 billion to owners seeking to trade gas-guzzling, smog-spouting cars for cleaner, greener models. (Quotes UCSD economist James Hamilton) More

UCSD Medical School Works With Counterpart … in India
San Diego Business Journal, Aug. 24 -- UCSD Health Sciences has entered into an agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur to help establish a medical center in the region, officials said Aug. 18. More

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