A Sampling of Clips for December 1^st, 2008

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

Born to Run? Little Ones Get Test for Sports Gene
The New York Times, Nov. 29 -- In this era of genetic testing, DNA is being analyzed to determine predispositions to disease, but experts raise serious questions about marketing it as a first step in finding a child’s sports niche, which some parents consider the road to a college scholarship or a career as a professional athlete. (Quotes Dr. Theodore Friedmann, the director of the UCSD Medical Center’s interdepartmental gene therapy program) More

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Scientists Dance Own Dissertations in YouTube Sensation
FOX News, Dec. 1 -- Who says scientists are awkward and ungraceful? Thirty-six different videos on YouTube prove that wrong, as researchers translate their doctoral dissertations into interpretive dances, both solo and ensemble. Neurologist Miriam Sach of UCSD, took the post-doc prize with a fascinating solo interpretation of how different sectors of the brain light up when speaking regular versus irregular verbs. More

Young Gymnasts Facing Broad Range of New Injuries
Forbes, Dec. 1 -- Young gymnasts now appear to be developing injuries well beyond one common to their sport, a new study says. The study's lead author is Dr. Jerry Dwek, an assistant clinical professor of radiology at UCSD. More

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For the Best Pick-Me-Up, Lie Down
The New York Times, Dec. 1 -- A cup of strong coffee might make you feel wide awake, but a small study suggests that for improved physical and mental performance, an afternoon nap works better. “People think they’re smarter on caffeine,” said Sara C. Mednick, an assistant professor of psychiatry at UCSD and the lead author of the study, which appeared in the Nov. 3 issue of Behavioral Brain Research. More

Apnea Therapy May Help Cognition in Alzheimer's
Reuters, U.K., Nov. 26 -- For patients with Alzheimer's disease and obstructive sleep apnea, treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) seems to improve cognitive function, according to a report in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. "Do not hesitate to treat older demented (or non-demented) patients who have sleep apnea," UCSD researcher Dr. Sonia Ancoli-Israel said. "The decision for treatment should not be based on age." More

Obama Transition: Science Team Named
Science Magazine, Nov. 28 -- President-elect Barack Obama has named members of his transition team for science agencies. Nobel Prize-winning chemist Mario Molina of UCSD, former Clinton White House officials Rosina Bierbaum and Tom Kalil, and Michael Stebbins of the Federation of American Scientists are reviewing the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the role of the science adviser. More

A Nation Apart
TIME, Nov. 27 -- So is China — the "fragile superpower," as UCSD historian Susan Shirk memorably termed it — about to experience the one thing its leaders have feared for years: a so-called hard landing of its economy that could spark widespread social unrest? More

Sweden's Path, Not Japan's, Can Guide Cleanup
The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 1 -- In tackling the national economic downturn, President-elect Barack Obama and his newly appointed economic team might want to study how Japan and Sweden weathered similar storms during the 1990s. (Quotes Takeo Hoshi, a professor of economics at UCSD) More

Fans Paid to Watch Football Games
BBC News, Nov. 27 -- Researchers at Glasgow University want to film 15 people as part of a project to develop new mobile phone technology. The study is being carried out by Stuart Reeves, Marek Bell and Matthew Chalmers, of the university's department of computing science, with a colleague from UCSD, and collaborators at Microsoft. More

New Power Broker Barbara Boxer
Works to Avoid a Knockout by Republicans
Miami Herald, Nov. 30 -- With new clout on Capitol Hill and nearly $4 million in her campaign bank, California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer says she's ready for whatever Republicans throw her way. (Quotes UCSD political scientist Steve Erie) More

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UCSD Theatre & Dance Department Deserves Steady Hand at the Tiller
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 30 -- UCSD's Theatre & Dance Department has experienced a meteoric rise to the top of the rankings of theater departments in the nation in the past 10 to 15 years. It is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the best department on the West Coast and third in the country behind NYU and Yale. More

Border Gulch Fill-In Faces the Wet Test
San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec. 1 -- Three months after border fence construction began in a coastal canyon known as Smuggler's Gulch, crews have all but filled in the once-deep breach. Now, with start of the winter rains this week and more rain expected, observers on both sides will get to see how well the massive project holds up. “This is the first test,” said Oscar Romo, a professor of urban studies and planning at UCSD who is tracking environmental impacts of the construction on both sides of the border. More

NSF Revises Proposal Policies
Chemical and Engineering News, Dec. 1 -- A postdoctoral mentoring section will soon become mandatory for NSF proposals that include postdoctoral researchers. This change is one of several policy revisions described in NSF's 2009 Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide. Other revisions cover salary reimbursement and the use of identification numbers for tracking. The changes will affect proposals submitted on or after Jan. 5, 2009. (Quotes Arthur B. Ellis, former director of NSF's Division of Chemistry and vice chancellor for research at UCSD) More

AIDS Quilt on Display for 20th Anniversary of World AIDS Day
10News, Dec. 1 -- Monday marks the twentieth anniversary of World AIDS Day, and UCSD is rolling out its memorial AIDS quilt. Three sections that have ties to the San Diego area will be on display. They showcase ways local organizations and people have responded to the AIDS crisis over time. More

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Severance, New UC Job for Aide in Pay Scandal
San Francisco Chronicle, Nov. 27 -- The University of California's governing Board of Regents, struggling last week to avert drastic state budget cuts and forestall tuition increases, approved a $100,202 severance package for Linda Williams, a close aide to former UC President Robert Dynes and a figure in the university's 2005 salary scandal. (Mentions UCSD) More

Spell Unbroken
San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec. 1 -- The Harry Potter phenomenon transformed the lives of reluctant readers, introduced the concept of the midnight launch party at bookstores and proved that an English author could go from welfare case to billionaire by capturing the imagination of millions everywhere. (Quotes Stephen Potts who teaches children's literature classes at UCSD) More

UC Decides to Reopen Israel Program Next Fall
San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec. 1 – Students at UCSD and other University of California campuses will soon be able to hit the books again in Israel. UC officials said they plan next fall to reopen their Education Abroad program in Israel, several years after it was suspended because of safety concerns. More

Polar Opposites
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 27 – Every once in a while, the Earth's magnetic field does actually, sort of, disappear. Or more precisely, the field reverses polarity, switching magnetic poles so that a compass needle that once pointed north now points south. (Quotes Lisa Tauxe, a professor of geophysics at UCSD's Scripps Institution of Oceanography who has studied the Earth's magnetic field for decades) More

Earthquake Drill Fizzled Out in County
North County Times, Nov. 30 -- The largest earthquake drill in U.S. history lost steam as the mock shock waves moved south. While promoters of the Nov. 13 Southern California-wide exercise attracted millions of participants in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties, fewer than a half-million San Diego County residents got into the act. (Quotes UCSD political scientist Steve Erie) More

Science and Ethics: Can We Do Better?
Voice of San Diego, Opinion, Dec. 1 -- Living in San Diego, we may not always recognize the extraordinary strength of our local science and technology community. (Written by Michael Kalichman, director of UCSD's Research Ethics Program and co-director of the Center for Ethics in Science and Technology) More

Scripps Institution Nets $12M From Washington
San Diego Business Journal, Dec. 1 -- A $12 million award from the Department of Commerce will jump-start efforts to build environmental research laboratories at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. More

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