A Sampling of Clips for 
February 16, 2006

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

Economists React to Bernanke Testimony
The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 16 -- In testimony before a House committee, new Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy has snapped out of an end-of-year lull, although inflation and other risks remain. He left the door open to further interest-rate increases. Here's how economists reacted to his pronouncements on interest rates, economic growth, jobs, housing and more, how he stacks up next to Greenspan, and how he interacted with members of Congress. (Quotes James Hamilton, professor of economics at UCSD.) More

Guest Editorial: All Clones Are Not the Same
The New York Times, Feb. 16 -- Calling human cloning in all its forms an "egregious abuse" is a serious mischaracterization. This makes it sound as if the medical community is out there cloning people, which is simply not true. The phrase "in all of its forms" is code, a way of conflating very different things: reproductive cloning and biomedical cloning. (Mentions Patricia Churchland, chair of the philosophy dept. at UCSD). More 

Better Than Sci-Fi: UCSD Lab Thinks
You Can Do Big Things with Your Brainwaves
San Diego City Beat, Feb. 16 -- For many of us, the idea of direct brain-to-computer interface (BCI) conjures up images of Frankenstein and The Twilight Zone. A giant helmet of needles sticking through the skull, say, or the implantation of microchips directly into the brain. Fortunately, these ideas are difficult to develop. The National Institutes of Health has a few things to say about sticking bits of silicon into people's heads, even for the sake of research that would save us from the drudgery of typing. (Describes the work of Jaime Pineda at UCSD's Cognitive Neurosciences Laboratory.) More

Study Suggests 'Noise' in Gene
Expression Could Aid Bacterial Pathogenicity
Innovations Report (Germany), Feb. 16 -- A high level of variation in the amount of green fluorescence protein in individual non-growing E. coli cells surprised synthetic biology researchers at Boston University and UCSD. An experiment designed to show how a usually innocuous bacterium regulates the expression of an unnecessary gene for green color has turned up a previously unrecognized phenomenon that could partially explain a feature of bacterial pathogenicity. More

UCSD Students
OK New Charter for TV Station
San Diego Union-Tribune, Feb. 16 -- In a show of defiance against UCSD administrators, student council members last night approved a television-station charter that they say seeks to protect free speech and avoid bureaucracy. Their decision extended the yearlong struggle over content on the Student-Run Television station, which created a stir last year when pornographic material was aired. Their vote also will prolong the time that the station remains off the air. Administrators have stated the station would not return until a review board is established to ensure material is suitable before airing. (Quotes Gary Ratcliff, acting assistant vice chancellor for student life, and students Daniel Palay and Andy Tess.) More

Designed to Create Controversy
San Diego Union-Tribune, Feb. 16 -- As controversies about evolution have erupted at public schools in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kansas, California and elsewhere, President Bush, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and other political leaders have argued that evolution should be balanced with other views. Acknowledging the high-profile discord, the American Association for the Advancement of Science will hold several panel discussions on evolution at its annual meeting, which began today in St. Louis. The association is the world's largest general scientific group. (Quotes UCSD scientists and scholars Ajit Varki, Naomi Oreskes, Joshua Kohn, and student Jordan Vaughan.) More

Does the Cat in Hat Need a Hard Hat?
San Diego Union-Tribune, Feb. 16 - Why does the main library at UCSD - "the one shaped like a concrete tree" - have barriers and a plywood tunnel at the entrance and chunks of concrete missing from the façade? Is the tower of learning crumbling? Does the cat in the hat need a hard hat? More