A Sampling of Clips for
February 19, 2003
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UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing
the University
Communications Office
Using Genetic
Tests, Ashkenazi Jews Vanquish a Disease
New York Times, Feb. 18 – Genetic
screening has proven successful in significantly reducing some
diseases such as Tay-Sachs in Ashkenazi Jews. Although controversial,
this technology has been proposed to attempt to eliminate ten
other such diseases. (Quotes Dr. Michael M. Kaback,
a geneticist at University of California at San Diego).
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No link available online.
Body's
First Defense May Be Root of Devastating Diseases
Washington Post, Feb. 16 – Medical
researchers are becoming increasingly convinced that the most
primitive part of the immune system, usually the body's first
defense against infection and injury, may play a crucial role
in some of the most devastating afflictions, including heart
disease, cancer, diabetes and possibly Alzheimer's. (Quotes
Gary S. Firestein, chief of rheumatology, allergy,
and immunology at the University of California, San
Diego).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13755-2003Feb15.html
Researchers
Seek New Cures in Seabed’s Muck
Cox News Service, Feb. 18 –
Bill Fenical, director of The Scripps
Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, and
his team of researchers scour the ocean bottoms in search for
new substances to fight disease, including cancer. They have
found that microbes at the ocean’s floor, created from
centuries of decaying marine life, have the same medicinal qualities
as microbes taken from terrestrial sources. The muck represents
an untapped source for potentially hundreds of new drugs.
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No link available online.
Science
alliance a star - Online & Distance - The Education Reports
The Australian, Feb. 19 – The
University of Sydney has formed an alliance with six overseas
universities including The University of California,
San Diego to deliver subjects in bioinformatics by
distance, a model now being used as a standard in other countries.
With more than 100 students enrolled at any time, the program
provides free lectures from around the world, around the clock.
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No link available online.
