A Sampling of Clips for February 9^th, 2009

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

Brain Protein May Have Potential Against Alzheimer's
U.S. News & World Report, Feb. 8 -- A naturally occurring brain protein appears able to slow or stop Alzheimer's disease in recent studies done on animal models. When UCSD researchers injected the protein BDNF in lab animals that either were aged, had entorhinal cortex damage or were genetically altered to have Alzheimer's-like symptoms, they found that the animals had improved memory and cognitive skills and that cell degeneration and death was prevented or reversed. More

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NPR
Forbes
The Daily Telegraph. U.K.
The Daily Mail, U.K.
The West Australian
New Scientist
San Diego Union-Tribune

Seeing Color in Sounds has Genetic Link
CNN, Feb. 9 -- As many as 1 percent of people have the most recognizable form of synesthesia, studies say. Acclaimed Russian-American author Vladimir Nabokov, who wrote "Lolita," famously had the disorder, as did physicist Richard Feynman and composer Franz Liszt. (Quote V.S. Ramachandran, director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at UCSD) More

Pancreatic Cancer Rare, Very Deadly
CNN, Feb. 6 -- Pancreatic cancer is rare and extraordinarily lethal, experts say. Despite the relatively low number of people affected, about 95 percent of those with pancreatic cancer die from it, experts say. "Of all the relatively common human cancers, it is by far has the highest death rate and worst outcome," said Dr. Andrew Lowy, chief of surgical oncology at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. More

Act Fast, Or Else
Newsweek, Feb. 6 -- No matter what kind of banking bailout Washington proposes, people will fight about it from here until a bull market and beyond. But the two biggest crisis-induced nationalizations in world history—Sweden in the early 1990s and Japan in the middle of that decade—suggest that how the bailout works might be less important than when it works. And the longer we wait, the worse off we'll be. (Quotes Ulrike Schaede, an expert on Japanese business at UCSD) More

Failure to Prevent AIDS Infections Spurs Renewed Hunt for Cure
Bloomberg, Feb. 9 -- The U.S. government and the richest charity are offering bounties to a new wave of scientists to wipe out HIV, the virus that causes AIDS and is one of the world’s biggest killers. (Mentions UCSD) More

Review: The passion's back in John Adams' 'Eros Piano'
Los Angeles Times, Feb. 4 -- There is plenty of musical sensuality all through John Adams’ music, so even that explanation doesn’t quite account for why this lush, torchy 1989 valentine for piano and orchestra is seldom heard and has had but a single recording. (Mentions UCSD music professor Rand Steiger) More

Darwin's Legacy: Natural Selections
San Diego Union-Tribune, Feb. 9 -- In helping to explain the nature of life, Charles Darwin became bigger than life. It's the smaller things, though, that help explain the man. (Mentions UCSD) More

Labels for Downturns Lack a Clear Definition
San Diego Union-Tribune, Feb. 8 -- With unemployment soaring to 7.6 percent and economic growth drooping by its greatest level in three decades, there's no question that the United States is in a severe recession. But how much worse do things have to get before we're in a depression? (Quotes UCSD economist James Hamilton) More

U.S. Urged to Do More vs. Gun Trafficking to Mexico
San Diego Union-Tribune, Feb. 7 -- The United States should do more to curb the trafficking of guns to Mexico that have armed narcotics cartels and fueled violence in border cities, a report released yesterday says. Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico's ambassador to the United States, will be at UCSD on Thursday to speak at the Institute of the Americas. More

Sour Economy Could Benefit Environment
KPBS, Feb. 9 -- A UCSD researcher says if the financial downturn continues, one positive effect of the shutdown in factories could be a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions - which have been linked to climate change. More

Relevant or Relic?
San Diego Union-Tribune, Feb. 8 – No other annual music awards fete is as hailed and reviled as the Grammy Awards, which celebrates its 51st anniversary today at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. (Quotes UCSD professor Anthony Davis) More

Welcome to the Venture
Voice of San Diego, Feb. 9 -- I can guarantee you that anyone who calls scientists uncool hasn't met Maurizio Seracini, a University of California, San Diego scientist who uses lasers and ultrasound technology to uncover lost art masterpieces. And they haven't visited UCSD's Brain Observatory, where Jacopo Annese is building a one-of-a-kind library of human brains. More

UCSD ‘Lab to Market’ Startup Attracts Investors, Makes Sales
San Diego Business Journal, Feb. 9 – UCSD’s Rady School of Management has notched a first success story from its “Lab to Market” course. Polka, a technology company, was launched two years ago by M.B.A. graduate Mike Kirkwood to help patients maintain their health records. More

PCL Construction Breaks Ground on UCSD Medical Center Renovation
San Diego Daily Transcript, Feb. 9 -- Construction has begun on a $3.7 million renovation of a building on the UCSD Hillcrest Medical Center campus. The three-story, 36,264-square-foot Theodore Gildred Facility will be renovated to include a variety of new amenities. More

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