A Sampling of Clips for February 12^th, 2009

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

Horseshoes, Hand Grenades--and Slot Machines?
Science, Feb. 11 -- Before the reels on a slot machine stop spinning, a gambler's brain is already anticipating the potential rewards. And although two bananas on the pay line with a third just barely visible won't pay a gambler any more than three random fruits, such near misses have the well-documented, if irrational, effect of enticing gamblers to try again. The reason, according to a new study, is that these near misses activate the same reward signals in the brain as a win. (Quotes UCSD psychiatrist Martin Paulus) More

Where in the World Americans Get Arrested
Newday, Feb. 11 -- Despite all the tourists scared away by the bloody struggle between Tijuana police and Mexican drug lords, Tijuana continues to lead the world in arrests of Americans abroad. In fact, arrests there increased in the past year, while figures were falling in the rest of Mexico and the world. The contrast perplexes even some experts. (Quotes Wayne Cornelius, director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at UCSD) More

Inland Climate Increasingly Hostile to Feathered Friends
The Press-Enterprise, Feb. 11 -- Climate change is expected to have more dire effects on bird species native to Inland Southern California than anywhere else in the state by the end of the century, according to a study by state bird experts and climatologists. (Quotes Tim Barnett, a marine physicist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD) More

The Other Legacy of Charles Darwin
San Diego Union-Tribune, Opinion, Feb. 12 -- On this, the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birthday, much is being said and written about evolution, natural selection and the conflict between religion and science. But Darwin's legacy is much more than the publication 150 years ago of the transformative ideas he put forth in “The Origin of Species.” (Written by Steve Kay, dean of the Division of Biological Sciences at UCSD) More

Octuplet Case Sparks Calls for Fertility-Industry Curbs
San Diego Union-Tribune, Feb. 12 -- Ethicists, medical providers and average citizens are asking why any physician would help Nadya Suleman, a single mother in Whittier, have that many children. Some said the case is evidence that the nation's $3 billion, self-regulated fertility industry needs government oversight. (Quotes Dr. Sanjay Agarwal, a clinical professor of reproductive medicine and director of fertility services at UCSD) More

The Met Expands its Repertory in the 2009-10 Season
Broadway World, Feb. 10 -- Eight new productions, four of which are company premieres, will highlight the Metropolitan Opera's 2009-10 season. (Mentions James F. Ingalls, adjunct professor of lightning design in UCSD’s department of theatre and dance) More

Bilbro Begins Construction at UCSD
San Diego Daily Transcript, Feb. 11 -- Bilbro Construction Co. Inc. has announced that construction is now under way on a new cardiac catheterization laboratory for the UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest. More

Stem Cell Research Center Still on Track
La Jolla Light, Feb. 11 -- It might take longer than December 2010, but financial challenges posed by the deepening recession will not deter a San Diego consortium's plans to build a $115 million collaborative stem cell research center on Torrey Pines Mesa. The consortium includes UCSD. More

Cancer Center Receives Grant
La Jolla Light, Feb. 11 -- The Moores Cancer Center at UCSD received $7.5 million from the National Institutes of Health to fund a newly established imaging center that is working to make better cancer diagnoses and evaluate the effectiveness of drugs, it was announced Wednesday. More

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