A Sampling of Clips for February 29^th, 2008

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

Rain out: China Aims to Control Olympics Weather
USA Today, Feb. 29 -- As they prepare to host the Olympics — an event whose very purpose is to push the limits of human beings — the Chinese are trying to do what man never has: Control the weather. (Quotes Veerabhadran Ramanathan, an atmospheric scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD, who will use the Olympics to study the impact of reduced pollution) More

Similar story in
Business Week
San Diego Union-Tribune

Vitamin E Supplements May Raise Lung Cancer Risk
U.S. News & World Report, Feb. 28 -- Vitamin supplements won't protect people against lung cancer and taking vitamin E may even heighten the risk, a new study finds. (Quotes Edward Gorham, an associate professor of family and preventive medicine at UCSD) More

Similar story in
Forbes

Ginkgo Biloba Might Not Preserve Memory in Octogenarians
The Washington Post, Feb. 28 -- Ginkgo biloba, the popular herbal supplement widely promoted as a memory enhancer, offered no clear-cut protection against memory loss in octogenarians, a new study shows. (Quotes Dr. Paul Aisen, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study at UCSD) More

Similar story in
Forbes
U.S. News & World Report

Run Silent, Run Green
The Economist, Feb. 28 – Various sorts of remotely controlled machines already explore the sea. Some oceanographers have started to use another sort of underwater vehicle that is capable of much greater endurance. These sea gliders do not have an engine and instead manoeuvre vertically by changing their buoyancy while relying on a pair of short, stubby wings to glide forwards. (Mentions the Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

Voters Flock to Polls, But Are They Really Reversing a Trend?
The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 29 -- Dozens of states have set records in voter turnout rates this primary season. Already, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton each have received almost as many votes as the total number cast in the 2004 Democratic primaries. If this trend holds up in November, voters might beat the mark set in the 2004 general election. (Mentions research by UCSD political scientist Samuel Popkin) More

U.S. Wary of Iran's Growing Activity in Iraq
Chicago Tribune, Feb. 29 -- U.S. military officials are voicing increasing concern that Iranian-backed Shiite militants are stepping up their activities in Iraq, as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prepares to make a historic visit to Baghdad that is expected to reinforce Iran's expanding influence. (Quotes Babak Rahimi, an assistant professor of Iranian and Islamic studies at UCSD) More

Donations Add Muscle to Bid for Stem Cell Institute Funds
San Diego Union-Tribune, Feb. 29 – More than $495 million in private donations has been pledged to research institutes and universities around California to supplement grants they are seeking from the state stem cell institute. The San Diego Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, comprising UCSD, the Scripps Research Institute, the Salk Institute and the Burnham Institute, is seeking a $50 million grant from the stem cell institute to construct a new building on UCSD property. More

Oceanside Museum of Art to Lift Curtain on New Pavilion
San Diego Union-Tribune, Feb. 29 – The inaugural exhibit at the revamped Oceanside Museum of Art is “Masterpieces of San Diego Painting: Fifty Works from Fifty Years, 1900-1950.” (Mentions Bram Dijkstra, the museum’s guest curator and a professor emeritus from UCSD) More

Feds Reconsider Moving Medical Stockpile
North County Times, Feb. 28 -- Federal officials have agreed to rethink the idea of moving a 25,000-pound stockpile of emergency medical supplies out of San Diego County, local officials said Thursday. (Quotes Dr. Jake Jacoby of the UCSD Medical Center) More

NASA Researcher Explains How Satellites Predict Ocean Trends
KPBS, Feb. 28 -- San Diego is one of the world's centers for the study of climate change, thanks to the work of researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD. That's where Michael Freilich went to college. Now he's a professor of Oceanography at Oregon State and he directs the Earth Science Division for NASA. More

San Diego Students Campaign in TX, OH
FOX6 News, Feb. 29 -- Rick Relinger is packing his bags. The UCSD student is headed for Austin, Texas and four days of intense campaigning for Barack Obama. More

Another Water Project for Bajagua Developer
Voice of San Diego, Feb. 29 -- The developer behind the Bajagua Project LLC, the controversial effort to boost Tijuana's lagging sewage treatment infrastructure, has come up with a new proposal to build a desalination plant in Baja California. (Quotes UCSD political scientist Steve Erie) More