A Sampling of Clips for 
January 22 - 24, 2005

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

Stem Cell Lines Reportedly Contaminated
NBC Nightly News, Jan. 24-The human embryonic stem cells available for research are contaminated with nonhuman molecules from the culture medium used to grow the cells, UCSD researchers report. See Video More

Stem Cell Lines Reported Contaminated
New York Times, Jan. 24-The human embryonic stem cells available for research are contaminated with nonhuman molecules from the culture medium used to grow the cells, researchers report. The nonhuman cell-surface sialic acid can compromise the potential uses of the stem cells in humans, say scientists at UCSD. Their study was published Sunday in the online edition of Nature Medicine. More

Similar articles appeared in:
ABC News, Jan. 24
CNN, Jan. 24
Los Angeles Times, Jan. 24
Washington Post, Jan. 24
Business Week, Jan. 24
Forbes, Jan. 24
London Guardian, Jan. 25
London Times, Jan. 24
Nature, Jan. 24
Fox News, Jan. 24
Reuters, Jan. 24
USA Today, Jan. 24
Newsday, Jan. 24
Wired News, Jan. 23
San Diego Union-Tribune, Jan. 24

Stem Cell Setbacks
Los Angeles Times, Editorial, Jan. 24-If it wasn't bad enough that the Bush administration has restricted federally funded stem cell research to 22 previously developed lines, now it turns out that even those precious few lines may be contaminated with a non-human acid that renders them useless to scientists, according to UCSD researchers. More

Some See Risks for G.O.P. as It Revels in New Powers
New York Times, Jan. 24-President Bush begins his second term with the Republican Party in its strongest position in over 50 years, but his clout is already being tested by Republican doubts about his domestic agenda, rising national unease about Iraq and the threat of second-term overreaching, officials in both parties say. (Quote by Gary Jacobson, a professor of political science at UCSD.) More

Danger Zone That Wasn't, and a Sub's Hidden Peril
New York Times, Jan. 23-Satellite images of the area where a nuclear submarine grounded two weeks ago clearly show a wedge-shaped undersea mountain that stretches across more than a mile of a desolate expanse of the South Pacific. (Quote by David Sandwell, a geophysics professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.) More

Borders, Priorities Blur Along the 'Wild Frontier'
Los Angeles Times, Jan. 23-Frustrated by security crackdowns in Arizona, thousands of illegal immigrants and drug traffickers are flooding once-quiet New Mexico, making it the newest frontier in America's struggle to control its southern border. (Quote by Wayne Cornelius, director of the Center for Comparative Studies on Immigration at UCSD.) More

A Toyota Factory Revs Up in Tijuana
Los Angeles Times, Jan. 23-As Toyota increases production and aims to boost Mexico sales, local officials hope the plant will revive manufacturing. (Quote by Gordon Hanson, an economist at UCSD's Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies.) More

Critics Say Mayor Puts Low Priority on Transit
Los Angeles Daily News, Jan. 23-Despite a poor public transit system and daily traffic jams that affect millions, Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn has put a relatively low priority on these issues and not even his most ardent supporters call him the city's transportation mayor. (Quote by Steve Erie, a professor of political science at UCSD.) More

Climate: A Peek at the Next IPCC Report
Washington Times, Jan. 24-The world of climate science is not renowned for self-deprecating humor, but Gerald Meehl, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, recently described progress made on the fourth assessment report for Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is due out in 2007. (Quote by Lynn Russell, associate professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.) More

Doubts Raised on Wider Sales of Statins
San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 24-To read the recent headlines about cholesterol-lowering drugs, you'd think that just about everyone over 45 should be taking them. (Quote by Dr. Beatrice Golomb, a cardiologist at UCSD.) More

Bay Area Pursues Stem Cell Home Base
San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 24-California's budding enterprise in stem cell research is looking for a home, and so far the leading contenders are the established biotech beachheads of the Bay Area and San Diego. More

Bouncing Back
San Diego Union-Tribune, Jan. 23-In October, Duane J. Roth was given the job of bringing Connect back from the dead. That might seem like a dire overstatement. After all, the San Diego business group founded as "the UCSD program in technology and entrepreneurship" will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year. More

RTA Merges with CONNECT
San Diego Daily Transcript, Jan. 21-A year after losing crucial funding from the state, the San Diego Regional Technology Alliance will merge with UCSD CONNECT under an agreement approved Friday. More

It's Alive! (Or so it seems)
San Diego Union-Tribune, Jan. 22-A newly developed 5-foot-9-inch Emergency-training dummy not only breathes, it bleeds. (Quote by Dr. Colleen Buono, emergency room physician at the UCSD Medical Center.) More

Business, Civic Elite Weighing in on City Hall
San Diego Union-Tribune, Jan. 23-The San Diego City Council will hold its first public meeting on shifting the city manager's executive powers to the mayor by Jan. 1 at 2 p.m. Monday. (Quote by Steve Erie, a political scientist at UCSD.) More

Robust Local Economy Helps Keep State Afloat
North County Times, Jan. 24-One out of every nine jobs in America is held by a Californian. So when the Employment Development Department released statistics Jan. 14 showing a marked downturn in jobs, people took notice. But economists seem to think the statistics don't paint the whole picture. (Quote by Ross Starr, a professor of economics at UCSD.) More