A Sampling of Clips for 
January 25, 2005

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

White House Shrugs Off Finding
Contamination Could Bar Stem Cells from Treatment
ABC News, Jan. 24-The White House is shrugging off a new UCSD study that suggests contamination of the existing lines of embryonic stem cells could bar their use in treating disease. More

Stem Cell Advocates Seek Research Freedom
San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 25-Advocates of controversial embryonic stem cell research urged the Bush administration Monday to loosen federal policy to allow new colonies of stem cells to be created with federal grant money. A study released by UCSD over the weekend confirmed the widely held assumption among scientists that the handful of older stem cell lines now eligible for federal research grants had taken up animal proteins, which almost certainly makes the cell lines unsuitable for use in human medicine. More

Contamination of Older
Stem Cells Prompts Growth of New Lines
Monterey Herald, Jan. 24-Problems with the federal government's stem cells are creating new opportunities for private companies, research foundations and state governments to build their own embryonic stem-cell collections, invigorating the nascent field. (Refers to recent UCSD stem cell study.) More

Charles Lathrop Parsons Award
Chemical and Engineering News, Jan. 17-Marye Anne Fox has been awarded the Charles Lathrop Parsons Award, honoring her contributions of major significance to chemistry. More

Stem Cells that Qualify for Federal Research
Funds are Useless for Medical Treatments, Study Says
Chronicle of Higher Education, Jan. 25-All of the human embryonic stem cells available to federally financed scientists contain an animal protein that would be attacked by the human immune system, raising doubts about the cells' utility for medical treatments, according to a forthcoming study by UCSD. (Quote by Ajit Varki, a professor of medicine and cellular and molecular medicine at UCSD.) More

Overexposed Fetuses?
Washington Post, Jan. 25- Parents-to-be are "just ecstatic" about 3-D ultrasound images, like the one above, of their child in the womb, said Delores Pretorius, a professor of radiology at UCSD. But the increasing use of ultrasound technology to produce and sell keepsakes for patients is prompting debate. More

Climate: A Peek at the Next IPCC Report
UPI, 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, CO, recently described progress made on the fourth assessment report for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is due out in 2007. (Quote by Lynn Russell, an associate professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.) More

Bush Backs Proposed Pro-Life Bills
Washington Times, Jan. 25-President Bush supports congressional proposals requiring abortionists to warn some women that their unborn children will feel pain and banning adults from helping pregnant minors cross state lines to circumvent abortion laws requiring parental notification, the White House said last night. (Quote by Ajit Varki, a professor of medicine and cellular and molecular medicine at UCSD.) More

Major Players put Chicago on Map for Grid Computing
Chicago Sun-Times, Jan. 24-In a sidebar titled "Central location makes city right site for grid work," business reporter Howard Wolinsky reports on the emergence of Chicago as a center of grid computing research and rollouts. (Quote by Cal-(IT)2 director Larry Smarr.) More

China Set to Become Research Leader
Taipei Times, Jan. 25- A chopstick lodged in a patient's brain led to a Chinese doctor making a breakthrough in culturing fresh brain tissue in the laboratory to treat nerve damage. (Quote by Ajit Varki, professor of medicine at UCSD.) More

New Treatments Closer to Reversing Emphysema
Channel 10 News, San Diego, Jan. 24-There is no cure for emphysema but researchers are closer to finding a way to reverse the damage to the lungs. (Quote by Dr. Joe Ramsdell, a pulmonary specialist at UCSD Medical Center.) More

Pinnacle Awards Will Recognize Women in Technology
San Diego Daily Transcript, Jan. 24-Athena, a UCSD program for executive women in the technology industries that fosters personal and professional change, is holding its annual Pinnacle Awards. More

USD President's Dinner a Dreamy Affair
San Diego Union-Tribune, Jan. 25-The University of San Diego called itself a "University of Dreams" Friday night at its President's Dinner, and prefaced the dinner with a small reception on the 32nd floor of the Seaport Tower at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. Among those who gazed at the city lights from an open balcony Marye Anne Fox, chancellor of UCSD, her husband, Jim Whitesell, and Audrey Geisel. More