A Sampling of Clips for
July 14, 2004
*
UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing
the University
Communications Office
New University
of California President Grapples with Budget Woes, Lab Management
Chemical & Engineering News, July
14-When Robert C. Dynes took over as president of the University
of California last October, he inherited an institution in turmoil.
One of the largest, most influential, and prestigious public
university systems in the country, UC has taken a number of
nasty hits in the past year, from drastic funding cuts to the
prospect of losing its long-held contracts for managing three
national labs. In 1960, UC adopted a master plan guaranteeing
UC admission to the top 12.5% of California high school students.
And with 10 campuses, more than 200,000 students, and 9,300
faculty-45 of whom have won Nobel Prizes-UC has been a leader,
particularly in science and engineering.
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/8228/8228earlyscidynes.html
NCSU Bids
Farewell to Leader
News & Observer, North Carolina,
July 14-As a chemist and university administrator, Marye
Anne Fox has always admired action. This week, she
leaves the helm of NCSU after six years as chancellor to become
chancellor of the University of California, San Diego.
Fox's tenure at NCSU was one of energy and
involvement. She pushed for change, despite a culture that often
has favored reflection and consensus over quick decision-making.
And she received accolades from legislators and alumni who liked
her message that NCSU could be distinct from its older sibling,
UNC-Chapel Hill.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1425650p-7549534c.html
HIV 'Superinfection'
Raises Drug and Vaccine Concerns
Science and Development Network, July
14-More than a quarter of the HIV-positive Tanzanian women enrolled
in an ongoing study led by Francine McCutchan of the US-based
Henry M. Jackson Foundation, have been infected more than once,
with different strains of the HIV virus, according to results
presented today at the International AIDS Conference in Bangkok.
The phenomenon is known as 'superinfection'. In a second study,
due to be published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association, David Smith of the University
of California, San Diego, revealed that some of the
cases of superinfection in 78 individuals in the United States
involve drug-resistant forms of HIV. This suggests that a patient's
initial course of treatment may suddenly fail to work if the
patient becomes infected with a second, drug-resistant HIV strain.
http://www.scidev.net/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=readnews
&itemid=1488&language=1
NASA Reorganization
Consolidates Science
Chronicle of Higher Education, July
16-The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has announced
a reorganization that will consolidate its science functions
and replace its space-science chief with the director of the
Goddard Space Flight Center. The new structure, unveiled late
last month, will combine earth and space sciences in a new office
of science and will absorb biological and physical sciences
in a new exploration-systems office. (Quote by Larry
L. Smarr, chairman of NASA's advisory committee on
earth-system science and applications and a professor of computer
science and engineering at the University of California,
San Diego.)
http://chronicle.com/prm/weekly/v50/i45/45a02102.htm
Anaheim
to be Proving Ground for Homeland Security Technology
KESO Channel 3, Palm Desert, July
13-Federal officials will use Anaheim as a proving ground for
a new technology and ideas in the fight against terrorism. Charles
McQueary, undersecretary for science and technology in the US
Department of Homeland Security, told The Associated Press he
will make the announcement tomorrow at a conference in San Diego.
Anaheim will become one of four urban areas to be included in
the program. About 1,500 people are attending Homeland Security's
technology expo, which opened today at the San Diego Convention
Center. In his opening remarks, McQueary praised San Diego as
a potential incubator for new technologies - pointing to the
region's high concentration of wireless companies, the San
Diego Supercomputer Center at UCSD
and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
http://www.kesq.com/global/story.asp?s=2034976&ClientType=Printable
Science
Briefs
San Diego Union-Tribune, July 14-UCSD
Researchers studying amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a devastating
neurodegenerative disease also known as Lou Gehrig's disease,
have discovered one of the ways in which the disease targets
specific neuron cells. Their study, which appeared in the July
8 issue of the journal Neuron, shows that a disease-causing
protein called SOD1 binds to the mitochondria inside large motor
neuron cells. Another group of UCSD researchers
has figured out a way to break down complex electrical impulses
in the brain, also know as thoughts. By refining electroencephalograms,
or EEGs, the scientists are able to identify individual connections
between neurons that fire over millisecond intervals. (Quotes
by Don Cleveland, a UCSD professor
of medicine and Scott Makeig, a neuroscientist
at UCSD.)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040714/news_1c14scibrief.html
Super HDL
San Diego Union-Tribune, July 14-Researchers
have developed a way to infuse protein in humans in order to
help fight heart disease. At the Cleveland Clinic, three dozen
human volunteers with severe heart disease received five weekly
doses at two strengths while 11 others received a placebo. The
amount of artery plaque in the treated group dramatically decreased,
while plaque in placebo subjects increased. Further studies,
including one at UCSD Medical Center, are planned.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040714/news_1c14future.html
Teachers
Beef up on History
North County Times, July 13-Fifty
teachers from across the county ---- including nine from the
Encinitas Union School District ---- gathered at the county
office of education Tuesday as part of a 10-day conference aimed
at improving instruction of American history. The conference,
led in large part by UC San Diego professors,
is targeted toward improving teachers' knowledge of history
and arming them with an arsenal of methods, lessons and resources
with which to impart the information, organizers said.
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/07/14/news/
community/20_53_317_13_04.txt
