A Sampling of Clips for July 9^th, 2008

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

Protein May Help Predict Diabetes Risk, Study Says
Reuters, July 9 -- A protein made in the liver may give doctors a way to predict years in advance who is at high risk for the most common form of diabetes, a study published yesterday said. Studying people in their 70s, researchers found those with high levels of a protein known as fetuin-A were far more likely than those with low levels to develop Type 2 diabetes over the six years of the study. (Quotes Joachim Ix, an assistant professor of medicine at UCSD who led the study) More

Similar story in
San Diego Union-Tribune
Boston Globe
Scientific American
U.S. News and World
Yahoo News
MSN

Poll finds Kenya's Declared Winner Lost
Chicago Tribune, July 9 -- Six months after a deeply flawed election triggered a wave of ethnic killings in Kenya, a U.S. government-funded exit poll finds that the wrong candidate was declared the winner. President Mwai Kibaki, whom official results credited with a 2-point margin of victory in the December vote, finished nearly 6 points behind in the exit poll, which was released yesterday by researchers from UCSD. More

Similar story in
Yahoo News
Baltimore Sun
Sacramento Bee

Use of Statins in Children is Debated
Los Angeles Times, July 9 -- A recommendation from an influential doctors group that some children as young as 8 be aggressively treated with cholesterol-lowering drugs has triggered debate over whether there is enough scientific evidence to justify such a move. Statins, already among the most widely prescribed drugs, have been shown to lower the risk of heart disease in certain adults. But there are no comparable long-term studies for children. (Quotes Dr. Beatrice A. Golomb, a cholesterol expert at UCSD) More

Similar story in
KCPQ

Expert Discusses China's Economic and Political Power
KPBS, July 9 -- This summer, China occupies center stage in the drama of world life. The country is hosting the Olympics after years of being looked down upon by the West as being backward and dictatorial. There's no telling whether the Olympics will go on without a hitch, or whether they'll make China look good. But whatever happens, China can hardly be ignored. (Features guest Susan Shirk, director of the University of California's Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation and professor of political science at UCSD) More

Bust Boosters
MSNBC, July 8 -- Cosmetic surgeon Steven Davis said that the injections are just the thing for smaller-breasted women who want a lift without going under the knife, but some San Diego doctors are skeptical.  (Quotes Dr. Steven Cohen, clinical professor of plastic surgery at UCSD) More

Similar story in
KNSD

Robert V. Phillips, 91; Official Helped
Los Angeles Through 1970s Energy Crisis
Los Angeles Times, July 9 -- Robert V. Phillips, a former general manager and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power whose novel plan to ration electricity helped the city get through the Arab oil embargo in the early 1970s, has died. He was 91. (Quotes Steven Erie, a UCSD political science professor who volunteered to work with Phillips) More

Copycat, and They're Fine with That
San Diego City Beat, July 8 -- The wings of butterflies in the genus Morpho, resident in Central and South America, produce astonishing colors: spectacular iridescent blues, bright yellows in intricate patterns, greens and reds. The Morpho are all the more astonishing because they achieve these chromatic fireworks without any pigment at all. (Mentions UCSD)  More