A Sampling of Clips for
March 14, 2006
* UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing the University Communications Office
Bridges Remain Key Quake Risk
Los Angeles Times, March 12 -- Although the state has made great strides in protecting its own bridges from earthquakes, hundreds of bridges maintained by cities and counties across California remain unfixed. Counties and cities have struggled to find the money for the retrofitting projects, which have had to compete —not always successfully — with more bread-and-butter projects like widening roads and fixing potholes. (Quotes Frieder Seible, dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering at UCSD and chairman of Caltrans' seismic safety advisory board.) More
Safeguards When Using Ambien
The New York Times, March 14 -- Doctors who have researched the drug Ambien and other sleeping pills make the following recommendations: Take the lowest dosage that works. Side effects are more frequent with the 10- and 20-milligram doses than with 5 milligrams. Take Ambien on an empty stomach. If you have eaten recently, the drug takes longer to work and you might be more apt to roam around the house. (Cites research by Dr. Daniel F. Kripke, professor of psychiatry at UCSD.) More
The Other Drug War
Los Angeles Times, March 12 -- Staphylococcus aureus — that infamous, life-threatening microscopic germ — is not the only microbe we should fear. On March 1, the Infectious Disease Society of America warned of at least six dangerous bacterial and fungal strains, responsible for diseases such as pneumonia and wound and bloodstream infections, that have been acquiring resistance to antibiotics, including last-line drugs such as vancomycin and imipenem. (Quotes oceanographer William Fenical of UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.) More
PSU Scientist Finds
Fault with Warming Theory
Centre Daily Times (Pa.), March 13 -- It means sleeping in a tent, 15 degrees below freezing, under the midnight sun on a glacier in Greenland -- not to mention drilling two miles down into the ice. But Todd Sowers, in the Department of Geosciences and the Earth at Penn State, can tell you what the weather was like 40,000 years ago. And he has shown that, contrary to a controversial idea, bacteria that thrive under the ocean floor probably did not contribute to the end of the last Ice Age. (Quotes researcher Jeff Severinghaus at UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.) More
Airport Advisers Address Concerns, Options
San Diego Union-Tribune, March 14 -- Airport Authority board members yesterday looked at issues ranging from light pollution to a second runway at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, even as questions arose about whether a new airport is necessary. Meanwhile, preliminary details emerged from a report that estimates costs as high as $20 billion for a maglev train to Imperial County, the most remote location under review for a future regional airport. (Cites research by Richard Carson, UCSD professor of economics.) More
Dreaming Big
San Diego Union-Tribune, March 14 -- No one would describe Peter Farrell as subtle. During his frequent flights around the world, Farrell has handed his business card to many a man who has slumbered near him, keeping everyone else awake by snoring, snorting and gasping for breath in his sleep. Farrell is the founder and chief executive of Resmed, a Poway-based company that makes breathing masks for people with sleep apnea, a condition that causes airways to constrict or close during sleep. (Quotes Dr. Terence Davidson, dean of UCSD's School of Continuing Medical Education.) More
UC Didn’t Reveal
Large Bonuses or Pay Packages
San Diego Union-Tribune, March 14 -- The University of California failed to publicly disclose bonuses, severance packages and other key perks used to woo 29 top hires in recent years, including the head of the UCSD Medical Center. (Mentions Medical Center director Richard Liekweg and spokeswoman Leslie Franz.) More
The Wearin' of the Green
San Diego Union-Tribune, March 12 -- When local members of Partners for Livable Places assessed issues facing San Diego's livability, rising to the top was what seemed to be a reluctance to bring a green dimension into city planning. (Mentions UCSD). More
