A Sampling of Clips for March 18^th, 2009

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

UCSD Named Top Surfing College in U.S.
MSNBC, March 18 -- Surfline.com compiled its list of the top 10 best surf schools in America. Topping the list is UCSD and its proximity to the coast and Blacks Beach “widely regarded as one of the best sand-bottom A-frames in California” according to the magazine. More

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Los Angeles Times
San Jose Mercury News
Sacramento Bee
KTNV, Reno, Nev.
Honolulu Advertiser
San Diego Union-Tribune
10News

The Competition for Low-Wage Jobs
The New York Times, March 18 -- We’ve asked several experts, including UCSD economist Gordon Hanson, how the recession might alter competition for lower-wage jobs between workers born in the United States, who previously shunned these jobs, and immigrants who have been willing to take them. If competition for these jobs increases, what does it mean for immigrants who don’t have a social safety net to rely on? More

A WHAT Lives Inside My Brain?
NPR, March 18 -- The neurons in the motor cortex and somatosensory cortex aren't just thrown together in a big jumble of cells. Instead, they're grouped by body part — all of the hand neurons together, then all of the face neurons, then the tongue neurons and so on, as you can see in the diagram of the motor cortex. Together, they form a full, representative map of your body called a "homunculus," which means "little man" in Latin. (Quotes V.S. Ramachandran, a researcher at UCSD) More

New Research Center to Design
'Next Generation' of Virtual Worlds
Chronicle of Higher Education, March 18 -- Watch out, Second Life. UCSD announced today the creation of a new research center aimed at creating the “next generation” of virtual worlds, which designers hope will be more visually rich and have more features than Second Life and other popular online environments. More

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Voice of San Diego
San Diego Daily Transcript

Acidity Could Destroy Ocean Ecosystem
KPBS, March 17 -- A UCSD researcher says shellfish, such as sea snails and clams, are most at risk because the acid interferes with their ability to make hard shells. Victoria Fabry is a biological oceanographer and visiting researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. More

Consumers Overwhelmed
with Conflicting Medical Info
KPBS, March 17 -- News stories tell us that new research shows chocolate is good for us, or that coffee is bad for us, or that alcohol is good for us if we drink it sometimes and bad for us at other times. Then, like clockwork, we find out six months later that a newer study finds just the opposite. Why does this keep happening and what are we to believe, especially about something as important as our health? These Days guest Dr. Gary Firestein, chief of the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology at UCSD School of Medicine, and dean of Translational Medicine, tries to answer this question. More

Minus Busing, Will Magnet
Schools Lose Their Attraction?
Voice of San Diego, March 17 -- Magnet schools in San Diego Unified have long depended on buses to deliver students from across the city, populating the themed schools with a diverse array of kids. But a new plan to end busing to magnets could steer families away from the schools and undercut the whole idea of magnets. (Quotes Julian Betts, a professor of economics at UCSD who has studied magnets and other choice programs in schools) More

Volunteers Sought for Alzheimer's Trial
North County Times, March 18 -- Researchers are looking for approximately 400 volunteers ages 50 and older with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease to help test this drug in a Phase II clinical trial conducted by the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study. At UCSD, researchers will coordinate the 18-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial with a 3-month followup period (for a total of 21 months participation). More

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