A Sampling of Clips for
May 17 - 19, 2003
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UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing
the University
Communications Office
Big-Fish Stocks Fall 90
Percent Since 1950, Study Says
National
Geographic News, May 15 – Only 10 percent
of all large fish—both open ocean species including tuna,
swordfish, marlin and the large groundfish such as cod, halibut,
skates and flounder—are left in the sea, according to
research published in today's issue of the scientific journal
Nature. Researchers collected data representing all
major fisheries in the world, calculating population size and
composition of large predatory fish communities from four continental
shelves and nine oceanic systems, from the beginning of exploitation
to the present. (Quotes Jeremy Jackson, a professor
at University of California, San Diego’s
Scripps Institution of Oceanography).
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/05/0515_030515_fishdecline.html
For sun lovers, a telling
exposure
Los
Angeles Times, May 19 – In a University
of California, San Diego study to convince people to
use sunscreen and avoid tanning, 76 beachgoers were given a
brochure on photo-aging and sun protection, along with pictures
that revealed the underlying damage in their facial skin. The
photos were taken using a UV ray-filtered instant camera.
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No link available online.
Scripps Professor Revisits
the Miller Experiment and the Origin of Life
Space
Ref, May 19 – Jeffrey Bada,
a professor of marine chemistry at Scripps Institution
of Oceanography, University of California,
San Diego, and an expert on origin of life processes,
revisits the famous "Miller experiment" in a report
published in the May 2 issue of Science. Bada
coauthored the report with Antonio Lazcano,
a visiting scholar at UCSD in Stanley Miller's
laboratory. Bada and Lazcano's
essay traces the history of the Miller experiment, which originated
when the late Nobel Laureate and UCSD Chemistry
Professor Harold Urey discussed the idea behind
the experiment in a lecture at the University of Chicago.
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=11558
Light penalties, heavy
rewards keep human smugglers in business
Dallas
Morning News, May 19 – Smuggler's fees have
jumped as much as 300 percent in the last decade because of
tougher border enforcement, according to Wayne Cornelius,
director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at
the University of California, San Diego. Many
smugglers take those fees in advance, so they have nothing to
lose if people are arrested or die in the desert or in sealed
containers. Those elements, combined with increased truck traffic
from the border and challenges faced by the Border Patrol, also
allow the cycle to continue.
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No link available online.
Increase in dust helps
to offset global warming
Daily
Telegraph (London), May 18 – The amount
of dust and other particles circulating in the atmosphere has
increased by 40 percent in 40 years, helping to offset the effects
of global warming but cutting rainfall, disrupting monsoons
and making temperatures fall in the Amazon by around 3 degrees
Celsius. Veerabhadran Ramanathan, a professor
at the University of California, San Diego’s
Scripps Institution of Oceanography said that
to offset global warming with particulates would be a "desperate
step.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2002%2F02%2F19%2Fwaa119.xml
Saving shorelines might
affect Gulf currents, but experts warn of other factors in drownings
Pensacola
News Journal, May 18 – Experts say beach
renourishment along Pensacola Beach could potentially make swimming
conditions along the shoreline even more hazardous. They say
the sand replenishment project, under way since last November,
could cause even stronger rip currents, already responsible
for a number of drownings and near-drownings in the past 10
years. (Quotes Bob Guza, director of the Center
for Coastal Studies at the University of California,
San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography).
http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/news/051803/Local/ST003.shtml
Immigrant Health
Tab Disputed
Los Angeles Times,
May 18 – Los Angeles County's financially imperiled health
department estimates that it spends $340 million annually to
treat illegal immigrants who seek emergency and follow-up care,
a figure that is fueling the long- standing debate over who
should bear such costs. (Mentions University of California,
San Diego Medical Center).
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No link available online.
Verizon Customers See Internet
Cost Dip
Boston Globe,
May 19 – With Verizon Communications slashing prices and
raising speeds for its high-speed digital subscriber line Internet
access service, existing DSL customers can expect to see their
monthly DSL bills drop over the next month. (Mentions University
of California, San Diego’s San Diego Supercomputer
Center).
http://nl.newsbank.com/nlsearch/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=0FB23696669991E1&p_docnum=1
Password overload
Copley
News Service, May 19 – Increasingly, our
wired world induces password overload. Ever since the dot-com
bust, a growing number of Web companies have required registration
with mandatory passwords. Mike Stark, computing
services manager at the University of California, San
Diego, said it's not just the casual computer user
who struggles with passwords. At one government organization
he knows of, computer administrators require workers to use
the organization's name as the password, a lax system that could
have drastic consequences.
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No link available online.
Five Questions
San
Diego Union-Tribune, May 19 – Harry Gruber,
chief executive officer of Kintera, was interviewed by Jonathan
Sidener on his Web-based company that provides services to nonprofit
groups, helping them use the Internet to raise awareness and
to raise funds. (Mentions University of California,
San Diego).
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/mon/business/news_mz1b19five.html
The bright spots will shine
on this scenic La Jolla drive
San
Diego Union-Tribune,
May 18 – The 2.1-mile-long La Jolla Shores Drive has it
all -- spectacular views, charming architecture, casual shopping,
world-class research. The real boom came with the arrival of
the University of California, San Diego’s
campus in the 1960s and the expansion of the university's Scripps
Institution of Oceanography.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/sun/currents/news_1c18lajolla.html
