A Sampling of Clips for May 19^th, 2008

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

Thousands Flee China Floods; Quake Toll Rises
USA Today, May 19 -- Thousands of Chinese earthquake victims fled areas near the epicenter Saturday, fearful of floods from rivers blocked by landslides rattled loose in this week's powerful temblor. Soldiers carried older people out of Beichuan town — one of the areas hit hardest by the magnitude 7.9 quake Monday — while survivors cradled babies on a road jammed with vehicles and people. (Quotes Dr. Irving "Jake" Jacoby at UCSD , who headed a medical assistance team that responded to a 1989 earthquake in California, Hurricane Katrina and other disasters.). More

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CBS
San Diego Union-Tribune
San Francisco Chronicle
Japan Today

Hugh Bradner, 92; Physicist Credited with Inventing Wet Suit
Boston Globe, May 19 --  Hugh Bradner, 92, a physicist and oceanographer who was known for blending his research with a sense of fun and adventure, and was widely credited with inventing the protective wet suit worn by divers, surfers, and cold-water swimmers, died of pneumonia May 5 at his home in San Diego. After his Manhattan Project days, Mr. Bradner taught physics and did research at the University of California at Berkeley, leaving in 1961 for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. More

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Washington Post

Asia’s Other Crisis
Newsweek, May 19 --  Famine looms—not just in Burma but also North Korea. And the U.N. has only made matters worse. A devastating disaster hits a longstanding Asian dictatorship. The crisis is compounded by failed economic policies and conflicts with neighbors. The world stands ready to help, but the regime dithers and aid goes undelivered. Even information on the catastrophe is scarce thanks to a media blackout, government propaganda and denial. (Co-written by IR/PS professor Stephan Haggard)  More

'It's a Giant Leap’
San Diego Union-Tribune, May 18 -- The walls are bare; the ceiling, unfinished. And the spools of wiring scattered on the dusty cement floor – along with ladders, wheelbarrows and stacks of insulation – indicate that construction is still very much under way at The Loft, the $4.5 million venue that's part of UCSD's Price Center East expansion. More

UCSD's Stuart Collection opts to take 'Another' look at Kruger
San Diego Union-Tribune, May 18 -- The Stuart Collection on UCSD’s campus is celebrated for its 25 years of commissioning major artists to create adventurous works for the campus. Some, like Alexis Smith's brilliant “Snake Path” and Tim Hawkinson's startling “Bear,” ultimately define the space they occupy. Others, like Terry Allen's lead-covered “Trees” are virtually seamless with their surroundings. In either case, the collection has helped to define what public art has become in the era of site-specific art. More

IU, Purdue to Collaborate
on Life Sciences Research Indiana University and Purdue
MSN.com, May 19 -- Indiana University and Purdue University are drafting plans to collaborate on life science research aimed at turning Indiana into a research powerhouse. IU President Michael McRobbie said Friday that the two schools would submit a joint proposal to state lawmakers later this year for an extensive research collaboration between the schools. (Quotes Mary Walshok, associate vice chancellor of public programs and dean of university extension at UCSD). More

Why do Economists Frown on a Tax on Windfall Oil Profits?
Miami Herald, May 19 -- Hitting oil companies with a windfall profits tax seems like a perfect campaign pitch, since it would effectively return part of the industry's record profits to strapped consumers. But a lot of Republicans, as well as most economists, have serious questions about whether the tax makes sense. They cite the country's previous experience with the tax, from 1980 to 1988, and argue that it failed to produce the kind of anticipated government windfall. (Quotes James Hamilton, professor of economics at UCSD ) More

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San Luis County Obispo Tribune

Liver Molecule Ashwell Receptor Reduces Mortality During Sepsis
Yahoo India, May 19 – In a new study, researchers at the UCSD School of Medicine have found that the Ashwell receptor, a molecule present in liver of all animals, plays a key role in reducing the coagulation abnormalities during infection and sepsis, significantly improving the probability of survival. More

Woman Gives Kidney to Sister-in-law
Miami Herald, May 18 -- The notion of giving of herself took on new meaning recently for Susan Renta. Renta, of Weston, offered one of her own kidneys to keep her sister-in-law alive. ''It was the most moving event in my life,'' said Renta, 44, a custodian at Cypress Bay High School. The operation was performed in February at UCSD where sister-in-law Peggy Daum lives. More

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Chicago Tribune

A Baseball Cap that Reads Your Mind
Guardian (UK), May 17  -- People have been experimenting with using brainwaves to control computers for a couple of decades, but now "a team of researchers from Taiwan has designed the new bio-signal monitoring system inside a baseball cap with the goal of making it convenient and easy to use in everyday life," reports Physorg.com. (Mentions UCSD) More

Childhood Obesity Threatens Long-term Health
Daily Herald, May 18 – An epidemic of obesity is compromising the lives of millions of American children, with burgeoning problems that reveal how much more vulnerable young bodies are to the toxic effects of fat. (Quotes Jeffrey B. Schwimmer, a pediatric gastroenterologist at UCSD) More

Colleges See Big Funding, Slow Progress
San Diego Union-Tribune, May 18 -- Since 2002, taxpayers have entrusted San Diego community college leaders with $1.5 billion to transform three campuses, modernize six adult education centers and expand academic programs. (Mentions UCSD) More

Many Divided Over Whether Ruling is About Civil Rights
San Diego Union Tribune, May 17 -- There were times in America when black people couldn't go to the same schools as white people, women weren't allowed to vote and interracial marriage was illegal. Is same-sex marriage another chapter in America's civil rights struggle, taking its place alongside blacks not being allowed to drink from whites-only water fountains? (Quotes Michael Parrish, a history professor at UCSD) More

UC San Diego Receives $2.5 Million
Grant for Digestive Diseases Research Center
North County Times, May 19 -- In a major boost to research into gastrointestinal disease being conducted at the UCSD  School of Medicine, a $2.5 million basic research core grant to establish a Digestive Diseases Research Development Center has been awarded to UCSD’s Division of Gastroenterology. The grant, funded by The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, is the first-ever NIH Center award for the division, adding them to the ranks of only 19 other such centers in the United States. More

I'm There for You Baby: The Entrepreneur's Guide to the Galaxy
Sign on San Diego Radio, May 14 -- Today everyone must think like an entrepreneur, whether it's in your own business, a large company or a non-profit organization. Hosts Neil and Barbara discuss why being told "no" motivates successful entrepreneurs. UCSD political science professor James H. Fowler describes his Las Vegas "epiphany" during which he found a social link to obesity and a genetic link to voter turn-out. More

Graduate Grateful for Mentoring
San Diego Union-Tribune, May 18 -- Being an older student and the first in her family to attend college, Pamela Castillo was nervous about transferring to California State University San Marcos from community college. (Mentions UCSD) More

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KGTV

Potters, Restaurants Fill Bowls to Fight Hunger
La Jolla Village News, May 19--  Local artists and La Jolla restaurants have pooled their skills for the second annual Empty Bowls Lunch event on Saturday, May 17 at the United Methodist Church. The effort to raise awareness about hunger in San Diego begins at 11 a.m. (Mentions UCSD) More