A Sampling of Clips for May 22^nd, 2008

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

Pack Mentality Applies to Quitting Smoking Too
ABC News, May 22 -- Sure, nicotine is addictive, but kicking the smoking habit can be contagious, according to a study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Tracking more than 12,000 people in 30 years, researchers James Fowler, of UCSD, and Nicholas Christakis, of Harvard, saw a viral effect of people quitting. More

Similar stories in
The New York Times
CBS News
FOX News
MSNBC
CNN
The Wall Street Journal
NPR
BBC News
USA Today
Reuters
TIME Magazine
Newsweek
Bloomberg
Newsday
Science News
New Scientist
Xinhua, China
San Francisco Chronicle
San Diego Union-Tribune

Construction Workers Burned
in San Diego Hotel Blast Undergo Skin Graft Surgeries
FOX News, May 22 -- Two construction workers burned in this week's downtown San Diego hotel explosion have undergone temporary skin graft surgeries at the UCSD Medical Center and a third worker could get skin grafts on Friday. More

Similar story in
San Jose Mercury News
FOX6 News
San Diego Union-Tribune

The Debt Piles Up
The Washington Post, May 22 -- The staggering cost of the 2008 presidential campaign -- $788,655,856 and counting -- has left behind a trail of candidates who are shouldering massive debts. (Quotes UCSD political scientist Gary Jacobson) More

A Little Wine Can Be Beneficial to Liver, UCSD Research Finds
San Diego Union-Tribune, May 22 – Alcohol and your liver: not a happy couple, right? Well, not exactly. A new UCSD study challenges conventional wisdom by suggesting one small glass of wine a day can reduce the risk of early-stage liver disease by one-half compared with drinking no alcohol. More

Crystal Skulls as Artifacts - Art or Fact?
San Diego Union-Tribune, May 22 -- The fact is that Hollywood couldn't invent a tale as fantastic as the reputed history of crystal skulls – the most notorious of which reside in three renowned museums and a handful of private collections. Depending on who's talking, these 13 skulls are either artifacts of ancient Mesoamerica, relics from the lost city of Atlantis, alien tchotchkes or the latest examples in a long line of archaeological hoaxes. (Quotes Geoffrey Braswell, an associate professor of anthropology at UCSD) More

Scripps, UCSD Hit With Fines for Errors
San Diego Union-Tribune, May 22 -- Two Scripps hospitals in La Jolla and both campuses of the UCSD Medical Center are among 13 hospitals statewide that recently received the maximum fine for lapses in patient care, California health officials announced yesterday. More

San Diego Officials Looking for Ways to Raise Millions for Fire Protection
KPBS, May 22 -- San Diego County and City officials are considering different ways to raise millions of dollars to bring the region's fire protection up to scratch. UCSD professor Steve Erie, a member of the San Diego Regional Fire Safety Forum, says L.A. voters agreed in 1997 to pay for fire protection with a special property tax assessment. More

Study: Additional Border Crossing Would Bring Billions in Benefits
San Diego Business Journal, May 22 -- A new Otay Mesa border crossing planned east of the existing entry could generate an estimated $14 billion in economic impact in the San Diego region for 10 years beginning in 2015, according to a study produced for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and released May 19. Benefits to the state as a whole would exceed $31 billion, according to the study done by UCSD’s Export Access research unit. More

10 Questions for Mary Beebe
La Jolla Light, May 21 -- Since the inception of the Stuart Collection in l981, Mary Livingstone Beebe has been its director. The collection is an ongoing program commissioning outdoor sculpture for UCSD. More