A Sampling of Clips for May 23^rd, 2008

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

For Smokers, Quitting May Be Contagious
NPR, May 22 -- For better or worse, friends and family members can influence your health. If a close friend or spouse quits smoking, you're more likely to quit, medical experts say. But what if your friends' friends give up cigarettes? A recent study by UCSD and Harvard researchers shows that the influence of social networks extends much further than you might think. More

Similar story in
Scientific American
Newsday

Spoleto Festival U.S.A.: Slave Trade in Charleston, This Time on Stage
The New York Times, May 23 -- “Amistad” received its first professional performance more than 10 years after making its debut at the Chicago Lyric Opera. The festival mounted it on the condition that the composer and UCSD professor, Anthony Davis, trim and tighten the work, which he did happily, according to Nigel Redden, the festival’s artistic director. More

Feds Say Agents Made Mistake in University Housing Search
San Francisco Chronicle, May 23 -- Federal immigration officials say agents made a mistake when they raided UCSD student housing in search of illegals. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say the university should have been notified before last week's ICE raid at the off-campus graduate housing unit of a student. More

Similar story on
FOX 6 News
San Diego Union-Tribune

Sepsis Buster
Science News, May 18 -- For years the Ashwell receptor has been the Paris Hilton of the liver — famous for being famous — but now researchers have discovered that the receptor has talent. “People have been wondering for almost 40 years ‘what does this receptor do?’” says Ajit Varki, a physician-scientist specializing in glycobiology at UCSD. More

New Student Facility Opens at UCSD
La Jolla Light, May 22 -- On May 19, students, staff and faculty members celebrated the expansion of UCSD's Price Center. Price Center East, as the project is called, doubles the size of the facility and adds new offices and lounge spaces, as well as a full-service grocery store. More

UCSD hosts Celebrity Chefs Cook Gala
La Jolla Light, May 21 -- "Bella Notte," the Moores UCSD Cancer Center's 27th Annual Celebrity Chefs Cook Gala, was an evening to savor. Held at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina recently, the event offered guests an international gastronomical adventure to the Italian Mediterranean with a reception showcasing 11 leading chefs in a ballroom transformed into a Wine Grotto. More