A Sampling of Clips for May 27^th, 2009

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Caught on Video: Whales Steal Fish
FOX News, May 26  -- Sneaky sperm whales had been snagging an easy meal by stealing black cod from deep-sea fishing lines off Sitka, Alaska. Now, underwater video has revealed their cod-thieving secret: The giant marine mammals pluck the fishing line at one end to shake the black cod free at the other end. Delphine Mathias and Aaron Thode of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and their colleagues, made the observations. More

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Glowing Sea Animal Mystery Solved?
National Geographic, May 26 -- Fluorescent proteins in some sea creatures may actually promote a healthy glow, according to a new study of a fishlike animal called a lancelet, led by Dimitri Deheyn, a scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. More

NASA Veterans Nominated
to Lead Space Agency
Science NOW, May 26 -- After a week of playing coy, President Barack Obama finally announced his choice to lead NASA on 23 May. He picked two space flight advocates—former astronaut Charles Bolden and Washington lobbyist Lori Garver—to take the jobs of administrator and deputy administrator for the space agency. (Quotes Charles Kennel, a former NASA advisory council chair and director emeritus of Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

Toned Up, Tuned In
The Washington Post, May 25 -- Mozart, Frank Sinatra and Jimi Hendrix supposedly all had perfect pitch -- the ability to identify or reproduce a musical note without any reference notes. The rare skill is often thought of as a mysterious genetic gift, but researchers at UCSD have found that perfect pitch is significantly more common among fluent speakers of Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese and other languages that use tone to distinguish between words. More

Two Sides of Mexico's Best Short Fiction
Los Angeles Times, May 25 -- The new anthology of short stories "Best of Contemporary Mexican Fiction," edited by Álvaro Uribe, is out now from the Dalkey Archive Press. (Mentions Cristina Rivera-Garza, a contributor to the book and a UCSD professor of literature) More

Rossman, Bats Help Tritons Stay Afloat
San Diego Union-Tribune, May 27 -- A month ago, UCSD pitcher Matt Rossman didn't know the next time he'd take the mound. In a game against San Bernardino with only a few weeks left in the season, he was hit in the face with a line drive. Rossman made his first start in the Tritons' regional series and won. His second start came in the NCAA Division II Championships, in yesterday's elimination game that matched the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country. And Rossman won again, leading the Tritons past West Chester (Pa.) 8-6, and keeping them alive in their search for a national championship. More

High School Students Study to Cure Cancer
KPBS, May 26 — UCSD and the Burnham Institute of Medical Research have begun a program to create a new class of cancer researchers. The program is funded by the National Cancer Institute and, so far, 10 students from the UCSD Preuss School have signed up. If they continue to devote themselves to medical and biological research, they can get their tuition paid through their PhDs. More

Price Declines Slowed in March
North County Times, May 26 -- San Diego County is no longer leading the nation in home price declines, according to a report released Tuesday. Combined with rapidly deteriorating markets elsewhere in the nation, the region's housing market has dropped from the list of the nation's five markets with largest home price declines. (Quotes UCSD economist James Hamilton) More

A New Model for Venture Funding: The Prize
Voice of San Diego, May 26 -- Del Mar-based entrepreneur Lee Stein claims to have devised a system of prize-giving that he says will not only lead to more breakthroughs, but entire industries, and a badly needed new venture capital model. Stein calls the investment fund he is forming around his idea PrizeCapital, and the concept "venture philanthropy." (Quotes Mary Walshok, dean of UCSD Extension) More

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