UCSD News

A Sampling of Clips for
November 6^th, 2007

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

Key Found to Making Robots Human-friendly
MSNBC, Nov. 5 -- On average, robots today can hold human interest for only about 10 hours, but in a new study, a humanoid robot dubbed QRIO (pronounced "curio") was accepted by human toddlers as "one of them" for 5 months before it was taken away. The secret? QRIO was programmed to have a crude sense of touch. "We put in this simple contingency where if the children touched the robot, the robot would giggle," said study leader Javier Movellan of UCSD. "That completely changed everything." More

Environmental Issues Fuel California's Water Wars
PBS, News Hour, Nov. 5 -- Southern California is coping with water shortages due to a judge's ruling limiting the amount of freshwater that can be pumped from the northern part of the state. Environmental advocates, concerned about the effect on wildlife, lead the battle over water. (Quotes UCSD political scientist Steve Erie) More

Researchers Discover Glow-in-the-Dark Fish-Like Creature
FOX News, Nov. 6 -- As if tiny flashlights were hidden inside its body, a fish-like creature emits fluorescent flecks, a flashing ability previously considered unique to jellyfish and corals. Researchers at UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography found that the bodies of amphioxus, also called lancelets, contain green fluorescent proteins that could act as a sunscreen or stress shield that protects the animals from environmental changes. More

Fires Die Out but Heat Stays On in San Diego
Los Angeles Times, Nov. 6 -- All seems calm around this city. Fires have raged and subsided. The air is fresh. Concert halls over the weekend were also full. Saturday night, the La Jolla Symphony began a new season under a surprising new music director, the percussionist and UCSD music professor Steven Schick. More

More Drugs Seized, Fewer Migrants Arrested
The Arizona Republic, Nov. 6 -- Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is expected to highlight today the second straight yearly drop in borderland arrests and jump in drug seizures during a speech on progress in securing the U.S.-Mexican border. (Quotes Wayne Cornelius, director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at UCSD) More

Experts: Ash From Wildfires Remain in San Diego Air
10News, Nov. 6 -- When the fires raged on the ground, ash and smoke gathered in the air. Building materials, plastics, chemicals, and electronics – those are some of the harmful substances that burned up and polluted the air San Diegans breathe. (Quotes UCSD pulmonary specialist Dr. Smita Desai) More

Moving on...
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 6 -- In a case of uncanny timing, about two weeks before the fires the county activated its swifter mass-notification system that allows residents to sign up for emergency alerts via cell phone or e-mail (with text messaging soon to come). A similar system passed its first test at UCSD during the wildfires. More