A Sampling of Clips for November 10^th, 2008

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

Study Shows How Spammers Cash In
BBC, Nov. 10 -- By hijacking a working spam network, U.S. researchers have uncovered some of the economics of being a junk mailer. The analysis suggests that such a tiny response rate means a big spam operation can turn over millions of pounds in profit every year. It also suggests that spammers may be susceptible to attacks that make it more costly to send junk mail. The spam study was carried out in early 2008 by computer scientists from University of California, Berkeley and UCSD. More

Sketch of UCSD Rape Suspect Released
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 10 – UCSD police have released a sketch of a man they said sexually assaulted a woman at her campus apartment. The attack happened Friday about 3:30 p.m. after the man entered the woman's home at the Mesa graduate student housing complex on Regents Road near Executive Drive, campus police said. More

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Congress May Slow Obama Moves
Miami Herald, Nov. 8 -- President-elect Barack Obama's Washington will be a friendly but probably not overwhelmingly supportive place since his coattails pulled only about 20 new Democrats into the House of Representatives and five into the Senate. Obama's ability to work with the 111th Congress, which convenes in January, is likely to be complicated by two factors: Republicans are expected to be more conservative and combative, and many of the new Democrats are from conservative states and districts with histories of electing GOP members. ''There is not a majority of liberals in the House or the Senate,'' said Gary Jacobson, a congressional expert at UCSD. ``He's going to have to listen to the Blue Dog Democrats.'' More

Pelosi: She Must Defend GOP-turf Seats
Sacramento Bee, Nov. 10 -- On Capitol Hill, last week's election gains for Democrats have set the stage for the latest test of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her skills in the art of negotiation. With at least 19 freshmen joining her caucus, the San Francisco liberal will have more power than any other House speaker since 1994, when Republicans seized power under Newt Gingrich. But her increased clout comes with a new crop of more conservative Democrats. Pelosi's major challenge will be to make peace between her party's often-impatient left wing and the more moderate freshmen who won in Republican-leaning districts. At the same time, there will be new orders coming from the White House.  "She has a president who's dictating her agenda," said Thad Kousser, associate professor of political science at UCSD. "She's not the leader of her party anymore." More

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Giant Video Walls
Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 10 -- Larry L. Smarr showed off some innovative uses of humongous video walls for scholarship and teleconferencing at this year’s Educause conference. Smarr is director of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, where researchers have developed what they call a HIPerSpace OptIPortal. It's one of the sharpest and largest screens in the world, and it is connected to other research labs over today's fastest research networks. The video wall is made up of several high-resolution monitors clustered together. More

Food Costs Rise for College Students
Yahoo News, Nov. 10 -- Sky-high tuition and increasingly precarious loan options may be the big-picture financial commitments on most college students' minds. But the most immediate monetary concern could be an everyday necessity: food. The rising cost of food in recent months means that for some students, the cost of meal plans is going up, or the options for what to put on the plate are decreasing. And for schools, always hard-pressed to keep expenses down, efforts to cut waste and provide food service more economically are becoming a high priority. (Quotes UCSD’s Director of Residential, Retail & Conference Services Steve Casad) More

Bishop's Students Do the Rights Thing
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 9 -- With the playoffs starting this week, The Bishop's School girls volleyball team is once again a championship contender, but team captain Julie Gantz isn't worried about the Knights' postseason prospects at the moment. Gantz and fellow senior Sarah Levin – a cross country runner, swimmer and former soccer player for Bishop's – are knee-deep in schedules, speeches and community service.  (Quotes Peter Irons, a civil rights activist and UCSD political science professor) More

Stem Cell Experts Meet Amid Rising Expectations
North County Times, Nov. 7 -- Stem cell researchers say they expect a surge of funding, an easing of restrictions and accelerating scientific progress in turning stem cells into disease treatments. A cheery mood permeated Friday's annual stem cell conference at the Salk Institute, bringing experts in the field together from across the country. The approximately 400 attendees heard about progress in getting stem cell experiments out of the research stage and into treating human patients. The one worry appeared to be the sagging economy, which has made it more difficult to attract investment. (Mentions UCSD)  More

Falcons' Jessica Pixler Wins at Regionals
Seattle Times, Nov. 9 -- Seattle Pacific's Jessica Pixler won her second straight NCAA West Regional women's cross-country title on Saturday, shattering her own course record at UCSD and leading the Falcons to a national-qualifying second-place team finish. More

5 Rare Surgeries
Asskmen.com, Nov. 10 – If shows like House M.D. or ER have taught us anything, it’s that gift-wrapped medical mysteries with happy endings appeal to the public -- regardless of the story’s reliance on fact or “real” science. Step aside Hollywood, the following are a few exciting and rare surgeries. Unlike their made-for-TV spin-offs, however, these rare surgeries are real. (Mentions UCSD) More

Palomar Pomerado Health, UCSD Medical School form Partnership
San Diego Daily Transcript, Nov 10 -- Palomar Pomerado Health (PPH) and the UCSD Diego School of Medicine have entered into a partnership that enhances options for patients needing leading-edge therapy, expands clinical research at UCSD and strengthens the clinical research program at PPH. More

Fuel Cell to Turn Smelly Gas into Power
San Diego Daily Transcript, Nov. 7 -- Gas from human waste will soon keep the lights on at UC San Diego. Excess methane from Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant will be transported to a fuel cell used to power classrooms and dorms at the university. The project will generate 2.8 megawatts for the campus at a lower cost than the university currently purchases energy from San Diego Gas and Electric. More

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