A Sampling of Clips for November 16^th, 2009

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

Black Carbon: An Overlooked Climate Factor
Time, Nov. 13 -- You can see it as you're flying into New Delhi — or rather, you can't see a thing. As the plane descends to the Indian capital on an ordinary November day, it is immersed in air so polluted as to be opaque, a brownish sludge that scatters any sunlight. The air clears a bit once you've deplaned, but the horizon still contracts, pollution closing off the New Delhi sky like a dome. (Quotes Veerabhadran Ramanathan, a climatologist from UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and an expert on black carbon) More

Study Raises New Questions About Popular Cholesterol Drugs
CBS, Nov. 16 -- A new study raises fresh concerns about Zetia and its cousin, Vytorin — drugs still taken by millions of Americans to lower cholesterol, despite questions raised last year about how well they work. In the study, Zetia failed to shrink buildups in artery walls while a rival drug, Niaspan, did so significantly. Zetia users also suffered more heart attacks and other problems although the numbers of these events were too small to draw firm conclusions. (Quotes Dr. Anthony DeMaria, a past president of the American College of Cardiology from UCSD) More

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Jane Goodall Builds an Ark
Washington Post, Nov. 15 -- Two hundred years ago, as Jane Goodall and her co-authors remind us in this survey of efforts to save endangered species, golden lion tamarins by the thousands scampered through the trees of Brazil's coastal forest. The lion tamarin is a beautiful little monkey, with a solemn, big-eyed face wreathed by a mane of burnished hair. (Written by Kathryn Shevelow, professor of literature at UCSD) More

Social Networking and the Influence of Thought
Christian Science Monitor, Nov. 16 -- Online social networking is a phenomenon that's changed the entire landscape of communication, from marketing products and sharing news to keeping up with friends and family. The ability to spread information quickly and broadly has incredible appeal – and power. And its influence is worth some scrutiny. A new book, "Connected," by Dr. Nicholas Christakis, a professor at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., and James Fowler, an associate professor at UCSD examines years of research and concludes that "social networks, both offline and online, are crucial in understanding everything from voting patterns to the spread of disease." More

Study-Abroad Programs Diversify as Their Popularity Grows
The Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 16 -- Kenneth Wong plans to become a doctor who specializes in tropical diseases that disproportionately affect children in developing countries. At UCSD, where he is a senior, he studied malaria under a microscope. But before embarking on medical school, he wanted the opportunity to see the disease's effects on the ground. It was only natural, he says, that his destination of choice for a semester spent studying abroad should be in Africa. More

Better Sleep After 50!
MSNBC, Nov. 16 -- How well did you sleep last night? If it wasn't as long or as restfully as you'd like, you're in good company: Nearly half of Americans ages 50 and older get less than seven hours of shut-eye every night, and only 32 percent report sleeping soundly, according to a recent Gallup survey. Blame it on your aging brain, joint pain, and other health issues. "Sleep is one of the most vital components of health and well-being," says sleep researcher Sonia Ancoli-Israel, Ph.D., of UCSD. More

MCASD Sends a Nice Little Gift to UCSD
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 7 - The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego has amassed a large library of art-related materials through the decades and its holdings are now being transferred to the newly renovated UCSD Arts Library. The museum’s collection, which numbers more than 8,000 exhibition catalogs and other items, becomes part of a collection of 7 million-plus print and electronic items in the UCSD libraries. “The synergies between our institutions are evident and our academic community will surely benefit from this partnership,” said Brian E.C. Schottlaender, the Audrey Geisel University Librarian at UCSD. More

President must Decide Whether Sending
Humans Beyond Earth’s Orbit is Worth the Expense
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 15 - NASA, at age 50, is having a midlife crisis. What should it do after it retires the shuttle? Can it, should it, recreate the glories of its youth? Or should it mature into a wise enabler of technological and institutional leadership? The 2003 Space Shuttle disaster, underfunding of President George W. Bush’s call to go to the “Moon, Mars and Beyond” and the advent of a new presidential administration have caused NASA to re-evaluate its mission at a truly fundamental level. (Written by Charles Kennel, former director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a member of the Sustainability Solutions Institute at UCSD) More

Senator Boxer Comes To San Diego To See How Stimulus Money Is Spent
KBPS, Nov. 15 - Senator Barbara Boxer was at UCSD today to draw attention to money from the federal stimulus package that has gone to fund medical research. Congress and the president approved $787 billion in February to stimulate the sluggish American economy. UCSD Chancellor Marye Anne Fox said $91 million of that money has come to the San Diego campus of the University of California. Senator Boxer toured a lab at the Moores Cancer Center to see how some of the research grants are being spent. Boxer said the U.S. government has forged a valuable partnership with UCSD. More

Students Protest Higher Fees at UC Sites
San Diego Union Tribune, Nov. 16 -- From the looks of things, Jasmine Hill meant business. The 20-year-old college student issued a call to action to hundreds of her peers at UCSD who rallied yesterday in response to the state budget crisis. Who’s ready to make some real moves?” Hill shouted into a microphone, as a sea of faces — many of which were brown-skinned like her own — gazed back. “Go organize on your campuses,” said Hill, a third-year student at the University of California Los Angeles. “I can’t imagine a campus with people who don’t look like me. Somebody needs to make some real moves.” More

UCSD to Boxer: Stimulus Funds Fill Gap During State Budget Crisis
San Diego Daily Transcript, Nov. 12 - Federal stimulus dollars have helped researchers at UCSD buy new equipment and hire more scientists, but still there are concerns about what will happen after the aid stops. More

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