A Sampling of Clips for October 14^th, 2009

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

Study: Prostate Surgery Linked to Side Effects
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 14 -- A new study suggests less-invasive keyhole surgery for prostate cancer may mean a higher risk for lasting incontinence and impotence when compared with traditional surgery. The results add to confusion around prostate cancer treatments, which sometimes lead to urinary and sexual problems. It's not clear that either kind of surgery is superior to radiation alone or simply monitoring the prostate for changes. (Quotes Christopher Kane, chief of urology at the UCSD Medical Center, who points to limitations in Hu’s report) More

Curiosity is Creativity’s Parent
North County Times, Oct. 13 -- Inventors and innovators live in the same world as the rest of us. They just look at it differently. They see things we don't and imagine things that they turn into reality. From the garage tinkerer to the molecular biology researcher, curiosity makes them tick. The late Ralph A. Lewin was such a man. A professor at UCSD's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, his decades-long fascination with algae made him known as "the father of green algae genetics." San Diego's leading role in algae research is in large part due to Lewin, who studied algae and inspired colleagues at SIO for nearly 48 years. He died of esophageal cancer last year at the age of 87. You may one day put the fruits of his research into your gas tank, if algae-based biofuels become commercially viable. More

Recession Retreat or Repeat?
San Diego Magazine, Oct. 13 -- “The recession is over,” trumpeted a recent cover of Newsweek magazine. Not so fast, said President Barack Obama, adding, “It is true we’ve stopped the freefall.” So it goes, as we head into the third quarter, back-to-school, pre-holiday shopping season.
(Quotes James Hamilton, economics professor at UCSD) More

Arts & Entertainment News Roundup: Seinfeld, Irvine Grants, and More
San Diego News Network, Oct. 9 -- Art at UCSD: A colorfully evocative Chicano history mural by accomplished San Diego-based artist Mario Torero will be unveiled on Wednesday, October 14 at noon at the university’s Peterson Hall. The temporary installation on canvas will hang there through December 12. It will then be available for future installations. Take a look at it and you’re likely to recognize such celebrated activists as Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. “The campus Chicano community is extremely pleased and students from diverse backgrounds are looking forward to what will be a major event in the history of UCSD,” said Jorge Mariscal, the UCSD professor of literature who serves as director of the Chicano Studies program. Mariscal will attend the unveiling, along with UCSD officials including Chancellor Marye Anne Fox. More

Scripps Oceanography, Insurer to Calculate Costs of Climate Change
Del Mar Times, Oct. 13 -- San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography is pairing with one of the world's largest insurers to pin down the costs of global climate change, it was reported Tuesday. The partnership between Scripps and the Willis Group of London will involve Scripps researchers collecting data on the effect of changes in the weather and sea level so it can be used by Willis to assess its exposure to financial risks from weather-related catastrophes. More

Moores UCSD Cancer Center Lands $6 Million NIH Contract
San Diego Business Journal, Oct. 13 -- Researchers at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center will spend the next five years testing adjuvents, or chemicals to enhance vaccine effectiveness, under a $6 million National Institutes of Health contract. Moores was among six U.S. institutions to receive funding under a $60 million grant through the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases division. More

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