A Sampling of Clips for October 22^th, 2009

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

Grudgingly, Young People Finally Flock to Twitter
The New York Times, Oct. 21 -- They think it's pointless, narcissistic. Some don't even know what it is. Even so, more young adults and teens -- normally at the cutting edge of technology -- are finally coming around to Twitter, using it for class or work, monitoring the minutiae of celebrities' lives. It's not always love at first tweet, though. Many of them are doing it grudgingly, perhaps because a friend pressures them or a teacher or boss makes them try the 140-character microblogging site. ''I still find no point to using it. I'm the type of person who likes to talk to someone,'' says Austyn Gabig, a sophomore at UCSD, who only joined Twitter this month because she heard Ellen DeGeneres was going to use tweets as a way to win tickets to her talk show. More

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Study: Childhood Cancer Survivors Less Likely to Marry
CNN, Oct. 21 -- Three years ago, Anne Willis mentioned to the man she was dating that she didn't know about her fertility, since she had undergone cancer treatment as a teenager. His response --"Oh, so you don't know if you're going be able to have kids?" -- was off-putting. Anne Willis, 27, had cancer when she was 15, but says that's not the reason she's not married. "He wasn't trying to mean anything by it, but I felt a little less desirable at that moment," she said. (Quotes Dr. Donald Durden, research director in the division of hematology/oncology at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center) More

The Daily Show’s Stepchildren Now
Include Escapist News Network and Newsish
The New York Times, Oct. 19 -- Every icon has his or her imitators, and while The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart didn’t invent the concept of snarking at the news in a quasi-reporting format, his influence has had a profound impact not just on the television world, but on web video. And shows that draw inspiration from the format continue to find fresh approaches to the idea. (Mentions UCSD alumnus Bri Holt) More

Scientists Find a Way to Slow Lou Gehrig's Disease
KPBS, Oct. 21 -- San Diego researchers have found a way to slow the damage done by Lou Gehrig's Disease.
The disease causes neurons in the body to degenerate, which leads to paralysis and death. People who get the disease typically die within five years. But scientists at UCSD and Scripps Research Institute have identified an enzyme that can bind with motor neurons to slow their degeneration. Don Cleveland with UCSD Medical School says tests in lab mice show this enzyme therapy would only add a year or two to the life of a person with Lou Gehrig's disease. But he says this could be just the beginning. More

Swine Flu May be at All County Schools
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 22 -- Outbreaks of swine flu have surfaced in at least 29 schools in San Diego County over the past three weeks, and the virus is likely circulating at all other campuses, local public health officials said yesterday. Some of the schools with the outbreaks reported absentee rates of 20 percent or more among students in a particular class, grade or across the student body, said Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the county's deputy public health officer. (Quotes Dr. Janet Crow, a pediatrician and associate clinical professor at the UCSD School of Medicine) More

UCSD Will be Host of Environment Conference
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 22 -- Bright Green Future, a conference addressing environmental and economic issues in the San Diego region, will be held tomorrow and Saturday at the UCSD. The conference is a project of San Diego EarthWorks, which also puts on the annual Earth Day fair in Balboa Park. Bright Green Future brings together more than 80 experts in energy, transportation, climate change, sustainable living, job training and other topics. More

All Together Now
San Diego Reader, Oct. 22 -- If I had to read it cover to cover before reviewing it, there’s no telling when I would have leave to speak of Farber on Film: The Complete Film Writings of Manny Farber. Issued on the first of this month by the Library of America at a list price of $40.00, the book runs to 824 pages including index, textual notes, and biographical chronology, but not including the thoroughgoing twenty-four-page Roman-numeralled introduction by the editor, Robert Polito. (Mentions UCSD Professor Emeritus of Visual Arts Manny Farber) More

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