A Sampling of Clips for October 23^th, 2009

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

U.S. Should Engage with North Korea Economy-Report
Reuters, Oct. 22 -- Ambitious U.S. economic engagement with North Korea would help end Pyongyang's isolation and moderate its behavior, aiding efforts to rid that country of nuclear arms, a task force report said on Thursday. The study by leading U.S. experts on North Korea, released as Washington weighs whether to engage in bilateral talks with Pyongyang, argues that sanctions alone will not denuclearize the North and will tend to strengthen hostile forces there. "Sanctions alone cannot provide protection from the threat posed now or in the future by North Korea," said the report by the Asia Society and the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation at UCSD. More

Grudgingly, Young People Finally Flock to Twitter
CBS News, Oct. 22 -- 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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Scientists Making Crops Drought Tolerant
KBPS, Oct. 23 -- Drought and global warming have inspired San Diego scientists to explore ways to increase drought tolerance in crops. Their research will be published in the journal Science. Plants become drought tolerant when they produce a hormone called abscisic acid. The hormone binds to receptor proteins in the plant, causing the plant to conserve water. Now scientists at UCSD and Scripps Research Institute have learned the way in which that molecular binding takes place. UCSD biology professor Julian Schroeder says this knowledge could allow scientists to genetically design crops to help them survive drought. More

Monaco's Prince Albert II to Receive Scripps Prize
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 22 -- Prince Albert II of Monaco will receive the Scripps Institution of Oceanography's second Roger Revelle Prize Friday to celebrate his ongoing efforts to promote environmental protections on a global scale. The prize, named after one of the founders of UCSD and a former director of Scripps, honors leaders in environmental science and action. The inaugural prize was given earlier this year to former Vice President Al Gore for his work highlighting the scientific and public issues of climate change. More

Philanthropy Spotlight: Eyemobile/Save our Children's Sight
Del Mar Times, Oct. 22 -- The UCSD Shiley Eye Center, Division of Community Ophthalmology, initiated the EyeMobile/Save Our Children's Sight program in 2000 to ensure that San Diego's children (ages 3-8) have the 20/20 vision they need to succeed in school and in life. Since its inception, more than 80,000 low-income preschoolers have been screened for eye disorders in 210 underserved locations all across the county. More

Scripps Snags Fed Money for Science Ed
Voice of San Diego, Oct. 23 -- The Scripps Institution of Oceanography on Wednesday announced a new program that will put Scripps grad students in San Diego Unified middle and high school classrooms in an effort to bridge the science education gap. A five-year, $2.5 million National Science Foundation grant will pay for nine Scripps student fellows to pair up with teachers and provide "hands-on science training in earth, ocean and environmental sciences," according to a Scripps news release. The program, called Scripps Classroom Connection, aims to not only improve K-12 science education, which many say is sorely lacking, but also improve the communication skills of the grad students. More

Crowdsourcing the Brain
Voice of San Diego, Oct. 22 -- Traditionally, the study of the brain was organized somewhat like an archipelago. Neuroscientists would inhabit their own island or peninsula of the brain, and see little reason to venture elsewhere. Molecular neuroscientists, who study how DNA and RNA function in the brain, didn't share their work with cognitive specialists who study how psychological and cognitive functions are produced by the brain, for example. (Quotes UCSD neuroscientist Mark Ellisman whose team unveiled their years-long project in the Whole Brain Catalog -- at the recent annual convention of the Society for Neuroscience) More

Scripps Research, UCSD Scientists Lead Team
in Revealing Secrets of Drought Resistance
La Jolla Light, Oct. 22 -- A team of biologists in California led by researchers at The Scripps Research Institute and UCSD has solved the structure of a critical molecule that helps plants survive during droughts. Understanding the inner workings of this molecule may help scientists design new ways to protect crops against prolonged dry periods, potentially improving crop yields worldwide, aiding biofuels production on marginal lands and mitigating drought's human and economic costs. More

Former Fed Bank Chief's Talk Tackles Exit Strategies, 'Too Big to Fail'
San Diego Daily Transcript, Oct. 22 -- A former Federal Bank chief executive gave his take on current monetary policy at UCSD on Thursday, outlining possible future scenarios and calling for more clarity from the U.S. central bank. William Poole, who served at the Federal Bank of St. Louis from 1998 to 2008, spoke primarily about the Federal Reserve’s “exit strategy,” or how the Fed will ease out of its various unorthodox lending instruments and shrink its burgeoning balance sheet. More

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