UCSD News

A Sampling of Clips for
October 29^th, 2007

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

Wildfires Degrade SoCal Air Quality
USA Today, Oct. 28 -- Air quality remained poor in the central San Bernardino Mountains and parts of the San Bernardino Valley, as well as swaths of Orange and Riverside Counties. In San Diego County, where only two of five major fires were more than 50% contained, the air was especially dismal Friday. (Mentions the UCSD Medical Center) More

Technology's Pipeline Becomes Lifeline for Fire Victims
USA Today, Oct. 28 -- Technology is proving crucial as Southern California residents fight raging wildfires. UCSD and the University of San Diego used emergency text-message systems to blast updates to students, faculty and others. More

Was San Diego Ready?
Los Angeles Times, Oct. 29 -- Is San Diego a public-sector skinflint that skimps on fire preparedness and should have been ready for last week’s fires? Or is it a can-do government that managed to evacuate about half a million people and get the fires under control in a matter of days? All this week, UCSD’s Richard Carson and San Diego tax-fighter Richard Rider debate the policy of fire. More

Glare of Fires Pulls Migrants from Shadows
The New York Times, Oct. 26 -- Immigrants from south of the border, many illegal, provide the backbone of menial labor in San Diego. The wildfires, one of the biggest disasters to strike the county, exposed their often-invisible existence in ways that were sometimes deadly. (Quotes UCSD political scientist Wayne Cornelius) More

Have Lessons of Katrina Been Learnt?
BBC News, Oct. 24 -- As wildfires force hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes in California, inevitable comparisons are drawn with the response to Hurricane Katrina. (Quotes UCSD political scientist Steve Erie) More

Study: Too Much Marijuana Makes Pain Worse, Not Better
FOX News, Oct. 24 -- Although smoking "moderate" doses of cannabis helps reduce pain in healthy research volunteers, pain is actually increased at high doses, a new UCSD study shows. The November issue of the journal Anesthesiology features a study showing that marijuana, or cannabis, reduces pain only within a smaller dose range. More

Neutron Beams Search for Da Vinci's Lost Masterpiece
Wired News, Oct . 24 -- Art diagnostician and UCSD researcher Maurizio Seracini has waited 30 years to get to the bottom of his biggest mystery yet: whether Leonardo da Vinci's greatest lost fresco lies behind a wall in the Palazzo Vecchio here. More

Low Testosterone in Men Linked to Earlier Death
Reuters, Oct 23 -- Older men with low levels of the hormone testosterone may die sooner than other men their age with normal testosterone levels, a UCSD study suggests. More

Don't Be a Victim of Pharmacy Errors
CNN, Oct. 25 -- Every year in the United States, 30 million dispensing errors out of 3 billion prescriptions occur at outpatient pharmacies, according to the National Patient Safety Foundation. Some errors are minor. Some patients catch easily. But others can be serious. (Quotes David Phillips, a sociology professor at UCSD, who has studied this issue) More

The Elderly Always Sleep Worse, and Other Myths of Aging
The New York Times, Oct. 23 – For years, sleep scientists thought they knew what was going on: sleep starts to deteriorate in late middle age and steadily erodes from then on. It seemed so obvious that few thought to question the prevailing wisdom. Now, though, new research is leading many to change their minds. (Quotes Sonia Ancoli-Israel, a professor of psychiatry and a sleep researcher at UCSD) More

Wildfire Response Was Better but Still Late
San Diego Union-Tribune, Opinion, Oct. 28 -- We have just experienced round two of this decade's monumental Southern California fires. Unfortunately, it is likely this will not be the last. Climate conditions, development patterns and the history of fire suppression efforts almost guarantee similar large-scale wildfire events in the future. (Written by Richard Carson, a professor of economics at UCSD) More

Burn Unit at UCSD Medical Center Handling All Fire Patients
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct 22 – The burn unit at UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest, the only such unit in the county, has received all of the region's seriously burned patients from the wildfires over the last two days. More

Plight of Others Summons Volunteer Spirit
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 24 -- In disasters like this one, the world is divided into givers and receivers. This is about the givers. Dr. Loren Sacks is a UCSD pediatrician, but he spent most of his time tending to elderly patients evacuated from a convalescent home in Rancho Bernardo. The UCSD men's basketball team carried in food, cots, anything that needed to be moved, preferably by tall, athletic people. Not to be outdone, the UCSD women's basketball team helped out at the stadium. More

Stress over Crisis Takes its Toll; Help Is Available
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 26 -- You can't sleep. You scream at your kids. Your heart is racing. And you have no idea what day it is. You're not losing your mind. You're stressed. And mental health professionals say these reactions are typical. (Quotes Arpi Minassian, a psychologist at the UCSD Burn Center) More

Building Patterns Are to Blame, Critics Say
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 25 -- It's time to rethink where homes are built in San Diego County, several scientists, environmentalists and politicians said yesterday as wildfires continued to carve up the region. (Quotes UCSD political scientist Steve Erie) More

Burned Firefighter Anticipated Dying
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 27-- Andrew Pikop couldn't outrun the flames that were scorching his back. He heard the helicopter there to rescue him, but he couldn't see it through the blinding smoke and sand. He is being treated in the burn unit of the UCSD Medical Center. More

They Follow the Beat of a ...
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 25 – On Saturday, Steven Schick, a professor at UCSD and an internationally renowned percussionist, will begin his tenure as the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus' new music director. More