A Sampling of Clips for October 29^th, 2008

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

High-Tech Search for Legendary Warlord
ABC News, Oct. 29 -- Somewhere beneath the wind-swept deserts of Mongolia lies the body of one of the most enigmatic warlords in history, a ruthless but brilliant leader who united his people and built the largest empire in the world. Nearly 800 years after Genghis Khan died, the legends continue to grow, as do the mysteries. Now, a young scientist at UCSD is hoping to succeed, where others have failed, and answer a question that has puzzled historians for centuries: Where, precisely, is the tomb of Genghis Khan? More

New Research Bolsters Case for Solomon's Mythical Mines
Agence France Presse, Oct. 29 — Archaeologists working in Jordan believe they may have found the site of the fabled mines of King Solomon, which contained copper rather than the gold and diamonds of legend, new research shows. A team led by Thomas Levy of UCSD and Mohammad Najjar of Jordan's Friends of Archaeology worked at the site in Khirbat en-Nahas, which means "ruins of copper" in Arabic, in an arid region south of the Dead Sea. More

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Electricity Found on Saturn Moon--Could It Spark Life?
National Geographic, Oct. 29 -- At a brisk -350 degrees Fahrenheit (-180 Celsius), Titan is currently much too cold to host anything close to life as we know it, scientists say. But a new study reports faint signs of a natural electric field in Titan's thick cloud cover that are similar to the energy radiated by lightning on Earth. (Quotes Jeffrey Bada, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

Looks Like He Racked Up the Smart-Guy Big-Brain Vote
Wired News, Oct 29 -- With one voice, 76 American Nobel Laureates in science have endorsed Barack Obama for President of the United States. This is the largest number of Nobelists to ever endorse a candidate for office, eclipsing the 47 who endorsed John Kerry in 2004. The list includes all three American Nobel Laureates in science for 2008, Martin Chalfie of Columbia University and Roger Tsien of UCSD who shared the prize in Chemistry and Yoichiro Nambu, of the University of Chicago who won the prize in Physics. More

Bloomberg’s Limited Win
The New York Times, Oct. 29 -- LAST week Mayor Michael Bloomberg got his wish: the New York City Council voted to extend the term limits on city elected officials from two terms to three. Opponents are up in arms over what they call a power grab by the mayor that supposedly violates the principles of good government. (Mentions research by Thad Kousser of UCSD) More

A Second Look at How Life Began on Earth
Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 29 -- When Stanley Miller died last year, Jeffrey Bada at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego and Adam Johnson at Indiana University in Bloomington found vials containing dried chemical residues from the original experiments among Miller’s effects. Dr. Bada says it was “a great opportunity to reanalyze these historic samples using modern methods.” More

Smart Amoebas Reveal Origins of Primitive Intelligence
The New Scientist, Oct. 29 -- Amoebas are smarter than they look, and a team of UCSD physicists think they know why. The group has built a simple electronic circuit that is capable of the same “intelligent” behaviour as Physarum, a unicellular organism – and say this could help us understand the origins of primitive intelligence. More

Political Passions Ignite Sign Wars in Sacramento Area
Sacramento Bee, Oct. 29 -- With the Nov. 4 election less than a week away, sign wars are intensifying, with reports of vandalism and thefts of campaign lawn signs from both sides of the emotionally charged initiative. Proposition 8 would change the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage. (Quotes UCSD political scientist James Fowler) More

Frogs Truly Are Canaries
Environmental Research Web, Oct. 29 -- The first global map of how quickly the environment changes across space has revealed that the types of amphibians present change four times more quickly than bird species do. Together with Walter Jetz of UCSD, Lauren Buckley found that in mountainous regions such as the Andes and Himalayas, the identities of amphibians and birds changed particularly quickly with location. More

Puck's Jai Takes Cuisine to a New Stage
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 29 – Jai (pronounced “Jay”), the new restaurant at the La Jolla Playhouse complex on the UCSD campus, exudes the Kamakura spirit. The dining room is serene yet not unduly formal. The menu is exotic without being baffling. The service is warm but never overly familiar – a relief in this era of instant Myspace and LinkedIn “friendships.” More

Parked in Reverse
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 29 -- With U.S. auto sales plummeting and the Big Three automakers seeking billions of dollars in federal aid, San Diego car dealers are experiencing their worst downturn in 30 years or longer. (Quotes Vish Krishnan, a professor at UCSD who specializes in automotive issues) More

Genomatica Brewing a Green Revolution for the Petrochemical Industry
Xconomy, Oct. 29 -- It is hard to decide what to say first about San Diego’s Genomatica. Is it more amazing that Genomatica has genetically engineered microbes to produce mass quantities of butanediol, a hydrocarbon widely used by the petrochemical industry to make plastics, solvents, pharmaceuticals, textiles and automotive components? (Mentions Bernhard Palsson, a professor of bioengineering at UCSD, who co-developed the technology that Genomatica uses) More

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