A Sampling of Clips for October 30^th, 2008

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

Red Meat Helps Spur a Food Poison Germ
The Washington Post, Oct. 30 – UCSD researchers say they have found a bacterium that causes food poisoning by targeting a non-human molecule that's absorbed into the body through red meat. More

Similar stories in
US News & World Report
Agence France Presse
Forbes
Sydney Morning Herald
UPI
San Diego Union-Tribune

Rare Greenhouse Gas Adds to Climate Concerns
Nature, Oct. 29 -- Scientists are recommending that a rare but potent greenhouse gas should be included in future climate agreements after confirming that the gas is about four times more abundant than previously believed. A team led by Ray Weiss of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, confirmed that atmospheric concentrations have risen more than 20-fold during the past 30 years after analysing air samples from coastal stations in California and in Tasmania, Australia. More

World without Frogs: Combined Threats May Croak Amphibians
Scientific American, Oct. 30 -- Amphibians are on the decline worldwide. As many as one third of the nearly 6,000 known amphibian species—frogs, toads, salamanders, even wormlike caecilians—are threatened with extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. And no one knows why. (Mentions research at UCSD) More

A Fast, Programmable Molecular Clock
MIT Technology Review, Oct. 30 -- A molecular timepiece that ticks away the time with a flash of fluorescent protein could provide the basis for novel biosensors. To create the clock, scientists at UCSD genetically engineered a molecular oscillator composed of multiple gene promoters, which turn genes on in the presence of certain chemicals, and genes themselves, one of which codes for a fluorescent protein. More

Similar story in
Discover Magazine

No Burial for 10,000-Year-Old Bones
Nature, Oct. 30 -- In the latest twist in the tug-of-war between Native Americans and anthropologists, officials at the University of California have decided not to repatriate a pair of well-preserved skeletons that are nearly 10,000 years old. (Mentions UCSD) More

Experts Warn of 'Bandwagon Effect'
Politico, Oct. 30 -- If John McCain’s supporters are hoping for a “Bradley effect” bounce on Election Day, some pollsters and strategists say they may have another thing coming. Beware of the “bandwagon effect.” (Quotes UCSD political scientist Samuel Popkin) More

UCSD Extension Offers Career Seminars for the Jobless
CW6, Oct. 30 -- UCSD Extension will dole out a total of $100,000 in grants to help San Diego residents who are unemployed participate in career seminars, it was announced Wednesday. More

The 'Great' Pumpkin
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 30 -- What do you call a 650-pound pumpkin that's about to plunge 11 stories? At University of California San Diego's Muir College, they've named this year's sacrificial pumpkin “Dow Jones.” Every Halloween UCSD students toss a pumpkin from the top of Muir's highest building – Tioga Hall – to the quad below and measure the distance of its splatter. More

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