A Sampling of Clips for September 5^th, 2008

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

Experts Offer Scaled-Back Sea Level Rise Forecast
Scientific American, Sept. 5 -- Worldwide sea levels may rise by about 2.6 to 6.6 feet by 2100 thanks to global warming, but dire predictions of larger increases seem unrealistic, U.S. scientists said on Thursday. Tad Pfeffer of the University of Colorado's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, and scientists at the University of Montana UCSD came up with an estimate of a sea level rise of about 2.6 feet. More

Similar story in
Daily Telegraph, U.K.
WUSF, Tampa, Fla.

Obesity Worsens Asthma
U.S. News & World Report, Sept. 5 -- New research shows that obese people who have asthma are nearly five times more likely to be hospitalized for the problem and to have lower quality of life and worse control of the disease than those with asthma who are normal weight. Dr. Michael Schatz, chief of the department of allergy at Kaiser Permanente, San Diego, and a clinical professor of medicine at the UCSD School of Medicine, is one of the study’s authors. More

Similar story in
Atlanta Journal Constitution

The Biology of Ideology
The Wall Street Journal, Sept. 4 -- As U.S. voters choose sides in the coming presidential election, some scientists have embraced the idea that genes are partly responsible for our political differences, from variations in voter turnout and campaign giving to our penchant for partisan activism and our ideology. In a study published in May, UCSD political scientist James Fowler analyzed voter turnout among 396 identical and fraternal twins for eight elections in Los Angeles. More

Remember: Memory Record and Replay Handled by Same Cells
Scientific American, Sept. 4 -- Researchers have discovered that the same nerve cells involved in forming memories also are involved in replaying them. The finding, published today in the online edition of Science, provides new insight into how complex memories are laid down in a single neuron (nerve cell) and how neural firing, or communication, patterns created during memory formation are maintained during recall. (Quotes Larry Squire, a neuroscientist at the VA San Diego Medical Center and UCSD) More

Random Oil
Forbes, Sept. 4 -- Oil prices seem to be in free-fall. After averaging a staggering $137 a barrel over the first week of July, they were down to $109 a barrel over the final week of August. (Quotes UCSD economist James Hamilton) More

Fears of New Kinds of CJD
Daily Telegraph, U.K., Sept. 4 -- New versions of the incurable brain disease variant CJD could emerge "with dramatic effects," according to a study by a leading expert. (Quotes Prof. Eliezer Masliah at UCSD) More

Bay Area Astronaut to Fly on Space Shuttle Mission
CBS5, San Francisco, Calif., Sept. 4 -- Bay Area astronaut Megan McArthur will embark on her first space journey next month as part of NASA's final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. McArthur, who was born in Hawaii, graduated from St. Francis High School in Mountain View in 1989, received a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from University of California, Los Angeles, and in 2002 received her doctorate degree in oceanography from UCSD. More

Similar story on
KTVU, Oakland, Calif.

Crammed TV Screens a Strain on the Brain?
San Diego Union-Tribune, Sept. 5 -- Putting aside the question of why anyone would want to, say, watch multiple views of every Padre (mis)play, there's this: Will doing so make your head explode? Or in slightly more scientific terms: Can the human brain really make sense of so much stuff? (Quotes David Kirsh, a professor of cognitive science at UCSD) More

UCSD Study Links Ship Smoke to 60,000 Deaths
NBC San Diego, Sept. 5 -- A new study led by researchers at UCSD estimates dirty smoke from cruise and cargo ships could be responsible for as many as 60,000 deaths worldwide. More

College Move-In Day Starts with Preparation
Del Mar Times, Sept. 4 -- Going away to college is a chance for new grads to savor independence and broaden their experiences, but it's also a time that requires some adjustment. "There's a whole education that goes on for the student outside of the classroom," said Pat Danylyshyn-Adams, resident dean of John Muir College at UCSD. More

* Subscribe with In the News and receive our clips automatically