A Sampling of Clips for September 18^th, 2009

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

Insulin-Linked Genes Tied to Body's Internal Clock
U.S. News and World Report, Sept. 17 – Genes that regulate insulin in the body also play a role in the timing of the body's sleep-wake cycle, researchers say, and this finding that could potentially lead to treatments for disorders that arise when circadian rhythms are disrupted. The insulin-control system, which governs how the body processes sugar, may also reset our internal clock, according to the study published online Sept. 17 in Cell. "People knew that the clock regulates many different processes, but what they didn't realize was that when you tweak those processes, it feeds back and alters the clock," study co-author Steve Kay, dean of the Division of Biological Sciences at UCSD said in a university news release. More

Similar story in Discovery Health

Algae as Fuel of the Future Faces Great Expectations -- and Obstacles
New York Times, Sept. 17 – Tim Zenk is surrounded by green. In a lab near California's coast, shades of emerald, lime and chartreuse fill petri dishes, beakers, 14-foot plastic bags and long swirling pools.When Zenk looks around, he also sees gold. When Zenk looks around, he also sees gold. Inside the 70,000-square-foot lab sit thousands of strains of algae, the slimy substance that grows in swamps and dirty swimming pools. (Mentions UCSD) More

San Diego Works to Create Smart Grid
XETV, Sept. 17 – An effort is under way to transform the San Diego region's electrical grid into a digital "smart grid" by a newly formed coalition of 25 organizations that includes San Diego Gas & Electric, UCSD and CleanTech San Diego, it was announced on Thursday. The so-called "smart grid" would incorporate renewable energy generation, advanced electric transmission and distribution technologies, smart metering and energy storage. More

Similar stories in: 
San Diego News Network
North County Times
Del Mar Times
San Diego Business Journal

Fall for the Book to Honor Doctorow
Washington Post, Sept. 17 -- George Mason University and the City of Fairfax will launch the second decade of their annual literary festival, Fall for the Book on Monday, beginning a weeklong celebration of the literary arts.
The event will feature appearances by dozens of writers, lectures, readings, exhibitions, performances, film screenings, seminars, workshops, discussions and book sales. The 11th annual festival will also honor novelist, poet and filmmaker E.L. Doctorow, who will receive the Fairfax Prize for lifetime achievement in the literary arts next Thursday, and Sherman Alexie, author of numerous works that delve into the Native American worldview. On Tuesday, Alexie will be receive the Mason Award for extraordinary contributions to bringing literature to a wide audience. (Mentions Rae Armantrout, professor of literature at UCSD) More

The Tale of the ‘Humble Servant’
San Diego Union-Tribune, Sept. 18 -- San Diego multi-instrumental wiz Ray Suen hasn't done it all since he became a touring member of The Killers 13 months ago. But the 24-year-old UCSD grad has already enjoyed many dizzying musical experiences playing with one of the biggest American rock bands of this decade. Among the highlights:  Headlining with The Killers at this year's Coachella and Lollapalooza festivals, Australia's V festival, and, last year, at the Reading and Leeds festivals in England. More

Healthy Oceans a Worthy Legacy
San Diego Union Tribune, Sept. 18 -- When I was in college, I ate lobster and abalone because they were cheaper than hot dogs. Things have certainly changed in my 70 years diving in San Diego. My first dive was on a hot Memorial Day in 1941 at La Jolla Cove and I haven't really left the water since. I have dived most of our world's oceans, but I have always been glad to come home to our La Jolla waters. (Written by James R. Stewart chief diving officer emeritus at Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

NY Philharmonic Begins New Era With Alan Gilbert
CBS 4, Sept. 17 -- With the crack of a whip and a blast of fresh air, a new era has begun for the nation's oldest orchestra. Before a nationally televised audience Wednesday night, Alan Gilbert became the New York Philharmonic's 25th music director, opening on a bold note — the world premiere of Magnus Lindberg's "EXPO." It's the first time a new work had been scheduled for a Philharmonic gala opener since 1962, when Leonard Bernstein led Copland's "Connotations" to celebrate the orchestra's move to Lincoln Center.  (Mentions Lei Liang, professor in UCSD’s Department of Music) More

Experts
San Diego Reader, Sept. 16 -- The world’s experts on all topics are huddling in Washington, D.C. One chap proclaims that he is the world’s ranking expert on goldfish. Inquires a layman, “Okay, how do you tell a male goldfish from a female goldfish?” Says the expert, “I can tell you as an expert that the male goldfish eats male worms and the female goldfish eats female worms.” The layman then harrumphs, “Alright, how do you tell a male worm from a female worm?” Shouts the expert, “Hey, I’m an expert on goldfish! I never said I was an expert on worms!” (Mentions Harry Markowitz, now an adjunct professor at the Rady School of Management at UCSD). More

Emotional Vérité: If You Can See It You Can Feel It
Miller-Mcune Magazine, Sept. 17 -- In an early experiment in emotional perception, Russian film director Lev Kuleshov in the 1910s staged a short film. He paired emotionally neutral footage of a Russian silent film star with emotionally charged scenes. He cut between the actor and a woman in a coffin, a child at play, and even a bowl of soup. Audiences, not realizing the shots of the actor were the exact same footage repeated without alteration, "saw" in the actor's face the emotions that fit the context: for instance, sadness for the dead woman, love for the child and yearning for the soup. (Quotes Piotr Winkielman, professor of psychology at UCSD) More

Scripps Snags Fed Money for Science Ed
Voice of San Diego, Sept. 18 -- 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. More

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