A Sampling of Clips
for September 22^nd, 2008

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

Stem Cells Open Door for Studying Human Disease
Reuters, Sept. 22 -- Advances in stem cell research offer a new way of studying human disease, allowing scientists to move beyond fruit flies and lab mice to see how human cells go awry and how drugs and other therapies might help, U. S. researchers said on Monday. "We've almost worn out what we can do with animals in disease biology such as fruit flies and mice," Lawrence Goldstein, a researcher at UCSD, told about 900 scientists and stem cell advocates at the World Stem Cell Summit in Madison, Wisconsin. More

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WSKG, New York
KUNI, Des Moines, Iowa
San Diego Union-Tribune

Scarless Surgery Uses Body's Own Openings
The Washington Post, Sept. 22 -- Many surgeons are enthusiastic about the possibilities of surgeries without incisions, but some question the need for the new procedures when safe, only slightly invasive alternatives exist. And they fear that doctors will rush ahead before they have perfected their techniques and made sure that the benefits are worth the risks. (Quotes Mark A. Talamini, who chairs the surgery department at UCSD) More

The Physiology of Personal Politics
Nature, Sept.22 -- If you are easily startled by disturbing images or sudden noises, you might be a conservative. If you don’t react strongly to such stimuli, you might be a liberal. So says a paper published in Science John Hibbing of the University of Nebraska and colleagues tested 46 Nebraskans with strong political beliefs on their fear response. (Quotes UCSD political scientist James Fowler) More

UCSD's StarCAVE Is a Real 3D Super-High-Def Danger Room
Gizmodo, Australia, Sept. 20 -- UCSD has the closest thing to an X-Men-style Danger Room in its new StarCAVE, a small room that entirely surrounds you, hurtling 68 million pixels at your eyeballs at near-perfect resolution. Pop on polarised glasses and the whole thing goes 3D. Grasping a wireless "wand," you can walk through tall buildings, fly over cities, pick apart tiny cell structures or embrace entire galaxies. More

Crossing to Shed Pounds
San Diego Union-Tribune, Sept. 22 – Weight-loss operations typically cost half as much in Mexico as they do in the United States, a crucial difference when insurance companies deny coverage. Also, doctors in Tijuana often are willing to take patients who don't meet the criteria employed by most American weight-loss surgeons. (Quotes Dr. Santiago Horgan, director of minimally invasive surgery at the UCSD Medical Center) More

Weighing the Risks
San Diego Union-Tribune, Sept. 21 – Driven by diet fatigue, bullying and anxious parents, hundreds of obese children in the United States are going under the knife each year in a last-ditch attempt to shed excess pounds. (Mentions at study at the UCSD Medical Center, where 14 patients ages 14 to 17 received stomach bands last year) More

Revisionism on Immigration
San Diego Union-Tribune, Opinion, Sept. 19 – The McCain-Palin campaign has embarked on an effort to court Latino voters by trashing Barack Obama's record on immigration reform. To accomplish this, they are running ads in Spanish-language media that engage in gross political-historical revisionism. (Written by Wayne Cornelius, a distinguished professor of political science and U.S.-Mexican relations at UCSD) More

Debate Over Toll Road Isn't Over
San Diego Union-Tribune, Sept. 21 – A large crowd is expected tomorrow at the Del Mar Fairgrounds to argue the pros and cons of a proposal to extend state Route 241 from Orange County into northern San Diego County.  (Quotes Richard Seymour, a leading coastal engineer at UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla) More

Rx for Pharmacy School
San Diego Union-Tribune, Opinion, Sept. 21 – When UCSD's Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences opened in 2002, 24 students shared classroom space with medical students. Its own building opened in 2006, boosting its student body to 60 entrants a year. With students and classrooms, two of four criteria for a pharmacy school have been met. More

Still Not Ready to Fight Fire
North County Times, Sept. 20 -- As San Diego County moves into that scary time of year when hot, dry winds roar in from the desert and threaten to transform even the tiniest spark into an inferno, a question lingers: Could another deadly wildfire strike this fall? he answer, experts say, is yes. (Quotes UCSD political scientist Steve Erie) More

Are Kids too Caffeinated?
La Prensa, Sept. 19 – Do you think 193 milligrams (mg) of caffeine, equal to 8 ounces of coffee too much for children to consume? If only caffeine was a nutrient, having high amounts of it would be good, but not in this case. Consuming high amounts of caffeine at a young age or even as an adult can have some negative effects depending on one’s body weight, genetics and level of tolerance. (Written by Crystal L. Nguyen, M.A. is a Health Educator with UCSD Nutrition Link, an elementary school nutrition education program) More

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