A Sampling of Clips for
August 24, 2006
* UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing the University Communications Office
Tongue Has Sweet Spot for Sour Tastes
CBS News, Aug. 24 -- The tongue may have a real sweet spot for sour tastes, as well as bitter, salty, and other taste sensations. A new study headed by UCSD scientists suggests that individual cells in the tongues are exclusively dedicated to detecting sour tastes, a function that may have evolved to help mammals detect spoiled or unripe foods. More
Similar stories in
Nature
BBC News
Embryos Spared in Stem Cell Creation
USA Today, Aug. 24 -- Researchers have found a way to create human stem cells from a single cell — without harming embryos. But this discovery may not eliminate the concerns of those who have opposed stem cell research. The alternative approach, reported in the journal Nature, relies on a fertility clinic method of diagnosing genetic diseases in embryos. (Quotes UCSD stem cell specialist Lawrence Goldstein) More
Similar story in
The San Jose Mercury News
Drop in Illegal Border Crossings
a Sign of Success, Bush Aide Says
Los Angeles Times, Aug. 24 -- The Bush administration claimed today to have made "extraordinary progress" in reducing the number of Mexicans and others trying to cross illegally into the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced that the number of illegal border-crossers apprehended had significantly decreased since early summer to the lowest rate in four years. (Quotes Wayne Cornelius, director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at UCSD) More
Scientists Search
for Fresh Antibiotics in the Ocean
NPR, August 24, 2006 -- As more bacteria develop resistance to common antibiotics, scientists are desperate to find new drugs. Few are emerging. So some scientists are looking to the ocean for new medicines. But the economics of developing new antibiotics means that few drug companies are interested in the search. (Quotes William Fenical, a researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD) More
Florida Ponies Up $310-Million in Incentives
to Lure Biomedical-Research Center
Chronicle of Higher Education, Aug. 24 -- Florida’s state government and local businesses have offered the Burnham Institute for Medical Research a package of incentives totaling more than $310-million to open a research center in Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel reported today. Burnham, a leading independent research institution that is affiliated with UCSD, will bring hundreds of scientists and other workers to the new center, which Florida leaders hope will create a new focal point of biomedical research in the United States. More
Airport Supporters
Take Aim at 'That Budding Rockstar'
Voice of San Diego, Aug. 24 -- There he is on television. There he is quoted in local newspapers. There he is speaking at airport town halls. Richard Carson hasn't gone away. The UCSD economics professor first popped up in the airport debate in the spring, when he challenged the airport authority's forecasting of the impacts of keeping the region's international airport at Lindbergh Field. More
UCSD Disaster Drill
Fox 6 News, Aug. 23 – Fox News covers a disaster drill that took place at UCSD Tuesday. Click here to watch the video.
Wireless Network Helps
Unlock Secrets of the Universe
Space.com, Aug. 24 -- Automated telescopes are now doing work once done by tortured astronomers, and thanks to a new high speed wireless microwave network, today's digitally captured images can be beamed down from mountain observatories and quickly distributed to astronomers living thousands of miles away. Called the High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network, or HPWREN for short, it can transfer data at 45 megabits-per-second, or about 30 times faster than today's fastest DSL connections. HPWREN is staffed by researchers at UCSD’s San Diego Supercomputer Center, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD and San Diego State University. More
