A Sampling of Clips for
December 4th, 2006
* UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing the University Communications Office
Dec. 4, 2006
The Secrets of Sleep
MIT Technology Review, Dec. 4 -- Sleep is a vital part of our existence--we spend a third of our lives asleep, our memory and motor skills fade with lack of sleep, various diseases are associated with disorders of sleep--and yet no one truly knows why we need it. Scientists at UCSD hope to change that. They have developed a method of analyzing brain activity during sleep, which they say is much simpler than current techniques and could potentially be used to study a myriad of sleep disturbances. More
Prepare, then Head for Thin Air
Los Angeles Times, Dec. 4 -- As more people venture to high altitudes — for hiking, skiing or simply soaking up the view — the cases of altitude sickness are rising, experts say. Some are relatively mild, causing headache or nausea. (Quotes Dr. John B. West, editor of the medical journal High Altitude Medicine & Biology and a professor of medicine and physiology at the UCSD School of Medicine) More
EBay's Poison Pill
Forbes, Dec. 1 -- Last year, Lee Cantrell, a toxicology professor at UCSD published a study in the Journal of Toxicology documenting 121 eBay auctions of poisons over a ten-month period from 2003 to 2004. Of Cantrell’s documented auctions, 24 involved strychnine, arsenic trioxide and other poisons considered by scientists to be “super toxic,” meaning a dose of 5 milligrams or less would likely kill a human if ingested. More
Tritons Felled in Water Polo Semis
San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec. 3 -- UCSD water polo standout Ty Lackey came out of the game with plenty of scratches but little satisfaction in an NCAA tournament semifinal match against Cal. It was a rough time for the third-seeded Tritons in their first Final Four appearance since 2002, as they lost to the No. 2 Bears 17-7 at Loyola Marymount University yesterday. More
NSF Chemistry Gets New Leader
Chemical & Engineering News, Nov. 27 -- You don't have to talk to Luis A. Echegoyen long before you realize he is passionate about all things chemistry. This ability to engage people will serve the chemistry community well during his two-year term as the director of the Chemistry Division at the National Science Foundation. He joined the division in August after Arthur B. Ellis left in June to become vice chancellor for research and professor of inorganic chemistry at UCSD. More
Silence, an Alien Terrain
Boston Globe, Dec. 3 -- You know it is quiet when you become aware of the buzzing in your ears that is unmasked by the total absence of sound. Maybe you're going insane, but you swear you could hear that shooting star fall. (Mentions research by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD) More
A Tip O' the Hat to Beckett, Magritte
San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 3 -- In "All Wear Bowlers," UCSD alumnus Trey Lyford and Geoff Sobelle play two vaudeville clowns who escape from a silent film onto the stage, where they perform one slapstick bit after another as if they can't help it -- and they can't, because it's their nature. More
San Diego Scene
San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec. 2 -- Four San Diegans are among appointees this week to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's new 21-member Broadband Task Force: Bill Geppert, general manager of Cox Communications in San Diego; state Democratic Sen. Christine Kehoe; Peter Pardee, V.P. of Hughes Network Systems; and UCSD professor Larry Smarr. More