A Sampling of Clips for
December 11th, 2006
* UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing the University Communications Office
UCSD Study Says Argentine Ants Very Territorial
North County Times, Dec. 9 -- It wasn't hard for scientists to find the border separating two ant colonies. "You'd drive up and, before getting out of the car, you'd see the piles of dead ants," said UCSD ecologist David Holway, lead author on a new study of Southern California's Argentine ants, in a recent interview. More
Mars Attack: UCSD Professor's Novel Sees Parallel in Mayan Culture, Future Plague
North County Times, Dec. 9 – The idea is pure science fiction. A NASA mission has collected contaminated soil from Mars and is headed back to Earth. With the university that helped design the capsule blinded by grant money, one professor's warnings of a faulty hatch were ignored, and now the entire planet is in peril as an unstoppable plague hurtles onward. Yes, the story is science fiction, but not improbable, said author Marc Andre Meyers, a UCSD professor and author of "Mayan Mars.” More
Feds Targeting Employers of Illegal Workers
San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec. 10 – Federal authorities are filing charges against businesses that are exploiting cheap, illegal labor and seizing some of their assets. Officials also have rounded up undocumented workers at companies ranging from a huge pallet manufacturer with offices in California to a company that performed cleaning services for Wal-Mart stores nationwide. (Quotes Wayne Cornelius, director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at UCSD) More
Athletes Going to College Get 'Special' Treatment
San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec. 10 -- They are called “special admits” – students accepted at universities even though their grades or test scores don't meet the school's regular academic admission standards. Schools such as Air Force, Colorado State and UCSD say if applicants don't meet their standards, they are not admitted, prized recruits or not. More
For HR Directors, Earning Respect Can Be a Tough Job
San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec. 10 – You might have heard this from your employer once or you might have heard it a thousand times: Employees are our most valuable asset. If that's truly the case, why isn't there more respect for the people charged with managing those assets? The Rady School of Management at UCSD and the Chicago outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas are hoping to change that. More
For Those with Epilepsy, Knowledge Is Best Ally
North County Times, Dec. 9 – An estimated 2.7 million Americans ---- nearly one in 100 ---- live with epilepsy. But for most of them, having seizures isn't their biggest problem. It's lack of knowledge among those they encounter, and even among themselves. (Quotes Dr. Vicente Iragui, a neurologist and director of the UCSD Epilepsy Center) More
Flu Can Cost Businesses $10 Billion, and That’s Nothing to Sneeze At
San Diego Business Journal, Dec. 11 -- Considering that the flu could cost employers nationwide nearly $10 billion in lost wages this season, some local companies are bringing flu shots to the workplace. Luckily, local health advocates say that the vaccine supply is plentiful this year. (Quotes Dr. Joe Scherger, who practices at the UCSD Medical Center) More