A Sampling of Clips for
January 26th, 2007
* UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing the University Communications Office
Scientists Tie Part of Brain to Urge to Smoke
The New York Times, Jan. 25 -- Scientists studying stroke patients are reporting that an injury to a specific part of the brain, near the ear, can instantly and permanently break a smoking habit, effectively erasing the most stubborn of addictions. People with the injury who stopped smoking found that their bodies, as one man put it, “forgot the urge to smoke.” (Quotes Dr. Martin Paulus, a psychiatric researcher at UCSD) More
Similar story in
San Francisco Chronicle
More Deaths May Follow
More Frequent Heat Waves
Contra Costa Times, Jan. 26 -- As the average temperature rises, heat waves likely will become more frequent and more intense, which could mean tens of thousands of heat-related deaths each year in the United States at a multibillion-dollar cost. (Mentions a 2004 study led by Daniel Cayan of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) More
Whale Worm Sperm Factories
Science, Jan. 26 -- Five years ago, researchers were thrilled by a decomposing whale carcass they found on the floor of California's Monterey Canyon, 2900 meters underwater. The carcass was home to a thriving community of bacteria-filled tubeworms, called Osedax, embedded in its decaying bones. At the meeting, marine biologist Greg Rouse of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD, reported finding at least nine Osedax worm species on these carcasses. More