A Sampling of Clips for
July 7, 2006
* UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing the University Communications Office
A Dash of Mysticism:
Governing Bolivia the Aymara Way
Wall Street Journal, July 6 — Many Aymara intellectuals say they want to re-create in the 21st century the values of the communal Eden they believe existed before the conquest, a place without poverty or oppression. According to a new study by Rafael Núñez, a cognitive scientist at UCSD, the Aymara is the only studied culture for which the past is linguistically and conceptually in front of them while the future lies behind them. More
The Artist as Mad Scientist
Salon, June 22 -- She is an intellectual and emotional storm. Her renowned public artworks are reshaping the ways we think about science. Activist, environmentalist and former rock promoter Natalie Jeremijenko turns the art world upside down. She also has held academic positions at NYU and Yale and currently is an assistant professor in visual arts at UCSD. More
Wildfire Increase Linked to Climate
Los Angeles Times, July 7 -- Rising temperatures throughout the West have stoked an increase in large wildfires over the past 34 years as spring comes earlier, mountain snows melt sooner and forests dry to tinder, scientists, including researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD, reported Thursday. More
Bud on Tap
ScienceNOW, June 30 -- Ever since Charles Darwin and his son Francis noticed that plants with severed tips don't grow towards light, scientists have known that plants somehow control their own growth. The mechanism, discovered in the 1920s, turned out to be controlled by hormones called auxins. Now, a UCSD study identifies a class of genes that determines exactly where and when these hormones are released. The new insights could help breeders more accurately control the size and character of plants. More
Similar stories in:
UPI
Mutations Studied in Florida Beach Mice
UPI, July 6 -- U.S. biologists say the discovery of genetic mutations in Florida Beach mice suggests mammoths that once roamed the Earth had both light and dark fur. UCSD scientists say they found the main color differences among Florida's mice -- darker on the mainland, but lighter on the barrier islands to blend in with the white sand dunes -- are largely due to a simple genetic mutation. More
Similar story in
BBC
New UCSD Program
to Fight Drug-Resistant Bacteria
Infection Control Today, July 6 -- In response to the major public health threat posed by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, researchers at UCSD are launching a new program to develop novel antibiotics – from initial discovery, through development and testing, to clinical trials. More
Ethics on the Brain
Science & Spirit, July-August 2006 -- The tension between the idea that a person can decide what to do and then be held responsible for that action and the idea that brain function or dysfunction has a direct and possibly uncontrollable influence on one’s behavior is a recent variation on the centuries-old philosophical discussion of free will versus determinism. (Quotes UCSD philosopher Patricia Churchland) More
Farmers: Immigration Debate Misses Point
NBC San Diego, July 5 -- While Republican leaders debated immigration policy in Imperial Beach Wednesday, local farmers said an important component was left out of the discussion. Congressional leaders said the agenda dealt only with border security, not with immigrant labor or guest worker programs, and local farmers should not be allowed to attend. (Quotes Jeffrey Davidow, of UCSD’s Institute of the Americas) More
