A Sampling of Clips for
June 27, 2006
* UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing the University Communications Office
Does This Mean People
Turned Off, Tuned Out and Dropped In?
The New York Times , June 27 — Back in the 60's, when cognitive science was a popular amateur pursuit and experimental protocols often involved multicolored buses, light shows and infinitely long guitar solos, Richard Fariña, the brother-in-law of Joan Baez, wrote a book called "Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me." Now, 40 years after the book's publication, some professional UCSD researchers have written "With the Future Behind Them," an article in the journal Cognitive Science that sounds from the title as if it might be a sequel to Mr. Fariña's work. More
More Human than Human
PBS, June 26 -- Pictures of the human body fill our TV screens, magazines, billboards, almost our every waking moment. Through the ages artists have been obsessed with the human form. The range of bodies they have created is breathtaking, but yet they share one thing in common... none of these images resembles a real human being. So why is our modern world dominated by images of the body that are unrealistic? (Includes a Q&A with UCSD neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran) More
Buyers in More Markets
Find Housing out of Reach
USA Today, June 27 -- Cortney Henderson's story points up the extremes to which some Americans are now willing to go to buy a home in some of the most overheated markets. Since 2000, the cost of a home has more than doubled in about 30 major metro areas, including Washington, New York, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Diego and Atlantic City. In seven U.S. cities, the median home now costs more than a half-million dollars. Henderson is a researcher at UCSD. More
A Way with (Rare) Words
San Diego Union Tribune, June 27 -- At UCSD,
a group of linguistics graduate students recently wrapped up a two-year investigation of an esoteric language few others had studied: Moro, one of dozens of tribal tongues spoken in the Nuba Mountains of Central Sudan. More
The Bay State's Brain Drain
MSNBC, June 25 -- Massachusetts has long prided itself on being America's classroom, a state that attracts college students the way Florida attracts sun worshipers. But that pride rests on an increasingly shaky reality: Not only are fewer students coming here, but more of its sons and daughters are leaving for their diplomas. (Mentions UCSD) More
Supercomputer Predicts
Shape of Sun's Corona
New Scientist, June 26 -- The state of the Sun's atmosphere has been predicted with unprecedented accuracy five days in advance, using some of the world's fastest computers. The simulation lays the foundation for better forecasts of hazardous magnetic storms around Earth. The calculations were performed on supercomputers at NASA's Ames Research Center and the San Diego Supercomputer Center, both in California, US. More
UCSD Professor Named President of the American Society of Gene Therapy
San Diego Daily Transcript, June 26 -- Theodore Friedmann, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Center for Molecular Genetics at UCSD’s School of Medicine, has been named president of the American Society of Gene Therapy. More
Sanders Outlines Holiday Safety Plans
San Diego Union-Tribune, June 26 -- Paramedics on bicycles will patrol the beaches during the long 4th of July weekend as part of the city's efforts to cope with the large crowds expected, Mayor Jerry Sanders said Monday. He and other city officials warned residents to take steps to avoid sunburns, dehydration and alcohol-related mishaps, all of which are frequent dampers on the holiday's celebrations. Most injuries are preventable, said Dr. James Dunford, the city's director of emergency medical services and an emergency room doctor at UCSD. More
People Skills Make Engineer a Success
San Diego Union-Tribune, June 27 -- You might be an engineer if you think in “math” – or so goes a joke making the rounds on the Internet. But Peggy Johnson is one high-profile engineer who doesn't fit the stereotype. She thinks in terms of “people.” Johnson sits on the board of the UCSD Cardiovascular Center. More
