A Sampling of Clips for
November 19, 2002
*
UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing
the University
Communications Office
A boy, a
mother and a rare map of autism’s world
New York Times, Nov. 19, Pg. 1 –
Autism experts are studying Tito Mukhopadhyay, a severely autistic
boy who is able to explain his disorder. UCSD
researchers led by Eric Courchesne imaged the
brains of higher functioning autistic people and found that
autistic people had mixed-up brain maps. Some autistic people
have face-recognition areas in parts of the brain like the frontal
lobes. The same is true of maps that help plan movements.
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No link available online.
Slow-motion
disaster below the waves
Los Angeles Times, op-ed, Nov. 17
– Randy Olson writes about environmental groups struggle
with the shifting baseline for a degraded ecosystem. Among environmentalists,
a baseline is an important reference point for measuring the
health of ecosystems. It provides information against which
to evaluate change. Mentions a Scripps Institution of
Oceanography study by Jeremy Jackson
about the effects that overfishing had on the oceans. It was
a cover article in Science that was chosen by Discover magazine
as the most important discovery of the year.
http://www.latimes.com/la-op-olson17nov17,0,1681610.story
Algorithms
ease route at 150 nm
Electronic Engineering Times, Nov.
18, Pg. 4 – Ion Mandoiu presented work
from UCSD on the use of redundant routing segments
to reduce yield loss through defects or improper formation of
the wire segments. Mandoiu argued that the
probability of wiring defects from broken or defect-damaged
lines, poorly formed vias and the like is increasing, and that
increases in process variations render timing less predictable.
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No link available online.
Parkinson
disease coenzyme Q10 may slow progression of disability
News Rx, Nov. 18 -- Coenzyme Q10,
a potent antioxidant, appears to slow the progression of disability
associated with Parkinson disease, according to a study by UCSD
neuroscientist Clifford W. Shults and colleagues.
The study is published in the Archives of Neurology
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No link available online.
Protein
folding physics modeled at the atomic level
News Rx, Nov. 18 – Researchers at Los
Alamos National Laboratory biophysicist Angel Garcia and UCSD
researcher N. Onuchic have created the first
computer simulation of full-system protein folding thermodynamics
at the atomic level.
*
No link available online.
Harvard
biologist lured to La Jolla
San Diego Union Tribune, Nov. 19 –
Even Snyder, one of the country’s most prominent researchers
in regenerative medicine will join the Burnham Institute to
direct the Stem Cell and Regeneration program. (Quotes UCSD
professor of pharmacology Larry Goldstein).
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/tue/metro/news_1m19snyder.html
San Diego
Scene
San Diego Metropolitan Magazine, Nov.
18 -- The magazine's online Daily Business Report showcased
the move by UCSD Jacobs School's Computer Science
and Engineering department to create a course on technology
for non-engineering students, called "Fluency in Information
Technology." (CSE chair Ramamohan Paturi
is quoted).
http://dbr.sandiegometro.com/2002Nov18.lasso
