Carolina in the News Carolina in the News: Thursday, July 17, 2008
| Carolina in the News: Thursday, July 17, 2008 |
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| Thursday, July 17, 2008 | |
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Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media: National Coverage Obama predicts black voter increase, Southern wins The Associated Press If Barack Obama's historic campaign to become the first black president boosts black turnout as drastically as he predicts, he could crack decades of Republican dominance across the South. ..."It would be an important change in the dynamics of Southern politics if Obama reached his goal of increasing black voter turnout by 30 percent," said Ferrel Guillory, who tracks Southern voting as director of the Program on Public Life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. All Eyes on Oil (Blog) "The Glick Report" Fox Business Online Are you watching oil? As we speak it’s down almost another $5 dollars after the release of the weekly inventory numbers. ...This morning I talked to three excellent guests, all well respected economists and professors, about the current state of the economy. Ed Van Wesep, University of North Carolina economist, Dr. Kent Moors, Director of The Energy Policy Research Group and a professor at Duquesne University and Laurence Kotlikoff, an economist at Boston University. Note: This report aired live on yesterday's "Money for Breakfast" on Fox Business. To view a video of professor Van Wesep's appearance that was conducted live from the Carolina News Studio , please click on the following link. http://www.foxbusiness.com/video/index.html Which Drugs Do — And Don’t — Increase Fall Risks for the Elderly (Blog) The Wall Street Journal Among the underappreciated risks of growing old is the damage a seemingly simple fall can wreak. ...That’s why researchers at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill are mobilizing pharmacists in drugstores to advise older folks and their doctors on drug choices that could lower the risk. Is this the next baby boom? USA Today A record number of babies were born in the USA in 2007, according to early federal data released Wednesday that some demographers say could signal an impending baby "boomlet." ...But family demographer Ronald Rindfuss of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill says there is a bigger question looming than who's having kids. Regional Coverage Bring back the local farm The Baltimore Sun (Maryland) A woman pulled up in a Lexus at the farmers' market in Bel Air recently and approached the man who had sold her husband a bag of tomatoes earlier in the day. ...Last month, a team of University of North Carolina researchers received a grant to study the public health impact of expanding local food systems. "Among the most pressing public health problems in the U.S. today are obesity, environmental degradation and health disparities," said Alice Ammerman, director of UNC's Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/unc-to-study-link-between- sustainable-farming-and-health.html Studying The Benefits Of The Raw Food Diet The Dallas Morning News (Texas) A raw-food diet has plenty of advocates, but whether it's the right choice for a cancer patient is open to question. ..."There are only a couple dozen studies worldwide on relationships between raw-foods diets and anything else," says Suzanne Havala Hobbs, a registered dietitian with a special interest in vegetarian nutrition who has tracked the raw-foods movement. ...Still, Hobbs, who's on the faculty in the school of public health at the University of North Carolina, is far from dismissive. Mat Anderson: Combating the 'Juno Effect' The Joplin Globe (Missouri) In recent weeks, the media have been buzzing about teen pregnancy. ...Dubbed the “Juno Effect,” this positive media depiction of teen pregnancy and the impact that it is purported to have has many experts and parents concerned. Among them is Jane Brown, a journalism professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Brown runs the Teen Media Project, a group that conducted a study looking at the images seen by girls ages 12 to 14. Hints of a couch potato gene (Blog) The Seattle Post Intelligencer That's the intriguing question raised by a University of North Carolina study that suggests genetics help determine whether you're inclined toward getting lots of exercise, or just sitting around relaxing. Appears to be the case with mice, at least. State and Local Coverage Genes play role in adolescent violence The Chapel Hill Herald A new study by UNC scientists exploring the link between adolescent delinquency and genetics has identified three genes that appear to play a role in whether a child becomes involved in serious and violent crime. UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/unc-study-genetics-social- factors-combine-to-impact-delinquency.html It can be fun, but beware (Opinion-Editorial Column) The News & Observer (Raleigh) Thanks to accelerating genetic technology, the ability to live an examined life is at hand in a way that Socrates couldn't have dreamt of. Analyzing your genome at a million sites has become an afternoon's work, and complete analysis of your genetic code may soon be a reality. (James P. Evans, M.D., is editor-in-chief of Genetics in Medicine and professor of genetics and medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill.) Providers team up on care for uninsured The News & Observer (Raleigh) When Feliciana Gachuzo's son, Ricardo, cut his head and had to go the emergency room three years ago, he had to wait several hours before he could be seen. ...Gachuzo and her son are two of 800 patients enrolled in Carolina Health Net, a new attempt by Piedmont Health Services, UNC Health Care and the UNC School of Medicine to cut rising emergency room costs and streamline specialty care for uninsured patients. UNC Health Care to buy hospital The Herald-Sun (Durham) UNC Health Care System and Chatham Hospital have signed a letter of intent for UNC Health Care to purchase the 25-bed critical access facility in Siler City for $11.3 million, UNC Health Care announced Wednesday. Under the terms of the letter of intent, UNC Health Care would acquire 100 percent control of Chatham Hospital and its assets by becoming the hospital's sole corporate member. Related Links: http://www.newsobserver.com/front/story/1144135.html http://www.wchl1360.com/details.html?id=7412 Embrace the color purple (Column) The News & Observer (Raleigh) If you have a passion for purple, consider extending that preference to the foods you eat. All deeply pigmented fruits and vegetables are rich sources of vitamins, minerals and health-supporting plant chemicals, including antioxidants that add color to foods. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the department of health policy and administration in the school of public health at UNC-Chapel Hill.) Power from the sun The Courier-Times (Roxboro) Customers of Piedmont Electric Membership Corporation could be getting some “green” electricity in their homes soon, when a solar energy collection field in Caswell County goes online this fall. ...According to its Web site, www.megawattsolar.com, “MegaWatt Solar, Inc., in partnership with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, teamed with [Scandinavian] firm Scatec to develop a cost-effective and scalable solar power generator for utility-sized applications. Issues and Trends Legislature passes major anti-gang laws The News & Observer (Raleigh) The state House and Senate overwhelmingly approved a package of sweeping anti-gang measures today that include new penalties for gang-related activity. ...Two high-profile killings in the Triangle helped create the urgency to move anti-gang legislation this session, even though police have yet to confirm whether the deaths were gang-related. Eve Carson, UNC-Chapel Hill's student body president, and Abhijit Mahato, a Duke University graduate student, were shot in separate incidents. |