Carolina in the News Carolina in the News: Thursday, August 7, 2008
| Carolina in the News: Thursday, August 7, 2008 |
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| Thursday, August 07, 2008 | |
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Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media: International Coverage Win some, lose some Economist (United Kingdom) LAST month George Bush signed an act reauthorising PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. It provides for $39 billion to be spent on AIDS over the next five years, up from $15 billion for the past five. ... Myron Cohen, of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, is beginning a clinical trial involving 1,750 “discordant” couples (those in which one partner is infected and the other not) to see if ARVs really do reduce transmission. National Coverage For Nanotech Drug Delivery, Size Doesn't Matter--Shape Does Scientific American As nanotechnology to ferry drugs to their destinations is tested in both the laboratory and in clinical trials, scientists have made a surprising discovery about the kinds of nanoparticles that might be most effective for eventually transporting a number of different cancer-fighting therapies throughout the body. The conventional wisdom is that the smaller, the better. But that may not be true, according to a team of scientists led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (U.N.C.) chemistry professor Joseph DeSimone. DeSimone and his colleagues have shown that the shape of these microscopic drug carriers is much more important than size and can even mean the difference between whether a drug penetrates target cells effectively or ends up as a target itself, only to be destroyed by the immune system. Related Link: http://www.technologyreview.com/Nanotech/21181/?a=f UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/unc-study- shape-not-just-size-impacts-effectiveness-of-emerging-nano-medicine-therapies.html Carbon tubes, but not nano Science News Take solace, all ye who’ve grown weary of carbon nanotube promises: The latest tubes are anything but nano. ... “What this paper does show,” says Otto Zhou of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,” is that there are still a lot more new carbon materials to be discovered and explored." Wine is fine to disarm some nasty germs Associated Press Think of germs as gangsters. One thug lurking on a corner you might outrun, but a dozen swaggering down the street? Yikes. Bacteria make their own gangs, clustering quietly in the body until there's a large enough group to begin an attack. This is the next frontier in fighting drug-resistant superbugs. ... "We're trying to find the Achilles heel in drug-resistant bacteria," added Matthew Redinbo of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill -- who did find one. Redinbo's team discovered that certain osteoporosis drugs blocked one E. coli germ from spreading antibiotic-resistance genes to another. Regional Coverage Florida colleges wary of losing talented faculty The Florida Times-Union Jacksonville, Fla.) There's recent concern among some college leaders in Florida that the state's best faculty might be going elsewhere for more money. ... It wasn't specified what Bowles meant by "get your act together," but on average UNC-Chapel Hill paid its professors $138,500 last year, compared with $109,300 at UF. Rumors started to fly that UNC had "a list" of professors it wanted to steal. No such list has been confirmed, but the University of North Florida's board of trustees still discussed it at a budget meeting this summer. Provost Mark Workman said he's concerned that UNF might lose its top researchers down the road because there is less money available to match other schools' offers. State and Local Coverage Advising Corps makes mark at UNC The Chapel Hill Herald Autumn Clark is the first person in her family to attend college. When she was in high school in Martinsville, Va., college seemed like a long shot. Paulin Cheatham, an adviser from the University of Virginia, helped her sort through the "very new and very scary" maze of applications, financial aid forms and school options -- a process that landed Clark at UNC, where she is a sophomore. ... The corps, which is based in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at UNC, is dedicated to increasing the number of low-income, first-generation and underrepresented students entering and completing higher education. Breast-feeding lags among N.C. moms The News & Observer (Raleigh) North Carolina newborns run a higher risk of developing chronic health problems because a smaller percentage of mothers in this state start out breast-feeding their babies than the U.S. average. ... Dr. Miriam H. Labbok, a UNC-Chapel Hill public health professor, said higher breast-feeding rates could save the lives of as many as 50 babies a year. But she sees plenty of good news, too, including increased interest from state officials to improve North Carolina's breast-feeding rate. What's makes someone a food activist? My friend, Carol Tracy, was one. She showed you don't have to be Oprah Winfrey or a powerful legislator to be effective. Carol died in June after a brief illness. She lived in Fancy Gap, Va., moving there about five years ago from Charlotte with her husband, Dr. John Tracy, a physician with whom she shared a passion for good food, organic gardening and a simpler way of life. (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.) "NC Now" UNC-TV Newsmakers James Dean Jr., Ph.D./Dean, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School--Dr. James Dean Jr. will discuss his priorities since assuming his new position as dean of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School on August first. Dean is a professor of organizational behavior and strategy at Kenan-Flagler. He has taught there since 1997. Note: UNC-TV's interview with James Dean aired on UNC-TV on Wednesday, August 6, 2008. Triangle birthing centers abandon infant formula gifts The News & Observer (Raleigh) Two Triangle health care facilities have received awards for not giving new mothers gift bags from infant formula companies. UNC Health Care stopped distributing the bags in late June. The Women's Birth and Wellness Center in Chapel Hill never gave away the bags. The Golden Bow Awards are from the nonprofit N.C. Breast-feeding Coalition, a group of lactation consultants, nurses and other women's health professionals. Nosebleed treatment wins investors The News & Observer (Raleigh) Amy Rix is turning a technique that generations of her family have used to stop nosebleeds into a business. ... Three years ago in Chapel Hill, Rix started RemedEase to bring the lip pack to market. Rix, who is also a research associate at the UNC School of Medicine, is RemedEase's CEO and sole employee. ... Among those who see the product's potential is Randy Myer, entrepreneurship professor at UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School. Carolina Inn's wallpaper gets redo The Chapel Hill Herald The walls of the Carolina Inn are home to not only some of the most vibrant reflections of early American life, but to the university's own rich history. ... During the 1940s and '50s, in the midst of racial desegregation and accusations of being "soft on communism," UNC was under attack for being a too liberal campus. "UNC has had a reputation as being a bit liberal, but it's actually a reputation that predates this," Zogry said. "It goes back to the 1920s and 1930s when there was tension between folks who want the most progressive ideas and folks who want more traditional values." DWI cases sought by N&O sealed The News & Observer (Raleigh) Less than 24 hours after a News & Observer reporter asked to review dozens of DWI cases being held in a safe in the Johnston County Courthouse, a judge heeded a request from the state Attorney General's Office to seal the records. ... "There's nothing in the state statute to allow that," said David M. Lawrence, a professor and public records expert with the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government. End of a Trend? Some local Hispanics say as economy slows, work gets harder to find, and some think of leaving The Winston-Salem Journal Forsyth County's Hispanic population grew 8 percent last year and accounted for almost 40 percent of the county's population growth, new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show. ... James H. Johnson Jr., a professor at UNC Chapel Hill who co-wrote a groundbreaking study in 2006 on the economic effect of Hispanics in North Carolina, said he thinks that economic and immigration issues are intertwined. Dr. Melvin Levine Faces Allegations Of Abuse WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill) Dr. Melvin Levine, world renown for his accomplishments in pediatric development and also known for his abilities in the local area, is now being associated with several cases of alleged sexual abuse. The allegations came as a shock to many in the local area, and the nation, the story appeared on the front page of the New York Times Wednesday morning. Related Link: http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=6310716 Issues and Trends Harvard Endowment Aces a Brutal Year The Wall Street Journal Score another win for the Crimson. With endowments and pension funds struggling in a down market, Harvard University's endowment notched a strong gain for the fiscal year ending in June, up 7% to 9%, according to people familiar with the returns. The endowment, worth $35 billion at the close of the 2007 fiscal year, was boosted by investments in commodities, Treasurys and some strong hedge-fund performers. It was below the endowment's average annual return rate of 15% over the previous decade. Public Universities Strive to Keep Coveted Faculty Members The Chronicle of Higher Education State budget woes and a rocky economy have shaken public colleges and universities in recent years. One of the most noticeable shudders, however, has been a pervasive "brain drain" at some state institutions that face competition for their best faculty members from more prosperous institutions, both public and private. |