uncnews.unc.edu

International Coverage

Claim: Diabetes study increases death risk
United Press International
Experts have ended part of a study which aimed to lessen diabetics' heart disease risk after they found it increased death risks, a report said. ...One study leader at the Diabetes Care Center at the University of North Carolina Hospitals said they are immediately ending that element of the study.

Smoking pot may fuel early gum disease: study; Risk is triple that of people who don't use
The Sudbury Star (Canada)
There doesn't seem to be any shortage of reasons cited as to why marijuana is bad for health. Now from the world of dentistry comes another: regular pot-smoking seems to bump up the risk of developing gum disease - and earlier in life than expected. ...In North America, "we think about periodontal disease as being a problem after the age of 35," said co-author James Beck, a professor of dental ecology at the University of North Carolina.

National Coverage

Intense Diabetes Therapy Tied to Higher Death Rates
Bloomberg News
A U.S. government study was partially halted after researchers found an increase in deaths among type 2 diabetics who aggressively tried to keep their blood sugar levels normal. ...Only half the patients hit 6.4 percent or less, even with urging of their doctors and a barrage of daily drugs and tests, said John Buse, president of the American Diabetes Association and chief of endocrinology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Surprising New Diabetes Data
Business Week
There is a critical question in medicine today: How useful are the widely accepted measures of health? ...No oral diabetes drug "has ever been shown to do anything really good for any patient," adds Dr. Nortin Hadler, professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Looking Beyond the Runway for Answers on Underweight Models
The New York Times
While a vast majority of Americans spent Sunday on a sofa watching men shaped like large appliances move a football up and down a 360-foot field, 15,000 New Yorkers, who probably wouldn’t know a pump fake from a wishbone formation, spent the day ogling women shaped more or less like coat racks move dresses up and down 400 feet of runways in Bryant Park. ...“You have to look at this as a cluster, with models as just one part,” said Dr. Cynthia M. Bulik, a professor of eating disorders at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a former president of the Academy for Eating Disorders, after Monday’s meeting, which she termed an anemic response to a major problem.
Related Link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/09/business/09thin.html?fta=y

State and Local Coverage

Death risk halts diabetes study
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A major national diabetes study was halted Wednesday after researchers found that cutting blood sugar to near normal levels in certain patients actually increased the risk of death. ...Study leaders, including Dr. John Buse at UNC-Chapel Hill, said Wednesday that 257 patients receiving aggressive treatment to cut blood sugar have died, compared to 203 deaths among patients in a control group.

Cabarrus Health Alliance looking for space
The Kannapolis Citizen
Cabarrus County's sickest and poorest people, those who seek public health care, have a lot to offer the N.C. Research Campus. ...The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill wants to collaborate with the Cabarrus Health Alliance, as well. "This is going to be an intellectual environment, and I would love to see them on campus," said Dr. Steve Zeisel, director of the UNC Nutrition Research Institute in Kannapolis.

UNC visitors to talk about death penalty
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A dramatic performance, a photography exhibit and a lecture by Sister Helen Prejean, author of "Dead Man Walking," will highlight events in February for UNC-Chapel Hill's yearlong discussion of the death penalty.
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/arts/death-penalty-project-to-present-play-
photos-prejean.html

Business Doings
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The Renaissance Computing Institute is hosting an open house today for its new Engagement Center at UNC-Chapel Hill. Visitors will learn about RENCI research collaborations and will be able to tour three research environments, The Showcase Room, The Social Computing Room and The Tele-immersion Room.
UNC Event Brief:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/campus-and-community/renci-hosts-open-
house-thursday-for-new-unc-chapel-hill-engagement-center.html

After-school program awarded $10,000 grant
The Jacksonville Daily News (Florida)
The restaurant, bakery, bank, salon and other businesses that operate at Jacksonville Commons Middle School's after-school program, MicroSociety, received an unexpected $10,000 profit. The grant from the Civic Education Consortium at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill arrived on Tuesday.

Water-poor states have conservation lessons (Letter to the Editor)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Persistent droughts and explosive growth in the Triangle lead to one conclusion: The days of easy water are numbered. ...OWASA is moving ahead with a waste water reuse project with UNC Chapel Hill. (Joel Sholtes, Carrboro)

Issues and Trends

UNC campuses consider tuition hike
News 14-TV (Raleigh)
Tuition at some schools in the University of North Carolina system could be going up again. The UNC board of governors will discuss tuition and fee increases at its meeting Thursday. University officials in Chapel Hill want to raise tuition for out-of-state undergrads by 6.5 percent while keeping tuition for in-state undergrads the same.

Easley challenges education systems to work together
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald
Gov. Mike Easley popped open his Greek mythology text book Wednesday in describing the task faced by state education leaders. ...His challenge to top officials from the UNC system, the North Carolina Community College System, the Department of Public Instruction, the State Board of Education and N.C. Independent Colleges and Universities is to find ways to better communicate and eliminate barriers to education that exist among the systems.
Related Link:
http://news14.com/content/school_news/592588/leaders-want-schoolcommunication/Default.aspx

Quick Takes
Inside Higher Ed
AGOS Japan, a company that helps Japanese students get into top M.B.A. programs, may be losing American members of its advisory board. ...A spokeswoman for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said that Sherry Wallace, director of M.B.A. admissions there, remained on the advisory board, but believed that AGOS planned to disband it.