Carolina in the News Carolina in the News: Tuesday, August 5, 2008
| Carolina in the News: Tuesday, August 5, 2008 |
|
| Tuesday, August 05, 2008 | |
|
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media: International Coverage Shape of nano particles adds edge to cancer therapy Sindh Today (Pakistan) In nanotechnology, size does matter, but shape even more so. It has a vital bearing on treatment of cancer, diabetes and arthritis, says a new study. A team of researchers led by Joseph DeSimone, professor of chemistry in University of North Carolina (UNC), has demonstrated that nanoparticles designed with a specific shape, size and surface chemistry behave differently within the cells depending on these attributes. 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 Swiss statement that ‘undetectable equals uninfectious’ creates more controversy in Mexico City Aidsmap.com (United Kingdom) Science took a back seat to politics during one of the most controversial sessions of the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City – one that took place hours before the conference had officially opened. ... Professor Myron Cohen of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill took a more balanced view. Although he said that there was a “very strong biological plausibility” for the scientific conclusions of the Swiss statement, he was unable to agree with the Swiss assessment that the risk of transmission on successful treatment with no other STIs was 1 in 100,000. “I don’t know the actual degree of [treatment’s] benefit or [its] durability,” he said. Theory 'fuelling misperceptions on HIV' The Star (Johannesburg, South Africa) The standard method for assessing the risk of HIV infection through heterosexual intercourse could be wrong, according to a study to be presented at the International Aids Conference. ... But the measurement is based on stable couples where there is a low prevalence of risk factors, according to an overview of the published evidence, led by Kimberly Powers of the University of North Carolina, US. National Coverage Lilly Diabetes Drug Shows a Life-Extending Promise The New York Times Can Byetta, an injectable drug that lowers blood sugar, really help people with diabetes to live longer? ... “Januvia has been effectively marketed in the primary care community,” said Dr. John Buse, vice chairman for the Accord study and professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “I think there is some misunderstanding about the relationship between Januvia and Byetta among primary care providers.” Ethics of Studies in Poor Countries Lead to Call for New Regulations The New York Times Even something as apparently innocuous as health surveys can raise tricky moral questions when conducted in poor countries, researchers wrote in this month’s Bulletin of the World Health Organization. ... The article, by a bioethicist and a population geographer from the University of North Carolina, calls for new ways to regulate surveys. Many long-term surveys are done in small regions in Africa and Asia. They have led to advances like understanding the importance of breast-feeding, oral rehydration for diarrhea and vaccines for measles and tetanus. The Best Academic Library Program in North America Is ... The Chronicle of Higher Education Bragging rights for having the best library-science program in the United States and Canada — if a market-research-firm survey limited to 75 universities confers bragging rights — belongs to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. ... After the Illinois school, the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill tied for second place. Regional Coverage Paying homage to what's vanished in Beijing's race to modernize The Boston Globe A classic of the "When the Going Was Good" genre - the phrase is Evelyn Waugh's - is titled "In Search of Old Peking," an evocation of a then-vanishing culture written in the 1930s by two longtime foreign residents in the city, L.C. Arlington and William Lewisohn. ... The Mao-era destruction of the massive walls that had defined Beijing, writes urban planner Thomas J. Campanella in "The Concrete Dragon" (Princeton Architectural Press), "surely ranks among the greatest acts of urban vandalism in history. ... At some point in reading these books, Bostonians of at least a certain age will think, "West End," and they will be both right, and wrong, writes Campanella, a professor at the University of North Carolina who has taught at MIT and in China. As cost to treat cancer rises, guidelines lend a helping hand Pittsburgh Business Times At a time when one prescription can cost as much as $100,000 a year, standardized steps for treating cancer, developed in Pittsburgh and elsewhere, have become the big gun in holding down drug costs. ... Most doctors can agree on what first-line drugs to use in treating cancer, according to Dr. Howard McLeod, director of the Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. But physician training and experience often dictate what drug is prescribed if the first line fails. High School Football Players Practice In The Heat KEYE-TV (CBS/Austin, Texas) The dangerous heat was on coaches’ minds as the first day of practice for football season got underway. In Austin, the temperature was over a hundred for the 43rd time this year, tying a record set in 2000. ... According to a study at the University of North Carolina, 33 high school players have died across the country from heat stroke since 1995. We did a little research and found the 43 straight one hundred temperature days isn’t the record; back in the 1920s, Austin temperatures topped 100 degrees 69 times. UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/unc-report- heat-related-deaths-in-high-school-football-players-dip-but-all-are-preventable.html State and Local Coverage Research takes nanoparticles a step further The Herald-Sun (Durham)/ The Chapel Hill Herald In the budding field of nanotechnology, scientists already know that size does matter. But now, researchers at UNC have shown that shape matters even more -- a finding that could lead to new and more effective methods for treating cancer and other diseases, from diabetes and multiple sclerosis to arthritis and obesity. A team of researchers led by Joseph DeSimone, Chancellor's Eminent Professor of Chemistry in UNC's College of Arts and Sciences and William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering at N.C. State University, and Stephanie Gratton, a graduate student in DeSimone's lab, have demonstrated that nanoparticles designed with a specific shape, size and surface chemistry are taken up into cells and behave differently within cells depending on these attributes. 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 UNC, China team up to deal with nation's growing pains The Chapel Hill Herald As China gears up for the Beijing Olympics, a burgeoning relationship between U.S. and Chinese social workers is helping ensure that the world's most populous nation can deal with its growing pains at the same time that it's coming of age. ... To help address the issue, the UNC's School of Social Work has formed a partnership with the School of Social and Public Administration at the East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai. The two institutions recently formalized the relationship with a five-year joint "memorandum of understanding." UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/ unc-school-of-social-work-helps-china-tackle-growing-pains.html Students take a digital field trip The Chapel Hill Herald For many, the great outdoors offers an asylum from the glare of computer screens and the ringing of cell phones, an excuse to cut ties with the technology that seems to rule our lives. But a new UNC botany program aims to do exactly the opposite, linking the worlds of nature and technology. As 14 local college students traipsed through the N.C. Botanical Gardens Friday morning, they observed nature not just with their eyes and ears, but also with their cell phones and digital cameras. The students will upload the images they snap onto social networking sites, which allow them to share, study and discuss what they observed on their visit. Note: Not available online Preventing heat-related deaths on the field WTVD-TV (ABC/Raleigh) Frederick O. Mueller, Ph.D., professor of exercise and sports science in the College of Arts and Sciences at UNC says heat-related deaths on the football field are preventable. Coaches should make sure players break often to rehydrate and cool off. Other recommendations from the study include players weighing themselves before and after practice to make sure they are not loosing too much water weight and for players to rest 15 to 20 minutes for every hour of practice. UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/unc-report- heat-related-deaths-in-high-school-football-players-dip-but-all-are-preventable.html Old East and Old West get new touch The News & Observer (Raleigh) UNC's Old East dormitory is shrouded by scaffolding as it undergoes renovations that began in May. The building, which was started in 1793, and its companion, Old West, built in 1823, are getting new copper roofs and gutters, new bathrooms, new heating and cooling systems and added safety features. The dormitories are scheduled to reopen in summer 2009. 'Celebrity' arrives in Kannapolis: One of world's strongest magnets installed at research campus Salisbury Post The N.C. Research Campus took delivery Monday on the Avance II 950 US2, one of the world's strongest magnets and the celebrity occupant of the Core Lab basement. The instrument, a 950 megahertz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometer with the strongest actively shielded superconducting magnet in the world, puts the Research Campus at the forefront of the biotechnology industry even before scientists in downtown Kannapolis have conducted a single experiment. ... Campus tenants like Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and N.C. State University will rent time on the machines. Issues and Trends State behind in spending on public colleges The Boston Globe Massachusetts ranks near the bottom nationally in state spending on public colleges and universities, new statistics show, a shortfall blamed in part for tuition increases and deteriorating campuses and for undercutting the system's quest to achieve greater national prominence. At $1.1 billion, the state's recently approved annual budget for higher education pales in comparison with that of many other states. North Carolina, for example, spent more than three times that amount last year, and Pennsylvania allocated about twice as much. Alabama, Kentucky, and Louisiana all invested substantially more. Take stand against crime at Night Out (Opinion) The Chapel Hill Herald Turn your porch light on, grab a chair and a friend and take a walk tonight during Neighborhood Night Out. The event will be held at the Hargraves Community Center at 6:30 p.m., and is being sponsored by the Northside and Pine Knoll community watch groups and will be held in cooperation with the Chapel Hill and Carrboro Police Departments. ... Eve Carson was shot and killed in a beautiful, upscale neighborhood near campus. A couple of young men were robbed during the day in downtown Chapel Hill. A woman was robbed during the day near University Mall, and a teenager was robbed during the day at the Timberlyne Shopping Center while getting money out of an ATM. |