uncnews.unc.edu

International Coverage

Discovery might broaden drug design
United Press International
U.S. scientists have discovered an important family of proteins, known to function at a cell's surface, also function within the cell. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists said their finding has potential implications for drug development since it involves G protein-coupled receptors -- molecules that are the target of 40 percent to 50 percent of modern medicines, such as antihistamines and drugs for high blood pressure.

10 tips for a healthy lifestyle
The Independent (United Kingdom)
...Giving your partner a hug doesn't just warm the heart, it can protect it too. A study by the University of North Carolina in 2005 found that hugging your other half for 20 seconds could lower blood pressure and reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Two cloves of garlic a day keep doctors far, far away
Pravada (Russia)
Garlic has become more popular with scientists who used to be skeptical about medicinal herbs. ...According to scientists from the University of North Carolina, people eating garlic suffer this type of cancer 70 percent less frequently.

National Coverage

Medication Under a Microscope
The Washington Post
A series of surprising findings about some of the most widely accepted assumptions in medicine has renewed debate about how aggressively doctors use drugs to prevent and treat some of the nation's leading health problems. ..."We have to be careful we don't get swept up by these swings and go too far one way or the other," said Sidney Smith, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina.

Drunken College Girls Immortalize Their Nights on Facebook
ABC News
...It appears that drunken antics are no longer a source of acute embarrassment for girls; in fact boasting to the world on social networking sites is a way to gain social standing among one's peers. ..."Brain damage, trauma injuries and the increased risk of infection by sexually transmitted diseases are long-term consequences of binge drinking," Dr. Fulton T. Crews, professor of pharmacology and psychiatry at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, told ABC News. "Education on responsible drinking and healthy life habits are important to help young individuals avoid these long-term consequences."

Drink This, Not That!
Men's Health
No matter how you pour it, we're slurping up way too many calories these days. A study from the University of North Carolina found that we consume 450 calories a day from beverages, nearly twice as many as 30 years ago. This increase amounts to an extra 23 pounds a year that we're forced to work off—or carry around with us.

Poet's Choice (Book Review)
The Washington Post
Alan Shapiro's new book contains a remarkable section headed "from The Book of Last Thoughts." Each poem presents the dying thoughts of a different character in a form appropriate to that speaker. (Alan Shapiro is the W. R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of English at UNC- Chapel Hill.)

State and Local Coverage

Benefactor gives $1 million more
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
After his recent $9 million gift to the School of Pharmacy at UNC-Chapel Hill, Fred Eshelman has contributed $1 million to support the school's Educational Renaissance initiatives. The gift attracted $1 million in matching funds from the Pharmacy Network Foundation.
Related Link:
http://www.wral.com/business/local_tech_wire/biotech/story/2453383/
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/eshelman-gift-match-net-
2-million-for-unc-pharmacy-education.html

The search continues cloaked in secrecy (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
...And then the committee goes into closed session for the next three or four hours. According to the meeting minutes, the committee goes into closed session "to consider and evaluate the qualifications of candidates under consideration." In other words, the process of selecting the next chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is being conducted almost completely in secret, away from the prying eyes of ... well, all of us.

UNC-CH might not identify finalists
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The committee searching for UNC-Chapel Hill's next chancellor most likely will not identify any finalists before making its selection. ...In Chapel Hill, the committee is leaning toward the latter approach, said Nelson Schwab, its chairman. His reasoning is common among universities that keep such information private: The promise of discretion makes many candidates more willing to apply.

Largest users cut consumption
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Many residential water customers in the Triangle have questioned whether the region's large industrial and institutional water users are doing their part to conserve. ...The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Hospitals are by far the biggest single user of Orange Water and Sewer Authority water...As part of an overall sustainability project, the university has been installing waterless urinals, dual-flush toilets, low-flow showerheads and other water-conserving technology in dormitories and other campus buildings.

Law dean seeks input on school
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC School of Law Dean Jack Boger wants the school's faculty and alumni to play an active role in changes that will culminate with the relocation of the school to the Carolina North site. "First, I intend to establish a special committee, drawn from all parts of our faculty, to lead our collective reconsideration and refinement of the School of Law's vision and mission," Boger wrote in a letter to the law school community.
Related Link:
http://www.wchl1360.com/details.html?id=5883

Sea change at work (Editorial)
The Charlotte Observer
A widely held view for much of the 20th century was that the Earth's oceans are so deep and vast that they can absorb humankind's pollution-bearing abuse without adverse consequences. ...The study was done by researchers at UNC Chapel Hill and other institutions in Canada, Great Britain and this country and reported in the journal Science.
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/science-and-technology/first-map-of-threats-to-marine-
ecosystems-shows-all-the-worlds-oceans-are-affected.html

PC PRIDE withdraws legal action
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
PC PRIDE, which took Person County to court over a County Commission vote to expand the Upper Piedmont Environmental landfill, withdrew its legal action on Monday. ...
The current site, which has been labeled dull-looking and inadequate, was a major point raised in a countywide study the middle of this decade by Jim Johnson, a professor at UNC's Kenan-Flagler School of Business.

Appetite for life: Lecture series to focus on nutrition
The Independent Tribune (Kannapolis)
The UNC Nutrition Research Institute will begin its Appetite for Life Academy next week, and demand is already high. ...The lecture series will bring faculty members from UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health to discuss how genetics and metabolism affect nutrition.

Do 'Brain Games' Really Work?
WNCN-TV (NBC/Raleigh)
There's a new trend in computer and video games for adults that give our brains a workout. ...They may be entertaining, but do they really make your brain work better? We talked with Dr. Dan Kaufer, who heads the memory disorders program at UNC. "The games that are being advertised as being useful to help maintain your brain probably do have some benefit," said Kaufer.

Americanos
"The State of Things" WUNC-FM
Do the names Bolivar, Humboldt, or Hidalgo mean anything to you? These patriots, along with many others, were key players in the Latin American wars of independence that began in the early 1800s.
Now, a book called "Americanos," by author John Charles Chasteen, fleshes out this little-known chapter of world history. Professor Chasteen, Patterson Distinguished Term Professor of History at UNC-Chapel Hill, joins Frank Stasio to discuss this important but overlooked part of history.
Note: "The State of Things" is the statewide public affairs program airing live at noon weekdays and rebroadcast at 9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays.

UNC Glee Club to host concert
The Chapel Hill Herald
The UNC Chapel Hill Women's Glee Club will host five local high school choirs in a Women's Choral Showcase at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Hill Hall Auditorium. Admission to the concert, "Making Music, Making a Difference," is free, but patrons are asked to bring non-perishable foods to contribute to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina.
UNC Event Brief:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/students/unc-womens-glee-club-womens-ensembles-to-perform.html

Open dialogue (Letters to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
I am an undergraduate at UNC-Chapel Hill, currently taking the same vertebrate embryology class as a student who objected to Professor Albert Harris' remark on abortion and Down syndrome. ...Although I may agree or disagree with Harris' opinions, the most important issue is the freedom of expression in universities. (Scott Jones, Chapel Hill.)
Related Links:
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/letters/story/951210.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/letters/story/951207.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/letters/story/951211.html
http://www.thetimesnews.com/articles/issue_10562___article.html/abort_answer.html

UNC takes precautions to keep students safe
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
The horrific events at Virginia Tech and most recently at Northern Illinois University have many on the UNC campus asking “Could it happened here?” UNC Public Safety’s Randy Young tells WCHL that the university is taking every safety measure possible.

Issues and Trends

A 'U' before 'N' in NCSA makes sense, leader says
The Winston-Salem Journal
The N.C. School of the Arts could get a “U” in front of its name. John Mauceri, NCSA’s chancellor, said yesterday that he wants NCSA to become the “University of North Carolina School of the Arts,” arguing that the new name would clear up confusion about the school, make it better known and raise its stock among donors.