uncnews.unc.edu

International Coverage

Study Finds Anti-AIDS Drugs May Prevent HIV Infection
Voice of America
A new study involving monkeys suggests that antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV could also protect people from getting infected with the virus. ...Myron Cohen is with the University of North Carolina's Department of Medicine. "This is not, like, business as usual," said Myron Cohen. "There are 30 to 40 million people infected. There is an urgent thing for us to have better and better tools."

Magnesium Sulfate Cuts Cerebral Palsy Risk in Premature Births
Voice of America
...Cerebral palsy is caused by damage to the areas of a baby's brain that control movement and sometimes, to areas controlling speech, communication or cognitive development. Obstetrician John Thorp from the University of North Carolina says no one knows what causes cerebral palsy.
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/magnesium-sulfate-infusions-
reduce-cerebral-palsy-risk-in-preterm-births.html

Aramark looks to students, retirees for growth
Reuters (wire service)
Retirees and students are two key customer groups that food service and facilities management company Aramark Corp. RMK.N expects to drive growth in its business, a company official said on Wednesday. ...For example, at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, the company operates a sports bar.

National Coverage

Disease Fighter Turns Plane Aisle Into a Gym (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The New York Times
AS an infectious diseases specialist, I travel to Johannesburg, South Africa, and Lilongwe, Malawi, four times a year for various projects related to my work with the human immunodeficiency virus or, as we all know it, H.I.V. I also go to Ireland several times a year to forge collaborative projects between hospitals in Dublin and Lilongwe and to Trinidad/Tobago to help with their H.I.V. program. Then, of course, there are all the meetings I must attend both domestically and internationally. With all this travel, I’ve been anointed a “platinum” flier with several airlines. (Dr. Charles van der Horst is a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.)

Abuse Worsens IBS Pain
Ivanhoe Newswire
Women with a history of physical and/or sexual abuse may be more susceptible to the pain and suffering associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). According to researchers from UCLA and the University of North Carolina who conducted brain imaging studies on women with IBS, those with abuse in their backgrounds were less likely to be able to “turn off” a specific pain mechanism in the brain as women who also had IBS but didn’t have a history of abuse.
Note: Ivanhoe has a syndicated television series and its reposts are broadcast in 250 markets reaching 80 million U.S. households.

Regional Coverage

Race as an Issue Could Disappear (Commentary)
The Signal (Santa Clarita, Calif.)
Comedian Bill Maher had it right — did no one notice Barack Obama was black before South Carolina? ...There’s a lesson from history to guide us. John Charles Chasteen, the distinguished University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill history professor, in his excellent book “Americanos: Latin America’s Struggle for Independence,” says it in his prologue. Before the region’s independence struggles that began in 1807-08, mostly against Spain, the term “Americano” used to mean exclusively people of European descent. (Jose de la Isla, author of “The Rise of Hispanic Political Power,” writes a weekly commentary for Hispanic Link News Service.)

State and Local Coverage

Traveling lab gives students 'UNC experience'
The News & Record (Greensboro)
Holding $250 pipettes in their hands, AP chemistry students at Northwest High School practiced conducting simulated HIV tests on Tuesday. No, the school didn't get an influx of cash to buy expensive equipment. It got a visit from the DESTINY Traveling Science Learning Program, an initiative of UNC-Chapel Hill's Morehead Planetarium and Science Center.
UNC Media Advisory:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/destiny-science-bus/triad-students-to-get-hands-on-
lesson-aboard-unc-chapel-hills-destiny-bus.html

Students get help for testing
The Chapel Hill Herald
On a recent Monday, two fourth-grade students at Mary Scroggs Elementary School were called from their classrooms. ..."This year, with so many UNC students training, the percentage of parents will be lower," (Stuart) Phillips said. "During my first year, in 2003, I trained three UNC students; this year the number is closer to 60.

Anti-Smoking Drug Linked To Behavior Problems
WNCN-TV (NBC-17/Raleigh)
Chantix, a popular smoking cessation drug, is under scrutiny following a public health advisory from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. ...Dr. Adam Goldstein, Professor of Medicine and director of UNC School of Medicine's Tobacco Prevention and Evaluation Program, says Chantix has become popular because of word of mouth among smokers.

N.C. license laws stall a sales niche
The Charlotte Observer
North Carolina's efforts to prevent illegal immigrants from getting drivers' licenses are pinching another group: used-car dealers. ...Jim Johnson, a business professor at UNC Chapel Hill whose areas of expertise include demography and diversity, said the economic impact of the tighter rules will extend beyond the car lots, to consumer spending and labor.

Pikeville cited for financial concerns
The News-Argus (Goldsboro)
Financial practices of Pikeville's leadership failed to comply with three state laws, state treasurer's office officials informed the town this past week. ...The stamp is important for what it signifies, said David Lawrence, a professor of public law and government at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Government.

Health department gets accredited
The Times-News (Hendersonville)
The Henderson County Department of Public Health was one of the first in the state to complete a mandated accreditation program. State Health Director Dr. Leah Devlin presented the accreditation plaque Monday night at the county commission meeting. ...That was followed by a three-day visit by the UNC Institute for Public Health, which evaluated the department's documents, Devlin said.

Two plays, two successes (Review)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
After more than two decades, PlayMakers Repertory Company puts its middle name back into service with alternating stagings of two award-winning plays. ...Each is a stimulating experience, and in tandem they demonstrate the vibrancy of contemporary playwriting and the artistic heights that UNC-CH's resident professional company can achieve.
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/arts/playmakers-to-present-pulitzer-
winners-in-rotating-repertory.html

Big Ten leader to speak at UNC
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The UNC Chapel Hill School of Law will host Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delany on Thursday as featured speaker for its inaugural Carolina Law Alumni Speaker Series. Delany, who earned his undergraduate and law degrees at Carolina and was a member of the men's varsity basketball team, will present "College Sports and the Media: The Past, Present and Future" from noon-1 p.m. in the law school rotunda.
UNC News Brief:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/campus-and-community/big-tens-
jim-delany-featured-at-first-carolina-law-alumni-speaker-series.html

Mark your calendar
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The UNC-Duke-Bennett Millennium Village Project will host a lecture by Jeffrey Flug, CEO and executive director of Millennium Promise Alliance and one of Fortune 500's 10 "Faces of Philanthropy," at 4 p.m. Thursday at UNC-Chapel Hill's Gerrard Hall.

Issues and Trends

Regional rail rises from dead
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A three-county citizens advisory group agreed Monday to push for an ambitious transit expansion that would increase local and regional bus service and spend $2 billion to launch trains across the Triangle by 2020. Fifty-six miles of tracks would carry trains with commuters, students, shoppers and sports fans from Chapel Hill to Durham, Research Triangle Park, Cary, downtown Raleigh and North Raleigh.

2 indicted in assault on UNC athletes
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
An Orange County grand jury handed up indictments Monday against a man and woman charged in the alleged sexual assault of a UNC-Chapel Hill football player.