uncnews.unc.edu

Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:

International Coverage

Surgeon removes rod from toddler's brain
United Press International
Doctors say a North Carolina toddler is a "little miracle" after surviving an unprecedented operation to remove a metal rod accidentally lodged in his brain. A neurosurgeon at University of North Carolina Hospital, Chapel Hill, removed an L-shaped part from a pressure washer embedded in 17-month-old Jessiah Jackson's head, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer reported Monday.

Regional Coverage

A fix for sun damage?
The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)
Insects have it. Rattlesnakes have it. Even marsupials such as opossums have it. But most of us mammals can't make an enzyme called photolyase, which repairs sun damage...."It really solves a very important scientific problem, and that is how electron transfer is used to repair DNA," said Dr. Aziz Sancar, a professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Medicine, who collaborated with Zhong on the research.

State and Local Coverage

Wilmington toddler rebounds after metal rod removed from brain
The Star News (Wilmington)
In a room at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, Jessiah Jackson was running around, babbling, giggling and doing everything else typical of a 17-month-old boy. There was no sign that, only a day before, he had a metal rod lodged 2 inches into his brain. In a case being touted by family members and hospital workers as a "little miracle," Jessiah is alive, alert and without any apparent brain damage after a neurosurgeon at UNC Hospitals removed an L-shaped part from a pressure washer that was embedded in the back of the boy's head.

N.C. Biotech center doles out 423K in grant money
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Four triangle institutions are getting money from the N.C. Biotechnology Center. The funding is part of nearly $423,000 in Educational Enhancement Grants the center is distributing across the state for biotech initiatives. The local institutions to benefit are Wake Technical Community College, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill and the N.C. Association for Biomedical Research. The grant program supports the design and implementation of biotech education programs in schools and school systems, community colleges, private colleges, universities and museums. It does not intended for construction, though some funding is used for equipment purchase.

100 days of eating right
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
...The Leakes admit the whole-foods lifestyle isn't easy, but it's one that more people are moving toward as the organic food market has grown, education has increased, and the economy has forced more people to eat at home, said Suzanne Havala Hobbs, a UNC-Chapel Hill associate professor who specializes in food, nutrition and health policy. "It's just now becoming more mainstreamed," Hobbs said. "We've hit a critical mass that enough people are buying these products in volume. Products that used to be in health food stores are (now) in the big grocery chains."

Issues and Trends

Tar Heels wait for NCAA to rule
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
All North Carolina can do is wait for the NCAA, coach Butch Davis said Monday at the ACC Kickoff. In the interim, the investigation into whether two players had improper contact with an agent will make the program better, Davis said. The Tar Heels, the coach included, were "naïve" about the agent-player process, Davis said. "We'll be a better program because of it," Davis said. "We will learn something about this world that's out there that maybe we were somewhat naïve about, or maybe not as educated, or maybe didn't know as much about, and I think we'll be a lot better program because of it."
Related Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/07/27/599262/acc-searches-for-respectability.html
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story_sports/8898398/article-Davis--UNC-doing-
everything-possible--to-get-a-speedy-resolution-from-NCAA?instance=main_article