uncnews.unc.edu

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

International Coverage

Artificial blood cells breakthrough
United Kingdom Press Association
Jelly-like synthetic particles which mimic tiny cells in size and shape may be the first step towards developing truly artificial blood, scientists believe. ... Professor Joseph DeSimone, one of the study investigators from the University of North Carolina, said: "Creating particles for extended circulation in the blood stream has been a significant challenge in the development of drug delivery systems from the beginning.
UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4200/74/

National Coverage

The Web of Babel
Inside Higher Ed
... The relationship between online learning and language instruction has a more contentious history than most. In fall 2009, just about the time when Lomicka was beginning to use Twitter to help teach French, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced it was moving all its introductory Spanish courses online, sparking a debate about where the line should be as far as using the Web to teach language. And Middlebury College raised some eyebrows last spring when it announced it was building an online-only spin-off of the Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy, its highly touted summer language immersion program.

Flexibility is power in red blood cells
The Los Angeles Times
One of red blood cells' remarkable characteristics, among many, is their ability to deform and squish their way through blood vessels -- even blood vessels tinier than they are -- to deliver oxygen throughout the body. Scientists believe this flexibility contributes to red blood cells' ability to circulate for an average of 120 days. ... Now researchers at the University of North Carolina have synthesized red blood cell-sized and -shaped nanoparticles that mimic this flexibility and longevity. The discovery may lead to the development of better methods for delivering drugs, they reported Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.
Related Links: http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=26111
http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110110/full/news.2011.6.html
UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4200/74/

Is There Really a Link Between Violence and Mental Illness?
The Wall Street Journal (Blog)
If Jared Lee Loughner is mentally ill — as some say videos he posted online suggest — did his condition play a role in his decision to shoot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others? ... Other variables, such as being young, male or a drug user are much better predictors of violence than mental illness, says Eric Elbogen, a forensic psychologist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Poor Formula: Fussy Babies Get Solid Food Too Early
Fox News
The squeaky wheel really does get the grease, or in this case, the rice cereal: A new study finds that fussy babies get introduced to solid foods earlier than laid-back infants. ... "Moms are definitely giving kids a lot more to eat than just breast milk, which is the recommended thing up to three months," study author Barbara Goldman, a developmental psychologist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina, told LiveScience. "What we're finding is that even if they're not breast-feeding and they're doing formula, they're doing formula plus other things very early."

State and Local Coverage

Top values in higher education
The Greensboro News & Record
The UNC system is well-represented in Kiplinger's annual report of best value in public higher education. First on the list, for the 10th year in a row, is UNC-Chapel Hill. Also earning notice for 2011 were N.C. State, UNC-Wilmington, Appalachian State, the School of the Arts and UNC-Asheville. Not bad considering the financial challenges lately. It's a credit to the leaders and faculty of these institutions that they can maintain academic quality at relatively low cost for students. That task won't get easier, but making affordable higher education available to North Carolina residents will help lead this state to a brighter economic future.
UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4177/68/

Pulitzer Prize winner Wilson to speak at UNC spring commencement
The Durham Herald-Sun
Edward Osborne Wilson Jr., Harvard University professor and two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction, will deliver the spring Commencement address at UNC on May 8 at 9:30 a.m. in Kenan Stadium. UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp chose Wilson in consultation with the University's Commencement Speaker Selection Committee, which is made up of an equal number of students and faculty.
Related Links: http://www.wchl1360.com/details3.html?id=17100
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/10960934/article-E-O--Wilson-to-address-Class-of-2011?instance=homefifthleft
UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4194/1/

UNC Health, BCBS plan joint facility
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Two of the state's largest health care companies are joining forces to open a new type of medical practice in the Triangle, the latest evidence that the federal overhaul law is spurring major shifts in the industry. Blue Cross and Blue Shield will collaborate with the UNC Health Care System to build a primary care facility that will coordinate care exclusively for about 5,000 Blue Cross members. The company is the state's largest health insurer. Blue Cross and UNC Health will announce the project this morning, but are still working out details. Officials want to open the practice in Durham or Orange County and expect it to be ready by later this year.

State aims for Medicaid dollars
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
State officials are seeking higher Medicaid payments for physicians and hospitals affiliated with the UNC Health Care System and East Carolina University, a move that has angered leaders at other hospitals. UNC Health and ECU officials have worked for months with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Their plan would take advantage of a federal provision that allows states to get more money for state-owned hospitals and their doctors.

Making an A really an A (Editorial)
The Greensboro News & Record
UNC-Chapel Hill isn't the only institution that's wrestling with grade inflation, but it's in the spotlight for trying to do something about it. A recent New York Times article describes the efforts of a faculty committee to redefine when an A really is an A in Chapel Hill. Statistics released last year show that about 82 percent of all undergraduate grades given in 2007 at UNC-CH were A's or B's.

Support was there from UNC officials (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
While I appreciate Gene Nichols' support of me in his Jan. 7 Point of View article ("Correcting an injustice on campus"), I want to offer some clarification. He is correct that UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp did not publicly state his support for me as he did for football Coach Butch Davis. However, the university is the body with the power to retain or fire Davis. In my case, my commanding officer was enforcing a law passed by Congress. The university had no authority to change either my disenrollment from Army ROTC or the scholarship recoupment.

Issues and Trends

Is Law School a Losing Game?
The New York Times
IF there is ever a class in how to remain calm while trapped beneath $250,000 in loans, Michael Wallerstein ought to teach it. Here he is, sitting one afternoon at a restaurant on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, a tall, sandy-haired, 27-year-old radiating a kind of surfer-dude serenity. His secret, if that’s the right word, is to pretty much ignore all the calls and letters that he receives every day from the dozen or so creditors now hounding him for cash.

California's Public Colleges Face $1.4-Billion in New Budget Cuts
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Gov. Jerry Brown of California proposed a new round of budget cuts to public colleges on Monday, a total of $1.4-billion in cuts that may lead to reductions in university enrollments and sharply higher tuition at community colleges. Mr. Brown, a Democrat in his second week in office, proposed cutting state support to each of California's university systems by $500-million to help close a state budget deficit in 2011-12. California State University would lose 18 percent of its state support, while the University of California would lose 17 percent.

New Initiative Unveiled For State Mental Health Service
North Carolina News Network
North Carolina officials have rolled out a plan to improve mental health services. The includes the use of local groups to assist with mental health services. Ran Coble with the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research said legal rulings have forced states to make changes. "Mental health reform was something that wasn't just North Carolina.