uncnews.unc.edu

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

International Coverage

Senate to Consider Tax Credit for Bringing Jobs to U.S.
Bloomberg
... Douglas A. Shackelford, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, said in an interview that “like all tax legislation” Stabenow’s proposal “probably is dead on arrival before the election.”

National Coverage

HIV breakthroughs boost researchers' optimism
USA Today
Treating people infected with HIV not only helps them to stay healthy, but it also can virtually eliminate their ability to spread the AIDS virus to others, says Myron Cohen, a professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill who led this research, published in 2011 in The New England Journal of Medicine. The key is to reduce the amount of AIDS virus in a patient's body to "undetectable" levels. Achieving this reduces their risk of spreading the virus by 96%.

The AIDS epidemic: Beginning of the end?
USA Today
..."There are big gaps between what we have the potential to do in terms of prevention, and what we're actually accomplishing," says Adaora Adimora, a professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. "We need to be able to get treatment to more people who need it, and make sure that care is delivered to them properly."

Sparrows sound sexier in the cold
Discover Magazine
As first light tickles the air, songbirds croon to proclaim their territories and woo potential mates. There are many possible explanations for the timing of the beautiful dawn chorus, including the fact that sound travels further during the early hours of the day. But Michael Beaulieu and Keith Sockman from the University of North Carolina have found another for the list. It’s based on a very simple observation: dawn is often very cold. And female Lincoln’s sparrows find songs sexier if they hear them in the cold.

Milk Thistle of Little Help Against Hepatitis C: Study
HealthDay News
Many patients with chronic hepatitis C turn to an alternative herbal treatment known as milk thistle, but a new study finds that it has little effect on the liver disease. However, milk thistle doesn't appear to be harmful and it's still not clear if a treatment derived from the plant might have benefits when given through an IV drip.
UNC Release: http://news.unchealthcare.org/news/2012/july/milk-thistle-taken-by-many-people-for-liver-disease-ineffective-as-treatment-for-hepatitis-c

Can a Parent's Job Raise Odds for Birth Defects in Baby?
HealthDay News
..."Our study provides additional evidence of exposures or risk factors among men that can increase the risk of birth defects in their offspring," said lead researcher Tania Desrosiers, from the Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention at the University of North Carolina, in Chapel Hill. "In general, most of the associations we observed between occupations and birth defects were modest."

Autism survey for parents may catch disorder early
Fox News
A survey given to parents when their children are 1 year old may help identify kids at risk of autism, a new study suggests. ... Lauren Turner-Brown, of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and colleagues analyzed information from about 700 children whose parents had completed the First Year Inventory when their children were 12 months old. The survey asked 63 questions about infant behaviors, including questions about the infants' communication, imitation and repetitive behaviors.
UNC Release: http://news.unchealthcare.org/news/2012/july/questionnaire-completed-by-parents-may-help-identify-1-year-olds-at-risk-for-autism

State and Local Coverage

Higher education looks to the future (Editorial)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Making learning materials and opportunities available online is not a new endeavor in the world of higher education. Go to Apple’s iTunes U, for example, and you will find a number of offerings, from institutions including Duke University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and many other institutions. Universities have also been providing courses online for their own students for some time, and have more recently begun offering courses for the general public, for free. These are not courses for credit, but are interactive classes taught by faculty members.
Related Link: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/editor/duke-and-online-education

UNC spin-off Morphormics acquired for $5.7 million
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Accuray, a publicly traded radiation oncology company, announced Monday that it has acquired Morphormics, a company that spun out of UNC-Chapel Hill, for $5.7 million. Morphormics develops medical imaging software systems that recognize and extract anatomical structures from medical images. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Accuray has been licensing the company's software since 2008, using it to identify and draw boundaries of the prostate and other critical areas.
Related Link: http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/blog/2012/07/unc-spin-off-sold-for-57m.html

Durham metro area ranks high in specialty visa demand
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The Durham metro area had the third-highest number of requests per 1,000 workers for a type of visa that allows employers to temporarily hire foreign workers for specialty jobs, according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution. ... Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were among the top employers listed in the report for H-1B visa requests for jobs in the metro area.

A look at the Triangle's best hospitals
The Triangle Business Journal
U.S. News & World Report has released its latest rankings of the best hospitals in the Raleigh-Durham area, and Duke University Medical Center tops the list. UNC Hospitals came in second, followed by Durham Regional Hospital Durham Regional Hospital.
Related Links: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/07/17/2204218/duke-university-medical-center.html#storylink=misearch
http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/11321554/

UNC Working to Save Native Species in Galapagos
WUNC-FM
...Now, with 180,000 tourists visiting each year, experts say the living lab is in danger, and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill scientists are stepping up to help. ...Scientists also love this place, and in 2007, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill was invited to help set up a research center here. Professor Steve Walsh says UNC administrators were happy to help save a World Heritage site.

Separated by slavery, longing to reunite
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
...Using memories of former slaves, the UNC-Chapel Hill history teacher describes the wrenching partings. For instance, Thomas Jones recalled being taken away after being sold to a new owner in distant Wilmington.

Extinct Carolina Parakeet returns in Wilson Library exhibit
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Images of the exotic but now extinct Carolina Parakeet will be on display through Sept. 30 in a free, public exhibit at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the North Carolina Collection Gallery of Wilson Library.
UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5426/66/

In Singapore, fast food that’s fresh, healthy (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
I may have seen the future. In the tiny, densely populated city-state of Singapore, nearly nobody cooks. Singaporeans – masters of innovation and adaptation – eat out. All the time. Not just in full-service restaurants. The mainstay for the masses are dozens of small food stands clustered in food courts within walking distance of practically everybody. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical associate professor in the department of health policy and administration in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill.)

Sen. Kay Hagan's TREAT Act to fast track drugs to fight rare diseases
The Fayetteville Observer
A federal law that puts treatments of rare diseases on the fast track for approval has come too late for Luke and Logan Hendren of Lumberton. ... The Hendrens' doctor, Joseph Muenzer, a professor of pediatrics and genetics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said Luke and Logan's disease has progressed too far for any drug to reverse its effects.

UNC, Butch Davis' lawyer want media bid for records dismissed
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC-Chapel Hill officials and a lawyer representing former coach Butch Davis are asking a state judge to dismiss a public records lawsuit by The News & Observer and other media companies, contending all that can be made public in an NCAA investigation related to the football team has been released.
Related Links: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/07/17/2204491/unc-davis-attorneys-seek-dismissal.html
http://www.herald-sun.com/view/full_story/19357481/article-Davis%E2%80%99-attorney-seeks-to-block-release-phone-records?instance=search_results

Issues and Trends

Fixed-rate tuition can minimize college-price angst
The Washington Post
What's the greatest anxiety plaguing parents of college-age children? An educated guess? Based on my experience and conversations with students and their parents, it’s not simply how they will manage the cost of a four-year degree; but more specifically, how they will deal with the unpredictability of rapidly rising costs.

Health insurance costs for NC college students double in two years
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
The University of North Carolina system requires all students to have health insurance coverage, but the cost of a plan the system offers has more than doubled in two years. The insurance requirement started in 2010, and about one-third of students on the system's 16 university campuses buy their policy through UNC's provider, New York-based insurer Chartis. The rest of the students have other coverage, usually through their parents.

Fair taxi fares (Commentary)
The Chapel Hill News
On the heels of their triumph regulating food trucks out of town, the Chapel Hill Town Council members are poised to tackle our taxi drivers. When they are finished, will we have to go to Durham to hail a cab? Last fall, UNC Student Body President Mary Cooper petitioned Chapel Hill to regulate taxi fares. Students had been complaining that rates were inconsistent and sometimes usuriously high. She requested a mandatory flat rate or zone plan.