uncnews.unc.edu

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

International Coverage

Disappointment in Obama
EenVandaag ("Today") Dutch Public Television
..."Back in 2008, Barack Obama won the youth vote in the state of North Carolina pretty decisively and that was also true nationwide, where he took about 66% of that vote," said Sarah Treul, an assistant professor of political science at the University of North Carolina." To win in 2012, he's going to need to do the same thing, however the youth vote isn't as engaged as it was in 2008 and that's true nationwide."
Note: While the text and reporter's voice are in Dutch, the interviews are in English with Dutch subtitles.

US changes dose to treat public health malaise
The Times Higher Education (United Kingdom)
...Now, as anxiety mounts about real-life threats such as bird flu, a top US graduate school of public health is leading a drive to arm students with the skills they need not just to squint into microscopes in the quiet of a lab, but also to influence policy and decision-making in government and business. ...And the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health last semester began requiring an interdisciplinary introductory course.

Shutting out a world of digital distraction
The Telegraph (United Kingdom)
...College students and members of churches around the region were to be bused into the stadium event. Some were disappointed they wouldn't be able to see Obama in person. "It's pretty upsetting," said Lindsey Rietkerk, a 20-year-old junior at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

National Coverage

Postpartum Depression And Poverty: Breaking The Cycle
The Huffington Post
...Why? Because "the biggest predictive factor for postpartum depression is a history of depression in general," explained Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody, director of the perinatal psychiatry program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel HIll. And the likelihood of all depression increases as income decreases, triggered by the greater instability of an impoverished life.

Study: Ex-NFL players at greater risk for brain disease
The Los Angeles Times
...“We need to view the findings with a little caution,” said Kevin Guskiewicz, a brain trauma researcher at the University of North Carolina. At the same time, those small numbers may not reflect the reality of contemporary football play and its consequences for players, said UNC epidemiologist Steve Marshall. The majority of the study’s NFL veterans played during the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, when players were not as big or as fast as they are today.

Regional Coverage

Genes guide medication decisions, potential treatment
The Augusta Chronicle (Georgia)
...Among those speaking will be Dr. Howard L. McLeod, a professor of medicine and pharmacy at the University of North Carolina Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy. For the past few years, the university has teamed with community pharmacies in Chapel Hill to look at patients taking the anti-platelet drug Plavix, or clopidogrel, the ninth-most commonly prescribed drug in the U.S., according to the latest ranking from Drugs.com.

Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute marks 2 years in operation
The Daily Press (Hampton Roads, Va)
Two years ago, in September 2010, the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute treated its first patient for prostate cancer. ...Now, its supremacy has been disputed by some, including a 2012 University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill study, and there are no definitive or conclusive clinical studies to counter it.

State and Local Coverage

Young people working the convention, inside and outside
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
...The former president of the UNC chapter of the left-wing Students for a Democratic Society, or SDS, (Ben) Carroll was wearing a button that said, “Jobs Not Jails.” In Charlotte as press spokesman for The March on Wall Street South, he nodded to the nearby Time Warner Cable Arena, the convention venue.

A key to veterans' care deserves continued support (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
...Merely responding to this challenge is not adequate – North Carolina also will be shaped by how we lead. UNC-Chapel Hill’s Exercise and Sports Science Department is pioneering traumatic brain injury research; the N.C. Military Foundation is helping to coordinate public and private sector contributions; and the UNC General Administration’s Citizen Soldier Support Program (CSSP) is enabling mental health professionals nationwide to address veterans’ unique needs.

How do we measure organic label’s value? (Editorial)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The word is pleasant, nice-sounding with no sharp edges. It brings to mind naturalness. From the Earth. Not larded up with additives or chemicals. ...The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers “What's Dinner? Toward Understanding an Endangered Species,” an interdisciplinary honors course that takes a close look at food through the lenses of cultural, social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

Chapel Hill church raises hackles over ad on public buses; free speech an issue
Independent Weekly
...However, Frayda Bluestein, a local government expert with the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government, said the controversy does raise First Amendment concerns if town policies allow for the advertising. Bluestein said U.S. courts have already fielded suits over similar conflicts. "There are issues about pulling something if it's just merely offensive," Bluestein said. "Once you open a forum up, you have to be careful not to engage in viewpoint discrimination."