Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
U.S. to launch $3.2B study
Reuters (Wire Service)
A study that will cost $3.2 billion and last more than two decades to track the health of 100,000 U.S. children from before birth to age 21 will be launched in January, U.S. health officials said on Friday. … The study will begin in January when the University of North Carolina and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York start signing up pregnant women whose babies would then be followed to age 21.
UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/
unc-and-n.c.-roles-expanded-in-landmark-childrens-health-and-development-study.html
Diabetic sugar highs trigger heart disease
Chemistry World (United Kingdom)
A new study by researchers in the US and Australia could explain why diabetics are at higher risk of heart disease. They have found that the brief spikes in blood glucose levels that occur between doses of glucose-lowering drugs can trigger a biochemical response that clogs up arteries. … But John Buse, the director of the University of North Carolina's Diabetes Care Center adds a note of caution. 'This is a beautifully done set of studies in a highly artificial system that may or may not have direct relevance to human disease,' he says.
Cheerleaders are risking serious injury and death to support their teams
The Telegraph (United Kingdom)
But new research shows that cheerleaders, who once dazzled with their smiles and sequins, are at greater risk of serious injury than American football players. … Dr Frederick Mueller, a sports injury expert at the University of North Carolina, who did the research, told The Sunday Telegraph: "We are getting more and more of these cheerleading injuries, and they are pretty serious head and neck injuries. They're throwing people in the air 20 to 25 feet and trying to catch them on the way down. It's really gymnastic activity. It shouldn't be called cheerleading any more.
UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/
unc-and-n.c.-roles-expanded-in-landmark-childrens-health-and-development-study.html
National Coverage
In Governors’ Races, the Emphasis Is Local, Not National
The New York Times
In an election season dominated by the presidential race and the financial crisis, the 11 races for governor, by and large, are being swung outside the national spotlight by local issues and personalities. … But no matter who wins, the next advancing phalanx of state executives is likely to face rocky times, said Thad L. Beyle, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who studies governors. Professor Beyle said he thought a federal bailout of Wall Street would alter a crucial element of the gubernatorial chemistry: the ability to collect checks from a Washington that finds itself crimped and looking for ways and means to cut.
Giant study of how environment affects child health begins enrolling mothers-to-be in January
The Associated Press
The largest study of U.S. children ever performed — aiming to track 100,000 from conception to age 21 — will start recruiting mothers-to-be in North Carolina and New York in January. The ambitious National Children's Study aims to learn how the environment and other factors affect youngsters' health, especially development of such conditions as autism, asthma, learning disabilities, diabetes and obesity. Scientists will examine a range of factors, from the diets of pregnant women and young children to the effects of chemicals used in plastics.
Acid reflux disease hits Americans hard
The Los Angeles Times
It was 1972 when a visibly uncomfortable man leaned over the side of his bed bemoaning his indulgence with the phrase, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing." This Alka-Seltzer commercial was an early and memorable marketing effort to show how a simple pill could ease the pain of gluttons everywhere. And it was just a hint of what was to come. … There are some side effects associated with the medications, though most physicians say they are rare. Dr. Nicholas Shaheen, an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology and director of the Center for Esophageal Diseases and Swallowing at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, said acid-suppressive medications are among the safest drugs he prescribes.
Experimental philosophers emerge from the shadows, but skeptics still ask: Is this philosophy?
The Chronicle of Higher Education
"If anything can be pursued in an armchair, philosophy can," the esteemed Oxford philosopher Timothy Williamson told the Aristotelian Society, of London, a few years ago. … When several philosophers, including Stich and Joshua Knobe, an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, along with a few psychologists, including the University of Virginia's Jonathan Haidt, proposed to Oxford University Press a new journal focusing on empirical studies of moral philosophy, they got back one particularly scathing anonymous review: "
Locavore Tim Baird on sustainable eating
American Public Media's The Splendid Table
Tim Baird and wife, both Ph.D. students at UNC Chapel Hill, are participating in a year long study to see what happens when 80 percent of your diet is local sustainable food.
Regional Coverage
McCain plan may cost Northeast
The Boston Globe
John McCain's healthcare plan would bring a dramatic change to the existing system: People would get a flat tax credit worth as much as $5,000 instead of the tax break on the insurance they now get at work, allowing them more flexibility to buy insurance on their own. … "For people who are in higher-cost states, that tax credit is not going to go as far," said Jonathan Oberlander, a professor of political science and health policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Employees who live in high-cost states, he added, will also probably pay more in taxes on their health insurance benefits because their plans are likely to be worth more.
Consumer Benefits Differ for Changing Product Sizes in a Specialty Coffee Market
Kansas City infoZine
When consumers hold private information about their tastes, companies can use nonlinear pricing as a screening mechanism to induce different types of customers to buy different products. … Brian McManus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill used data from a specialty coffee market near the University of Virginia , where coffee shops follow the common practice that larger drinks have lower per-ounce prices than smaller drinks. McManus constructed a utility model to compare consumers' benefits and the shops' costs for an additional ounce of a drink.
State and Local Coverage
UNC reaches out at W. Charlotte
The Charlotte Observer
UNC Chapel Hill is reaching out to students in low-scoring Charlotte-Mecklenburg high schools. Chancellor Holden Thorp visited West Charlotte High on Wednesday to encourage students to consider continuing their education at the Chapel Hill campus. Thorp also encouraged the students to take advantage of an assistance program that might help them and other students with applications for college admission, scholarships and financial aid. Recent UNC graduates working with the Carolina Advising Corps assist students in 38 N.C. high schools, including four in Charlotte. “We want to give you the ability to decide what you love doing and the opportunity to learn to do it well,” Thorp told a group of about 50 students gathered in the school's media center.
Related Link: http://www.wchl1360.com/details.html?id=8184
UNC-CH chancellor visits ECSU
The Daily Advance (Elizabeth City)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s new chancellor had his first meeting Friday with students who will be graduating from his campus’s pharmacy program in May. Normally that wouldn’t be remarkable. But this visit with students was unusual because Chancellor Holden Thorp was in Elizabeth City, not Chapel Hill.
UNC Media Advisory: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/campus-and-community/
chancellor-thorp-to-participate-in-videoconference-pharmacy-class-at-elizabeth-city-state.html
Chancellor Holden Thorp to end his statewide tour by visiting his alma mater
WNCN-TV (NBC/Raleigh)
U.N.C. Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp is ending his statewide tour of high schools by visiting his alma mater. Holden Thorp graduated from Terry Sanford High School in Fayetteville. He will meet with students there who are part of the schools global studies program. Thorp has been traveling the state trying to show students why U.N.C. would be good choice for higher education. During his visit to Fayetteville, Thorp plans to meet with Fayetteville State Chancellor James Anderson.
Note: This story is not available online. This segment aired at 5:00 a.m.
UNC Media Advisory: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/campus-and-community/
chancellor-thorp-to-end-statewide-tour-in-fayetteville-at-his-alma-mater-terry-sanford.html
Thorp tours Elizabeth City
The Daily Tar Heel
Elizabeth City, nicknamed “The Harbor of Hospitality,” welcomed UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp on Friday when he visited Elizabeth City State University. Part of his week-long state tour, the visit allowed Thorp to collaborate with UNC-system schools and public high schools. Thorp attended an ECSU pharmaceutics class to observe the UNC-CH and ECSU Doctor of Pharmacy Partnership Program, a joint distance-education degree program. Ten to 15 ECSU pharmacy students receive their training from UNC-CH faculty via a video-teleconference and digital connection network, said UNC-CH School of Pharmacy Dean Robert Blouin, who accompanied Thorp.
UNC Media Advisory: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/campus-and-community/
chancellor-thorp-to-participate-in-videoconference-pharmacy-class-at-elizabeth-city-state.html
Tar Heel state studies (Blog)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp kicked off a weeklong tour of the state Monday by hanging out with some students in an honors science research class at Chapel Hill High School. In a suit and Carolina blue tie, Thorp was a bit overdressed for a high school class where even the teacher, Tom Herndon, wore a T-shirt and shorts. Carolina's new boss eased into things by asking students about their ongoing science experiments and talking up the university. He hit on a number of UNC's signature programs, espousing the virtues of study abroad, the hard sciences and undergraduate research.
Peeling the Orange
The Chapel Hill Herald
He's a scientist. He's an entrepreneur. He's a musician. And now he's a blogger. Oh, and he's also the chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Talk about multi-tasking. Holden Thorp has launched a new blog, holden.unc.edu, and is using it to share insights and images from his current tour of North Carolina.
UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/campus-and-community/chancellor-thorp-debuts-blog-during-state-tour.html
UNC eyes new campaign with $4 billion goal
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Ten months ago, UNC-Chapel Hill wrapped up a record $2.38 billion fundraising campaign with a thank you to donors. Now, plans are in motion to start hitting them up again. The next target: a stunning $4 billion, which would put the university in rare company. Only three universities have taken on campaigns that large, and UNC-CH will be the first public institution to do so. The campaign could start next year, according to a recent memo written by Matt Kupec, UNC-CH's vice chancellor for university advancement.
Related Link: http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/3677554/
Raynor’s big project (Opinion)
The Daily Tar Heel
J.J. Raynor has taken on a project that seemed too big, even for the student body president. She and Trustee John Ellison have embarked on an ambitious campuswide effort to review the major issues the University faces and then find solutions. A primary goal seems to be to talk to as many people as possible. Turns out with Raynor, that’s a lot of people. Since August, she and Ellison have met with and gathered feedback from more than 130 faculty members, administrators and staff. And they’re just getting started.
Wachovia to be split?
The Charlotte Observer
After a weekend of legal wrangling over Wachovia's fate, Citigroup and Wells Fargo were negotiating Sunday night under pressure from regulators to reach a compromise that could essentially carve up the Charlotte bank among the two feuding buyers. … There are several ways the legal battle could unfold, said Thomas Lee Hazen, a law professor at UNC Chapel Hill. For example, a court could find in Wachovia's favor if it rules the bank's board of directors had a fiduciary duty to their shareholders that trumps the terms of the contract, he said. If the court does rule in Wachovia's favor, it would likely say Wachovia and Wells Fargo can go ahead with the merger but that Citi could still sue for damages. In another possible scenario, there could be more out-of-court negotiations, Hazen said.
Experts weigh likelihood of N.C. oil drilling
The Charlotte Observer
Forty-five miles off Cape Hatteras, Chevron USA said a decade ago, lay a colossal gamble that sounds sweet today. … Rising prices could entice the companies to return to the N.C. coast, said Louis Bartek, who studies sediments and rock strata at UNC Chapel Hill. "There's definitely a possibility, because drilling, seismic and imaging technology is way ahead of where it was then," he said.
UNC and N.C. roles expanded in landmark children’s health and development study
Associated Press
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has added three more areas of North Carolina and is expanding the role played by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in a long-term, wide-ranging study of the nation’s children. The NIH has announced that it will add Burke, Cumberland and Durham counties to the National Children’s Study, which explores causes of health problems such as premature birth, birth defects, autism, obesity, injuries, heart disease, asthma and developmental delays.
Related Links: http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/nationworld/washington/15-995178.cfm?
http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=306408
UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/
unc-and-n.c.-roles-expanded-in-landmark-childrens-health-and-development-study.html
So, med student, how does it feel to be old?
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Older patients in hospitals and nursing homes have often been treated with disrespect, stripped of their identities and wrongly diagnosed. As part of efforts to discourage such treatment, medical students at UNC-Chapel Hill recently got their own taste of how it feels to be old. …"We can teach people in multiple ways — giving a lecture about caring is, in my mind, not the best way to underline that issue," said Dr. Jan Busby-Whitehead, chief of the division of geriatric medicine at UNC-CH.
UNC researchers publish breakthrough finding on water, nanotubes
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
A fresh discovery about the way water behaves inside carbon nanotubes could have implications in fields ranging from the function of ultra-tiny high-tech devices to scientists' understanding of biological processes, according to UNC Chapel Hill researchers. The findings, published in Friday's issue of the journal Science, relate to a property of so-called "nano-confined" water — specifically, whether hollow carbon nanotubes take in the liquid easily or reluctantly, depending on their temperature.
UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/science-and-technology/
unc-study-on-properties-of-carbon-nanotubes-water-could-have-wide-ranging-implications.html
Grant to expand teacher program
The Chapel Hill Herald
A $1.25 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education will expand a new fast-track teacher program at UNC to include mathematics and geological sciences. UNC's Baccalaureate Education in Science and Teaching (UNC-BEST) program, launched this fall, is a collaboration between Carolina's College of Arts and Sciences and School of Education.
Note: this article is not available online
UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/students/1.25-million-expands-unc-fast-track-teacher-program.html
We Checked It Out – County property and political ads
The Burlington Times-News
A recent political television advertisement featuring Sheriff Terry Johnson and county property is in keeping with a state law about use of county property in political ads, a legal expert says. But the sheriff's appearance on behalf of District 24 Senate candidate Rick Gunn paves the way for other candidates who might want to film an ad at the same location, says state election law expert Bob Joyce, a lawyer and faculty member of the UNC School of Government in Chapel Hill.
Remedies from campaigning 'docs' (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
If you or anyone in your family figures on ever becoming sick or injured, or stands to benefit from preventive medicine — in other words, if you're a human being — then there should be no mystery why the issue of health care hovers over American politics. … Writing for the current issue of the authoritative New England Journal of Medicine, health policy expert Jonathan Oberlander of UNC-Chapel Hill compares the McCain and Obama remedies.
The other urgent matter (Opinion)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
We are, to put it mildly, amidst a breathtaking presidential election. The most compelling and inspirational candidate in four decades appears poised to loosen the bounds of history. Yet a recent Associated Press poll claims "racial attitudes" of white voters will dramatically burden his prospects. The financial system seems ready to implode. We're instructed to embrace, once again, a stunning economics — cutthroat, high-risk, take-no-prisoners, windfall capitalism on the way up; and smooth, silky, safety-net socialism on the way down. All the while, a war continues in Iraq, initiated in violation of international law and American ideals, where over 4,000 of our patriots have lost their lives.Gene Nichol is professor of law at UNC-Chapel Hill and a former president of the College of William & Mary
DVD rattles Islam's apostles
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Since the terrorist strikes of Sept. 11, 2001, Muslims in the Triangle and across the United States have lived under a shadow, wondering whether their faith would be blamed for the acts of a few. … Omid Safi, professor of Islamic Studies at UNC Chapel Hill, who has watched the DVD several times, says it gives the impression of Muslim followers "as a block of humanity that has a virus that's mutating and spreading in the population."
Our City: Winston-Salem is focus of forums
The Winston-Salem Journal
Three forums, collectively titled "Seeing Our City: The Art of Defining a Place," will be Thursday evenings through Oct. 23 in Babcock Auditorium at Reynolda House. Each starts at 7 p.m., is free and open to the public. For more information, call 336-758-5150. Reyolda House will also present Portals of Discovery courses in conjunction with "Seeing Our City." See more in the Art Briefs, above. … The speaker, James Johnson, is an authority on urban development and social justice. Johnson is also a fellow of the Urban Land Institute, the director of the Urban Investment Strategies Center and a professor at the Kenan Flagler School of Business at UNC Chapel Hill.
Burn survivors share stories at congress in Raleigh
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
This week, the city's new convention center has been a place to hear stories of people facing unimaginable physical and emotion trauma. … Megan Geerling, a fund development coordinator with the Phoenix Society, said the Triangle is attractive to the group because of the presence of the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center at UNC-Chapel Hill. The center is one of about 129 burn centers across the country.
Bits about knitting, weaving and leaving
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
…The other venture is Hats With Heart, which collects hats for chemotherapy patients of all ages. The group held its fifth annual awards ceremony Friday, awarding prizes in eight categories. Based at Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at UNC, the program is coordinated by Pam Baker, the resource coordinator for The Patient and Family Resource Center. A second-degree black belt in tae kwan do and a cancer survivor, Baker helps patients navigate resources while undergoing treatment.
KPMG chairman to speak
The Chapel Hill Herald
The head of an international accounting firm will kick off the 2008 season of the Dean's Speaker Series at UNC Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 28. Timothy Flynn is chairman of KPMG International, a Switzerland-based global network of firms providing audit, tax and advisory services, and is also chairman and chief executive of KPMG LLP, the U.S. member firm. He has held key leadership positions within the firm and serves as client-service partner for several of KPMG's largest clients.
UNC Event Brief: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/business/kpmg-international-ceo-to-open-unc-kenan-flagler-speaker-series.html
Black filmmaking is exhibit's focus
The Chapel Hill Herald
"Black Dreams and Silver Screens: Black Film Posters, 1921-2004," will be the title of an exhibit opening Thursday at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History at UNC Chapel Hill. The exhibit, on display through Dec. 5, will feature more than 65 original posters, rare vintage lobby cards and one-of-a-kind materials from the earliest days of black filmmaking, and from classic films with all-black casts.
UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/arts/exhibit-talk-to-profile-black-cinema.html
Simulated village photos shown
The Chapel Hill Herald
Photographs of simulated Iraqi and Afghan villages on U.S. military bases will be displayed beginning Tuesday by the Center for the Study of the American South at UNC Chapel Hill. The simulated villages are used by the military to train troops before deployment. The soldiers interact with actors portraying villagers, actors who are often recent immigrants who have fled the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
UNC Event Brief: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/arts/photos-show-militarys-simulated-villages-for-training.html
Forum to focus on journalism
The Chapel Hill Herald
Journalism professionals at a UNC Chapel Hill forum will examine the uncertain future of journalism. The UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the National Press Club will host a free, public forum on the subject at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the school's Carroll Hall auditorium Panelists will include Orage Quarles, publisher of The News & Observer of Raleigh; Penny Muse Abernathy, UNC's Knight Chair in journalism and digital media economics; Deborah Potter, executive director of NewsLab; and Jim Hefner, former vice president and general manager at WRAL TV 5 in Raleigh.
UNC Event Brief: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/business/unc-journalism-school-national-press-club-to-host-forum-on-the-future-of-news.html
Pulitzer Prize winner to speak
The Chapel Hill Herald
Pulitzer Prize winner James McPherson, American history professor emeritus at Princeton University, will speak about Abraham Lincoln as commander-in-chief at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23 in Wilson Library at UNC Chapel Hill. An expert on the Civil War, McPherson will discuss his new book, "Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief," in the free public talk.
UNC Event Brief: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/arts/lecture-to-profile-abraham-lincoln-as-commander-in-chief.html
Honorables
The Chapel Hill Herald
Cynthia Bulik, director of UNC's Eating Disorders Program, has received the 2008 Price Family Award for Research Excellence from the National Eating Disorders Association. The association cited Bulik for her outstanding contributions to the understanding of eating disorders.
UNC Research Brief: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/
unc-eating-disorders-program-director-receives-national-research-award.html
Honorables
The Chapel Hill Herald
Robert Parr, a professor emeritus of chemistry at UNC, has been awarded the 2009 Award in Theoretical Chemistry from the American Chemical Society. The award recognizes innovative research in theoretical chemistry that either advances theoretical methodology or contributes to new discoveries about chemical systems.
UNC Research Brief: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/science-and-technology/unc-quantum-chemistry-pioneer-wins-top-award.html
Film Briefs: Filmmaker, animator to be at Salem College
The Winston-Salem Journal
Francesca Talenti, a filmmaker and animator on the faculty of UNC Chapel Hill, will give a free presentation at 7 p.m. Monday at Salem Fine Arts Center at Salem College. She will discuss and show several of her works, including Rain and excerpts of Dreams of Liquid Memories, Genesis: Mishaps in the Kitchen and Full Fathom Five.
Issues and Trends
Petition opposes airport
The Chapel Hill News
A group of residents plans to present a petition to the Orange County commissioners Tuesday asking the county to fight any taking of rural land for a future airport. The group, Preserve Rural Orange, says it has collected 1,100 signatures on the petition. It is most concerned about a site in White Cross, in southwest Orange County, identified in a 2005 study as a top candidate for a general aviation airport. University officials say the 2005 Talbert & Bright study identified sites on a preliminary level only and that the residents' concern is premature.
New airport plan hits turbulence (Opinion)
The Chapel Hill News
UNC, in its effort to build a new airport in Orange County, might want to borrow a page from the U.S. House of Representatives, which last week took a mulligan on the economic bailout package.
Related Link: http://www.chapelhillnews.com/opinion/story/18279.html
Town Officials Hope To Take Back Halloween
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
The town of Chapel Hill wants a lower-scale Halloween celebration this year. Town officials are about to finalize plans to make the event smaller, Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil said. On Friday he helped launch the “Homegrown Halloween in Chapel Hill” campaign.
Related Link: http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/orange/10-995519.cfm