Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
National Coverage
Walking, biking to work linked with better fitness
The Associated Press
Walking or biking to work, even part way, is linked with fitness, but very few Americans do it, according to a study of more than 2,000 middle-aged city dwellers. …Crumbling sidewalks, lack of bike paths and sheer distances all keep American commuters in their cars, experts said. "I would love to bike to work, but it is completely unsafe for me to do so," said Penny Gordon-Larsen of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who led the study in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine. "There's one real small, narrow area where there's no bike lane."
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2695/71/
High Schools Seek to Curb Heat-Linked Sports Injuries
The Wall Street Journal
…Last month, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, which represents accredited trainers with a background in sports medicine, issued new heatstroke-prevention guidelines for high schools. These included recommendations to limit the duration and intensity of practice sessions early in the season and in hot weather. …In recent years, there have been about four or five heat-related deaths a year among U.S. high-school football players, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Injury Research at the University of North Carolina.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2662/71/
Regional Coverage
Biking, walking to work may keep you healthy (Blog)
The Baltimore Sun (Maryland)
We've heard it all before: the keys to staying healthy are a good diet and plenty of exercise. But just when are we supposed to make time for physical fitness in our busy lives? …Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studied about 2,300 men and women between 2005 and 2006 and recorded the length of their commute, how they got there and assessed their fitness levels with a treadmill test.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2695/71/
State and Local Coverage
Nominee has UNC ties
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The folks at UNC-Chapel Hill's medical school couldn't be happier with President Barack Obama's nomination of geneticist Dr. Francis Collins to lead the National Institutes of Health. Collins has close ties to UNC, where he started his medical career. He graduated from UNC's medical school in 1977 and then did a residency in internal medicine in Chapel Hill from 1978 to 1981.
White House News Release:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-Intent-to-Nominate-Francis-Collins-as-NIH-Director/
New Call Boxes, Lighting Aim To Make Chapel Hill Safer
WNCN-TV (NBC/Raleigh)
The Town of Chapel Hill is finishing an initiative to improve pedestrian safety around the downtown. New emergency call boxes have been put in three areas near downtown: 407 Merritt Mill Road, the corner of Church Street and Short Streets, and Mallett and Colony Court. Former UNC student body president Eve Carson initiated the project nearly two years ago before she was shot and killed in March of 2008.
Alzheimer's gene finding may pinpoint age of disease's onset
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Duke University Medical Center researchers have identified a new gene that could help pinpoint the age of onset of Alzheimer's for older patients. Dan Kaufer, associate professor in the Department of Neurobiology at UNC Chapel Hill, said the finding is important because it is a potential marker for the disease. "That's the first step that needs to be confirmed. And even if it is confirmed to be a robust predictor for the disease, the real important thing will be if it provides a therapeutic window. That remains to be seen," Kaufer said.
A scooter movement at UNC (Blog)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
At UNC Chapel Hill, there's some controversy brewing over scooters. Yes, scooters. Those mini-bikes a lot of folks use to put-put-put their way to campus. The university just began regulating them, an effort, officials there say, to keep them off sidewalks and other campus walkways.
Issues and Trends
UNCA cuts jobs, research centers
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)
UNC Asheville is cutting eight current staff jobs and closing two scientific research centers in response to an expected 10 percent reduction in state funding, university officials announced Monday. Half of the layoffs are tied to the research institutes. The university is cutting an additional 35 staff positions, transferring some employees to essential departments and eliminating vacant spots. No faculty jobs were cut. “We are trying to manage significant budget cuts while preserving the quality of UNC Asheville and its core mission of teaching and learning,” UNCA Chancellor Anne Ponder said in a statement.