Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
National Coverage
Hundreds of Genes May Influence Your Height
HealthDay News
Height is determined not by a single "short" or "tall" gene but by many genes working in concert, says an international team of scientists that has identified hundreds of height-influencing genes. "While we haven't explained all of the heritability of height with this study, we have confidence that these genes play a role in height and now can begin to learn about the pathways in which these genes play a role," study co-author Dr. Karen L. Mohlke, an associate professor of genetics in the University of North Carolina's school of medicine, explained in a news release.
Payday Lenders: How Wall Street's "Undercover Brothers" Exploit Minorities
The Huffington Post
…Defenders who suggest that payday loans are designed to help people with one-time cash flow problems should read a study from the University of North Carolina entitled "Payday Lending: A Business Model That Encourages Chronic Borrowing." These lenders know exactly what they're doing when they trap people into a long-term debt cycle at 450% interest. It's a common practice to offer cheap loans to first-time borrowers, for example, to begin the entrapment process.
State and Local Coverage
Advancing science with big teams, big money (Book Review)
The Charlotte Observer
…"The days when a single scientist worked alone or with a small group over many years to produce a body of work worthy of a Nobel Prize are mostly past," according to the authors of "Engines of Innovation." Big teams funded by big money are what's needed. And the best place to find those resources are in the country's big research universities. Perhaps not surprisingly, both authors work for just such an institution. Holden Thorp is chancellor of UNC Chapel Hill; his co-author is university entrepreneur in residence at the same school. (Note: The review also appeared in the Raleigh News & Observer.)
UNC researchers get $3M in grants
The Triangle Business Journal
UNC scientists have received more than $3 million in grants to study genes that contribute to cancer, breast cancer stem cells and post-traumatic stress disorder. Ben Major, an assistant professor of cell and developmental biology, has been awarded $1.5 million to identify the genes that contribute to specific cellular and disease processes, such as cancer. The grant was one of 33 National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Awards, among the NIH’s most prestigious grants.
Report: Transfer students perform well
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
…A new report on a five-year project by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation finds that community college students can successfully transfer to some of the nation's most selective four-year institutions and perform as well as those who start as freshmen, if they are given appropriate academic and social support. …UNC used its grant money to establish the Carolina Student Transfer Excellence Program — known as C-Step — that guarantees admission to the school if the students enroll at either Durham Tech, Wake Tech or Alamance Community College and complete the program successfully.
RTP's broader reach (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
…Certainly this is true for the RTP regional economy, which has become an inspiration for other places that are trying to lift themselves out of poverty. It's a work in progress. Silicon Valley simply got started earlier and crafted its model based on venture capital investing, immigrant entrepreneurship and networking. It works for Silicon Valley but attempts to replicate this model elsewhere have resulted in what Harvard Professor Josh Lerner refers to as the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. (Maryann Feldman is SK Heninger distinguished professor in public policy and Nichola Lowe is assistant professor in city and regional planning at UNC-Chapel Hill.)
Andy Warhol's 'Big Shots' comes to Ackland
The Chapel Hill Herald
The Ackland Art Museum is the last stop for the exhibit "Big Shots: Andy Warhol Polaroids." The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University and the Weatherspoon Art Museum in Greensboro have previously exhibited the works. All three museums received gifts of the Polaroids from the Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. …"This is an important trio of shows for us," said Peter Nisbet, chief curator for the Ackland, during a press preview last week.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3933/66/
UNC To Begin Administering Flu Shots Monday
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
Many people won’t forget last year’s swine flu season. People were wearing masks, quarantines were in effect and they were avoiding the flu like it was the plague. UNC’s Director of Nursing Carol Kozel says even though there isn’t an epidemic this year, everyone should seriously consider getting a flu shot. Even though it’s not quite flu season, Kozel says there are already some cases of the illness popping up in the area.
As UNC turns (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Money. Glory. Greed. The pursuit of all three. Yes, the unfolding story of what's been going on behind the scenes with the football program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has just about everything. What it doesn't yet have is an ending, and neither the coach and athletics director nor the university's academic leader are making it easy to get there.
NCAA won't lift suspensions for two UNC players
WTVD-TV (ABC/Raleigh)
Two players at the center of the UNC football investigation will not get their suspensions lifted. The NCAA heard appeals from Kendric Burney and Deunta Williams Friday. Burney is serving a six game suspension and Williams a four game suspension after being accused of receiving improper benefits from a sports agent. Williams will complete his four-game suspension Saturday and will return to the field October 2 against Clemson. Burney will serve the final three games of his six-game suspension and will return October 23 at Miami.
Related Link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5646243&campaign=rss&source=ESPNUHeadlines
Fire reported in UNC lab
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A fire in a laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was reported late Sunday night, authorities said. The fire, on the fourth floor of Kenan Labs, 125 South Road, was extinguished about 30 minutes after the 10:33 p.m. alarm first alerted officials to the fire. …UNC Health and Safety and the professor who supervises the lab were contacted for information about chemicals that were inside the room. UNC Fire Marshal Billy Mitchell said the chemicals were organic and caused no threat to fire crews.
Related Links:
http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/8393060/
http://orange.mync.com/site/orange/news|Sports|Lifestyles/story/55833/
kenan-lab-fire-remains-under-investigation
http://wchl1360.com/detailswide.html?id=16075
Issues and Trends
UNC system facilities are 'in a mess'
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
…This may sound familiar. In the past decade, the state issued bonds to raise $3.1 billion to repair university and community college buildings. Though that money was used to revamp hundreds of campus facilities, the construction program fell far short of fixing all the UNC system's infrastructure needs. …Though the bond program created construction booms at public universities, it touched just a portion of the infrastructure at each campus. For those many buildings that didn't benefit from bond money, the slow, steady deterioration caused by a lack of repair money continued. In all, the $2.5 billion spent addressed less than half of the $7 billion in total needs cited in a 1999 consultant's report. And the meter keeps running. The UNC system's backlog now tops $3 billion, according to system data.
Middle-class future (Editorial)
The Winston-Salem Journal
…But college costs have steadily risen. Many students are incurring heavy debt. Some try to work themselves through school, but drop out along the way. As the economy improves, the legislature must be prepared to increase money for the University of North Carolina system and the state system of community colleges. In the years to come, the legislature should also expand the Community College Grant Fund, which provides financial aid for students. And it should provide more money to colleges for counseling students about complex issues of financial aid.