Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
National Coverage
Is Commercially-Prepared Food Responsible for Childhood Weight Gain?
Time
…The study authors, from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, found that during the nearly 30 year period they analyzed, children and teens ate an average of 179 calories more a day, while the percentage of meals eaten and/or prepared outside of the house increased by 31%, now accounting for one-third of all calories consumed overall. "The differences in energy intake by eating location revealed in this analysis demonstrate that eating location is an important factor in the diet of American children," said Barry M. Popkin, a professor of nutrition and the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Big Pharma Finds a Home on Campus
The Chronicle of Higher Education
…Other institutions pursuing drug discovery follow different approaches. "What's new is the systemization of it," says Stephen V. Frye, himself a former head of medicinal chemistry at GlaxoSmithKline, who now leads the drug-discovery center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Thirty-three of the 56 academic-based drug-discovery centers that responded to Mr. Frye's recent survey about their priorities and financing were founded within the past six years.
Genetic repair might treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy
The Los Angeles Times
…Two decades ago, pharmacologist Ryszard Kole of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill began exploring the use of a technique called antisense RNA to treat the condition. He used a specially prepared chain of ribonucleotides called an oligomer that binds to the mutated part of the gene, effectively hiding the stop signal from the cell's protein-making machinery.
UNC Release:
http://uncmedne.ws/kole
Oncologists by day, rock stars by night
The Washington Post
…“GYN cancers are not things people talk about in our culture, and they’re woefully underfunded and misunderstood,” said John Boggess, who sings and plays guitar and keyboard in the band when he’s not working at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. “We really believe that we’re starting a conversation. Because there are worse things than getting cancer, and that’s feeling isolated and without help and understanding.”
Obama like FDR? Not at all, it turns out.
The Washington Post
…From his first day in office, Roosevelt was the father of reform. In his portrait of the period, (William E.) Leuchtenburg, a professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina, defined FDR’s New Deal as a critical turning point in American history. It offered, as Leuchtenburg describes, “deficit spending, a gigantic federal works program, federal housing and slum clearance, the NRA, the TVA, sharply increased income taxes on the wealthy, massive and imaginative relief programs, [and] a national labor relations board with federal sanctions to enforce collective bargaining” — not to mention Social Security.
'Marine massacre': Hundreds of dead sharks buried at sea
MSNBC.com
Hundreds of dead sharks illegally fished inside Ecuador's Galapagos National Park were returned to the sea after scientists counted and sampled what one expert called a "marine massacre." "It was literally like a funeral at sea," University of North Carolina marine biologist John Bruno told msnbc.com. "It was rough and windy and the sun was going down and all 379 sharks were dragged to a gap in the gunwale and eased in the water as the ship slowly moved along. …Ecuadorian law required that illegally caught fish must be returned to the sea, a prosecutor told Bruno.
Regional Coverage
One burger does not a hypocrite make (Editorial)
The Herald-Times (Manitowoc, Wis.)
…But a new report by the University of North Carolina published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that living close to a supermarket doesn't necessarily mean a person eats healthier meals. Following about 5,000 people over 15 years, researchers discovered that income and proximity to fast-food restaurants had more effect on the kinds of foods people choose.
National, Utah experts caution against Alzheimer’s genetic testing in most cases
The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
…Editor-in-chief James Evans said the college had to respond to the growth in interest in testing because their labs provide most of the results. "It would be a real abdication of responsibility for us not to issue" the guidelines, said Evans, Bryson Distinguished Professor of Genetics & Medicine at the University of North Carolina medical school.
State and Local Coverage
Hagan: No debt ceiling hike 'irresponsible'
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
In spite of the seemingly unbreakable stalemate between Democrats and Republicans on whether or how to raise the nation's debt ceiling, U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., said Monday that she's clinging to hope that Congress can get a deal done before the Aug. 2 deadline. Hagan headlined a panel discussion at the Kenan Center at UNC to discuss the nation's fiscal crisis, which if not resolved by next week, has the potential to send the world's financial markets into a tailspin, some economists predict.
Related Links:
http://wunc.org/programs/news/archive/Sli072511_Debt_Crisis.mp3/view
http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/9902562/
http://www.chapelboro.com/Senator-Hagan-Predicts-Crisis-if-National-Budget-C/10447118
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/07/26/1369697/money-people-talk-debt-limit.html
UNC Release:
http://u
ncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4624/67/
Hagan Emphasizes Importance of Investing in Education Despite Budget Cuts
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
At Monday’s roundtable discussion on the impending national debt crisis, the crowd responded enthusiastically when panelist Maceo Sloan addressed one area that he says can’t afford to suffer any more budget cuts. …And education has been on the minds of numerous local residents in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the UNC Board of Governors approved a resolution to cut 17.9 percent from the UNC Chapel Hill budget, which equates to more than $100 million. This is a significant increase over the 15 percent cut to the entire UNC system. But Hagan says education is crucial because it affects the other areas that will ultimately heal the economic crisis.
Meet Minrose Gwin
"The State of Things" WUNC-FM
Minrose Gwin grew up in a segregated Mississippi town much like the one she wrote about in her debut novel “The Queen of Palmyra” (Harper Collins/2010) and like the book’s protagonist, she was disturbed by the willful ignorance of white people in her community who blinded themselves to the problems of racism and violence. Gwin, Kenan Eminent Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, now makes her home in North Carolina where she continues to reveal the unspoken truths of Southern culture in her writing.
Jeb Bush will visit for education forum (Under the Dome)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida and a vocal advocate of education reform, will be one of the keynote speakers at a November education forum in Raleigh. …A panel discussion will include former Gov. Jim Hunt, Geomagic CEO Ping Fu, NCSU Chancellor Randolph Woodson and UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp.