Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
National Coverage
Why No One Really Knows If Moderate Drinking Is Safe for Pregnant Women (Blog)
The New York Times
Is moderate drinking (less than one drink a day) safe during pregnancy? …Best summed up in a quote from one of her sources, the biologist Kathleen K. Sulik of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “We will never, ever, ever know how much is safe for every individual.”
Breast Pumps Now Covered By Insurance, But Does It Help?
The Huffington Post
…"What this [provision] says is that breastfeeding is a real part of the health care continuum," said Alison Stuebe, an OB-GYN and assistant professor of maternal and child health at the University of North Carolina. "It is not gratuitous, and it's something that all women should have access to and support for. I think that is a huge step forward."
Most Teens Support Tough Smoking Bans: Survey
HealthDay News
North Carolina, a tobacco-growing state, does a lot to protect smoking: Its cigarette taxes are nearly the lowest in the country, and it only banned smoking in most restaurants, bars and hotels in 2010. …Still, the results show that "it's very clear, that teens and youth want to eliminate smoking in indoor and outdoor places," said study co-author Leah Ranney, associate director at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Tobacco Prevention and Evaluation Program.
Binge Drinking Common Among U.S. Women, Girls: CDC
HealthDay News
…One expert said the report confirms earlier research. "This report reiterates what has been known to be a problem for some time — girls and women binge drink at significant levels," said Dr. J.C. Garbutt, professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "We know that the risk for many medical, behavioral and social problems rises as the level of consumption rises," he added.
Higher Ed Leaders Must Lead Online (Column)
The Huffington Post
We are witnessing a historic transformation of how students learn, teachers teach, and universities are organized. …At USC, we are pleased to be among the pioneers in high-quality, interactive, for-credit, online degree programs, along with Georgetown University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Washington University in St. Louis and others. (Karen Symms Gallagher, Dean, University of Southern California Rossier School of Education)
Regional Coverage
Fussy babies of obese moms exposed to more TV: study
The New York Daily News
Fussy, active infants are more likely to get babysat by the television — particularly if mom is obese, a new study finds. In a study of 217 low-income, first-time moms in North Carolina, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that mothers who believed their babies to be on the fussy side were more likely to put them in front of the TV during the day.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5786/71/
State and Local Coverage
UNC scientists: Using virus to deliver genetic material slows kids' illness
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
…This form of gene therapy was created at UNC-Chapel Hill, and the viral vehicle and genetic cargo used in the study were developed there at the medical school’s Gene Therapy Center. Center director R. Jude Samulski was a senior author of the study, which began in 2001 and tracked 13 children who received the treatment.
Get the facts about Bingham (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Chapel Hill News
For nearly 40 years, the UNC animal facility located in Bingham Township peacefully co-existed with its neighbors. Called “the Farm,” it was a place where pigs rooted around outside while dogs in outdoor runs barked at the occasional squirrel or deer on the property. The facility looked and sounded much like neighboring farms in rural Orange County, except that researchers were using the pigs to study cardiovascular disease and the dogs to study hemophilia. (Bob Lowman is the associate vice chancellor for research at UNC.)
UNC study: Fussy babies spend more time in front of the TV
WNCN-TV (NBC/Raleigh)
A new study from the University of North Carolina says moms, especially obese mothers, are more likely to use TV to soothe fussy babies. The study may also help explain the rise in inactive and obese children in the United States, according to a news release from UNC.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5786/71/
UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham on strategic plan, issues
affecting UNC athletic department (Blog)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The University of North Carolina has released a strategic plan for its athletic department for the next four years. Here's the official release about it from UNC. A story from us is forthcoming. The plan outlined the mission for the UNC athletic department – “We educate and inspire through athletics” – and also defined four priorities:
Related Links:
http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2013/01/athletic-department-releases-3-year-plan
Dental school reaches out to pregnant women
The Chapel Hill News
The UNC School of Dentistry has started a formal rotation teaching students in their final year of dental school how to treat two patients at a time. Fourth-year students are now treating pregnant women as part of the Prenatal Oral Health Program, a spinoff of a successful program promoting oral health in babies.
County in running for ECU community dental facility
The News Reporter (Whiteville)
…East Carolina University and UNC Chapel Hill were equally committed to the plan to promote more dentistry and grow the ECU Dental School. The plan was viewed as a potential nationwide model by the UNC-appointed review team and drew on the strengths of ECU’s focus on primary care and UNC Chapel Hill’s prominence as a premier research university, according to the ECU School of Dentistry publication “A Joint Plan for Dentistry with UNC Chapel Hill.
Don't fall for food fantasies (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Carrying some extra weight from holiday binges and ready for a fresh start? If so, in this month of New Year’s resolutions, you, like many of us, may be vulnerable to pitches about easy ways to better health. It’s the season of food-borne fantasies. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical associate professor in the department of health policy and administration in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill.)
DNA provides break in UNC student's murder
The Chapel Hill News
Police are confident DNA evidence left at the scene of the murder of a UNC-Chapel Hill student last September will provide a break in the case, they announced Tuesday. The DNA evidence is the first information police have released in months about the death of Faith Hedgepeth, whose body was found by her roommate Sept. 7, 2012, in their apartment at 5639 Old Chapel Hill Road, in the Hawthorne at the View apartment complex.
Related Links:
http://www.heraldsun.com/news/x1898437819/Police-Killer-likely-knew-Hedgepeth
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8946215
http://www2.nbc17.com/news/2013/jan/08/8/fbi-profiles-suspect-death-unc-student-ar-2918707/
Police search for motive in Greensboro shootings
The Associated Press
Police in Greensboro continue their search for a motive in the shooting deaths of two people in a townhome complex. …(Danielle) Jameison is a 2011 graduate of R.J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem and a student at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she is majoring in psychology and romance languages. She won a UNC 2015 Distinguished Scholarship and has been on the dean's list since her freshman year.
Related Link:
http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/article_d4c723e8-5a0f-11e2-a1fa-0019bb30f31a.html
Issues and Trends
UNC system wants to produce more graduates
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The UNC system aims to make North Carolina among the 10 “most educated” states – with a larger share of the population with four-year diplomas – by 2025, according to a draft report. The five-year strategy for the system calls for lifting the state’s proportion of degree holders from 29.5 percent today to 32.2 percent in 2018. Ultimately, the plan calls for 36.2 percent of North Carolina adults to have at least a four-year degree by 2025.
OWASA’s Jordan Lake plan concerns some leaders
The Chapel Hill News
OWASA’s plan to make it easier to tap Jordan Lake water during emergencies concerns some local officials. …Those who support the move, including the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, UNC and some local leaders, see it as a way to ensure adequate supplies in desperate times.