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April 20, 2006Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:International Coverage
New tech to yield more diesel from coal?
The Hindu Business Line (Anna Salai, Chennai )
Chemists in the US have invented a new catalytic process that could increase the yield of a clean form of diesel made from coal. This comes at a time when the landed cost of oil soars and worries over the US dependence on foreign petroleum escalate. ... in the recent research, Prof Alan Goldman of Rutgers University and Prof Maurice Brookhart of the University of North Carolina used catalysts to convert these undesirable hydrocarbons into diesel.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr06/brookhart041106.htmNational Coverage
USA records largest drop in annual deaths in at least 60 years
USA Today
The U.S. population may be aging, but the number of Americans who died in 2004 represents the biggest one-year decline since World War II, according to preliminary government data released Wednesday. ... Over the past 20 years, the decline has averaged 2% or 3% a year, says (Wayne) Rosamond, an epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The decline is a result of a combination of better prevention and improved treatment, he says.
At Pentagon, a delicate civilian-military balance
The Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON – In their denouncements of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, seven retired generals have directed their criticism mostly toward his handling of the Iraq war. In some respects, however, the issue goes much deeper. ... "[The criticism] does undermine civilian control," says Richard Kohn, a military historian at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. "It is an attempt to change policy - to go over the heads of the civilian leaders to the president."
Do Eating Disorder Treatments Work?
Ivanhoe
A new report on eating disorders reveals discouraging news for patients suffering from anorexia nervosa but promising news for those with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. Researchers at the RTI International-University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Evidence-based Practice Center analyzed 181 studies on treatment and outcomes for the three eating disorders. They say there are no medications and few therapies available to effectively treat anorexia patients.
Note: Ivanhoe has a syndicated television series and its reports are broadcast in 250 markets reaching 80 million U.S. households.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr06/anorexiaahrq041706.htmIt’s time to baby yourself
The Kansas City Star
New moms, listen up! Your six-week postpartum checkup is the perfect time to get answers to key questions: ...When will I get my period again? Moms who nurse may get their first period as soon as six months postpartum but often later, says Hal C. Lawrence, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill. Women who don’t breast-feed usually get theirs between six and eight weeks after delivering, and it’s often heavy.
Invisible "Skeleton" Supports Shell-less Crab, Study Finds
National Geographic
Surviving without a skeleton can be a dicey challenge. But crabs and other animals that periodically shed their hard shells, or exoskeletons, face just such a predicament. ... "They essentially secrete what looks like a whole [shell] under the old one," said Jennifer Taylor, a biology doctoral student at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr06/skeleton042006.htmFormer VP candidate brings war on poverty to Dallas
Dallas Morning News
Former U.S. senator and vice presidential candidate John Edwards urged a Dallas crowd Tuesday to help fight poverty, which he called "the great moral issue" facing the nation. The North Carolina Democrat, who spoke at Central Dallas Ministries' prayer breakfast before attending a couple of Democratic fundraisers in town, said 37 million Americans cannot afford adequate food, housing and health care. ... "Is the most prosperous nation on Earth going to actually turn its back on 37 million of its own people who are worried about feeding and clothing their children?" asked Mr. Edwards, now director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Broadcast Note
Auctioneers stories air on "Morning Edition" Friday
National Public Radio
North Carolinians are taking part in StoryCorps, a national oral history project. During the month of April the project will be based in Durham and Chapel Hill. A 26-foot trailer serves as a mobile recording booth, where everyday people interview friends and relatives about their lives. The stories of North Carolina auctioneers Greg Goins and Steve Helms will air nationally on Friday's "Morning Edition" on North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC (91.5 FM) . Goins and Helms led tobacco auctions in the past.UNC professor reads poetry
"The State of Things," North Carolina Public Radio
North Carolina poet Michael McFee, a UNC professor of creative writing and contemporary literature, read some of his poems, as part of National Poetry Month on "The State of Things" program on North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC (91.5 FM). "The State of Things" is the statewide public affairs program airing live at noon and rebroadcast at 9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and 6 a.m. on Saturdays.
Regional Coverage
Turtle expert hopes to test theory in Gulf
Naples Daily News (Naples, Fla.)
Brimming with green turtles, a boat breaks up in a raging storm between Cuba and Key West. The turtles escape into the sea. That anecdote and others, collected by the late University of Florida researcher Archie Carr in his 1956 book, “The Windward Road,” suggested that sea turtles use an extra sense to navigate great distances. But how? That mystery puzzled scientists for years until a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill biologist proved that turtles have a kind of internal Global Positioning System.
Edwards talks moral high road
The News-Leader (Springfield, Mo.)
Former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards preached morals at his keynote speech Wednesday night at Missouri State University's Public Affairs Conference. ...Edwards is former senator from North Carolina and now director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina. He said there are 37 million Americans living in poverty who "are worrying about feeding their children. This is just wrong."
State & Local Coverage
Garlic benefits still need study (Commentary)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Is someone you know on a garlic binge? If so, they've likely heard some of the claims floating around on the Web and in health food stores: Garlic kills germs, protects your heart and prevents colds. ...Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a licensed, registered dietitian and author. She holds a doctorate in health policy and administration from UNC-Chapel Hill, where she is a clinical assistant professor in the School of Public Health.
More folks calling N.C. their home
Winston-Salem Journal (Winston-Salem)
A new report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that North Carolina continues to be a top destination for people moving from other parts of the country. ... "I'm not surprised that North Carolina continues to receive an influx of migrants," said Stephen Birdsall, a professor of geography at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "We have much that is attractive economically and physically. The coastal areas and the mountain areas are continuing retirement destinations. They have been growing that way for some time. The Piedmont is more likely to be attractive for economic reasons."
Wake malls at risk of terrorism
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Attention Wake County shoppers: Your local mall could be a target for terrorists. ...In February, officials with Orange County and UNC-Chapel Hill said that the Smith Center was on the list and would receive a $50,000 grant to improve security.
Survivor of rape has a mission
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Mukhtaran Mai sat on a couch with her arms crossed over her petite frame, her dark brown eyes cast down. ..."She is not the first woman or the last to be raped for an honor rape," said Yasmin Saikia, a South Asian history professor at UNC-Chapel Hill who hosted the welcome party for Mai.
Look who's home in suburbia
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
This just in from the nation's ivory towers: Suburbia is not such a bland place after all. "There has traditionally been a stereotype about suburbia, simply that it's boring, that suburbs represent a white, middle-class kind of 'Leave it to Beaver' environment," said Princeton University history professor Kevin Kruse, a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate who recently co-edited "The New Suburban History."
'Poor man's Hemingway' lingers
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
To admirers of North Carolina native Robert Chester Ruark, it's like people 50 years from now saying, "Who's Oprah?" ..."I had read his books and felt that he had not been adequately recognized as a UNC graduate," said Jim Cheatham, a UNC-Chapel Hill undergrad and law alumnus. "We want to make sure he's remembered as an outstanding writer. A lot of his older fans remember him, but the young ones did not."Town asked to delay UNC's new projects
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The long-awaited improvements to South Columbia Street could loom large in UNC's hope to add several new projects to its campus development plans. Citizens Joe Capowski and Kimberly Brewer suggested Wednesday that the Town Council should make the university wait to start occupying those new buildings until the South Columbia improvements were finished.Issues & Trends
Fruit king makes health link
Bloomberg News
David H. Murdock, 82, has a ninth-grade education, billions of dollars and dreams of changing a down-and-out textile center in North Carolina into a greenhouse for scientific innovation.Murdock, the owner of Dole Food Co., is investing $1 billion into converting the old Cannon Mills site in Kannapolis, N.C., into a 350-acre research park. ... The campus will include research institutes led by Duke University in Durham, North Carolina State University in Raleigh, and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Murdock said. The local Rowan-Cabarrus Community College will help employees learn skills needed to work at the complex.
Launch of engineering center hits snag
Hickory Daily Record
The launch of a new engineering center in Hickory appears at least a year away, as elected officials fight to garner funds for the program. ... The UNC system and community colleges throughout the area are involved, including Catawba Valley Community College and the burgeoning Hickory Metro Higher Education Center. The vision is to provide product development, business process improvement and manufacturing competitiveness assistance through public-private partnerships.
Three years later, busy Chapel Hill street gets traffic signal
News 14 (Carolina)
A busy Chapel Hill intersection is getting a traffic signal. Last week, work crews began installing the signal at the corner of Franklin Street and Church Street. ..."It's good for any pedestrian and I don't think it will be that much of a problem for people driving cars because it will only be like a minute out of your day to wait for people to walk by," said UNC-Chapel Hill student Colter Teague.
Produced by News Services, Carolina in the News is an e-mail sampling of current news media coverage about Carolina people and programs, as well as issues and trends that affect the university. Stories usually will be online and available free for a limited time - often one to two weeks. Expiration dates before stories move to archives vary by media outlet. Some outlets require free user registration or a subscription.
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