Dec. 12, 2006

Carolina in the News

Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:

International Coverage

Doctors trace deadly cancer gene
Reuters
A gene that helps cells keep their shape also causes pancreatic cancer when mutated and it might provide clues to what causes the lethal disease and how it spreads so fast, researchers said on Monday. ... Dr. Carol Otey of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine discovered palladin in 2000.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec06/pancreaticcancer120806.htm

National Coverage

Hardball College Tour: UNC
MSNBC.com
Is John Edwards running for president? That's just one tough question Hardball host Chris Matthews will ask the former vice presidential nominee at the College Tour on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

More younger siblings might bring bigger risk of brain tumors
ABC News
Being part of a large family is never easy. The more siblings you have, the more you have to deal with. ...The increased risk that the study mentions has to be put in perspective, according to Charles Poole from the department of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina's School of Public Health.

Experts agree: Something's afoot with shoe sizes
McClatchy News Service
Thirty years ago, 16-year-old Ashley Brown might not have liked having big feet. She might have been teased about her size 10 feet, which she grew into last year. She might not have been able to find strappy summer heels in her size. ...At UNC-Chapel Hill, female soccer players almost never wore bigger than a size 7. "Now it's size 9, 10 or larger," said Gail Basnight, an equipment manager at the school for the past 23 years.

Me, Myself and I
Entrepreneur.com
At the end of the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey realizes his life isn’t so bad after all because he has many friends in Bedford Falls who are ready and willing to help him. ...As a result, Americans have “fewer people they feel really close to, but there are still dozens and dozens of people they’re connected to,” says Howard Aldrich, a sociology professor at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill who researches social relations in the workplace.

Regional Coverage

Find could mean better cancer treatments
The Seattle Times
Ten years ago, a 40-year-old Olympia man walked into Dr. Teresa Brentnall's clinic at the University of Washington and asked the physician to protect him from the fate of so many others in his family, almost certain death from pancreatic cancer. ..."Meanwhile, our funding was running out," Brentnall said. They kept getting nowhere with the gene hunt until, about two years ago, the UW physician called up Dr. Carol Otey at the University of North Carolina.

Local family helps identify gene tied to deadly cancer
The Seattle Times
Scientists at the University of Washington have identified a gene important in the inherited form of pancreatic cancer, a discovery that caps a decade of research and could eventually lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment of one of the deadliest forms of cancer. ...Other institutions that participated in the research were the University of Pittsburgh, Cleveland Clinic, University of North Carolina and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry.

State and Local Coverage

MSNBC comes to UNC
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Chris Matthews, the host of "Hardball" on MSNBC, thinks John Edwards will have a difficult time overtaking Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for president.

Chapel Hill gets ready to play Hardball
WCHL-AM (Chapel Hill)
MSNBC's Political Powerhouse "Hardball" has made UNC Chapel Hill a stop on the college tour. Former U.S. Sen. John Edwards will be featured on a segment of MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews" that will be broadcast from the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill on Tuesday.

UNC outrage spurs Duke rebuke
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
It was bad enough that Tar Heel loyalists had infiltrated Duke University's hallowed basketball kingdom -- first at Krzyzewskiville and then Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Education not first priority for parents
The Chapel Hill News
When selecting a pre-kindergarten, families often have to forego considerations of quality education for more practical needs, such as location, school-home collaboration and provisions such as meals. The findings are from a new national study by the FPG Child Development Institute at UNC, which examined how parents of children in publicly funded pre-kindergarten (pre-K) programs define quality and select programs.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec06/prekdefine120806.htm

When coaches get 'boosts' (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Chancellor James Moeser of UNC-Chapel Hill says he is exquisitely sensitive to the fact that the university's athletic booster group could exert too much influence over the institution when it donates millions to help pay coaches.
Related link: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/opinion/16218929.htm

The road to Delhi with Eben Moglen and Paul Jones
The Red Hat Magazine
Ever wished you could be a fly on the wall when tech-savvy folks gather? We got the chance at this summer's Knowledge Symposium in Delhi, India. ...Two of the open source movement's big thinkers--the lawyer (and founder of the Software Freedom Law Center) and the curator of ibiblio.org (one of the Internet's largest public repositories).
Note: Paul Jones is the director of the ibiblio Web collection at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Eats of Eden
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Sharon Surratt Robbs' heart is full of the Holy Spirit. Filling up her belly takes a little work. ...John B. Anderson, professor emeritus in the department of nutrition at UNC's School of Public Health, says many cultures around the world thrive on vegan diets. Mahatma Gandhi, for example, was a vegan his whole adult life. The key, Anderson says, is to be vigilant about filling in the nutrients that fruits and vegetables alone cannot provide.

Exams have barely begun
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
OK, college students like to streak. ...That's what some streakers at UNC-Chapel Hill found out this weekend.

Study recruiting cancer survivors
The Chapel Hill News
Helping younger breast cancer survivors cope with uncertainty is the focus of a new study by researchers at the UNC School of Nursing.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec06/mishelcancer120606.htm

Knapp's influence felt in adopted home
The Chapel Hill News
The gifts of Joseph Palmer Knapp just keep on giving. ...Now the warm pine walls, fireplace mantel and surround, including Waterford crystal sconces, create an inviting classroom for graduate students in the public administration program at UNC's School of Government.

UNC crash suspect to appear in court
News 14 Carolina (Time Warner, Raleigh)
The man accused of using an SUV to run over people on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus is expected in court Tuesday.

Issues and Trends

Teachers' price (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Like nearly every other state, North Carolina has major challenges attracting the most effective teachers to the neediest schools, as well as finding a critical mass of good math teachers. ...It is encouraging that the 16-campus University of North Carolina system has helped expand the Guilford program.

Chapel Hill building quarrel is a study in shades of green
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Sometimes being green still isn't green enough. The Chapel Hill Town Council recently won a developer's commitment to achieve basic certification from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program for a 243,000-square-foot condominium and retail complex.

Chapel Hill Leaders Want Roads Better, Not Bigger
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
The Town Council has taken a stance of not expanding roads in Chapel Hill. Members say they want to make the roads better, not bigger. ...Construction on the University of North Carolina campus is also contributing to congestion with a $1.8 billion building campaign. The North Carolina Cancer Hospital is under construction and Manning Road, in front of the project, is also under construction.

What’s up with Sigma Chi? (Editorial)
The Baltimore Examiner
Johns Hopkins University last month barred the school’s chapter of the fraternity from holding parties and other social functions for a year for hosting a “Halloween in the Hood” party considered racist by many. The school also suspended the party invitation author, Justin Park, for a year. ...At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill members of Sigma Chi recently snatched more than 10,000 copies of student newspaper, The Daily Tarheel, the day a front-page story ran about the fraternity breaking hazing rules and its punishment, a three-year suspension.

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.

Carolina in the News is also posted daily to the News Services Web page, http://www.unc.edu/news/clips/index.shtml.

Please share any questions, comments or suggestions at news@unc.edu.