 |
Feb. 27, 2007
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
Breast cancer research is studied
United Press International
A U.S. study suggests industry-funded breast cancer therapy research is more likely to report positive results than non-pharmaceutical funded studies. In addition, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute found significant differences in the design and nature of clinical trials supported by the pharmaceutical industry, as compared with trials without industry involvement.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb07/trials022107.htmlA screen for chronic kidney disease
United Press International
Chronic kidney disease is a serious and progressive medical condition, but people at high risk are not routinely screened, says a U.S. study. Researchers at the Weill Cornell Medical College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill performed the first study of its kind to develop a tool to identify patients who are most at risk for CKD.National Coverage
Review Finds Drug Makers Issue More Positive Studies
The New York Times
Clinical trials sponsored by drug companies to look into the treatments of breast cancer are significantly more likely than independently financed studies to find that the treatments are effective, a new study finds. ...Dr. Jeffrey Peppercorn, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina, said the reasons might be innocuous.
Related link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/26/AR2007022600728.html
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb07/trials022107.htmlIs an Economist Qualified To Solve Puzzle of Autism?
The Wall Street Journal
In the spring of 2005, Cornell University economist Michael Waldman noticed a strange correlation in Washington, Oregon and California. The more it rained or snowed, the more likely children were to be diagnosed with autism. ..."It is just too much of a stretch to tie this to television-watching," says Joseph Piven, director of the Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center at the University of North Carolina. "Why not tie it to carrying umbrellas?"Do painkillers present a heart risk for men?
ABC News
Researchers raised the possibility Monday that common painkillers containing aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen could increase men's risk of high blood pressure. ...And Dr. Nortin Hadler, professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, calls the study "Much ado about the miniscule.Moms find sisterhood in sorority for students with kids
The Associated Press (National)
Magic Markers, bubble wands and jungle-animal stickers aren't often found in the average college student's backpack. ...Many large state universities, including the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, have built child-care centers for student-parents, though the waiting lists are often sizable.Depression Drops Heart Outcomes
PyschCentral.com
Depression has been added to the list of risk factors for patients with heart failure. In fact, the mental health status appears to be as important as well known factors such as high cholesterol, hypertension, and even the ability of the heart to pump blood throughout the body. After taking into account such factors as disease severity, the strength of the heart muscle contractions, the underlying cause for the heart failure, age and medication use, a team of Duke University Medical Center and University of North Carolina researchers found that symptoms of depression were common in this population.Students Confess UNC Breakup Was Staged
The Associated Press (National)
The Valentine's Day breakup of two North Carolina college students that featured singers, hundreds of spectators and a profanity-laced tirade was a hoax after all. ...He attracted a crowd by promoting the event on the social networking Web site facebook.com, and hundreds of students and several photographers were among the spectators at a popular gathering spot on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus.
Related link: http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/02/27/pitRegional Coverage
Extreme PMS
WQAD-TV (Moline, Ill.)
75 percent of women live through PMS each month. ..."We're realizing a lot of women have suffered silently for a long time with these symptoms," says Dr. Meltzer-Brody, a psychiatrist at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.State and Local Coverage
UNC donations that count? Every one (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
Whether it's $50 million or $50, all the donations to UNC will make a difference. Thank goodness for people like Dennis and Joan Gillings, who donated $50 million to the School of Public Health last week. Their gift is the largest gift ever given to the University of North Carolina, and it was the one that put the Carolina First Campaign over the top of its $2 billion goal.
UNC News Releases: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb07/breaking2B022107.html
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb07/gillingsgift022107.htmlUNC finalizes joint degree
The Daily Tar Heel
Innovation is a new globalization buzzword, and when University officials met with representatives of the National University of Singapore on Monday they were hoping to live up to that goal. ..."We've had quite a large number of Carolina students in Singapore, either on our summer program or via the existing exchange program," (Bob) Miles said.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb07/nuslaunch022307.htmlMix-up: Ranking omits UNC
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A Fortune.com feature ranking top business schools skunked UNC-Chapel Hill because the researchers may have confused data from Carolina's business school with N.C. State University's business school.
Related link: http://www.heraldsun.com/business/21-823616.cfmUNC study: Industry-funded breast cancer trials more often positive
The Triangle Business Journal
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill say studies of breast cancer therapies that are funded by the pharmaceutical industry are more likely to report positive results than studies paid for by non-pharmaceutical organizations.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb07/trials022107.htmlUNC officials say dorms are safer one year later
WCHL-AM (Chapel Hill)
University officials say dorm safety has improved in the time since one student was killed and another was critically injured in a fall from a dorm window one year ago.
Related link: http://www.wchl1360.com/details.html?id=3015Doctor urges for AIDS solutions
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Twenty years ago, someone infected with HIV would have taken about 20 medications a day to control the virus that causes AIDS. ...Malebranche spoke Friday during the 28th annual Minority Health Conference, a workshop-filled event sponsored by the UNC School of Public Health, Minority Student Caucus and various other groups.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb07/mhc022007.htmlIs it all about me? Students, researchers disagree
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Self-centered? Who, me? ...James Allred, the student body president at UNC-Chapel Hill, lauded his classmates for their commitment to public service but added that he could understand how, in an increasingly competitive global job market, some students worked hard to stand out.The Business of Emissions
"The State of Things," WUNC-FM
Pete Andrews, UNC professor of public policy, was featured on today's (Feb. 27) edition of "The State of Things" to examine U.S. policy-making on the eve of the creation of new environmental legislation. The debate over global climate change is no longer about asking whether it’s happening, but rather what should be done about it.
Note: "The State of Things" is the statewide public affairs program airing live at noon weekdays and rebroadcast at 9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and 6 a.m. on Saturdays.It's a chore, but do pore over reports
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Corporate annual reports might seem a bit outdated in the Internet age, but the documents are rich in valuable information for investors. ..."It won't necessarily be misleading, but it will be the optimistic view of the future," said accounting professor Robert Bushman of the UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Related links: http://www.newsobserver.com/104/story/546991.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/104/story/547043.htmlDeath Penalty Opponents Lobby for Lawmaker Moratorium on Executions
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
With the future of the death penalty in limbo in North Carolina, opponents are speaking out in hopes that lawmakers will listen to their concerns about capital punishment. ...“Race made a difference where it shouldn't have, where those who killed white victims were more likely to get capital punishment than those who killed blacks,” said Jack Boger, dean of the University of North Carolina School of Law.Doctor waged quiet battle
The Greensboro News & Record
Just as the students who sat down in 1960 at the segregated Woolworth lunch counter have fuzzy memories about what they ordered, the same is so for another Aggie who made civil rights history afterward. ...Kenneth Lee, among the first black graduates of UNC-Chapel Hill's law school and who shared offices with Blount for more than 30 years, says the doctor "gets along with almost everybody. Not that he doesn't disagree with them sometimes, but he's not disagreeable."Spring blooms early in Coker Arboretum
The Chapel Hill News
Coker Arboretum on the UNC campus is a haven for those who love spring. Botanical offerings range from the sublime to the exuberant, and there is something for everyone. In the South, we often enjoy an extended springtime, with flowers sometimes bursting forth as early as January.Abortion's risks (Letter to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
I read with interest recent articles on the increase in pre-term births across our nation, and the immense cost that this brings about for all of us. ...In 2003, John M. Thorp, Jr., M.D., distinguished professor of obstetrics and gynecology and co-director of the North Carolina Program for Women's Health Research at UNC-Chapel Hill, published a peer-reviewed meta-analysis ("Long- Term Physical & Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence") that draws this link decisively.
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.