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July 5, 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
New X-ray techniques raise cancer fears
canada.com (Don Mills, Ontario)
X-ray-induced cancers kill 780 to 2,500 Canadians a year and many new procedures that use X-rays to guide thin tubes and other devices into blood vessels and arteries have not been tested for radiation safety, according to Health Canada. ... Patients also receive minimal information about CT scans, says Dr. Richard Semelka, professor and vice-chair of research in University of North Carolina's department of radiology.
Climate change could cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, scientists say
Canadian Press
So the warnings of harsher heat waves, stronger hurricanes and rising seas fail to impress. How about volcanic eruptions in the Arctic, or a tsunami off the coast of Newfoundland? ... Alan Glazner, a volcano specialist at the University of North Carolina, said he was initially incredulous when he found a link between climate and volcanic activity off the coast of California.
National Coverage
Regular Tylenol use could hurt liver
The Los Angeles Times
The highest recommended dose of Extra Strength Tylenol sharply increased liver enzymes in healthy adults in a clinical study, an early sign of possible organ damage. ... Dr. Paul Watkins of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, the lead author of the study, said acetaminophen generally was safe at the highest doses, although the margin of safety was small.
Related Link: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Painkiller-Liver.html
Note: UNC Health Care communications sent out a media advisory about Watkins' JAMA article, held a media conference call and coordinated media interviews with Watkins.Daily Acetaminophen Dose Linked to Liver Damage
"All Things Considered," National Public Radio
Dr. Paul Watkins of the University of North Carolina was featured on Tuesday's (July 4) edition of "All Things Considered." Acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol and other painkillers, is considered one of the safest medicines around. But a study in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association shows that ordinary doses of acetaminophen can cause liver damage. Experts see the new results as a warning, but not as a reason to stop taking acetaminophen.
Related Link: http://www.cbc.ca/cp/HealthScout/060704/6070402U.html
Note: Watkins was also a special guest on CKLW-AM (Detroit, Mich./Windsor, Ontario) to discuss this new study.The Grim Neurology of Teenage Drinking
The New York Times
Teenagers have been drinking alcohol for centuries. In pre-Revolutionary America, young apprentices were handed buckets of ale. In the 1890's, at the age of 15, the writer Jack London regularly drank grown sailors under the table. ... In 2000, Fulton Crews, a neuropharmacologist at the University of North Carolina, subjected adolescent and adult rats to the equivalent of a four-day alcoholic binge and then autopsied them, sectioning their forebrains and staining them with a silver solution to identify dead neurons.
Imperfect, Imprecise but Useful: Your Race (Opinion column)
The New York Times
She objected to a study I wrote about last month, which found that young black women with breast cancer were more likely than whites or older blacks to have a type of tumor with genetic traits that make it uncommonly lethal. ... "It's a very explosive issue," said Dr. James P. Evans, director of adult genetics at the University of North Carolina. "And for a good reason. The whole concept of race has been abused blatantly in the past and egregiously misused in order to accomplish very distasteful ends socially and politically."
Testing the Waters (Opinion column)
The Washington Post
Quenching thirst can be a lot more complicated these days than a trip to the water fountain or just turning on the kitchen tap. ... But about half the excess calories consumed daily are from beverages, most of them with added sugar, University of North Carolina researchers have found. Consumption of sugared beverages has climbed threefold from an average of 50 calories per day in 1977 to nearly 150 calories per day in 2001 --or enough to pile on about 15 pounds per year.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sept04/popkin091604.html
Note: This column was picked up in syndication in papers across the country, including the Star-Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.) http://www.startribune.com/389/story/531379.htmlGuidelines Update: Aggressively Target Cardiovascular Risk Factors
Journal of the American Medical Association
Recent results from clinical trials suggest physicians should intensify their treatment of established risk factors in certain patients with known cardiovascular disease. ... "We included [vaccination] in the recommendations because there is an awareness that it was not uniformly being administered around the country," said (Sidney) Smith, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a past AHA president. "Certainly the more risk the patient has, such as impaired left-ventricular function and age, the greater the benefit."
Sinai Tops Economy Forecasters With Aggressive Inflation View
The Wall Street Journal
In recent months, U.S. consumers and investors alike have suffered unpleasant surprises as prices on everything from gasoline to apartment rents have jumped. ... Conversely, Mike Cosgrove of Econoclast, Lawrence Kudlow of Kudlow & Co., Gail Fosler of the Conference Board and Robert DiClemente of Citigroup Inc. missed the ballpark on one or the other, putting them in the bottom five. University of North Carolina finance professor James Smith, who took last place with a prediction that oil and consumer prices would drop, remained undaunted.
Bribery Attempts, the Unbearable Pushiness of Parents, and Other Admissions Tales
The Chronicle of Higher Education
While visiting colleges in the Northeast last year, Andrew N. Lazar had the kind of campus tour that gives admissions deans nightmares. ... A member of the admissions staff at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was standing at a urinal in the football stadium when the grandfather of an applicant who had recently been denied admission demanded an explanation on the spot. (The grandfather had accompanied the youngster on a campus visit, and recognized the admissions staffer.) "I couldn't believe that somebody would bring up college admission when he was standing there with his pants open," says Stephen M. Farmer, undergraduate admissions director at Chapel Hill.
At U. of North Carolina, Star Players Who Drop Out Often Keep Their Promises to Return
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Three weeks after Sean May and Marvin Williams led the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to the national championship in men's basketball last year, they announced they were leaving college early to enter the National Basketball Association draft. ... This summer Mr. May and Mr. Williams returned to Chapel Hill to continue working toward their degrees. They shared an apartment in Chapel Hill during the first summer session and took two classes each during a break from their NBA jobs.
Updates on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 22 Universities
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The 22 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected a total of $476.6-million in gifts and pledges during the last month for which they had data available. ... The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, $1.75-billion as of May 31 (increase of $40.5-million in the last month); the goal is $2-billion by 2007.
Regional Coverage
Running against a poverty of political imagination
The Oregonian
Riding out to the Portland airport, on one short leg of the endless travel schedule of someone getting ready to get ready to run for president, John Edwards was stopped by a question: When was the last time someone ran for president on one big idea? ... Edwards has started, at the University of North Carolina law school, the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity, and spends about one day a week there. With his trial lawyer's suit, he wears a Lance Armstrong-style rubber wristband, except that Edwards' says, "Make Poverty History."
State & Local Coverage
Health and Wealth
"The State of Things," WUNC-FM
Penny Gordon-Larsen, assistant professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Mark Dessauer, communications officer for the UNC School of Public Health-based national initiative Active Living by Design, were featured on today's (July 5) edition of "The State of Things." New research suggests that it's not as easy to be physically active if you live in a low-income neighborhood. Gordon-Larsen and Dessauer discuss how where we live impacts our physical fitness.
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.
Those Who Remained
"The State of Things," WUNC-FM
Theda Perdue, a professor of history at UNC-Chapel Hill, was featured on today's (July 5) edition of "The State of Things." She is one of a handful of locals to win a Guggenheim fellowship this year for her research on the "American Indians in the Segregated South."
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.
Dawn of home genetic testing offers promise and controversy
The Charlotte Observer
You no longer need a doctor or genetic counselor to test your risk of developing certain diseases that run in families, such as breast cancer or Alzheimer's. Now you can send your DNA directly to companies that will have it tested for you. ... "I think there are a whole bunch of places out there that make my blood run cold," said Dr. James Evans, director of adult genetics at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine. "Some of the outfits are doing a poor job."
Teens' work on construction sites is often illegal, study says
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Teens employed in construction jobs during the summer work in one of North Carolina's most dangerous industries. ... Eighty-four percent of the 187 teens who talked to researchers at the Injury Prevention Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said they had performed tasks on the job that workers younger than 18 are prohibited by law from doing.
Related Link: http://www.wwaytv3.com/Global/story.asp?S=5113609&nav=menu70_2
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jun06/teenworksafety063006.htmThis summer school is for principals
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
By the time classes resume in late August, students in North Carolina's lowest-performing high schools will have become part of one of the state's most urgent efforts to improve high school student achievement. ... Jim Johnson, a professor of entrepreneurship at UNC's business school, said the training for principals will focus on lessons taken from the business world, with the emphasis on managing information, people and finances.
Related Link: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/14966942.htmBush visit makes the party
The Fayetteville Observer
As far as Fourth of July parties go, you can’t get much bigger than a presidential visit. ... For the purposes of a wartime president, July Fourth is a wise choice, said Richard Kohn, a professor of military history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Ticks are back and more of them
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
This summer, lurking in local backyards, parks and woods are packs of miniature vampires that cannot be warded off with garlic or defeated with a stake to the heart. ... Marcia Herman-Giddens is president of the Pittsboro-based Tick-Borne Infections Council of North Carolina Inc. and an adjunct professor at UNC Chapel Hill. She says the only way to fight the miniature menace is through public health education.
How to choose greens for tasty, nutritious salads (Commentary)
The Charlotte Observer
Summer is prime salad time, which is great, because green salads are low in calories and high in nutrients you need. But what used to be a simple matter -- a tossed salad of iceberg lettuce, sliced cucumbers and a tomato wedge -- has become more sophisticated. ... Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC.
Roses & Raspberries (Opinion column)
The Chapel Hill News
Roses to the impromptu team of people who spent several hours and a lot of energy to rescue a feral kitten stuck in a drain pipe on the UNC campus. Kelli Gaskill, who works in the department of computer science in Sitterson Hall, learned from a coworker that a mother cat and four kittens had taken up residence just outside a fire exit.
A big thanks for a big party (Opinion-editorial column)
The Chapel Hill News
On June 10, the UNC Student Union was once again the location of an amazing event, Project Graduation, a gift from the community to the graduating seniors of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. ... The Student Union, under the direction of Don Luse, Scott Hudson and their cheerful and enthusiastic staff, hosted the evening's activities, generously welcoming the students to enjoy the beautiful facility as well as bowling, billiards and arcade games.
Issues & Trends
Pep band, cheering crowd welcomes new Univ of Arizona president
The Associated Press (N.C.)
Led by an alumni pep band, a cheering crowd of more than 500 people welcomed new University of Arizona President Robert Shelton to campus as he started his first day of work. ... Shelton had been the provost at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Street signs pointing in right direction (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
The public chat session that the N.C. Department of Transportation held recently in Chapel Hill on long-overdue improvements to South Columbia Street held some encouraging signs. ... But the impact could be worse, given that leaders of the UNC Health Care system have argued in the past for a full-scale widening of the street. The Town Council fortunately has stood fast for the current design, and UNC Chapel Hill and health-care officials have said publicly they're on-board.
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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