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June 6, 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
Suggested amounts of dietary choline may be too low
Reuters
Some men and women who consume the recommended daily amount of choline, an essential dietary nutrient, may still develop an insufficiency and experience liver dysfunction as a result, new study findings suggest. "Some humans may need more than the recommended amount of choline for optimal health," study co-author Dr. Kerry-Ann da Costa, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told Reuters Health.Despair and ferment
The Dawn (Pakistan)
In Pakistan today, we are preoccupied, as indeed we should be, with the deepening of our own domestic political crisis and the newly amended Pemra ordinance. We despair over the government’s apparent helplessness as Jamia Hafsa vigilantes extend the scope of their activities to the nurses hostel in the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad and as Talibanisation of settled districts in the NWFP proceeds apace. ...That nets out to a modest $61 million drain on state coffers. But the study, by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, also found that that deficit was dwarfed by the fact that Hispanics contributed more than $9 billion, or some 3 percent, to the state's economy in 2004, an amount projected to double by 2009.Safety scare over Glaxo drug fuels talks of tougher laws in US
The Economic Times (India)
Law makers are seizing on last month’s study linking GlaxoSmithKline’s diabetes drug Avandia and heart risks to press for new US drug-safety legislation. ...Buse, a diabetes specialist with the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, said in a statement that he expects to tell Waxman's committee about pressure he received from Glaxo to stop criticizing Avandia. The company later apologized, and “I hold no ill will toward Glaxo,” Buse said.National Coverage
N.C.: 'Fire-Safe' Cigarettes Advance
The Associated Press (National)
With the cautious support of North Carolina's tobacco manufacturers, a House committee approved a bill Tuesday that would require the companies to make and sell cigarettes that burn out if left unattended. ...“Seventy-five percent of the cigarettes, when they’re dropped, will continue to burn for up to 45 minutes,” said Adam Goldstein, an associate professor of family medicine at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine. “It’s that long-lasting impact that creates the fire, not the short one.”The Final Word: Daisy-fresh interns make the old-timer wilt
USA Today
It's intern season in offices across America. USA TODAY is no exception. I walked into the newsroom the other day, and what seemed like hundreds of them were sitting at desks all around me. I knew they were interns because it was 9:30 in the morning, and no self-respecting journalist is ever in the office at 9:30 in the morning. ...One of the interns goes to Penn State. The other is at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Partnering With a University
Entrepreneur Magazine
Ah, college--football games, house parties and late-night study sessions. But the nation's campuses are about more than just entertaining the under-21 set; they're also brimming with new research and cutting-edge innovations. Commercializing these discoveries is a challenging niche, for sure, but one that entrepreneur Carl Gibson calls essential. ...To date, universities like Cornell and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, have posted on the site. And while it's currently free for entrepreneurs to participate, that may change after the pilot phase ends late this year.Regional Coverage
Bush's self-justification rare
The Baltimore Sun
President Bush said yesterday that he ordered the release of classified information in 2003 to prove his reasons for the Iraq war were legitimate - a striking assertion for a leader who has made secrecy one of the trademarks of his administration, analysts said. ...The explanation was a grudging one that reflected "the larger pattern of this administration's inability to convince the public of the necessity for war once it turns ugly," said Richard H. Kohn, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill specialist in presidential war leadership.State and Local Coverage
Daily folic acid might not be helping, study suggests
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Folic acid, a food supplement proven to prevent birth defects, may not be all good. ..."There's always been this tantalizing idea that we could prevent colon cancer and other cancers by taking a pill," said Dr. Robert Sandler, chief of gastroenterology and hepatology at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Medicine and an author of the report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jun07/folicacid060107.htmlStudy: Folic Acid Doesn't Prevent Colon Polyps
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
A new study suggests that large amounts of folic acid don't prevent the growth of pre-cancerous polyps in the colon, contrary to earlier belief. Co-authored by Dr. Robert Sandler, a gastroenterologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the study followed about 1,000 people nationwide with polyps for at least three years. Half took a 1-milligram daily supplement of folic acid, while the others took a placebo.High school grads and students hit summer job market
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Pools are opening, amusement and water parks are drawing crowds, and movie theaters are coming out with their summer blockbusters. ..."It's probably the best job market in about a decade," said James F. Smith, director of the Center for Business Forecasting at UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan- Flagler Business School. "The economy is humming along."Diabetes drug's effect like 'kryptonite'
The News & Obesrver (Raleigh)
Timothy Jernigan stopped taking his diabetes medicine about a week ago, afraid the pills were hurting more than helping. ...In a letter dated March 15, 2000, Dr. John Buse, director of the University of North Carolina's Diabetes Care Center in Chapel Hill, alerted the FDA about his concerns about Avandia's safety. Buse is one of the medical experts scheduled to testify today.
Related links: http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/593501.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/593501.htmlGSK says diabetes drug linked to higher heart-failure rates
The Triangle Business Journal
GlaxoSmithKline said Tuesday that interim data from a company-run study show that its Avandia diabetes drug is associated with higher rates of heart failure than other drugs. ...Among the people scheduled to testify is John Buse, head of the Diabetes Care Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who warned the FDA of risks related to Avandia as early as March 2000.
Related link: http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=health&id=5367052Keep kids' summertime meals and snacks healthy (Commentary)
The Charlotte Observer
Exercise is a key to weight control. Not many of us, though, can climb enough stairs or walk long enough to offset a steady diet of chicken biscuits and Krispy Kremes. That's as true for adults as it is for kids. ...Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC.57 tobacco-free hospitals to be honored
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A movement to ban smoking at hospitals in North Carolina has turned a corner — with the vast majority of the state's hospitals agreeing to go tobacco-free by July 4. The Triangle's three major health systems — Duke University Medical Center, WakeMed Health & Hospitals and UNC Health Care, which owns Rex Healthcare — are among the 70 percent of hospitals in the state that have banned or plan to ban smoking anywhere on their campuses.Study may clear up mystery
The Chapel Hill News
Study may clear up mystery. Some western Orange County residents hope a study by the UNC School of Public Health will help them show that sewage sludge sprayed on nearby farm fields is harming their health. ...Chip Simmons, an environmental microbiologist from UNC School of Public Health, hopes to begin a study this summer to examine the contents of the sludge and test surrounding air and water quality.This island Earth
The Independent Weekly (Durham)
Bennett and Erickson certainly did their research. No fewer than 20 experts populate the film, including anarcho-primitivist authors Daniel Quinn (Ishmael) and Derrick Jensen, local environmental scientists like Duke's William Schlesinger and Stuart Pimm and UNC-Chapel Hill's Douglas Crawford-Brown, and other eco-luminaries like Richard Heinberg, Jerry Mander, Richard Manning, Chellis Glendinning and Thomas BerryUNC Health Sciences Library goes green
WCHL-AM (Chapel Hill)
UNC Health Sciences Library patrons might notice the library is turning into a garden spot – literally. Library director Carol Jenkins says a garden featuring medicinal plants will be unveiled there next week.UNC officials help red hawk reunite with mate
WCHL-AM (Chapel Hill)
Thanks to special attention from vets at Chapel Hill’s Piedmont Wildlife Center, a male red-shouldered hawk was able to return to Carolina blue skies last month. Center chief veterinarian Cheryl Hoggard says the hawk had found near an office building with badly fractured wing bones.Issues and Trends
Don't compare mall with Carolina North (Letter to the editor)
The Chapel Hill News
Regarding the June 3 Chapel Hill News story comparing our plans for Carolina North with the size of two Southpoint malls ("Carolina North plans getting more refined"), I write to share concerns and context. The story accurately reported that our projections call for about 2.5 million square feet in total possible program space in the first 15 years of development of Carolina North. Since the square footage of The Streets at Southpoint in Durham is 1.3 million, doubling that number would make it roughly equal in square footage to the figure discussed for Carolina North. ...Jack Evans, Executive director, Carolina NorthTriangle-based research institute in discussions to run core lab at research campus
The Kannapolis Independent Tribune
Duke University is in talks with RTI International, a Triangle-based research institute, to manage the day-to-day operations of the Core Research Laboratory at the North Carolina Research Campus. ...“It makes sense to go with RTI because they are in North Carolina and RTI is the baby of Duke, UNC and N.C. State, who will be in Kannapolis,” Tabor said.
Related link: http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ/M
GArticle/WSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173351504229###
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/newsserv/clips/index.shtml
Please share any questions, comments or suggestions at news@unc.edu.
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.