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June 13, 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
Some Heart Disease Linked With Other Ills
United Press International
A U.S. study suggests the same genetic defect causing a rare respiratory disease might also lead to some types of congenital heart disease. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine researchers said the link between the two diseases starts with cilia -- the tiny, hair-like extensions that help the lungs clear mucus and remove contaminants such as dust.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jun07/knowlespcd061107.htmlNational Coverage
The growing clout of online patient groups
The Wall Street Journal
When researchers at Harvard University were looking for a gene mutation in a group of rare blood cancers, they turned to Joyce Niblack, who put the word out to an online patient mailing list she manages, spurring more than 300 members to send in mouth swabs and bone-marrow samples. ...The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill teamed up with ACOR for the first large-scale scientific analysis of medical online communities, publishing its findings last month in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. Using software that analyzes message content to examine the type of support provided by the groups, the researchers found that the most common topics in messages were about treatment information and how to communicate with health-careSchool's Out
The Washington Post
If I close my eyes, I can picture myself among them again: college students tossing Frisbees, studying or crossing the quad on the way to class. On this warm late-spring morning, however, the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is mostly empty and quiet.Living a lie on campus
Los Angeles Times
When David Vanegas was going to Rice University, school officials say, he gravitated to large lecture classes where he wouldn't stand out. ...But "Velissariou" had mentioned his sister's name, and a search for her led to his photo — a mug shot attached to a 2003 Crime Stoppers bulletin from North Carolina University at Chapel Hill. It said Kenneth Leon Foster, then 20, was had been wanted in 2003 in connection with the theft of a car from a student.Heart Attack Treatment Differs by Race
WebMD
After heart attacks, African-Americans get less open-heart surgery and fewer artery-unblocking procedures -- and are more likely to die -- than whites. ..."This study tells us there is a difference in quality of care for heart attack -- and it leads to a mortality difference," Giselle Corbie-Smith, MD, tells WebMD. Corbie-Smith, director of the program on health disparities at the University of North Carolina Sheps Center for Health Services Research, was not involved in the Popescu study.Regional Coverage
Side effects could be genetic
Memphis Commercial Appeal (Tenn.)
Memphis researchers have found further evidence that normal genetic variations impact how the body responds to medications, but don't expect a DNA test before a doctor writes your next prescription. ...Dr. Howard McLeod said a genetic screening test is also available to identify breast cancer patients who are less likely to benefit from the medicine drug Tamoxifen and, thus, need to consider other drugs. McLeod directs the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Institute of Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may07/ipit050107.htmlIllegal Limbo
The Nantucket Independent (Mass.)
The United States is a land of immigrants. Nantucket has been a land of opportunity, first for the Cape Verdeans who came back with the whaling ships and, in the last decade or so, for a steady stream of people from other places who have come to earn money and help make the economy hum. ...The conclusion drawn by the William R. Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was that this particular segment of the community was essentially paying its own way and, more importantly, that its presence and contribution was vital to maintaining the economic well-being of the state.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan06/economicimpact010306.htmState and Local Coverage
UNC and USC join campaign for climate
The Associated Press (N.C.)
Colleges and universities are hardly the worst offenders when it comes to producing the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. ...Among those that have signed are leaders of 15 Carolinas' colleges and universities, including UNC Chapel Hill, eight University of South Carolina campuses and Furman.Outstanding job locally on environment (Opinion-editorial column)
The Chapel Hill Herald
A week ago Tuesday at an event in Hillsborough, the Sierra Club honored all five of our major local government entities for their work to reduce the effects of global warming. ... UNC is the leader among university institutions in promoting sustainability. Its energy-efficient purchasing policy, which requires all energy-consuming equipment purchased by UNC departments to be certified with the Energy Star label, is to be lauded. ...Bernadette Pelissier is chair of the Orange Chatham Sierra Club.
Note: No link available.Ready For School?
"The State of Things," WUNC-FM
Ellen Peisner-Feinberg, from the Franklin Porter Graham Child Development Institute at UNC-Chapel Hill, was featured on today's (June 13) edition of "The State of Things." As North Carolina considers moving the birthday cutoff date for beginning school, parents are wondering how they know when their child is ready for kindergarten. But many policymakers and academics think intervention in children’s education should begin much sooner than that.PTI may drive future
The Winston-Salem Journal
Piedmont Triad International Airport has “an excellent opportunity” at becoming the region’s economic catalyst, but only if local governments adopt an all-for-one marketing plan, a UNC Chapel Hill professor said yesterday. ...John Kasarda, the director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, was presenting the results of a PTI study commissioned by the partnership.Planning now for FedEx
The Greensboro News & Record
When the Piedmont Triad's FedEx hub opens in 2009, the region's steady stream of air and land cargo business will become a raging torrent. ...John D. Kasarda, director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC-Chapel Hill, presented a report to the annual meeting of the Piedmont Triad Partnership, an economic development group.
Related link: http://triad.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2007/06/11/daily18.htmlSpice up summer reading list with these food books (Commentary)
The Charlotte Observer
Now that the school year has ended and the pace is about to slow down, consider a summer reading list that enlightens as it entertains. Include a few titles that broaden your understanding of food and the role it plays in your health. ...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.Chemical has Pittsboro water customers worried
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
High levels of a chlorine byproduct in the town's water supply have some residents concerned about possible health risks. ...Research connects long-term exposure to TTHMs with bladder cancer, said Philip Singer, director of the Drinking Water Research Center at the UNC School of Public Health.Quintiles, Constella Group Execs Receive CED’s Top Individual ‘Excellence’ Awards
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
Dennis Gillings, founder of international clinical research and services firm Quintiles, and his wife Joan along with Donald Holzworth, chief executive officer at Constella Group, were among the top winners at the Council for Entrepreneurial development’s annual “Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards” on Tuesday ...Dennis Gillings, a former professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his wife also recently donated $50 million to UNC.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb07/gillingsgift022107.htmlUNC looks for new information technology leader
WCHL-AM (Chapel Hill)
UNC’s division of information technology is large, and it needs someone in charge. University librarian Sarah Michalak heads up the committee searching for that future leader.Issues and Trends
Campus security flaws a pattern in slayings
USA Today
The University of Washington devised a bold plan six years ago to protect students and faculty after a struggling medical resident shot to death his mentor, then killed himself. ... Wendell Williamson, a University of North Carolina law student had been hearing voices for two years until a university psychiatrist gave him anti-psychotic medicine. Within six weeks, Williamson was "doing remarkably better," psychiatrist Myron Liptzin wrote in a 1994 report.Task force to assess safety on college campuses
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A task force to find ways of dealing with a Virginia Tech-style shooting rampage at North Carolina's colleges and universities holds its first meeting today.UNC to start Web site to consolidate online offerings
The Winston-Salem Journal
The University of North Carolina is trying to make it easier to get a degree online. “UNC Online” is a repackaged, one-stop, aggressively marketed gateway to the Internet offerings of North Carolina’s 16 campus public university system. The Web site won’t officially start until July 1, but it is available now at http://online.northcarolina.edu.
Related link: http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/editorials/story/601887.htmlLegislative briefing
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Less smoking: University of North Carolina system campuses can expand their no-smoking areas to include 100-foot buffer zones around university buildings in a measure approved by the House Health Committee. The Senate bill also allows exemptions for the UNC Health Care System and medical buildings at East Carolina University, leaving policies there to the discretion of administrators. The measure now goes to the full House.\Orange approves new animal facilities
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The Orange County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night unanimously approved plans for a new Animal Resource Center that will unite the county's animal shelter, animal control program and animal services administration under one roof and provide more space for lost or abandoned pets. ...The shelter, off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, is on property owned by UNC-Chapel Hill that is slated to become part of the future Carolina North research campus.A sniffing sleuth
The News & Record (Greensboro)
A drug-sniffing police dog? On a university campus? This pooch may have its work cut out for it. ...UNCG's police force isn't the first at a North Carolina university to use dogs. N.C. A&T police started dog patrols in 2003, and UNC-Chapel Hill police launched its own unit six months later.
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.
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