March 12, 2003

Carolina in the News

Current International and National Coverage

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

Alcohol-Based Rubs Won't Rid Hands of Anthrax 
Reuters (international wire service)
Washing hands with waterless, alcohol-based rubs is not an effective way to get 
rid of the spores that carry anthrax, scientists at the University of North Carolina 
at Chapel Hill announced Tuesday.
http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=2363888
(Note: Other coverage known to date includes National Public Radio, CNN-TV, 
http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/03/11/cleaning.anthrax/, The Orlando Sentinel 
and The Charlotte Observer, http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/5371219.htm. 
Other coverage is expected later this week in The News and Observer and 
WNCN-TV (NBC, Raleigh). This coverage is based on a UNC news release, 
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar03/weber031003.html)

Artificial human liver created
BBC News (U.K.)
Patients with liver failure could be helped by an machine that uses human liver 
cells to remove poisons from the blood. Approximately 5,000 people die from 
liver failure each year in England and Wales. ... Dr Roshan Shresta, who is 
organizing a trial of the system at the University of North Caroline at Chapel 
Hill, said: "Currently, we don't have very good therapies for patients with acute liver
transplant. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2843401.stm
(Note: Other coverage know to date includes United Press International, 
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030312-054957-7150r. A 
UNC news release about this trial is available at 
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar03/livercells031103.html)

China faces sex disease crisis
BBC News (U.K.)
China is facing what medical researchers describe as a "hidden epidemic" of 
sexually-transmitted diseases. Researchers from the United States and China say 
they have discovered that a significant number of Chinese adults are infected with 
chlamydia. ... "China is only now beginning to suffer the ravages of HIV, and the 
unexpected prevalence of chlamydia and attendant high-risk behaviour are critical 
and instructive warning signs," said researcher Dr Myron Cohen of the University 
of North Carolina ... 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2841931.stm
(Note: Other coverage known to date includes Reuters, 
http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=2365107, 
and Agence France-Presse. A UNC news release about this study is available 
at http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar03/chinastudy031003.html)

Kid See, Adult Do (Editorial)
The Los Angeles Times
Newly released research on TV violence and its lasting effects on viewers 
suggests courting couples might want to inquire about their prospective spouse's 
childhood program proclivities ... Yes, exposing kids to more violence today 
produces better "Cops" episodes in 2018. But is that what we really want this 
fantastic medium to do, entertain us to death? A coincidental new study by the 
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine shows that 10 
minutes of hugging and handholding between romantic partners noticeably reduces 
stress, heart rates and blood pressure, possibly lengthening lives over time. ... 
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-tv-11mar11,1,4124430.story
(Note: The Los Angeles Times requires free registration to access articles.)

A squeeze a day keeps stress away 
The Straits Times (Singapore)
Cuddling may be good medicine for the heart. A brief hug and 10 minutes of 
handholding with a romantic partner greatly reduce the harmful physical effects 
of stress, according to a study reported over the weekend at the American 
Psychosomatic Society meeting here. Loving contact before a tough day at 
work ''could carry over and protect you throughout the day'', said 
psychologist Karen Grewen of the School of Medicine at the University of 
North Carolina-Chapel Hill. ...
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/world/story/0,4386,176462,00.html
(Note: This story originally appeared in USA Today and also appeared in 
The Olympian, WA.)

Mimi Murphy's Medical Breakthroughs: Improving Dialysis
WIFR-TV (CBS, Rockford, IL )
People who suffer from kidney failure need dialysis to help cleanse their blood, 
but it doesn't remove all of the dangerous impurities. ... "One of the big limitations 
of people on dialysis is that the dialysis machine doesn't take out the phosphorus 
as well as one might think," said William Finn, M.D., of the University of 
North Carolina Medical School in Chapel Hill ...
http://www.wifr.com/home/headlines/251646.html

State and Local Coverage

The wide, wild world of ibiblio 
News and Observer
Surfing the ibiblio Web site is like having a conversation with an eccentric 
intellectual with good intentions to enlighten but little tact or organization. ... 
Welcome to the Internet's oldest online archive and one of the largest. Housed 
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's campus, ibiblio 
(www.ibiblio.org) fashions itself as the Internet's public library. ... "It's really 
pushing the edge of where the libraries are going to be," says JoAnn G. Marshall, 
dean of UNC's school of information and library science ...
http://newsobserver.com/business/story/2312271p-2170517c.html

Odum Village residents must move
Chapel Hill News
The hassles normally associated with moving are compounded when there are 
two small children in the family and are exacerbated even further when one 
parent is a full-time graduate student. 
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/story/2310658p-2169430c.html

Future shock: ACC at 100? 
News and Observer
By 2053, tuition bills will be so high that many universities may get out of the big
-time sports business. Arenas will be so expensive that schools may have to share
them ...North Carolina's Smith Center, which opened in January 1986, was built 
for about $34 million. ... James F. Smith, a professor at UNC's Kenan-
Flagler School of Business, predicts that time-share athletic lodging may be on 
the way. ...
http://newsobserver.com/sports/story/2312286p-2170624c.html

Roses and Raspberries
Chapel Hill News
Roses to the Tar Heels, men and women, for giving us thrilling basketball over 
the weekend. ...
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/opinion/story/2310626p-2169405c.html

UNC suicides raise troubling questions (Editorial)
Greensboro News and Record
Would school officials have responded differently if four UNC-Chapel Hill
students died from a communicable disease rather than taking their own lives? ...
http://www.news-record.com/news/opinions/ed1tues11.htm

Crafty e-mail scam still luring victims 
News and Observer
Hilton Guei needs you. Since the murder of his father, a high-ranking military 
official in Africa's Ivory Coast, he's been harassed and intimidated, his assets
seized and accounts frozen, Guei writes in an e-mail message. ... Jeanne M. 
Smythe, who develops computing policy at the University of North 
Carolina at Chapel Hill, estimates she gets six or eight a month among the 
150 e-mail messages she gets a day.
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2312187p-2170614c.html

What you need to know before you go flat (Commentary)
News and Observer
I have flat-panel envy. That is, I crave a flat-panel display to replace my computer's 
beastly monitor ... Some multimedia designers use one monitor to view their design 
tools and another to view their canvas, explains Fred Thomsen, director of 
information technology and services for the School of Journalism and Mass 
Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ...
http://newsobserver.com/business/story/2312280p-2170540c.html

What a difference a win makes (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
That animal you saw leaving town this past weekend — probably hitching a ride 
eight miles up the road — was undoubtedly the monkey that’s been on the backs 
of the Tar Heels and basketball coach Matt Doherty. And on our backs, as well. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/opinion/chhedits/57-329615.html

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Universities Learn Value of Neighborliness
The New York Times
Tensions between town and gown stretch from the Middle Ages. The concept of 
the ivory tower has been around a long time, too. But Case Western Reserve 
University is reaching out to the community here. ... 
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/12/education/12CITI.html
(Note: The New York Times requires free registration to access articles.)

Open on cuts. . . (Editorial)
News and Observer
Flexibility sounded better when Governor Easley first started cutting state spending 
in 2001. Now the indications are that more cutting will come down to hard choices
... The University of North Carolina system cut spending in part by eliminating 
171 teaching positions. Students, who had been asked to pay more tuition, were 
affected by bigger classes, fewer course selections and less administrative help 
with financial aid
http://newsobserver.com/editorials/story/2312132p-2170545c.html

Business group signs on 
News and Observer
North Carolina's largest business group announced its support of Gov. Mike Easley's 
budget proposal Tuesday, saying the spending plan moves the state toward the path 
of fiscal responsibility.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nc/story/2312315p-2170643c.html

Note: If you have any questions about Carolina in the News, 
please call Cathleen Keyser or Mike McFarland at News Services, 
(919) 962-2091 or news@unc.edu or mike_mcfarland@unc.edu