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March 7, 2006Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:Pit investigation:
UNC Attack Suspect Wanted to Punish Gov't
The Associated Press (National)
A University of North Carolina graduate accused of running down nine people on campus told an emergency dispatcher he wanted to ''punish the government of the United States for their actions around the world,'' according to a 911 recording released Monday.''
Related Link: http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060306-105321-3623r_page2.htmSUV Attack Prompts Debate Over 'Terrorism' and Islam
The Los Angeles Times
University of North Carolina student Stephen Mann has a simple definition for the attack that occurred on his campus last week: terrorism. He and other UNC students were disturbed to learn this weekend that former UNC student Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar allegedly plowed a sport utility vehicle into nine pedestrians on the busy campus square to "avenge the deaths of Muslims" around the world, according to campus officials.
Related Link: http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060307-094432-7364rAftermath at Chapel Hill
Insider Higher Ed (major higher education news Web site)
It wasn’t 9/11 and there were no serious injuries. But some University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students are calling an incident Friday — in which a recent graduate drove an SUV into a crowd of students and told authorities he acted to avenge the deaths of Muslims worldwide – an act of terrorism. The university is now weighing how to reassure students and to prevent a backlash against Muslims at Chapel Hill.
What is Terrorism?
WUNC-FM
A small group of students gathered at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill yesterday to denounce Friday's hit-and-run attack on campus as an act of terrorism. The UNC graduate who drove an SUV across a popular campus spot and hit nine people says he did so to avenge the treatment of Muslims around the world. There were other students, however, who turned out for yesterday's so-called anti-terrorism rally to say the label is being misapplied.
Related Link: http://www.nbc17.com/news/7756753/detail.htmlUNC rampage suspect: 'Allah is my lawyer'
The Charlotte Observer
A UNC-Chapel Hill graduate who police say drove an SUV into a crowd of students last week said Monday his trial will offer a lesson on "the will of Allah, the creator."
Related Link: http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-709565.htmlSuspect says he meant to kill
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The UNC-Chapel Hill graduate charged with injuring nine people when he drove an SUV down a crowded campus walkway politely told a judge Monday he plans to represent himself, with the help of Allah.
Related Links: http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/415424.html
Violence intrudes on peaceful place (Editorial)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Was the person who aimed his SUV into a crowd of students at UNC Chapel Hill on Friday mentally disturbed or committing an act of terrorism? Or a bit of both?
International Coverage
Study: Anorexia not a 'disorder of choice'
United Press International
Anorexics have often shouldered the blame for their illness, but new research suggests that a combination of genes and neuroticism may drive them to self-starvation. ..."What this really does is change the tide more definitively. There have been years of misperception about anorexia being a disorder of choice," said lead author Cynthia Bulik, a professor of eating disorders at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Related Links: http://www.svd.se/dynamiskt/inrikes/did_12020276.asp
http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,18377294%255E23272,00.htm
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb06/geneticsanorexia022806.htmGenes play a big role in anorexia: study
Reuters
Genetics play a big role in anorexia nervosa, the exaggerated fear of weight gain that causes many young women to starve themselves -- in some cases to death, researchers reported on Monday. A study of twins in Sweden found that about 56 percent of the risk for developing the eating disorder is based on family history, the report from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said. Other unspecified factors triggered the disorder in 44 percent of the cases, the study said.
Related Link: http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hseat074653367mar07,0,2406322.story?coll=ny-health-print
http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=13279Kaposi Herpes Virus Linked To Pre-Lymphoma
United Press International
North Carolina researchers have found Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpes virus, or KSHV, induced a pre-lymphoma condition. In some cases it was linked to true lymphoma in mice, representing a major breakthrough in understanding the genesis of this particular type of blood cancer, said Dirk Dittmer of the University of North Carolina.Scientists probe evolutionary mysteries of sex
Dominican Today (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)
By studying one of the great mysteries of biology – the evolution of sexual reproduction – Ricardo Azevedo, an assistant professor in the department of biology and biochemistry at UH, has found in a study using a computational model that a leading theory may be more plausible than previously thought. ...Collaborating with Christina Burch from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Azevedo and his team created a very simple model of how genes interact with each other to produce an organism and simulated the evolution of this simple genetic system under different conditions.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar06/burch030206.htmNational Coverage
M.I.T. to Match Grant Money for Lower-Income Students
The New York Times
Reflecting broadening concern that high school students of modest means will be priced out of a college education, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology plans to provide matching money to students who have received federal Pell Grants, which are awarded based on financial need. ...In recent years, institutions like Harvard, Yale and the University of North Carolina have announced initiatives to make higher education more affordable to low- and moderate-income students and bring more economic diversity to campus.
MIT Will Pump Up Financial Aid by Matching Students' Federal Pell Grants
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology will match students' federal Pell Grants, up to their maximum amount of $4,050, beginning next fall, the university is scheduled to announce today. ...MIT joins a handful of other large universities that have increased grant options for their students in the past several years. The University of Minnesota system, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Virginia, as well as Harvard and Princeton Universities, have replaced loans with extra grants in financial-aid packages for lower-income students.
Note: Subscription required.Study of twins links anorexia to genetics
Scripps Howard News Service
Genetic predisposition is responsible for more than half the risk of developing the eating disorder anorexia nervosa as a teen or young adult, according to a long-term study involving more than 30,000 twins. ...“Family studies show that if you have a family member who has an eating disorder, you’re between seven and 12 times at greater risk for developing an eating disorder yourself,” said Cynthia Bulik, a specialist on eating disorders at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and lead author of the new study.
Related Links: http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060307-124606-2610r.htm
http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4592429Studies say ongoing sex-ed talk has benefits
The Associated Press (National)
When it comes to adolescents' attitudes toward sex, movies matter. And so does locker-room chatter. But two recent studies also note the influence parents have over their children - even if it is sometimes indirect. ...Dr. Carol Ford, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, lead researcher of the 2005 study, says the findings indicate that parents should make their view on sex clear to their children.
Related Link: http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Today/2006/03/07/1476054-sun.html
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jun05/sti062905.htmSchools go to new lengths to prevent from report card forgery
The New York Times
Squared-off B's that look suspiciously like F's and report cards that get "lost in the mail" are becoming endangered species as schools go to new lengths to prevent forging of grades and transcripts. ...Precise data about report card forgery is hard to come by, said Gregory J. Cizek, a researcher at the University of North Carolina who studies cheating.
Court sides with military
The Chicago Tribune
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled Monday that colleges and universities that accept federal funding cannot bar military recruiters from their campuses because they object to the Pentagon's discriminatory treatment of gays in the armed services. ... Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional law professor at the University of North Carolina, said, "The ultimate importance of this . . . I think what the chief justice in the opinion is saying is nobody's forcing those schools to take money. You're not required or under duress to take federal money. But if you do take federal money, some strings come attached."Early Education Boosts Prospects of Premature Children
"Morning Edition," NPR
Don Bailey, an early education expert at the University North Carolina, was featured on Monday's (March 6) "Morning Edition." A study of children born prematurely finds that those who had intensive early education -- in the first three years of life -- had higher math and reading scores and fewer behavioral problems than similar children who didn't get the educational boost. The findings are published in the journal Pediatrics.
4-K: Should all kids go?
The Miwaukee Journal Sentinel
At a bagel-and-coffee rally to support a $162 million school bond referendum, one speaker holds up an article from Fortune magazine challenging America's capacity to improve its education system and keep pace with India and China. ...Dick Clifford, an early education expert at the University of North Carolina, sees pervasive pre-kindergarten as inevitable state by state, nationwide. It's not a matter of if, he says, but when.
Combat Stress Boosts Heart Disease Risk
HealthDay News
Military veterans exposed to combat have a higher long-term risk of heart attacks and strokes than either non-vets or vets not exposed to combat, researchers report. "Their risk of heart disease is predicted to be higher," said study author Anna Johnson, a doctoral candidate at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Arthritis, Fibromyalgia Study Seeks Volunteers
Forbes
U.S. researchers are seeking volunteers to take part in a study of a mail-based, self-management arthritis care program. People aged 18 and older with arthritis, fibromyalgia or joint pain are invited to take part in the yearlong study of the "Arthritis Yes I Can!" program, being conducted by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Peer Review
The Chronicle of Higher Education
... Jean Folkerts, a professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University, has been named the next dean of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She replaces Richard Cole, who stepped down last summer after 26 years as dean.
Note: Subscription required.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb06/journalismdean022406.htmRegional Coverage
Brunswick starts biotechnology program
The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
Brunswick Community College has gotten more than $105,000 from the N.C. BioNetwork to help it lay a foundation for an associate degree in biotechnology. ...Jones said she didn't know specific numbers of jobs available in the Brunswick County area but hopes that figure will come from a study now being conducted by the Destiny science program from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that works with Brunswick County high school students.
State & Local Coverage
UNC looking for Durham Tech students
The Chapel Hill Herald
Durham Technical Community College is one of three community colleges that will partner with UNC to help more community college graduates go on to earn bachelor's degrees. ...UNC is one of their three most-popular destinations, along with fellow UNC system universities N.C. State University and N.C. Central University.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar06/jackkentcooke030606.htmUNC takes step to help local community colleges
The Triangle Business Journal
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and seven other colleges and universities have teamed up in a $27 million partnership to help community college students transfer to selective four-year schools. UNC will receive nearly $900,000 from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation to build model programs designed to increase the number of community college transfers.
No changes for Duke, UNC law schools
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Monday's ruling will mean no changes in policy for law schools at Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill, which already allow military recruiters on campus. "Obviously, this decision was loud and clear that unless we want to jeopardize a lot of federal funding for UNC, we're going to have to continue allowing military recruiters on campus," said Annaliese Dolph, assistant dean of career services at UNC's law school.
Anorexia and Genetics
WTVD-TV (ABC, Durham)
According to a new study led by researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill, whether or not someone develops Anorexia could be determined by their genes. ...Dr. Cynthia Bulik with the UNC Eating Disorders Program explains. "What we found is that liability is do about 56 percent to genetic factors." Dr. Bulik says she and others reached the conclusion by studying twins. "The interesting thing about a twin study is that we can tease out whether these familial patterns are do to things like modeling... watching the mother or the father exercising or eating, or if they're do to genes."
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb06/geneticsanorexia022806.htmCrash drives safety issues home
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The high-speed crash that killed four Wakefield High School seniors in Raleigh last weekend was a terrible reminder that safe driving is not an easy lesson to learn. ...Children learn more from how their parents drive than from what their parents say, said Rob Foss, a senior research scientist with the UNC Highway Safety Research Center. From an early age, children are riding along when mom runs a red light or dad cuts off other drivers.
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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