May 7, 2004

Carolina in the News

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

International News Coverage

Protein in sperm a powerful antibacterial
United Press International
U.S. scientists have found that a protein they discovered three years ago in the male reproductive tract is a potent antibacterial agent. Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said the protein, called DEFB118, along with protecting a male against invading bacteria, also may aid fertilization by protecting sperm from harmful organisms encountered in the female's reproductive tract.
UNC release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may04/lrb050504.html

National Coverage

Musicians Score a Date With Lobbyists
The Washington Post
Everything goes better with rock stars....Thankfully for the audience, the economists didn't like each other, so things descended into a heated and more exciting row over whether file-swapping actually harms record sales (University of North Carolina professor Koleman Strumpf said it doesn't; University of Texas professor Stan Liebowitz insisted it does).

Center reports stem-cell breakthrough
USA Today
Pennington Biomedical Research Center scientists have found a way to convert stem cells in human fat to human bone cells when transplanted into a mouse....Gimble worked with Kevin Hicok and Dr. Lyndon Cooper at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and scientists from Chapel Hill-based Artecel Sciences, where he formerly worked.

State & Local Coverage

Work in progress
The Shelby Star
City council gave the unofficial nod to keeping the tax rate the same for next year. In a show of hands at its first workshop for the $31,724,550 budget, five of the six council members indicated they support retaining the 42 cents per $100 valuation....As did most of his counterparts, Shelby Finance Director Ted Phillips turned to the experts at the Institute of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for advice on how calculate the tax rate under the revenue-neutral requirement.

Family: Shelby police botched probe of death
The Charlotte Observer
Relatives of Lottie Ledford, the first of three Shelby women who died mysteriously last year, are accusing Shelby police of botching the death investigation....Joe Kennedy, a law professor at UNC Chapel Hill, said declaring a crime scene is one of the toughest decisions police make, and one of the most important because it can be difficult to recover evidence later.

Note: If you have any questions about Carolina in the News, please call Russell Campbell at News Services, (919) 962-2091, russell_campbell@unc.edu, or Mike McFarland in University Communications, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu

Note: Web links on this page are time-sensitive, so stories might not be available after the day they first appeared.