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May 19, 2005
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:International Coverage
Early treatment can stem deadly baby disease
Reuters International News Service
Transplanting umbilical cord blood to seemingly healthy infants before they develop signs of Krabbe's disease can dramatically prolong the lives of children with the deadly genetic condition, researchers said on Wednesday....Because bone marrow transplants have helped older sufferers, a team led by Maria Escolar of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill destroyed the blood-producing cells of 25 young children and replaced them with cells drained from umbilical cords.
UNC news release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may05/krabbes051605.htmlNational Coverage
The Growing Case For Screening Newborns
The Wall Street Journal
A new study gives added weight to the growing movement to test newborn babies for an array of rare but life-threatening genetic disorders....In the study, researchers from Duke University and the University of North Carolina found that a transplant of donor umbilical-cord blood soon after birth can save babies with Krabbe disease, an often-fatal enzyme illness. Of 25 babies treated, 18 were saved by the procedure.
Subscription required.Krabbe's therapy shows promise
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Watching her infant daughter die of Krabbe's disease was horrifying....The timing is critical," said Maria Luisa Escolar, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "It has to be done early in life."
Umbilical Cord Stem Cells May Save Infants
Health Day News
Umbilical cord blood stem cells can help save infants with the fatal genetic disorder Krabbe disease, researchers report in the May 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.....Researchers at Duke University Medical Center and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studied 11 asymptomatic babies with Krabbe disease (aged 12 to 44 days) and 14 symptomatic infants (aged 142 days to 1 year) treated with umbilical cord blood stem cells from unrelated donors.
Related link: San Antonio Express-News (Registration required)Students awarded for 'sustainable designs'
MSNBC
Seven teams of university students and professors beat out 65 others in a "sustainability design" competition sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, presenting technologies that ranged from solar ovens to small wind turbines.....University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Students are measuring the effectiveness of three drinking-water treatment technologies intended for the developing world.Even MBAs Deserve a Weekend Off
Business Week
As a typical MBA student, you most likely put in long hours chained to a desk at a summer internship from late May to August. Nonetheless, whether you are paying dues at a top-notch investment bank or helping launch a startup, chances you can find time for an occasional weekend off. Here are some tried-and-true suggestions for summer getaways in different regions of the U.S ... including many from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill -- head to North Carolina's Crystal Coast.
Regional Coverage
Study finds LDS faith helps teens avoid risks
The Oregonian
Ask the random West Linn or Tualatin High School student what is means to be Mormon, and you might hear something like this....The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's ongoing National Study of Youth and Religion recently released its findings that of the more than 3,000 teens it surveyed, Mormons are best at avoiding alcohol and premarital sex.
State & Local Coverage
New faculty, administrators at UNC tour state to understand its texture
The Winston-Salem Journal
Tobacco flourishes here, and so do churches and roadside barbecue restaurants. And so do chardonnays and cabernets.....The trip, dubbed the Tar Heel Bus Tour, exposes new faculty and administrators at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to the problems, priorities and paradoxes of the state.
UNC media advisory: http://www.unc.edu/news/media/2005/bt05daythree051705.htmlUmbilical cord blood offers hope for newborns with rare disease
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Doctors from Duke University and UNC working together on one of nature's most cruel genetic flaws affecting infants have found another ray of hope in transplanted blood donated from newborn babies' umbilical cords.
UNC news release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may05/krabbes051605.htmlCord blood transplant saves babies
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Babies born with a fatal genetic disorder that strikes their nervous system can be treated with an umbilical cord blood transplant that, for the first time, appears to provide hope for a normal life, researchers at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reported today.Pricey polish (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
When a UNC Health Care vice president wanted to defend shuttering low-cost rooms for patients and their families at the hospital campus in Chapel Hill, she insisted that administrators "have to put our funds into providing health care." Yet while that bit of fiscal discipline, which could save about $200,000 a year, was being considered, officials were agreeing to a deal with a public relations firm in Raleigh to spend about $1 million over three years to build the health system's national reputation.
UNC, firm both cited on waste removal
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Both UNC and the Knightdale-based demolition firm suing the university over a 2003 campus construction project have been sanctioned by the state for their roles in the removal of hazardous waste from the work site.Cell phone restrictions while driving clears committee
The Associated Press (N.C.)
Motorists would be restricted in using hand-held cell phones in a bill that cleared a House committee Wednesday, but without an endorsement from the panel.....A study by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center estimates that nearly 1,475 crashes annually in North Carolina involve the use of a cell phone.'Voice of Tar Heels' not ready to sign off
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Woody Durham has called the action on more than 1,500 football and men's basketball games for the University of North Carolina.Lewisville looks at health
The Winston-Salem Journal
Town officials are taking steps to address the growing concern among public-health officials that suburban sprawl can lead to health problems.....Public-health researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a conference in January, where they said that suburban sprawl can lead to health problems.Autism event to aid UNC professorship
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication-handicapped CHildren, or TEACCH, autism program will hold a gala Friday at the Fearrington Barn at Fearrington Village.Organizers of Charlie Poole Festival in Eden may see a bigger crowd this year
The Winston-Salem Journal
Nearly 75 years after drinking himself to death, Charlie Poole, the innovative banjo player, hell-raiser extraordinaire and mill worker from Eden, is making a comeback....A documentary about Poole by filmmaker George Goehl is in the works. Last month, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill held a symposium on Poole and his music, and North Carolina legislators passed a resolution honoring Poole.
Issues & Trends
Moore's vision (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Your May 15 editorial concerning the UNC system suggested that recent actions at UNC-Chapel Hill "might well be a first step toward breaking apart the system's structure." This may be a stretch, given that it takes years to reverse or dissolve bureaucratic structures like the UNC Board of Governors.
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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