Oct. 11, 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

Schizophrenia: early treatment improves outcome
Reuters News Service
For many years, psychiatrists have argued over whether or not early intervention after a schizophrenia patient's first episode of psychosis could improve the patient's long-term outcome. A new study concludes that early intervention can improve outcome. Historically, the prevailing view has been that "it just doesn't matter when you treat a person because their clinical outcome is predetermined," Dr. Diana O. Perkins from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill explained in a UNC statement.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct05/schizophrenia100305.htm
Additional coverage: ABC News

National Coverage

Gum Disease Is Linked to Rates of Early Birth
The New York Times
Pregnant women with gum disease appear to be more likely than those with healthy gums to give birth to premature babies. ..."We know that if you don't have pathogenic bacteria, you don't have the problem," said Dr. Raymond P. White Jr., a co-author of the study and a professor of surgery at the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep05/whiter091605.htm

IBM Research turns 60
The New York Times
IBM Research is celebrating 60 years of breakthroughs in computer science, physics and semiconductor design on Tuesday, as it steps up its efforts to scientifically study how organizations operate. ...The 60th anniversary celebration will take place at the T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown, N.Y. Speakers include Horn, Nick D'Onofrio, executive vice president of innovation and technology, Bob Dennard, inventor of the DRAM cell, and Fred Brooks from the University of North Carolina.

Dinosaur Flap Ruffles Feathers
The Associatd Press (National)
Head to the American Museum of Natural History's Web site, and you'll see the major draw this fall is a splashy exhibit on dinosaurs. ..."Thing just aren't adding up for feathered dinosaurs," said lead researcher, avian evolutionist and paleobiologist Alan Feduccia of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He described the prevailing theory that birds descended from theropods as paleontological "wish-fulfillment" based on "sloppy science."
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct05/feducci100705.htm
Additional Coverage: Forbes, The Atlanta Journal Constitution

In Pensacola, Nature, Cash Form a Cycle
The Washington Post
The last thing Buck Lee expected after Hurricane Ivan gutted this narrow sliver of paradise in 2004 was a land rush. ..."There are very large incentives to develop in hazardous areas," said Raymond J. Burby, a University of North Carolina professor of land use and environmental planning. "We have federally subsidized flood control and hurricane protection works. We subsidize flood insurance. We have tax write-offs for disaster losses. All of this massive federal relief makes people whole. The federal message is 'Go ahead and develop these areas.'"
UNC Tip Sheet: http://www.unc.edu/news/newstips/2005/hurricane090205.htm

Regional Coverage

Health Alert: Needle headaches
WIS-TV (NBC, Columbia, SC)
We take needles for all sorts of ailments, and that may soon include headaches! The ancient Chinese treatment of acupuncture is gaining respect in the medical community as a therapy for chronic headaches. ...A new study at the University of North Carolina adds to a growing body of clinical research supporting acupuncture's role as a headache therapy. The study of more than 70 chronic headache sufferers finds those who added a six week course of acupuncture to their medical treatment, reported less pain and better quality of life compared to those who didn't get the therapy.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct05/acupuncture.htm

State & Local Coverage

The National Cancer Institute funds programs at Duke and UNC
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The comprehensive cancer centers at Duke and UNC have landed nearly $71 million in grants from the National Cancer Institute to provide a variety of programs in cancer research and patient care for five more years. ..."You'll find very few metropolitan areas that have such successful and competitive comprehensive cancer centers within about 10 miles of each other," said Shelton Earp, director of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and Lineberger Professor of Cancer Research. "To have this is pretty spectacular."

Pretty in pink -- for a cause
The Chapel Hill News
A group of Meadowmont Village shops is hosting a "Shop 'Til You're Pink!" event from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday to raise money to fight breast cancer. Salutations, Moondance Gallery, Scout & Molly's, Fleur and Monkee's Shoes will donate 10 percent of the night's sales to the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. The stores will serve pink cocktails and refreshments and highlight pink products.

Thousands Walk for Hope
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Some can't remember life before schizophrenia, depression, autism or anorexia. ...The donations raised will be awarded to research projects at UNC-Chapel Hill and Dorothea Dix Hospital, Lee said. The foundation's board next month will make the awards, which will range from $25,000 to $40,000.

Greensboro feels loss of headquarters
The Charlotte Observer
Greensboro leaders have long speculated about Jefferson-Pilot's potential paramours. ..."It's not healthy for Greensboro for this leadership to move to Philadelphia," said John Kasarda, management professor at UNC Chapel Hill's Keenan-Flagler business school.

Drivers should be wary of deer in coming months
The New Bern Sun Journal
It may be Santa and flying reindeer that usher in the holiday season for most retailers in eastern North Carolina. But it is the whitetail deer that keeps auto body shops busy this time of year. ...About 83 percent of the coastal counties had a percentage of deer-related accidents above the state average in 2004, said Eric Rodgman, senior database analyst for the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, who led a record search and evaluation of wrecks involving deer.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep05/rodgman092905.htm

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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