Oct. 18, 2007

Carolina in the News

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

International Coverage

THIS GENE IS DE-SIRE-ABLE
Reuters
A single gene may be crucial for the final stages of sperm-cell formation and could help explain why some men are infertile, researchers said yesterday. Laboratory mice who lacked the gene had a significantly lower sperm count and were infertile, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill discovered.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct07/zhangnaturesperm101607.html

Turning on the tap of life
24 Hours Vancouver (Canada)
According to the World Health Organization, water-born diarrheal diseases like dysentery, cholera and typhoid fever kill more than 1.8 million people every year -- 90% of them children…Kaida Liang, a master's student in science and public health at the University of North Carolina, recently completed a study in Cambodia that compared 100 homes in the impoverished country that had BioSand Water Filters with 100 homes that did not.

National Coverage

Gene Mutation Key to Infertility in Male Mice
HealthDay News
A defect in a gene that's essential for the formation of functioning sperm cells may cause infertility by preventing the head of sperm from being able to penetrate an egg. The finding, by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was based on research with mice.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct07/zhangnaturesperm101607.html

European Scientists Dominate Nobel Prizes; Doris Lessing Wins for Literature
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Nobel Prizes in science and literature held surprises this year. The prizes in science mainly honored the work of European investigators, following last year's sweep by American researchers… Mr. Smithies, born in 1925 in Britain, is a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
 
Debut of ESPN’s ‘E:60’: Been There, Seen That
The New York Times
A quick impression from watching the debut of ESPN’s “E:60” news magazine Tuesday is how much the show wants to emulate the gravitas of HBO’s 12-year-old “Real Sports,” but how much it doesn’t want to look like “Real Sports”… But Salters had the gem, a moving and original report on Jason Ray, the University of North Carolina team mascot who was killed by a car while he was walking along a New Jersey highway during the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament.

Is ESPN Too Close to Do Hard Reporting?
The Washington Post
In an era when synergy has become a far too over-used buzzword by so many network executives, what a wonderful month it would continue to be if "E:60", which debuts tonight, somehow manages to incorporate a few hard-hitting stories on some of the mega-events… another feature on the recipients of the organs donated after the death of the University of North Carolina mascot who was killed in a traffic accident last March at an NCAA regional basketball tournament.

Belo filing indicates newspapers' challenges
The Dallas Morning News
When Belo Corp. spins off its newspapers next year, the new company will have a strong, debt-free balance sheet – an advantage at a time of looming business challenges. But based on financial information filed with federal regulators, sagging revenue and declining profitability will continue to be sizable challenges, industry analysts said this week…Philip Meyer, a journalism professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said A.H. Belo's balance sheet would make it easier for the company to invest in online operations.

Regional Coverage

Navigating the Wake of Ann Coulter’s ‘Perfect’ Storm
The Jewish Daily Forward
Right-wing pundit Ann Coulter ignited a firestorm last week, and she did it with a single word…But is belief in “perfection” or “completion” through Jesus tantamount to hostility to Jews? Not at all, said Yaakov Ariel, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Local delegation wants ban on salvia
The Times Daily (Florence, Ala.)
It took a quick search on the Internet for Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing to learn what he needed to know about salvia divinorum, a powerful, but legal drug that he believes is becoming a problem in the area… Dr. Bryan Roth, a professor of pharmacology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, began researching the plant a few years ago after hearing students talk about it.

State & Local Coverage

Worthy recipients of Nobel’s honor (Editorial)
The Daily News (Jacksonville, N.C.)
Although some of this year's Nobel Prizes seemed more like politically correct stretches than rewards for genuine achievement, several brought to public attention the achievements of scientists who have contributed significantly to developments we almost take for granted… Of course, North Carolinians are cheering the achievements of another Nobel Prize winner, University of North Carolina professor Oliver Smithies.

Grounded Globalism
“The State of Things,” WUNC-FM
The word "globalization" is frequently attached to news about job losses, corporate hegemony, and price fixing. But, according to UNC Professor James Peacock, it’s not all bad. His book, "Grounded Globalism: How the U.S. South Embraces the World," details how globalization has transformed the South in positive ways since Colonial times. He joins host Frank Stasio to discuss how the South embraces globalization--while staying grounded.

Doctors debate judge's stance
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Some doctors say they, not a judge, should decide what is medical treatment and what role physicians should play at executions… Dr. Arthur Finn, a professor emeritus at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Medicine, said that doctors' participation in executions is unethical and that the language in Stephens' ruling puts the board in a position where it should appeal to maintain some sense of autonomy.

Students demand smokers' rights
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
It was lunchtime at the Pit, the center of the UNC-Chapel Hill campus…About a dozen students held a "smoke-a-thon" to protest a planned ban on lighting up within 100 feet of any university building… A new law gives UNC system campuses the right to make their own smoking policies for dorms, grounds and buildings.

Conference to discuss civil rights
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Law schools at N.C. Central University, Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill will join the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund and the National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights to host a two-day regional conference on civil rights rollbacks this week.

UNC's Safety Alert Program Needs More Signed Up
NBC 17 (Raleigh)
It's a plan designed to alert UNC's campus in an emergency. The university has sent out e-mails and made phone calls about the new safety program, but still many students haven't heard of… "Unfortunately, it takes an incident for people to realize that they should sign up for this thing," said Brian Payst, UNC Director of Technology.

Radio programs teach new languages
The Chapel Hill Herald
Earlier this year two new programs debuted on the volunteer-powered community radio station and are making Spanish and English classes easy, readily available -- and free… Julia Cardona Mack, who hosts "Dimelo en Ingles!" is a senior lecturer in Spanish in the Department of Romance Languages at UNC.

Issues & Trends

UNC safety panel stresses identifying threats
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The Virginia Tech killings in April changed the way universities approach safety, and more changes are coming to UNC campuses.On Wednesday, the UNC Campus Safety Task Force reviewed a long list of recommendations designed to help prevent a Virginia Tech-like tragedy on North Carolina's public university campuses. Another statewide panel formed by state Attorney General Roy Cooper is expected to report its findings in the next few weeks.
Related link: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/higher_education/story/740148.html

Sailing with the flagships
The Daily Reflector (Greenville)
While ECU Chancellor Steve Ballard is always eager for gridiron matchups with N.C. State University, he said keeping up with the Joneses in Raleigh and Chapel Hill isn't a priority for ECU, the state's third-largest university… ECU, NCSU and UNC-CH are in competition with one another — and the state's 13 other public universities — for public resources, Ballard said.

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.

Please share any questions, comments or suggestions at news@unc.edu.