Media coverage of top UCI stories: Oct. 31, 2007

1. HealthDay News, Oct. 31, 2007
Stem cells restore memory in mice
UCI MENTIONED:     In their experiments, a team at the University of California, Irvine, were able to bring the rodents’ memory back to healthy levels up to three months after treatment. The finding could open new doors for treatment of brain injury, stroke and dementia, experts say. “This is one of the first reports that you can take a stem cell transplantation approach and restore memory,” said lead researcher Mathew Blurton-Jones, a postdoctorate fellow at the university.

Second Paragraph:     A new U.S. study involving mice suggests the brain’s own stem cells may have the ability to restore memory after an injury. These neural stem cells work by protecting existing cells and promoting neuronal connections.

2. The Orange County Register, Oct. 31, 2007
UCI uses stem cells to improve memory in mice (blog)
UCI MENTIONED:     UC Irvine researchers say they used neural stem cells to partially restore memory in brain-damaged mice, an advance that suggests that a similar treatment might eventually be developed for humans.

Second Paragraph:     “In the study, mice with brain injuries experienced enhanced memory — similar to the level found in healthy mice — up to three months after receiving a stem cell treatment,” UCI says in a news release.

3. Discover Magazine, Oct. 30, 2007
Birds navigate using magnetic compass- vision
UCI MENTIONED:     Earth’s magnetic field may influence the spin of these free electrons, which birds could then detect, explains biophysicist Thorsten Ritz of the University of California at Irvine, who was not involved in the Heyers study. If so, then north and south look inherently different to migratory birds, and even when flying over open ocean on a starless night, they may use that distinction to stay on course.

First Paragraph:     For decades, scientists have known that migratory birds use Earth’s geomagnetic field—along with light, stars, and other cues—to guide them on remarkably long journeys. But it is unclear just how birds sense this relatively weak field and use it for navigation.

4. Newsweek, Oct. 24, 2007
Racial ‘cleansing’ in L.A.
UCI MENTIONED:     It’s a far cry from the ‘80s, when the black drug gangs, including the Crips and the Bloods, predominated, mining the crack epidemic with ruthless efficiency. Compared with looser Latino gangs that were seen as turf-conscious fighters, the black gangs were organized and disciplined. “The stereotype was that [the black gangs] were all about the [drug] business,” says gang researcher Cheryl Maxson, an associate professor of criminology at University of California, Irvine.

First Paragraph:     A south Los Angeles Latino street gang targeted African-American gang rivals and other blacks in a campaign of neighborhood “cleansing,” federal prosecutors say. Alleged leaders and foot soldiers in the Hispanic gang Florencia 13, also called F13, are being arraigned this week on charges stemming from a pair of federal indictments that allege that the gang kept a tight grip on its turf by shooting members of a rival gang—and sometimes random black civilians.

5. CNN, Oct. 30, 2007
State department cuts deal with Blackwater; 911 calls: Beach house fire; Online ad killing
UCI MENTIONED:     Also, federal buyouts have to be cost effective and the lands burning in Southern California are often pricey real estate. But the cycle of burning and rebuilding is also expensive and a growing number say it should stop. [Scott Bollens, professor, University of California, Irvine:] “The amount of money spent in firefighting. The amount of federal aid that now has to go in to help these areas; it’s a tremendous societal cost.”

First Paragraph:     Homes destroyed by Mother Nature. Should you rebuild? Sometimes the government helps you decide that.

6. Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.), Oct. 31, 2007
Random killings rare, statistics show
UCI MENTIONED:     Most research on Internet crime has focused on sexual predators and financial crimes, said Henry Pontell, a criminology professor at the University of California, Irvine. “With new technology, it makes it that much easier for predators to engage in crime,” Pontell said. “They don’t have to hang around on street corners; they can hang around in chat rooms and never leave their home.”

First Paragraph:     The death of Katherine Ann Olson is shaping up to be one of the rarest of crimes: a killing by a stranger, with no readily apparent purpose or motive, connected to an Internet meeting.

7. Copley News Service, Oct. 30, 2007
Sheriff Carona, wife, mistress indicted
UCI MENTIONED:     Still, Carona remained a magnetic figure in Orange County, political observers said. Politicians “wanted pictures with him on their campaign brochures - and don’t think it was just Republicans,” said Mark Petracca, chairman of the political science department at the University of California, Irvine. “I bet there won’t be too many people reposting those pictures now.”

First Paragraph:     Five years ago, Michael Carona was dubbed “America’s Sheriff,” and praised for his tough but heartfelt handling of the abduction and slaying of a 5-year-old girl that captivated the nation. There was talk of the rugged Republican law- man running for lieutenant governor. But on Tuesday, his future appeared bleak. It was revealed that Carona, his wife Deborah, and “longtime mistress” Debra Victoria Hoffman were charged in a 29-page federal indictment alleging he used his office to pad his pockets.

8. Florida Today (Melbourne), Oct. 31, 2007
Maggots creepy, but have purpose
UCI MENTIONED:     Most, however, began shortly after the FDA granted its approval three years ago to the first maggot “product” – maggots cultivated and raised in a sterile environment in a laboratory at the University of California, Irvine, by a tropical medicine and infectious disease expert.

First Paragraph:     For the next week or so, Merih Danchak’s feet will be crawling with maggots, a medical therapy not for the faint-of-heart.

9. The Orange County Register, Oct. 31, 2007
Fed likely to cut rates again
UCI MENTIONED:     Andy Policano, dean of UC Irvine’s business school: “Given the current reports on controlled inflation I would favor another decrease, this time a quarterpoint. The housing market has a way to go yet.”

First Paragraph:     It will be a spooky Halloween for housing well before nightfall tonight. Federal Reserve bigwigs finish meeting today to decide interest rate policy. Is another cut in the rates the Fed controls in the works? Will it help housing?

10. Daily Pilot, Oct. 31, 2007
Dietrich joins Anteaters staff
UCI MENTIONED:     Jason Dietrich has been added to the UC Irvine baseball staff as director of baseball operations, the school announced.

Second Paragraph:     Dietrich was pitching coach and recruiting coordinator last season at Cal State Los Angeles, where he worked under then-head coach Pat Shine, now the UCI associate head coach under Mike Gillespie.

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