A Report on Discoveries and Achievements at the
University of California
Volume 7, Number 1, July 1998
The following is a glimpse of some recent achievements by the faculty, students and staff of the University of California.
New Centers . . . UC San Francisco has received a $10 million gift from the Bernard Osher Foundation to establish the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. The center's mission will be to search for the most effective treatments by combining non-traditional and traditional approaches to health care . . . UC Santa Cruz will establish a new Center for Ocean Health at the Joseph M. Long Marine Laboratory, a research and education facility operated by the campus. Construction will be largely funded by a $5 million grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Gold Lamme . . . Henry T. Yang, chancellor of UC Santa Barbara, is the recipient of the highest honor of the more than 10,000-member Society for Engineering Education. The 1998 Benjamin Garver Lamme Award and accompanying gold medal honor Yang for his numerous contributions to engineering education.
Guggenheim Fellows
. . . Seventeen UC faculty members have been awarded Guggenheim Fellowship
Awards for 1998. Guggenheim Fellows are appointed on the basis of unusually
distinguished achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future
accomplishment. Seven are from UC Berkeley, seven more are from UCLA, two
are from UC Santa Barbara and one is from UC San Diego's Scripps Institution
of Oceanography.
Reducing Risk . . . UC San Francisco researchers found that the osteoporosis prevention drug raloxifene drastically reduced the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women without indicating an increased risk of endometrial, or uterine cancer. Other drugs in raloxifene's class, including tamoxifen, have been shown to increase the risk of endometrial cancer in women.
Annual Mammograms . . . Annual mammographic screening for women 40 to 49 and biennial screening for women 50 to 79 are the most cost-effective ways to use mammography to lower death rates from breast cancer, according to a new study from researchers at UC Davis School of Medicine and Medical Center led by C. John Rosenquist, a professor of radiology. The study compared the cost of mammographic screenings with how many lives are saved as a result of early treatment.
Cancer Self-Destruction . . . An experimental gene therapy treatment that forces prostate cancer cells to self-destruct is safe and may prevent recurrence of the disease that strikes about 184,000 men annually, according to researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center. Using leuvectin, the treatment stimulates the body's immune system to attack cancerous prostate cells. Arie Belldegrun is the study's principal investigator.
Battling Bacteria . . . An increasing number of bacteria that were once merely nuisances have recently evolved into efficient killing machines, superior pathogens that no longer can be controlled by available antibiotics, says Michael Mahan, assistant professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at UC Santa Barbara. Tracking salmonella with a technology he developed, Mahan can force bacteria to reveal their weapons in the lab, where he is mapping how they behave and how to fight the new scourge.
New Alzheimer's Drug . . . A study has demonstrated
the drug metrifonate's safety and effectiveness for treating symptoms of
Alzheimer's disease. The results showed that metrifonate improved the cognitive
abilities and global functioning of AD patients with minimal side effects.
Jeffrey Cummings is the lead investigator of the study and director of
the Alzheimer's Disease Center at the UCLA School of Medicine.
Staph Vaccine . . . Using a key protein that governs the release of virulent toxins in bacteria, researchers at the UC Davis School of Medicine and Medical Center, led by assistant professor of pathology Naomi Balaban, have vaccinated and treated mice, preventing infection in up to 90 percent of animals studied. The research offers a novel approach to preventing and treating infections caused by staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria that can cause disorders including blood poisoning, toxic shock syndrome, wound infections, pneumonia and food poisoning.
Young Quasar . . . While peering at the heavens with a network of 17 radio telescopes throughout Europe and the U.S., a team led by UC San Diego physicist Harding E. Smith detected something unusual in the center of a nearby merging galaxy: a quasar being formed. If the researchers' inferences are correct, over the next million years or so the formation will shed its dusty shroud to reveal a full-fledged quasar.
Hope for Hearts . . . A chemical associated with tuberculosis may substantially reduce the amount of damage sustained from a heart attack, a finding that could lead to new treatment for heart attacks, according to a new UCLA study. The discovery shows considerable promise for the treatment of reperfusion injury, which affects many heart attack victims. The UCLA team was led by Marcus A. Horwitz, professor of medicine and infectious diseases.
Dark Matter . . . A team of UC Irvine physicists
led by physics and astronomy professor Henry Sobel played a key role in
the recent discovery that neutrinos -- a type of sub-atomic particle --
possess a small, but non-zero mass. The discovery established neutrinos
as a strong candidate for the "missing" or "dark" matter in the universe,
and may help physicists answer one of the most intriguing questions in
particle physics: How do particles acquire mass? The answer could provide
deeper understanding into the origins and future of the universe.
Early Warning . . . The structural failure of steel in bridges, buildings and highway overpasses is a problem of potentially catastrophic magnitude. However, the first practical, non-destructive means of testing steel and other metals for trouble long before visible cracks appear has been demonstrated by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Noggin . . . A gene that is crucial in regulating the formation of skeletons and joints has been identified by researchers at UC Berkeley and Harvard University. The genetic switch, called "noggin," acts by telling embryonic cells to stop making bone and begin creating a joint. Mouse embryos that were genetically engineered without the noggin gene failed to develop joints. Instead, their bones grew into stubby, continuous limbs. The results were reported by Richard Harland, professor of molecular biology at Berkeley, and research associate Lisa Brunet, with Harvard scientists Jill and Andrew McMahon.
Ranger in Iraq . . . A hand-held Los Alamos
National Laboratory instrument that can find and identify radioactive materials
was used to inspect Iraqi presidential palaces by a United Nations Special
Commission team seeking evidence of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
The "Ranger" discovered a slightly radioactive thorium alloy in helicopter
rotors, but no suspicious nuclear materials. Officials said inspectors
were enthusiastic about Ranger's usefulness in clarifying otherwise uncertain
detections of radioactive materials.
Comet Bombardment . . . Space scientists at UC Berkeley have found two nearby stars that appear to be continually bombarded by comets, thought by many to be the building blocks of planets. The discovery brings to four the number of known solar systems that are so young that their inner regions are still peppered with comets.
El Niño Weakens . . . Although conclusions are months away, preliminary results of a ground-breaking Scripps Institution of Oceanography study of the El Niño phenomenon point to the probability that the current El Niño will continue to weaken slowly. Scripps scientist Nicholas Graham said by the end of summer, he expects temperatures to return to normal.
Natural Weed Abatement . . . Restoration of native perennial grasses along rural California roads may decrease the need for herbicides and tillage to control roadside weeds, according to UC Davis researchers. Robert L. Bugg, an entomologist with the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, and colleagues identified perennial grasses that thrive when planted as roadside vegetation management tools.
Keep it Healthy . . . The Dehlsen Chair in
Environmental Studies has been established at UC Santa Barbara to enhance
the campus's expertise in policies and practices that promote the long-term
health and sustainability of the planet. Founded in 1970, UCSB's Environmental
Studies Program is one of the oldest, largest and most comprehensive in
the nation
Speed Bumps . . . When the needs of motorists and neighborhoods collide, finding the right fix can be complex and highly controversial, says a report from UC Berkeley. The motorist/neighborhood collision can trigger strong emotions. In Oakland, a woman lay down in the street to prevent installation of speed bumps; in New Jersey, a man used a tow chain to destroy a despised concrete traffic diverter, while another dumped a truckload of dirt across an intersection. Researchers Asha Weinstein, a Ph.D. student in city and regional planning, and traffic planner Elizabeth Deakin, authors of the new report, believe local government can develop procedures to help minimize or resolve such conflicts.
Voter Information . . . While many critics of democracy claim that people who lack information are incapable of reasoned choice, two UC San Diego political scientists argue that people who lack information solve enormously complex problems every day. They do so by making use of the information they have and sorting useful information from useless information, theorize political scientists Arthur Lupia and Mathew McCubbins in their recent book, The Democratic Dilemma: Can Citizens Learn What They Need to Know?
Channeling Violence . . . Glamorized and sanitized violence not only continues to be a staple of television, but has increased during prime-time on the networks and cable, according to scholars at UC Santa Barbara. The final portion of the three-year effort, part of the UCSB based National Television Violence Study, also found the portrayal of the consequences of violence depiction of victim pain and harm remain largely absent.
Bias in Oakland . . . African Americans in Oakland are 54 percent less likely to be approved for a home loan than white applicants, according to a new report from UC Berkeley. An analysis of federal mortgage data found that Hispanic, American Indian and Asian applicants are also at a significant disadvantage. Jesse Blout, who received his master's degree in city and regional planning at Berkeley, wrote the study.
Living Wills Ineffective . . . Living wills are a noble idea, but aren't very effective, according to Peter Ditto, a social psychologist at UC Irvine's School of Social Ecology. His research showed that in predicting what the patient's preference would be in a specific situation, spouses did about as well without a living will -- even when the partners had filled out the directive together and discussed it.
Using Both Tongues . . . Bilingualism, not
greater English fluency, brings educational success for Latinos, according
to research at UC Santa Barbara. Professor Russell Rumberger and researcher
Katherine Larson of the Graduate School of Education found that second-generation
students with a strong foundation in their native culture and a comfortable
command of English had higher grades and showed more commitment to education
than either English or limited-English proficiency students
Politics vs. Science? . . . Conservation plans
advocated by many organizations to protect the world's biodiversity could
leave half of all terrestrial species vulnerable to extinction, according
to a recent commentary by Michael Soule, a UC Santa Cruz research professor
of environmental studies, and M. A. Sanjayan, who earned a Ph.D. in biology
from UCSC in 1997. They argue that conservation targets of 10 to 12 percent
of the total land area in each nation or ecosystem are too often determined
by politics rather than by science
Overseas Honor . . . Robert L. Parker, a geophysics professor at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography was awarded the Gold Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society, the most prestigious honor awarded by the 178-year-old organization. The award citation noted that Parker's papers have tended to become the standard text in a variety of fields.
Palmes Academiques . . . A UC Santa Cruz professor of history, Jonathan Beecher, received the French government's highest honor for academic achievement, the Palmes Academiques. The decoration is given to those who have advanced the cause of French culture, education, and the arts.
Seaborg Chair . . . Nobel Laureate Glenn T.
Seaborg of UC Berkeley, who last year became the first living scientist
to have an element named for him, has been honored again, this time with
the Glenn T. Seaborg chair in physical chemistry at Berkeley. The new chair
was established through a generous endowment in tribute to Seaborg and
the College of Chemistry. Alexander Pines, who has significantly advanced
the field of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, was named to
the Seaborg chair.
Compiled by University Relations. For more information, call (510) 987-9200, or contact: charles.mcfadden@ucop.edu