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Today's News Headlines is a comprehensive collection of U of M news clips including select U of M news from local, national and global sources, as well as News Service releases and multimedia content. It is delivered every morning, Monday-Friday.
Today's News: Friday, November 6, 2009
Pets And The Flu: Iowa Cat Gets H1N1
A 13-year-old Iowa cat was believed to be the first confirmed case of H1N1 in a feline... For example, there are some cat viruses that people can't get and there are some people viruses that cats can't get," said Jeff Bender, Associate Professor at University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine.
WCCO - TV
To view: http://wcco.com/health/flu/pets.h1n1.flu.2.1295161.html
Valuable Grape Vines Stolen from U of M
Someone might be trying to cheat their way to creating, and profiting off of a new kind of wine... Thieves stole grape vines from the University of Minnesota's Horticulture Research Center in Victoria.
KSTP - TV
To view: http://kstp.com/news/stories/S1236609.shtml?cat=206
TRACKING YOUR $: Guaranteed Time Off for Teachers
Hundreds of Minnesota college teachers take paid leave, or sabbatical, every year. Deciding who gets to exercise this option is not always based on merit.
KSTP - TV
To view: http://kstp.com/news/stories/S1236697.shtml?cat=1
Report: H1N1 vaccines available on Wall Street
While hundreds of Americans wait in long lines hoping for the H1N1 vaccine, news that hard to find vaccines are available to workers on Wall Street was not well received... Dr. John Finnegan, Dean of the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health says the corporations must have won the lottery like other medical centers who have received doses.
KARE - TV
To view: http://www.kare11.com/news/health/take
kare/takekare_article.aspx?storyid=827885&catid=20
Dr. Michael Osterholm answers questions about the H1N1 flu
Minnesota health officials are reporting three more deaths from H1N1 flu and another death from a flu-like illness that wasn't confirmed as H1N1... Dr. Michael Osterholm: Director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. Former MN State Epidemiologist.
Minnesota Public Radio
To listen: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/11/05/midday1/
Some fear H1N1 vaccine campaign is too late
The H1N1 vaccine campaign is gradually picking up speed in Minnesota, but health officials fear that the doses may be arriving too late for some people who think the worst of the outbreak has passed... "It's good news to see the school-based outbreaks decreasing," said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
Minnesota Public Radio
To listen: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/
web/2009/11/05/h1n1-vaccine-update/
Masks for health care workers in short supply
The Centers for Disease Control now says health care workers should wear a specific kind of facemask designed for infectious disease control to protect them from the H1N1 virus and state officials are scrambling to respond to federal guidelines as Minnesota's supply of the masks is running out... Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, said the debate stems from the fact that there isn't enough information to say who is right.
Minnesota Public Radio
To listen: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/11/05/n95-masks/
U of M researchers receive stimulus grants
Fifteen University of Minnesota research projects have received more than $10.3 million in federal grants funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, officials announced Thursday.
Minnesota Public Radio
To listen: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display
/web/2009/11/05/uofm-stimulus-grants/
Report urges increasing Minnesota's broadband access
In a report out Friday, a broadband task force appointed by Gov. Pawlenty urges moving Minnesota into the top tier of states when it comes to speed and accessibility... Andrew Odlyzko, a University of Minnesota mathematics professor and a founder of the U's digital technology center, likes that the recommended speeds are close to being in balance, a boon for two way communication.
Minnesota Public Radio
To listen: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/
display/web/2009/11/05/broadband/
Movies: Telling stories under censorship
It might not have Jim Carrey in 3D, but I'll take the Walker Art Center's cinema over a suburban cineplex any day... Mousley worked on the series with Jason McGrath, associate professor of modern Chinese literature and film at the University of Minnesota.
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/dining/69296942.html
Tax credit: Home buyers get a second chance
House hunters will get an early holiday gift from Congress... University of Minnesota economics professor Chris Phelan says incentives like these train consumers to wait on the sidelines until someone sweetens the pot.
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/politics/69339037.html
Time for babies to say bye-bye to Baby Einstein (and to TV itself)
Recently, Disney announced that it would refund parents for Baby Einstein DVDs — you know, the ones aimed at the under-2 set and whose creator was praised and feted by Oprah and President George W. Bush alike... Many people are in denial about the effects of TV — particularly violent TV — on their children’s and on their own behavior, notes Michael Potegal, PhD, an associate professor of pediatrics and neurology at the University of Minnesota.
MinnPost
http://www.minnpost.com/healthblog/2009/11/05/13189/time
_for_babies_to_say_bye-bye_to_baby_einstein_and_to_tv_itself
Officials Defend Distribution of Flu Vaccine to Companies
New York City health officials have distributed small amounts of the swine flu vaccine to some major New York companies, including Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, even as shortages continue...Michael T. Osterholm, the director of the Centers for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said the focus on the banks was a distraction.
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/nyregion/06flu.html
Minimal H1N1 vaccines leaves nation up in arms
Wash those hands... "We're in this race against the virus, and only Mother Nature knows how many cases are going to occur over the next six to 10 weeks," Michael Osterholm, a vaccine expert at the University of Minnesota told the Associated Press.
Guilfordian
http://media.www.guilfordian.com/media/storage/
paper281/news/2009/11/06/World/Minimal.H1n1.
Vaccines.Leaves.Nation.Up.In.Arms-3822672.shtml
Mercurial flu keeps rewriting the rules
The World Health Organization's top flu scientist often describes the virus he's studied for years as "humbling."... "This cat was not only out of the bag, but this cat had nine litters before we realized what had happened," says Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy.
Times Transcript
http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/lifetimes/article/848861
Physician’s Group Takes Flak For Coke Deal
A recent deal between the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and Coca-Cola has provoked hard criticism from a number of corners as the two unlikely bedfellows prepare to launch an online educational forum providing health information about soft drinks... Public health expert Dr. Henry Blackburn of the University of Minnesota offered a similar appraisal of the alliance to the AP, saying that it “will inevitably have a chilling effect on the focus of their message in regards to sweet drinks.”
Red Orbit
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1781805
/physicians_group_takes_flak_for_coke_deal/
Nepean High School addresses Tequila Sunrise
Parents at one of Ottawa’s most prestigious high schools got an eye-opener when they were invited to a town hall meeting on teen social behaviours... Binge drinking increased from 28 per cent to 32 per cent in that time period, while the percentage of respondents who reported driving after drinking remained at 37 per cent, said lead researcher Toben Nelson, an assistant professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Minnesota.
Ottawa Citizen
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Nepean+High
+School+addresses+Tequila+Sunrise/2189965/story.html
Minnesota Debt Mediation Requests Nearly Double
For the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, the Minnesota Extension Farmer Lender Mediation program received 1,192 requests for mediation, an 86% increase from the prior year... “Farmer Lender Mediation provides a way to re-structure debt and give the operation a chance to stay in business until better times,” says Brian Buhr, an Extension economist and head of the University of Minnesota’s Department of Applied Economics.
AgWeb
http://www.agweb.com/get_article.aspx?src=gennews&pageid=154272
Decline in support for using animals in research sparks an aggressive national ad campaign
That message, emblazoned on 15 billboards around the Twin Cities, strikes at the heart of a largely hidden but heated health care battle being waged beyond the national debate over access to medical care... "We need a celebrity spokesperson, but can't find one," said Dick Bianco, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical School, who is part of the campaign.
Bradenton Herald
http://www.bradenton.com/pets/story/1834597.html
Horse Genome Sequence Published
Professors Jim Mickelson, PhD, and Stephanie Valberg, DVM, PhD, of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine are among the authors of "Genome Sequence, Comparative Analysis, and Population Genetics of the Domestic Horse," to be published in the Nov. 6 issue of the journal Science.
The Horse
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=15225
The No-Cost Path to Cheaper Health Care
If your car isn't working as well as it should, the next logical step would be to take it to a mechanic, right?... The solution: Allow American families to purchase health coverage across state lines. According to a study by the University of Minnesota, 12 million more Americans would be able to buy coverage if this simple solution were enacted into law.
Wall Street journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527487
04013004574517961189341646.html?mod=
googlenews_wsj
Thieves target experimental grapevine in Minn.
Thieves in Carver County have targeted an experimental grapevine that could lead to a new type of wine, according to a report on KSTP-TV... Authorities say the grapevine was taken recently from the University of Minnesota's Horticulture Research Center in Victoria.
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/69367022.html
A Neighbor’s Hope
The will to live has motivated Garden City resident Irene M. Torino, a usually private woman, to abandon her reticence and share her story with the community she desperately hopes will be able to answer her and her family’s prayers... A study published in January in the New England Journal of Medicine, which was conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota, revealed that donors’ life spans, and their risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, and kidney disease, were the same as or better than those of non-donors of similar age, race and gender.
Garden City News
http://www.gcnews.com/news/2009-11-06/
Front_Page/A_Neighbors_Hope.html
Dean Abrahamson - Will Big Stone also be replaced by renewable power?
The cancellation of the proposed Big Stone II coal-fired power plant brings back memories of the cancellations of the proposed power plants at Durand, Wis... Dean Abrahamson is professor emeritus at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota.
Minnpost
http://www.minnpost.com/community_voices/2009/11/
06/13193/will_big_stone_ii_also_be_replaced_by_
renewable_power
FDA launches its attack on cigarettes
The Food and Drug Administration, a federal regulatory agency perpetually in search of new products to regulate and new jurisdiction to conquer, last June received the gift it had coveted for decades... Notwithstanding this, the regulators at America’s preeminent Nanny State agency apparently have studied the matter and concluded — despite a 2006 University of Minnesota survey showing a significant drop in the number of high schoolers who had smoked a clove cigarette — that allowing a small number of adult, clove-cigarette aficionados to enjoy their product of choice presents such an overwhelming danger to children, that the “vice” has to be outlawed completely.
Atlanta Journal Constitution - The Barr Code Blog
http://blogs.ajc.com/bob-barr-blog/2009/11/06/fda-
begins-its-move-against-cigarettes/?cxntfid=blogs_
bob_barr_blog
U of M student radio station, Radio K (KUOM), wins national award for Web site
http://www1.umn.edu/news/news-releases/2009/UR_CONTENT_146915.html
U of M researchers awarded prestigious grants from ARRA funds
http://www1.umn.edu/news/news-releases/2009/UR_CONTENT_146813.html
Plug In America president to discuss electric cars at U of M's Center for Transportation Studies fall luncheon
http://www1.umn.edu/news/news-releases/2009/UR_CONTENT_146744.html
Experts from eight countries to present initiatives on education for marginalized youth at U of M
http://www1.umn.edu/news/news-releases/2009/UR_CONTENT_146755.html