News roundups

March 30, 2011

Newsmakers

A BALANCED EDUCATION: Ed Lazowska, Bill & Melinda Gates chair of the Computer Science & Engineering Department, had his say recently in the ongoing New York Times “Room for Debate” blog. The question was about how to invest to produce jobs; it was noted that Bill Gates “would invest in fields proved to produce jobs” while Steve Jobs “extols the liberal arts.”

Lazowskas comments ran under the headline, “Go for Computer Science” on March 21. He said, among other things, “A balanced education serves you best. An artist or philosopher who is not equipped to appreciate the sciences and engineering is crippled, as is a scientist or engineer who is not equipped to appreciate the humanities and social sciences. (Unfortunately, most people in higher education would agree that while a student who arrives to college seeking a science or engineering education gets a reasonable exposure to the arts and humanities and social sciences, the reverse often is not the case.)”

He noted the Bureau of Labor Statistics view that networking and information technology are expected to account for nearly two-thirds of all job growth in science and technology through 2018.

“So what should today’s college students study in order to stay competitive? My take: A computer science degree is a great preparation for just about any field.” Read the story online.

LOW RISK: A March 16 article in the Los Angeles Times said the fallout from Japans crippled nuclear reactors will reach the United States (and it has since), but that scientists say it should pose no health danger to the country. The story quoted Dan Jaffe of the UW Bothell Science and Technology Program, who is also an adjunct with the Department of Atmospheric Sciences. Jaffe is measuring the fallout from Japan. “While tragic, this is a single source of radioactivity that will be highly diluted if it crosses the Pacific,” he said. “It is highly unlikely this would pose any risk to the West Coast, let alone Chicago.” Read the story online.

AUDITION AND COGNITION: CNNs Health.com column quoted George Gates, UW emeritus professor of otolaryngology, on a new study reported in the Archives of Neurology suggesting that poor hearing can be a sign of coming dementia. Gates was not involved with the research, the mid-February article stated, but his own earlier research has demonstrated a link between the two conditions. “We listen with our ears but hear with our brains,” Gates says. “It is simply not possible to separate audition and cognition.” The article said Gates isnt optimistic that restoring hearing can alter the course of the dementia, but hearing loss “could play an important role in early detection.”  Read the article online.

‘GO OR ‘NO GO: Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, professor and chair of neurological surgery at Harborview Medical Center, was quoted in a CNN article about the National Football Leagues new Sidelines Concussion Exam, to be used on the field starting next season. “It’s simple, ‘go or no-go,’ said Ellenbogen, who is also co-chair of the NFL’s Head, Neck and Spine Medical Committee and who, with colleague Dr. Hunt Batjer, briefed NFL executives gathered for meetings in Indianapolis in February. “If youre in doubt, take the player out. Sit ’em down and let them recover,” said Ellenbogen. “If you let them recover, they have a much better chance of recovering [long-term] and have better long-term prognosis.”

Ellenbogen and Batjer, a neurosurgeon at Northwestern, said the response from team doctors was enthusiastic. “Everyone we talk to, instead of pushing back, they are pushing us to be more aggressive,” he said. “Its beyond a neurosurgeons dream.” Not surprisingly, the story — read it here online — produced scores of comments.

RARE LIFE: As part of its “10 Ideas that Will Change the World” series, Time.com discussed with UW astronomer Don Brownlee the relative likelihood of Earthlings ever meeting life from another planet. The short answer: Dont hold your cosmic breath. In a piece headlined “Relax: You Dont Need to Worry About Meeting E.T.,” Brownlee said, “If the nearest hundred or thousand stars don’t have life, we probably won’t ever, ever, ever know about it anywhere else.” It takes more than just water, heat and time to bring forth life, he said.”It’s not a matter of random assembly. You could put all of the elements of life in a jar and wait a trillion years, and it’ll still be there.” Read the article online.

‘R.I.P., ALAN: Alan Marlatt, professor of psychology and director of the Addictive Behaviors Research Center, whose name appeared often in the news and hence in this column, died of melanoma on March 14.

Marlatt and his work were remembered, among many other places, in Time.coms Healthland column. “It’s like trying to ride a bike,” it was recalled Marlatt said of overcoming addiction. “You make mistakes and learn, and you don’t give up if you don’t immediately find your balance.”

The article also remembered him saying that “most people think that if they have urges or cravings, there’s something wrong, that you’re not supposed to have them” when in fact they are a normal part of behavior. “Notice and accept them.”

Time.com concluded with its own farewell: “In a world so often focused on ‘treating addiction with tough love, Marlatt showed through his work and his life that kindness simply works better. R.I.P., Alan: you are already missed.” Read the article online. Marlatts faculty web page also links to several memorials and examples of his work.