Rochester Review
January-February 2010
Vol. 72, No. 3
Story as a PDF
Departments
In Review
“Parents have more information available, but they don’t always know how to use that information.” —Lucia French, the Earl B. Taylor Professor of Education at the Warner School, talking with Wired magazine about a growing trend among new parents to track their babies’ development using online and other electronic programs.
UPI
“Seafloor ridges are made up of sections, each of which can be hundreds of miles long. Because of this study, we now know that each of those segments can tear open in just a few days.”—Cindy Ebinger, a professor of earth and environmental sciences, explaining research she coauthored indicating that a 35-mile-long rift in the desert of Ethiopia could eventually create a new sea.
ABC News
“I see the food industry, as well as the entertainment/activity industry, trying to do all they can to stay ahead of the ‘bad guy curve.’ None of them wants to get tagged as the next big tobacco: They have a lot of lessons and tricks they can take from the tobacco industry.”—Stephen Cook, an assistant professor of pediatrics, commenting on the children’s cereal industry and a recent pledge by General Mills to cut the amount of sugar in kids’ cereals.
BusinessWeek
“Unless you really understand how these viruses work, the exact step-by-step chemical process, then you can’t really rationally design a new clever kind of therapy that may be effective against the virus.”—Robert Bambara, a professor of biochemistry and biophysics, discussing a study he coauthored indicating that thousands of millions of years ago, the virus that causes AIDS took on some genetic material from a tiger, material still found in the virus today.
Washington Post
“There is enough information to ask manufacturers to let people know when they’re exposed, so they can make choices.”—Shanna Swan, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology, summarizing a study she led showing that elevated levels of two common phthalates in pregnant women’s urine are linked to less typically male play behavior by their sons.
U.S. News & World Report
“The good news is that insomnia is a very treatable problem that can be addressed quickly so it doesn’t compound other symptoms.”—Oxana Palesh, a research assistant professor of radiation oncology, describing a study she authored showing that more than three-quarters of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy experience insomnia and sleep disorders, a rate almost three times higher than that of the general population.
MSNBC
“Much of the results of certain alternative procedures are largely placebo effects, unless you believe there are people who exert magical powers so they can hold their hands over your body and cure you of disease. Make you feel better? That’s entirely possible, especially if you believe it.”—Robert Ader, a Distinguished University Professor of psychiatry, talking about the phenomenon of the placebo effect.
