When confronted with threatening stimuli and predators, the crayfish responds with an innate escape machanism called the startle reflex. ... Although this reflex has been studied intensively, the mechanism by which nervous impulses arrive in synchrony at the central nervous system was poorly understood. DeForest Mellon, Jr. and Kate Christison-Lagay of the University of Virginia now describe the simple yet ingenious and beautiful mechanism underlying this phenomenon.
University of Virginia students are trying to slow down the leasing process when it comes to Off Grounds housing. Student Council is urging students to not sign leases for houses or apartments until they're ready.
... 'We wanted to help those who aren't necessarily sleeping outside for religious reasons,' said Zev Lebowitz, president of UVA's Jewish Social Justice Council (JSJC), as he drilled into a two-by-four. For the third straight year, the JSJC-in partnership with Hillel-is raising money for agencies that serve the homeless by arranging for sponsors to pay for the students' nights outside.
A new radiation oncology center will be one of the first visible benefits from the recent $40 million partnership between Culpeper Regional Hospital and the University of Virginia Medical Center.
Last week, a group of UVA seniors studying foreclosure trends presented preliminary findings to the Piedmont Housing Alliance (PHA) staff. ...The students are part of the Neighborhood Planning Workshop course in the School of Architecture taught by Nisha Botchwey. The purpose of the study was to provide valuable information on foreclosure trends, geographic areas, and housing characteristics to PHA so that it could intervene with preventive housing counseling in the affected areas.
University of Virginia researchers have found a new way to curb binge drinking among 18 to 25 year olds. Officials say a drug typically used to prevent nausea and vomiting could be the answer for many suffering from alcohol addiction. According to Doctor Bankole Johnson, early intervention is important.
Gennady Denisenko
A former Soviet defector doing a doctoral dissertation on Russian and Eastern European studies, and a volunteer translator at the Medical Center
Award-winning photojournalist Ashley Gilbertson showed images from his coverage of the Iraq War and described the war's toll on the homefront to a meeting of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society on October 10, 2008. This presentation was jointly sponsored by the Jefferson Society and the Virginia Quarterly Review to mark the publication of his article, 'The Life and Lonely Death of Noah Pierce,' in the Fall 2008 issue of VQR.
Robert Bruner
Dean of the Darden School of Business
Fiscal Education
WVTF Public Radio (Roanoke, VA) / Oct. 16
http://www.wvtf.org/news_and_notes/index.php
and
Editorial: Managing For Success
Investor's Business Daily / Oct. 17
http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=24&issue=20081017
Greg Fairchild
Associate professor at the Darden School of Business
New Power Players
BusinessWeek / Oct. 17
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_70/s0810021680126.htm
Cordel Faulk
Communications director for the Center for Politics
Guest Editorial: Who's running the show?
Gre...
By Dr. Arthur Garson Jr., executive vice president and provost
Will Joe the plumber get health care? We did not hear enough discussion on health care from Senators McCain and Obama in their debates for us to tell. So we have just had our own debate entirely on health care between advisers to their campaigns at a place where we try not to perpetuate myths: the University of Virginia. ... Some of the answers in the debate were based upon myths. We need to correct those myths.
... Last week I attended a meeting about the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), a validated, reliable observational system, about which we've written previously, that enables trained observers to, in a relatively short amount of time, measure the quality of teachers' interactions with children in the classroom. Most importantly, evidence shows that kids whose teachers perform better on the CLASS learn more than children whose teachers score less well. ...right now the researchers at the University of Virginia who developed CLASS are working with local and state policymakers to implem...
Air pollution is making it harder for bees and other pollinating insects to find food, according to a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Virginia.
... Another study, at the University of Virginia School of Nursing, in 1999, found that pain and anxiety in the elderly was significantly reduced when they received therapeutic touch...
Bursting balloons in the bloodstream is being investigated as a new way of attacking cancer. The "balloons" are cell-sized polymer bubbles filled with anti-cancer drugs. The idea is to track the bubbles through the bloodstream and burst them at the site of tumours with a focused ultrasound pulse. ... Philips is working with several partners including the University of Virginia in the US where the treatment is being tested on mice.
In its latest edition, 'Recruiting Success,' Diverse magazine pays homage to UVA's efforts to create a diverse community. According to the magazine, UVA is tied with Columbia University among top-rated universities this year for enrolling the highest percentage of African-American students at 11.4 percent. The magazine also reports that UVA has announced this was the 14th consecutive year that the graduation rate of African-Americans, 83 percent, was the highest among state universities.
... In two days, the Tuesday Evening Concert Series will celebrate the opening of its 60th season. ... According to Karen Pellon, executive director of TECS, it's the assured quality of the artists that have enabled them to enjoy sold out subscriptions for the past 15 seasons. At present the 2008-09 season is 98 percent sold out.
A big gift to the UVA kidney patient memorial fund Friday. Jim Price Chevrolet presented a check of $12,500 to the fund. The money was raised from the annual Jim Price golf tournament.
... Various programs at Sorensen are aimed at high school and college students, first-time candidates, and community leaders. At the heart of each lie three areas of concentration: ethics in public service, the power of bipartisanship, and a concentrated study of public-policy issues. The institute is nonpartisan, takes no sides on issues, endorses no candidates, and gets involved in no mediation between political figures. ... The Sorensen Institute is working to change the political culture, to provide alternative methods of arguing policy and pursuing public office. Bravo to them. The rest i...
The University of Virginia Medical Center is poised to make a $40 million investment in the Culpeper Regional Hospital after months of talks about forming a partnership.