November 16, 2004

OBESITY GREATLY HARMS SEX LIFE, RESEARCH SHOWS Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Nov. 16 -- Forget heart disease, diabetes and back problems. Duke University Medical Center researchers have identified a consequence of obesity that might finally get people's attention -- sex. Full story --Also, (Durham) Herald-Sun: Duke Study Says Sex Life Sags With Obesity Full story Fox News: Sexual Problems Common Among Obese People Full story New York Times: Study -- Low-fat Diets Better Long-term Full story

BROWN VS. BOARD HISTORIAN TO BE HONORED Birmingham News, Nov. 14 -- Fifty years after the U.S. Supreme Court decision that outlawed segregation in public schools, the Duke historian who helped shape the legal arguments for the landmark case will be honored by the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Full story

DUKE HEALTH GETTING EXAM (Raleigh) News & Observer, Nov. 16 -- The Duke University Health System's new chief executive, who left Harvard in July to come to Durham, is starting out by taking a look under the three-hospital system's hood. Full story

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS, OR DWARFS Boston Globe, Nov. 16 -- Duke professor V. Louise Roth, who studies mammalian evolution and body size, discusses how evolution often takes unexpected, and sometimes bizarre, directions on islands. Full story --Also, RedNova.com: Size Matters; Why Are Some Living Things Tiny and Some Huge? (Duke zoologists Knut Schmidt-Nielsen and Steven Vogel) Full story

TWEAKING TREE GENES ON HORIZON (Raleigh) News & Observer, Nov. 15 -- Duke will host a gathering of scientists, lumber industry people, environmentalists and regulators this week to discuss the concerns about and promise of re-engineered trees. Full story

NEW GENE LINK TO 'BUBBLE BOY' DISEASE FOUND Forbes.com, Nov. 15 -- Identification of a new gene mutation that causes severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), also known as "bubble boy" disease, could prove important, Duke pediatrician Rebecca H. Buckley wrote in a commentary accompanying a research report. Full story --Also, WebMD: Abnormal Gene Linked to Boy in Bubble Disease Full story

DUKE NAMES ITS FIRST BALDWIN SCHOLARS (Durham) Herald-Sun, Nov. 16 -- Duke has named its first group of Baldwin Scholars, a new program for undergraduate women launched out of the university's Women's Initiative. Full story

ON THE AIR Duke sociology professor Gary Gereffi will be featured in the Frontline documentary "Is Wal-Mart Good for America?" airing Tuesday night on most PBS stations (9 p.m. on UNC-TV). The program will look at the connection between American job losses and soaring Chinese exports. Full story Terry Sanford Institute Director Bruce Jentleson will talk about Fallujah and security in Iraq on WBEZ's "Odyssey." Listen live (1-2 p.m. ET) Tuesday or to archived audio. Full story