Duke in the News: April 18, 2007

OPINION: BAD PUBLIC POLICY CONTRIBUTES TO THE DEATH COUNT Chronicle of Higher Education, April 18 -- Assistant professor Kristin A. Goss, author of "Disarmed: The Missing Movement for Gun Control in America," says a combination of private and public policy approaches -- such as parental involvement and stricter gun laws -- would have an impact on preventing future school shootings. ... Full story --Also, (Raleigh) News & Observer: Fear Touches N.C. Campuses ... Full story Chronicle of Higher Education: When a National Spotlight Falls on a Campus, Public-Relations Officers Feel the Heat (John F. Burness, senior vice president for public affairs and government relations at Duke) ... Full story

CHILD HEALTH CONTINUES TROUBLING SLIDE WebMD, April 17 -- "We've got to get activity back into our children's lives," says Kenneth C. Land, a professor of sociology at Duke and author of an annual report on children's overall social and economic well-being. ... Full story

'MEDUSA' UNDERSEA VENT DISCOVERED (U.K.) InTheNews, April 18 -- Duke scientists and their colleagues have uncovered a new "black smoker" -- an undersea mineral chimney -- at about 8,500 feet underwater in a complex section of the East Pacific Rise. ... Full story --Also, UPI: Possible New Fish Species Found in Pacific ... Full story

OP-ED: DUKE STUDENTS REACHING OUT (Durham) Herald-Sun, April 17 -- Daniel Bowes, the Duke-Durham community liaison for Duke Student Government, reflects on what he says will be sustained efforts to facilitate student engagement with the Durham community. ... Full story

SCALES SAID TO TIP IN FAVOR OF ANTIDEPRESSANT USE IN CHILDREN New York Times, April 18 -- Dr. John March, chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center, discusses a comprehensive new analysis that says the benefits of antidepressants in children and teenagers trump a small risk that they will experience increased suicidal thoughts and behavior. (AP story also appeared on CNN and in more than 175 news outlets.) ... Full story

ANALYSIS: SHORTER THERAPY FOR HEPATITIS C? UPI, April 16 -- Hepatitis C virus patients today face a yearlong treatment regimen, but preliminary trial results being reported by Duke professor of medicine Dr. John McHutchison indicate a drug in development could allow a dramatically shorter treatment course. ... Full story

CARNAL KNOWLEDGE Philadelphia Inquirer, April 16 -- Duke anthropologist Susan Alberts shares her working hypothesis about the baby-care habits of male baboons. ... Full story

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER NEEDS TO BE RECOGNIZED IN PRIMARY CARE Annals of Internal Medicine, April 17 -- Dr. Jonathan Davidson, professor of psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center, discusses studies that point to what should be the first line of pharmacotherapy for military veterans who are struggling to readjust to life at home. ... Full story