Duke in the News: May 15, 2007

HUMAN ANCESTORS WERE NO BRAINIACS Science, May 14 -- A 30-million-year-old skull discovered in Egypt indicates that the brains of humans' earliest ancestors were not as advanced as some have thought, according to a new study led by Duke primatologist Elwyn Simons. ... Full story --Also, National Geographic News: Human Ancestor Had Lime-Size Brain ... Full story (London) The Times: Our Tiny Ancestor Had a Brain to Match -- Which Shows That We Were Not As Clever As We Thought ... Full story

SATELLITES SHOW HARVEST OF MUD THAT TRAWLERS LEAVE BEHIND New York Times, May 15 -- "It was one of those eureka moments," says Duke environmental scientist Kyle Van Houtan of his realization that mudtrails left by commercial fishing were visible from space. ... Full story

CELEBS GIVE KIDS 'SOUNDTRACKS OF THEIR LIVES' THANKS TO MAN'S TRAGEDY USA Today, May 15 -- Susan Trout, a social worker at Duke University Medical Center, works with a foundation that creates personalized compositions for children who have life-threatening illnesses. ... Full story

OP-ED: AFRICAN EVANGELICAL MISSION TARGETS U.S. Orlando Sentinel, May 13 -- Two African church leaders assume that "the beautiful liturgy, evangelical theology and contagious faith that drew them to African-style Anglicanism will draw Americans as well," says Duke Divinity professor David C. Steinmetz. ... Full story

STATE WON'T PROBE COPS IN DURHAM (Raleigh) News & Observer, May 15 -- The state attorney general Monday declined a request from Mayor Bill Bell for a review of the Durham Police Department's handling of the Duke lacrosse case, leaving the prospects for a third-party assessment uncertain. ... Full story --Also, New York Times, AP: Duke Settles Suit Over Player's Grade ... Full story Duke News: Duke and Men's Lacrosse (special website with background information) ... Full story

EXCESS CALCIUM IN ELDERLY 'LINKED TO DEMENTIA' (London) The Independent, May 14 -- Calcium and vitamin D in dairy products may be helping to cause brain damage and dementia in older men and women, new Duke-led research suggests. ... Full story

THE GIFT OF A CURE U.S. News & World Report, May 13 -- Donating your newborn's umbilical cord might someday save a life. There's no cost to the donating family; Duke University Medical Center, for example, relies on federal grants to cover the annual cost of collecting cords and their precious stem cells. ... Full story

UP NEXT: REMOVABLE INK FOR PERMANENT TATTOOS Fox News, May 14 -- It is estimated 17 percent of people with tattoos are looking to get rid of them. A New York City-based firm has worked with scientists from Duke and Massachusetts General Hospital to develop removable ink for tattoos to make it easier to do so. ... Full story