Duke in the News: Oct. 31, 2007

CHEMICAL USED IN HOUSEHOLD PLASTICS SPARKS CONCERNS PBS NewsHour, Oct. 30 -- Duke geneticist Randy Jirtle talks about concerns that a chemical used in many food containers may be having adverse effects on human health. ... Full story --Also, USA Today: Timing of Exposure May Be Crucial ... Full story

10 THAT GET IT Sierra, November/December 2007 -- The magazine, a publication of the Sierra Club, has named Duke to its list of the nation's top ten "coolest" schools that are making efforts to stop global warming. ... Full story

SUMMIT WILL FOCUS ON OPTIONS FOR UNINSURED (Durham) Herald-Sun, Oct. 31 -- Hearing the concerns of people without health insurance is important, says Dr. Victor Dzau, Duke Health president and CEO, who will moderate several question-and-answer sessions at Saturday's Durham Health Summit. ... Full story

IRAQ, AFGHAN VETS AT RISK FOR SUICIDES New York Times, Oct. 31 -- Dr. Dan Blazer, a professor of psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center who served this year on the military's mental health task force, talks about the increased suicide risk among returning soldiers. (AP story also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and more than 100 other news outlets.) ... Full story

IRAQI WITNESSES DISCUSS BLACKWATER SHOOTING Los Angeles Times, Oct. 31 -- Scott Silliman, a former military lawyer who is executive director of the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security at Duke, discusses the FBI inquiry into the shooting incident involving security contractor Blackwater USA in which 17 people died. ... Full story

COLUMN: ONE THING WE CAN'T BUILD ALONE IN IRAQ Washington Post, Oct. 29 -- Associate Professor of Public Policy Anirudh Krishna's research on social capital suggests a "fundamental flaw" in U.S. reconstruction efforts in Iraq, says columnist Shankar Vedantam. ... Full story

THE PINK TIDE Democracy Now!, Oct. 30 -- Jocelyn Olcott, professor of Latin American history at Duke, discusses Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's election as Argentina's first elected female head of state. ... Full story

ALZHEIMER'S AFFLICTS 10 PERCENT OF ELDERLY MSNBC, Oct. 30 -- Duke professor Brenda Plassman discusses her work on the first study to gauge U.S. rates of Alzheimer's and other dementia using a nationally representative sample of elderly people. (Reuters story also appeared in more than 25 other news outlets.) ... Full story

Q&A: LEGAL ACTION HINGES ON DEFINING OBSCENITY (Raleigh) News & Observer, Oct. 28 -- Duke professor Erwin Chemerinsky, an authority on constitutional law, is asked about the limited prosecutions brought by a U.S. Justice Department anti-pornography task force. ... Full story