Aug. 5 - Sinking climate change; a hope for stomach cancer
Section 1
Sunlight reflects on a green wall at the Samueli College of Health Science. Photo by Ian Parker
UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS
Gregory Benford, a professor emeritus of physics & astronomy, has a novel approach to lowering the planet’s carbon emissions load. Photo by Steve Zylius/UCI
Professor emeritus suggests deep-sixing global climate change
To seriously address the rise of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, we need to take out about 5 billion tons annually. According to Greg Benford, professor emeritus of physics & astronomy, there’s an easy way to make that happen, one that relies on the natural processes of our planet combined with readily available farm labor and unremarkable, centuries-old equipment such as baling wire, trucks and barges. His proposed method, Crops Residue Oceanic Permanent Sequestration, or CROPS, involves bundling agricultural waste into half-ton cubes and transporting the cubes out to the deep sea, where gravity will take them to the ocean floor. There, the carbon that was once in the air will sit unperturbed for millennia.
Clinical trial by UCI doctors offers hope for stomach cancer
Stomach cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide and usually isn’t detected until it’s in advanced stage gastric carcinomatosis, which has a survival rate of little more than six months. But now, two UCI Health doctors, Maheswari Senthil and Farshid Dayyani, have launched STOPGAP, an innovative phase 2 clinical trial that takes a three-pronged approach to treating gastric carcinomatosis, and UCI Health is one of the few hospitals in the U.S. where such treatment is available.
UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS
Friday fun fact
Research for California: The top three sponsoring state agencies for UC research are the Department of Public Health, followed by the Department of Social Services and the Department of Food and Agriculture.
Monkeypox now a nationwide health emergency
Yesterday, U.S. health officials officially declared the monkeypox virus a national health emergency. The declaration by Xavier Becerra, President Biden’s health secretary, marks just the fifth such national emergency since 2001. The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency over the virus late last month. California is one of the areas hardest hit by monkeypox, with 1,310 cases so far, according to the California Dept. of Public Health. As of today, Orange County has identified a total of 24 cases.
UCI IN THE NEWS
Note: Some news sites require subscriptions to read articles. The UCI Libraries offer free subscriptions to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Orange County Register and The Washington Post for students, faculty and staff.
Will the Inflation Reduction Act Bring Carbon Capture to the Market?
New York Magazine – Intelligencer, Aug. 5
Cited: Jenny Y. Yang, Chancellor’s Professor of chemistry
The next public health emergency
Axios, Aug. 5
Cited: Andrew Noymer, associate professor of public health
Why Abortion May Be A Winning Issue For Democrats
FiveThirtyEight, Aug. 3
Cited: Michael Tesler, professor of political science
#UCICONNECTED
UCI graduate Advaith Thampi is seen with sunglasses and a head cover behind Sen. Chuck Schumer in front of the U.S. Capitol building. Photo courtesy of Advaith Thampi.
Advaith Thampi '16, an @AmericanLegion lawyer and U.S. Marine Corps vet, helped pass the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins Act (#PACTA) in support of medical benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Following his stint at UCI, Thampi attended Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law to prepare for a career in veterans’ legal affairs.
#UCIconnected spotlights student, alumni, faculty and staff photos, essays, shoutouts, hobbies, artwork, unusual office decorations, activities and more. Send submissions via email or post on social media with the #UCIconnected hashtag.