UB in the News

Also in the New York Times, an article reviews "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture," an exhibition in the National Portrait Gallery co-curated by Jonathan D. Katz, associate professor of visual studies. "Clearly the exhibition covers a lot of ground and raises many questions. It also has wonderful art, and the art stays wonderful whether you ask the questions or not," the review says.

An article on Fox News about reality stars like Khloe Kardashian who are comparing the new TSA security pat downs to "public rape," and the outrage rape crisis groups are expressing over the misuse of the word, quotes Elayne Rapping, professor emeritus of American studies. "We all have to go through this and it is pathetic for celebrities to think what is happening to them isn't happening to anyone else," she said. "These are low-profile celebrities probably trying to get attention."

Jonathan Katz, associate professor of visual studies and co-curator of the National Portrait Gallery's exhibit "Hide/Seek: Differences and Desire in American Portraiture," was interviewed on CBC radio about the removal of a video from the show following complaints from Republican politicians and the Catholic League. An article in The Washington Post reports senior Smithsonian officials are meeting with concerned museum staff over fears that removing the video sets an unwelcome precedent, and that the exhibit's curators have been invited to a forum next week.

An article in Toronto Life reports on a new study by scientists at the Research Institute on Addictions that found that couples who drink together feel "increased intimacy and decreased relationship problems the next day" compared to those who drink without their partner or don't drink at all.

An article on Live Science about research that found that people who imagined every chew and swallow of a food actually ate less quotes Leonard Epstein, professor of pediatrics and social and preventive medicine. "Thinking about food has many of the same effects on eating as actually eating the food," he said. "That's new." The article also appeared on Fox News and Mother Nature Network.

An article on Futurity.com reports a UB computer scientist has figured out a way to determine how rare a fingerprint is, and how likely it is to belong to a particular crime suspect.

A story in the National Law Journal reports that the University at Buffalo was the only law school in New York State that saw an increased number of its students pass the bar exam this past summer, moving to an 83 percent pass rate from 81 percent last year. UB's numbers contrasted with the widespread decrease in the pass rate of many New York law schools, which was the focus of the story.

An article on MSNBC about memory and how men's and women's brains respond differently to stress reports research conducted by Zhen Yan, professor of physiology and neuroscience, showed that female brains are better able to handle chronic stress.

HealthCanal covered a study by the UB Research Institute on Addictions that showed that couples where both people who drink similar amounts of alcohol and together have healthier relationships than those couples where each person drinks separately and consumes different levels of alcohol. It also was covered by Phys.org.

A New York Times story on a study of college students taking foreign languages and sign language quotes Rosemary Feal, a UB professor of Spanish and executive director of the Modern Language Association, who calls it "a vulnerable time for language study. But student interest remains strong." The story ran in papers around the US and Canada, including the Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Businessweek and USA Today.