UB in the News

An editorial in the Buffalo News looks at what UB has accomplished due to good leadership and calls a plan to move the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences "a giant step forward for the university and the community." The editorial praises UB President Satish Tripathi, and notes, "We look forward to other announcements of import from Tripathi. If they are as significant as moving the medical school, the new UB president will enjoy strong community support."

A letter to the editor in the Albany Times Union says NYSUNY 2020 is piggy backing off of UB's seven years of planning with UB 2020.

An article in The New York Times looks at the positive effect the UB 2020 plan -- and the move of the UB medical school downtown -- could play in the transformation of Buffalo, and the enthusiastic support it has received among local business leaders, politicians and community members, who are hopeful for the economic impact it would provide.

Biologist Victor Albert was interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered about his work analyzing the genome of the plant amborella. "It basically just looks like a small tree or shrub with fairly nondescript leaves and relatively nondescript flowers," he said, but the plant is important because it's one of the first flowering plants that evolved on Earth and while it is the sibling of all flowering plants, it has no direct descendents.

An article in the Las Vegas Sun reports that while for decades researchers have said that alcoholism is more common in the U.S. population than compulsive gambling, a study released last month by the Research Institute on Addictions found that gambling problems are more common than alcohol dependence. The article quotes John Welte, senior research scientist.

An article in Consumer Reports looks at research conducted by a team of UB scientists who found that consuming vitamin D from foods or supplements might reduce the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration in women younger than 75. UPI, Food Consumer and Medscape News also distributed articles on the research.

An article in Nature about a controversial study on the evolution of languages and the debate over whether languages share universal grammatical features quotes Matthew Dryer, professor of linguistics.

SmartPlanet, a CBS Interactive website, reports that UB chemist Sarbajit Banerjee is leading a research team that is developing materials that could one be used as coatings on windows that reflect heat from the sun only on hot days. Articles also appeared in a few gadget- and science-related websites.

An article in England's The Telegraph reports a UB study of older women found that those who had the highest levels of vitamin D were nearly 60 percent less likely to contract age-related macular degeneration, and quotes Amy Millen, assistant professor in the School of Public Health and Health Professions and lead author on the study. The research, which was described in a news release sent to media outlets on Monday, has received wide coverage, with article also appearing in news outlets that include CBC News in Canada, ABC News, Baltimore Sun, Web MD, MedPage Today and Marie Claire.

Dan Ryan, director of off-campus student services, is quoted in an article on Fox Business News about what college students and their parents need to consider before moving off campus.