UCLA In the News August 27, 2020

UCLA In the News lists selected mentions of UCLA in the world’s news media. Some articles may require registration or a subscription to view. See more UCLA In the News.

Scope of California wildfires is staggering | New York Times

“I’m running out of superlatives,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at the University of California, Los Angeles. Mr. Swain said he expected this year to have the greatest number of acres burned under California’s modern fire suppression regimen.

In pursuit of the Latino American dream | Los Angeles Times

Leobardo Estrada, a UCLA demographer, offers this observation: “Look at the forces at work in Orange County... (to) survive in an affluent area where most of the people are white and upwardly mobile... you’ve got to be sharp, impressive and bright.”

Bridging the gap between biologists and physicists | Nature

(Column written by UCLA’s Clarice Aiello) I work as a laboratory leader in the emerging field of quantum biology, which examines how the laws of quantum mechanics might mediate biological processes such as photosynthesis, respiration and vision. Migrating birds, for example, are thought to use proteins that act as sensors for detecting Earth’s magnetic field, enabling them to navigate by it, and quantum mechanical effects might underlie metabolic regulation in cells.

Prisoners and guards do not feel safe | Washington Post

UCLA Law’s Sharon Dolovich, who leads the Covid-19 Behind Bars Data Project, echoed Warren’s criticism of the bureau, noting the data it does publish on coronavirus cases and deaths is non-comprehensive and opaque. “The culture of secrecy that’s been allowed to develop in the nation’s prisons and jails over the past 40 years is antithetical to these institutions’ status in a democratic society,” she said. “We have government officials who act as if this is their private information.”

Getting your kids to turn it down a notch | New York Times column

Planning times that kids can be loud, if they choose, can give them a sense of routine, said Jennifer Taitz, PsyD, a clinical psychologist in Los Angeles and assistant clinical professor at University of California, Los Angeles. Even school has recess. “Kids miss socializing and want contact,” Dr. Taitz said. “When kids are screaming, they’re usually saying, ‘Pay attention to me.’”

San Francisco restaurant must take down outdoor domes | NBC’s “Today”

“The key to outdoor dining is the free flow of air,” Dr. Anne Rimoin, professor of epidemiology at UCLA told TODAY. “It’s not clear to me that these domes will keep people in them safe nor the servers who would have to enter the domes to serve the people inside them, who would be dining presumably without masks on, with poor airflow. Given the current setup, it seems that these domes might end up promoting transmission instead of preventing it.” (Rimoin was also quoted by Health.com.)

College students prepare to head back home | CNBC

Even in states such as New York, which has been able to effectively control Covid-19 transmission for months, school officials face uncertainties with reopening universities, said Ravina Kullar, an adjunct faculty member at the University of California Los Angeles and a member of the Infectious Disease Society of America. That’s because many students travel from different states with worse outbreaks, and universities create ”a breeding ground for a Covid disaster to happen,” she said.

Here’s how working remotely could affect your taxes | New York Times

The state where you have your primary residence typically can tax your worldwide income, and any state where you earn income also has the right to tax you on the income you earn in that state, said Kirk Stark, a professor of tax law at the University of California, Los Angeles. “That immediately creates a possibility of two separate states taxing the same income,” Mr. Stark said.

UCLA studies COVID-19 spread from animals to humans | KTLA-TV

Researchers at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health are studying how veterinarians and other animal healthcare workers might be at risk for contracting the coronavirus from animal patients. The goal of the study is to give researchers a better understanding of the virus and how to prevent further exposure. (Also: UCLA’s Anne Rimoin is quoted by MyNewsLA.)

Losing weight by dieting versus gastric bypass surgery | Healthline

Dr. Vijaya Surampudi, an internal medicine specialist at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in California, says weight loss can have numerous health benefits. “It can improve blood glucose control, blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, improve mood, and reduce depressive symptoms,” Surampudi told Healthline.

COVID-19 exposes stark health care disparities | Medical Xpress

“The impact on the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, or NHPI, community is devastating, and without accurate data, we only know a small piece of the story. Currently, NHPIs are seeing infection rates up to five times that of white people in Los Angeles County alone, and this impact is being felt across the country, in states such as Arkansas, Louisiana, Illinois, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon, where NHPI case and death rates are higher than any other race and ethnicity,” said UCLA’s Ninez Ponce.

For Black kids, autism can be diagnosed late | HealthDay News

That delay means that young Black Americans miss out on early intensive treatment that is essential to help children with autism be better able to deal with school and social life, the researchers said. “It’s not the parents who are delaying diagnosis, it’s the system,” said researcher Dr. Daniel Geschwind, director of the Center for Autism Research and Treatment and a professor of neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles.