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December 16, 1996

Headliners

The latest nod to David Chalmers's new book came from the London Times. Following up on earlier coverage, the paper printed two stories on Chalmers in a recent Sunday edition--one in the magazine section and one in the books section listing The Conscious Mind as one of the best science books of the year.

The December issue of Discover features an article about Supernova 1987A, the star that blew up so famously nearly ten years ago. Our resident supernova expert, Stan Woosley, opined that astrophysicists soon would detect a rapidly spinning neutron star at the core of the explosion, even though many researchers now believe a black hole lurks there instead.

A report about the impact of Proposition 209 on public health programs that was coauthored by community studies professor David Wellman was the subject of an article in the Contra Costa Times. The report, leaked to the press before the initiative was approved by voters, concluded that health care providers wouldn't be able to take race, ethnicity, or, national origin into account when they design and implement programs--a conclusion that could have dire consequences for programs to screen or treat inherited diseases that strike specific groups, such as sickle cell anemia.

Marine biologist Dan Costa told the Santa Cruz County Sentinel about a new federal permit that will allow his research team to study the effects of deep diving on the physiology of sea lions. Little is known about how much energy the animals expend in the ocean, Costa said.

Economist Donald Wittman was the subject of a profile in the Santa Cruz County Sentinel's "Bookends" section. The article focused on Wittman's book The Myth of Democratic Failure and covered Wittman's views on politics, economics, and the democratic process, among other topics.

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