Comments by UC Davis community members regularly appear in a wide variety of media outlets around the country. Among the recent citings in prominent publications:

UC Small Farm Center director Desmond Jolly contributed to a May 12 Los Angeles Times article on the growing convergence of agriculture and entertainment. He estimated that agritourism, which includes everything from pony rides to fruit picking to petting zoos, brings in $75 million statewide. "It's no longer seen as a novelty," Jolly said. "We're now looking at the farm as something that has assets beyond just what it grows." ...

Medical school professor Scott Fishman contributed to two recent USA Today articles on pain and painkillers. On May 9, he pointed out that the psychological effects of pain can amplify the trauma. "Many people in severe pain from terminal illness fear their pain more than they fear death," he said. Two days later, Fishman discussed some doctors' willingness to over-prescribe controlled substances. It can be difficult to define the difference between responsible practicing and criminal behavior, he said. "That line isn't clear. Until it's clear, it's very hard to convince a doctor who wants to do the right thing to approach that line."…

Comments Vice Dean for Medical Education Michael Wilkes made at a congressional hearing on the banned painkiller Vioxx appeared in Business on May 5. Despite numerous published studies citing possible side effects of the drug, Wilkes said some doctors are too busy to keep up with the most current information. He added that they often rely on drug salesmen whom they meet in their offices. ...

Animal behavior researcher Melissa Bain's canine senility study was cited in the May 7 Sacramento Bee. Bain and colleagues are hoping to find if antioxidants can be used to sharpen older dogs' minds. "When you look at aging, there is probably not a whole lot of difference in the general sense between dogs and people," Bain said. "Dogs get arthritis just like people do. They get cancer. They have eye problems and hearing problems." ...

Veterinary school professor Frederick Murphy was quoted in a May 6 Coloradoan story on a federal bill that would allow veterinary schools to increase training in public health and biomedical research. Murphy pointed out a broader veterinary education is necessary to protect a population increasingly threatened by animal-transmitted diseases. "You have to know what's going on in an animal and how the disease is transmitted," he said. "With something like West Nile virus, you have to know a lot about what's going on in the bird, mosquitoes and humans." ...

Nutrition department chair Carl Keen commented on dark chocolate's health benefits in the May 3 Kansas City Star. Keen said that cacao beans are a good source of flavonoids — compounds that may lower the risk of heart disease and some types of cancer. "You can consume a cocoa beverage or a chocolate bar rich in flavonoids, and within 30 minutes to an hour you can see them in the bloodstream," he said. "It doesn't prove anything but it's looking awfully good." Flavonoids can also be found in green and red vegetables, red wine and green tea…

Another nutrition professor, Judith Stern, was quoted in the May 2 Indianapolis Star in a child obesity story. Stern, co-founder of the American Obesity Association, said that schools must advocate exercise and nutrition education, because many children have no opportunity for physical activity outside of school. "It's got to be equally as important as reading, writing and arithmetic," she said. ...

A recent study by Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care director Richard Kravitz was featured in several major publications, including the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, on April 27 and 28. Kravitz found that doctors were more likely to prescribe antidepressants to actors posing as patients who requested a particular drug than to those who reported the same symptoms but did not request a medication. "The short message for patients is to be careful of what you ask for, because you probably will get it," Kravitz said. ...

Two faculty members contributed to a May 1 front page Sacramento Bee story on Disneyland's 50th anniversary. Landscape architecture professor Dean MacCannell offered a criticism of the amusement park: "The most pernicious thing about Disneyland is it steals the imagination by trying to construct total environments," he said. "The Disney message is simple: You don't need to have imagination — we'll do all that for you, for a fee." The Disney business plan seems to be working though, added communication lecturer John Theobald, citing that 80 to 100 million Americans use a Disney product daily. "That's one-third of the U.S. population," the mass culture expert said. "That's the reach of Disney."…

Psychology professor Dean Keith Simonton contributed to a story about creativity and old age in the April 27 Straits Times, a publication in Singapore. Simonton, a creativity expert, acknowledged that performance on some creativity tests declines after age 40. "But if you look at something called practical creativity, solving everyday problems you have in life, that peaks later," he said. Simonton cited Benjamin Franklin, who invented bifocals for himself at age 78, as a prime example. ...

Managing director of the medical center's Poison Control Center Judith Alsop contributed to an April 28 Sacramento Bee story on natural hazards. Alsop suggested that rattlesnake bite victims should not panic. "A person should not die from a bite," she said. "Since 1980, there's been only one death from a snakebite." Alsop said that hikers should avoid rattlers in the first place, but should limit their movement and leave the wound alone if bitten.