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

Psychology professor emerita Linda Acredolo's research on babies' sign language was featured in a Feb. 25 Life magazine cover story. Acredolo, who developed the baby signs with a colleague more than 20 years ago, suggests that infants who communicate with their hands before they can talk go on to develop language more quickly and have higher IQs than other children. The developmental psychologist anticipates her research hitting the mainstream soon. "Our hope is to have sign language become a natural part of parenting," Acredolo said. …

Another psychology professor, Dean Keith Simonton, commented on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's charisma in a March 6 Sacramento Bee story. Simonton, a leadership expert, said Schwarzenegger gets away with antics that would doom other political figures. "Most effective leaders don't do negative things," Simonton said. "But some, by virtue of their personality, can be more idiosyncratic. I'd say that's true of Schwarzenegger."…

Eric Liederman, medical director of clinical information systems at the medical center, contributed to a March 2 New York Times story about rising e-mail use in doctor-patient interactions. Liederman said that e-mail correspondence at UC Davis clinics improved patients' access to doctors, decreased overhead costs and increased physicians' productivity. Liederman noted that "there was a huge reduction in the number of calls."…

Larry Wolff, also of the medical center, was quoted in a March 8 front page Sacramento Bee story on mobile defibrillators' increasing appearances in public places. Wolff says he sees around 20 people saved by the devices -- used to shock a victim's heart into beating again -- each year. The electrophysiologist applauded the use of mobile defibrillators, saying, "Timing is everything. If you can beat the paramedics by five minutes, that may be the difference between being a vegetable in a nursing home and going back to your job."…

Animal behavior expert Lynette Hart contributed to a story in the same edition of The Bee about two chimpanzees mauling a man at an animal sanctuary. "It's crucial to remember that they're still wild, they're not domesticated," Hart said of the large primates. "People are so drawn to animals that they often make a mistake about setting boundaries. It's not easy to see that it's a one-way relationship -- that the sentiment is not returned."…

Biological and agricultural engineering professor Ning Pan's nanotechnology research was highlighted in the March 7 Electronic Engineering Times. Pan invented a "supercapacitor" that he says could one day replace batteries in cellular phones and laptop computers. The supercapacitor, which has a power density 10 times greater than previous devices, "is simple and fast to prepare," Pan said. He added that the product "can be manufactured very efficiently."…

Immunologist Nicole Baumgarth of the Center for Comparative Medicine contributed to a story about the possible spread of avian influenza that appeared on the March 9 Sacramento Bee's front page. Baumgarth said that the virus, which has infected humans in three Asian countries, "is definitely going to come. The (virus variety) will be one that we've never seen circulating in the human population, so we won't have immunity to that." UC Davis virologist Frederick Murphy was also quoted in the story. …

Enology professor Linda Bisson contributed to a Feb. 28 Newsweek article about California wines. In the past, Bisson said, wine drinkers tended to define their beverages by the type of grape, rather than vineyard or year. However, winemakers hoping to distinguish themselves are now emphasizing differences between vineyards. …

Sociology associate professor Laura Grindstaff commented on a societal bias against older women having sexual relations with younger men in a March 10 Sacramento Bee story. Grindstaff made her remarks in regards to a female high school teacher having sex with a student at local McClatchy High School. "There are cultural sanctions for women having too much sex," said the American popular culture expert. "For men, sexual activity doesn't work against them. He becomes the stud. She becomes the slut."…

A stock market study co-authored by economics professor Martine Quinzii appeared in the March 7 Christian Science Monitor. Quinzii and her colleagues predicted a lean market for the next 15 years because of an aging baby boomer generation. They pointed to older people's likelihood to sell stocks for retirement as a principle factor.

— By Mike Sintetos