Using data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a team of planetary scientists including John Mustard, associate professor of geological science, reports the discovery of layers of ice-rich deposits near the martian poles. Variations in the thickness of these layers will enable the scientists to trace the history of Mars' atmosphere back in time millions of years.
www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=4796

John Mustard, associate professor of geological science, reports that the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter had detected clay minerals on the Martian surface that formed from large deposits of ancient water-bearing clays, as well as deposits of gypsum, a mineral formed from calcium sulfates and water. Mustard is deputy principal investigator for the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, a mineral-identifying instrument aboard the craft.
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/14/BAGHCMV6FA1.DTL&hw=Mars&sn=
002&sc=901

John Mustard, associate professor of geological sciences, discusses the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA’s newest Mars spacecraft. Mustard is deputy principal investigator for the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, a mineral-identifying instrument aboard the craft. This press release was republished on science news portals around the world.
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2006-148

Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Steven Hamburg provides an overview of carbon dioxide for an article about 12 attorneys general, including Rhode Island’s, who want the U.S. Supreme Court to declare carbon dioxide an air pollutant.
Free registration: www.projo.com/business/content/RIWARMING30_12-03-06_PA33REG.2c4f889.html

Professor of Economics Glenn Loury joins a roundtable discussion on U.N. chief Kofi Annan's heated farewell speech and Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney's call to impeach President Bush.
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6613402&ft=1&f=11

Professor of Africana Studies Tricia Rose offers commentary on the contemporary life of racism and its new modes of performance. Rose’s on-air commentary was similar to one published on her Web site in November: http://www.triciarose.com/commentary.shtml. WRNI is Rhode Island’s National Public Radio station.

In her letter to the editor, Stacy VanDeveer, a visiting fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies, takes issue with a December 6 opinion piece about “the danger of engaging with the enemy.”
www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2006/12/13/delicate
_matters_of_diplomacy_in_the_middle_east/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Letters+to+the+
editor

Dean of Admission Jim Miller is among three college/university admission directors providing advice regarding the role college essays play in admission decisions.

Yale University has the largest share of full-time faculty in non-tenure-track jobs among Ivy League schools and the University of Pennsylvania has the lowest, a new report shows, while Brown University has the third lowest, after Columbia. This wire service article was distributed to media outlets throughout the United States.
www.pbn.com/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/124323

The number of students applying early to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology rose 13 percent this year, the biggest increase among top-ranked colleges and universities in the U.S. Blogs that the school established three years ago to attract applicants probably are part of the reason for the gain, said Marilee Jones, dean of admissions at MIT. Brown University said early applications declined 2.6 percent. This wire service article was distributed to media outlets throughout the United States.
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aP.ucPb8G2gE&refer=us

In a groundbreaking national study, Brown University researchers have traced the connections between state nursing home policies and resident hospitalizations rates. The team found that state policies unwittingly create financial incentives for nursing homes to hospitalize their frail elderly residents, even though hospital stays can be disorienting or dangerous. This press release was republished on several health Web sites around the world.
www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2006-07/06-067.html

Professor of Biology Kenneth Miller is among those whose comments are included in an article about Biologic Institute, established in Seattle a year ago to conduct lab science in intelligent design. Such labs, Miller notes, may help anti-evolutionists politically. If scientists working in such labs produce “a few more papers in good journals they will be able to cite a growing body of evidence favouring ID," he says.
www.newscientist.com/channel/opinion/mg19225824.000-intelligent-design-the-god-l
ab.html

A new study shows that sleep apnea patients who wear a forced-air breathing mask for at least six hours a night can dramatically improve their daily memory function. “Patients with obstructive sleep apnea often complain of daily forgetfulness, such as losing their keys, forgetting phone numbers or forgetting to complete daily tasks," said Mark Aloia, a sleep disorder researcher at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver and lead author of the study. He carried out the research while at Brown University Medical School. This wire service article was distributed to media throughout the United States.
www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=APNEA-MEMORY-12-12-06

A majority of patients with obstructive sleep apnea who were memory-impaired had normal memory performance after treatment, according to a U.S. study led by Mark S. Aloia. Aloia, now of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, conducted his research while at Brown University Medical School.
www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20061213-063645-2235r

With the race for rankings and choice students shaping college pricing, a number of colleges and universities have sharply increased tuition to match colleges they consider their rivals, while also providing more financial assistance. The recognition that families associate price with quality, and that a tuition rise, accompanied by discounts, can lure more applicants and revenue, has helped produce an economy in academe something like that in the health care system, with prices rising faster than inflation but with many consumers paying less than full price.
Free registration: www.nytimes.com/2006/12/12/education/12tuition.html

Students, parents, college officials and high school guidance counselors have strong opinions about the value of a private education. This article offers a sampling of views.
Free registration: www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/education/13voices.html

Endowments earned an average of 10.7 percent in the 2006 fiscal year, which ended June 30 on most campuses, says a survey from the National Association of College and University Business Officers, and TIAA-CREF, an investment-management company. That is up from the 9.3-percent average gain in fiscal 2005.
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