October 23, 2011 - 10:17pm
In Other Ivory Towers: Food-borne illness detector comes out of Yale
BY PAIGE PEARCY
A group of graduate students at Yale University is hoping to end food poisoning with the invention of the α-screen detector for bovine-based food-borne illnesses, according to an Oct. 21 Huffington Post article.
Only about one in 1,000 cows are usually screened for pathogens like salmonella and E. coli, according to the article. The process normally costs $50 and requires a 12-hour time frame.
The α-screen reduces the cost to about $1 and takes 30 minutes. The Yale team won a $20,000 prize for its design, which is now being built into a working prototype, The Huffington Post reported.
Illinois fighting to have 'clout list' suppressed
The University of Illinois has gone to court again to restrict the Chicago Tribune's access to documents related to the names on “the clout list,” which shows how applicants with connections had an advantage in admissions, according to an Oct. 20 New York Times article.
The University of Illinois went to court two years ago to protect the information on the list the Tribune reported on, the article states.
The Tribune is now trying to obtain information including the ACT scores and GPAs of the students on the list who were admitted to the school, the Times reported.
The University of Illinois argues that the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects it from disclosing that information, the article states. However, the Tribune claims the documents are not protected under FERPA because they are records of questionable conduct.
Chelsea Clinton speaks at GW about maternal advocacy
Chelsea Clinton and Christy Turlington Burns, the founder of a maternal advocacy group, visited The George Washington University last Tuesday to discuss their founding of GW Phones for Hope, according to an Oct. 20 Entertainment Tonight article.
The GW Phones for Hope program was born out of The Clinton Global Initiative and is aimed at raising money for mobile medical technology in developing nations, according to the article. In order to raise money, the program will collect used mobile phones that will be recycled and made into new phones. The organization’s goal is to get 20,000 donated phones by March 2012, Entertainment Tonight reported.
"Our campaign is designed around using that angle of dealing with the health of the family through the mom when it's the most important time in her life, perhaps," Burns said.
