UCLA In the News lists selected mentions of UCLA in the world’s news media. Some articles may require registration or a subscription to view. See more UCLA In the News.
US students lag other countries in math. The reason likely lies in how schools teach it | USA Today
In the U.S., about 3,300 students this year in 15 southern California school districts are taking a new Introduction to Data Science course that features data and statistics, real-life data collection, and coding to analyze the data. The course was developed by the University of California-Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Unified School District, and it counts as a statistics credit. The class features a scripted curriculum with engaging exercises, such as having students record how much time they spend grooming themselves and then comparing that to national data collected for the American Time Use survey…. Students who took the new course showed significant growth in their statistical understanding over the year, studies show. And students said they felt learning to code was a valuable skill.
California monitoring 8,400 people for possible coronavirus | Reuters
“It is not surprising that we have seen these mini outbreaks occur around the world,” said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, an epidemiology professor at the University of California, Los Angeles Fielding School of Public Health. “We know the virus is easily spread.”
Why Orange County has declared a coronavirus emergency | Los Angeles Magazine
“You’re dealing with fear, discrimination, and stigma, and that can be much harder to contain and control and move against than the actual virus,” Dr. Timothy Brewer, a professor of epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and of medicine at the university’s David Geffen School of Medicine told the Los Angeles Times. “And that’s the big challenge, because that’s not necessarily a discussion you can win with facts and being rational.”
Increasing numbers of older Baby Boomers are using marijuana | Reuters
The findings underscore the importance of monitoring marijuana use in this growing population, said Ziva Cooper, research director at the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, who was not involved with the study. “Without these data, we wouldn’t know what was going on in this age group,” she said. “It’s the fastest growing one and it’s important to study.” It also points to the need for additional research. “You want to know about the frequency of use, what percentage are using daily, weekly, monthly, and what are the consequences of use in this age group,” Cooper said. “Another question is: Are these people newly initiating use or are they ones who were smoking marijuana in the ’60s and ’70s and are going back to it now?”
Realities of facemasks in fight against coronavirus exposure | ABC News
“I think people see a mask and they see an illusion of protection, that if they put the mask on it will somehow block viruses from getting into their mouth or nose when they breathe. That’s just not the case. Anyone who does not have a respiratory illness, meaning a cough or sneezing, should not be wearing any type of mask,” said UCLA’s David Eisenman.
Inside the efforts to prepare African countries for COVID-19 | Time
Though these cash injections may help stem the spread of this particular outbreak, experts generally agree that the better investment would be in preparedness. Disease surveillance systems in Africa are particularly weak and “most of the continent lacks a really good diagnostic capacity and that makes identifying cases and controlling outbreaks difficult,” says Anne Rimoin, a professor of epidemiology at UCLA and director of the UCLA Center for Global and Immigrant Health.
Avocado oil offers plenty of health benefits | U.S. News & World Report
For example, replace the oil you use currently for cooking (whether that’s butter, canola oil, corn oil or another oil) with avocado oil, says Dana Ellis Hunnes, senior dietitian at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and adjunct assistant professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. You can also swap out avocado oil in salad dressings, marinades for meat, fish or poultry and vegetables or “use it as a healthy dip in place of bread and butter or use it to make sauces.” You can even use avocado oil in baking.
New study shows most of Los Angeles’ homeless population has worked in California | KPCC-FM
“This runs counter to the notion that a lot of these individuals are unemployable or may not want to work…. These individuals that are working still have quite low earnings, especially in L.A., where the cost of living is quite high,” said UCLA’s Till von Wachter. (Also: KCBS-TV)
The global outbreak and U.S. response with UCLA professor of epidemiology Dr. Anne Rimoin | KTLA-TV
“This might be a case of what we call community transmission, which just means we don’t know where this infection came from.… It’s very possible that this could be the first case of community infection here in the United States,” UCLA’s Anne Rimoin said. “We’re more prepared today than we were yesterday and the day before.… The issue has been, over the past several years the federal government has cut preparedness funding, so there has been less opportunities for trainings and all of the things that go along with preparedness.”
San Francisco declares coronavirus state of emergency | KQED-FM
“We are seeing epidemics spread in a number of countries around the world, so there are multiple epidemics, but what should be reassuring to people is what we’ve seen in China: the epidemic went up over several weeks and then it came down over several weeks,” said UCLA’s Jeffrey Klausner. “I would expect mini-epidemics to occur in other countries as well. They will go up and they will go down.” (Approx. 9:00 mark) (Also: Jeffrey Klausner interviewed on CTV News)
Bellflower goalkeeper Ledesma still fearless after facing the toughest of shots | Long Beach Press-Telegram
Ledesma, who has been a goalkeeper since he started playing nearly a decade ago, got a referral to Dr. Kevin M. Shannon, a pediatric cardiologist at UCLA Medical Center who has worked with a lot of athletes. After more tests, Ledesma was told he’d need surgery, to implant an ICD — implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, which monitors heartbeat and sends an electric shock to the heart if there’s trouble — but, he was told, there was no reason he couldn’t put on the gloves again.