Dateline Rice for Dec. 22, 2015

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

TV in Mexico goes digital
Mexican TV will soon be digital. Tony Payan, the Françoise and Edward Djerejian Fellow for Mexico Studies at the Baker Institute for Public Policy and director of the institute’s Mexico Center, explains the problems this creates for those with a low income.
Marketplace.org
http://bit.ly/1OidaOH
http://bit.ly/1J39mVr

Meet the House science committee chairman who’s trying to put global warming research on ice
Charles McConnell, executive director of Rice’s Energy and Environment Initiative, is quoted in an article about U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith’s staunch position on climate change.
Washington Post
http://wapo.st/1OibnJs

Everyone hates Uber’s surge pricing – here’s how to fix it
Utpal Dholakia, the George R. Brown Chair of Marketing and professor of management at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, authored an op-ed with suggestions on how to fix Uber’s unpopular surge pricing.
Harvard Business Review
http://bit.ly/1JoMWsq

Ben Carson slams party over talk of contested convention
Mark Jones, the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, professor of political science and fellow in political science at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, comments on Republicans’ fear of an independent or third-party run by Donald Trump or Ben Carson, who has threatened to leave the party.
Investment Underground
http://bit.ly/1JrBPyU
Trump, Carson have until spring to launch third-party runs
Mutuum.co
http://bit.ly/1NAynWN
KUT 90.5
http://bit.ly/1keQkiQ

Samuel Jones’ opera, ‘A Christmas Memory,’ adapted from Capote’s story, deserves a full-scale revival
Samuel Jones, professor emeritus of music, is interviewed.
Huffington Post (This article also appeared in Latest Nigerian News and My Informs.)
http://huff.to/1OiXTU1

In Texas, insured and uninsured alike struggle to pay drug costs
Many Texans are paying out of pocket for medication and doctor visits rather than purchasing health insurance. Rice is cited for its study on the uninsured rate in Texas.
Al-Jazeera
http://bit.ly/1S7VLhm

This major business school benefactor also supports the arts
Alumna Suzanne Deal Booth ’77 and her husband David Booth are featured for their philanthropic donations to business schools and the arts. James Turrell’s “Twilight Epiphany” Skyspace, aka the Suzanne Deal Booth Centennial Pavilion, at Rice is mentioned.
Inside Philanthropy
http://bit.ly/1YyrDvz

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Marks: Time for a reality check on health insurance
Elena Marks, a nonresident health policy fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy and president and CEO of the Episcopal Health Foundation, authored an op-ed about the cost of health care.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1U2pHdi

Gray Matters’ most popular stories this year
Articles by Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research’s senior editor Ryan Holeywell and content editor Andrew Keatts are included in a list of the most-clicked Gray Matters pieces for 2015.
Houston Chronicle (This appeared in the Chronicle’s “Gray Matters” online magazine. Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/22njaQz

Student blog: The spotlight on the Chinese yuan
Hanszen College junior Mengjia Liu authored a blog post explaining the global interest in the value of the Chinese yuan.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/1OiffKu

Aryeh Warmflash wins NSF Career Award
Rice bioscientist Aryeh Warmflash has won a National Science Foundation CAREER Award to advance his study of human embryonic development.
Texas Medical Center News
http://bit.ly/1NAyYHY

The state of Texas: Dec. 21, 2015
Southern Methodist University in Dallas opted out of the Texas “campus carry” law. Rice is also mentioned for opting out.
Texas Monthly
http://bit.ly/1JrJkG2
SMU opts out of ‘campus carry’
Amarillo Globe-News (This article also appeared in Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.)
http://bit.ly/1O66tU8
Houston restaurants struggle with open-carry law
Houston Press
http://bit.ly/1mfERkw
Texas AG says banning guns in campus dorms violates new law
Downtown Austin-UT Patch
http://bit.ly/1J36WGa

BROADCAST

National Public Radio
Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow in Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, discusses the oil that is currently sitting in old U.S. wells.
http://bit.ly/1RDuS5S (Click on the audio button to listen to the broadcast. This aired on 16 other media outlets.)

Annise Parker reflects on her tenure as Houston mayor
Former Houston Mayor and alumna Annise Parker ’78 reflects on her time as mayor while cleaning her office, which contains Rice mementos.
KHOU.com
http://bit.ly/1Ol1Szo

Composer Philip Glass plays Houston’s Day for Night festival
Composer and pianist Philip Glass mentions that the Menil family invited him to play at Rice.
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/1OicDfD

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

A new twist in genetic switches: Theorists reveal new mechanism of gene regulation
An important genetic switch operates through a mechanism revealed by molecular computer models at Rice University. The NFkB-DNA-IkB system operates by molecular stripping, the details of which are explained for the first time. Peter Wolynes, the D.R. Bullard-Welch Foundation Professor of Science and a professor of chemistry, and postdoctoral researcher Davit Potoyan are quoted.
Phys.org (This article also appeared in Science Codex, Science Newsline and e! Science News.)
http://bit.ly/1Ojs3pX

Antibiotic-infused implants designed to help faces heal, Rice University study
Rice researchers test antibiotic-infused block copolymers in their plastic spacers to protect craniofacial tissue from infection while healing. Antonios Mikos, the Louis Calder Professor of Bioengineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, is quoted. Alumnus Paschalia Mountziaris ’10 is mentioned.
BioSpace (This article also appeared in DeviceSpace.)
http://bit.ly/1mfEG8X

Chronic inflammation can worsen depression
Chronic inflammation in the bloodstream can “fan the flames” of depression, much like throwing gasoline on a fire, according to a new paper from researchers at Rice University and Ohio State University. Christopher Fagundes, assistant professor of psychology, is quoted.
Psychiatry Advisor
http://bit.ly/1ZlP79u
Inflammation can fan the flames of depression
PsychCentral (This article also appeared in DailyMe, Science 2.0, ClinicaSpace and BioSpace.)
http://bit.ly/1U2nLS5

More’s the pity: Exports will take a back seat to overproduction
The United States ended its 40-year-old ban on exports of domestically produced crude. Kenneth Medlock, senior director of the Center for Energy Studies and the James A. Baker III and Susan Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and lecturer of economics, is quoted.
Oil and Gas Investor
http://bit.ly/1S8100N
US crude exports: A tale of sweet and light signifying everything
E&PMag.com (This article also appeared in A-Dcenter.com, Unconventional Gas Center and My Informs.)
http://bit.ly/1QItQVW

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Salvation Army’s ‘human needs index’ uses real-time data to target poverty
Andrew Keatts, content editor for Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, authored an op-ed about the Salvation Army’s Human Needs Index, which better measures the needs of poor Americans.
GovTech.com
http://bit.ly/1mxR58J

SPORTS

No. 16 DePaul women’s basketball upset by Loyola-Chicago 88-75
Rice women’s basketball will play against DePaul University Dec. 28 at Tudor Fieldhouse.
The DePaulia
http://bit.ly/1QEG8Pw

NEWS RELEASE

A new twist in genetic switches
An important genetic switch operates through a mechanism revealed by molecular computer models at Rice University. The NFkB-DNA-IkB system operates by molecular stripping, the details of which are explained for the first time.
http://bit.ly/1MtLmWd