News briefs

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CAMPUS BRIEFS

COMMUNITY OUTREACH DAY – Celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 19. The UVU Service Council has teamed up with BYU to celebrate MLK as a part of Community Outreach Day. MLK spent his life in service and the celebration is for students to follow in his footsteps. The event is at the Wilkinson Student Center at BYU and is from 8:45 a.m. to noon. There will be a variety of service projects for students to participate in.

CINEMA STUDIES CLUB TO SHOW FREE INTERNATIONAL FILM SHOWING – A showing of the Swedish film, “After the Wedding” will kick off the UVU Cinema Studies club’s International Film Series. The showing is free to students and the public and is on Jan. 15 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in LI 120. The movie is about a family struggling in life and searching for healing, connection and forgiveness.

LEARN ABOUT SERVICE ABROAD WITH ILP – Three free pizza parties are being hosted by the International Language Program (ILP), a non-profit organization that is an English-teaching service program. At the parties, ILP will discuss service opportunities in China, Russia, Ukraine and Mexico in the fall and winter semesters. The pizza parties are on Jan. 14 and Jan. 15 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in LA 127. On Jan. 15, there is a lunchtime party from noon to 1 p.m. in SC 213b. For more information contact [email protected] or call (801) 374-8854.

National News Briefs

STUDY FINDS ALZHEIMER’S DRUGS INCREASE DEATH RISK – A new study has shown that Antipsychotic drugs commonly used to treat Alzheimer’s have been shown to double the death risk in patients. The study involved 165 patients suffering from Alzheimer’s who were prescribed antipsychotic medication. From the 165 patients, eighty-three continued treatments with the antipsychotic medication and the remaining 82 were given placebos. The findings showed a significant increase of death for the patients who continued to take the antipsychotic drugs. The study, completed in the United Kingdom, was funded by the Alzheimer’s Research Trust and was published in Lancet Neurology.

AUTISM CASES INCREASING – Environmental factors may be the cause of an increase in autism a news study out of California finds. The study, completed at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute has found a near eight-fold increase in the number of autistic children born in California since 1990. Published in January 2009 in the journal Epidemiology, the research has shown a shift from genetics to a host of chemicals and infectious microbes in the environment are a likely cause in the changes of the neurodevelopment of California children. However, some argue that the change may also be caused by the migration of families with autistic children to California.

NEW LEAD-TEST RULE NOT TOSSED FOR THRIFT STORES – Thrift stores and other outlets stores do not have to comply with a new federal law that requires lead and phthalate testing on children’s toys. Before the announcement was made by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, thrift stores were worried about the costly testing procedures that would profoundly affect their business catering to low-income customers. The new act, titled the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, was signed into law last year due to the increased number of children’s product recalls and will take effect on Feb. 10.

World News Briefs

STUDY CLAIMS CLIMATE WARMING WILL BRING A WORLD FOOD SHORTAGE – U.S. researches predict that climate warming will put stress on crops and livestock for half of the world’s population. The rising temperatures will reduce soil moisture and cut the crop yields even further. Researchers from the journal Science speculate that areas affected the worst will be in the subtropics and tropics but will not be limited to these areas. Professor David Battisti of the University of Washington said the extremely warm summers of the last century will become the norm and that we must urgently plant more crops that are more tolerant to heat and drought.

NEW ZEALAND GLACIER KILLS TWO TOURISTS – Two Australian brothers on vacation in New Zealand were killed when a 100-ton ice shelf fell on them in the New Zealand Alps. The two men, who were in their twenties, were said to have ignored the safety barriers and warnings when they approached the Fox glacier to take photographs. Police used an excavator to extract the first body which was buried beneath five meters of ice. Attempts to recover the second body were discontinued due to the unpredictable nature of the ice.

JOB RATE HITS A 12-YEAR LOW IN SPAIN – A record of jobless people stood at 3.13 million this past December in Spain. This is the record high that has been taken since the country began collection information about unemployment in 1996. December was the ninth consecutive monthly increase with a total of 139,700 more people out of work than in November. Spain has the fifth largest economy in Europe and among the worst hit industries have been the construction and service industries.