Front Page News at Indiana University

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Incentive plan will help IU employees improve health, contain health care increases
IU Bloomington joins with community to celebrate Martin Luther King's legacy
Virtual reality tele-rehab improves hand function
New research: Sticking to diets is about more than willpower -- complexity matters
Discovery of enzyme activation process could lead to new heart attack treatment
New physics center, leadership announced for IU Cyclotron Facility
IU's Lilly Library to celebrate 50th anniversary with collection of rare treasures
Underground gases tell the story of ice ages -- and America's split jet stream
IU awarded $2.38 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to develop library software
Lecture to launch Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism at IU
Study: Lack of enthusiasm for slated directors in uncontested elections can lead to ousted CEOs
IU Bloomington Scoreboard

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Incentive plan will help IU employees improve health, contain health care increases -- Beginning next January, Indiana University's 17,700 full-time employees will be given an opportunity to hold down their share of health insurance costs by meeting certain health and lifestyle objectives. Employees -- and covered spouses or domestic partners -- will be able to earn "credits" to reduce the employee's share of health care premiums deducted from paychecks. The "credits" will substantially reduce what employees would contribute on a monthly basis. Participation in the new Personal Health Practices program will be voluntary. Employees and spouses will have the option of completing a health risk assessment and a biometric screening to help establish objectives for such measures as blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose and body mass index. Read the complete story.

IU Bloomington joins with community to celebrate Martin Luther King's legacy -- Indiana University Bloomington will remember Martin Luther King Jr. and celebrate his legacy with activities beginning Jan. 11 and running through Jan. 23. The university also will help present the community's celebration, which features the Rev. Jesse Jackson on Jan. 18. Other events include a day of activities for elementary school children at the IU School of Education, an interfaith prayer service, a leadership breakfast and a unity summit. New this year is a series of films that will be presented in campus cultural centers and residence halls. With the exception of the breakfast, all IU events celebrating King's life are free and open to the public. Read the complete story.

Virtual reality tele-rehab improves hand function -- Remotely monitored in-home virtual reality videogames improved hand function and forearm bone health in teens with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, helping them perform activities of daily living such as eating, dressing, cooking and other tasks for which two hands are needed. "While these initial encouraging results were in teens with limited hand and arm function due to perinatal brain injury, we suspect using these games could similarly benefit individuals with other illness that affect movement, such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, arthritis and even those with orthopedic injuries affecting the arm or hand," said Dr. Meredith R. Golomb, Indiana University School of Medicine associate professor of neurology. Read the complete story.

New research: Sticking to diets is about more than willpower -- complexity matters -- Many people think the success of dieting, seemingly a national obsession following the excesses and resolutions of the holiday season, depends mostly on how hard one tries -- on willpower and dedication. While this does matter, new research has found that a much more subtle aspect of the diets themselves can also have a big influence on the pounds shed -- namely, the perceived complexity of a diet plan's rules and requirements. Cognitive scientists from Indiana University and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin compared the dieting behavior of women following two radically different diet plans and found that the more complicated people thought their diet plan was, the sooner they were likely to drop it. Read the complete story.

Discovery of enzyme activation process could lead to new heart attack treatment -- Researchers at the Indiana University and Stanford University schools of medicine have determined how a "chemical chaperone" does its job in the body, which could lead to a new class of drugs to help reduce the muscle damage caused by heart attacks. Such drugs would work by restoring the activity of a mutated enzyme, rather than taking the more common approach of blocking the actions of a disease-related protein. The team, led by Thomas Hurley, associate chair and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at IU, and Daria Mochly-Rosen, professor of chemical and systems biology at Stanford, report in the journal Nature Structural Biology published online Jan. 10 that the compound, called Alda-1, acts much like a shim to prop up a mutated form of a key enzyme, restoring the enzyme's function. Read the complete story.

New physics center, leadership announced for IU Cyclotron Facility -- Indiana University Jan. 11 announced a restructuring at its IU Cyclotron Facility that creates a new physics research center and moves operational responsibility for the cyclotron to the Indiana University School of Medicine. The new center, called the Indiana University Center for Matter and Beams (IUCMB), will be devoted to inquiry-based research in nuclear, condensed matter and accelerator-based physics. Research involving faculty, students and research staff that receives nearly $8 million annually in external support will continue through the new IUCMB while the cyclotron's long tradition of service to the community by providing proton beams for cancer treatment and neutrons for testing space electronics also will be maintained. Read the complete story.

IU's Lilly Library to celebrate 50th anniversary with collection of rare treasures -- An exhibition of rare books and manuscripts to mark the 50th anniversary of Indiana University's Lilly Library will include treasures never before displayed together. An open house to view the exhibition and the library's newly renovated reading room is scheduled for Jan. 22 from 5-9 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The exhibition runs through May 8. "Treasures of the Lilly Library" will feature such rare items as William Shakespeare's First Folio, George Washington's letter accepting the presidency, Albrecht Dürer's Apocalypse, and the first edition of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, printed in the 1470s. Read the complete story.

Underground gases tell the story of ice ages -- and America's split jet stream -- Deep underground aquifers in the American Southwest contain gases that tell of the region's ancient climate, and support a growing consensus that the jet stream over North America was once split in two. The paleohydrogeology tool, developed by Indiana University Bloomington geologist Chen Zhu and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology geologist Rolf Kipfer, depends on the curious properties of noble gases as they seep through natural underground aquifers. Read the complete story.

IU awarded $2.38 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to develop library software -- A $2.38 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to Indiana University will be used to develop software created specifically for the management of print and electronic collections for academic and research libraries around the world. IU will lead the Kuali OLE (Open Library Environment) project, a partnership of research libraries dedicated to managing increasingly digital resources and collections. Together, these libraries will develop "community source" software that will be made available to libraries worldwide. Read the complete story.

Lecture to launch Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism at IU -- Indiana University will inaugurate its Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism this week with a public lecture by Robert Wistrich, a leading scholar of the history of antisemitism. Wistrich will speak on "Liberté, Égalité, Antisemitism: The French Connection," at 7:30 p.m., Thursday (Jan. 14), in the Frangipani Room of the Indiana Memorial Union, 900 E. Seventh St. He is the Neuberger Chair for Modern European and Jewish History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the author of A Lethal Obsession: Antisemitism from Antiquity to the Global Jihad, published this month. Read the complete story.

Study: Lack of enthusiasm for slated directors in uncontested elections can lead to ousted CEOs -- As shareholders of publicly traded companies look ahead to corporate board elections this spring, new research at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business suggests that a lack of enthusiasm for slated directors can affect stock prices and lead to management turnovers. The research, which appears in the latest issue of the Journal of Accounting and Economics, also suggests that there's merit in current regulations for uncontested director elections, which are now being examined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Read the complete story.

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Indiana University Bloomington Scoreboard

Results from Friday, Jan. 8:
Men's Tennis: Indiana got off to a great start on day one of the UNLV Spring Invitational. The Hoosier players matched up with UNLV on the day and IU finished 4-2 in singles and 2-1 in doubles. Read the match notes.

Results from Saturday, Jan. 9:
Men's Tennis: Indiana played matches against Alabama on day two of the UNLV Spring Invitational. Sophomores Maxime Armengaud, Stephen Vogl and Will Kendall all won singles matches. Read the match notes.
Men's Swimming: The 20th-ranked Indiana men's swimming and diving team opened 2010 with a 158-82 dual meet loss at No. 7 Michigan Saturday afternoon at Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor, Mich. Read the meet results.
Women's Swimming: Led by victories in nine events, including a sweep of the diving competition, the 12th-ranked Indiana women's swimming and diving team came away with a 130-113 victory over No. 16 Michigan. Read the meet results.
Men's Basketball: Despite a lead at half time, the Hoosiers fell 66-60 to Illinois. Read the game notes.
Men's and Women's Track: Indiana track and field started off the indoor season with gusto at the Indiana Open. Four Hoosiers posted the best marks in Division I this season. Read the meet results.

Results from Sunday, Jan. 10:
Men's Tennis: Indiana finished action at the UNLV Spring Invitational on Sunday, and sophomore Maxime Armengaud capped off a successful start to the spring season by being named the winner of flight three. Read the complete results.
Women's Basketball: Despite four Hoosiers reaching double-digit points, the Indiana women's basketball team fell in overtime, 77-71, at Penn State. Read the game notes.

Schedule for Thursday, Jan. 14:
Women's Basketball: Michigan, 7 p.m., Bloomington, Ind.
Men's Basketball: Michigan, 9 p.m., Ann Arbor, Mich.

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IU in the news

IU professors awarded prestigious honors, recognition
Indiana Daily Student, Jan. 12 -- The year came to a successful close for IU faculty as three IU professors won prestigious awards in December. The professors were given national recognition for research and field contributions in multiple areas of study, according to the individual press releases. Mohammad Torabi, Chancellor's Professor and chair of the Department of Applied Health Science, received the Distinguished Service Award from Eta Sigma Gamma, the National Health Education Honorary, for what he described as lifetime service contributions to the field of health education. Professor of school health promotion in the Department of Applied Health Science, David Lohrmann, was presented the American School Health Association's William A. Howe award, the Association's highest honor, for his work in school health. Adding to the honors, biologist Ellen Ketterson became IU's newest fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for her research in animal behavior. Full story.

Paging Dr. Cruise. . . . Should stars dish medical advice?
USA Today, Jan. 12 -- When first lady Betty Ford announced that she had had a mastectomy in 1974, patient advocates say, it was groundbreaking. Breast-cancer survivors at the time were often afraid to mention their treatment, even to friends. Today, many people in the public eye, particularly celebrities, feel comfortable sharing their medical problems. Brooke Shields has acknowledged her postpartum depression. Michael J. Fox has written about his struggle with Parkinson's disease. Elizabeth Taylor updated fans about her heart surgery through Twitter. Doctors say they can understand why patients sympathize with celebrities and closely follow their battles with serious illnesses. "It helps people to realize that health problems they have affect even celebrities," says pediatrician Aaron Carroll, director of Indiana University's Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research. "Knowing that a rich and famous person can have the same problem as you or me makes it seem more fair, maybe. Full story.

Lilly's generosity remembered at memorial
WTHR, Jan. 10 -- Many people paid their respects to philanthropist Ruth Lilly Sunday. She died last month at the age of 94. An heir to the Eli Lilly fortune, she will be best remembered for her generous gifts to a variety of causes. "Ruth Lilly is among the most significant donors IU has ever had," said Gene Tempel of the IU Foundation. Her gifts to Indiana University - some $30 million - funded two fellowships for graduate students in poetry and an endowed chair. "It allows the university to really have someone a poet of some stature in that position, as part of the teaching position at that university," Tempel said. Full story.

As China Rises, Fears Grow on Whether Boom Can Endure
New York Times, Jan. 11 -- As much of the world struggles to clamber out of a serious recession, a gradual flow of economic power from West to East has turned into a flood. New high points, it seems, are reached daily. China surged past the United States to become the world's largest automobile market -- in units, if not in dollars, figures released Monday show. It also toppled Germany as the biggest exporter of manufactured goods, according to year-end trade data. World Bank estimates suggest that China -- the world's fifth-largest economy four years ago -- will shortly overtake Japan to claim the No. 2 spot. "China's extremely important, no doubt about it. And over all, the more important China becomes, the better it is for the American economy," Scott Kennedy, who heads the Research Center for Chinese Politics and Business at Indiana University, said in an interview. That Shanghai-assembled iPod, Mr. Kennedy said, is the product of American research and design and marketing, and most of the proceeds from its sale go back into American coffers. But China's rise also poses new risks both for Beijing and for its trading partners. Full story.

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