Group mobilizes against Perkins Loan cuts
The Coalition of Higher Education Assistance Organizations has launched a grassroots campaign to derail President George W. Bush’s proposal to eliminate the Perkins Loans from next year’s federal budget.
The group, which represents more than 300 education advocates and commercial interests, has said that Bush’s plan to increase Pell Grants by $500 over the next five years would not make up for the Perkins program, which allows campuses to directly offer interest-free loans to low-income students. An average loan totals approximately $2,000, the group stated in a press release.
“In America, we believe in equal opportunity, that everyone should at least have the opportunity or deserves the chance to attend college regardless of their personal finances,” COHEAO president Alisa Abadinsky stated in the release. “Eliminating the Perkins Loan program will deny countless needy students the ability to attend college.”
The president has phased out funding for the loans over the past several budgets, and the program’s role in financial aid has eroded over the years since the creation of the subsidized Stafford loans.
State senator introduces Angelides endowment plan
State Assembly Majority Leader Dario Frommer (D-Los Angeles) has introduced legislation to establish a $5 billion “California Hope Endowment” to create funds for the state’s low-income college-bound students.
The plan, sponsored and initially developed by State Treasurer Phil Angelides, would sell off some of California’s real-estate assets to create the seventh-largest higher-education endowment in the nation.
“Today, with college tuition rising sharply and funding for college preparatory programs under threat in both the state and federal budgets, young Californians face increasing challenges to prepare for and pay for college,” Angelides said in a Feb. 17 news conference announcing the plan. “With the California Hope Endowment, the dream of college will come true for more Californians.”
The bill, AB 593, would turn over approximately $5 billion in state-owned lands managed by the Department of General Services to a public trust corporation, which would be managed like a business and generate returns, according to Angelides.
After its start-up, the endowment is projected to generate $300 million in annual revenue — enough, for example, to double the amount the state currently spends on outreach and academic outreach programs from all sources.
Archaeologists find earlier proof of biblical city
A team of experts working in Jordan, led by UCSD archeology professor Thomas Levy, has found evidence supporting the historical accuracy of the Old Testament.
In a study published in the current issue of the British journal Antiquity, the researchers present findings pointing to the existence of the biblical nation of Edom at least as early as the 10th century B.C., in the era of kings David and Solomon. Previously, most recent scholarship had put the earliest date for the establishment of the city two centuries later.
Until the current findings, scholars had argued that the numerous biblical references to ancient Israel’s interactions with Edom could have been invalid.
The new results show the presence of complex societies — perhaps even a kingdom — much earlier than previously thought, suggesting that the interactions cited in the Bible could have in fact taken place.
Rare stem cells may help fix damaged hearts
Researchers at UCSD’s School of Medicine have found the first evidence of rare, specialized stem cells located in the hearts of newborns that may someday allow for the replacement of damaged heart tissue.
Called “is11+” cells, these progenitor cells are made up of stem cells programmed to form heart muscle during fetal growth. Until the discovery, such cells were thought by experts to be absent after birth.
However, a UCSD team discovered a small number of the specialized cells in the atria of newborns, and later determined that the cells could be harvested by growing them on a layer of neighboring heart tissue.
CalIT2 part of human genetic variation mapping study
Computer scientists at two UC-affiliated research centers have teamed up with corporate biologists to map key genetic signposts across three human populations.
Published in Science, the findings could make the analysis of human variation based on whole-genome data widely accessible, and speed efforts to pinpoint DNA variations associated with diseases, according to a university statement.
