Alumni Leader Challenges A.S. President in Race

Last week, A.S. President Harry Khanna and Alumni Association President Mark Diamond announced a student-alumni bet on the Chancellor’s 5K, which will be held Oct. 20.

The two presidents began a debate over who is faster — students or alumni.

Diamond, 43, proposed a bet that his nine-minute mile pace will easily beat Khanna. If so, Khanna will owe Diamond a full-course meal, including one carne asada burrito and rolled tacos with guacamole and hot sauce.

However, if Khanna wins, Diamond will donate $300 to the UCSD Alumni Leadership Scholarship, he said.

“We have a general concern that current students are slow,” Diamond said. “Not intellectually, but in terms of velocity, from point A to B. We feel that this is a problem.”

UC Police Awarded for Taming With Taser

Two UCSD police officers, Tina Greer and Manuel Garcia, were among 23 officials to receive the Blue Knight Award on Sept. 29 from the San Diego Crime Commission for their heroic actions last July.

The incident involved two people illegally camping in a van in the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. When Greer arrived on the scene, she discovered a large-blade knife in a compartment near the roof of the van.

The male occupant waved the knife toward the officers and did not stop until Greer managed to strike the man with her electronic Taser.

After the officers got the situation under control, the male dropped his knife and fell to the ground, the UCSD Police Department stated in a press release.

Fluorescent Eyes, Evolutionary Ties

UCSD biologists have discovered a key protein in the eyes of fruit flies, demonstrating an evolutionary change that has improved visual acuity and angular sensitivity in each of the flies’ 800-unit eyes.

The compound, which glows as a fluorescent protein in each eye, allows for the formation of light-gathering units in open-eye systems.

Researchers have discovered that the loss of this protein can convert open-system eyes into closed ones.

“These results help illustrate the beauty and power of evolution and show how ‘little steps’ — like the presence of a single structural protein — can so spectacularly account for major changes in form and function,” biology profesor and research team leader Charles Zuker said.