? Bomb threats made to Islamic school in San Diego: San Diego Police are currently investigating a series of bomb threats made against the Islamic School of San Diego. The most recent threat came last Saturday when a caller left two voice mails on the school’s answering machine, threatening to throw a bomb at the school. According to police, both calls came from the same phone number. The threats were not discovered until Monday morning, according to Edgar Hopida, spokesman for the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. On Tuesday, the council announced that the recent threats would be investigated as hate crimes. A simi lar bomb threat was issued on April 28, only a few weeks after the Boston Marathon bombings. Police have offered extra patrol security to the school in light of the threats.
? SIO Introduces New Center: UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography has introduced a new Scripps Center for Oceans and Human Health, focusing on research in environmental threats. The $6 million center — funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation — will begin projects investigating biological contaminants including halogenated organic compounds and their role in threatening public health.
“Scripps [Institution] of Oceanography is extremely proud to be the home of the new Scripps Center for Oceans and Human Health,” Scripps Interim Director Catherine Constable said in a UCSD News Center release. “After almost 110 years, Scripps continues to expand the scope of its contributions to science and society.”
? UCSD prepares major national survey: What is human?: UCSD is in the process of preparing a major national survey focusing on one general question: What is a human? Chair of sociology John Evans is spearheading the project, which he has been working on for months. Evans has interviewed approximately 90 people from San Diego County, asking a series of questions in relation to his focus. According to Evans, people have provided various answers, including religious responses — saying that humans are people created in the image of God — and more biological approaches. The variety in responses is aiding Evans in determining which words he will use when addressing his question to 1,400 people nationwide. The survey will take place later this year with the data release the data within two years.
