Laparoscopic surgery brings new hope for prostate cancer patients

University Medical Center made history last month when Dr. Sanjay Ramakumar performed the hospital's first laparoscopic prostate removal, making UMC the only medical institution in the Southwest to perform the operation.

The procedure, laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, is a minimally-invasive laser surgery that requires half the healing time of open surgery. [Read article]

The closure of Park Student Union sparks new late-night shuttle service for students

The SafeRide Express Shuttle made its debut last night, and didn't stop running until 4 a.m.

The shuttle, a joint effort between ASUA, SafeRide and the Arizona Student Unions, will operate seven days a week from 6:30 p.m. to 4 a.m.

In its first night, the service transported between 30 and 40 students to various areas on campus, beginning at the Student Union Memorial Center. [Read article]

With thousands of data-munching, system-speed-slowing viruses created every day, computer users and experts alike are struggling to protect their systems.

The bugs are finding new and faster ways of entering machines across campus and in homes, because nearly as soon as software protection programs detect one, another seems to slip through the cracks, said Chris Carpenter, systems analyst for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences computer network. [Read article]

Tomorrow morning, 13 UA students will wake up and partake in their normal morning activities. The only difference is they will no longer be an ASUA candidate, but an elected student body officer.

Today is the last day of the 2003 Associated Students of the University of Arizona general election. Students can go online to vote for student body president, administrative vice president, executive vice president and senators until 8 p.m. Winners will be announced an hour later at Gentle Ben's on East University Boulevard. [Read article]

Theatre technician talks about landscape, difficulty of setting cacti on fire

WILDCAT:: So what are you building currently?

RUDACK: A tree.

WILDCAT:: Nice. For what?

RUDACK: A Midsummer's Night Dream.

WILDCAT:: Are you painting it?

RUDACK: No, making it with foam. We are taking tree legs and laminating foam onto a steel frame.

WILDCAT:: Wow. I used to construct things with foam when I was little. Except it was my dad's shaving foam and I would make a little bathing suit with it. Very cute. [Read article]

· Obsessive nose picking is referred to as rhinotillexomania.

· In New York City, approximately 1600 people are bitten by other humans each year.

· There is enough water in American swimming pools to cover the whole city of San Francisco seven feet deep.

· Buckingham Palace has more than six hundred rooms.

· Google.com's company headquarters is nicknamed the Googleplex, which houses more than 270 employees. [Read article]

Thrifty Terps

The Diamondback
University of Maryland

Even with back-to-back Final Fours, an ACC championship and an NCAA national championship, University of Maryland students are not grabbing tickets to this weekend's highly anticipated ACC men's basketball tournament.

Students purchased only eight tickets to the March 13-16 tournament out of an allotted 240. The remaining tickets were sold to the general public. Students purchased just 12 tickets last year. With tickets for the first two rounds of next week's NCAA tournament going on sale Sunday night, officials are hoping for more student interest. [Read article]