August 7, 2003
News Makers
MINORITY MONEY: Providing seed money for minority-run businesses is a good investment, according to a recent study co-authored by a UW professor. Combined investments in the study exceeded a 20 percent rate of return compared to 17 percent for the S&P 500 stock index during the same period. “There are biases in the market,” William Bradford, professor of finance and business economics, told the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. “This niche is and should be profitable from an economic perspective.”
WONDER DRUG: Statin drugs have received a great deal of publicity recently for doing everything from lowering cholesterol levels to treating Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis and some cancers. One thing the drug won’t do, according to a UW researcher, is prevent osteoporosis. In fact, Andrea LaCroix recently told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that she had concluded that statins shouldn’t be used to treat the bone-loss disease. “There was absolutely no evidence that statin use reduced the rate of fracture,” the professor of epidemiology told the newspaper. LaCroix is the lead author on a Women’s Health Initiative study that considered statin drugs’ effects on osteoporosis. The study was released just weeks after a Newsweek magazine cover story touted the potential benefits of the drugs for treating osteoporosis. That irony wasn’t lost on the researcher. “I smiled when I saw that come out last week, because this study has been in the pipeline so long,” LaCroix said. “I thought, ‘This is just too funny.’ ”
DEAR DIARY: The recent revelation that former President Harry Truman, while in office, offered to run as vice president on a Dwight Eisenhower-Truman ticket was a tantalizing find for many history buffs. The offer, recorded in the 33rd president’s personal diary, was released recently by the Truman library. But a UW professor wanted to know more. “It’s a difficult situation, but also, that’s a pivotal year in the history of the Truman administration,” Richard Kirkendall, a UW professor emeritus of history, told the St. Petersburg Times. “When I saw that this was a 1947 diary, I anticipated that he would say some things of real importance about the origin of the Truman Doctrine and the origin of the Marshall Plan, but he doesn’t, and I’m disappointed that he did not.”
Newsmakers is a periodic column reporting on coverage of the University of Washington by national press services.
