Stanford headlines for the week of January 9, 2008

Climate change will significantly increase impending bird extinctions, study says
With big potential for computing, researchers develop a quantum ‘light switch’
Chris Field attends Peace Prize event
Two Stanford students, both musicians, nab prestigious Marshall Scholarships
Circuit breaker failure cause of last weekend's power outage
Stanford launches Faculty Development Initiative to recruit best scholars of ethnicity and race
Large, impending earthquakes may broadcast warnings
Diane Middlebrook, professor emeritus and legendary biographer, dies at 68
Nanowire battery can hold 10 times the charge of existing lithium-ion battery
Pioneer in field of organizational behavior studies dies at 85
Father of modern earthquake risk analysis, and of a Nobel winner, dead at 69
Q&A with Stanford foreign policy expert Larry Diamond on assassination of Benazir Bhutto
Two faculty members awarded grants to pursue innovative energy research
Study links carbon dioxide emissions to increased deaths
Building a better virtual world, one tree (or millions) at a time
Stanford Press revives interest in masterpiece of Kabbalah
Persis S. Drell tapped to head Stanford-based national lab
Honors & Awards
Letter to the editor: Phrase ‘died of natural causes’ is problematic; autopsies illuminating
738 applicants are admitted through early action program
Tony Bryk is next to head Carnegie Foundation
Longtime coach, leader in the world of fencing dead at 62
Philip Zimbardo receives Lyman Award
Federal budget cuts curtail key programs at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
Trustees approve preliminary plans for new housing and Law School building
Excerpt from the Zohar Volume 4
Findings on potential for harvesting wind power off California’s coast presented
Study tracks breast cancer gene in racial groups
Investment wizard bets on stem cells, sees future payoff for all
Hospitalized TB patient remains in isolation
Arthur Kornberg tribute to be held on Jan. 25
Researchers find great granddaddy of human blood cells
Stanford provides additional funds for stem cell researchers
Young scientists get $10.7 million in state stem cell grants
Kobilka's work recognized in magazine award
Media monitor
In skin or scales, pigment highlights the path of evolution, showing big steps
Immune system cascade may prune brain synapses, for better or worse
Medical center people
Report of the President to the Board of Trustees
Housing
Stanford University reports fiscal year 2007 financial results
Advisory issued regarding temporary changes to campus water
Cardinal Chronicle
New employee wellness program offers cash, other incentives