UO E-clips July 8

Judge says injunction unlikely in lawsuit over UO wrestling (The Oregonian): A Marion County Circuit judge indicated he was not inclined to issue an injunction that would delay the elimination of the University of Oregon's wrestling program, officials said Monday. Equity in Athletics in Oregon, a nonprofit organization that filed a lawsuit against the university on behalf of the Oregon wrestling team, was pushing for the injunction during a four-hour court hearing Monday in Salem. The group's lawsuit claims the university didn't go through the correct process in cutting the wrestling program after the 2007-08 season and that its decision one year ago to do so was against state law and Oregon University System policy.

Supporters may be too late to save UO wrestling (Register-Guard): A judge on Monday said he is leaning against granting a preliminary injunction sought by a group that wants to stop the University of Oregon from eliminating its wrestling team. Marion County Circuit Judge Lynn Ashcroft gave both sides two days to file additional documents before making his decision. But he said supporters of wrestling may have waited too long to seek the injunction. The UO announced just over a year ago that it would terminate wrestling at the end of the 2007-08 season and add men’s baseball in 2009. But wrestling supporters launched an effort to save the program.

Study: Worms do calculus to get rewards (United Press International): U.S. scientists say they've identified a computer-like mechanism that drives neuron expression for taste and smell and they did it by giving worms rewards. Using salt and hot chili peppers, the University of Oregon researchers discovered the calculus-computing center that tells a roundworm to go forward toward dinner or turn to broaden the search. Lead investigator Shawn Lockery said he and his colleagues documented how two related, closely located chemosensory neurons, acting in tandem, regulate behavior. The left neuron controls an on-switch, while the opposing neuron controls an off-switch. Together the neurons are known as ASE for antagonistic sensory cues. It's possible, Lockery said, that his team's discovery someday could help research aimed at treating people suffering problems involving taste and smell. "This computer does some nice calculus, differentiating the rate of change of the strength of various tastes," Lockery said. "The worm uses this information to find food and to avoid poisons."

Index makes it official (The Oregonian): Oregon wobbles into a mild recession "Persistent weakness …consistent with at least a mild recession" is the verdict of the University of Oregon's monthly index released Monday. Oregon lost 3,700 jobs in May, bringing the three-month loss to 6,700, said Timothy Duy, the Oregon Economic Forum director who assembles the index of economic indicators. "The three consecutive months of declining nonfarm payrolls, in combination with a general persistent weakness among most indicators, suggests that Oregon tipped into recession territory in March," Duy wrote in his monthly report.

Catching up with Tracktown, USA (OPB via NPR's All Things Considered): The U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials finished up in Eugene, Ore., making the town worthy of its nickname: Track Town USA. Eclectic Eugene, population 150,000, has a long history in this sport: the first Nike running shoe was created in Eugene, former track super star Steve Prefontaine is from the town and a huge number of runners congregate here. Hear the story, which first aired prior to last weekend's closing events