TATTOO BLUES: Dermatologists using laser technology to remove tattoos know that the technique works best on black and blue body art, according to a New York Times story distributed widely on the paper’s news service. But yellow, green and red require a different laser technology than the one most commonly used. At a cost of $150,000 apiece, the lasers are a significant investment and some physicians may not have the full range of equipment. Dermatology professor Daniel Berg’s observation that “most people get tattoos in their teens and have not figured out what they want to do with their lives,” prompted the reporter to conclude that teenagers who choose a statement of undying love, such as “I love Julie” may be well advised to keep the color scheme simple.

BOOMER BULGE: Middle-age spread translates into a higher risk of cancer, diabetes, heart attack and other ailments. So said David C. Dale, governor of the Wash. State chapter of the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, in a story distributed by The Associated Press. Dale noted that a survey found Americans generally can expect good health for 64 years of their lives. “Those healthy years could be significantly extended if baby boomers would pay as much attention to planning for their retirement health as they do their retirement nest egg,” said the UW professor of medicine. Dale spoke to reporters, before presenting the national group’s findings at its annual scientific meeting in Seattle. Those findings indicate 43 million boomers—including two thirds of the men and more than half the women—are overweight or obese.

ECONOMIC STATE: A New York Times story detailing the consequences of Boeing job cuts on the state’s economy featured the comments of professor Charles Hill. “If you look at the last Boeing slump, in ’91-93, the state economy held up pretty well, because of other areas—obviously the high-tech area—but also timber and agriculture, said Hill, professor of management and organization at the business school. “The problem now, of course, is that timber and agriculture are Asian dependent.” His comments reached as far as Great Britain, where The Independent, a London daily newspaper, picked them up for a story on the Puget Sound economy.

BABIES & ALCOHOL: An article widely circulated by Gannett News Service explained fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects and included these comments by Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Professor Ann Streissguth: “There is not yet a recognized battery of tests (for fetal alcohol effects). This is an area of research that is desperately needed. The better we can accurately explain the types of deficits these people have, then we can develop support systems so that they can grow to the best of their ability.”

Newsmakers is a periodic column reporting on the coverage of the University of Washington by the national press and broadcasting services. ¶