Salt awareness wins prizes
Responding to the province’s latest strategy to motivate people to reduce their daily salt intake, SFU health scientist Michel Joffres says: “Anything that can decrease sodium intake is worth considering. That includes prizes to increase awareness.” Until Jan. 15, the provincial government’s Healthy Families BC website is inviting British Columbians to enter a sodium knowledge-testing contest and earn themselves chances to win several prizes. “In the last few months the salt industry has highly publicized flawed studies showing some controversy,” says Joffres. “This has created major confusion in the media and the population. The BC government is way ahead of the other provinces in tackling the salt issue and its impact on the health of the population. I applaud their vision and their actions.”

Michel Joffres, 778.782.7191, mjoffres@sfu.ca

Reflecting on World AIDS Day
There are several SFU experts who can comment on news unraveling today related to World AIDS Day. See: http://i.sfu.ca/ktiTYu

Dissecting the state of salmon
SFU’s Centre for Coastal Studies is hosting a two-day scientists’ think tank session on the state of pacific salmon in B.C. The free public session, Managing for Uncertainty: Pathogens and Diseases in Pacific Salmon, winds up today, with final discussions leading to the production of a report. Scientific presentations continue this evening 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.  at SFU’s downtown campus, Room 1900 at Harbour Centre. John Pierce, SFU Faculty of Environment dean, and Arne Moores, SFU biology professor, can elaborate on key questions being addressed by the panel of scientists.

Arne Moores, 778.782.3979, 778.782.4649, amooers@sfu.ca
John Pierce, 778.782.8759, 604.551.3433 (cell), jpierce@sfu.ca

Envisioning Vancouver’s core
Gordon Price, director of SFU’s City Program, will moderate a free public forum unveiling winning proposals for the future of Vancouver’s Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts and the city’s eastern core, tonight. The city received more than 100 submissions from 13 countries with 75 per cent coming from Metro Vancouver. Price can discuss the proposed visions, which range from being practical and pragmatic to being futuristic and whimsical. The forum takes place 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in Room 3200 at SFU’s downtown campus, Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema, Woodwards Building.

Gordon Price, 778.782.5081, 604.687.7382 (cell), price@sfu.ca