Today on Athens News Matters, the groundbreaking work at UGA on rubella vaccine recommendations. Plus, learning French? The tool that may make the accent easier to pick up.
Revisiting how UGA research on rubella affects global vaccine recommendation policy
Rubella causes tens of thousands of cases of birth defects a year. Yet, until 2024, the World Health Organization did not recommend the distribution of the vaccine in 19 countries.
Dr. Amy K. Winter is a professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the College of Public Health at the University of Georgia. Her recent research modeling the implementation of the rubella vaccine led the World Health Organization to recommend introduction of the vaccine around the world. Dr. Winter sat down with WUGA’s Emma Auer to discuss her groundbreaking findings.
The nasal sound stumps many second language learners. A UGA researcher wants to change that.
A lot of people want to learn another language, but many stop short, worried about nailing the accent. And for languages like French and Portuguese, there’s a particular obstacle: the nasal sound.
As WUGA’s Emma Auer reports, language instructors at the University of Georgia are developing a tool to help students not only master that linguistic challenge, but approach learning another language with confidence.
Art and music mingle at Music in the House
Music and visual art inspired one another on a recent October evening in Athens, where local musicians Tracy Brown and Jeff Lustig performed jazz and blues for the inaugural session of Music in the House. The new quarterly program invites local musicians to the Lyndon House Arts Center and encourages Athenians to stop by to write, paint, draw, and even shape pottery while soaking in the tunes. Here's this postcard from the first evening of Music in the House, produced by Emma Auer.
You just heard the voices of Amy Patterson, Cindy Myer, and Bob Clements - Professor Emeritus of Art at the University of Georgia. They attended the first quarterly session of Music in the House at the Lyndon House Arts Center. Music in the House is sponsored by University of Georgia Professor Emerita of Journalism and local novelist Leara Rhodes.
Iconic Athens restaurant, Weaver D's, closes its doors
After decades of serving the Athens community, Weaver D’s - known for inspiring one of R.E.M’s album titles - closed late last month. And, as WUGA’s Alexundra Tillman found out, not even rain could scare away loyal customers ready to get one last meal. She stood in line with them to get their thoughts. Here’s that story.
