News
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The Value Of Open Source
There were a number of interesting sessions and debates last week at the DesignWest show. One of the more passion filled, was on the value of Open Source hardware. Some people think it will save the world,if only everyone will do everything open source. Some people think it's a stupid waste of time without a real business model. Read More »
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The VA’s Generational Problem
This week, we honor those who have died in America’s wars. And those who survive. [...] Nonetheless, support for veterans has taken a decidedly political turn lately as calls mount for the secretary of veterans affairs, Eric Shinseki, to resign. Read More »
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The Very Real Consequences Of Leaving Rape Kits Unprocessed
There are serious consequences when state and federal governments don't put enough money into DNA testing. Need evidence? Just look at Detroit.
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The Wait We Carry: Using Data Visualization To Capture America's Failure To Take Care Of Its Veterans
Some 600,000 veterans have seen their disability-benefit claims founder unanswered for more than 125 days. Read More »
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The Walmartization Of Agriculture
Walmart has become an icon of the corporate rush to keep costs low and profits high, regardless of the effects on society. [...] It is this business strategy that catapulted them to be among the largest corporate interests in the world and allowed them to spread into virtually every corner of the United States. Read More »
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The War Against Butter Is Over. Butter Won
Just ask one of the world’s largest margarine makers. Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant Unilever spent more than 20 years trying to beat butter at its own game. But the maker of Flora, Country Crock, and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, appears ready to give up the fight. Read More »
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The Way You’re Born Can Mess With The Microbes You Need To Survive
Throughout the animal kingdom, mothers transfer microbes to their young while giving birth. [...] [For] millennia, mammalian babies have acquired founding populations of microbes by passing through their mothers’ vagina. This microbial handoff is also a critical aspect of infant health in humans. Today it is in peril. Read More »
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The Wearable Device That Could Text You When Your Loved One Has A Seizure
Barbara Kroner has watched her daughter suffer from over 15,000 seizures. She has long slept in the same bed as Ellie, who has Aicardi syndrome, so that she’s there to help if the 14-year-old suffers a seizure. Read More »
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The Web Is in Danger, Copyright Reform Can Break the Internet
Basic copyright laws and enforcements have been in effect for hundreds of years.
Let’s go back in the history: First Industrial Revolution was based on water and steam power to mechanize production. The second was all about electricity which helped create mass production. The third, connected electronics and information technology to automate production. Now we live in “Fourth Industrial Revolution” which we also call the digital revolution...
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The West Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion Was Not A Freak Event
Greenpeace has listed 483 chemical facilities in the U.S. where 100,000 or more would be at risk from explosions Read More »
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The White House Comedy Club
While the nation’s attention has been riveted on the Keystone Congress, the executive branch was busy developing its own comedy routine. Picture the cast (you know the characters) shrugging their shoulders in unison: “Who, me?” Read More »
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The White House Is Pushing Precision Medicine, but It Won’t Happen for Years
For starters, it’s too expensive and the science isn’t advanced enough. With the right technologies to collect and make sense of biomedical information, we could speed up the pace of discoveries that lead to a new class of tailor-made drugs. That’s the argument behind the White House’s push for “precision medicine” (see “A Shot in the Arm for Obama’s Precision Medicine Initiative”). The goal of precision medicine is to provide drugs and therapies that are uniquely suited to individual patients based on their genetics and other distinguishing health information...
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The World Knows an Apocalyptic Pandemic Is Coming
A new independent report compiled at the request of the United Nations secretary-general warns that there is a "very real threat" of a pandemic sweeping the planet, killing up to 80 million people. A deadly pathogen, spread airborne around the world, the report says, could wipe out almost 5 percent of the global economy. And we're not ready. The ominous analysis was compiled by an independent panel, the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), which was assembled last year in response to a request from the office of the U.N. secretary-general, and convened jointly by the World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO). Co-chaired by the former WHO head and former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland and the head of the international Red Cross, Elhadj As Sy, the GPMB commissioned expert studies and issued a scathing attack on the political, financial, and logistical state of pandemic preparedness affairs.
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The World’s Fattest Major Country Consumes An Astounding Amount Of Coca-Cola Products
Mexico has approved both a soda tax and a junk food tax, which it expects to generate some $16 billion annually. But there’s a deeper reason why the taxes, like large swaths of the Mexican populace, are so hefty: Something has to be done about Mexico’s eating habits. Read More »
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The Worst Possible Cybersecurity Breaches Could Be Far Worse Than You Imagined
The cyber-ruffians who briefly tanked the stock market recently by faking a news tweet about an attack at the White House showed how much damage can be done with a few well-placed keystrokes... Read More »
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