Blog

Discovery Triples Number of Stars in the Universe

Science

Astronomers detected the faint signature of small, dim red dwarf stars in nearby galaxies (right), and found they are much more numerous than in our own Milky Way (left). Image credit: Patrick Lynch/Yale University

Astronomers have discovered that small, dim stars known as red dwarfs are much more prolific than previously thought — so much so that the total number of stars in the universe is likely three times bigger than previously believed.

Because red dwarfs are relatively small and dim compared to stars like our Sun, astronomers hadn’t been able to detect them in galaxies other than our own Milky Way and its nearest neighbors before now. Therefore, they did not know how much of the total stellar population of the universe is made up of red dwarfs.

Now astronomers have used powerful instruments on the Keck Observatory in Hawaii to detect the faint signature of red dwarfs in eight massive, relatively nearby galaxies called elliptical galaxies, which are located between about 50 million and 300 million light years away. They discovered that the red dwarfs, which are only between 10% and 20% as massive as the Sun, were much more bountiful than expected. (more…)

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Norton Healthcare Enters Agreement with Microsoft

Technology

*Norton Healthcare has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to use its health solutions platforms to support its Accountable Care Organization (ACO) initiative.* 

REDMOND, Wash., and LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Dec. 2, 2010 — Norton Healthcare has entered into an agreement with Microsoft Corp. to use its health solutions platforms, Microsoft Amalga Unified Intelligence System (UIS) and Microsoft HealthVault. These systems will allow Norton Healthcare to aggregate and mine data in a highly efficient manner and will assist the Louisville, Ky.-based health care system in its Accountable Care Organization (ACO) initiative. 

Norton Healthcare and Humana Inc. are working together to establish the first ACO in the region, which represents one of four national pilot sites for the Brookings-Dartmouth ACO Pilot Project. The ACO model Norton and Humana are co-creating established incentives for health systems to increase quality and efficiency, better coordinate patient care, eliminate waste, and reduce the overuse and misuse of care (see Nov. 23 news release: “Norton Healthcare and Humana Launch Accountable Care Organization”).  (more…)

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Most Low Birth Weight Babies Become Productive Adults

Economy, General

John Goddeeris, professor of economics. Image credit: Michigan State University

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Most survivors of extremely low birth weight grow up to become productive adults, according to a study led by a Michigan State University economist.

Extremely low birth weight is defined as less than about 2.2 pounds. About one in 200 babies is born at that size. But because relatively few survived prior to the 1980s, few studies have examined their adult outcomes.

The study led by MSU’s John Goddeeris found that while these survivors were somewhat less productive as adults, on average, than normal-weight subjects, the productivity deficits were not very large. The study, which appears in the journal Pediatrics, measured education and salary levels.

“Our findings suggest that the long-term economic impact of being born at extremely low birth weight is pretty modest for typical survivors,” said Goddeeris, professor of economics. (more…)

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Billion Dollar Bonanza: Cyber Monday Surpasses $1 Billion in U.S. Spending as Heaviest Online Shopping Day in History

Culture, Technology

*Cyber Monday Shows 16 Percent Increase vs. Year Ago with Half of Online Spending Coming from Work Computers* 

RESTON, VA, December 1, 2010 – comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, today reported holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 29 days of the November – December 2010 holiday season. For the holiday season-to-date, $13.55 billion has been spent online, marking a 13-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. Cyber Monday reached $1.028 billion in online spending, up 16 percent versus year ago, representing the heaviest online spending day in history and the first to surpass the billion-dollar threshold. (more…)

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Made in IBM Labs: Breakthrough Chip Technology Lights the Path to Exascale Computing

Technology

*IBM Silicon Nanophotonics uses optical signals to connect chips together faster and with lower power*

Yorktown Heights, N.Y. – 01 Dec 2010: IBM scientists today unveiled a new chip technology that integrates electrical and optical devices on the same piece of silicon, enabling computer chips to communicate using pulses of light (instead of electrical signals), resulting in smaller, faster and more power-efficient chips than is possible with conventional technologies. 

The new technology, called CMOS Integrated Silicon Nanophotonics,  is the result of a decade of development at IBM’s global Research laboratories. The patented technology will change and improve the way computer chips communicate – by integrating optical devices and functions directly onto a silicon chip, enabling over 10X improvement in integration density than is feasible with current manufacturing techniques.  (more…)

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Amazon.com and Penguin Group (USA) Announce Fourth Annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Competition

Culture, Technology

*Two grand prize winners, one for general fiction and one for best young adult novel, to be published by Penguin Group (USA)*

SEATTLE & NEW YORK, Dec 01, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon.com, Inc. and Penguin Group (USA) today announced the fourth annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition, the international competition seeking the next popular novel. Due to the popularity of the additional young adult category in 2010, the competition will again award two grand prizes: one for general fiction and one for best young adult novel. Each grand prize winner will be published by Penguin Group (USA). The 2011 competition will again be open to unpublished and self-published novels. Writers around the world are encouraged to begin preparing their manuscripts for entry into the competition, which will launch on Jan. 24, 2011. (more…)

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5.7 Million Californians Lack Access to Job-based Coverage

Economy

Most Americans receive health insurance coverage through their employer, or through an employed family member’s dependent coverage. Yet having a job is no guarantee of coverage, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. 

Using data from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), the brief’s authors found that one-fifth of Californians under age 65 who lived in households with at least one employed family member — or 5.7 million – had no access to job-based health insurance in 2007.  (more…)

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