Technology – Page 731 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Female ‘Halo’ Player Takes Her World-Class Gaming to Microsoft

A onetime top 10-ranked “Halo” player, Alex Hebert-Ruiz is now at Microsoft, where she advocates for Xbox LIVE Arcade games when she’s not playing “Halo 4.”

REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 26, 2012 — Alex Hebert-Ruiz remembers the day she got her start as a gamer.

It was the Christmas she got a Barbie house and her brother got a Nintendo. She was 6, and she was hooked – on her brother’s gift.

“Don’t get me wrong, I loved my Barbie house,” she says, “but beating him at Duck Hunt was one of the great challenges of my young life.” (more…)

Hearty Organisms Discovered in Bitter-Cold Antarctic Brine

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Where there’s water there’s life – even in brine beneath 60 feet of Antarctic ice, in permanent darkness and subzero temperatures. (more…)

Old Habits Die Hard: Helping Cancer Patients Stop Smoking

ANN ARBOR — It’s a sad but familiar scene near the grounds of many medical campuses: hospital-gowned patients, some toting rolling IV poles, huddled in clumps under bus shelters or warming areas, smoking cigarettes.

Smoking causes 30 percent of all cancer deaths and 87 percent of all lung cancer deaths. Yet, roughly 50 percent to 83 percent of cancer patients keep smoking after a cancer diagnosis, through treatment and beyond, says Sonia Duffy, University of Michigan School of Nursing researcher. For patients who quit on their own, relapse rates (as in the general population) are as high as 85 percent. (more…)

Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 Commands Moviegoer Social Sentiment During Record Breaking Thanksgiving Weekend

USC Annenberg and IBM Film Forecaster Reveals Box Office Winners

LOS ANGELES – 26 Nov 2012: Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 continued to infiltrate the Twitterverse during Thanksgiving weekend, with competition from Box Office leaders Skyfall and the newly released, Rise of the Guardians – according to the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg Innovation Lab and the IBM Film Forecaster, a Social Sentiment Index. (more…)

Diabetes Study: ‘Mindful Eating’ Equals Traditional Education In Lowering Weight and Blood Sugar

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Eating mindfully, or consuming food in response to physical cues of hunger and fullness, is just as effective as adhering to nutrition-based guidelines in reducing weight and blood sugar levels in adults with Type 2 diabetes, a new study suggests. (more…)

Anti-Hypertensive Drugs Linked to Increased Risk of Hip Fracture

TORONTO, ON – Elderly people taking anti-hypertensive drugs are at a 43 per cent increased risk of having a hip fracture in the first 45 days of treatment, according to research conducted by family medicine Assistant Professor Dr. Debra Butt. A member of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto and a family physician affiliated with The Scarborough Hospital, Dr. Butt’s study was published on November 19, 2012 in Archives of Internal Medicine. The study examined data from health care administrative databases in Ontario, looking at records from 2000 to 2009 for community-dwelling hypertensive patients with a mean age of 80.8 years.

There are serious consequences to a hip fracture for the elderly. In the first year of a hip fracture there is a higher mortality rate than is seen for many chronic diseases. Those who recover often lose their independence due to reduced mobility, which can result in depression and overall decreased quality of life. (more…)

Support for Gay Marriage Grows in Michigan

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Support for gay marriage is growing in Michigan, mirroring changing attitudes in many parts of the United States, according to Michigan State University’s State of the State Survey.

A recent survey found that 56 percent of the state’s residents support gay marriage while 39 percent oppose it. Two years ago, 48 percent supported gay marriage and 51 percent were opposed. (more…)

A Creative Approach to Health

“What are we painting today?”

The question followed me as I walked down the hallway. Some 15 minutes before we were scheduled to start, there were already a dozen children crammed into the activity room to begin our weekly art session. More were coming. (more…)