Jeffrey L        

Topic: Health

Title of Article: College drops health care plan over religious objections to new law

Posting #4

Publication name: CNN

Author: Dan Gillgoff

Date of Publication: May 16th 2012

Length of article: 531 words, 2 pages

         As part of a new health care act, the Obama Administration has mandated that all insurance companies must provide service for anything pertaining to women's health, including contraceptives, birth control, sterilization, and abortion causing medication.  In response to this act, the Franciscan Catholic University has recently decided to drop its school health care for the students due to disagreements with Obama's health care plan.  Obama's health care plan requires that insurance companies cover contraceptives and birth control of any form for its patients but Franciscan University strictly believes this is a violation of their faith.  Over 200 of the schools students who rely on the $50 a month cost of the plan are now left un-insured.  Obama has sought a compromise with Franciscan and other Catholic schools with similar objections by revising a rule and requiring the health care insurance companies and not the employers to provide contraceptive coverage in an attempt to mollify the Catholic critics.  This however did not succeed as many Catholic groups remain unsatisfied with this change. The Catholic school believes that since they are the ones paying for the insurance coverage of the students, they can decide whether or not to use a coverage that may possibly go against their beliefs.  Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has been representing three similar Catholic schools in challenging the new health care act.  They however, were unaware that Franciscan has taken a similar approach.

         Although, dropping its own health care plan can prove disastrous for the students that have been relying on it, Franciscan has been receiving support from many of the students.  95% of the students there and their families are Catholic and such believe in the course of action being taken.  It is however unjust that they completely leave those students who depend on the health insurance without a life boat.    Because of the school's moral disagreements with the health care act, they have punished the students.  

Andrew D.
Current Event #4
Topic: Science/Technology
Psychiatric Mislabeling Is Bad for Your Mental Health
Allen Frances
Huffington Post
May 14, 2012
Article length: 1 page approximately

Mental illness can have a taxing affect on an individual. For many the mental illness can be fairly unknown to them as they struggle to understand themselves. It is in the knowledge of understanding and diagnosing one's mental illness that helps with coping and dealing with the illness. Just the knowledge is empowering to encourage a person to work through treatment. Many misdiagnosis, however, are common as well. Misdiagnosis has the opposite affect to someone than diagnosis to an actually afflicted person. The diagnoses that are most often harmfully misapplied are schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, ADHD, and autism. Misdiagnosis cause unneeded worries and lower of self confidence which could serious harm a person. Furthermore the release of DSM 5, manual to diagnosis mental illness, has proven to be extremely inaccurate and will further cause unnecessary harm to people. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allen-frances/psychiatric-mislabeling-is-bad-for-your-mental-health_b_1504750.html?ref=science

Name: Kenny
Blog posting number 4
Topic: Politic
Title of Article:Florida Catholic School considers dropping student health plan, on heels of Ohio
Author: Judson Beger
Publication Date: May 14, 2012
Length of Article: 539 words

Ohio school's decision to abandon its student health insurance plan. Another Catholic university in Florida is considering whether to follow the plan. The school is having both moral and economic concerns. University officials plan to meet Monday to discuss their insurance options and potentially make a decision. The expected amount of money of insurance is increasing. The first stage is at least 100,000. Towey said that lots of students are covered by their parents' plans but not all. " Parents who don't have a health plan-- then these students are out there" Towey has sued Obama administration over the contraception mandate.Towy said his school finds the mandate "repugnant" but he expressed economic concerns regarding the expected premium increase. He said school should drop the student insurance plan.
Not only in Ohio, but also many schools have the problem of dropping student health insurance. Every schools is low on their budget to provide health care. But there are still a lot of schools think they should keep health insurance. Nick Alexopulous, spokesman with Loyola University Maryland, said " we are not considering dropping our student health insurance plan." Sooner of later, this is going to a problem to every schools. Recently, colleges have raise the tuition. We need to be aware of this situation.

Coffee Drinkers May Live Longer

Name: Josie
Current Event Posting Number: 4
Topic: Health
Title of Article: Coffee Drinkers May Live Longer
Author: Tara Parker-Pope
Publication Name: New York Times
Date of Publication: May 14, 2012
Length of Article: 10 paragraphs, 2 pages


A recent study shows that drinking more coffee is linked to having a lower risk of dying of a variety of diseases. The study was written and investigated by Neal D. Freedman from the National Institute of Health and was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Their exact findings were taken from surveying 229,199 men and 173,141 women aging 50-71 years old. This made it the largest study ever done on the relationship between coffee consumption and health. The people they surveyed were from AARP and they followed them from 1995 to 2008, and by that point 52,000 had died. Although coffee is a stimulant that can increase heart rate and blood pressure temporarily, it also has many unique  compounds and antioxidants that could be beneficial to health. Researchers learned that the more coffee a person consumed, the less likely he or she was likely to die from a myriad of health problems including diabetes, heart diseases, respiratory diseases, strokes and infections. A problem that arose when conducting this experiment was that the regular coffee drinkers in the group were also more likely to be smokers, eat more red meat and fewer fruits and vegetables, exercise less, and drink more alcohol. This would sway the results in that it would make it seem as though the people who drank more coffee were less healthy and at a higher risk for diseases. Once researchers controlled for those risks, the data showed that coffee was in fact beneficial to health. Freedman cautioned that the findings were only observational, and that there was an association between coffee consumption and lower risk for disease but they do not know that coffee will lead to better health. Drinking coffee has been considered a risky thing to do for a long time, but these findings provide reassurance for coffee drinkers that this is not the case. During the 14-year study they discovered that the risk of dying was about 10% less for men and 15% less for women who drank from 2-6 cups of coffee a day. The next step the researchers plan on taking is to learn more about the 1,000+ different types of compounds in coffee and to see which ones are causing a beneficial affect. Scientists believe that it could be either one, or a mixture of these compounds that could affect health. They want to discover this more because they want to see if they could possibly use these compounds in new medicines to help treat patients with heart or respiratory disease for example.

Name: Max
Current Event Posting #4
Topic: Economy
Title: Facebook raises share price range after strong demand
Author: BBC
Publication Name: BBC
Day of Publication: May 15. 2012
Length: 500 words

Facebook, only a mere 8 years old, already has 900 million users worldwide. Last year alone, Facebook made $1 billion. With success can only come investors, and high demand for the Facebook stocks has pushed Facebook to raise the price. Currently, Facebook sells its shares for $28 to $35, but the price was raised to $34-$38. This change has raised Facebook's total value to above $100 billion. This makes Facebook worth more than US corporate giants Disney, Ford, and Kraft Foods, and rivals Amazon's current worth of $100 billion. Facebook hopes to sell 337.4 million shares, for a total profit of $12.1 billion if investors buy at the mid-point of $36. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder, still remains in control of the company despite the flotation, controlling over 57.3% of the voting power through his own shares and through voting agreements with other shareholders. Despite Facebook's apparent success, many question its ability to maintain a steady profit. Currently, Facebook makes only $1 billion, 1% of its prospective market value. Last month, Facebook reported a drop in revenue between quarters, a first of its kind for 2 years. In response, Facebook plans to invest more in the mobile market, an area that Facebook believes has the most potential. Facebook is still in the process of buying Instagram, a popular mobile app for photo sharing and editing, for $1 billion.
Since Facebook's creation in 2004, the social network boom has been unprecedented. Gaining almost 1 billion users in a mere 8 years, Facebook is a global icon as both a social network and a successful company. Its clear that, despite its already enormous gains, Facebook is still steadily growing. However, there are still signs that make me doubt this legacy of unbelievable profit can continue. With Facebook reporting its first loss in revenue in 2 years, its possible that the market for social networking has begun to slow, and I believe it was a smart choice for Facebook to make the move into the mobile industry. Nonetheless, Facebook's increase in share value is a clear indication of the companies success and its continued success for many years into the future.

Name: Cassie
Current Event Posting #4
Topic: Civil Rights
Title: Obama Says Gay Marriage Stance ‘The Right Thing to do,’ Courts Women, Gay, Young Voters in NYC
Author: Associated Press
Publication Name: Washington Post
Day of Publication: May 14. 2012
Length: 2 pages

 President Barack Obama recently declared his support for same-sex marriage saying "That doesn't weaken families. It strengthens families". Aiming for appeal towards women, young people, and gays/lesbians, he gave a commencement address at Barnard College, a women's college, and held an interview with "The View", a day-time talk show mainly for women. While these audiences have supported him through the 2008 election, Democrats hope that Obama's new embrace for gay marriage will encourage and re-energize previous supporters. With his new competition, Republican Ritt Romney, Obama plans on focusing on those groups, under the belief that “At root, so much of this has to do with a belief that not only are we all in this together but all of us are equal in terms of dignity and in terms of respect, and everybody deserves a shot,”. He has begun taking action as he called for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as commitment between a man and a woman. During his address at Barnard College, he recognized women as the ones who will "help lead the way", gaining women's support, giving him a leading advantage over Romney with 54% over Romney's 39% women voters. He also encouraged young people to fight through the nation's challenges and look up to history's leaders who have worked through them in the past. Overall, Obama's recent declarations have won support as shown through surveys revealing 19% of voters gaining favoritism towards Obama.
Obama has been an inspiration through his reign as president, making history as the first African-American President, now fighting for equality within sexual orientation, and the persistence of women and young people. While Congress may not currently agree with Obama's actions towards the Defense of Marriage Act, Obama is making a distinct effort in improving the lives of the mistreated, and will continue on with his encouragement and support of the people. Although controversy also exists between voters of different ages, as a shown 42% over the age of 65 view the president less favorably, Obama still strives to live in an equal society, despite the difference that exits.

 First Name: Andrew M
Current Event Posting Number: 4
Topic: Tech
Title of article: Facebook sets $28 to $35 IPO price range
Author: Julianne Peppitone
Publication Name: CNN
Date of Publication: May 3, 2012
Length of Article: 704 words

This spring, one of the most popular companies in the world is going public, Facebook. Whether is be students in South Africa, or teachers in Canada, is seems as though everyone has been lured in by this vastly compatible social networking site. This means, when this site goes public, you'll see a lot of people become very rich very fast. These people are the employees of Facebook who all have stock in the huge company. These people are sometimes referred to as "instant millionaires." Mark Zuckerburg recently announced that the shares will be priced at around $28 to $35 a share. Seeing as the average employee has 40,000 shares, they could have up to $1,400,000 in shares. The company in total has 2.1 billion shares available, valuing Facebook as just under $75 billion. This isn't even to mention the pioneer of it all, Mark Zuckerburg. With the amount of stock he has, his net worth will jump at least $21 billion, putting him on the list of the 10 most wealthy Americans. But mark wont be keeping all of his earnings. With an enormous income, comes enormous taxes that he cannot avoid, and a lot of that money will be given up to the government.
In conclusion, this is a huge event in the tech and business world. When this company goes public, it will make a lot of money for thousands of employees and even more for Zuckerburg. Mark is going to make a lot of money in a very short amount of time, putting him in a list with some of the richest people ever. And he's only 28. This isn't even to mention that this company is growing. More and more people log on everyday, and with more people comes more money. With more money, the shares prices and rice and could ultimately make Facebook one of the superpower companies.

Name: Jill
Posting: 4
Topic: Technology
Title: A Once-Unthinkable Choice for Amputees
Author: Alexis Okeowo
Publication: NY Times, May 14, 2012
Legnth: 680 words

In August 2007 in New York, Ann Kornhouser broke, and then had to remove some of her foot. The prosthetic foot that she was given put her into discomfort, and she was offered a solution. The solution was to remove more of her leg in order to fit a better prosthetic that gives her the option to do a wider range of normal leg activities. The leg Ann has now is life like, with skin like material and toes. Now, people are turning their focus from preserving the most of their limbs. The new importance is taking the right amount of limb to fit one of the new improved legs in order to be able continue normal activities. People are turning to this option because it allows for more prosthetic comfort and more lifelike use. The new prosthetic limbs also have technology such as adjusting heel height. In a similar story in 2003, David Rozelle decided to have nine more inches amputated after having his foot removed. This was in order to be able to fit into a below the knee prosthesis.

The change that is beginning in this part of the health world is a conflicting one. The previous standard of keeping as much body as possible was for obvious reasons, the natural desire to keep the body whole. This is contradicted by the eased life of those benefiting from the new technology. Because many of the people that are put into possibly limb risking situations are usually active, there is no doubt that that crowd of people has interest and use for the unconventional new practice.

First name: Emmanuel
Current Event Posting Number: 4
Title: New York police tout improving crime number to defend frisking policy
Topic: Civil Rights
Author: CNN Wire Staff
Publication: CNN
Date of Publication: May 13, 2012
Length: 798 words


The NYPD (New York Police Department) has a "stop, question, and frisk policy" in which police officers are allowed to stop, search, and question anyone they deem suspicious. While this policy is criticized for racial profiling, NYPD claims it has helped them confiscate guns and lower the murder rate. During the first quarter of 2012, NYPD frisked 10% more people, and was able to confiscate 31% more illicit weapons. Also, the murder rate of New York City plummeted to 21%, which could be the lowest it has ever been since first recordings in 1963. While these statistics are impressive, Donna Lieberman of the Civil Liberties Union calls it "unlawful and racially biased." City councilman Jumaana Williams claims the policy creates distrust between the minority communities and the police. Darius Charney, senior staff attorney for Center for Constitutional Rights call the practice ineffective, unpopular, and un-constitutional.
According to the Departments statistics, 93% of the targets stopped were male, 54% of which were African American, and 33% of which were hispanic. Only 9% of the males were white, and 3% Asian. This hints strong evidence to support that the police are racial profiling when using this practice. The 4th Amendment of the constitution states: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." The frisk policy completely violates the constitution and even if it makes the city safer, freedom is sometimes more important. In fact, upon further research, the amount of African Americans frisked in a year is MORE than the population of African Americans in New York. This practice is completely immoral and should be fought in court.

First Name: Angela
Current Event Posting Number: 4
Topic: Education
Title of article: Why We Need a Longer School Day
Author: Eric Schwarz
Publication Name: The Huffington Post: The Blog
Date of Publication: May 11, 2012
Length of Article: 1,067 words, 2 pages

                 On May 10, 2012, the National Center on Time and Learning and the Ford Foundation announced the launch of the "Time to Succeed" Coalition, a group dedicated to more time in school. Eric Schwarz, founder of Citizen Schools, along with several others such as Dave Levin of KIPP and the American Federation of Teachers, added his name as a signatory. Why would he do such a thing? Because he believes that by elongating the length of school, students who are disadvantaged by poverty will be able to have access to quality educational opportunities that boost academic achievement to get them excited about learning. The reason Schwarz founded this nonprofit education organization was because he wanted to do more with the time that students didn't spend in school. The achievement gap between low and high-income students is 30 to 40% higher than it was a generation ago. Schwarz hopes to even out the playing field because students in middle and upper class families are getting extra tutoring, taking music lessons, attending science clubs, and students of lower class who are unable to afford these opportunities do not get the same experiences. As Carol Johnson, Superintendent of Boston Public Schools and cosignatory of "Time to Succeed" put its, she imagines that every student is running a race where high school graduation is the "finish line". This means that it is a fair race with "same running gear" and "enthusiastic supporters on the sidelines". But the truth is that some kids get a boost from the parents, or "fancy running shoes" (tutoring maybe, or study books) to get that extra push, leaving students who might need these things to catch up and finish on time.
               Citizen Schools has built a partnership with schools in eight states to significantly increase learning by at least 30%. The last thing they want to do is make the additional time a mediocre extension of the learning day. Therefore, their "second shift" of trained educators and volunteers give additional academic support and engaging learning opportunities with professionals from a variety of fields. They have seen that learning time "done right" can erase and even reverse opportunities and achievement gaps. Many schools that have implemented this longer day, such as Clarence Edwards Middle School in boston, and Dever-McCormack School in Boston are already experiencing an elimination of the achievement gap for students in math and erased 80% of the state gap on literacy and science standardized tests. 

Bionic Suit Enables Paralyzed Women to Run Marathon

Sean                                                                                       Current Event Posting Number: 4
Topic: Technology
Title of Article: Claire Lomas, Paralyzed Woman, Finishes London Marathon In Bionic Suit
Publication Name: Huffinton Post                                                                  
Author: Melanie Phillips
Date of Publication: May 14th, 2012
Length of Article: 411 words


In an incredible display of determination, Clare Lomas, a 32 year old paralyzed mother was able to complete a full marathon last week. Thanks to tremendous strides in spinal technology Clare Lomas was given this amazing opportunity. Despite the fact that Clare Lomas is paralyzed from the neck down, she was able to complete this 26.2 miles marathon in just sixteen days. This feat was made possible by a newly created bionic suit that is paving the way for paralyzed victims gaining back their mobility. This 75,000 dollar bionic suit allows the user to walk by detecting shifts in their balance, and then moves the users feet accordingly. Clare Lomas was the first to use this bionic suit in such a profound way, and she is certainly setting an example for all who suffer from spinal cord injuries.


In conclusion clare Jones raised more than 100,000 dollars for spinal cord research. Her practical use of the bionic suit has also inspired many others to follow in her footsteps. As advancements in spinal cord technology reaches new heights, paralyzed victims have gained a new sense of optimism. 


In my opinion this new advanced bionic suit is a miracle for those that are suffering from spinal cord injuries. It is truly groundbreaking research, that will soon take away the depression of those unable to complete even the simplest tasks. It is inspiring and heartwarming to see paralyzed victims who have never been able to walk before, finally being able to physically play with their children, and complete tasks that they never before thought possible. 

Zanna

Current Event Posting # 4

Topic: Health

Title of Article:  Say what? ‘Flesh-eating bacteria’ explained

Author: doesn’t say

Publication Name: CNN

Date of Published: May 14, 2012

Length of Article: 353 words

Recently there has been a case with a woman who contracted flesh-eating bacteria while zip lining. The bacteria is called “ necrotizing fascilitis”, the specific type that Aimee Copeland caught is called “aeromonas hydrophila. It is found in most fresh water or brackish water environments, according to the Food and drug administration.  Stomach and intestinal or intestinal problems is common if swallowed by swimmers. Aeromonas hydrophila can also enter the body through an open wound, as happened in the Copeland case. When it goes through an open wound, the bacteria reproduces and gives off toxins that destroy skin and soft tissue. Doctors have found that if it is detected early, only skin or fat may need to be removed, but if the infection is detected later, amputation may be necessary to top the spreading of the rapidly reproducing bacteria. Dr. William Schaffner, who is president of the National Foundation for infectious Diseases says that when Areomonas hydrophila enters through an open wound, early diagnosis is difficult.

Patients should pay close attention to pain coming from a closed wound, as well as redness and draining. The FDA says the frequency of Areomonas hydropilia infections is unknown, because researchers only recently started collecting data about it.

            

F.D.A. Advisory Panel Backs Preventive Use of H.I.V. Drug

Helen W.
Current Event Posing # 4Topic: HealthTitle of Article:  F.D.A. Advisory Panel Backs Preventive Use of H.I.V. DrugAuthor: Denise Grady 
Publication Name: New York Times
Date of Published: May 10, 2012
Length of Article: 1220 words/2 pages


An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended last Thursday that a drug which had already been approved to treat AIDS should now also be used to prevent HIV infections in healthy people, who may be exposed to the virus.The FDA is the government agency whose approval is needed to sell any drug or medicine in the U.S. The recommendation is by a panel of doctors and scientists advising the FDA; the FDA normally follows the advice of its advisory panels.This decision was based on various studies, one of which first found a risk reduction of only 44% in 2,499 gay men, but a closer examination showed that many of them had not taken the drug every day; among those who took it correctly, the risk reduction was about 90%. Considering that there are about 50,000 new HIV infections in the U.S. alone, the need for any preventative measures is obvious. The drug recommended is the antiviral Truvada, which since its initial approval in 2004 has been used to treat people with HIV infection. In the treatment of HIV, Truvada is always used in combination with other drugs, to assure that no HIV strain evolves which is resistant to Truvada. The new approval would cover the use of the one-pill-a-day drug for the prevention of AIDS in people possibly exposed to the HIV virus. People who plan to take Truvada by itself for prevention need to be tested beforehand to assure they do not have an active HIV infection, where use of a single drug might led to HIV strains resistant to it. Panel members did express concern over the possibility of
evolution of drug-resistant HIV, and some members voted against or abstained from approval.-- Other critics, such as the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, pointed out that the availability of a prevention drug might give people a false sense of security and make them neglect other preventative measures, such as condoms. On the other hand, any additional layer of protection against the spread of AIDS is certainly a good thing. Truvada is a product of Gilead Sciences, in Foster City, CA. It is one of the best-selling HIV drugs, with sales of $758.3 million in the first quarter of this year (about 3 billion/year!). A yearly dose costs about $14,000. The new approval would certainly increase its sales.--

This new approval would be the first one for a drug use for the prevention of AIDS (as opposed to its treatment). Having another method to contain the AIDS epidemic is certainly welcome. However this drug is certainly not perfect. Like other AIDS prevention methods, it relies on its users carfully following the instructions, here for the pre-use test and taking the drug daily, and continuing in the use of other preventative measures, such as condoms. Also the high price of the drug might make its adoption difficult for most people who might benefit from it.

Obama Uses JPMorgan Disaster to Justify Reforms in Wall Street

name: Joshua
topic: politics
posting number 4
title of article: Obama: JPMorgan Disaster Shows “Why Wall Street Reform Is So Important”
author: Mollie Reilly
publication name: Huffingtonpost
date of publication:  05/14/2012
length of article: 500 words

Recently, JPMorgan Chase suffered a loss of $2 billion in trading. Though this was balanced with a gain of $1 billion, the bank came out with a net loss of $1 billion. Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase CEO, admitted that the loss was an egregious mistake which had nearly no excuse. JPMorgan Chase stock dropped post the disaster 5%. This was, in part, due to the bank’s use of speculative trading instead of hedging. This failure in such a prominent bank shows the risky trades being done and the effects of such trading. In a recent interview Barack Obama used JPMorgan Chase’s disaster to justify the reform and regulations set in 2008 upon Wall Street. Obama claims that the government must protect the citizens money and that speculative trading and such acts by banks should be regulated and watched closely. The president holds that JPMorgan is an extremely well managed bank and that CEO Jamie Dimon runs his bank with great prowess. He also claims, however, that if such a well-managed bank could fail then other banks are also susceptible to similar mistakes.Senator Carl Levin added that "he enormous loss JP Morgan announced today is just the latest evidence that what banks call 'hedges' are often risky bets that so-called 'too big to fail' banks have no business making."

To conclude, Obama recently used the JPMorgan Disaster to justify regulations placed upon Wall Street. Obama and others in his administration hold that such grievance mistakes must be prevented so that the American public does not suffer from them. JPMorgan Chase, due to speculative trading, lost $2 billion recently. This was offset, however, by a gain of $1 billion, resulting in a still staggering net loss of $1 billion. Obama concludes that this policy is one of the things that separates him from GOP candidate Mitt Romney


Reilly, Mollie. "Obama: JPMorgan Disaster Shows 'Why Wall Street Reform Is So Important'" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 14 May 2012. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/14/obama-jpmorgan-chase_n_1516330.html>.

On Depression and Dementia

Name: Marisa
Current event posting number: 4

Topic: Health

Title of Article: Depression in middle age linked to dementia

Author: Amanda Gardner

Publication Name: cnn.com

Publication Date: 5/8/2012

Length of Article: 1.5 pages

            A study published last week in the Archives of General Psychiatry provided new evidence linking depression in middle-aged individuals to dementia later in life.  Using data culled from a sample of 13000 adults in a “large Northern California health plan,” the study showed that those who experienced depression in middle age [40-50 years old] were 20% more likely to be diagnosed with dementia.  Furthermore, those who were diagnosed with depression late in life were 70% more likely to have dementia than their depression-free peers.  A new link between the time of life in which depression develops and the type of disease diagnosed later in life was also found; vascular dementia tends to appear in those who began their battle with depression in middle age, while Alzheimer’s disease was found to manifest in those who were diagnosed with depression around age 70 or older.  This may be a function of the fact that Alzheimer’s and dementia are similar but distinct diseases; however there is currently no medical proof to support this. 

            It is not yet known if depression is a risk factor or a warning sign of memory-related diseases.  The article also details limitations of the study, such as the method of data gathering: a single question on a single survey, which greatly limits the depth of information, such as whether the individual was depressed as a child or as an adolescent, or any possible genetic predisposition toward the disease.  In addition, the study is based only on surveys and medical history, as opposed to more reliable techniques such as brain imagery.

            Many mental disorders are not yet fully understood, even if they have an effect on a sizable portion of the population [5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association].  Any research on these diseases, memory-loss disorders in particular, is significant to advancing medical care for the elderly, and for the ever-aging baby boomers.  Even if this study ends up being a red herring, it’s still progress, and may lead in a more promising direction.

[Read the full article here] 

And We Thought That Segregation Was Gone...

Leilan Nishi
Post #4
Topic: Education
"Why Don't We Have Any White Kids?" by N.R. Kleinfield
Published May 11th, 2012
Length: 11 pages


The fact that people today are so unaware of segregation when it stares them right in the face is unnerving. Isn't that something of the past? The reason that people think that segregation is no longer an issue is because of a lack of education on contemporary social issues; that is what makes this article's focus so ironic: a school, which should be teaching their students about segregation, suffers from that exact affliction. The Explore Charter School is predominantly black, with some students of minority race, but with no white students. Was this segregation unintentional? Or was it deliberate?

According to Tim Thomas, a white fundraiser who lives in the area and who wrote a blog about the neighborhood, most white families don't want to send their children to Explore. They say that this is  because they "don't want to be guinea pigs." Some black families don't want to enroll their kids anywhere else because "it's more comfortable to be with people of your own race than to be with a lot of different races." However, the tension does not stop with the parents and families. At Explore Charter the staff is 61% white and 35% black. This makes the black families uncomfortable at having their children taught, and the school manage, disproportionately by whites as opposed to people of their own race.

So who's at fault here, the white parents who feel uncomfortable with sending their white child to an all-black school, or the black families who seem to prefer the segregated learning atmosphere? Both sides need to change their views on segregation in the educational environment if they don't want to set back the Civil Rights movement half a century. We do not want to have Ruby Bridges' show of defiance against racial tensions in schools lost in the pages of history. In case anyone forgot, she was the girl who went to an all-white institution to be taught, despite facing intense and disgusting hatred from the racist community on the way to and from school. But we haven't forgotten... Or have we?

Read the article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/education/at-explore-charter-school-a-portrait-of-segregated-education.html?pagewanted=1

Name: Andrew A.
Current Event Posting #4
Topic: Technology
Title of Article: "Nuclear's once bright and shiny future blinks out"
Author: William Bradley
Publication Name: New West Notes
Date of Publication: May 12, 2012
Length of Article: 1,500 words


Once nuclear energy appeared to be the future of energy, it was cheap, clean, and best of all, safe. It could fuel entire countries and eliminate their dependence on foreign energy. However after the Chernobyl disaster people became wary of nuclear energy, but still were willing to use it. Now though with the recent meltdown in Japan, nuclear energy has become taboo. Politicians who preach its virtues are accused of not having their constituents interests at heart.There are multiple issues with nuclear energy, the first is the most obvious where a meltdown is catastrophic and can kill everyone within the immediate area. However other problems soon become present, the cost to build a plant is enormous and requires subsidies to be viable. Even worse after a plant has been built, there are high rates of cancers among the workers which can lead to increased medical costs. In addition the power plants are vulnerable to outside cyber attacks which can lead the plant to a meltdown. These problems in general have led to the complete lack of new plants being built, and certain plants being closed down indefinitely. The only place where this is not currently happening is Iran. However many believe that the construction of power plants in Iran are solely a cover for the nuclear weapons which may be being manufactured. The production of nuclear energy accross the globe has slowed to a crawl, and it no longer holds the promise of the future.

Public Gets Glimpse of Science Standards

Name:Pallavi
Posting #: 4
Topic: Education
Title of Article: Public Gets Glimpse of Science Standards
Author: Erik W. Robelen
Publication Name: Education Week
Publication Date: May 11, 2012
Length of Article: 1272 words

     There has been a recent ambitious effort to refocus the science standards of the K-12 curriculum in many states throughout the United States. Organizers of this efforts are searching for ways to create a stronger foundation for children in all fields of science. Their priority is to provide essential knowledge while also ensuring that students utilize their scientific knowledge in "real life" situations. The idea behind the new science standards is to create a new curriculum that focuses depth rather than breadth. Meaning that the instructors who approve of this standard will teach one topic in more depth rather than teach many topics in less depth. Organizers feel that important for an instructor to go more in depth on one topic rather than cover many topics through the course of one school year. So far twenty-six states, including California, Maine, South Dakota, and Georgia, are "lead state partners" in this effort and they have collaborated with many experts and professionals about the new standard. However, evolution and climate changes are two scientific topics that obstruct the new science standard for being passed. These two topics have been political flashpoints for many years which may cause the new standard to be rejected by certain states.
     Many organizations have played a role in the creating the new standard. The National Research Council,National Science Teachers Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Achieve, are the core contributors of this effort. They have collaborated and have created the foundation of the new standard. They have set a goal to complete the draft of the science standard and incorporate the program in to school all over the U.S by next fall. Many teachers around the country have seen the benefits of this program and have already approved of it. They feel that it is of greater importance for a student to understand one topic thoroughly rather than partial understand a wide range of topics. Organizers state that this new science standard will significantly improve the proficiency level of the students in grades K-12 and will better prepare them for higher education.

"Why Don't We Have Any White Kids"

Name: Olivia
Current Even Posting #4
Topic: Education
Title of Article: "Why Don't We Have Any White Kids"
Author: N. R. Kleinfield
Publication Name: New York Times
Date of Publication: May 11, 2012
Length of Article: 6 pages

New York City's public and charter school system are in question.  This article focused mainly on Explore, a predominantly African American charter school in Brooklyn.  The administration, parents, and even the students themselves are worried over the lack of racial diversity at the school.  92.7% of the student are African American, and the rest are either Hispanic or mixed; not coincidentally, 80% of the children there qualify for government subsidized lunch, a glaring sign of poverty and lack of diversity in the school.  Many of the parents and staff worry that the children will not know how to intermingle and connect with students of other races, once they have graduated from Explore.  Also, the administration and teachers at Explore are, in majority, white.  The difference in power among the races is especially clear at this school, and its founder, Mr. Ballen, feels that integration and diversity is a must among education for K-12.  When author Kleinfield interviewed white parents about not sending their kids to Explore, which is still an academically achieving school, they said they "did not want to be the one drop of cream in the coffee".
Segregation, whether purposeful or not, is still prevalent in today's society.  Many of the students in the article expressed wishes to being white, a red flag to many that the self-esteems and curiosities of the students are not being met by having an one-race school.  The parents and staff are right when they say something has to be done; it is only a matter of how and what now.
Personally, I completely agree with the staff, parents, and students in the article.  Going to a school like Gunn where there are people from all different backgrounds really has educated me in an unnoticeable way.  Racial diversity is important, because it teaches us about others and most importantly of all, it teaches tolerance.  If tolerance is not being taught at a young age, an intolerant generation will emerge.    

Name: Janine
Current Even Posting: #4
Topic: Education
Title of Article: Republicans in Senate Block Bill on Student Loan Rates
Author: Jonathan Weisman
Publication Name: NY Times

Date of Publication: May 8, 2012
Length of Article: 842

On Tuesday, Senate Republicans blocked consideration of a Democratic bill to prevent the doubling of some student loan interest rates, leaving the legislation in limbo less than two months before rates on subsidized federal loans are set to shoot upward. Since the start of this Congress in January of 2011, this has been the Senate Republicans' 21st successful filibuster of a Democratic bill. Republicans have blocked consideration of President Obama's full jobs proposal, as well as legislation repealing tax breaks for oil companies, helping local governments pay teachers and first responders, and setting a minimum tax rate for households earning more than a million dollars a year. Republicans say the measures were flawed and potentially harmful to the economic recovery.  But the student loan filibuster may be the highest-profile stalemate yet, because this one is not likely to be abandoned. Obama has elevated the issues by hammering Republicans on it for weeks. American students took out twice the value of student loans in 2011, about 112 billion dollars, as they did a decade before, after adjusting for inflation. Over all, Americans now owe about 1 trillion dollars in student loans. In 2010, such debt surpassed credit card debt for the first time.Before the vote, Senate Democrats arrayed college students to plead for a yes vote, including Clarise McCants, 21, a junior at Howard University in Washington who said she pulled herself out of a troubled neighborhood in North Philadelphia and relies on $13,500 in Stafford loans for her tuition.

Republicans have not always been so averse to closing the loophole that the Senate bill addresses. In 2004, when it emerged that John Edwards, then a vice-presidential hopeful, had classified himself as a “subchapter S corporation” to pay himself dividends rather than income, conservatives criticized him for avoiding payroll taxes.But the Democratic line of attack has been complicated by the House's actions. Shrugging off a veto threat, the House passed an extension of the subsidized rate last month, paid for with the preventive health care fund. Thirteen Democrats voted for the bill, making up for the 30 Republicans who voted no because they opposed federal subsidies for an interest rate that they believed should be set by market forces. Those Democratic defections put the House bill over the top and fortified Republican arguments that the Senate Democrats were now to blame for the stalemate. Republicans made clear they would go on offense, blaming Democrats if interest rates doubled July 1.

Name: Sameeha
Current Event Posting #4
Topic: Health
Title of Article: Panel recommends approving Truvada to prevent HIV infection
Author: Saundra Young
Publication Name: CNN
Date of Publication: May 10, 2012
Length of Article: 789 Words

Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committee has recommended that the drug Truvada be approved for prevention of the deadly virus, HIV. This drug has already been approved for treatment of AIDS, but it just now being considered as a pre-exposure pill (also called PrEP). Truvada is a pill manufactured by Gilead Sciences, Inc. and it is meant to be taken once a day in conjunction with other HIV drugs. Many health care professionals, AIDS advocates, and patients are worried that if the use of PrEP becomes widespread, condom use and other, more traditional, means of preventing HIV infection will decrease. Researchers do not know enough about the effects of these pills as a pre-exposure medicine yet to confidently say that it is “safe and effective for preventing HIV infections.”  One AIDS activist, Miki Jackson said, “to knowingly recommend a drug as powerful as Truvada with such serious side effects and give it to people who are perfectly healthy is frightening;” she is just one of many activists against the widespread use of Truvada as a prevention drug. However, the safety and efficacy data of the FDA’s clinical trials yielded positive results. In a study of homosexual men, researchers found 43.8% fewer infections in men who got the drug versus men who got the placebo. In another study, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Botswana, infection rates were reduced by 63% overall in healthy men and women who were at high risk of getting the infection. The best results were seen in a study of sero-discordant couples (one partner is HIV positive and the other is HIV negative) in Kenya. Researchers found a 62% reduction of infection in couples taking Truvada and a 73% reduction in those who took a combination of Truvada and another HIV drug, tenofovir.

Although many activists condemn the use of this drug as a prevention drug, the FDA seems to have significant evidence proving that the drug is effective. However, the drug does have some dangerous side effects like nausea, vomiting, dizziness, loss of appetite, diarrhea, liver and kidney toxicity, and loss of bone density. Despite all the opposition Truvada faces, it does have some supporters like Chris Collins, vice president and director of public policy for the American Foundation for AIDS research. He does not believe in limiting access to this drug and he thinks that with proper treatment and education, Truvada can have a large role in bringing HIV-infection rates down. Founder and CEO of Abounding Prosperity Inc., Kirk Myers, who is HIV positive himself, believes that without this drug, “desperation will continue to drive up statistics of new incidents.” The FDA has to take all the research into account, but they will soon make a decision about whether or not to approve this drug. 

Diet Drug Wins Panel's Approval

Kara

Posting: #4

Topic: Health

Title of Article: Diet Drug Wins Panel's Approval

Author: Andrew Pollack

Publication Name: New York Times

Date of Publication: May 10, 2012

Length of Article: 706 words

Arena Pharmaceuticals has developed a weight-loss drug that has recently been recommended for approval by government advisers. The majority of the FDA voted for the drug, lorcaserin, because the benefits outweigh the risks. Lorcaserin, if approved on June 27, would be the first prescription diet pill to be released since 1999. This pill would allow people to have a chance at battling obesity. However, this treatment was not approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2010. Lorcaserin was rejected because in some cases it caused tumors in rats and damaged heart valves. Arena explained that lorcaserin binds to the receptor on the cell surface to appease hunger, and at the same time has a weak bond to another receptor associated with valve damage. Also in 2010, lorcaserin only had a 3.3% benefit compared to the placebo, which was still under the FDA's standard for approval of 5%. However since then, Arena Pharmaceuticals has provided more data to support its medical developments and has a high chance of being approved this year. Also, since the number of obese people keeps rising, the FDA is looking to treat obesity, therefore these drugs are more appealing than they were two years ago. Roughly one-third of the adult population in the United States are obese and this high obesity will lead to heart complications, diabetes, and other diseases later in life. 

Although it may seem as if this is the solution to obesity, it is merely a "steppingstone to help us out" according to Dr. Eric I. Felner, pediatric endocrinologist who favored the drug. Also, the committee believes that the risks aren't that big, but neither are the benefits of lorcaserin. People are losing weight, which can be seen by some statistical evidence, but not enough to reach the FDA standards. For example, the risks of valve damage is minimal, but still too high for the FDA to accept and approve to be sold in public. Also, people treated with lorcaserin lost on average 5.8%, while the people treated with placebo lost 2.5%, which is only a 3.3% difference as mentioned above. This difference is still below the FDA standard for approval by 1.7%. All in all, this drug does not seem to have as many benefits as the FDA desires, but in times of need, the FDA may approve this drug to reduce the risks and cases of obesity. 

Name: Matt S                                                                                  Current Event Number: 4
Topic: Politics
Title of Article: New Proposal on Fracking Gives Ground to Industry
Author: John Broder
Publication Name: NY Times      Date of Publication: May 4th 2012
Length of Article: 810 Words / 2 Pages

Hydraulic Fracturing is the process of injecting highly pressurized water and hundreds of other chemicals deep into the ground in order the "fracture" the ground. This is done to extract oil and natural gas from various wells in the ground - it is a very profitable but at the same time, a very hazardous/toxic industry. On Friday May the 4th, the Obama Administration issued a proposed law the would dictate the way in which Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking) can be done. The original version of the law said that companies would be required to disclose the chemicals that they use in the process of hydraulic fracturing 30 days before they can actually start fracking. This was going to be put in place because recently, lots of reports of groundwater and surface water contamination have been filed that could possibly be a result of hydraulic fracturing - this was to be a safety measure in order to prevent/track the movement of the toxic chemicals moving through the environment. The change to the law states that the companies will  need to disclose the chemicals used only after they have began drilling/fracking. This changed occurred after a series of meetings that were held at the White House after the bill was originally proposed in February; lobbyists representing the oil industry and individual corporations such as ExxonMobil, XTO Energy, Apache, Samson Resources and Anadarko Petroleum. The companies argued that the original proposed rules would overlap state regulations, the cost of compliance, and the additional paperwork would slow the process which could potentially reveal trade secrets. Officials from the Department of the Interior said that from a scientific standpoint, whether the companies disclose the chemical contents 30 days before or a few days after drilling does not matter when it comes to tracing future contamination. Obama is very supportive of Hydraulic Fracturing, and as he puts it, it is a "boon to the economy" - one reason for his slightly more conservative standpoint on this issue is that recently he has been criticized by Republicans and oil industry officials on his energy policies.

Hydraulic Fracturing is a potentially-dangerous process if the waste contents are not disposed of correctly. It has sparked huge controversy in the past few years however it is undeniably a huge part of the economy - America runs on coal, oil and natural gas. The proposed bill would affect drilling operations on 700 million acres of public land and a majority of the 13,000 wells drilled each year by fracking which had been run by state laws for the past 60 years. Until now (or at least the very near future), companies never had to disclose any information about the toxic slurry that they inject into the ground in the process; this bill would greatly improve the way in which the contamination/pollution from Hydraulic Fracking is investigated. It would also integrate the state and federal reporting efforts, which would make it much easier to track illegal waste dumping and  the pollution that Hydraulic Fracking causes.

I am currently enrolled in AP environmental science, and based on what I have learned throughout the course of the year, I am comfortable with saying that this process is extremely harmful to the environment and should be banned altogether. I think that the monetary benefits we obtain through the process of Hydraulic Fracturing does not outweigh the negative impacts on our environment.

St. Louis is offering online LL.M

First Name: Derek
Current Event Posting Number: 4
Topic: Education
Title of article: Law School Plans to Offer Web Courses for Master’s
Author: Tamar Lewin
Publication Name: The New York Times
Date of Publication: May 8, 2012
Length of article: 758/ 1 pages

On Tuesday, the Washington University Law School announces that it would offer online Master of Law degree (LL.M) for layers studying abroad. This is done in partnership with 2tor, an education technology company which already has five similar programs. Kent D. Syverud, dean of the law school, believes there are demands overseas for online programs with the same quality and same tuition that they deliver in St. Louis. Washington University will share the revenues from the $48,000 program with 2tor, which will provide marketing, web platform and technical support, including staff members to monitor each live class and deal with any technical problems that arise. Tomea Mersmann, associate dean for strategic initiatives at St. Louis is positive that the plan will work out and meet most of the requirements. There are still downsides of this provision. The live discussions via webcam and self-paced online materials are not designed to prepare students for the bar exam. Legal education has been slow to shift to online classes largely because of American Bar Association rules which approved law schools may not count more than 12 credits of distance education toward a Juris Doctor degree. Students who earn a J.D. from a bar association-approved law school are eligible to take the bar exam nationwide. Gayle Murphy, the senior executive of the California committee of bar examiners, with the advent of online degrees their guidelines might be revisited.

            ` With the help the growing number of law schools offer online master’s degrees in specialized areas of law, like taxation, health care, estate planning, the environment or business transactions, students who can’t uproot their lives to come to the States will receive equal opportunity. Mr. Syverud hopes to enroll 20 students in the first group in January, and have four groups a year, totaling more than 100 students. But so far, the law schools offer nothing like the online computer-engineering classes at Stanford or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that draw thousands of students.