News outlets across the country report on state health policy developments. The Los Angeles Times: "At a time when nearly 7 million Californians are uninsured, state regulators are trying to rein in discount health and dental plans that officials say frequently overstate benefits, offer little if any savings and promise access to doctors who aren't part of the system. Some of the discounters fraudulently market themselves as insurance, while preying on the poor, the elderly a...

Back To The Drawing Board Los Angeles Times Democrats may not attract any GOP support for comprehensive healthcare reform by stepping up efforts to limit the growth in healthcare costs. But they will make the benefits of the measure clearer to a skeptical public (2/8). Five Ideas For Getting Health Care Reform Back On Track USA Today The only reasons for delay are short-term and political. It's expedient to punt. But Democrats are delusional if they think they'll inoculate themsel...

Yesterday's piece started quite a discussion, and for the most part people agree that it's time for some new stuff in TwitterLand. That tells you that it's not only time, it's past time. In the past, there would have been a lot of comments about how the limits of Twitter are what make it so perfect. If you still believe that, watch this NSFW puppet "interview" with "Walt Mossberg" and "Steve Jobs." It's hilarious, and shows how the tech industry falls for what p...

Okay this time they say there really is a snowstorm headed for NYC. And I'm nestled in my West Village apartment, with almost no food in the fridge, thinking -- "What does this mean to me?" Last time I was caught in a snowstorm was in Cambridge, MA. I was staying at the luxurious Charles Hotel, after participating in a conference about the future of news put on by Shorenstein Center. I didn't worry about food, I assumed the hotel would take care of it, and I wasn't disappointed. A g...

Google may be planning its own version of Twitter, Madden NFL is coming to Facebook, and a new social network lets you create the next big thing in doughnuts.

Recall to affect more than 400,000 hybrid models, including the latest Prius, as Toyota seeks to fix a problem with the regenerative brakes, which help charge the cars' electric batteries.

Aggressive cost cuts trim Electronic Arts' quarterly loss, but lower game sales take a bite out of revenue. Meanwhile, the company lowers its forecast for current quarter.

New version of Apple's professional photography software adds more than 200 new features, including the popular Faces and Places introduced in iPhoto '09.

We're heading to the Googleplex to find out what's happening to Gmail. Earlier reports have pointed to Google taking on Twitter. Tune in to find out if that's true.

I had a hearing for my state disability a few weeks ago. I was represented by a lawyer and was prepped for the procedure. It took five minutes of giving my testimony before the judge stopped me and said, "I'm going to grant the claim." Three years and five minutes. The transcriptionist said, "Wait! I don't even have a page typed!" The judge said, "I think we set a record!" They all laughed. My lawyer never said a word and later told me that what transpire...

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Republicans this month will bring President Obama a set of ideas and a more modest health care plan.

Here's a tip you won't find in William Poundstone's new above-titled book: You can pay $17.81 for it here , or read his entertaining blog of the same name — with new entries appearing with increasing frequency, no doubt to...

"Mustard-colored Czech flower beads with genuine freshwater pearl-and-Swarovski crystal centers hang in pairs from silver-plated earwires." $19.

You know, something deep, deep inside of us knew that this was going to happen, but with Michael Jackson's untimely departure of Planet Earth back in the news thanks to Mr. Conrad Murray's arraignment, it seems like the glut of This Is It-related gear is even touching the typically straightforward tech industry. The drive you're weeping at above is the February 22nd-bound 500GB S2 Portable, complete with a paint job that can only be described as overkill. Jackson's final film is pre-loaded on...

The New York Times reports that the President's inivitation is for a half-day televised summit February 25. It is "a high-profile gambit that will allow Americans to watch as Democrats and Republicans try to break their political impasse." The move is seen as a way for Obama to force Republicans to help govern and to "put more scrutiny on Republican initiatives" on health care...

Cellular imaging offers a wealth of data about how cells respond to stimuli, but harnessing this technique to study biological systems is a daunting challenge. In a study published online in Genome Research, researchers have developed a novel method of interpreting data from single-cell images to identify genetic interactions within biological networks, offering a glimpse into the future of high-throughput cell imaging analysis...

The election of Dr John Adams, the Dean of the Dunedin School of Medicine, as Chair of the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) has been welcomed by the New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA). "Dr Adams has extensive experience in practice, academia and advocacy. He has consistently demonstrated strong leadership qualities, particularly in his role as a previous NZMA Chair," says NZMA Chair Dr Peter Foley. "This included a balanced and inclusive approach to managing issues, wh...

In the 7 Feb. 2010 issue of the journal Nature, scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), report that a genetic molecule, called Tbx3, which is crucial for many aspects of early developmental processes in mammals, significantly improves the quality of stem cells that have been reprogrammed from differentiated cells. Stem cells reprogrammed from differentiated cells are known as induced pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells...

Ewing sarcoma (EWS) is a bone tumor of unknown cellular origin that affects children and young adults. The protein CD99 is highly expressed in most cases of EWS, but its function in the disease is unknown. Now, Katia Scotlandi and colleagues, at SSN Emilia Romagna Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli IRCCS, Bologna, Italy, have identified a crucial role for CD99 in the development of EWS and suggest that targeting CD99 or its downstream molecular pathway may be a new therapeutic approach for EWS...

Tiny circles of DNA are the key to a new and easier way to transform stem cells from human fat into induced pluripotent stem cells for use in regenerative medicine, say scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Unlike other commonly used techniques, the method, which is based on standard molecular biology practices, does not use viruses to introduce genes into the cells or permanently alter a cell's genome...

Ã?ine Brady T.D., Minister for Older People and Health Promotion, noted a report 'Analysis of Irish Home Care Market' by the Irish Private Home Care Association (IPHCA) on home care services in Ireland together with the response by the Health Service Executive (HSE). The Minister said "maintaining older people at home with appropriate support has been the thrust of Government policy in recent years and has been significantly developed by the HSE through a number of community based supp...

Scientists have announced that they have identified for the first time definitive variants associated with biological ageing in humans. The team analyzed more than 500,000 genetic variations across the entire human genome to identify the variants which are located near a gene called TERC. The study in Nature Genetics published today by researchers from the University of Leicester and King's College London, working with University of Groningen in the Netherlands, was funded by The Wellcome Tru...

News outlets report on how the fate of the health care overhaul might affect health industry mergers and biotech firms. BusinessWeek: "With Congress' sweeping overhaul of the health system stalled, industry will seek its own answers to a push by government and the private sector to rein in costs, said Curtis Lane, senior managing director at MTS Health Partners, a New York-based equity fund." An aging population will further increase health spending, and "[o]ne solut...

The Minister for Health and Children Mary Harney, T.D. announced her approval of the HSE National Service Plan 2010. The Plan outlines how the HSE plans to deliver health and personal social services within its 2010 current budget of ?14.069bn. It projects service activity levels for 2010 which are broadly in line with 2009 levels. The Minister said "I welcome the fact that the Plan commits to treating people in a more effective way with no reduction in access to appropriate services...

Los Angeles Times: "Only months ago, supporters of the soda tax saw it as an idea whose hour was near. The sheer magnitude of the medical cost of obesity added urgency to the issue ... But opponents questioned any link between sugary drinks and obesity, and expressed concern about a slippery slope of taxes on other products. Proponents, meanwhile, thought a tax that drove down consumption while raising money for health care seemed like a natural with Democrats controlling Congress...

Fewer prostate cancers were detected by prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening in the U.S. than in a European randomized trial because of lower screening sensitivity, according to a new brief communication published online February 8 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. To compare the PSA screening performance in a clinical trial with that in a population setting, Elisabeth M...