Beaver dams create healthy downstream ecosystems
Beavers, long known for their beneficial effects on the environment near their dams, are also critical to maintaining healthy ecosystems downstream. Researchers have found that ponds created by beaver dams raised downstream groundwater levels in the Colorado River valley, keeping soil water levels high and providing moisture to plants in the otherwise dry valley bottom. The results will be publis...Common gene version optimizes thinking -- but with a possible downside
Most people inherit a version of a gene that optimizes their brain's thinking circuitry, yet also appears to increase risk for schizophrenia, a severe mental illness marked by impaired thinking, scientists at the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have discovered. The seeming paradox emerged from the first study to explore the effects of variation in...Who owns software developed for your company?
Even when there is a written contract, the specifics of ownership of the intellectual property in the software are often no...CIO Leadership Series: Tanya Townsend, Saint Clare's Hospital
How many other information technology directors have an opportunity to start fresh with a new building, new network architecture, new people, and new processes? Not many, and when the still-to...Who owns what invention in the workplace?
A first question to be asked: Is there an employment agreement signed by the employee that includes the obligation to assign all inventions develo...Are guest worker programs causing backlash amid IT downsizing?
Last week, I heard two guests on CNBCs Kudlow Show discuss the American workforce and what was happening with various jobs. One gentleman was from the CATO Institute and the other was a Democratic representative (Pascrell) from New Jersey. The inference from the CATO Institute director that there is a shortage of skilled people in IT in the U.S. is very questionable. He is putting forth...The Downside of Asthma Medication
Could a common class of drugs used for acute asthma attacks be causing the very thing it aims to treat?// Perhaps, find researchers from Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital who studied the use of bronchodilators known as beta-agonists in asthmatics. Beta-agonists are the primary treatment used to relieve acute asthma attacks. The drugs come in ma...Clowns farewell in operating room, easing anxiety in children
Pediatric patients have a special need when it comes to surgery that has to be addressed differently. The success of the surgery depends on the co-operation extended by this unique patient. Therefore every attempt has to be taken to ensure their comfort. // You thought clowns only displayed their talent in the circus shows- Right? It has been found that a clown in the operating room m...NHS Downsizes Medication Goes Online
NHS Direct is a part of National Health Service (NHS) that offers support to patients over the phone. It is a telephone advice service which has decided// to cut hundreds of jobs as part of a restructuring programme. The organisation said that discussions were still going on about the issue. But unions fear that as many as 1,000 jobs would be lost at NHS Direct. This was set up eight ye...