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The secret to a long life at college campuses as bachelor, master, and doctorate degrees add up to lower blood pressure and may benefit the heart

A new research study conducted by a team managed by Eric Loucks of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, America, has found higher education may also be good for human heart.   Researchers found a correlation between times spent at college campuses and lower blood pressure.   The side effect of high blood pressure is mostly related to heart disease.

The Brown University’s study was based on sample of 4,000 participants for duration of 30 years and now being published in the online journal BMC Public Health (click here for a full report in .pdf format via biomedcentral.com). 

Researchers utilized measurement to blood pressure with each heartbeat by calculating the average systolic blood pressure (SBP) among the 4,000 men and women. 

The team of researchers found women with college degrees had SBP 3.26 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) lower than women with no-college degrees.   Men who had spent more times at college campuses had SBP 2.26 mmHg lower than men without college degrees.

A meat eater’s dilemma: too much eating red and processed meat (i.e., salami, ham, and sausages) could increase the chance of getting cancer

British Department of Health's officials have urged people to cut back on eating red and processed meat (i.e., salami, ham and sausages).   Healthy amount of red meat should consist of only 70g per day which is almost the same size of three slices of bacon or two pieces of sausages. 

Too much red meat means about 100g to 120g per day.  Citing the latest Britain Department of Health study, bbc.co.uk reported that the side effects of too much red meat include increases the chance of developing cancer by about 20% to 30% than the non-meat eater.

Revenue for the daily deals website Groupon skyrocketed to $760 million in 2010 compared to only $33 million in 2009

Groupon Inc. who provides daily deals on the best things to do, see, eat, and buy, has reached total revenue of $760 million in 2010, compared to only $33 million in 2009, reported wsj.com.  Groupon Inc. last year sales consisted of one third from foreign countries, while another two third of its 2010 sales were from American shoppers.

According the Groupon Inc. website, the company now serves 300 markets and 35 countries.  Groupon’s headquarter in Chicago employs over 1,000 people, with branches in Palo Alto (California) and in Europe and Latin America.

Citing an internal memo from Groupon CEO Andrew Mason, wsj.com reported that the company has 51 million subscribers to receive daily email for the best deals in town.  It is projected to reach 150 million subscribers by the end of 2011.

(Top banner by Groupon)

Google rewards high-quality sites and ranks those sites higher than low-quality sites (i.e., websites that copied content from others)

In the past several days content farm websites and copycat websites have suffered from loss of incoming traffic from Google.  According to the official Google blog, within the last 24 hours, the giant search company has cleaned up about 11.8% of queries from content farm websites that copied content from others.  With improved algorithms, Google reported that they move good sites up and move bad sites down from page one (Google’s best real estate).

The latest algorithms updates from Google will only be affecting websites and users located in America, while it will soon expand to other regions as well.

The advantages of boys and girls who lived on farms: kids who exposed to dirt and animal hair have lower asthma risk than city kids who lived in clean environments

A research study conducted at the University Children’s Hospital Munich has found kids exposed to a wide range of microbes (incl. dirt and animal hair) on farms have lower asthma risk than city kids who lived in clean environments.  The study noted that kids who lived on farms were 30% to 50% less likely to get asthma than other kids, reported webmd.com.

The study which is now in public hands and published by the New England Journal of Medicine also found farmers’ boys and girls were usually exposed to more bacteria and fungi environment than city kids who lived in more hygiene environment.  Farmer’s kids have better immune system to guard them against asthma and allergies.

Global box office hit a new record high of $31.8 Billion in 2010, dominated by Asia Pacific countries (incl. China) and 3-D movies (i.e., Avatar)

More people in Asian countries (incl. China) flocked into movie theaters in 2010.   Citing data from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), bloomberg.com reported that sales in Asia Pacific countries increased by 21%.  The total revenue for the year was $31.8 billion, an increase of 8% from 2009 sales.

Foreign audiences helped the American movie industry with revenue jumped by 13%, while revenue in America and Canada was unchanged from 2009.

There was booming for 3-D movies in 2010.  Since its release in December 2009, the all time box office and top 3-D movie “Avatar” has captured over $2.8 Billion in sales worldwide. 

While movie audiences continued to drop in America and Canada, bloomberg.com noted that 3-D movies generated $2.2 billion in sales in 2010, or 21% share of revenue in North America.

(Movie poster: Avatar)

Giant mobile device company Apple to showcase its new iPad Two (the second generation) which runs on GSM and CDMA-based networks on March 2, 2011 in San Francisco

Since the first generation Apple iPad went on sale during the first week of April 2010, the giant mobile device company had sold over 15 million units of iPads.   Several major tech news outlets (incl. BoomTown) reported that Apple will unveil its new iPad Two which runs on both GSM and CDMA-based networks on March 2, 2011, in San Francisco. 

Unofficial photos show the new iPad 2 will be slightly thinner than the current iPad.  The iPad 2 will have a better display for touch screen.  It will also be equipped with a front-facing tiny camera for Facetime video streaming.   The new iPad will also has a new brain and faster microprocessor which will be  powered by Qualcomm’s computer chips.

(Photos: Apple iPad first generation/left and unofficial iPad 2 by gizmodo/right)

The Secret of Longevity: a study of 388,122 adults older than 50 (age 50 to 71) has found a solid link between a diet rich in fiber (i.e., whole grains, fruits, and vegetables) and a longer life

A study conducted by the National Institutes of Health and AARP and based on 219,123 men and 168,999 women ages 50 to 71 has found a diet rich in fiber could reduce the risk for dying from cardiovascular, infectious, and respiratory.  The research study was conducted for duration of nine years.

Men who get higher consumption of diet rich in fiber (i.e., whole grains, fruits, and vegetables) also reduced the chances of dying from cancer.

The study also noted that adults older than 50 who consumed a lot of fiber were usually healthier.  This group of populations usually was more educated and got more time to exercise.

An ability to speak English, Chinese, French, and Spanish, or more than one language helps brain work-out and to function properly and also helps a person to develop multi-tasking skills

A study conducted by Ellen Bialystok of York University in Canada found a person with bilingual skills could help them to slow down brain disease in later life.  The study was presented during the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting this past week. 

An ability to speak more than one language almost equals to brain work-out.   Better language skills will also help a person to develop multi-tasking skills. 

Bialystok also believed that learning a new language at age of 40, 50, or 60, will help brain to remain active and also will help the brain to function properly.  Citing the study, AFP wrote “… people who spoke more than one language were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease 4.3 years later and reported the onset of symptoms 5.1 years later than monolingual patients.” 

American underage drinkers: 45% kids who drink alcoholic beverages (i.e., beer and hard liquor) are getting the alcohol from their parents, adult family member, or just took the liquor from their home without approval

A study conducted by America’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that 45% American kids get alcoholic beverages from their parents, family members, or just took it directly from their home. 

The agency believed that a total of 709,000 young kids aged 12 to 14 are drinking alcoholic beverages (i.e., beer and hard liquor) on regular basis, reported HealthDay News. 

The government agency also found about 200,000 kids (30%) get alcoholic beverages from their parents and family members.  Then, another 100,000 kids (15%) just took the liquor from their home without adult permission.

Paperwork Error: a wrong kidney went to a wrong patient at organ transplant program at University of Southern California (USC) University Hospital in Los Angeles

University of Southern California (USC) University Hospital in Los Angeles has stopped kidney transplants since late January 2011 after a wrong patient received a wrong kidney.  The wrong kidney was transferred into a wrong patient while luckily the kidney was unharmed to the patient.  Citing Bryan Stewart, a spokesman for OneLegacy, latimes.com reported that the wrong kidney’s blood type was O and universally compatible blood type to the new recipient.

Due to the mismatched organ, California’s Department of Public Health and the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) have both started investigations into the latest incident at USC University Hospital, reported latimes.com.  At the same time the USC’s organ transplant program has stopped their activities and transplants could go back to normal as soon as this weekend.

America’s top 11 cities with the highest scores for crime risk index (incl. property and violent crime), include St. Louis, Atlanta, Birmingham Alabama, Orlando, Detroit, Memphis, Miami, Baltimore, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and Cleveland

Citing data from America’s FBI, Onboard Informatics compiled scores for crime risk index for cities in America and ranks those cities in terms of crime risk.  Those crime risk index data consists of property crime (i.e., burglary and theft) and violent crime (i.e., murder and robbery).  

The index used standardized score of 100 as the average crime rate, while scores over 100 are equal to higher than the average level.  Those crime rates data was recently published by U.S.News & World Report and later reported via yahoo.com. 

While crime rates in America have decreased significantly since the early 1990s and the latest scores for crime risk show several cities still have the highest scores than others. 

Based on the Onboard Informatics dataset, here is a list of top 11 most risky cities in America and its index scores in parenthesis ():

1. St. Louis (530)
2. Atlanta (484)
3. (tie) Birmingham Alabama (380)
4. (tie) Orlando (380)
5. Detroit (369)
6. Memphis (361)
7. Miami (346)
8. Baltimore (339)
9. Kansas City, MO (337)
10. (tie) Minneapolis (331)
11. (tie) Cleveland (331)

Hospital’s readmission rates were higher for blacks than other races: 24.8% for blacks, 22.6% for whites, versus average rates of 20%

A public health policy study at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston found races matter in readmitted to hospital.   The study found blacks have higher percentage to being readmitted to the hospital.  

Citing the study, HealthDay News reported the average rate for hospital’s readmission was about 20%.  As it differed by their races, the study noted readmission rates for blacks were 24.8% and for whites were 22.6%.  

The research also noted that hospitals serving for mostly minority patients have 23% higher chances to readmit their patients within 30 days after check-out.

Facebook Phone: mobile device manufacturers to use Facebook brand and integrate handsets with social networking including INQ’s Cloud Touch and Cloud Q and HTC's ChaCha and Salsa

The world largest social networking Facebook is working closely with phone manufacturers to produce handsets and devices with one-touch feature to help users better access to the social site.   According to Facebook blog, phone manufacturer INQ will launch two new devices running on Google Android mobile operating system, dubbed as INQ Cloud Touch and Cloud Q.

Another phone manufacturer HTC will also start selling two new mobile devices running on Android OS, dubbed as HTC's ChaCha and Salsa.

The new Facebook branded mobile devices will help users to sign-on and log-out easily.  Users can access all Facebook features from their mobile devices with one-touch to update friends, upload photos and videos, and give comments.

(Screenshot: Facebook)

The new rising sun in Far East: China’s gross domestic product (GDP) passed Japan’s GDP and now the Great Wall nation is the number two economy superpower in the world

Citing Japanese Cabinet Office, bloomberg.com reported that China’s $5.88 trillion gross domestic product (GDP) has passed Japan’s $5.47 trillion GDP in 2010.  China is now the world number two economy superpower. 

According to bloomberg.com, Japan economy shrunk at 1.1% in the last quarter of 2010, while economists previously estimated Japan’s GDP to drop about 2%. 

Economists predicted that Japan economy will recover in 2011 as oil prices have returned to a normal level.  At the same time there is increasing demands for Japanese exporters to Asia’s countries, including as world’s top automobile producers with Toyota brand and other hardware products.

Payless Apple “iPhone Nano” is coming soon to phone stores near you, half the size and half the price of iPhone generation 4

In order to reach larger marketplace worldwide, wsj.com reported that iPhone is developing smaller iPhone.  The new iPhones are more affordable price for general users.  This new line of iPhones could be dubbed as “iPhone Nano” which is almost similar to music player iPod Nano.

The current iPhone has price list at about $625 per unit, as per wsj.com.   With a two-year data plan contract, America’s phone carriers (i.e., AT&T and Verizon) sold it for $199. 

As Apple needs to maintain market share and grab more users from Google Android, Windows Phone 7, and RIM BlackBerry, the new iPhone Nano could be free for regular users as phone carriers will be easily subsidize all the hardware cost as long as phone subscribers are required to sign up for a two-year contract.

America’s hospitals and medical businesses change policies from no smoking in hospitals and workplaces to stop hiring smokers

Job seekers will have difficult time to submit their applicants to hospitals and medical businesses in major states in America including in Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and several others.  Medical institutions in those states have stopped hiring smokers since last year, reported nytimes.com.

The new hospital policies cited top reason to stop hiring smokers is that the increasing health care cost for smokers.   Since the 1990s most hospitals and medical businesses in America have established strict rules for not allowing smoking on company grounds.  At the same time, institutions also proposed cessation programs, but many programs have limited success to help smokers to quit.  Experts believe that stop hiring smokers may encourage healthier living for job applicants.

In order to help physicians to spot breast cancer in early stage, America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says okay to 3-D breast scan made by Hologic

America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves 3-D mammogram system made by Hologic Inc.  While the new system may cause more radiation, 3D breast scan could help doctors to spot breast cancer in early stage. 3-D scan image will offer doctors with a more detailed view at the breast. 

FDA also advised that the current 2-D mammograms systems are still the easy way to detect and diagnose breast cancer.  However, with additional 3-D image physicians will be able to discover more early stage cancers than the 2-D system, as reported by reuters.com.

Deep Love: Nokia gives a ton of hugs and kisses to Windows Phone 7 operating system just in time to celebrate the Valentine’s Day

Tech bloggers and Wall Street business news outlets have been speculated for a week that Nokia CEO and former Microsoft employee, Stephen Elop, will make a big announcement this week to mark his company collaboration with Steve Ballmer’s company.  Nokia will give a ton of hugs and kisses to Windows Phone 7 operating system just few days before celebrating the Valentine’s Day.

While the world largest phone maker still captured about 38% of world smartphone market share in 2010, other mobile operating systems (incl. Apple iOS and Google Android) have taking away a large market share from Nokia in recent years.  Nokia needs more powerful operating system to fight Apple and Google.  Microsoft Windows Phone 7 operating system appears to fit the bill.

2010 Worldwide Smartphone Market Share: Nokia’s Symbian 37.6%, Google’s Android 22.7%, RIM’s BlackBerry 16.0%, Apple’s iOS 15.7%, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile/Phone 4.2%

The world's top research company Gartner just released their worldwide smartphone market share for year 2010.  The research company believed most of the new growth in smartphone occurred in Western Europe and North America.

While Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android received most of frontpage’s business news during the year, Nokia’s Symbian still captured the largest market share with 37.6% in 2010, compared to 46.9% share in 2009 (a drop of 9.3% share).  

Google’s Android has moved up and captured the second place.  The search giant company has taken most of Nokia’s Symbian customers.  Android captured 22.7% share in 2010, compared to 3.9% share in 2009 (an increase of 18.8% share).  

RIM’s BlackBerry retained 16.0% share, compared to 19.9% share in 2009 (a drop of 3.9% share).  

Apple’s iOS was at a stable level with 15.7%, compared to 14.4% share in 2009 (an increase of 1.3% share).  

In late October 2010, the giant software company Microsoft introduced its new operating system for mobile phone dubbed as Windows Phone 7.  Microsoft’s Windows Mobile/Phone has only 4.2% share in 2010, compared to 8.7% share in 2009 (a drop of 4.5% share).  

 
(Table: Gartner)

 

America’s Department of Agriculture (USDA) found modern eggs are lower in cholesterol but higher in vitamin D

Based on sample of eggs from 12 places around America, a latest study conducted by the Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) at a laboratory at Virginia Tech University, found modern eggs are lower in cholesterol which is about 14% less than old record.  The agency also believed modern eggs contain more vitamin D.  The latest nutrition facts show modern eggs contain over 64% of vitamin D than previously thought.

With the new nutrient data, the agency has urged eggs producers to update their eggs nutrition labels.  These new labels will be placed in egg cartons, in wholesale markets, in supermarkets, in schools, and in foods menus. 

The side effects of junk foods (i.e., processed foods, fast-foods) and kids with lower IQ

A medical study conducted by a team of researchers at Pauline Emmett of the School of Social and Community Medicine at the University of Bristol in Britain and published via Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, found kids who consumed a lot of processed foods since at toddlers age could result in slightly lower IQ in later life. 

The study was based on dataset collected from 14,000 people born in western Britain in 1991 and 1992. Kids were monitored since they were at age of three, four, seven, and eight and a half, reported france24.com as per AFP news.

According to the study, kids who consumed processed food averaging 101 points in their IQ test, while kids who consumed healthy food averaging 106 points in their IQ test. 

Feed Over E-mail (FOE) is being used to transmit news and sensitive information via e-mail and escape censorship in countries such as China, Egypt, Middle East, etc.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors, who supervises networks such as popular International radio station Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, has revealed that the agency has attempted to transmit news and important information into countries with restricted censorship. 

In several tests, the agency used a technology which also known as Feed Over E-mail (FOE) to avoid censorship, reported foxnews.com.  For example, the agency was able to deliver news and data via e-mail into inboxes in Hong Kong and China without any restrictions from local officials.

The side effects of working moms on children’s body mass index (BMI) as children from working moms tend to be chubbier than non-working moms

Using sample of 900 children in grades 3, 5, and 6 in 10 America’s cities, a team of researchers at American University, Cornell University, and the University of Chicago, found that children from working moms tend to be chubbier than non-working moms. 

Data for moms and children were collected for a duration moms worked outside and for duration from birth to 6th grade (about 12-year old).   Researchers analyzed children’s body mass index (BMI) and believed that long-hours working moms may link to the increase of child's BMI. 

Citing the study which is being published in the January/February issue of the Journal Child Development, healthland.time.com reemphasized that moms' busy working schedule could impact on kids’ body fat and childhood obesity.

Search engine giant Google received over 75,000 job applications in one week as many smart and creative people want to work at the most desirable company in California’s Silicon Valley technology clusters

The world top search engine company Google had the biggest week ever as it collected over 75,000 job applications from around the world in one week period, as reported by bloomberg.com.   The company latest quarter revenues also satisfied most of Wall Street analysts.   While in the next two months the company is in a speedy mode to replace its CEO from Eric Schmidt to its founder Larry Page.  The search engine giant also needs more talented people to fight Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft’s Bing decision engine. 

According to bloomberg.com, the Silicon Valley-based company currently had over 24,400 workers.  After the recent quarter market report in January, the company also announced that it has a big budget to hire over 6,000 new employees in 2011.

Birth rate for teenage mothers (age 15 to 19) dropped to a record low in California, as Latinas have the highest birth rate at 50.8 births for every 1,000 teens in 2009

The latest data from California Department of Public Health (CDPH) show there were 47,811 births to teenage mothers for age group of 15 to 19 in 2009, compared to a total of 51,704 births in 2008.  The ratio of teen birth rate was 32.1 births for every 1,000 teens in 2009, compared to 35.2 births for every 1,000 teens in 2008.

The latest CDPH’s data also divided among all races. Hispanic teens, Latinas, have the highest birth rate at 50.8 births for every 1,000 teens in 2009.  The second highest birth rate was African-American teens at 37.0 births for every 1,000 teens in 2009.   The rate for White teens was 11.9 in 2009 and the rate for Asian/Pacific Islander teens was 8.5 in 2009. 

According to latimes.com, health experts from all around America believed that sex education programs in California may have helped to lower teen birth rates in the last two decades.

 
(Chart: LA Times)

America’s mobile phone operating system share from Q4-2009 to Q4-2010: it is now a three-way draw between BlackBerry RIM, Apple iOS, and Google Android

There is currently no winner in the race to capture the largest share of America’s mobile phone operating system.  In recent months majority of America's phone users had changed their handsets to smartphones.  According to Nielsen Company, for Q4-2010 (October to December 2010), BlackBerry RIM captured 27% share, Apple iOS had 28% share, and Google Android had 27% share.

 
(Chart: Nielsen Company).  

Exercise regularly (i.e., moderate aerobic exercise and walking) can prevent memory loss for older adults

Older adults who exercise regularly (including moderate aerobic exercise and walking) can help them to reverse memory loss.  According to a research study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and reported by WebMD Health News, moderate exercise could increase the size of hippocampus which is a critical part of human brain.  Researchers found older people who exercise regularly will increase the volume of brain’s hippocampus by at least 2%.