Cornfields vs. Oilfields (Infographic)

In light of recent remarks from Newt Gingrich in support of corn ethanol, as well as a new EPA report about the high environmental costs of corn ethanol, this infographic Online Schools approached us with couldn't be more timely.

Use of $4 generic drug programs could save society billions

Use of $4 generic drug programs could save society billions of dollars, study shows...

If all eligible patients filled their prescriptions through a $4 generic drug program, the societal savings could amount to nearly $6 billion, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) study. Published in the March 14 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, the study is the first to evaluate the potential national savings from a broad use of discounted generic medication programs that are available at many retail stores' pharmacies.

Alzheimer's Association 2011 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures

Also see -- 2011 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures

Why do we have Daylight Saving Time?

The study concluded that the move away from Standard Time to DST costs Indiana households an additional $8.6 million in electricity bills.

It turns out that, while we may use less indoor lighting when we have longer afternoon daylight hours, we offset any savings with increased air-conditioning and heating costs on hot afternoons and cool mornings. The study also estimated that the social costs of increased pollution emissions ranged from $1.6 to $5.3 million per year. "I've never had a paper with such a clear and unambiguous finding as this," said Matthew Kotchen, one of the paper’s authors, when he presented his findings at a National Bureau of Economic Research conference.

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Go here for the big view -- Strategic watchman

The Tire Iron and the Tamale

But you know who came to my rescue all three times? Immigrants. Mexican immigrants. None of them spoke any English....

During this past year I’ve had three instances of car trouble: a blowout on a freeway, a bunch of blown fuses and an out-of-gas situation. They all happened while I was driving other people’s cars, which for some reason makes it worse on an emotional level. And on a practical level as well, what with the fact that I carry things like a jack and extra fuses in my own car, and know enough not to park on a steep incline with less than a gallon of fuel.

But you know who came to my rescue all three times? Immigrants. Mexican immigrants. None of them spoke any English.

NASA's Top Priority: Mission to Mars

A showdown over the course of Solar System exploration has ended with a qualified victory for Mars.

NASA's planetary-science decadal survey, which sets mission priorities for 2013–22, firmly favours a mission to Mars over a rival one to Jupiter's icy moon Europa (see Nature 466, 168–169; 2010). But the decision marks the beginning of a much bigger battle: to secure the budget to lift the multibillion-dollar project off the survey's pages and into the heavens.

Learning How to Communicate with Someone Suffering From Alzheimer's Disease

Amplify’d from www.alzheimersreadingroom.com

As I thought about this I came to a simple conclusion. Instead of trying to change Alzheimer's World, instead of trying to fight Alzheimer's World, not only would I accept Alzheimer's World as a reality, I would go into Alzheimer's World and learn how to communicate effectively...

track your happiness using your i-Phone

What makes you happy?

Track Your Happiness.org is a new scientific research project that investigates what makes life worth living.

Using the site, you’ll be able to track your happiness and find out what factors – for you personally – are associated with greater happiness. You’ll also contribute to the scientific understanding of happiness.

Go here to get started.

Climate video games

“Global warming games” or “climate change games” show players how their personal choices affect the health of the environment. The games correlate certain behaviors with measures of environmental harm, such as carbon dioxide output, water usage, or energy consumption. The gameplay may vary but the goal is typically the same — to inform players about climate change and what they can do to stop it. CAP reviews several in this cross-post.

Make Way for Social Innovation

While the world financial crisis put the focus on innovation for economic growth, an emerging field aims to use innovation to solve social problems, at the same time providing a much-needed way to put a value on public investment in science.

Social innovation, or social entrepreneurism, has become a buzz among policymakers, scientists, and citizens throughout the world. One reason is that social challenges are becoming more numerous, important and urgent, and the cost of not solving them is increasing dramatically, Yuko Harayama deputy director of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry, said during a panel on social innovation at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Washington last week. “We’ll need to design and remodel institutions to handle social innovation,” she told delegates. “This is a challenge.”

READ IT AT SCIENCE/BUSINESS