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Study affirms that fluoridation prevents tooth decay

Tammy Hinojos Oral & Dental Healthcare

Researchers had to go all the way to chilly Alaska to reprove what they already believed to be true; water fluoridation does decrease the incidence of tooth decay and dental caries in growing children. The study, which was published in BMC Oral Health this month, reported that children with Medicaid in Juneau, Alaska, with no access to optimally fluoridated water had more dental caries-related procedures than young people who grew up before the Alaskan capital stopped its fluoridation program.

Bursting the bubble of driverless cars

Lucy Wallwork Transportation Technology & Automotive

Sorry to rain on the parade. Each of us is as susceptible to the romance of science-fiction visions of cities as the next person. These visions sell magazines, they provoke debate at the water cooler. They are a ubiquitous part of the visuals surrounding any "smart city" vision. The latest seductive images of our urban future is that of the driverless car. This is not to decry technological advances. However, there are good reasons to be suspicious about some of the claims about how driverless vehicles are going to transform our towns and cities.

Exploring digital literacy through websites in the ESL classroom

Sangeeta Johri Education

Today, because of digital literacy the world has turned into a small global village. Specifically, for ESL students, who are from different cultural backgrounds, communication becomes easy and convenient with digital literacy tools. To define digital literacy in terms of L2 learning, Meurant (2009) stated that digital literacy is "developing ability, confidence and readiness of non-native learners of English to use English as a second or foreign language to access, navigate, comprehend and contribute meaningfully to English language online resources and the online discourse of the online community."

For many hospitals, the fax machine is still the dominant information sharing…

Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied Healthcare

The fax machine has not gone anywhere in medicine. This so-called "ancient relic" is still operational and is considered a simple, yet powerful tool for those in healthcare, despite the other more modern modalities of exchanging information. According to newly released federal data, almost three-quarters of nonfederal acute care hospitals routinely use faxes to receive summary of care records from providers outside their system, according to the data released by the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health IT.

NMITS opportunity: A $2 billion small business IDIQ

Brenda Crist Civil & Government

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Mission Information Technology Services (NMITS) opportunity is a $2 billion-plus small business Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quality (IDIQ) contract designed to help NOAA meet its IT requirements. The NMITS RFP will be released in FY Q2 2019 and awarded in early 2020. It will have a five-year base period, five one-year option years and the ability to award tasks up to 60 months past the end of the ordering period — for a total of 15 years.

Alphabet subsidiary Makani is developing a wind-generating kite

Scott E. Rupp Waste Management & Environmental

"Go fly a kite" may soon have real-world positive outcomes rather than the derogatory statement it has been for years. If Google parent company Alphabet has its way, kites might be the future of the sustainable energy effort as one of its subsidiaries, Makani, is developing a concept known as an "energy kite." The kite looks more like a biplane with dual wings and a number of turbines that resemble propellers. The current version of the kite could generate up to 600 kilowatts of energy, which could power 300 homes.

Real-time crime centers grow in number

Bambi Majumdar Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

The Real-Time Crime Center for the Leon County Sheriff’s Office in Tallahassee, Florida, has begun to provide a high-tech boost to law enforcement in the Florida capital. While this is not the only Florida county to set up a center like this, it is one of the pioneers. It has taken time and a considerable federal grant to see the center finally happen. Intelligence analysts will be using data, technology, and analytics to help police officers in the field. As they go on, police analysts will build a portfolio of victims and wanted people to share with deputies in the field.

Study: Caregivers aren’t putting patient-reported symptoms into EHRs

Scott E. Rupp Healthcare Administration

When it comes to getting more good news into the electronic health record case file, the following story is not among them if the source and the research are to be believed. The following might also fall at the feet of providers, who may be at the heart of this hairy tale. Per the findings of a recent study published in the December issue of the peer-reviewed journal Quality of Life Research, primary care physicians "do not routinely put patient-reported symptoms regarding sleep, pain, anxiety, depression and low energy or fatigue into electronic health record systems."

Breakthrough in food poisoning research could save lives

Tammy Hinojos Food & Beverage

Don’t eat the flavor-blasted Goldfish crackers. Um, or the romaine lettuce. Put down the peanut butter. Oh and remember when we had to stop eating Blue Bell Ice Cream that one summer? Heaven help us. Food poisoning is no joke. One of the most common causes of food poisoning is a bacterium called Bacillus cereus, a nasty little sucker that secretes the toxins that cause vomiting and diarrhea. A team of researchers at the Australian National University has made an important discovery about how Bacillus cereus works that could help save the lives of patients with serious bacterial infections, particularly those suffering from food poisoning.

Military eyes ‘synthetic biology’ to track enemy movements

Karen Harrison Science & Technology

In an effort that sounds like it came straight from a science-fiction movie, the Department of Defense has announced it’s exploring the use of genetically altered marine life forms to track enemy subs. The effort is part of a $45 billion initiative begun in 2017 and dubbed the Applied Research for the Advancement of Science and Technology Priorities Program on Synthetic Biology for Military Environments. According to researchers at the Naval Research Laboratory, the program would use a relatively common type of sea life, altering its genetic makeup to make it "extra sensitive" to markers left by passing subs.

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