Apple is Now Betting $700 Million on Sapphire Screens

        The competition between Apple and Android has been heating up. People are starting to become more interested in Samsung's larger phones, and the Android operating system, that has many different versions, each named after a dessert. Apple, still has their signature iPhone, which has the iOS operating system, but in order to attract new customers, and keep their current followers, they will have to step up their game. So, their newest idea is to make the phone screens out of sapphire. This sounds rather strange at first, because sapphire is well known for a large range of colors, specifically blue. But, when sapphire is pure, like the synthetic sapphire that apple is planning to use, it is clear. Apple wants to do this, because they think that using a stronger and harder material would make the screens of their iPhones more durable, and harder to scratch, or damage. However, because sapphire is more expensive to make than Gorilla Glass, the material that Apple used to use for their screens, it will add to the cost of the iPhone, which would make Apple one of the higher end phone brands. Personally, I think that Apple is making a mistake, with their new idea of sapphire screens. In comparison to the Gorilla Glass, which costs $3 to produce, sapphire costs $16. And in order to make sure that the company is still making a profit, the only thing that they really can do, is raise the price of the phone. This could be a huge problem for Apple, because Android is selling phones that range from lower prices to higher prices, so people still have other options if they want a phone with the Android operating system. With Apple, people can't get the new technology provided with enough data storage on their their phone, unless they want to pay a much higher price for a phone with a sapphire screen. So, I personally hope that Apple upgrades their operating system too, not just the physical features of the iPhone, because otherwise, they might lose their loyal customers, as well as their profits.

January 5th

Degrees of Value: Making College Pay Off is an article which talks about how college is not helping students become successful in future life. For many families, college tuition results in huge debt, and few good job opportunities. One example of this is that there is one thirty year old who is currently earning $11 more from his job than he would have if he didn't go to college. This is quite a disappointment in American education. Although colleges are not helping students, they are increasing their tuition costs much faster than parent incomes are growing.The average student debt for college tuition is around $29,000 and families are suffering from all this debt, and then, their children earn little money. So, something has to be changed so that American schooling becomes better. Some things that colleges are trying to do, are online courses, which are a much cheaper way to receive a proper college education from a good college. Top college teachers are now giving lectures that can be listened to online. This is kind of like Khan Academy, and nonprofit organization where educational lectures are posted. So far, the Georgia Institute of Technology has made an online program, where a college student can get a masters degree, for the price of $7000, in comparison to $29,000  for normal college tuition. But, some people are worried that this will ruin a person's college experience. Online college means no parties and fun. So, as a result, colleges have come up with 'hoteling', in which college students study their courses, while enjoying themselves in vacation spots like Grand Cayman. But, the ultimate college experience is different for everybody. If America wants to lower the percentage of college graduates don't require a college degree for their job, it has to find a way to make a better education for its future workers.

December 18th

Antibiotics of the Future: There are tons of different kinds of bacteria out there, and most of them are vaguely similar to us. When I say this, I don't mean that bacteria have faces and emotions and feelings or anything like that, but I mean that the same theory of survival of the fittest applies to bacteria as well. For bacteria, there are all different sorts of medicines that doctors are creating to fight off against bacteria, so it's only the strongest bacteria which will survive. If survival of the fittest happens for bacteria as well, that means that the bacteria will become tougher, and capable of withstanding current medications. So, doctors have some new ideas on how to make medicine stronger. One way is by using traces of silver in medicine due to silver's microbial properties, meaning that it would be easier to penetrate the outer layer of certain bacteria. Another possible way to improve antibiotics is by enduring that the antibiotic remains in the blood stream, so that the bacteria is killed, and the patient doesn't have to take as many doses. There's also a few new ideas that doctors have which may be effective in killing bacteria. These ideas include confusing the bacteria that are attacking the body, and mapping the bacteria's genome to make antibiotics which could successfully kill the bacteria. But, these new ideas still have to be refined. For instance, the antibiotics that confuse bacteria give patients of getting gastrointestinal problems, or C. difficile, a severe diarrhea which is lethal to its victims. Doctors are creating more efficient ways to make people feel better when they are sick, but doctors still have some refining to do with their techniques so that patients don't get sick from the medical practices. 

December 14th

Audi RS7 Is A True Fair-Weather Friend talks about the 2014 Audi RS7. This is a bright red German sports car which has a fastback roofline, 21-inch forged wheels, and much more. This car is one of the ultimate sports cars out there, starting at $104,900, but it has one main flaw, like many other sports cars is its performance in the cold. When it is cold outside, there is a lack of grip and traction, so when the car is being used on ice, or when the wheels are icy, or even when it is just really cold outside, this car would look silly, due to its lack of grip. When driving this car out in the cold, it is not even half as cool as it is when driving it in normal weather. When the weather is suitable, this car has 560 horsepower, 5700-6600 rpm, a 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds, and it takes 11.6 seconds for it to reach the distance of a quarter mile. The driver can also conveniently switch between seven different speeds in the seven speed gearbox, as well as using an eight speed torque converter, which helps when driving the car during a race. This car can shift seamlessly and fast. During sharps turns, this car is also capable of throwing 85% of the engine torque to the back, and 70% to the front. This car is a monster out on the tracks, except for when it's cold and snowy outside.

December 4th

For the Starving, 'Eat Local' isn't an Option talks about how eating local has constantly been a goal for Americans. Everybody stresses eating food from local farmers. But, Americans have never been "local." Ever since colonial America, people have eaten local produce, but alongside the local produce, there are imported goods such as rum, wine, molasses and sugar. So, a US citizen's diet has never been "entirely local." But, due to recent studies, people are finding out that although most people believe it is healthier to eat local foods, it is actually not very effective for the environment, or for the poor. Most long distance food shipments also only contribute a little bit to the environmental impact made on the world from growing food. 25% of America's crop is imported, so no matter how hard we try, it would be difficult to eat a 'local only' diet. And, this idea of eating "local foods' is diverting our attention from world hunger. Although some people live in societies where there is food that it available to everyone, there is also places, where food is not openly available at markets or stores. So, people who are starving due to lack of food are being ignored because of our efforts to turn away from eating imported goods. There are 842 million participants in the United Nations World Food Program , and 827 million people in the program live in developing countries where reasonable amounts of the population are undernourished. If you calculate the amount of money required to help feed just the starving children in the world, it adds up to $3.2 billion. So, Americans should put their minds to helping these starved people out there who do not have food available, instead of trying to eat food that is made locally, because no matter what you eat for dinner, whether it is local or not, it is still going to be dinner, one meal that you eat on one day of your life.  

November 29th

After the ICU, More Patients Face a Second Recovery: In hospitals, doctors have created more sophisticated treatment for sick patients in ICU. When patients go to the hospital, they get the treatment that they need, but after they come home, they have to go back to the hospital again, but for symptoms of something that doctors call post-intensive care syndrome. This illness is now becoming more common in ICU patients. While in ICU at a hospital, a patient may be constantly attached to ventilation systems, heavily sedated, or there may be medicine constantly circulating throughout their blood system, from an IV. Although all of these forms of treatment help a patient survive, they also may cause a temporary brain injury doctors call "ICU delirium." ICU delirium is basically just a cognitive or brain dysfunction that occurs for up to 80% of the survivors of ICU. These cognitive and brain dysfunctions include post-traumatic stress, depression, muscle weakness, and more. Now doctors are realizing that ICU patients most likely need treatment similar to the treatment used for recovery from heart attacks and strokes, so that the patient does not end up with a permanent impairment. Now, the ICU Program has been created in Vanderbilt, where ICU patients go through a 12-week rehabilitation program, so that instead of going home, and being a couch potato due to the inability to move, the patient goes home, feeling better, and being able to move around independently. Although it make take a while, each step in recovery from ICU treatment is important.

November 21st

Genetic Testing Leaves More Patients Living In Limbo
         Due to new technological breakthroughs, scientists have started using genetic testing more often. For example, if a patient has symptoms for a disease, but a doctor can't figure which disease, they may do a genetics test to see if it is a hereditary disorder. But, the problem is, that doctors are telling patients that they may have dangerous genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis, although the patient shows absolutely no symptoms. After the doctors find out the possibility of a patient having a genetic disease, they track the patient for a while to make sure that the proper treatment is given. But, the problem is, that doctors are finding out that patients may have hereditary disease, but the patient shows no symptoms, so the doctors do not know whether to give the patients treatment, or track them and only treat the patient once they show symptoms for the disease. This is a major problem for many families. One example is four year old Laura Inestroza. She is believed to have a high chance of having cystic fibrosis, and the doctors found this out from her genetic test. But, when the doctors did another test, called the sweat test, which checks for the amount of chloride in your perspiration, the results turned up saying that she didn't have cystic fibrosis. This is an example of how the genetic testing is effecting families badly, because the Inestrozas don't know whether to tell people that their daughter is sick with cystic fibrosis or not, which is a problem when sending a child to day care, or any place where people need to know about a child's health problems. So, now due to genetic testing, there are many doctor patients forced to sit in waiting, and wait until they get symptoms for the diseases that they are diagnosed with from genetic testing. Although new medical technology can be effective in many ways, genetic testing isn't helping doctor patients very much at this point of time.