April 4, 2012

For class on April 5, 2012

1. More autism discoveries

Scientists are one step closer to discovering more about autism. They have found several gene mutations that greatly increase the odds of developing autism. A possible reason of autism developing is if the father is over the age of 35.

2. Election update

Now that most Republicans are either supporting or have come to the realization that Mitt Romney will most likely with the Republican primary, we can actually start comparing him to Obama. The current president has received an increase in approval ratings over the past few months so it will be interesting to see the outcome of the election.

3. Patent infringement

Facebook just accused Yahoo of infringing on patents, when just last month it was the other way around. Microsoft and Blackberry have been other companies to recently have been caught in patent fights.

4. Yahoo job cuts

Two thousand employees will be laid off at Yahoo, which was announced on Wednesday. IT is due to a restructuring effort by new CEO Scott Thompson, who joined the company from PayPal.

5. Smartphones for medical use

Smartphones have come a long way in the past ten years, and research shows that Americans are now using their phones for medical purposes. Possible uses include searching for medical symptoms, using apps to keep track of medication use, and to help manage personal health.