Torvalds: Multiple Distributions “Absolutely Required”

With Linux traditionally coming in many, many flavours, a common call among some Linux fans – but mostly among people who actually do not use Linux – is to standardise all the various distributions, and work from a single “one-distribution-to-rule-them-all”. In a recent interview, Linus Tovalds discarded the idea, stating that he thinks

ASHP, Infectious Disease Specialists Take New Look At Vancomycin

A consensus statement recently published in the January 1, 2009 , issue of the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (AJHP), sheds new light on the appropriate use and monitoring of vancomycin in adult patients.

Vancomycin is one of the most-widely used antibiotics for the treatment of serious gram-positive infections involving methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ( MRSA ). The practice of routine monitoring and adjusting of drug dosages based on serum vancomycin concentrations has been the subject of intense debate for many years.

Protecting Against Parasites With A Good Night’s Sleep

Animal species that sleep for longer do not suffer as much from parasite infestation and have a greater concentration of immune cells in their blood according to a study published in the open-access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.

The question of why we sleep has long puzzled scientists. Brian Preston from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, led an international team of researchers who tested the theory that sleep improves immune function. He says, “Sleep is a biological enigma. Despite occupying much of an animal’s life, and having been scrutinized by numerous experimental studies, there is still no consensus on its function. Similarly, nobody has yet explained why species have evolved such marked variation in their sleep requirements (from 3 to 20 hours a day in mammals). Our research provides new evidence that sleep plays an important role in protecting animals from parasitic infection.”

Flu Dampens Web Users Enthusiasm For Sex, UK

Colds and flu have overtaken sex as the number one most viewed asthma trigger on the Asthma UK website for the first time since the updated site went live, 3 years ago.

There is no doubt that the recent outbreak of flu is behind the change, widely reported to have depleted workforces across the country in the first week back to the office. But this titillating stat does highlight what can otherwise be a serious problem for people with asthma with 90% reporting colds and flu as a trigger. Combined with current freezing temperatures, which three quarters of the 5.4 million people with asthma in the UK say makes their asthma worse, the current cold snap is a potential recipe for disaster.

Folic Acid Supplements Help To Prevent Certain Birth Defects For Which Hispanic Women Have Increased Risk

Twenty-one percent of Hispanic women are consuming enough folic acid to prevent certain birth defects before becoming pregnant, compared with more than 40% of white women, the North Denver News reports. Consuming adequate amounts of the dietary supplement before becoming pregnant can help prevent neural tube birth defects — serious defects of the spine and brain. According to the News, roughly 3,000 infants are born with neural tube birth defects annually. The effects of the conditions occur within the first few weeks of pregnancy, often before a woman is aware that she is pregnant.

Microsoft announces LittleBigPlanet clone

CES 2009: Microsoft has announced a new eeriely familiar title for the Xbox 360, dubbed Kodu, which will let players create their own simple games. Sound familiar? That’s probably because Sony recently did a similar thing with LittleBigPlanet on the PlayStation 3.

Not that LBP‘s game creation utilities were totally unique of course…grumble, grumbleGarry’s Mod…grumble, grumble. Consoles steall all their good ideas from PCs, it seems.

Intel warns of revenue dip

Intel’s showing at CES was overshadowed this week with the news that the chip giant was predicting a massive 23 percent drop in revenue.

CNet reports that Intel’s fourth quarter earnings report contains an $8.2 billion revenue expectation, which is a massive 23 percent down on year-earlier figures, and 20 percent lower than third quarter revenue.

With industry analysts claiming a 26 percent decline on consumer electronics sales year-on-year, it’s not hard to see why Intel is feeling the pinch. The current depressed economic climate worldwide is slowing spending, which is in turn decreasing demand – leading the channel to be filled with excess inventory that has to be discounted ever steeper. The excess inventory leads to fewer orders from the chip makers themselves, and it’s this slowdown in purchasing that is causing Intel some significant heartache this quarter.

Corsair DHX+ Mod Winners Annouced

The DHX+ memory mod competition, in conjunction with Corsair Memory, has finally come to a close with some excellent entries to redesign additional tops to the triple channel Core i7 memory kits.

And the three winners chosen by Corsair are:1st place goes to – Bradley Joslin for the Dominatrix. Corsair loved the modularity and level of detail in his design, and greatly respect the amount of effort that he put in!

2nd place goes to – Kyle Lunau for the xCM. Corsair thought his idea of being able to attach LGA775 cooling devices to the xCM was innovative

Sony CEO demos flexible OLED technology

CES 2009: Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer demonstrated the world’s first flexible OLED technology today during his keynote at CES.

Stringer recited the progress his company has made with the technology over the last couple of years and explained that the next step was to create a marketable screen with a “20 to 30 inch diagonal”.

However, rather than demonstrate the next logical step forwards, Stringer wanted to go one step further with a glimpse into the future.

AHIP, BCBS Say They Support Guaranteed Coverage For People With Pre-Existing Health Conditions, As Long As All Individuals Required To Obtain Cover

America’s Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association in separate announcements on Wednesday said that they would support guaranteed health coverage for people with pre-existing health conditions, as long as lawmakers also approve an enforceable requirement that all U.S. residents obtain coverage, the New York Timesreports.

Some congressional lawmakers on Wednesday said that they want to pass health care legislation next year that is in line with the health care proposal of President-elect Barack Obama. According to the Times, “The new position taken by the insurance industry — the industry that helped sink President Bill Clinton’s plan for universal health coverage in 1994 — could ease the way for passage of such legislation” (Pear, New York Times, 11/20). Both of the industry’s proposals are included in a health care overhaul plan released last week by Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) (CongressDaily, 11/19). Obama’s proposal would require insurers to cover people with pre-existing conditions but initially would apply the coverage requirement only to children.