Looking to Robots and Other Technology to Improve Health Care

An organization called the World Future Society publishes a yearly report about

how technology, the economy and society are influencing the world. Tim Mack

heads the World Future Society. He says medicine is one area of growth. Mr. Mack

says the fields of nanotechnology, biotechnology and information technology are

working together to create new ways to help patients. These include better ways to

provide medicine and identify disease without invasive operations. Mr. Mack also

says developments in artificial intelligence could lead to a future where disabled

patients could be cared for by a voice-activated robot.The World Future Society

also publishes The Futurist magazine. Every year it examines developments in

technology and other areas to predict the future. The magazine released the top ten

predictions from the Outlook 2011 report. Several of the predictions dealt with

technology. The report said Internet search engines will soon include both text and

spoken results. It said television broadcasts and other recordings could be gathered

using programs developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent

Analysis.Outlook 2011 also examined refuse collection. It said industrial nations

will send much more waste to developing countries. This will cause protests in

those countries. In about fifteen years, developing countries will stop accepting

foreign waste. This will force industrial nations to develop better waste-to-energy

programs and recycling technologies.The report also had a prediction about

education. It said young people use technologies for socializing as well as working

and learning. So they solve problems more as teams instead of competing. In this

way, social networking is supporting different kinds of learning outside the

classroom. The World Future Society also predicts that robots will be able to carry

out mental commands from human beings. Scientists have shown that individuals

can type by using their brains without physically touching computer keyboards. In

the near future, experts say brain e-mailing and "tweeting" will become more

common.
 World Digital Library (VOA)

Name a website where you could find old pictures of camels carrying people to

Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and books about ancient Aztecs in Mexico? It is all found in

the World Digital Library. Its collection is available on the Internet. The library has

8,000 items, from whole books to ancient writings to music and photographs.

There are 170 partners in 79 countries sending material to the World Digital

Library. Partners include national or university libraries, museums and other

cultural organizations. The librarian of the United States Congress, James

Billington, launched the WDL in 2009. John Von Oudenaren is the director of the

library. He says Mr. Billington wanted it to include materials that are both

interesting and important. Every item is explained in the six official languages of

the United Nations -- English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, and also

Portuguese. Since 2009, 25 million people have visited the website from 250

places. The greatest number is from Spanish-speaking countries. John Von

Oudenaren says users include schools, researchers and anyone interested. He was

especially happy to hear from one teacher in New York City. She said it was
wonderful to have a website that people around the world could find interesting

and important items. Musa Murawih is a researcher for the WDL from Sudan. He

works with all the materials that are in Arabic. Musa Murawih believes the library

provides tools for understanding especially among Arabs, Muslims and the United

States. Anyone may search the World Digital Library by subject, time period, kind

of document or area of the world. The website is www.wdl.org.

Apple and the F.B.I. Court Battles Continue (VOA)

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI has taken legal action in

the American court system against the technology company Apple. The case

involves an Apple iPhone 5c. The smartphone belongs to killer Syed Farook.

Farook and his wife murdered 14 people in San Bernardino, California, on

December 2. They were killed in a gun battle with police later the same day.

Investigators found an iPhone Farook used. Farook was employed by the San

Bernardino County Department of Public Health. They own the Farook’s iPhone

5c. The Public Health Department gave the FBI permission to collect information

from the phone for their investigation. But the phone is locked with a secret

password. This phone has a built-in tool that will remove all its information if the

password is not correct after trying ten times. Last month, a judge in Riverside,

California, ordered Apple to create software to unlock the phone. The judge’s

order was supported by the FBI. Apple CEO Tim Cook claims the order violates

Apple consumers’ privacy rights and sets a bad example. He says it could take

away the freedoms and liberty that government is meant to protect. Cook considers
the software too dangerous to create. Once created, he argues, criminals could use

the software to unlock iPhones and steal private information. This case may be

argued for many months and years to come.

How an Allowance Helps Children Learn About Money

Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance. The

purpose is to let children learn from experience at an age when financial mistakes

are not very costly. The amount of money that parents give to their children to

spend as they wish differs from family to family. Timing is another consideration.

Some children get a weekly allowance. Others get a monthly allowance. In any

case, parents should make clear what, if anything, the child is expected to pay for

with the money. At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon

after they receive it. If they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending must

be done within a budget. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until

the next allowance. The object is to show young people that a budget demands

choices between spending and saving. Older children may be responsible enough

to save money for larger costs, like clothing or electronics. Many people who have

written on the subject of allowances say it is not a good idea to pay your child for

work around the home. These jobs are a normal part of family life. Paying children

to do extra work around the house, however, can be useful. It can even provide an
understanding of how a business works. Allowances give children a chance to

experience the things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of

gifts or giving to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or

they can save and maybe even invest it. Saving helps children understand that

costly goals require sacrifice: you have to cut costs and plan for the future.

Requiring children to save part of their allowance can also open the door to future

saving and investing. Many banks offer services to help children and teenagers

learn about personal finance. A savings account is an excellent way to learn about

the power of compound interest. Compounding works by paying interest on

interest. So, for example, one dollar invested at two percent interest for two years

will earn two cents in the first year. The second year, the money will earn two

percent of one dollar and two cents, and so on. That may not seem like a lot. But

over time it adds up.

A Study Looks at Environmental Influences on Children

One of the largest health studies ever done in the United States will look at

environmental influences on children. The study will examine the many

environmental and genetic factors that affect the health of children and the

adults they become. Dr. Steven Hirshfeld at the National Institutes of Health is the

study director. Test projects have already begun, and he says the main part of the

National Children's Study will begin next year. "Our goal is to understand how you

can get the healthiest, most robust child to develop into a healthy and

contributing member of adult society." Researchers want to study one hundred

thousand children across America. The study will collect information from before

they are born until they are twenty-one years old. There are seven centers around

the country where parents can join the study. For example, researchers at the

University of California, Los Angeles, with study four thousand children in the Los
Angeles area. They also plan to study one thousand children in a rural area. The

aim is to see what effect pesticides used on nearby farms might have on the

children's health. Dr. Michael Lu is one of the lead investigators at UCLA. He

says,

"We're examining a number of very important child conditions such as asthma

and autism, pre-term birth and birth defects, obesity and diabetes and various

behavioral and learning problems." The researchers will also study mental health

disorders. Dr. Liu says, "I think this study has the potential to change the way we

look at childhood health and development." The goal of the National Children's

Study is to create a database that researchers around the world can use. Dr.

Hirshfeld, the study director, says this information could help solve some

unanswered questions. "We have knowledge gaps in many of the most important

factors that influence not only the health and well-being and development of

children, but that begin the foundations of what could turn into chronic
conditions for adults." Findings from the study will be released as they become

available. The information could lead to new policies and changes in existing laws

on child health and the environment. The hope is that children can live healthier

lives and grow into healthier adults.