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ChangeQuakes Of The Week

November 13, 2006

TOP CHANGEQUAKES OF THE WEEK
** Election Outcome Boosts Embryonic Stem Cell Work
** Will Web 2.0 Bring Bubble 2.0?
** Immune System Can Be 'Switched On' To Fight Cancer
** Microsoft Official: No Antivirus Software Needed For Vista

MORE CHANGEQUAKES TO WATCH

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TOP CHANGEQUAKES OF THE WEEK

Election Outcome Boosts Embryonic Stem-Cell Work

(REGULATORY CHANGEQUAKE) -- The religious protesters are gone and expansion plans are back on track at a top Kansas City stem-cell research lab after Missouri voters endorsed the controversial field in last week's elections. With some $2 billion in private funding, and a team of international scientists already at work, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research now sees mostly clear sailing as it seeks stem-cell treatments for illnesses ranging from Alzheimer's disease to multiple sclerosis.

today.reuters.com

RELATED ARTICLE: German Scientists Urge Review Of Stem-Cell Laws
today.reuters.com

Will Web 2.0 Bring Bubble 2.0?

(ECONOMIC CHANGEQUAKE) -- Venture firms are pouring money into Web 2.0 startups in hopes of funding the next MySpace. But is the frenzy getting out-ofhand again?

www.businessweek.com

RELATED ARTICLE: Online Ad Boom May Be Around The Corner
www.businessweek.com

Immune System Can Be 'Switched On' To Fight Cancer

(MEDICAL CHANGEQUAKE) -- The body's own immune system can fight the deadly cancer melanoma if scientists can flip the system's "off" switch to "on," two preliminary studies suggest.

www.usatoday.com

Microsoft Official: No Antivirus Software Needed For Vista

(CORPORATE CHANGEQUAKE) -- During a telephone conference with reporters yesterday, outgoing Microsoft co-president Jim Allchin, while touting the new security features of Windows Vista, told a reporter that the system's new lockdown features are so capable and thorough that he was comfortable with his own 7-year-old son using Vista without antivirus software installed.

www.betanews.com

RELATED ARTICLES: Windows Vista Released To Manufacturing
seattletimes.nwsource.com

New Mac, Windows Operating Systems Will Drive Hardware Sales
www.businessweek.com


MORE CHANGEQUAKES TO WATCH

CORPORATE CHANGEQUAKES

Google: Watch This Ad, Then Make Your Call

Web search leader Google's chief executive, Eric Schmidt, sees a future where mobile phones are free to consumers who accept watching targeted forms of advertising. Schmidt said that as mobile phones become more like handheld computers and consumers spend as much as eight to 10 hours a day talking, texting and using the Web on these devices, advertising becomes a viable form of subsidy.

money.cnn.com

RELATED ARTICLE: Google Video Suit May Indicate More YouTube Troubles
www.usatoday.com

Apple Patent Hints At iPod Phone

Two Apple patent applications published recently by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office lend further weight to rumors of a forthcoming Apple mobile phone. The first, "Actuating user interface for media player," details the technology that will likely replace Apple's iPod scroll-wheel interface. Previous patent filings indicate that Apple has been working on a touch-screen interface that might suit a variety of portable devices.

www.techweb.com

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGEQUAKES

Intel Considers Nanotubes For Chip Designs

Intel is eyeing carbon nanotubes as a possible replacement for copper wires inside semiconductors, a switch that one day could eliminate some big problems for chipmakers. The chip giant has managed to create prototype interconnects -- microscopic metallic wires inside of chips that link transistors -- out of carbon nanotubes and measure how well the interconnects perform. In essence, the experiments are a way to test whether the theories about the properties of carbon nanotubes are accurate.

news.com.com

Broadcom Claims First Universal DVD Chip

Consumer and communications chip supplier Broadcom has introduced what it calls the first single-chip solution to support both Blu-ray disc and HD-DVD standards. The battle between Blu-ray and HD-DVD, competing next-generation DVD standards with powerful backers, has been billed as the next VHS versus Betamax in some corners. But insiders believe that universal players supporting the standards will be introduced next year, taking some of the steam out of the fight.

www.eetimes.com

Advances Making Solar Power Cheaper

Technologies collectively known as concentrating photovoltaics are starting to enjoy their day in the sun, thanks to advances in solar cells, which absorb light and convert it into electricity, and the mirror- or lens-based concentrator systems that focus light on them. The technology could soon make solar power as cheap as electricity from the grid.

www.technologyreview.com

ECONOMIC CHANGEQUAKES

Billing Errors Dog Medicare Drug Benefit

Just days before enrollment for next year's Medicare drug benefit begins, federal agencies are still trying to fix a long-running billing problem that at its peak this summer ensnared about half a million people. Despite those efforts, about 50,000 people who chose to have their monthly Medicare drug premiums taken out of their Social Security checks are still having incorrect amounts withheld.

www.usatoday.com

FDA APPROVAL CHANGEQUAKES

New Caution Added To Tamiflu Label

Roche AG's influenza drug Tamiflu will come with a new caution urging close monitoring of patients for abnormal behavior such as delirium and self-injury.

www.usatoday.com

DISCOVERY CHANGEQUAKES

Stem Cell Treatment Considered For Heart Attacks

Emergency heart attack patients will be injected with their own stem cells in a dramatic new treatment. The procedure, being pioneered by British doctors, holds out hope of a "cure" as the stem cells repair damaged heart muscles.

www.dailymail.co.uk

RELATED ARTICLE: Human Stem Cells Stimulate Insulin In Diabetic Mice
today.reuters.com

Study: Children Showing Hardening Of Arteries

A new study found that children with risk factors for heart disease, including high cholesterol and diabetes, are showing signs of narrowing and hardening of the arteries, conditions normally associated with adults. An increasing number of children suffer from these and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including obesity, but testing for future heart conditions is not standard practice, according to a report presented at the annual American Heart Association meeting in Chicago.

today.reuters.com

Diabetes Drug May Cut Heart Risks

A diabetes drug may protect patients against thickening of the artery walls, a precursor to heart attacks, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Thickening of the carotid arteries, which are located in the neck and deliver blood to the brain, is a risk factor for heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems.

today.reuters.com