Money and Computing
Over the Last Century, Life Expectancy in the United States and Other OECD Nations Has Risen at a Rate of Three to Four Months Per Year.
The gap in life expectancy between disadvantaged and privileged Americans has widened over the past half-decade, but so has the gap between the most affluent Americans and their peers in other prosperous nations, according to a new UC Berkeley study. In 2018, men in the most affluent US category could expect to live at least seven years longer than those in the most disadvantaged US group (80.5 vs. 73.2 years). For women, that gap was six years (84.9 vs. 79.9 years). more »
Envision Color: Activity Patterns in the Brain are Specific to the Color You See; NIH Research Findings Reveal New Aspects of Visual Processing
The researchers found that study participants had unique patterns of brain activity for each color. With enough data, the researchers could predict from MEG recordings what color a volunteer was looking at – essentially decoding the brain map of color processing, or “mind-reading.” The study may have implications for the development of machine-brain interfaces for visual prosthetics. The brain uses light signals detected by the retina’s cone photoreceptors as the building blocks for color perception. The brain mixes and categorizes these signals to perceive color in a process that is not well understood. more »
Veterans Day: Post-9/11 Veterans Earn More, Work More Hours Than Those Who Never Served in Armed Forces
Employment among the nation’s three million post-9/11 veterans was higher from 2014 to 2018 than it was among those who never served in the armed forces, according to a new US Census Bureau report on November 10th. In the 2014-2018 period, about 80% of post-9/11 veterans were employed compared with only 75% of nonveterans. In contrast with older veteran groups, such as those from the Vietnam era or Gulf War, post-9/11 veterans encountered very different labor markets after returning from the armed forces. As a result, post-9/11 veterans represent a unique and growing segment of the veteran population and the broader US workforce. more »
2020 Election Wrap-Up, Women’s Congressional Policy Institute: As of press time,130 women have been elected to serve in the 117th Congress
Perhaps it should come as no surprise that in the same year we celebrate the centennial anniversary of women securing the right to vote we also recognize the unprecedented number of women who ran for Congress. According to the Center for American Women and Politics, nearly 650 women ran for seats in the House of Representatives and Senate in 2020, with more than 300 of these candidates making it through the primaries and into the general election. As of press time, 130 women have been elected to serve in the 117th Congress. This number includes the 18 incumbent Senators who were not up for reelection this year, as well as the four Delegates to the House of Representatives reelected from American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. However, a number of races have not been called, so the number of women serving in the next Congress is expected to include a record number. more »