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Where Is Progress Progressing?
In Boston scientists have created a contact lens that can deliver a high concentration of medicine at a constant rate for more than 30 days; and because the drug-containing part of the lens is doughnut-shaped, it won't interfere with vision. Presently 90% of eye medicine is in the form of eye drops, but doctors estimate that only 1%-7% of the medicine gets absorbed into the eye. The rest runs down the cheeks. Although this lens has only been lab-tested, animal testing is starting; and it's expected that the lens will make human contact by 2010.
In Seattle doctors who are fed up with dealing with insurance companies have set up a non-insurance clinic. Qliance patients pay $99 to join and a flat monthly rate of $39 to $119, depending on age and level of service. No one is rejected for pre-existing conditions, you can quit without notice and patients get 30-minute appointments with 24/7 care. For catastrophic care, patients must medically qualify through outside brokers. For a 30-year-old that could cost $133 a month and for a 60-year-old, $400 a month. More than 50 non-insurance clinics operate in 18 states - and this has improved my state of mind.
In Kansas City Aim4Peace sends reformed criminals into the city's toughest neighborhoods to calm disputes before they become violent. Six Aim4 Peace street intervention workers resolved 22 conflicts in 2008 and 14 conflicts in the early months of 2009. The group also finds mentors for at-risk youth and links residents with community services. Jason Broom was released from prison in 2008 after serving time for participation in 2 killings. Now he reaches out to young men from families like his with a history of violence, hoping to break that cycle and give the cycle of life a chance.
In Jerusalem - as of July 2009 - the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, has its own address on the Twitter networking service. The "Tweet Your Prayers" Web site says that petitioners can tweet their prayers and they'll be printed out and put in the wall along with thousands of handwritten notes from visitors who believe that their prayers will go directly to God. There is no charge for this service, but the Web site has 2 sponsored links and visitors to the site are invited to make a credit card donation. Obviously, this service is causing a 21st century twitter of excitement.
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