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NASA has selected a team of Stanford astrophysicists to design a solar experiment on a satellite that will be launched in 2007.

The Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite will run experiments designed to predict solar flares and solar storms. The satellite will conduct its experiments over a five-year period.

"(The satellite's) inclined orbit will form a figure-eight over the Earth during the day, giving us continuous, 24-hour-a-day sunlight for most of the year," said Philip H. Scherrer, a Stanford physics professor and principal investigator of the lead experiment.

Stanford scientists will design the instrument for the experiment in collaboration with engineers at the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory in Palo Alto. -- Don Kazak
New program closes health care loopholes for kids

"Healthy Kids," a new program that aims to ensure every child on the Peninsula qualifies for health insurance, was approved by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors last week.

Healthy Kids, approved by a 4-0 vote, closes a loophole for families who are ineligible for state programs such as Medi-Cal and Healthy Families because they either make too much money or they are not legally documented residents of the United States.

Similar programs by the same name in San Francisco and Santa Clara County have already been successful.

For a monthly fee of between $4 and $8, Healthy Kids provides health, dental, vision and mental health coverage to children whose families are at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

That is an approximate annual income of $61,000 for a family of three living in San Mateo County. There are currently an estimated 14,600 uninsured children in the county whose families fall into that economic category, according to Toby Douglas of the San Mateo County Health Services Agency.

The county aims to have the program launched by Jan. 1, 2003.

"Outreach is going to be key," Douglas said.

The county also is working to generate more money for the program. It currently has $2.3 million of its Proposition 10 tobacco tax funds earmarked each year for the next decade, but the annual cost is an estimated $7.7 million.

At a health summit in May, the supervisors agreed to consider matching private donations up to $2.7 million.

Douglas said organizers are confident they can raise the rest within the community, which has already been extremely supportive of the program. -- Bay City News Service
One-third of Americans are 'plugged in'

A new journal focusing on the impact of information technology on society is making its debut with a report showing that almost one-third of an average working adult American's day is spent with electronic devices.

The devices that have become so common in many people's lives did not even exist a century ago, noted the report, which is being published in a new academic journal sponsored by Stanford University and University of Maryland.

The premier issue of IT&Society, a free quarterly online journal available at www.ITandsociety.org, covers how the Internet affects human behavior.

The journal is a joint effort of the Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society (SIQSS) and the University of Maryland's Survey Research Center.

"Until now, there has been no single location where scholars from different disciplines can write and exchange views on the impact of technology on society," said Norman Nie, a co-editor of IT&Society and director of SIQSS.

John Robinson, professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland and director of the university's Internet Scholars Program, is co-editor of the journal. He has written several books about the impact of Internet use on quality of life.

"This is the first interdisciplinary journal," said Sunshine Hillygus, a political science doctoral student and a senior research assistant at SIQSS. "Instead of people talking past one another, this brings the research together so they can build on each other's work. We want to bring the research to the next level."

Future issues may include peer-reviewed discussion on psychology, sociology and economics. -- Bay City News Service
Teaching patients to come back from cancer

As Lance Armstrong demonstrated to the world recently when he won the Tour de France for the fourth straight time, cancer can be reversed from a physically debilitating experience into fuel for personal athletic pinnacles.

A new Stanford University program is helping other cancer patients and survivors accomplish a similar goal.

The Health Improvement Program at Stanford's Center for Research and Disease Prevention has created a free class to help cancer patients and survivors regain lost strength and improve their quality of life.

Titled "Living Strong, Living Well,'' the class, led by certified instructors, helps patients rebuild and increase muscle mass, flexibility and endurance.

Said Richard Glendening, a cancer patient who has participated in the program, "I can understand why cancer survivors climb mountains. I feel I can. The classes showed me I shouldn't give up on myself just because I have cancer.''

During the beginning of the class, which meets twice a week for eight weeks, instructors assess the ability of each participant and then tailor a program to match. The first 15 minutes of the sessions are devoted to cardiovascular exercise, followed by a circuit of eight different strength-training machines and then 15 minutes of flexibility instruction.

Results have been promising, according to a questionnaire distributed during the first two sessions. Participants reported improved sleep, self-esteem and increased activity.

The class, which started as a collaboration with Page Mill YMCA in Palo Alto, is now expanding to the El Camino YMCA in Mountain View.

The next sessions are scheduled for Sept. 9 at the El Camino YMCA and Sept. 10 at the Page Mill YMCA. Anyone interested in attending should contact Joyce Hanna at (650) 725-5014. -- Bay City News Service