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NASA enlists public in hunt for major asteroids

NASA announced a Grand Challenge on Tuesday to enlist government agencies, industry, academics and citizen astronomers in the hunt for asteroids that could cause massive destruction. The US space agency said the challenge would complement another recently announced project to use a robot to redirect an asteroid into the Moon's orbit so astronauts could visit the object and study it.

New Brunswick health minister says catastrophic drug plan on the way

FREDERICTON - New Brunswick's health minister says he expects to begin rolling out parts of a catastrophic drug program as early as this fall. Hugh Flemming said Tuesday a complete prescription and catastrophic drug program will be in place before the next election in September 2014. "I'll set my career on it," Flemming told the legislature. "We're going to have a prescription drug plan so that every New Brunswicker will have prescription drug coverage. The expensive drugs will be covered."

You clap, so I clap: Peer pressure drives applause

If you have just seen a play that you privately think is drivel, will you keep silent when everyone around you demands an encore? Possibly not, says an unusual investigation published Wednesday in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. Combining a psychological experiment and mathematical analysis, the research marks a scientific attempt to quantify the fuzzy notion of "social contagion" -- how individual behaviour is influenced by group dynamics.

Missouri senator joins effort urging Hillary Clinton to seek presidency

By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has not committed to a run for president in 2016 but on Tuesday she picked up an endorsement from Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill, who announced she is supporting a group encouraging Clinton to run for the White House again. McCaskill, who in 2008 backed Barack Obama over Clinton in the Democratic primaries, became the first member of Congress to announce her support for Clinton.

'Conservative Republican' at IRS defends treatment of Tea Party

By Kevin Drawbaugh and Kim Dixon WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A manager from a U.S. Internal Revenue Service office in Cincinnati where staffers have been accused of unfairly subjecting conservative groups to extra scrutiny has said his agents were not influenced by any political agenda.

Call for overhaul of drug industry business model

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - Pharmaceutical companies need to boost the benefits of drug research by working with regulators and healthcare providers to overhaul the way medicines are approved and paid for, a thinktank backed by investors says. After years of disappointing research and development (R&D) productivity, a new report backed by leading institutional investors sees "early indications of a recovery", with U.S. approvals of new drugs last year the highest since 1996.

Maine Democrats scramble after governor blocks Medicaid expansion

By Dave Sherwood BOWDOINHAM, Maine (Reuters) - Democratic legislators in Maine scrambled on Tuesday to muster the votes needed to override Republican Governor Paul LePage's late-night veto of a bill to expand Medicaid coverage to an additional 60,000 people.

Lew's signature on US greenback less loopy

It's not bubbly-cute any more, but Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew's new official signature, to go on all new US banknotes, should meet boss President Barack Obama's admonition not to debase the currency. Revealed by the Treasury Tuesday, Lew's signature for the greenback still had some of the characteristic swirls that drew howls when he was first nominated in January. But -- thankfully to many -- it was a far cry from the eight-loops-and-a-tail that he scribed on White House memos in his previous job as Obama's chief of staff.

New Hampshire nears approval of medical marijuana law

By Jason McLure LITTLETON, New Hampshire (Reuters) - New Hampshire is set to become the final state in New England to allow medical marijuana after negotiators from the Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-controlled House agreed Tuesday on a bill backed by Governor Maggie Hassan.

Obamacare-like groups tied to lower costs: study

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Large independent doctor practices that focus on primary care tend to spend less money and are more likely to meet guidelines for Americans on Medicare than smaller groups, according to a new study. The findings suggest that the so-called Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) created by the 2010 Affordable Care Act may improve the quality of care while lowering spending, said the study's lead author.
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