Daily Rounds: Emotional Bounce Back; GOP Health Vote Set; Transforming Novartis; Stressed Out Kids And Blackbirds

Mind - Past Adversity May Aid Emotional Recovery - NYTimes.com (nytimes.com)"New research suggests that resilience may have at least as much to do with how often people have faced adversity in past as it does with who they are — their personality, their genes, for example — or what they’re facing now. That is, the number of life blows a person has taken may affect his or her mental toughness more than any other factor. “Frequency makes a difference: that is the message,” said Roxane Cohen Silver, a psychologist at the University of California, Irvine. “Each negative event a person faces leads to an attempt to cope, which forces people to learn about their own capabilities, about their support networks — to learn who their real friends are. That kind of learning, we think, is extremely valuable for subsequent coping,” up to a point.'

"House Republicans schedule health care repeal vote | masslive.com The announcement of the Jan. 12 vote by the No. 2 House Republican, Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, sets the stage for a showdown with the Democratic-led Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said earlier Monday that Democrats in that chamber will block any attempt to repeal the landmark legislation extending coverage to more than 30 million uninsured people." (MassLive.com)

Fishman, Novartis posting good results - The Boston Globe '“He’s transformed drug discovery at Novartis,’’ said Douglas A. Melton, professor of natural science at Harvard Medical School in Boston, who sits on the Novartis scientific advisory board. Melton said Fishman insisted that researchers pursue the most effective drugs rather than those that treat the most common conditions. For instance, Novartis has ceded to other companies research on costly vanity drugs." (Boston Globe)

What's New In High School? Stress Reduction 101 : NPR "Students Gabby Venuto and Julia Cohen let off some steam during some of the expanded downtime meant to ease the stress on students at the Beaver Country Day School in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The school also eliminated AP classes a few years ago — a bold move that administrators say hasn't hurt students' college prospects." (npr.org)

In Beebe, Ark., 4,000 Dead Blackbirds Drop From the Sky - NYTimes.com "About 10 p.m. Friday, thousands of red-winged blackbirds began falling out of the sky over this town about 35 miles northeast of Little Rock. They landed on roofs, roads, front lawns and backyards, turning the ground nearly black and scaring anyone who happened to be outside. The cause is still being determined, said Keith Stephens, a spokesman for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Of the more than 4,000 birds that fell on Beebe, 65 samples have been sent to labs. For now, state officials are speculating that the birds may have died as a result of stress, startled by fireworks in the area, or perhaps by lightning. But, Mr. Stephens acknowledged that the cause may never be known." (nytimes.com)