| Earth: A Borderline Planet For Life?
Recycling is important even on a planetary scale," Valencia explained. Valencia and her colleagues, Richard O'Connell and Dimitar Sasselov (Harvard University), examined the extremes to determine whether plate tectonics would be more or less likely on different-sized rocky worlds. In particular, they studied so-called "super-Earths"-planets more than twice the size of Earth and up to 10 times as massive. (Any larger, and the planet would gather gas as it forms, becoming like Neptune or even Jupiter.) The team found that super-Earths would be more geologically active than our planet, experiencing more vigorous plate tectonics due to thinner plates under more stress. Earth itself was found to be a borderline case, not surprisingly since the slightly smaller planet Venus is tectonically inactive.
BHS wins Big 12 wrestling tourney
BLOOMINGTON — Wrestlers moving up a weight class so a teammate can take their spot may earn a few extra points for their squad.“We picked up a lot of extra points doing that," said Bloomington High School coach Mark Gardner after his squad won the Big 12 Conference Tournament at the Robert Frank Sports Complex Saturday.The Purple Raiders scored 231 points to deprive Champaign Central (225.5) of its first title since 1967. The 5½-point gap was the smallest since BHS edged Normal Community by two for the 1995 title.BHS won for the 10th time in 11 years by winning eight of 11 bouts in the final round compared to four of 11 for Central, which had a 30-point lead at one time.“Some of the kids went to weight classes where they may not have had their strongest individual performance, being up or down a weight," Gardner said.
More in Tier are turning to generic drugs
After enduring years of rising prescription drug costs, patients suffering from illnesses ranging from high blood pressure to weak bones can take heart in a new trend. The growing use and availability of generic prescription drugs saved Southern Tier residents, insurance companies and employers more than $25 million in 2007, according to recent findings by Excellus Blue Cross/Blue Shield. The trend is expected to continue as patents on major medicines continue to expire, making way for generics available at a fraction of the cost, said Joel Owerbach, vice president and chief pharmaceutical officer with Excellus. Patents that expired in 2007 include Norvasc, a blood-pressure drug, and Ambien, a sleep medication. Fosamax, an osteoporosis drug, is next up, with an expiration date in February.
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