Shortly after the Hubble Space Telescope went into orbit in 1990 it was discovered that the craft had blurred vision. Fortunately, Space Shuttle astronauts were able to remedy the problem a few years later with supplemental optics.

Princeton University researchers have found, A mysterious region deep in the human brain could be where we sort through the onslaught of stimuli from the outside world and focus on the information most important to our behavior and survival.

Work stress, job satisfaction and health problems due to high stress have more to do with genes than you might think, according to research by Timothy Judge, professor of management at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. This information has been published two days after a separate study suggesting that work stress increases an employee’s risk of heart attack by 23%.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has charged Miles Kimball Company in Wisconsin with disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. An employee who is deaf was denied her requested reasonable accommodation for a sign language interpreter and then fired. The company has agreed to provide training to its employees about disability discrimination.

President Barak Obama announced on April 9th 2013, that he will ask for $100 million in his fiscal 2014 budget next week to sponsor the first year of the “BRAIN Initiative”, a bold, new 10-year research effort to advance our understanding of the human brain and uncover new ways to treat, prevent and cure brain disorders like autism, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s.

Osteoporosis, or reduced bone mineral density (BMD), is defined by an absolute decrease in total bone mass, caused mostly by an imbalance between osteoclastic bone resorption and osteoblastic bone formation. Reduced BMD often co-occurs with alcoholism.

Cancer of the oesophagus is becoming more common in Europe and North America. Around 7,800 people in the UK are diagnosed each year. The exact causes of this cancer aren’t fully understood. It appears to be more common in people who have long-term acid reflux (backflow of stomach acid into the oesophagus).

Over the past decade, more than two million Americans have deployed to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan where they were routinely exposed to life-threatening events. Such traumas may result in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition marked by intrusive thoughts and memories of traumatic experiences.

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have found new links between a protein that controls our urge to eat and brain cells involved in the development of alcoholism. The discovery points to new possibilities for designing drugs to treat alcoholism and other addictions.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that the unemployment rate last month edged down to 7.6 percent. Disability employment statistics for March show an unemployment rate among people with disabilities that moved up slightly from 12.3 in February to 13 percent last month.  The percentage of people with disabilities in the labor force was 20.7 percent, and the percentage of people with no disability in the labor force was 68.7 percent. A year ago the unemployment rate among people with disabilities was 15.2 percent.

The National Council on Disability has released its annual progress report on national disability policy. The report examines disability policy over the past year and reviews how emerging trends and government policies affect the quality of life of people with disabilities. The report covers three main policy areas, living, learning and earning, and makes recommendations on independent living, the education of children with disabilities, making U.S. currency accessible, and many other issues.

Hear the word “party” and memories of your 8th birthday sleepover or the big bash you attended last New Year’s may come rushing to mind. But it’s exactly these kinds of memories, embedded in a specific place and time, that people with depression have difficulty recalling.

The U.S. Department of Justice has signed an agreement with Schuylkill County, PA to make sure that people with disabilities have full access to all aspects of community life. The agreement is part of Project Civic Access, the department’s effort to make sure that public facilities are accessible in counties, cities, towns and villages comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Access to public facilities includes access to parking, public bathrooms, entrances into buildings and food service areas.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has charged Dillon Companies, which does business as King Soopers Inc. in Colorado, with disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The company fired an employee who had asked for a reasonable accommodation to take time off to manage her bipolarism. Under the ADA, taking medical leave may be a reasonable accommodation. The EEOC has also requested that the company train its staff on disability discrimination and pay damages to the former employee.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced $12.5 million in awards to Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRC) that provide information and referrals about long-term services and supports for seniors and people with disabilities. ADRCs in every state help people, regardless of their income or financial assets, live independently in their own homes and communities.