Read on for today's three reads to entertain, educate, and enhance your most Foolish interests.
Health care mobilized
A lot of people are upset as of late over the implementation (or perhaps, lack thereof) of President Obama's Affordable Care Act. The Motley Fool has done an amazing job bringing clarity to what is a very opaque, confusing, and big change to our nation's health care system (a good place to start is here).
But to focus only on Obamacare as an investor (and a human being in need of health care) is a mistake. There are some very incredible innovations taking place in health care, particularly using technologies built on modern mobile technology.
The Wall Street Flaneur wrote this week on the subject here. The possibilities are mind-blowing for humankind and could impact investors across industries (the article points to IBM (IBM 0.88%) and Qualcomm (QCOM 1.34%) as potential winners long-term):
For example, using an attachment that turns her iPhone into an otoscope, a mother can snap a picture of her sick baby's inner ear. That image can be transmitted to the doctor who can quickly surmise whether there is an infection. If needed, the prescription is written and can be filled by the local pharmacy. Doctor visit avoided. Over time, all such transmissions are recorded enabling the doc to pinpoint any troubling trends. And early reports suggest the technology is equivalent if not better than the conventional.
This is just one example. Patients with cardiovascular issues can now self-administer EKGs that are uploaded daily or more frequently for their physician to review. An emergency room visit may be recommended for an acute issue, while important longer term trends are also monitored.
Brazilian billionaire Edson Bueno made international headlines thanks to the samba project, a deal in which United Health Group (UNH 0.40%) paid $4.9 billion for 90% of Amil, Brazil's largest health insurer and hospital operator. Thanks to such a deal, Edson Bueno bought $470 million worth of UnitedHealth shares, becoming not only the largest single investor in the company but also the first foreigner to sit on the board of the largest health carrier in the United States -- even though he did not speak English fluently.
The Washington Post's obituary for economist Alexander Morton is a striking narrative of a man who chose to truly live life. On track for an esteemed career as an economist, Dr. Morton chose to leave the academic world behind at age 42. His story is an inspiration:
On bicycle, he pedaled the length of the four main islands of Japan. He hiked in the Himalayan mountains, explored the game preserves of Africa, followed the headwaters of the Mekong River into Vietnam, climbed Mount Sinai at dawn and rode a train from Moscow to Beijing. On the spur of the moment, he once set out to climb Mont Blanc in the Alps, and he reached the summit wearing only sneakers as footgear.
