New Sandbox for Drug Researchers: IBM Database of 2.4 Million Chemicals

Drug Research: A new database of 2.4 million chemical formulas and diagrams donated by IBM to the U.S. government will help researchers develop new drugs or find new uses for older ones, Alex Wayne reports for Bloomberg News.

Health Spending: Surprisingly wide variations among states in health care spending may be due more to demographics and insurance status than other factors; experts surmise that low-spending states have younger populations and more uninsured people, reducing health care use, Sarah Kliff reports for the Washington Post.

Medicare: What is former Medicare chief Don Berwick, pushed out of the job by Senate Republicans, doing these days? The Boston Globe's Chelsea Conaboy checks in and the Wall St. Journal's Janet Adamy examines Berwick's criticism of health reform foes in a recent speech.

Safety Net: Money for community health centers is at its lowest level since 2006 even as demand for their services is rising during the recession, Christian Torres reports for Kaiser Health News.

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Photo credit: Horia Varlan via Flickr