Watercooler stories

DIABETES BREAKTHROUGH FOUND

Doctors at Houston's Methodist Hospital report they have successfully transplanted insulin-producing cells into two severely diabetic patients ... with good results. The Houston Chronicle reports that one of the patients, a 36-year-old woman, received the transplanted tissue in mid January and is doing fine.

During tests conducted on the one-month anniversary of the treatment, doctors tested her system to see how much glucose it could process. They report that the results were encouraging.

One doctor tells the publication that he is "thrilled with the results."

DELIGHTFUL SOUNDS FROM THE AUDIENCE, TOO

For nearly 40 years the Julie Andrews musical "The Sound of Music" has delighted audiences around the world. It is only recently that an entrepreneur noticed that a lot of people watching screenings of the film found themselves wanting to sing along. Now, in the spirit of "sing-along 'Messiah' performances" a new "Sing-A-Long Sound of Music" is touring the country.

Published reports show that the five-time, Oscar-winning movie's music is perfect for people who want to share the emotions of the film's original score. And, it's not the kind of tear-jerker you might expect.

The traveling revue features upbeat versions of popular songs from the musical and encourages everyone in the audience to sing along with those on stage.

INTEL SLASHING PRICE OF SOME PENTIUMS

Computer maker Intel, in an effort to jump-start the sagging computer market, says that it will cut prices on its popular Pentium 4 processor by as much as 57 percent. The move, according to Bloomberg, comes at a time when faster and faster processing is being made available in cheaper and cheaper forms.

The California company introduced the "4" in the fall of 2000. The news provider predicts that if demand is high for the model prices could level off at a point that will remain at bargain levels, at least for the rest of the year.

The cost of state-of-the-art Pentium processors has dropped by as much as 80 percent since the introduction of the latest chips.

BANKRUPTCY FILINGS GOING UP AGAIN

Federal regulators say that the total number of bankruptcies, both private and corporate, filed in this country jumped by nearly 20 percent in 2000. During that year more than 1.25 million were filed.

During 2001 the number jumped again by nearly 20 percent.

The largest growth in the number of filings was in the private sector. Just-released figures show that bankruptcies for strictly business purposes were up about 13 percent during the same 12 month period.

Reforms to national bankruptcy rules passed both houses of Congress during the last session but no final action has been taken.