Word: problem
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Japanese economy, which, after a decade-long slump, is at last beginning to show signs of life. The renewed activity has sucked in U.S. and other foreign money for 33 of the past 35 weeks, driving up the Nikkei stock market average some 25% so far this year. The problem is that Japanese corporate profits are also heavily dependent on exports, which can rapidly become too expensive for foreign consumers as the yen appreciates. Indeed, big exporters like Mitsubishi and Bridgestone have begun to complain publicly that Japan's currency is too strong. Sony recently blamed a profit slump...
...mySimon.com the most successful of the independent bot sites. It's about to start a service that will e-mail you whenever any online merchant lowers its price for a particular item to an amount you're willing to pay. Feeling frugal about that $150 pair of binoculars? No problem; sit back and wait until the market takes it down to $99. Then jump on it. (As you would expect, there are auction bots that do exactly the same for eBay and its clones...
LASIK solved this problem. Using a delicate cutting instrument called a microkeratome, surgeons made a sideways slice through the cornea's outermost layers, leaving one side attached, and carefully lifted the flap of tissue out of the way. In nearsighted patients, an invisible beam of laser light then trimmed away layers of tissue from the center of the cornea, producing a flatter curve. In farsighted patients, the beam scooped out a doughnut-shaped ring that resulted in a steeper curve. Then the doctors lifted the flap back into place. After a few minutes of drying, it rebonded with the rest...
...asking you to stare at a blinking red dot. If you suddenly shift your gaze, your surgeon can turn the laser off very quickly, but the doctor can't compensate for the small, involuntary eye movements we make all the time. These saccadic motions aren't usually a problem, but they may explain some of the variability in results of the surgery...
...estimated 1 million in 1996. And baby boomers brought up to admire the Bain de Soleil tan will doubtless be turning even more to lasers, as the years go on, to try to reverse the damaging effects of sun. "What we're facing in American health is the problem of longevity, women living into their 90s, men to their 80s," says cosmetic-dermatologic surgeon Dr. Edward Lack, a board member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. Most of the 45-to-70-year-old laser-surgery patients Lack sees in his Des Plaines, Ill., office are seeking facial resurfacing...