Microsoft wades into healthcare R&D. What’s behind this trend?

http://www.healthcaredive.com/news/microsoft-wades-into-healthcare-rd-whats-behind-this-trend/426722/

  • Microsoft is engaged in numerous health research projects in a mutually beneficial relationship with the medical community, according to an article on the Microsoft website.
  • One Microsoft project is using machine learning to sift through massive amounts of data on cancer biology to make precision medicine more possible. Another is a cloud-based tool that creates computerized models of biological processes associated with cancer progression.
  • Microsoft’s excursion into medical research is just one of many made in the recent past by technology companies not typically associated with healthcare.

IBM Watson to acquire Truven Health Analytics for $2.6B

http://www.healthcaredive.com/news/ibm-watson-to-acquire-truven-health-analytics-for-26b/414133/

IBM will double in size following the acquisition