That portrait attracts us because it was taken on the edge of momentous change -- a time when Americans began developing many of the tools we now take for granted.

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The news is a momentous change for a company, and an industry, that has traditionally kicked off the New Year with a barrage of new product announcements, many of them surprises.

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One change is that a momentous health issue has largely been wrested from physicians and placed in the hands of ordinary people.

ECONOMIST: Doctor-assisted suicide