"The NPSA is also setting up a Patient Safety Observatory which will draw together patient safety information from different sources, including the NRLS and studies such as this one from Dr Foster, to maximise our understanding and direct our safety solutions work, " she said.

BBC: NEWS | Health | 'Improve NHS error reports' call

She said that could direct researchers to a broader understanding of how meditation influences what happens in the brain when someone is deciding whether to give something their attention, and what happens when they choose not to dwell on bad news, or to calm down.

BBC: NEWS | Health | Meditation 'brain training' clues

Rachel Maryles helps direct the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding's health care program, which trains providers to offer religiously and culturally sensitive care for patients of all backgrounds.

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Indeed, it might be argued that a better understanding of humanity can help direct efforts to counteract those propensities viewed as detrimental or undesirable, thus ensuring people are less, rather than more, in thrall to their biology.

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And because of the many ties that bind America and Israel, and because of the rising sense of direct clash between the United States and the Middle East, I decided that understanding Arabs was also an important part of my being American.

NPR: Historian Robert Satloff

"Her lack of fundamental understanding of some key issues was dramatic, " said another McCain source with direct knowledge of the process to prepare Palin after she was picked.

CNN: Palin's off-script comments irk McCain aides

"The first priority is to gain understanding of what is happening, " a senior U.S. official with direct knowledge of the matter said.

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