Just too cool

If a halogen lamp causes static on a nearby radio, the problem is probably not serious. But what if an electronic antitheft device make a heart pacemaker malfunction or a cellphone used in a hospital interferes with a blood pressure monitor? Two reports published in the March issue of The Mayo Clinic Proceedings suggest that the dangers of radio wave interference with implanted medical devices are real but modest, and that cellphones in hospitals present no danger at all. One study, both of whose authors have received research financing from manufacturers of medical equipment, describes two cases in which antitheft devices, sometimes called electronic article surveillance, apparently caused medical devices to malfunction. Jim Vanderpool, product health and safety director for Sensormatic Electronics, manufacturer of the surveillance machines involved in both incidents, said the article reinforced the scientific consensus 8220;that patients with medical implants like pacemakers and defibrillators should simply walk through electronic antitheft systems at a normal pace.8221;

Tech firms push to use TV airwaves for Internet

A coalition of big technology companies wants to bring high-speed Internet access to consumers in a new way: over television airwaves. Key to the project is whether a device delivered to federal labs this week lives up to its promise. The coalition, which includes Microsoft and Google, wants regulators to allow idle TV channels, known as white space, to be used to beam the Internet into homes and offices. But the Federal Communications Commission first must be convinced that such traffic would not bleed outside its designated channels and interfere with existing broadcasts. The six partners8212;Microsoft, Google, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Philips8212;say they can meet that challenge. On tuesday, they gave FCC officials a prototype device, built by Microsoft, that will undergo months of testing. Proponents liken the idea to so-called WiFi signals, which provide wireless Internet access from phone or cable companies to users in airports, coffee shops and elsewhere.

Caregivers for Alzheimer8217;s victims lean on religion

A survey released on Wednesday indicates that about one-third of people caring for a loved one suffering from Alzheimer8217;s disease felt 8220;more religious8221; because of the experience. The study, which surveyed 650 adults across the US, was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the Alzheimer8217;s Foundation of America. The survey found that 36 percent of respondents, who identified themselves as religious and nonreligious, said they felt 8220;more religious.8221; This feeling was more pronounced among black respondents8212;48 percent.

8220;When you8217;re dealing with disease, sickness and tragedy, people get shaken out of their lethargy and begin to ask the ultimate questions,8221; said Father Paul Kowalewski, rector of St. James8217; Episcopal Church in Los Angeles. 8220;And when they do, they find God, or God8217;s presence.8221; About 20 million Americans are caring for someone with Alzheimer8217;s disease, according to the Alzheimer8217;s Foundation of America. The majority of these caregivers are family members, spouses or adult children.

Brain scans may uncover clues to addictions

You might think reaching for that cup of coffee or that cigarette is a simple decision. But scientists believe the way we act to satisfy cravings involves a little-understood automated response8212;one we have no control over8212;and researchers in Baltimore are using brain scans to unlock its secrets.

Elliot Stein, director of the neuroimaging lab at the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and NIDA colleague Britta Hahn are studying how cues trigger cravings in addicts. They want to know what happens in the brains of smokers when they see cigarettes, and in drug addicts when they see drug paraphernalia. Previous studies have established that images of cigarettes and drugs cue brain activity associated with cravings among smokers and drug addicts. But there also are unconscious cues that trigger less understood automated responses, they say. 8211; NYT, LAT-WP