study from the Yale School of Medicine recently discovered that pregnant mice exposed to cell phone radiation affected the offspring’s behavior later. The offspring were found later to be hyperactive, have more anxiety and poor memory.
The study placed the cell phone centimeters away from the mice which caused abnormal development of the brain in the mice offspring. When the brain is developing, it is susceptible to lots of environmental problem including alcohol, tobacco and now possibly radiations from cell phones.
Mice are obviously very different from humans, and the distance from the human ear to the womb is not measured on scale by putting cell phones centimeters away from the mice. In addition, mice gestation is much shorter than human gestation. The conclusions of these tests are the first to lead us to believe that there is a connection between cell phone radiation and the development of the brain though.
"The rise in behavioral disorders in developed countries may be, at least in part, due to a contribution from fetal cellular telephone radiation exposure," the Yale Study wrote. "Further testing is warranted in humans and non-human primates to determine if the risks are similar and to establish safe exposure limits during pregnancy."
Previous Studies with No Definite Answers
There have been other studies that are trying to find out if cell phone radiation can affect human’s health negatively. There is no conclusive data so far, but cell phone companies all put warnings on their packages.
A study in 2010 found that the likelihood of behavior problems was increased in 28,000 Danish children with the presence of cell phone both before and after birth. The study wrote that the results did not necessarily mean that the cell phones actually caused the problem.
"That's clearly not what we wanted to suggest, and we think that there is no reason that pregnant women should be very alarmed at the findings we have," the lead author, Dr. Jorn Olsen of UCLA, told ABC News at the time the study was published.
There are also studies that are examining any possibility of mobile phone use causing cancer. There are no conclusive results for these studies either. The World Health Organization recently concluded that mobile phone use may be linked to cancer. The American Cancer Society says that there is likely no link.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Phone Line Established for Patients with Alzheimers
The phone number 734-936-8803 connects those diagnosed with Alzheimers,their families and friends directly to services that will assist them. The line was established by University of Michigan Health Systems and leads patients to the U-M Memory Connection.
Patients frequently have to make lots of phone calls to get the information they want to know after being diagnosed with Alzheimers, and the situation is stressful enough without knowing who to turn to. Lots of time when patients call to get information they are directed to another phone number, and this cycle continues until they finally give up without any answers.
"We need to do a better job of helping our patients and families find their way," says Henry Paulson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Michigan Alzheimer's Disease Center and professor of neurology at the University of Michigan Medical School.
The U-M Memory connection informs patients of what they need to know. It designed to be a one stop destination for information about dementia services and memory loss. Memory loss services are then provided to patients from the line in an easy and non-stressful way, or at least that is what the U-M Memory Connection is aiming for. Services like the Silver Club Programs at U-M Geriatrics Center, community programs and social workers are provided to the patients. Patients can also be connected to research studies on different topics involving memory loss.
"This is a huge health problem that affects all of us. We need to do a better job of making the diagnosis but also implementing care … it can be very difficult for patients to navigate their way," Paulson says.
Patients call are answered by trained professional who has comprehensive knowledge about mild memory loss, Lewy Body disease, Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and vascular dementia. The line is open to phone call Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, and patients who leave messages will be gotten to the next business day or sooner.
"Many people experience changes with memory as they age. Some changes are normal, but other changes could be a sign of memory loss and we know it is important to understand that difference. Our call center specialists can answer some of the difficult questions you may have at the time of a diagnosis and beyond, " says Cassie Starback, coordinator of the Michigan Alzheimer's Disease Center.
U-M Memory connection was put together by the U-M Dementia Consortium that was founded by the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease center. The composition of the consoritium includes various U-M departments, including Neurology, Geriatric Center, U-M School of Social work, U-M school of Public Health and local chapters of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Patients frequently have to make lots of phone calls to get the information they want to know after being diagnosed with Alzheimers, and the situation is stressful enough without knowing who to turn to. Lots of time when patients call to get information they are directed to another phone number, and this cycle continues until they finally give up without any answers.
"We need to do a better job of helping our patients and families find their way," says Henry Paulson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Michigan Alzheimer's Disease Center and professor of neurology at the University of Michigan Medical School.
The U-M Memory connection informs patients of what they need to know. It designed to be a one stop destination for information about dementia services and memory loss. Memory loss services are then provided to patients from the line in an easy and non-stressful way, or at least that is what the U-M Memory Connection is aiming for. Services like the Silver Club Programs at U-M Geriatrics Center, community programs and social workers are provided to the patients. Patients can also be connected to research studies on different topics involving memory loss.
"This is a huge health problem that affects all of us. We need to do a better job of making the diagnosis but also implementing care … it can be very difficult for patients to navigate their way," Paulson says.
Patients call are answered by trained professional who has comprehensive knowledge about mild memory loss, Lewy Body disease, Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and vascular dementia. The line is open to phone call Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, and patients who leave messages will be gotten to the next business day or sooner.
"Many people experience changes with memory as they age. Some changes are normal, but other changes could be a sign of memory loss and we know it is important to understand that difference. Our call center specialists can answer some of the difficult questions you may have at the time of a diagnosis and beyond, " says Cassie Starback, coordinator of the Michigan Alzheimer's Disease Center.
U-M Memory connection was put together by the U-M Dementia Consortium that was founded by the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease center. The composition of the consoritium includes various U-M departments, including Neurology, Geriatric Center, U-M School of Social work, U-M school of Public Health and local chapters of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Police Track Cell Phone to Catch Perp. In Denver
When is it okay for the Police to Resort to Tracking Date from cell phones of citizens?
Two men point a gun at the worker of a Lakewood convenient store and told him to empty the cash register. The owner gave them the money, but the robbers made the mistake of also taking the victim’s iPhone.
The next day, a team of local cops and Denver cops had caught one of the men by tracking the iPhone. The cell phone provider AT&T released the information to the cops as to updates to the iPhone location.
In this case the owner of the iPhone, the man robbed, gave permission to the police to track the location of his phone. The problem becomes what process do police need to go through to be allowed to track cell phones.
The Supreme Court Ruled on a vote 5 to 4 that police tracking people via their real time data from their cell phones without a search warrant was a potential violation of our fourth amendment right.
Cell phone providers can provide historical data and real time data, so should they be able to provide certain data and not others? None of these questions have easy answers. Everyone has an opinion about it. Here is one:
"Cell providers can locate every smartphone at any given moment. The question becomes who's privy to that information and under what circumstances," said Tom Raynes, executive director of the Colorado District Attorneys Council. "Because you're giving that information to the cell provider — a third party — when you buy the phone, does that invalidate a right to privacy?"
No one really has made a decision about what circumstances are okay and what situation it is unacceptable for police to check up on. In the case of the robbery, it seems like a pretty obvious answer. Other cases will not be as cut and dry. Police everywhere go by different rules, if they follow any, but there is no national standard.
Obtain cell phones data has become an initial step in many investigations, said Lakewood Police Department spokesman Steve Davis.
"Every law enforcement agency I'm aware of uses this kind of technology to locate people," Davis said. "We have technology available to us today that certainly wasn't available just a few years ago."
Even within different departments of Denver there are different methods of approaching cell phone tracking. Nationally there is no protocol, but one can imagine how much it varies.
This will be an issue to keep an eye on. How much do you want cops being able to poke into your lives without a search warrant or even probably cause?
Two men point a gun at the worker of a Lakewood convenient store and told him to empty the cash register. The owner gave them the money, but the robbers made the mistake of also taking the victim’s iPhone.
The next day, a team of local cops and Denver cops had caught one of the men by tracking the iPhone. The cell phone provider AT&T released the information to the cops as to updates to the iPhone location.
In this case the owner of the iPhone, the man robbed, gave permission to the police to track the location of his phone. The problem becomes what process do police need to go through to be allowed to track cell phones.
The Supreme Court Ruled on a vote 5 to 4 that police tracking people via their real time data from their cell phones without a search warrant was a potential violation of our fourth amendment right.
Cell phone providers can provide historical data and real time data, so should they be able to provide certain data and not others? None of these questions have easy answers. Everyone has an opinion about it. Here is one:
"Cell providers can locate every smartphone at any given moment. The question becomes who's privy to that information and under what circumstances," said Tom Raynes, executive director of the Colorado District Attorneys Council. "Because you're giving that information to the cell provider — a third party — when you buy the phone, does that invalidate a right to privacy?"
No one really has made a decision about what circumstances are okay and what situation it is unacceptable for police to check up on. In the case of the robbery, it seems like a pretty obvious answer. Other cases will not be as cut and dry. Police everywhere go by different rules, if they follow any, but there is no national standard.
Obtain cell phones data has become an initial step in many investigations, said Lakewood Police Department spokesman Steve Davis.
"Every law enforcement agency I'm aware of uses this kind of technology to locate people," Davis said. "We have technology available to us today that certainly wasn't available just a few years ago."
Even within different departments of Denver there are different methods of approaching cell phone tracking. Nationally there is no protocol, but one can imagine how much it varies.
This will be an issue to keep an eye on. How much do you want cops being able to poke into your lives without a search warrant or even probably cause?
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