Heavy cell phone use may have a significant impact on the fertility of men, according to a study released in late October by the prestigious Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.

The study, conducted by Dr. Ashok Agarwal reported on the results of 364 men who used cell phones for varying amounts of time each day.

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The six-disc package of Teaching You Office covers tutorials for Microsoft’s Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Access programs, as well as Windows itself.
 

As use of hand-held gadgets increases, opticians fear the U.S. becoming a nation of squinters.

Chris Kwak, a 31-year-old financial analyst, spends hours a day glued to the tiny screen of his Palm Treo hand-held computer. He fires off e-mails, checks stock prices and recently plowed through the novel \"The Da Vinci Code.\"

Medical Robots Start Work at London Hospital

Robots make it possible for doctors to visually examine and communicate with patients, whether they are in another part of the hospital or even another part of the world.

Source: Reuters

LONDON - Science-fiction moved a step closer to reality on Wednesday when robots nicknamed "Sister Mary" and "Doctor Robbie" started work at a London hospital.

The pair allow doctors to visually examine and communicate with patients, whether they are in another part of the hospital or even another part of the world.

Meet Your Organ Match Online

Nonprofit Web site MatchingDonors.com matches those in need of transplants with altruistic donors

By Catherine Arnst, BusinessWeek Online

The Internet can do more than help you find a date -- it can help you find a kidney. Since last October, MatchingDonors.com, a nonprofit Web site based in Canton, Mass., has been helping patients who desperately need a new liver or kidney find living donors who take altruism to a new level.

New technology key to U.S. healthcare

Investing in information technology is essential to the future of the American healthcare system, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said.

Source: Big News Network

Leavitt said the U.S. government should lead the way in adopting technology to boost both healthcare and the economy in the United States.

Painkillers Designed Especially for You?

Scientists Examine the Genetic Basis of Pain to Help Patients More Effectively

By ANDREW CHANG, Associated Press

May 11, 2005 -- As part of his research, Dr. Jeff Mogil scoops up lab mice, one at a time, into specially designed cardboard and cloth pockets and holds each of them over a vat of hot water.

The mice don't seem to have a problem getting in the pockets, Mogil said. "It's dark and smelly in there."

New sex gel may combat HIV infection

Virginia Beach - A United States medical school has received $24-million to finish testing a new contraceptive gel that may also fight HIV infection.

Source: Independent Online

The third phase of clinical trials - the last stage before possible US government approval - will be conducted in India and the African countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Uganda and South Africa.

Fears over deadly new HIV strain

DOCTORS have warned that a new strain of highly drug-resistant HIV that leads to the rapid onset of Aids could find its way to Scotland.

By RICHARD GRAY, scotsman.com

Health officials in New York have discovered a man with a form of the virus that is resistant to three of the four drugs used to combat the disease.

Normally HIV can take up to 10 years before it develops into Aids, but the new strain damages the immune system at a far greater rate, so it becomes Aids within a couple of months.

Cell Phones May Pose a Risk to Children

New study points out the potential hazards of long-term mobile phone use.

By Laura Rohde, IDG News Service

Children may be more vulnerable than adults to the potential health risks of using mobile phones, according to a U.K. study released this week, which urged that nonessential phone use by children be discouraged.

Military Seeks Tech Tools to Train MDs

The military sees technologies from the entertainment industry as potential tools for honing the skills of medics.

Source: ABC News

They could better simulate the difficult conditions and types of wounds medics are likely to encounter during war time, said Dr. Greg Mogel, West Coast director of the U.S. Army's Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center.

Mobile phones 'alter human DNA'

A laboratory study finds mobile phones damage human DNA - but does not show they harm health.

Source: BBC News

Radio waves from mobile phones do harm body cells and damage DNA, a laboratory study has shown. But the European Union-funded Reflex research did not prove such changes were a risk to human health.

iPod for Medical Images

The iPod is not just for music any more. Radiologists from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and their colleagues at other institutions from as far away as Europe and Australia are now using iPod devices to store medical images.

Source: RSNA News

"This is what we call using off the shelf, consumer market technology," says Osman Ratib, M.D., Ph.D., professor and vice-chairman of radiologic services at UCLA. "Technology coming from the consumer market is changing the way we do things in the radiology department."

Doctors Use Video Games to Hone Skills

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. - If Dr. James Rosser Jr. had his way, every surgeon in America would have three indispensable tools on the operating room tray: a scalpel, sutures, and a video game controller.

By Ben Berkowitz, Reuters

Rosser looks like a football player and cracks jokes like a comic, but his job as a top surgeon and director of the Advanced Medical Technologies Institute at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York is to find better ways to practice medicine. At the top of his list -- video games.

Satellite System Puts Doctors in Ambulance

Communication System to Use Satellite to Virtually Place Doctors Inside Ambulance in Transit

Source: ABC News

PITTSBURGH - For paramedics in rural areas, responding to frantic calls for help is at times akin to doing a high-wire act without a net. Mountains, valleys, bad weather and long distances between hospitals make communication with emergency room physicians spotty at best and nonexistent at worst.

Texts aim to fight Aids in Kenya

Source: BBC News Online

An information mobile text service is being launched in Kenya to help tackle the HIV/Aids pandemic.

A new mobile phone text message service is joining the battle against HIV/Aids in Kenya.

People will be able to text questions on the subject to a special number and receive a prompt answer for free.

Magnetism, Electricity May Treat Strokes

Scientists Applying Magnetism, Electricity to Stroke-Damaged Brains, With Intriguing Results

Source: ABC News

Mickey Poduje, 50, had been out all day with her husband Noel on their 32-foot motorboat off the Massachusetts coast. When they returned to the dock, she climbed out to do her usual job of securing the lines.

Then she collapsed. It was a stroke. A blood vessel had burst in her brain, paralyzing her right side and leaving her mute at first. At the rehabilitation hospital she just mostly said "when … when … when" over and over again.

FDA Approves Surgical RFID Tag

By Stacy Lawrence, eWEEK

Perhaps a bit more practical than the implantable RFID chip with patient information approved by the FDA.

A few months ago, this tag - dubbed the SurgiChip - aims to provide health care workers with accurate surgical information and possibly prevent errors such as the performance of surgery on the incorrect body part or the execution of the wrong surgical procedure.

Study looks at phone mast health risks

Tinfoil hat time

By Iain Thomson, vnunet.com

The UK government, the mobile phone industry and academia are working together on a £250,000 study into the effects of mobile phone masts on health.

The Department of Health Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme is being held in two stages, firstly to identify which people are most susceptible to mobile phone masts, and secondly to measure the exact effects.

Magnetic Brain Imaging

William Sutherling of the Huntington Medical Research Institute demonstrates how to use magnetic imaging to hunt down seizure-causing brain tissue.

Source: Technology Review

An epileptic seizure is the outward sign of an electrical storm in the brain, a sudden surge of uncontrolled electric currents. If neurosurgeons can pinpoint the damaged brain tissue that sparks the storm, they can remove it, potentially sparing a patient a lifetime of debilitating attacks and antiseizure medications.

Fruits, Vegetables Don't Lower Cancer Risk

Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables may be good for your heart health, but a new study finds it won't lower your overall risk of developing cancer.

By Janice Billingsley, HealthDay

Harvard doctors found a 28 percent reduction in cardiovascular risk among nearly 110,000 health professionals surveyed for lifestyle patterns and medical history who include at least five servings of fruits and vegetables in their daily diets. But there was no overall effect on cancer risk.

TV keeps track of patients' health

A test program from Royal Philips Electronics connects chronically ill heart patients to their care providers via TV.

By Dawn Kawamoto, CNET News.com

Royal Philips Electronics is testing a program for connecting chronically ill heart patients to their health care providers through a television.

IM boosts health care company

Intellicare sees big benefits from implementing an instant messaging platform

By Juan Carlos Perez, IDG News Service

Because of its geographically dispersed staff and high percentage of telecommuting employees, Intellicare Inc., which operates health-related call centers, has drawn big benefits from implementing an instant messaging platform.

Through a network of medical contact centers and telecommuting nurses, the company offers medical phone support for some 250 clients, such as hospitals, health insurance companies and doctor group practices.

Program predicts cancer risks

A computer program can predict a woman's risk of breast or ovarian cancer with unprecedented accuracy.

Source: BBC News Online

The Boadicea program is more accurate than alternatives because it takes into account a greater number of genetic mutations linked to cancer.