Health

Polio vaccination campaign targets 85 million African children

Sunday, March 7, 2010

An extensive vaccination campaign across 19 West and Central African countries is to begin today in an attempt to stem a year-long polio epidemic in the region. The United Nations and international aid agencies plan to immunize 85 million children under five. More than 400, 000 volunteers and health workers will take part in the campaign, visiting children in their homes.

The current polio epidemic has been going on for a year and there have been outbreaks in the last six months in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone. These countries will be the focus of the campaign, along with Benin, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Niger, Nigeria and Togo.

New York Representative Eric Massa to retire

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

New York Representative Eric Massa announced Wednesday that he would be stepping down as Congressman from New York's 29th congressional district. He cited health reasons for the sudden announcement. Massa is the latest in a string of United States Congresspeople to resign or not to seek reelection in 2010.

Apple's Suit Would Block HTC's HD2 Windows 7 Phone

Apple is attempting to put the brakes on potential for one of the first Windows Phone 7 Series smartphones. Apple's suit against HTC would block the company from releasing its HD2 mobile phone equipped with Microsoft's new mobile operating system in the U.S.

Apple's complaint before the U.S. International Trade Commission would stop the Taiwan-based HTC from importing some of its 7 Series phones into the U.S.

HTC has created some buzz recently for its HD2 phone. The device is the first Windows phone equipped with the HTC Sense user interface. It uses a sensor used to prevent false screen touches when the device is picked up to answer or make a phone call. The device also includes a light sensor that adjusts brightness automatically.

The HD2 is a super-thin phone with a high-resolution, 4.3-inch capacitive touch display, and a one-gigahertz Snapdragon processor by Qualcomm, and will use T-Mobile's 3G network.

So, why all the concern? Apparently Apple thinks the HD2 is too similar to its iPhone, observers say.

Core of Complaint

At the core of Apple's complaint is a claim that HTC has infringed on 20 patents covering various technologies that Apple said relate to the iPhone's interface, architecture and hardware.

Although HTC is based in Taiwan, it has U.S. headquarters in Bellevue, Wash. And some of the patents questioned in the lawsuit were likely developed in HTC's Seattle research and development lab.

"We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "We've decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours."

The lawsuit could affect not only the manufacturers and software providers, but carriers, too. T-Mobile USA could be hurt by the lawsuit, as...
Read more [FreeNewsFeed.com]

Maine Weighs Cell-Phone Cancer Warning

Ignoring the health risks of heavy cell phone use invites a cancer epidemic, supporters of a bill requiring manufacturers to put labels on mobile phones and packaging said Tuesday.

"We can do nothing and wait for the body count. That's what happened with smoking" before warnings on cigarette packs were mandated, David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and Environment at the University of Albany, told Maine lawmakers.

The Health and Human Services Committee held a hearing on a bill that would make Maine the first state to carry warnings that they can cause brain cancer, especially among children. Opponents dismissed research pointing to the risks and said the bill is more about politics than science.

The sponsor, Rep. Andrea Boland, said the United States lags behind other countries that have either mandated similar warnings or endorsed policies warning the public about cell phone use.

Carpenter, a Harvard Medical School graduate and researcher with expertise in electromagnetic fields, said the strongest evidence of cell phone dangers comes from Europe, where the devices have been in use longer than in the United States. He told lawmakers that the U.S. "may face an epidemic of brain cancer" if nothing is done to warn consumers of risks.

Boland, D-Sanford, said the risks diminish markedly if the phone is held away from the head.

Olle Johansson, a scientist at Karolinska Institute in Sweden, submitted testimony saying that "very serious biological changes" that include cancer risks have been noticed for years from exposure to low-frequency magnetic fields like those emitted from cell phones.

Supporters also included brain cancer patient and relatives of victims who said the disease was triggered by cell phone use.

"When you put that phone to your head, you are unknowingly playing Russian roulette," said Alan Marks of the San Francisco Bay area, who's been diagnosed with a brain...
Read more [FreeNewsFeed.com]