Mobile phones may NOT increase cancer risk as most brain tumours 'not within radiation range'

Mobile phones are unlikely to cause cancer because brain tumours are not clustered within the radiation range emitted from most devices, a new report finds.

Researchers also found people who spent the most time on mobiles were no more likely to experience tumors located within five centimetres of the phone, where '90 percent of the radiation' is emitted.

The findings from the University of Tampere in Finland were revealed as the World Health Organization announced that, upon review of available scientific evidence, mobile phones should be classified as 'possibly carcinogenic.'

Study author Dr Suvi Larjavaara said although the results may be reassuring, they are certainly not conclusive.

She said cancer could take a long time to develop and only five per cent of the people included in the study had been using mobile phones for at least 10 years.

Larjavaara acknowledged that these latest findings contradict the WHO's latest announcement, which placed mobile in the same cancer risk category as coffee and chloroform. 

Overall, the evidence remains conflicted.

Last year, a study including 13,000 mobile users over 10 years found no clear answer on whether the handsets cause brain tumors. However, another study from last February suggested that using a mobile phone can change brain cell activity.

Use of mobile phones has increased hugely since their introduction in the  mid-1980s. About five billion mobile phones are currently in use worldwide.

One issue that arises when studying the risks of phone use is that people often don't recall how much time they spend on the phone.

Larjavaara and colleagues decided to look at the location of tumours, reasoning that an excess of tumours close to the phones would implicate the devices.

Ninety per cent of the radiation released from phones is absorbed by the brain tissue located within five centimetres of the handset. 

Researchers mapped the exact location of 888 brain tumors diagnosed between 2000 and 2004 relative to where people would hold their mobile while talking. They found no correlation between the two.

The study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

However, another scientist who has also performed studies on long-term mobile phone users advised caution about the results.

Dr Elisabeth Cardis from the CREAL-Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona, said the definition of exposure 'is overly simplistic, in my opinion.'

She said previous studies have found that the most exposed area is generally located around the ear.

'I expect there is substantial misclassification of exposure in the analyses published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, and hence it is not possible to draw conclusions about the presence or absence of a risk,' she concluded.

16.06.2011 - DailyMail

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Customers struggling with £500m power bill debt

ENERGY customers are struggling under a £500million debt mountain – as a new wave of inflation-shattering price rises is set to trigger fresh carnage.

A report by industry regulator Ofgem reveals the amount owed to suppliers soared last year, and trebled in the past decade.

Yet that was during a rare period when prices actually fell. Since then, households have been hit with a round of winter price rises.

And there appears to be no let-up in the misery after Scottish Power became the first supplier to announce a second lot of increases, even more punishing than the first.

Rival suppliers British Gas, EDF Energy, npower, E.ON and Scottish & Southern Energy are expected to follow suit over the coming weeks and months.

However, Ofgem’s study uncovered a worrying number of households are already on the edge of a financial precipice – with the poorest being squeezed the hardest. At the end of 2010, 900,000 electricity customers and 700,000 gas customers were repaying debts to their supplier.

The number of electricity customers in the red was down by 100,000 on 2009, but even these figures mask the true scale of the crisis as they only include people identified as in trouble, with countless more customers up to their neck in debt and suffering in silence.

Though prices dropped early last year, the average owed by electricity customers jumped from £280 to £316 and for gas from £288 to £310.

Worryingly, the number of people even deeper in debt has also soared, with around one in seven paying back more than £600. The report concluded: “It is likely that customers are delaying payment of their energy bills due to other priorities,” and suggests suppliers should take a more lenient approach as families struggle with increases in living costs.

There is some evidence of that, with a fall in the amount suppliers ask customers to repay each week.

For most, the figure is just over £6-a- week, but for those on a pre-payment meter (PPM) it’s well over £7-a-week, despite them being among the country’s poorest households. The number of households with an electricity PPM leapt 200,000 to a record four million last year, while the number of gas PPMs rose 100,000 to 2.7million.

Having a PPM used to be a rip-off but action by Ofgem forced suppliers to cut prices so that, on average, they are £20-a-year cheaper than prices for someone who settles their bill every quarter by cash or cheque, although more than if you pay by monthly direct debit. If you’ve fallen behind with your bill – or you’re worried that you might do – it is vital you alert your supplier. There are rules that state firms MUST treat you sympathetically and offer alternative ways of paying, including switching to a PPM.

If you’re in debt, they MUST look at your individual circumstances and set repayments at a level you can afford.

For those who still can’t pay (or won’t) there is something called Fuel Direct, which is considered by suppliers as a last resort.

If you’re on state benefits, the scheme involves repayments being deducted before you receive your money. There are strict guidelines on who suppliers can cut off and, thankfully, the number of disconnections has fallen sharply in recent years, dropping to just over 2,800 customers in 2010.

DISCONNECTED

Rules ban suppliers from “knowingly” disconnecting pensioners during the coldest months of the year – October to the end of March.

They must also try to avoid doing so where someone in the house is disabled or chronically ill. EDF Energy has the worst track record for electricity disconnections, although the firm argues it is due to problems installing PPMs in flats in London.

Scottish Power disconnects the most gas customers. But, the company says it has a disproportionately high number of flats with communal areas. Soaring energy bills have left more than five million households in “fuel poverty”, which is defined as those who spend more than 10% of their income on gas and electricity.

But there is help at hand through the Warm Homes Discount, a new £1.1billion, four-year deal between the Government and industry.

Under the scheme, suppliers give vulnerable pensioners and others a £120 rebate, rising to £140 by 2014/15.


15.06.2011 - Mirror


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HP looks to get in on the NFC action

HP, the new owner of Palm, is said to be considering building Near Field Communications (NFC) toting mobile handsets that could be on the market by the end of the year.

Bloomberg reports that two people "familiar with the company's plans" have said that HP is interested in developing phones and tablets that can make contactless payments using NFC.

It comes as no huge surprise that a phone manufacturer is looking to get in on the next big thing in mobile technology.

NFC in phones has been around for several years, but didn't really take off in the smartphone sphere until Google announced that its flagship Android handset, the Google Nexus S, incorporates an NFC chip.

Since then, phone makers have been scrabbling to add the functionality to new handsets; with the marketing might of Google behind them, NFC payments using a mobile phone could really take off.

It hasn't quite yet, with Google trialling Google Wallet in just a handful of US cities and the UK only able to use NFC to buy a coffee at specific retailers using a specific phone on a specific network for a specific price (under £15) so far.

Apple is also heavily rumoured to be getting in on the NFC act with an upcoming iPhone, although whether that will be the iPhone 5 or the following iteration remains to be seen.

14.06.2011 – Techradar 

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British Gas to increase energy prices

British Gas customers will see their energy bills go up this winter. Sir Richard Carr, chairman of Centrica – the parent company of British Gas – says rises are inevitable.

Carr's admission comes just days after ScottishPower's price hike announcement, pushing its average gas bills up by 19% and electricity by 10%.

Tom Lyon, energy expert for comparison website uSwitch, says he would be "absolutely staggered" if British Gas and the rest of the big six don't push up their prices.

British Gas, the largest UK energy supplier, refuses to comment on how much its own energy prices will go up by but Carr has come out citing the government's green energy policies for future rises.

"Ofgem has said that it would see over the next decade a dual fee bill going up by £500 a year for a typical consumer and that's related to decarbonisation rather than market forces," he says.

The chairman's comments echo those of ScottishPower's UK retail director Raymond Jack, who in part blames the "rising burden of non-energy costs" for providers charging more for gas and electric:

"The cost of meeting government environmental and social programmes and the cost of distributing electricity on the national grid, has placed further upward pressure on energy bills."

13.06.2011 – Moneywise

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Holiday Mobile Phone Users Risk Being Stung By High Phone Bills

Many mobile phone users will get an unexpected shock when they receive their phone bills on returning from holiday.

According to uSwitch.com, whilst some 71% of people plan to take their mobiles on holiday with them, only around 20% of them will check their overseas charges, such as roaming charges, before they go.

Many will have no idea what they will be charged but despite this will continue to use their phones.

Nearly half of mobile phone users have been stung by roaming charges and been hit with an average bill of nearly £150.

The minute you switch on abroad and your phone registers onto a local network you will be billed at overseas rates – you will have to pay to receive calls, for someone leaving you a voicemail message and to pick up voicemail messages.

A third admit they will use their phone abroad to check emails and nearly a quarter intend to use Twitter or Facebook on their phone. Nearly 30% will browse the internet when they’re away, a quarter will use app. 

16% will check the weather and 14% will even risk racking up high bills to check their work emails.

Ernest Doku, technology expert at uSwitch.com, says: “Contacting your mobile phone network should be high on every mobile user’s holiday checklist, alongside packing your passport and sun cream.

“You could opt for a special roaming tariff like one in ten savvy Brits do, fix a cap or even using a cut price local SIM card. But if this seems like too much effort, or you run out of time, at least ask your network to switch off your voicemail service before you leave the UK to avoid these hidden charges – over two thirds of Brits are missing this simple trick. “

He added “But with smart phones taking over, one of the biggest ways to get burnt while abroad is by the high cost of data roaming. Mobile internet users must ensure they check that this is turned off when not in use to prevent online services such as email updating automatically.

“And although telling your friends about the bar or the hotel pool on Facebook or Twitter may be difficult to resist, it’s best to avoid visiting sites like these which are heavy on the visuals, as data is charged per megabyte.”

10.06.2011 - moneyhighstreet.com

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8 Important Things about Apple iCloud

The recent Apple Worldwide Developers Conference is the place where we were expecting to see Steve Jobs give us some details about the much anticipated iCloud service. We weren’t disappointed and here is our summary of what iCloud is going to give us all.

The Idea

Jobs started by pointing out that current ways of storing music and video files no longer work the way we need them to. He even went so far as to say that keeping these files on the device itself is a method which has “broken down” lately and that keeping all the devices synced is “driving us crazy”.

He also pointed out that the idea of cloud storage being simply a “hard drive in the sky” was incorrect and that with iCloud there is going to be a lot more to it than that. Before going on to give the details he admitted that MobileMe wasn’t Apple’s moment of greatest glory.

The Cost

Now the old MobileMe charge has gone and the iCloud service is free. Things such as contacts, calendar reminders and mail will all be brought up to date automatically on all of the user’s devices with no charge at any time.

The Apps

What else can you do with it? What about all those apps you have downloaded and deleted / lost / forgotten about? You can see a list of them on all of your iOS machines and download them again at no charge. As well as that, all of the apps and iBooks purchases will now automatically arrive to all of your devices.

The (No) Daily Back Up

One point which will be particularly well received is the fact that there are now no automatic daily backups to worry about. This means that you don’t run the risk of losing anything which you did after the last one was run.

The Photos

Documents and photos will also find a new home on iCloud. The photos which are taken on one device will automatically make their way onto your other ones, including your Mac or PC. Photos get held on the central server for 30 days. While PCs and Macs don’t have a limit other devices will hold the last thousand.

The Music

So that’s everything you need to know about iCloud then, isn’t it? What’s that? You want to know about the music? Steve Jobs left this to the end of his presentation before talking about “iTunes in the cloud”.  Firstly, any song you buy on any of your machines will be sitting waiting for you download on any other device.

The Space

Music isn’t counted toward the free 5GB space you get and neither are photos, apps or books for that matter. If you have songs which you didn’t buy from iTunes jobs gave three different ways of getting them on the service.

That really is now just about everything about the iCloud service. The iTunes part has been launched already and developers have also got access to it now.  All we have to do is try out and see if it works for us the way that it should.

09.06.2011 - gadgetsandgizmos.org

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Scottish Power raises gas and electricity prices

Scottish Power is to raise the cost of gas by 19% and the cost of electricity by 10%.

The utility firm said the increase, which would affect 2.4 million households in the UK, would come into effect from 1 August.

Affected customers will see an average daily rise to a dual fuel energy bill of 48p per day.

The company said the move reflected sustained increases in the wholesale energy market.

However, it said about 700,000 households would be protected by capped or fixed priced deals.

Watchdog Consumer Focus described the price rise as a "body blow for customers".

Scottish Power, which is part of Spanish company Iberdrola, last put its prices up in November, when gas prices rose 2% and electricity bills went up by 8.9%.

Energy efficiency

Other suppliers are widely expected to follow Scottish Power's lead over the coming weeks.

Raymond Jack, Scottish Power's UK retail director, said: "Wholesale prices for gas and electricity have increased significantly since the end of last year and continuing unrest in global energy markets means future prices are volatile.

"We understand times are difficult for many people, and we have done what we can to absorb these additional costs for as long as possible to minimise the impact on our customers."

The power company has also launched an new online product with a long fixed-price offer that it claims is one of the cheapest in the market.

Scottish Power said it could also help its customers to reduce their fuel bills by making energy efficiency savings in their homes.

Mr Jack added: "Some of our customers could save an average of £459 per year by making simple changes to the way they pay for their energy, switching to paper-free online billing and selecting one of our new or existing energy products."

Audrey Gallacher, head of energy at Consumer Focus, said: "This huge increase will be a body blow for consumers and we fear other firms will follow Scottish Power's lead.

"Companies have been softening customers up for price rises for months but customers will be shocked at the scale of this rise. Every household in the country will now be bracing themselves for impact.

"When this affects the cost of keeping warm and well, it is not an acceptable state of affairs."

Energy regulator Ofgem recently called for the industry to be overhauled after it found that the "big six" companies had put up prices more quickly than they reduced them when costs fell.

A separate inquiry has been launched into Scottish Power's pricing plans.

Scottish Power's latest rise will mean that customers who take gas and electricity from the company but pay quarterly by cash will see their annual bills rise by an average of £180 to £1,391.

07.06.2011 - BBC 

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The smart heart-phone: Gadget that turns your mobile into a cardio-monitor

A gadget that turns a mobile phone into a powerful medical tool able to detect heart problems has been unveiled by scientists.

The 'Smartheart' connects to, and converts, a smartphone into a hospital-grade heart monitor capable of performing electrocardiograms in just 30 seconds.

The 300lb device hooks around the user's chest and records their heart rate by measuring its electro activity.

The user can then view the ECG in detail and email it to a doctor. If it identifies an irregular or abnormal heart condition it will send you an alert.

The gadget has been welcomed by heart experts.

Dr Joseph Vettukattil, consultant congenital cardiologist at Southampton Hospital, said: 'This device is a major breakthrough and could save lives.

'One of the biggest problems with detecting heart conditions is that their symptoms happen when the sufferer is at home.

'By the time they get to the doctor they have stopped. With this device, however, it will be easy to take a recording which can then be analysed by a doctor.

'It could be especially helpful with diagnosing children. Younger ones experience a higher rate of palpitations and as nearly all children have a mobile it will be easy for them to record.

'This has the potential to be very exciting for detecting and treating heart problems.'

A spokesman for Telemedicine, the manufacturer behind the device, said: 'This will transform phones into a fully-functioning, hospital-grade heart monitor.

'Smartheart addresses the most crucial factor related to heart attacks - time. Within 30 seconds, anyone can record a scan and have it transmitted to their doctor.

'It can be used anywhere, by anyone, and is a real breakthrough in technology.'

Smartheart connects to an iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android device via Bluetooth, allowing the user to view an ECG in detail, and email it to their doctor.

Instead of a traditional ECG, which uses several monitors stuck to the body, Smartheart has just one monitor.

The scan is completed in 30 seconds.

Smartheart can be purchased online and the app can be downloaded for free.

1.06.2011 – DailyMail.co.uk

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