Heart patients wearing pacemakers and implanted defibrillators should avoid putting iPods or other media players in their breast pockets as the magnets in the headphones can deactivate the devices, according to a Medical Device Safety report.

The study, led by Dr William Maisel of the Medical Device Safety Institute at Boston's Beth Israel Medical Center, found that earphones could interfere with pacemakers when placed within 1.2in of the devices.

The Medical Device Safety Institute reported its findings to the American Hearth Association last week, and said strong magnets inside the headphones caused problems for one in four patients, and particularly those with a defibrillator. The researchers said the magnets could prevent electrical impulses being sent from the device to the heart, possibly leading to palpitations or arrhythmia.

"The main message here is: it's fine for patients to use their headphones normally, meaning they can listen to music and keep the headphones in their ears," said Dr Maisel "But what they should not do is put the headphones near their device."

Eight models of headphones were tested with 60 patents with defibrillators and pacemakers. Researchers stressed that MP3 players themselves posed no threat to pacemakers and defibrillators.

Report warns iPod earphones may deactivate pacemakers

At the request of chemical industry lobbyists, the Environmental Protection Agency removed the chair of an expert peer review panel charged with setting safe exposure levels for a toxic fire retardant that contaminates human blood and breast milk, this according to a report from the Environmental Working Group.

The panel was convened by EPA to report to the agency on environment and health concerns of Decabromodiphenyl or Deca. It is a spin off from chemical fire retardants and used in electronic components and other consumer products. The chemical has been shown to be a developmental neurotoxin.

It was the American Chemical Council, the industry's major lobbyist, that pressured EPA to remove Dr. Deborah Rice from the panel.

Rice, retired EPA scientist, is credited by many in the public health community for doing the leading work in researching Deca's toxicity to the brain and nervous system during development. Now with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Rice also spearheaded a regulatory review mandated by Maine law, to investigate the feasibility of replacing Deca with less toxic chemicals.

Big $$$ shut her up... Welcome to America...

EPA bows to chemical industry lobbyists, fires top expert on flame retardents' dangers

Union officials say the U.S. Department of Agriculture has placed three employees on paid leave of absence amid the agency's investigation of the largest meat recall in U.S. history.

Two agency supervisors and one inspector have been sent home and will receive their normal salary pending the probe, said Stan Painter, chairman of the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, the union representing USDA food inspectors. A second union official confirmed the leaves.

Hallmark/Westland on Feb. 17 announced a recall of 143 million pounds of beef. The Chino, Calif., company issued the recall three weeks after the Humane Society of the United States released an undercover video showing workers trying to force sick or injured cows to their feet using electrical cattle prods, high-pressure water hoses and fork lifts. Such activities violate state and federal laws barring animal cruelty...

This is sick! Someone (CEO's/Managers) should do jail time, or atleast have the shit beat out of them and shocked with cattle prods.... Do unto others you bastards! :)

USDA Puts 3 Workers on Leave After Largest Recall of Beef

The US study of 77,000 people found taking 400 milligrams per day long-term increased cancer risk by 28% - with smokers at particular risk.

Vitamin E linked to lung cancer

he 5-2 decision upheld the job termination of Gary Ross, who flunked a company drug test shortly after being hired at a telecommunications firm.

A state referendum that allows people to use medical marijuana with a physician's recommendation are immune from some state criminal drug possession charges. But the state high court said such legal protection only goes so far.

"Nothing in the text or history of the Compassionate Use Act suggests the voters intended the measure to address the respective rights and duties of employers and employees," wrote Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar. "Under California law, an employer may require pre-employment drug tests, and take illegal drug use into consideration in making employment decisions."

And that I think is the way it should be... hell make it leagl, just dont do it at work ... you cant go to work drunk ...

Court: Medically legal or not, smoke pot and face firing

Whey protein isolate
Globular proteins left over from cheese making, minus the fats and sugars. The main protein, beta-lactoglobulin, is an especially good source of amino acids for building other proteins.

Calcium caseinate
Legend had it that casein can worsen autism due to the protein's alleged opiate-like effects on the brain. But a 2006 study showed no significant connection. So don't blame PowerBar for your Asperger's, nerdlinger.

Soy protein isolate
High intake of soy protein has been linked to lower rates of coronary heart disease. But manly men seeking to sculpt their musculature may not like the fact that it's rich in phytoestrogens (girlie hormones). Cooties!

Chocolatey coating
Why the y? Anything sold as "chocolate" can contain only one type of added fat — cocoa butter. PowerBars use fractionated palm kernel oil instead, which is about as healthy as Elmer's Glue-All.

High fructose corn syrup
This ingredient is everywhere, even in so-called health foods. In 2006, Americans consumed 58 pounds of this sweetener per capita, up nearly 50 pounds in 30 years.

Glycerin
The bar's chewy texture is due in part to this sugar alcohol, which moonlights as a food moisturizer.

Maltitol syrup
Another sugar alcohol and probable sweetener, but one that the body absorbs super slowly. Besides gas and bloating, maltitol can produce a laxative effect so powerful that Australia and New Zealand require a warning label on foods that contain it.

Oat fiber
Oat fiber helps lower cholesterol by fermenting into the short-chain fatty acid butyrate, which can limit the release of lipids from the small intestine.

Calcium phosphate
This supposed performance enhancer (which is essentially powdered bone) is also used to polish teeth and build hard-tissue prosthetics.

Copper gluconate
In theory, a copper deficiency can lead to anemia and neurological disorders (though such problems are usually found only in people who have been kept alive via intravenous feeding or in babies fed nothing but cow's milk). So copper gluconate sounds healthy. Too bad a 1985 study showed zero effects from adding it to the diet.

Pantothenic acid (calcium pantothenate)
Better known as vitamin B5, pantothenic acid is necessary for the digestion of sugars, proteins, and fats. Handily, it's found widely in foods — plants, animals, and all PowerBar Protein Pluses.

Vitamin B6
B6 is essential for the synthesis of neurotransmitters like epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin. But don't binge, new moms: Too much can stop lactation.

hmm reminds me of Olestra, can we say leakage?

What's Inside: PowerBar Protein Plus (Laxatives, of Course)

Hazardous imports have been the top story on the evening news for weeks now. But the poor quality of some foreign-made products is only half the story. Before we ever see those products, manufacturing plants in the countries of origin can pose an even greater danger to human and ecological health.

Take India, which is now our biggest foreign source of pharmaceuticals. A just-published study by Sweden's Goteborg University shows that, whatever the quality of the drugs being shipped out of India, they are leaving behind a toxic mess. Even after days in a water-treatment plant, effluents discharged into streams and rivers in one Indian region show concentrations of antibiotics and other drugs at 100 to 30,000 times the levels considered safe.

Toxic Waste Exposure Is the High Price Developing Countries Pay to Produce Our Medicine

By the 1930s it was widely recognized that the Food and Drugs Act of 1906 was obsolete, but bitter disagreement arose as to what should replace it. By 1937 most of the arguments had been resolved but Congressional action was stalled. Then came a shocking development--the deaths of more than 100 people after using a drug that was clearly unsafe. The incident hastened final enactment in 1938 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the statute that today remains the basis for FDA regulation of these products.

Taste of Raspberries, Taste of Death - The 1937 Elixir Sulfanilamide Incident

The Indianapolis Star on Dec. 25, 2005, examined a new low-premium, high-deductible health plan from Indianapolis-based WellPoint for individuals from ages 19 through their early 30s "who are likely to go without health insurance." WellPoint designed the health plan, called Tonik, for young adults who "are without jobs or working in positions that don't provide benefits" and students who no longer receive coverage through the health plans of their parents, the Star reports. WellPoint launched Tonik in California in 2003. Tonik also is available in Colorado and will become available in other states this year. Tonik offers three levels of health coverage: "Thrill Seeker," "Part-Time Daredevil" and "Calculated Risktaker." Monthly premiums under Tonik range from $64 to $123 based on age, location and medical history, and deductibles range from $1,500 to $5,000. Tonik covers limited dental and vision services but does not cover maternity care. According to the Star, Tonik is "part of a new line of insurance products sprouting up as fewer Americans are getting health insurance" from their employers because of increased health care costs.

I don't have health insurance because my company plan is way to much for my pay and this sounds like a better option... What is your plan like?

New WellPoint Health Plan For Uninsured Young Adults Examined, USA

Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown Medical School have discovered that insulin and its receptors drop significantly in the brain during the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, and that levels decline progressively as the disease becomes more severe, leading to further evidence that Alzheimer's is a new type of diabetes. They also found that acetylcholine deficiency, a hallmark of the disease, is linked directly to the loss of insulin and insulin-like growth factor function in the brain.

The study, published in the November issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (http://www.j-alz.com), is the first to look at insulin levels early in the course of the disease. The authors' previous work published earlier this year primarily focused on the late stages of Alzheimer's.

"Insulin disappears early and dramatically in Alzheimer's disease. And many of the unexplained features of Alzheimer's, such as cell death and tangles in the brain, appear to be linked to abnormalities in insulin signaling. This demonstrates that the disease is most likely a neuroendocrine disorder, or another type of diabetes," says senior author Suzanne M. de la Monte, a neuropathologist at Rhode Island Hospital and a professor of pathology at Brown Medical School in Providence, RI.

Evidence suggests Alzheimer's may be a type of diabetes