Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, and Ford all have products in the works and we should be seeing them as soon as Spring. Ford Motors was actually the first one to start incorporating modern communication systems into their dashboards with their Sync technology. Now users will be able to interact with their Twitter account, watch streaming video, and get their news right from the drivers seat.

Another dashboard integration we can expect will also come from the Ford Sync system. Currently Ford is developing an array of voice-activated health and wellness-based tools to aid drivers with issues like diabetes, allergies, and asthma. While this could still be considered a distraction, it sounds like it will do more good than harm.

Of course we all know that distractions like cell phones in the car can make accidents more likely, I am surprised we’re not hearing more buzz about these innovations from the government. I know there’s going to be some users who abuse these technologies on the highway and that’s going to be a problem. I think there is the possibility that integrating these technologies into our dashboards could actually make them safer for us. Yes, it’s distracting to check your e-mail while your driving, but if your going to do it on your smartphone anyway, it might as well get integrated into your dash so at least your eyes are fixed in the general direction of the road.

Of the 1,000 included in the study, 52% of adult cell phone users said that they used their phone while inside of a brick-and-mortar store to help with their purchasing decisions. Of those adults, one third of them used their phone to look up information about a product online, either to check out reviews or to compare prices. 38% of those adults went for a more personal touch, though, and called a friend to ask for advice.

Regardless of how the cell phone was used, one fact is becoming very salient in our culture: we can’t buy stuff without consulting some kind of third party via the use of our cell phone. In fact, the mere presence of a cell phone in a purse or pocket seems to be affecting the way people decide on their purchases:

Aaron W. Smith, Senior Research Specialist with Pew, said, “These findings show that the growing availability of smartphones and other mobile devices has dramatically changed the shopping experience.” He continued, “Consumers are frequently using their phones to make sure they get the most highly-rated product at the best price, and in many cases they are willing to go elsewhere or delay their purchase until they find the right combination of value and quality.”

Indeed, one in five “mobile price matchers,” as Pew has labelled these cell phoned sales hounds, ultimately opted not to make their purchase at a brick-and-mortar store and instead chose to buy the product from an online store. More, 5% of of all cell phone owners actually looked up a product while inside the physical and then chose to purchase it online. Makes you wonder how much incentive apps like Amazon’s Price Check app really did influence shoppers this past Christmas. The app likely wasn’t creating a new shopping strategy in potential consumers but, rather, simply made it whole lot easier to compare prices and look up reviews while you’re standing in a store.

Still, when only 1 in 10 cell owners who searched for the price of a product while inside a physical store still chose to make their purchase at the store, that’s not good news for brick-and-mortar stores. Did any of you out there resort to such scrutinizing shopping practices this past holiday season? Share your thoughts or experiences below.

It’s a heavily debated proposition within the scientific community, and it seems like we get a new report every couple of weeks telling us to watch out or telling us to have no fear. Really, the cellphone/cancer debate is a crapshoot anyways. Even if you had definitive proof the cellphones raise the likelihood of cancer, would you stop using yours? I know I probably couldn’t live without it.

A new study about cellphone radiation isn’t talking about cancer, but about sperm.

An Italian report published in the Journal of Andrology has found a link between the radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation (Rf-EMR) produced by mobile phones and both decreased sperm count and decreased sperm quality.

The study focused on groups of both humans and rats. In one experiment, rats were placed in glass cages with cellphones attached to the bottom. The rats were then exposed to the RF-EMR for 6 hours a day for four month. When they tested the rats’ sperm, they found a 25% drop in the amount of live sperm. They also found that the sperm was sticking together, which makes it harder to do its job when it gets to the egg.

As far as the humans go, the researchers found that RF-EMR decreased sperm count and mobility, and viability. From the study:

Altogether the results of these studies show that RF-EMR decreases sperm count and motility, and increases the oxidative stress. In human beings, two different experimental approaches have been followed, one has explored the effects of RF-EMR directly on spermatozoa and the other has evaluated the sperm parameters in men using or not mobile phones. The results show that human spermatozoa exposed to RF-EMR have decreased motility, morphometric abnormalities, and increased oxidative stress, whereas men using mobile phones have decreased sperm concentration, motility (particularly the rapid progressive one), normal morphology, and viability. These abnormalities seem to be directly related with the length of mobile phone use.

One prevailing theory is that men who keep their cellphones in their pockets increase their risk of damaged sperm.

Of course, like most scientific studies, more research is demanded –

Nevertheless, more studies are necessary to provide stronger evidences that cellular phone use disturb sperm and testicular function since the existing literature has several limitations. These include dishomogeneity in terms of RF wavelength used, depth of penetration, and length of radiation exposure.

The researchers aren’t quite sure which types of cellphones and cell service are doing the most harm.

Of course, studies like this aren’t conclusive, but this isn’t the first time cellphones have been linked to sperm problems. A Cleveland Clinic study found similar results a couple years ago. As a precaution, it might not hurt to see how your cellphone feels in your back pocket, fellas.

Nearly three quarters (72%) of adult cell phone users send and receive text messages now, up from 65 percent in September 2009. The majority (87%) of teen cell users text. Teens text 50 messages a day on average, five times more than the typical 10 text messages sent and received by adults per day.

The majority of African Americans and English-speaking Hispanics own cell phones compared to 80 percent of whites. Twelve percent of African American and 14 percent of English-speaking Hispanics make and receive more than 30 calls a day on their mobile phones. Four percent of whites report placing and receiving that many calls. African American and Hispanic texters typical send and receive 10 texts a day; whites who text typically send and receive 5 texts a day.

“Texting among adults has reached the mainstream and the charge is being lead by African-Americans, Hispanics and young adults,” said Amanda Lenhart, Senior Research Specialist at the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and author the report.

“Of course, none of these adult groups hold a candle to teens when it comes to texting, who swamp adults in messages sent per day by a factor of 5.”

For all of their enthusiasm for texting and talking on their cells, Americans have mixed feelings about the role of the mobile phone in their lives. Most cell users report that their cell phone makes them feel safer (91%), and that they appreciate the way it allows them to arrange plans with family and friends (88% agree.)  But mobile phone users also report that they get irritated when a call or text interrupts them (42%) and that they find it rude when others check their phones repeatedly during meetings or conversations (86%).

Other highlights of the report include:

*65% of American adults with cell phones sleep with their phone on or right next to their bed.

*57% of adults with cells report receiving unwanted or spam text messages on their phone.

*90% of parents have a cell phone compared with 72% of adults without children under 18 at home.

More than a quarter (27%) of American adults say they have texted while driving, about the same proportion as the number of teens (26%) who say they have texted while driving.

Nearly two-thirds (61%) of adults say they have talked on their cell phones while they were behind the wheel. That is significantly higher than the number of 16 and 17 year olds (43%) who have talked on their cells while driving. In addition, 49% of adults say they have been passengers in a car when the driver was sending or reading text messages on their cell phone. Overall, 44% of adults say they have been passengers of drivers who used the cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger.

Besides driving, 17 percent of adults have been so distracted while talking or texting that they have physically bumped into another person or object. That amounts to 14 percent of all American adults who have been so engaged in talking or texting that they have bumped into something or someone.

"While previous research has shown that one in four teen drivers text at the wheel, this data suggests that adults are now just as likely to engage in this risky behavior" said Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist at the Internet & American Life Project and co-author of the report.

"Adults may be the ones sounding the alarm on the dangers of distracted driving, but they don’t always set the best example themselves." 

Other findings from the report include:

*82 percent of American adults now own cell phones and 58 percent send or receive text messages.

*51 percent of men who use text messaging say they have sent or read messages while driving compared to 42 percent of women who have done the same.

*While 59% of texting Millennials (ages 18-33) say they have sent or read messages at the wheel, 50% of text-using Gen Xers (ages 34-45) and 29% of texting Baby Boomers (ages 46-64) report the same.

"It is just as hard for adults as it is for teenagers to resist chatting with friends and sending off that quick text even in the midst of heavy traffic," said Lee Rainie, Director of the Internet & American Life Project and co-author of the distractions report.

"Constant mobile connectivity to friends, family and colleagues is a hallmark of age and it is hard to resist even in situations where it would seem smart to stay focused on the task at hand."
 

The group will be led by Jennifer Smith, who has been an advocate against distracted driving since her mother was killed by someone talking on a cell phone while driving in 2008.

Focusdriven is a result of a September 2009 national Distracted Driving Summit in Washington, DC. Since the two-day meeting that brought together affected families, law enforcement, researchers and public officials, family members of distracted driving victims have worked to create an advocacy organization with support from the Department of Transportation and the National Safety Council.

FocusDriven’s website has information on distracted driving, help for victims and family members, and ways to get involved.

"I first met several of the founding members of FocusDriven at our Distracted Driving Summit, and I’m deeply impressed by their commitment to turn these tragic events into positive actions that will help save lives," said Secretary LaHood. "Their stories are not just heartbreaking; they’re also a clear and compelling call to action."

FocusDriven is modeled after Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), which helped to change society’s attitudes about drinking and driving
 

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The study involved exposing mice over long periods of time to electromagnetic waves associated with cell phone use.

"It surprised us to find that cell phone exposure, begun in early adulthood, protects the memory of mice otherwise destined to develop Alzheimer’s symptoms," said lead author Gary Arendash, PhD, Research Professor at the Florida ADRC.

"It was even more astonishing that the electromagnetic waves generated by cell phones actually reversed memory impairment in old Alzheimer’s mice."

The researchers showed that exposing old Alzheimer’s mice to electromagnetic waves generated by cell phones erased brain deposits of the harmful protein beta-amyloid, in addition to preventing the protein’s build-up in younger Alzheimer’s mice. The sticky brain plaques formed by the abnormal accumulation of beta amyloid are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Most treatments against Alzheimer’s try to target beta-amyloid.

The study involved 96, most of which were genetically altered to develop problems mimicking Alzheimer’s disease as they aged. The mouse cages were arranged around a centrally-located antenna generating the cell phone signal.

Each animal was housed the same distance from the antenna and exposed to electromagnetic waves typically emitted by a cell phone pressed up against a human head.

If cell phone exposure was started when the genetically-programmed mice were young adults — before signs of memory impairment were apparent — their cognitive ability was protected. In fact, the Alzheimer’s mice performed as well on tests measuring memory and thinking skills as aged mice without dementia. If older Alzheimer’s mice already exhibiting memory problems were exposed to the electromagnetic waves, their memory impairment disappeared.

"It will take some time to determine the exact mechanisms involved in these beneficial memory effects," Arendash said.

"One thing is clear, however – the cognitive benefits of long-term electromagnetic exposure are real, because we saw them in both protection- and treatment-based experiments involving Alzheimer’s mice, as well as in normal mice."
 

Related Articles:

> Online Tool Rates Cell Phone Radiation

>Study: Mobile Phones More Dangerous Than Smoking

> New Mexico Group Says It’s Allergic To Wi-Fi

The study involved exposing mice over long periods of time to electromagnetic waves associated with cell phone use.

"It surprised us to find that cell phone exposure, begun in early adulthood, protects the memory of mice otherwise destined to develop Alzheimer’s symptoms," said lead author Gary Arendash, PhD, Research Professor at the Florida ADRC.

"It was even more astonishing that the electromagnetic waves generated by cell phones actually reversed memory impairment in old Alzheimer’s mice."

The researchers showed that exposing old Alzheimer’s mice to electromagnetic waves generated by cell phones erased brain deposits of the harmful protein beta-amyloid, in addition to preventing the protein’s build-up in younger Alzheimer’s mice. The sticky brain plaques formed by the abnormal accumulation of beta amyloid are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Most treatments against Alzheimer’s try to target beta-amyloid.

The study involved 96, most of which were genetically altered to develop problems mimicking Alzheimer’s disease as they aged. The mouse cages were arranged around a centrally-located antenna generating the cell phone signal.

Each animal was housed the same distance from the antenna and exposed to electromagnetic waves typically emitted by a cell phone pressed up against a human head.

If cell phone exposure was started when the genetically-programmed mice were young adults — before signs of memory impairment were apparent — their cognitive ability was protected. In fact, the Alzheimer’s mice performed as well on tests measuring memory and thinking skills as aged mice without dementia. If older Alzheimer’s mice already exhibiting memory problems were exposed to the electromagnetic waves, their memory impairment disappeared.

"It will take some time to determine the exact mechanisms involved in these beneficial memory effects," Arendash said.

"One thing is clear, however – the cognitive benefits of long-term electromagnetic exposure are real, because we saw them in both protection- and treatment-based experiments involving Alzheimer’s mice, as well as in normal mice."
 

Related Articles:

> Online Tool Rates Cell Phone Radiation

>Study: Mobile Phones More Dangerous Than Smoking

> New Mexico Group Says It’s Allergic To Wi-Fi

The study involved exposing mice over long periods of time to electromagnetic waves associated with cell phone use.

"It surprised us to find that cell phone exposure, begun in early adulthood, protects the memory of mice otherwise destined to develop Alzheimer’s symptoms," said lead author Gary Arendash, PhD, Research Professor at the Florida ADRC.

"It was even more astonishing that the electromagnetic waves generated by cell phones actually reversed memory impairment in old Alzheimer’s mice."

The researchers showed that exposing old Alzheimer’s mice to electromagnetic waves generated by cell phones erased brain deposits of the harmful protein beta-amyloid, in addition to preventing the protein’s build-up in younger Alzheimer’s mice. The sticky brain plaques formed by the abnormal accumulation of beta amyloid are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Most treatments against Alzheimer’s try to target beta-amyloid.

The study involved 96, most of which were genetically altered to develop problems mimicking Alzheimer’s disease as they aged. The mouse cages were arranged around a centrally-located antenna generating the cell phone signal.

Each animal was housed the same distance from the antenna and exposed to electromagnetic waves typically emitted by a cell phone pressed up against a human head.

If cell phone exposure was started when the genetically-programmed mice were young adults — before signs of memory impairment were apparent — their cognitive ability was protected. In fact, the Alzheimer’s mice performed as well on tests measuring memory and thinking skills as aged mice without dementia. If older Alzheimer’s mice already exhibiting memory problems were exposed to the electromagnetic waves, their memory impairment disappeared.

"It will take some time to determine the exact mechanisms involved in these beneficial memory effects," Arendash said.

"One thing is clear, however – the cognitive benefits of long-term electromagnetic exposure are real, because we saw them in both protection- and treatment-based experiments involving Alzheimer’s mice, as well as in normal mice."
 

Related Articles:

> Online Tool Rates Cell Phone Radiation

>Study: Mobile Phones More Dangerous Than Smoking

> New Mexico Group Says It’s Allergic To Wi-Fi

The study involved exposing mice over long periods of time to electromagnetic waves associated with cell phone use.

"It surprised us to find that cell phone exposure, begun in early adulthood, protects the memory of mice otherwise destined to develop Alzheimer’s symptoms," said lead author Gary Arendash, PhD, Research Professor at the Florida ADRC.

"It was even more astonishing that the electromagnetic waves generated by cell phones actually reversed memory impairment in old Alzheimer’s mice."

The researchers showed that exposing old Alzheimer’s mice to electromagnetic waves generated by cell phones erased brain deposits of the harmful protein beta-amyloid, in addition to preventing the protein’s build-up in younger Alzheimer’s mice. The sticky brain plaques formed by the abnormal accumulation of beta amyloid are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Most treatments against Alzheimer’s try to target beta-amyloid.

The study involved 96, most of which were genetically altered to develop problems mimicking Alzheimer’s disease as they aged. The mouse cages were arranged around a centrally-located antenna generating the cell phone signal.

Each animal was housed the same distance from the antenna and exposed to electromagnetic waves typically emitted by a cell phone pressed up against a human head.

If cell phone exposure was started when the genetically-programmed mice were young adults — before signs of memory impairment were apparent — their cognitive ability was protected. In fact, the Alzheimer’s mice performed as well on tests measuring memory and thinking skills as aged mice without dementia. If older Alzheimer’s mice already exhibiting memory problems were exposed to the electromagnetic waves, their memory impairment disappeared.

"It will take some time to determine the exact mechanisms involved in these beneficial memory effects," Arendash said.

"One thing is clear, however – the cognitive benefits of long-term electromagnetic exposure are real, because we saw them in both protection- and treatment-based experiments involving Alzheimer’s mice, as well as in normal mice."
 

Related Articles:

> Online Tool Rates Cell Phone Radiation

>Study: Mobile Phones More Dangerous Than Smoking

> New Mexico Group Says It’s Allergic To Wi-Fi