Is smoking in cars dangerous?

A ban on smoking in cars where children are present may be introduced in Wales. Is lighting up inside your vehicle damaging?

If a campaign to change attitudes does not succeed, a tobacco ban inside vehicles in which children are travelling could be imposed, the Welsh government has warned.
Such a move would bring Wales into line with a number of other jurisdictions around the world. But is passive smoking a danger to passengers?
Anti-smoking campaigners point to a University of Aberdeen study which suggested that it exposes children to levels of smoke comparable to those in a smoke-filled pub.
But the smokers' rights lobby questions the research, saying another study indicates the vast majority of people would never light up with a child travelling alongside them anyway.
If Wales were to adopt a ban on smoking inside cars in which children were present, it would join the US states of California, Arkansas and Louisiana as well as parts of Canada and Australia which have already done so.
Since 2009 smoking has been banned in the UK within vehicles used for work or to transport members of the public. Additionally, the Highway Code advises against smoking while driving because it causes a distraction.
Anti-smoking campaigners say they would like to see the law tightened further.

They cite the Aberdeen study, the findings of which were released in January 2011, that measured particles of tobacco toxins inside a car where someone had been smoking. It found levels were comparable with those in a smoke-filled pub before the introduction of the smoking ban.

Dr Charles Godden, a consultant paediatrician at the Royal Surrey County Hospital who specialists in respiratory diseases and a spokesman of the British Lung Foundation, says he understands why some smokers would resent a further curtailment of their freedom. But he says that previous bans on driving while intoxicated, with a mobile phone or without a seatbelt, have proved the most effective way of changing behaviour.
"I can remember people smoking on the tube [London Underground] and I think this is something similar," he says. "You can change people's behaviour for the better. It just needs to be turned into a dirty practice that's unacceptable.
"I'd love to hear somebody cogently explain why smoking in a car with a child in it is reasonable."

However, Simon Clark, director of Forest, which campaigns against smoking bans, says such a ban would be both unnecessary and infringement of civil liberties.

He cites a 2010 survey of 1,000 adult smokers conducted by market researchers Holden Pearmain, which found that 85.3% said they would not smoke in a car if a child was present. A further 8.2% said that they would smoke as normal, while 6.5% said that they would ask before lighting up.
"This tells me that the overwhelming majority of smokers have changed their behaviour voluntarily, without the intervention of government," he adds.

UK 'has too many hospital births'

Maternity services across the UK need a radical rethink, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says.

It wants the number of hospital units cut to ensure 24-hour access to care from senior doctors and says more midwife-led units are needed for women with low-risk pregnancies.

Mandatory 'sun safety' policies for schools are needed

All UK schools should be required to have a comprehensive sun safety policy to protect children from skin cancer, a charity campaigner says.

A recent survey of 1,000 parents, commissioned by MPs on the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Skin, found almost 40% of pupils have suffered sunburn while at school.

Gene link to 70% of hard-to-treat breast cancers

A gene has been linked to 70% of hard-to-treat breast cancers which are resistant to hormone therapies, in US research.

The study published in Nature used a new technique which tested hundreds of genes at once, rather than one at a time.
Scientists said there was "a lot of potential for significant impact" if drugs could be developed.
Cancer Research UK said it would be interesting to see where the study led.

Study: Pets Give Us the Same Warm Fuzzies That Friends

A dog is man's best friend, the old adage tells us — and, indeed, new research shows that when it comes to fulfilling our basic psychological needs, humans do benefit from their pets in much the same way they do from their friends.

You've Lost Weight. Now How Do You Keep It Off?

Losing weight is hard enough. Keeping it off is even harder. Now a new study by researchers at Penn State suggests that the techniques that work for losing weight aren't necessarily the same as those that help keep you slim.

'Plant from Hell': Giant Hogweed Can Scar, Burn and Blind

A towering weed with sap that causes blisters and burns is blooming this month across the U.S.
ABC's Good Morning America calls it the "plant from hell," and health and environment authorities from coast to coast are warning people to steer clear of the plant, giant hogweed, because its sap can cause serious blisters, scarring and even blindness.

Category: Diet & Fitness

Asking people to reduce their dietary salt intake can help them slightly lower blood pressure, but it doesn't seem to have any effect on their risk of heart attack or heart-related death, according to a new review of existing research.

How Funky Foot Odor Could Help Save Lives

Fifteen years ago a Dutch scientist stood in a room, naked, and let himself be swarmed by mosquitoes. The idea was to see which part of the body the bugs were most attracted to. Turns out, it's the feet — the stinkier the better.

Hollywood to Kids: Smoking Isn't Cool

Were they still alive today, John Wayne and Humphrey Bogart might have been given a serious image makeover. The message from Hollywood last year: smoking in movies is not cool anymore.

Do Cell Phones Cause Cancer or Not? The Latest Answer Is No

Back in May, a group of experts from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) made waves when they warned that mobile phones may indeed raise the risk for some brain tumors.
As I wrote in TIME:

To the surprise of many cancer experts, IARC classified cell-phone-radiation exposure as "possibly carcinogenic to humans." The panel put cell phones in category 2B on the agency's willfully unhelpful scale, below sure carcinogens like cigarette smoke and in the same category as the pesticide DDT and gasoline-engine exhaust. "A review of the human evidence of epidemiological studies shows an increased risk of glioma and malignant types of brain cancer in association with wireless-phone use," Dr. Jonathan Samet, the chairman of the IARC working group, told reporters the day the study was released.

Coffee and Tea Drinkers May Be Less Susceptible to MRSA

Coffee and tea drinkers could be at lower risk of a developing a deadly drug-resistant staph infection, new research suggests.

What Salt and Prozac Have in Common

Recently, two medical controversies have made headlines: the question of whether too much salt is bad for your health and the debate over whether widely used antidepressant drugs work any better than placebo. The two issues are not as unrelated as they may seem. Both persist because the scientific evidence on these issues, while vast, is too limited to answer them. Both also turn on the importance of differences between individual patients, rather than what the data say in aggregate.

Little hope for morning sickness sufferers

FORGET pills and potions - morning sickness may just be something pregnant women have to live with, research suggests.
Irish scientists have concluded there is no cure for the condition that can make early pregnancy miserable.
Australian experts said the findings came as no surprise, but said remedies could help some women.
The researchers reviewed studies of more than 4000 women who were up to 20 weeks' pregnant.

NASA releases close-up photos and video of the sun from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)

A NASA satellite has begun showing spectacular new images of the sun, which could give scientists new insight into solar processes.
The recently launched Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has begun to show images never seen before, extreme close-ups of the sun’s surface, and high resolution images of solar flares.

GONE are the days of half an hour's exercise three times a week.
Experts are now saying that because of our sedentary lifestyles, we need to be exercising every day for between half an hour and an hour.

Oral sex virus linked to serious head and neck cancers, research says

THE number of serious head and neck cancers linked to a virus spread by oral sex is rising rapidly and suggests boys as well as girls should be offered protection through vaccination, doctors say.
Despite an overall slight decline in most head and neck cancers in recent years, cases of a particular form called oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) have increased sharply, particularly in the developed world.

The Circle's Chrissie Swan takes on her biggest challenge yet

WHEN you are tackling weight loss, staying motivated is one of the biggest challenges. But it's also one of the most important.
To lose weight you need to be consistent, you need to exercise regularly and you must eat the right things more often than not.
Chrissie Swan, co-host of Channel Ten's morning show The Circle, has found the right motivation and is taking up her own weight-loss challenge.
She has always been comfortable with her fuller figure, but gained 55kg during her pregnancy with now 18-month-old son Leo, ballooning to a size 26.

Controversial study says best way to lose fat is to do it quickly

A CONTROVERSIAL weight-loss study has found the best way to shed flab is to do it fast.
Dietitian Katrina Purcell presented a study to an international obesity conference in Stockholm this week which defied conventional wisdom that "slow and steady" was the best way to permanently ditch those muffin tops.
Ms Purcell, a University of Melbourne researcher, compared a rapid diet - with subjects weighing about 100kg losing 1.5kg a week for 12 weeks -  to a 36-week diet in which participants lost 0.5kg a week.
"Surprisingly and against current beliefs this study shows rapid weight loss appears to be superior to gradual weight loss in achieving target weight," she said.

Hidden horrors: Extreme close-ups of the creepy crawlies that infest our homes

Magnified over a million times, these are the true faces of the mites, flies and fleas that lurk in our carpets, sofas and kitchen cupboards.

They include the flour mite - a revolting bug that infests packets of pasta, flour and bread bins - and the dust mite which thrives in furniture, curtains and carpets.

Other hidden horrors are the silverfish, a fast moving bug that loves the cupboard under the sink and the red flour beetle - a pest that arrives in your home in bags of flour.

The images were captured by award winning science photographer Steve Gschmeissner, 61, who uses ultra-powerful scanning electron microscopes to shed light on the microscopic world.

One incredible image shows a maggot with tiny teeth-like fangs extending from its mouth.

Another shows a house dust mite - a bug that is normally harmless but which can trigger allergic reactions in people suffering from asthma.

Even your breakfast is not safe from the microscopic pests under your nose.

The minuscule flour mite - with its long hairs and large, powerful front legs -  contaminates cereals and grains, particularly if cupboards are not aired properly.

Once the mite has infested a kitchen, the only solution is to chuck out all the potential sources of food, and then put replacements in sealed containers.

Also a fan of your Cornflakes is the red flour beetle, who enjoys cereals, biscuits and even pasta.

And pet lovers have an added army of miniature foes to battle against. The cat flea - seen here in its favourite furry environment - makes a pet's life a misery.

Biotech miracle looms

MELBOURNE is poised to become a biotechnology "miracle factory", with its stem cell research bringing tailor-made body parts closer to reality.Made-to-order bones, heart tissue and breasts, as well as restoration of fetal kidneys and lungs, are all being touted by research centres as real possibilities.
The Bernard O'Brien Institute of Micro-surgery is using a new type of stem cell - Induced Pluripotent stem cells - to grow bone and cartilage in specific lengths and widths.
It is also looking at repairing dead heart tissue, to be implanted after a cardiac arrest, and growing a pancreas for diabetics.
"This is the next frontier in reconstructive surgery, trying to get the body to - as much as it can - regenerate itself after injury or deformity," said institute director Prof Wayne Morrison.
"Stem cells have the capacity to completely renew themselves and grow specific tissue. They offer an alternative that wasn't dreamed of before."
The institute has recently been able to grow fat cells, after discovering a "grow switch".

This technique will be used this year in a clinical trial to regrow breasts for five women who had tissue removed during cancer surgery.
It would eliminate the need to use tissue from a woman's stomach to shape the breast.
But it also has enormous potential to use fat to treat the diseases linked with being overweight, such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
In the next few months researchers at Monash University and Monash Medical Centre will also start injecting fetal stem cells, taken from the outside of the placenta, into the fetus to stimulate development of kidneys and lungs in under-developed babies.  



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Good sleepers live longer

RESEARCHERS say the best length for a nightly sleep is around seven hours.
Researchers from the University of Warwick and the Federico II University in Naples studied the nightly habits of thousands of people and found poor sleepers are 12 per cent more likely to die prematurely than those who get six to eight hours.
Their findings provide the most convincing evidence yet of a link between too little sleep and an increased risk of early death. Many people sleep five hours or less a night.
Long sleepers could also be in trouble.
While over-sleeping does not in itself increase the risk of death, it can be a significant marker of an underlying serious illness.
The findings published in journal Sleep today coincide with the release of a separate American study that found older people tend to sleep better - the opposite of what was previously thought.

Tipping the scales on Victoria's health

VICTORIANS are getting fatter and we're eating less fruit and vegetables, but smoking is down and asthma is less prevalent than it was earlier in the decade.
The first complete snapshot of the state of Victoria's health, released during the week, shows that more of us are experiencing the telltale signs of poor health, such as weight gain and disease.
Results from the 2008 Victorian Population Health Survey of more than 34,000 people reveal that rates of exercise remained steady between 2002 and 2008, but the proportion of people classed as either overweight or obese rose by 3.5 per cent from 2002 to 2008, with 48.6 per cent of adults falling into one of the two categories.
IS YOUR GENERATION HEALTHIER THAN YOUR PARENTS? WRITE A COMMENT IN THE BOX BELOW

The number of men with lifestyle-related type 2 diabetes also increased.

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The survey reveals that 13.6 per cent of men and 6.9 per cent of women admitted drinking at "risky levels" on a weekly basis, which was similar to 2002 rates.
But there was also some good news for the state's health.
The prevalence of asthma among adults dropped by 1.4 per cent to 10.7 per cent.
And the message of "knowing your numbers" has hit home, with more of us having our blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels checked.
The survey also shows that the state's healthiest people - determined by factors such as exercise and eating habits, alcohol consumption and preventative checks - live along the coast.
Victoria's Surf Coast - the tract of Great Ocean Road, stretching from Lorne to Torquay and inland past Winchelsea - ranks as the highest for meeting the recommended fruit and vegetable consumption, and the highest for people having their eyes checked and bowel cancer tests performed.
The coast's proportion of smokers is below the state average and its residents exercise more often than the average Victorian

'cancer marker' gene

US and French researchers say they have discovered a genetic marker that is present in at least 11 types of cancerous tumours and could lead to new tests and treatments for the disease.
Researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and France's National Institute of Health and Medical Research said on Wednesday they found the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) receptor in over  1300 cancer patients.
"This new tumour marker may be used to improve cancer detection. Tumour imaging agents that bind to the new marker could be injected in the vasculature and would make visible early tumours located anywhere in the body,'' said Aurelian Radu of Mount Sinai, the study's lead author.
The researchers stressed that further tests were required to confirm their findings, and to discover whether the marker was present in tumours linked to other types of cancer.

But they said the discovery was ``very promising'' and could ``ultimately provide a new diagnostic or therapeutic target to detect cancer early, or stop growth.''
The research, published in the October 21 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, evaluated tissue samples from the tumours of 1,336 people with 11 types of cancer: prostate, breast, colon, pancreas, bladder, kidney, lung, liver, stomach, testicle and ovarian.
The study found that FSH, which is ordinarily found only in human reproductive organs, was present in the blood vessel cells of all the tumours evaluated in their study, regardless of the type or stage of the growth.
"By contrast, this receptor was totally absent in the other normal tissues of the organism, including the normal tissue of the organ that was carrying the tumour,'' the study said.
The researchers then examined the FSH receptors under an electron microscope, confirming that the receptors ``accumulate on the blood vessels in the tumour, but do not bind to blood vessels in the normal tissues.''
The presence of the marker in the vasculature of tumours provided a potentially promising way for researchers to choke the cancerous growths, the study's authors said.
That means the research could help medical professionals develop both a new way to test for cancer, but also a new way to treat it.
"New therapeutic agents can be developed that will block the tumour blood supply, either by inhibiting formation of new blood vessels, blocking the blood flow by coagulation, or by destroying the existing tumour vessels,'' Radu said.
Nicolae Ghinea, a French researcher on the study, said an expansion of the research could take years, but ``one can imagine a universal treatment for a universal marker.''
The study's authors said any future treatment could also prove easier for cancer patients to endure than chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
"The future agents are expected to have reduced side effects, because the target (FSH) is absent from almost all normal tissues, and in the blood vessels of the reproductive organs it is present in much lower concentrations than in tumours,'' they said.

Mobiles, laptops put kids' brains at risk

 

EXPERTS have called for internet-connected mobile phones and wireless laptop computers to be banned in schools.

A major new study has found cancer-causing electromagnetic radiation generated by wireless gadgets - including baby monitors and cordless phones - may be harmful for children's developing brains.
The influential Council of Europe examined evidence that wireless technologies had "potentially harmful" effects on humans and found that immediate action was required to protect children.
The respected body's findings contrast sharply with advice from the World Health Organisation that exposure to electromagnetic fields posed little or no risk to human health.
Are you worried by the findings? Have your say below
Glen Iris mother of three Donna Latter Jones said the news was a concern given our wireless world.

Home-based Ms Latter Jones sells devices such as children's aeroplane safety harnesses through kids travel essentials website www.littlegulliver.com.au.
She said a combination of cordless phone, iPhone, desktop computer and laptop running all day meant her young children - Hayden, 4, Carly, 3 and Matthew, 2 - had grown up running freely through a field of potentially harmful magnetic radiation.
"Both my husband and I have definitely had concerns for a while over mobile phones and radiation, and try not to keep them close to our body," she said.
She said the risks of internet-connected devices such as laptops to children was a cause for concern.
"I wouldn't go as far as to support them being banned from classrooms, but if it turns out there are significant problems, then it should definitely be looked at," she said.
"Parents should be able to make up their own minds based on what is important to their own families, but we are bombarded with so much information these days, it's hard to know what to believe."
After decades of often inconclusive research, the jury is still out on a link between mobile phones and cancer.
Sydney University professor Bruce Armstrong was among an international panel of researchers who participated in a decade-long investigation into the health effects of mobile phones.
Carried out by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, on behalf of the World Health Organisation, the Interphone Project found no clear evidence of mobile phones causing ill-health.
Experts did, however, establish a possible link with brain tumours.

Diet soda may be tied to heightened risk of stroke, study claims

DIET soda drinkers are probably doing their waistlines a favor, but may also be boosting their risk of having a stroke, according to research released by researchers from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

The study monitored the health of more than 2500 patients over nearly a decade.
They answered lengthy questionnaires about nutrition along the way and were monitored for several conditions.
In the time they were under evaluation, 559 of the test subjects experienced vascular events, including strokes caused by hemorrhage and those caused by clots.
Controlling for several factors, including age, smoking and alcohol intake, those who drank diet soda daily were 61 percent more likely than the rest to experience a stroke.
Even when taking into account people with existing vascular disease, the link still held. Study authors did not find any connection between regular soda and strokes.

Soft drinks of any kind, diet or sugary, are linked to several health problems.
People who drink one can of soda a day are more likely to have several risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease including high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, and high fasting blood sugar levels.
While the link is strong between diet soda and stroke risk, it does not prove cause and effect.
Study authors said further research should be done on the subject.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the US behind heart disease and cancer.

KFC diabetes deal raises online eyebrows, but is it real?

IS KFC the latest fast-food chain to fall victim to online hoaxers?
Just days after a hoax McDonald's sign demanding African-Americans pay more for food to counter robberies surfaced, a picture claiming to be a KFC promotion is doing the rounds.
It advertises a $1 donation to juvenile diabetes research from the sale of every "mega-jug" of soft drink.
The mega-jug, which holds almost two litres of soft drink, contains 3347kj and 56 teaspoons of sugar.
Website www.grist.org has reported the deal, and writes the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation - the recepient of the cash - defends it by highlighting the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

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Related Coverage

• Free cookbook online for diabetics Courier Mail, 2 Jul 2011
• Diabetes reversed by strict diet Courier Mail, 24 Jun 2011
• Severe low calorie diet 'reverses diabetes' Herald Sun, 24 Jun 2011
• Child diabetes in Australia worsens Herald Sun, 16 Jun 2011
• Nasal vaccine could prevent diabetes Herald Sun, 13 Jun 2011

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"JDRF supports research for type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease that results when the immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, therefore requiring a child or adult with the disease to depend on insulin treatment for the rest of their lives. It is a common misconception that type 1 diabetes is caused by obesity or eating too much junk food or sweets."
But type 2 diabetes is commonly linked to health and lifestyle factors, and regular consumption of sugary or fatty food and obesity can increase the chances of acquiring the disease.
While the KFC website doesn't mention the promotion that has raised bloggers' eyebrows across the internet - and raises questions about its veracity - the JDRF has run a fund-raising drive with KFC before, selling paper runners in their Dallas, Texas stores.kfc diabetes eyebrows

Maccas in damage control over Seriously McDonald's picture hoax

• Fast food giant on the warpath over picture hoax
• Sign claimed African-Americans charged $1.50 extra
• Image top trending on Twitter, but may be years old

THIS picture is a hoax. McDonald's isn't charging African Americans an extra $1.50 "as an insurance measure due in part to a recent string of robberies".

But the image is all the rage on Twitter and has forced McDonald's to go into damage control to protect its online reputation.
The picture, which has since been removed from Twitter, displayed the offensive sign taped to a window outside what appeared to be a McDonald's restaurant.
The sign included an 800-number that connected callers to the customer satisfaction hotline of rival KFC, which is owned by Yum! Brands.
People tweeted and retweeted the photo, using the words "Seriously McDonalds" to express their disappointment with the fast-food chain.
On its official Twitter account, McDonald's said: "That pic is a senseless & ignorant hoax McD's values ALL our customers. Diversity runs deep in our culture on both sides of the counter."

Despite the official denials, the hoax gained momentum over the weekend as #SeriouslyMcDonalds ranked on Twitter's Trends list.
"It's a completely senseless, ignorant hoax by some pranksters," McDonald's spokeswoman Heidi Barker said.
Ms Barker added that she had "no idea" who carried out the hoax.
Some have claimed that the picture is an old meme that began recirculating a few days ago.

Chinese techie makes his own 'DIY iPad 3' for $285 Read

AN enterprising Chinese man has come up with a solution for gadget nuts who desperately want Apple's popular iPad tablet computer but cannot afford it.
The answer? DIY.
In a 20-minute video posted on Youku — the Chinese equivalent of YouTube — Liu Xinying demonstrates how to assemble an iPad look-a-like using computer parts, a touch screen and a case with a keypad, to the sound of metal music.
At the end of the video dubbed "DIY IPAD 3", the IT whizz shows off the finished version — an apparently functional tablet computer that looks like a thick iPad but runs on Windows, an operating system made by rival Microsoft.
News of Liu's apparent feat spread on several foreign and Chinese technology websites, as well as on the nation's Twitter-like Weibo service.
When contacted by AFP, the 21-year-old from the eastern province of Shandong said that since he posted the video online a month ago, he has knocked back requests from a dozen people wanting him to make them a DIY iPad.

"I did this for fun," said Liu, who works at a computer store in Jinan city.
"It cost me 2000 yuan ($285) to make it, so I guess that's how much it's worth."
By comparison, the cheapest version of the iPad 2 sells for 3688 yuan in China, while the most expensive model costs 5288 yuan.
iPads and iPhones are hugely popular in China — the world's largest internet market with 457 million online users — and the launch of new models has been known to trigger fights and even crimes.
Last month, a court in the southern province of Guangdong sentenced three people to prison for stealing the design to the iPad 2 and using it to make fake tablet computers.
Apple was also forced to compensate a customer who sustained injuries in a fight at its Beijing flagship store in May when the iPad 2 was launched.

growing like a weed

Google, trying to take a stand with its new social network, requires people to use real-world names on Google+. The real world, though, turns out to be more complex than a simple rule can accommodate.
Now two weeks old and growing like a weed, Google+ is facing issues that became common once the Internet made people's identity into information that can reach potentially anyone on the planet. With Google+ and the Google Profiles service on which it relies, the company is trying to build a service without pseudonyms, anonymous cowards, or impersonation.

Google Profiles is a product that works best in the identified state. This way you can be certain you're connecting with the right person, and others will have confidence knowing that there is someone real behind the profile they're checking out," according to the Google help files for Google+. "For this reason, Google Profiles requires you to use the name that you commonly go by in daily life." Most people are known by the name that appears on their driver's license or school registry and probably won't think twice about using that when joining a social network. There are plenty of advantages to that approach: anonymous forums are often degraded by trolling, attacks, and flame wars. Using real names brings some measure of accountability, since your reputation is on the line when you voice an opinion.
But there are acres of gray area, too. Political dissidents may want to avoid persecution. Those who've been harassed may want to avoid more of it. And plenty of people want both online interactions and privacy.
There is some practical merit to the advice that Google's then-Chief Executive Eric Schmidt offered on CNBC: "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." But that doesn't mean everything that's not public is bad.
Here's one identity issue that's cropped up already: People's online names, while not on their birth certificates, often are a real persona--reputation and all. Second Life, the virtual world where it was difficult to use a real-world name even if you wanted, is populated by pseudonymous characters. Some of those names didn't sit well with Google, though.

Google wields data openness against Facebook

Google is accelerating efforts to make its new social network look like a more open and attractive alternative to Facebook.

The latest: Google will allow users to export a list of Web sites that they've recommended through the "+1" button.

While only a modest change, it highlights how Google is trying to use openness--the ability to extract your data from its servers with the click of a button--to differentiate itself from its far larger and more established rival.
"When your users can leave you you're going to work as hard as you can to keep them," Google engineering manager Brian Fitzpatrick told reporters during a video conference today using Google Hangout. A service announced last month called Google Takeout makes it easy to move to rival services.
Facebook, on the other hand, has taken a different approach to who owns user data. Last week, it blocked a tool written by developer Mohamed Mansour that allowed users to extract contact information their friends have shared with them.
This week, it blocked another by Open-Xchange, which allowed people to reconstruct their Facebook contact list on Google+.
It's not exactly a new debate: Google tried to ratchet up the pressure on Facebook to be more open last November, although the discussion at the time was about searchability rather than the possible threat of Google+. An early round in the skirmish took place as far back as 2008.
Facebook, of course, is in the enviable position of being enmeshed in the daily lives of hundreds of millions of users. The hassle and inconvenience of reconstructing a social network on a rival's service, coupled with what economists call network effects, is a significant barrier to Google+ becoming as successful.
Facebook does allow users to download much of their data, but not instantly and not in a format that can be easily imported to rival services. It's "not in an open portable format at all," says Fitzpatrick, the Google manager. When asked why it wasn't, he declined to speculate: "I have no explanation."
A spokesman for Facebook did not immediately respond to a CNET request for comment.
Facebook has taken some positive steps in the past, says Steve Repetti of the Data Portability Project, which advocates for ready data availability in a useful format.
"Now what they're doing is they're picking and choosing and removing functionality," Repetti says. "'We did it. But now we're undoing it because we don't want to benefit Google.'"
Mansour's now-blocked Chrome extension allowed users to copy the information your Facebook contacts have shared with you--name, e-mail address, phone number, birthday, Web site, address--then letting you save it as a spreadsheet file or import it directly into your Gmail address book.
It arguably ran afoul of Facebook's terms of service, which says: "You will not collect users' content or information, or otherwise access Facebook, using automated means (such as harvesting bots, robots, spiders, or scrapers) without our permission."
Repetti of the Data Portability Project says: "There has to be an element of accountability. If you say you're going to be open, be open. Even if you say you're not open, at least I know that going in."

Baby cut out of pregnant US woman in Kentucky Read more

A US woman used a stun gun to subdue a pregnant woman before killing her and cutting the baby boy from her body, a police investigator has testified. Kentucky State Police Detective Chad Winn, speaking during a preliminary hearing in Warren County District Court today, said Kathy Michelle Coy told 21-year old Jamie Stice they were going shopping for baby supplies but took her instead to a wooded area with plans to kill her.