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Today's Globe: hackable heart devices, STDs in teen girls, anemia drugs

Posted by Elizabeth Cooney March 12, 2008 06:53 AM

Warning: Not only computers are vulnerable to hack attacks. Our bodies may be, as well. A new study demonstrates a large gap in the security of implanted devices that help regulate heartbeats and use wireless technology, researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the University of Massachusetts, and elsewhere report today.

About 1 in 4 teenage girls in the United States - and nearly half of black girls - has at least one sexually transmitted disease, according to a study released yesterday, providing the first national snapshot of infection rates among this age group.

Amgen Inc.'s and Johnson & Johnson's anemia drugs are tied to increased risks of death and faster-spreading tumors at high doses, a finding that may require new restrictions on the medicines, US regulators said.

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about white coat notes We post updates every weekday about the region's hospitals, labs and medical schools – covering everything from the latest research findings to what's on the minds of the innovative doctors, nurses and scientists who work here. Send news items and tips to whitecoat@globe.com

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Elizabeth Cooney is a former health reporter for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, where she also was a business reporter and an editor. Earlier in her career, she edited medical books and journals at Little, Brown, and worked for Boston magazine.

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