Economy-class syndrome real? CHICAGO (AP) — Good news for budget-minded travelers: There’s no proof that flying economy-class increases your chances of dangerous blood clots, according to new guidelines from medical specialists. ADVERTISING Travelers’ blood clots have been nicknamed “economy class
Economy-class syndrome real?
CHICAGO (AP) — Good news for budget-minded travelers: There’s no proof that flying economy-class increases your chances of dangerous blood clots, according to new guidelines from medical specialists.
Travelers’ blood clots have been nicknamed “economy class syndrome” but the new advice suggests this is a misnomer.
The real risk is not getting up and moving during long flights, whether flying coach or first-class. Sitting by the window seems to play a role, because it makes people less likely to leave their seats, the guidelines say.
Still, even on long flights, lasting at least four hours, the risk for most people is extremely low and not something to be alarmed about, said Dr. Gordon Guyatt, chairman of an American College of Chest Physicians’ committee that wrote the new guidelines.
The guidelines were released online today in the group’s journal, Chest. They’re based on a review of recent research and other medical evidence on deep vein thrombosis, blood clots that form deep in leg veins. Flights lasting at least eight hours are riskiest, the guidelines say.
Restrict smoking in cars, CDC says
CHICAGO (AP) — Texting while driving, speeding and back-seat hanky-panky aren’t all that parents need to worry about when their kids are in cars: Add secondhand smoke to the list.
In the first national estimate of its kind, a report from government researchers says more than 1 in 5 high school students and middle schoolers ride in cars while others are smoking.
This kind of secondhand smoke exposure has been linked with breathing problems and allergy symptoms, and more restrictions are needed to prevent it, the report says.
With widespread crackdowns on smoking in public, private places including homes and cars are where people encounter secondhand smoke these days. Anti-smoking advocates have zeroed in on cars because of research showing they’re potentially more dangerous than smoke-filled bars and other less confined areas.
The research, from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was released online Monday in Pediatrics.
Tucson shooting suspect improving
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal judge ruled Monday that the suspect in the Tucson shooting rampage that wounded former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will spend four more months at a federal prison facility where officials are forcibly medicating him.
In making his decision, U.S. District Court Judge Larry Burns noted that Jared Lee Loughner has made marked improvement at the facility in Springfield, Mo., where he has participated in group therapy with other inmates and at times had coherent speech and steady eye contact with others.
Verizon to set up streaming service
NEW YORK (AP) — Phone company Verizon Communications Inc. will challenge Netflix and start a video streaming service this year with Redbox and its DVD rental kiosks.
Verizon and Coinstar Inc., Redbox’s parent company, said Monday that the service will be national and available to non-Verizon customers as well. It adds another dimension to Verizon’s quest to become a force in home entertainment, and it looks set to compete to some extent with the cable-TV services it already sells.
Unlike competing services from Amazon.com Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the new service will combine Internet delivery of movies with DVDs, the way Netflix does. Dish Network Corp. also offers a similar bundle through its Blockbuster subsidiary.
Specific details and pricing of the new plan weren’t announced.
Late last year, the companies were shopping around a $6-per-month offering that would give subscribers one DVD rental from Redbox per month as well as unlimited streaming of a certain selection of movies, according to a person briefed on the plan then. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
It’s not known whether the plan has changed since then, though the price is likely to be less than the $16-a-month minimum that Netflix subscribers have to pay for a combined DVD-by-mail and streaming plan.
Although consumers would pay less, Redbox’s inventory is limited to what’s in its kiosks, compared with Netflix’s library of more than 100,000 discs, including more obscure fare. Redbox customers will also have to go in person to pick up a disc, which saves the company mailing costs.
Getting an extensive library of streaming content to rival Netflix’s 20,000-plus titles will be expensive. The rising cost for streaming rights is the main reason that Netflix raised its U.S. prices by as much as 60 percent last year in a move that triggered a customer backlash. At the end of 2011, Netflix had video licensing commitments totaling $3.9 billion worldwide over the next several years.
