Ethics Courses Trending at Graduate Engineering Schools

Ethics Courses Trending at Graduate Engineering Schools

Although some students say engineering schools ignore ethics, that appears to be changing.

When Liz Boatman saw a copy of Ethics in Engineering atop a trash can at the University of Californiaâ€"Berkeley's College of Engineering in fall 2011, the materials science and engineering doctoral candidate saw a metaphor for what she perceived as Berkeley's neglect of ethics in engineering. Half a year later, Boatman still stands by an article she wrote for Berkeley Science Review, "Engineering: Throwing Our Ethics into the Trash (Literally)." 

"It's as if the faculty prefer to operate under the premise that ethics conscientiousness is simply implied by being an engineer, although nothing could be further from the truth," she says. "While it is true that our courses weave in ethical components, simply discussing 'factors of safety' for a design problem or receiving isolated sexual harassment training for teaching preparation is an ethical education that falls far short of serious preparation for confronting ethical dilemmas." 

Engineers must hold public safety "paramount," be truthful, and only perform services in their areas of competence, according to the National Society of Professional Engineers' Code of Ethics for Engineers. Yet ethics appears to constitute a "minimal component" of engineering education at most large research institutions, while private schoolsâ€"which hold social values to higher standardsâ€"have better ethics track records, according to Boatman. 

But engineering faculty say graduate engineering programs are starting to focus more on ethics, particularly in light of recent ethics guidelines from ABET (previously known as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology). Those guidelines require that schools provide students "an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility," according to the ABET site. 

[Read about how business schools increasingly require students to study ethics.] 

The University of Utah is one of the schools taking the ABET guidelines seriously, says David Pershing, U of U's president and a chemical engineering professor. 

"This is not because students of today are inherently less ethical, but rather because the ethical dilemmas they are likely to face are more complex and the consequences are much more severe," he says. "Corporate engineers who violate environmental laws can now face criminal charges with major penalties." 

Pershing advises students who are applying to graduate engineering programs to check whether prospective schools are among the 37 that ABET accreditsâ€"and thus subject to its ethics requirement. Applicants should also ask admissions officers if their schools have stand-alone ethics courses, or if ethics is infused throughout the curriculum, he adds. 

Even though he's noticed more and more integration of ethics principles into his engineering classes at the Colorado School of Mines, Josh Bush, who earned an M.S. from Mines in mechanical engineering in 2012, says the ABET-accredited Mines still has a long way to go. 

"I think, in general, education incorporating ethics is still limited mostly to peripheral discussion seminars," he says. "Primary coursework is almost exclusively technical." 

Serious Exercise May Benefit Middle-Aged Arteries

Serious Exercise May Benefit Middle-Aged Arteries

man running on a treadmill

THURSDAY, May 31 (HealthDay News) -- High levels of exercise help prevent stiffening of the arteries in middle-aged people, a small new study says.

Arterial stiffening, which has been shown to occur with age and inactivity, is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

This Indiana University study included 21 men and 28 women. Of those 49 participants, 33 were highly active U.S. Masters Swimmers who did more than 200 minutes of vigorous exercise a week. The other participants were either moderately or completely inactive.

The highly active people had far less arterial stiffness than the others. The researchers also found little difference between men and women in the highly active group, but considerable difference between men and women in the inactive and moderately active group. In that group, men had less arterial stiffness than women, according to a university news release.

[Read: Dissolvable Heart Artery Stents Appear Safe in Study.]

"Oddly, women, particularly the inactive women, show the greatest risk for cardiovascular disease as compared with other groups," study author Maleah Holland, a graduate student in the university's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, wrote. "Thus, conversely, habitually high levels of physical activity may pose a greater benefit for women than for men."

This finding may be due to the fact that inactive women are more sedentary than inactive men, the researchers suggested.

The study was scheduled for presentation Thursday at the American College of Sports Medicine's annual meeting in San Francisco.

This research "reinforces the idea that activity could be more influential than aging on some health factors," Joel Stager, professor and director of the university's Counsilman Center, in the department of kinesiology, said in the news release.

Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases offers tips to help you get active.

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

How to Stay Healthy at Work

How to Stay Healthy at Work

Gossiping at the water cooler? Try catching germs there. The microwave door and refrigerator handle are among the dirtiest places in a typical office, according to a new study from commercial products company Kimberly-Clark Professional. Researchers swabbed nearly 5,000 surfaces in office buildings that house about 3,000 employees, including law firms, insurance companies, call centers, and manufacturing facilities. "It's a very specific examination of what places are most problematic," says Jack Brown, a professor of molecular biosciences at the University of Kansas at Lawrence, who was not involved in the study. "It's common senseâ€"think about where people go and what they touch."

In the study, released last week, researchers analyzed the swabs using an ATP meter, a device that assesses sanitary conditions by measuring levels of adenosine triphosphate, a molecule found in animal, vegetable, bacteria, yeast, and mold cells. High levels of ATP indicate that a surface is loaded with bacteria and viruses. An ATP reading over 100 suggests that a surface could afford to be cleaned, while readings of 300 or higher are considered officially dirty and at high risk for spreading illness.

[See: Don't Get Sick at the Gym: 7 Ways to Prevent Infection]

Here's a glimpse of office surfaces with the highest ATP levelsâ€"readings of 300 or more. Surprisingly, the dirtiest surfaces weren't in the restroom, but in areas where employees prepare and eat food.

• 75 percent of break room sink-faucet handles

• 48 percent of microwave door handles

• 27 percent of keyboards

• 26 percent of refrigerator door handles

• 23 percent of water fountain buttons

• 21 percent of vending machine buttons

Other germ hotspots include computer mice, desk phones, and coffee pots and dispensers. Although it's impossible to dodge these during the workday, being aware of where germs are lurking is the first step to staying healthy. "You can't stop going to work. You can't avoid being where any other human being has been," Brown says. "But we're not walking around as wimps without the ability to fight germs off. We have a great capability to protect ourselves."

Try these tactics to stay healthy amidst office germs:

Wash your hands. Yes, it's common sense. But that's because it works. Wash and dry your hands when arriving at work, after coughing or sneezing, after using the restroom, and before and after eating, says Craig Roberts, a physician assistant with University Health Services at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. And don't wash them for, say, three secondsâ€"aim for at least 30, with soap.

[See: Mistakes That Up Your Risk of Food Poisoning]

Wipe down your space. Use disinfectant wipes to clean your desk at least once a day. (Research suggests that the average desk has 400 times more germs than a toilet seat.) In addition to desk surface, focus on the keyboard, mouse, and phone. Other spots that office management should make sure are wiped daily? Kitchen sink handles, refrigerator and microwave handles, kitchen countertops, conference room tables and phones, and water fountain buttons. Germs can live on surfaces for up to 48 hours.

Sanitize. Keep hand sanitizer at your desk and use it before and after meetings, as well as at the end of the day. But beware: "If you're using alcohol on your hands every five minutes, they're going to be dry, which can lead to skin cracksâ€"which are entry points for germs," Brown says. "It's important to moisturize regularly, especially for the elderly, who have more damaged skin."

Be tidy. Don't leave half-eaten food on your desk or in your drawers. Even if it looks OKâ€"no fungus or moldâ€"it's still attracting viruses and bacteria.

Stay home when necessary. You can't control someone sneezing in your face or coughing on you during a meeting. But do your part and stay home when you're under the weather and potentially contagious.

Keep your hands in check. Don't touch your face or mouth, chew on your pencil, stick a paper clip in your mouth, or lick your thumb to turn a page. "Keep your hands away from your faceâ€"it's a habit we have to develop," Brown says. "And it will greatly reduce your risk of getting sick."

[See: Is Your Keyboard Making You Sick?]

College Students Focus Start-Ups on Their Peers

College Students Focus Start-Ups on Their Peers

Running a start-up in college may give students the opportunity to apply skills learned in the classroom to real-life situations.

Opinions are split regarding students interested in creating start-up companies: Should they go to college or bypass it for hands-on experience?

"Certain people are just ready to go into the real world and tackle all the problems that exist," notes Robert Reich, an entrepreneur and instructor at the University of Colorado's Boulder Digital Works. "And other people want to have an extra four, six, or eight years [in school]."

[Discover why some students favor start-ups over academics.]

For some students, launching a start-up in college gives them time to build and the opportunity to learn from mistakes, notes Jane Zhu, a recent graduate of New York University and cofounder of SleepBot.

"A start-up really is a leap of faith, and when you're a college student, that's your one advantage," Zhu says. "You can take a leap of faith before you get into the real world."

Here are four start-ups created and operated by college students.

1. SleepBot: For many students, sleep is one necessity sacrificed while in college. Motivated by a late-night conversation in 2009, NYU students Zhu and Edison Wang created SleepBot, an Android-powered app that enables people to track their sleep activity.

The application was never intended to be a start-up, notes Zhu. "We just wanted to learn something … and build that into a fun project."

Zhu, who graduated in December 2011, says that she thrived while balancing the demanding schedule of college and a start-up.

"Being in school helped drive me to work more because you have this feeling of always having to keep to your schedule," she notes. "If you invest all your free time into working on your start-up, you actually get a lot of stuff done."

2. Involvio: As a freshman at Drexel University in 2008, Ari Winkleman wanted to get involved. "If you're a college student and you show up on campus, one of the most important things you want to do is find out what's going on around you," says Winkleman, a graduating business major. But relying on campus bulletin boards, which may not always be current, and Facebook event invites, which a student may not receive, made it difficult.

Because of this issue, Winkleman founded Involvio, an event calendar app and website that integrates with Facebook and school calendars to find events based on a user's interests.

Since launching in 2011, the start-up boasts a user base of students from more than 100 campuses. While he acknowledges that running a start-up in college is difficult, Winkleman says the opportunities to leverage the business on campus have been greater than leaving school to focus on the business.

"For us, having direct access to our target users within literally feet of us has been invaluable," he says.

[Learn to code for free in college.]

3. Centsless: College students often have many interests but lack financial resources to pursue them, says Michael Haas, a rising senior at the University of Puget Sound and cofounder of Centsless.

To bridge the gap, Centsless allows college students to lend and borrow items from other students at no cost. Inspired by Burning Man, a festival held in the desert of Nevada where money is worthless and attendees share or barter items, Centsless works on a currency of "karma," where users gain virtual credits by lending items so they can borrow in the future.

The first version of the site will be available to Puget Sound students in August, but Haas says that having knowledge of the target market has made the development process smoother.

"When we [make an update] to the site, we know that if we'd love to use it, there's a good chance that other college students would love that as well."

4. Moneythink: A nonprofit organization founded by University of Chicago students, Moneythink trains college students to teach basic personal finance concepts to local students at urban high schools.

[See what start-ups offer to business students.]

Inspired by the economic recession, the founders discovered that the most affected areas were disadvantaged urban areas, notes Ted Gonder, a graduating geography major and executive director of Moneythink.

"We started asking, 'Are any of the schools in the local areas doing anything to teach financial concepts? No,'" Gonder says. "'Well, why don't we leverage and mobilize all the students on our college campus who are already passionate about these concepts [and] send them into local urban high school classrooms?'"

Since launching in 2008, Moneythink has expanded to 17 college campuses, including schools such as Columbia University and Stanford University, and the founders aspire to turn it into the "Teach for America of financial education," Gonder notes.

"We believe that within the course of one generation, we can do everything to equip young people with the skills and decision-making tactics that they need to navigate their own finances … and hopefully create a healthier, more prosperous 21st century."

Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of Best Colleges.

Scholarships Honor Service Members, Veterans, Families

Scholarships Honor Service Members, Veterans, Families

There are many scholarship opportunities available for military veterans interested in going to school.

Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for the soldiers, sailors, and all who gave their lives in service to the nation, and it's also the traditional transition between the school year and the summer. As such, the recent Memorial Day holiday provides an ideal time for us to take a look at educational scholarships and financial aid opportunities for veterans returning to the homefront and looking to head to school.

For active duty veterans who have been honorably discharged within the past 15 years, the G.I. Bill remains the No. 1 financial aid option. The G.I. Bill has been around in various forms since the end of World War II; the most current iteration is the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. If you're a veteran with 36 months of service or more, it will pay full tuition and fees at public institutions, plus a housing allowance and textbook stipend.

Those with shorter service terms will receive a sliding percentage of the benefit; those going to private schools will receive up to $17,500 toward tuition and fees per academic year; active reservists are also eligible for funding under the Reserve G.I. Bill. Different options and criteria abound, so check out the site thoroughly.

[Read about challenges facing veterans going to college.]

The G.I. Bill provides a great opportunity for service men and women to further their education, but it's also not a one-size-fits-all solution. If there are gaps in your educational funding after your G.I. Bill benefit, we'd encourage you to check out this listing of veterans' benefits provided by each state. Each branch of the military also provides a tuition assistance program that may be able to supplement your funding.

Finally, if you find yourself transferring frequently, make sure you're familiar with the Servicemember Opportunity Colleges; this consortium of 1,900 colleges and universities works with the armed forces to ensure smooth transfers of credits and relaxed residency requirements for service members, so you don't have to retake classes or pay out-of-state costs.

Private scholarships can also provide assistance for both general education and specific programs. The Pat Tillman Foundation's Tillman Military Scholars program awards renewable scholarships to active and veteran service members and their spouses, in tribute to the former NFL player and Army Ranger who lost his life in Afghanistan. The application for this year closed in mid-March, but keep an eye out for next year's opening dates. And AMVETS, the American Veterans group, gives out a number of different annual scholarships to veterans, their children, and their grandchildren.

[Read why scholarships are essential.]

For more specific scholarships, there are programs such as the one through Swift Transportation, which provides 1,000 full-tuition scholarships to the company's four trucking academies; if your service has been geared toward transportation, it's an opportunity to consider. And if you've spent some time working in the chow hall and want to further your cooking career, the International Culinary Center just announced that it will be awarding $1 million in scholarships to veterans for study at its New York and California campuses.

Finally, your military service can mean tuition benefits for your spouse and dependents, too. In addition to the programs mentioned above, spouses and children of active-duty soldiers can benefit from the ThanksUSA scholarship, a program started in 2005 by two elementary-school sisters who wanted a way to thank the nation's troops. This year's program just closed; applications are typically accepted between April 1 and mid-May.

The Military One Source site lists a number of other options for spouses, including the MyCAA career-advancement program, recently restarted after being discontinued for a few years.

Last, but certainly not least, the families of those who have lost their lives in service can turn to the Department of Veterans Affairs for survivor and dependent assistance, to the specific military branches for programs like those offered by the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, and to funds such as Tribute for the Troops, which provide for surviving dependents pursuing college.

Matt Konrad has been with Scholarship America since 2005. He is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota and a former scholarship recipient.

College Mentors Key to Prospective Female STEM Majors

College Mentors Key to Prospective Female STEM Majors

Having a female mentor to look up to in high school can help future STEM majors.

Despite a rosy outlook for jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, many students are still hesitant to pursue those majors. Females, for instance, account for only a quarter of STEM workers in a sector already hungry for experts and expected to expand another 20 percent by 2020, according to an April study released by the White House Council on Women and Girls. 

"The big challenge is women have only 14 percent of the engineering jobs in the U.S. and currently make up only 15 percent of all engineering studentsâ€"and a lot of you are very familiar with the shortage in America in [STEM] graduates," former President Bill Clinton said in a media telephone briefing in March for the Clinton Global Initiative, which tackles worldwide issues including education and healthcare. 

"If there were no differences in graduation rates and employment rates in STEM areas between women and men, and between African Americans and Hispanics and males of European, Japanese, and Middle Eastern heritage, the whole STEM gap would disappear in just a few years." 

[Read about the persistent gap of women and minorities in STEM.] 

One key for increased participation, at least among females in high school, may lie in current college students already pursuing STEM fields. 

"Probably one of the biggest motivating factors ... is the use of role models and what role modeling can do for these women in terms of actually being able to visualize themselves in those types of careers," says Suzanne Sontgerath, assistant director of admissions at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, an engineering-focused school in Massachusetts where females account for about a third of students. "Watching other girls who are cool and still interested in these areas is really valuable." 

[Read about one famous STEM proponent, Mia Hamm.] 

A mentor would have made Duke University student Christine Schindler even more sure she wanted to pursue biomedical engineering in college, the sophomore hypothesizes. Now fully enmeshed in her studies, which she says are constantly exciting and clue her into new career possibilities frequently, Schindler hopes to provide support to young women that she once lacked. 

To inspire high school women to consider STEM majors and careers, Schindler created Girls Make Change Through Engineering, one of hundreds of student commitments supported by the Clinton Global Initiative. In what's still a pilot program, 9th and 10th graders from North Carolina will create medical devices to be sent to third world countries through the Engineering World Health program, which aids hospitals and clinics around the world.

Schindler hopes her program will show teen girls that studying engineering is a feasible way to help improve the world, she says. 

"When I've been talking to girls who are in high school about what I'm doing, I don't pretend to know exactly what I'm going to do with my life, but I can tell them about the classes I'm taking [and] the opportunities I have already as an engineering student," she says. "The college student portion of it is crucialâ€"that's who the girls are going to look up to; that's the next step they're going to take." 

[See which colleges are the best for undergraduate engineering.] 

It's an effort that could spread across disciplines, former President Clinton said in the March telephone briefing. "The reason I mention this initiative is I think it has an almost infinite capacity to grow," Clinton said. "You could do it not just in engineering; you could do it in the sciences. You could do it in mathematics. You could do it in other technology-related areas. That's what I'm hoping will happen with this commitment." 

1 in 5 Americans Has Untreated Cavities

1 in 5 Americans Has Untreated Cavities

Woman at the dentist.

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, May 31 (HealthDay News) -- More than one in every five Americans has untreated cavities, a new government report shows.

"Untreated tooth decay is prevalent in the U.S." said report co-author Dr. Bruce Dye, an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. "It appears that we haven't been able to make any significant strides during the last decade to reduce untreated cavities."

One expert was not surprised by the findings.

"This is information that has been known for a while," said Dr. Lindsay Robinson, a spokeswoman for the American Dental Association. "More people are on Medicaid and more and more states, in an attempt to balance their budgets, have eliminated dental benefits."

[Read: From One Generation to the Next, Dental Care Changes.]

There needs to be more investment in dental care to cover those who rely on Medicaid, Robinson said. "Only about 2 percent of Medicaid dollars go to dental care. In the private system it's triple that," she explained.

"Even people with dental benefits are afraid of any extra out-of-pocket costs," Robinson added.

The report authors found that the rate of cavities was pretty steady among all age groups, with teenagers having the lowest prevalence, Dye said. Among kids aged 5 to 11, 20 percent had untreated cavities, while 13 percent of those aged 12 to 19 had untreated cavities. People aged 20 to 44 had the highest rate of untreated cavities, at 25 percent.

Usually there is a difference in income when it comes to health care, but in this case children were getting about the same dental care regardless of family income, Dye noted.

For poorer children, this is most likely due to government programs such as Medicaid and CHIPS (Children's Health Insurance Program), Dye said. Among adults, the poor have a rate of untreated dental problems twice that of others, he noted.

[Read: Tiny Tots in Dentist's Chair Among Changes in Pediatric Dentistry.]

In addition to having cavities that were not treated, 75 percent of Americans have had some sort of dental work.

Other findings in the report include:

• Among children and adolescents, 27 percent had at least one dental sealant. In that age group, 30 percent of whites had sealants, compared to 23 percent of Mexican-Americans and 17 percent of blacks.
• Among blacks, 38 percent had all of their teeth, compared with 51 percent of whites and 52 percent of Mexican-Americans.
• Among those aged 65 and older, 23 percent had no teeth, but most likely had dentures.

To reduce the odds of developing cavities, Dye recommended brushing and flossing daily and going to the dentist at least once a year. In addition, cutting down on sweets and surgery drinks and eating a healthy diet can also help, he said.

Going to the dentist is important, Robinson agreed. When problems are caught and treated early, it saves money, and for people with chronic diseases such as diabetes it can help avoid hospitalizations, she added.

"It is possible to not get cavities," Robinson said. "It's amazing how many people think it's just going to happen."

More information

For more on dental health, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Health Buzz: Genes Affect Smoking Cessation

Health Buzz: Genes Affect Smoking Cessation

Odds of Quitting Smoking Influenced by Genes

Can't quit smoking? It may have something to do with your genes. A person's genetic makeup plays a role in their chances of successfully giving up smoking, according to a study published Wednesday in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The same gene variations that make it difficult to quit smoking increase the likelihood that heavy smokers will respond to treatment like nicotine-replacement therapy and drugs that thwart cravings. Smokers without the risk genes, meanwhile, can easily quit without the help of medications like nicotine replacement. "This study builds on our knowledge of genetic vulnerability to nicotine dependence, and will help us tailor smoking cessation strategies accordingly," Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said in a press statement. "It also highlights the potential value of genetic screening in helping to identify individuals early on and reduce their risk for tobacco addiction and its related negative health consequences."

• 12 Reasons to Really Quit Smoking
• Is It Possible to Be Smoke Free in 30 Days?

G-Spot, Schmee-Spot. Will the New Discovery Affect Your Sex Life?

Nothing wrong with a little mystery. But when it comes to women's sexuality, it wouldn't hurt to lift the shroud of confusion about the mechanics of stimulation and orgasm. Yes, those words are a little awkward to write. But squeamishness is part of the problem. So try to get over it. Quickly.

Consider the endless magazine articles, adolescent sleepovers, and sexual exercises devoted to cracking the code of female arousal. And still many women can't achieve an orgasm from intercourse alone or on a regular basis. In light of that bleak picture comes a study published last month in the Journal of Sexual Medicine claiming to find, for the first time, the anatomic existence of the elusive G-spot, a storied area of sensitivity in the front vaginal wall reported by many women as the key to sexual Shangri-la, and named for the German gynecologist Ernst Grafenberg.

The latest discovery sounds like a big deal. But what does it mean? How will or won't it translate to women's sexual health?

"The study opens the door for more research," and ultimately clinical and commercial applications, such as redesign of sex toys and cosmetic procedures to restore feelings of sexual pleasure, says Adam Ostrzenski, who authored the study (and who performs such procedures). In an 83-year-old female cadaver, Ostrzenski, of the Florida-based Institute of Gynecology, identified erectile tissue between the sixth and final layer of a sac in the front vaginal wall, which he pegged as the G-spot. [Read more: G-Spot, Schmee-Spot. Will the New Discovery Affect Your Sex Life?]

• Coping With 5 Common Sex Problems
• 10 Ways Your Health Might Sink Your Sex Life

Don't Get Sick at the Gym: 7 Ways to Prevent Infection

Dumbbells. Bike seats. Yoga mats. Hot tubs. Sweaty bodies. Shower floors. You go to the gym to get fit, not to get sick. But you could be exposing yourself to infection while you exerciseâ€"if you're not careful.

Upper respiratory tract infections are the likeliest threat, says Amesh Adalja, a board-certified physician specializing in infectious diseases and clinical assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. This risk for a cold or flu at gyms is similar to what you'd face in other public settings, says Adalja, but going to the gym can boost your odds of contracting MRSA (short for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)â€"particularly if you participate in contact sports or share equipment. And while "staph" usually doesn't cause health problemsâ€"about 1 in 3 people carries it harmlesslyâ€"MRSA is scary, since it's immune to certain antibiotics, Adalja says.

Now, this isn't an excuse to cancel your gym membership: The benefits of exercise "clearly outweigh" the risks for infections, says Adalja. Just follow these tips to safeguard your health.

1. Wash your handsâ€"often. Common sense and good hygiene are especially important when dealing with bodily fluids like sweat, says Aaron Glatt, spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America and chief administrative officer at Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre, N.Y. After exercise, wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with warm water and soap, particularly before touching your face or eating (yes, even that wrapper-protected energy bar). [Read more: Don't Get Sick at the Gym: 7 Ways to Prevent Infection]

• Your Guide to Exercising Through the Ages
• 9 Footwear Do's and Don'ts 

Angela Haupt is a health reporter for U.S. News World Report. You can follow her on Twitter or reach her at ahaupt@usnews.com. 

Follow U.S. News Health on Twitter and find us on Facebook.

How the CARD Act Helps Consumers

How the CARD Act Helps Consumers

The 2009 CARD Act has been celebrated for helping consumers: The law limits interest rate hikes, fees, and other frustrating aspects of the credit card industry. Now, on the three-year anniversary of the bill’s signing, a report from the research and advocacy organization Demos suggests that it has successfully helped middle- and low-income households pay down their balances and avoid fees.

The recently-released survey found that 9 in 10 cardholders carrying debt have noticed changes as a result of the law, including that fact that card companies are required to provide clearer information about their debt and give customers enough time between billing them and charging them with late fees.

One-third of the middle- and low-income households surveyed said they are paying their balances off faster as a result of the new information included on their statements. Cardholders with debt between $5,000 and $10,000 were even more likely to do so.

The survey also found that fewer households are paying late fees: 28 percent of households are now paying late fees, compared with 50 percent in 2009. The percentage of households paying over-limit fees, which consumers are charged for exceeding their credit limits, also fell.

In addition to the CARD Act, the economy also helped change people’s credit card habits. “Families who suddenly realized they were financially overextended changed their spending habits to adjust to the new realities of the sluggish economy and pay down debt,” Demos reports.

The survey also found that despite an overall reduction in credit card debt among American consumers, many middle- and low-income households still rely on plastic for everyday expenses. Four in 10 households surveyed said they used credit cards to pay for basic costs such as rent or mortgage, groceries, and insurance. At the same time, respondents reported that their average credit card debt fell to $7,145 from $9,887 in 2009.

Experiencing periods of unemployment or high medical bills were leading causes of debt. About half of households said they had debt from medical expenses, with an average amount on credit cards of $1,678. Older Americans were also most likely to carry hefty amounts of debt. Those age 65 and older carried an average of $9,283, while those ages 25 to 34 carried an average of $5,156 in debt.

At the same time, many consumers found it more difficult to access credit; 4 in 10 respondents said they had cards canceled, credit limits reduced, or applications for new credit denied. As a result, about half of them said they had cut their spending.

For all its apparent success, the CARD Act has also come under fire for some of its unintended consequences, including denying credit cards to stay-at-home moms and dads. Because the Federal Reserve interpreted one of the CARD Act’s clauses to mean that card companies must now consider individual income and not household income on credit card applications, stay-at-home parents have been denied credit cards, which has led to calls that the law should be changed.

How has the CARD Act affected you?

Twitter: @alphaconsumer

5 Ways to Keep Fit After Retirement

5 Ways to Keep Fit After Retirement

Being physically active is one of the best ways to stay healthy. Unfortunately, we are so busy with work and everyday life that it is difficult to find the time to be active until retirement. Many Americans working in sedentary jobs have few chances to become more active. Retirees certainly have a lot more spare time, but many people simply continue with their habitual sedentary activities. It's great to relax, read, watch movies, and browse the Internet, but all those passive activities need to be balanced out by physical activities. Here are some ways to keep active in retirement:

Transportation. When we are working full time, we are always in a hurry because we don't have enough time to do everything on our list. That's one reason we tend to drive everywhere. In retirement, we can take the time to walk or bike to the store instead of driving. This is a great way to get your blood flowing and accomplish your errands at the same time. Walking or biking can be easy or difficult depending on where you live, but many people can fit it into their routine if they are willing to expend a little time and effort.

Family time. If you are lucky enough to have a small child or grandchild in your family, you can schedule time to take them to nearby parks and other outdoor activities. It's a lot of work to keep up with small children, and you'll work up a sweat in no time. Now that summer is here, there are many outdoor activities you can enjoy with family and friends, many of them for free. Kayaking and canoeing are great, low impact ways to spend your summer days. Check with your local parks and recreation department to see what kind of activities they offer.

Sports. Retirement is a great time to take up sports again. If you like group sports, look into a local basketball or volleyball league. Lower impact activities can include golf, bocce, swimming, and hiking. Classes such as yoga and Tai Chi are easy to learn and also very easy on the joints.

Gardening. Gardening is a great way to get outside, enjoy the sunshine, and burn off a few calories. You might discover your long-lost green thumb and reap a bounty from the garden this season. Organic produce is very expensive at the grocery store, but you can grow something yourself if you have the time. When I was working full time, I hated to spend a lot of time in the garden, mostly due to a lack of time. When you work five days a week, you don't want to spend every weekend pulling weeds. However, with more free time, gardening can be a fulfilling way to spend spare time.

Housework. Let's face it, who likes to do housework? Chores are a pain, but they need to be done. These chores can help burn off excess calories. Vacuuming, washing dishes, cleaning windows, and other household chores will keep you moving. It's much better to move around than watch TV from the couch.

These activities are just a few things we can do to stay physically active in retirement without paying for a gym membership. It's not an easy change to go from a sedentary to a more active lifestyle. However, we need to increase our physical activity level in retirement if we want to enjoy it for a long time.

Joe Udo is planning an exit strategy from his corporate job by reducing expenses and increasing passive income. He blogs about his journey to early retirement at Retire by 40.

10 Ways to Avoid Airline Fees

10 Ways to Avoid Airline Fees

According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, annual U.S. baggage fees and ticket cancellation and change fees continue to generate roughly $3.4 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively, for U.S. airlines. Despite this consistent stream of revenue, the airlines continue to charge travelers more fees. Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air, the most notorious airlines for charging fees, have only been rewarded for their strategy by investors in the public markets. Spirit’s stock price has increased more than 75 percent over the last year, while Allegiant’s stock has grown more than 40 percent. In contrast, Southwest and JetBlue, who have maintained their free carry-on bag and free first checked bag policies, have both experienced approximately 20 percent declines in their stock prices over the same time period.

The bottom line: U.S. airlines are only incentivized to charge travelers more fees. Airline fees aren’t going away any time soon. To avoid paying hundreds of dollars in fees (on top of rising airfare costs), travelers should be aware of the various types of airline fees, the varying fees by airline, and the range of fee terms.

1. Fly Southwest or JetBlue.

Baggage fees are often the most difficult airline fees to avoid. Many travelers have gone to great lengths to avoid these fees by stuffing everything into carry-on luggage. However, with both Allegiant and Spirit now charging for carry-on luggage, more airlines may follow suit. Short of wearing all your clothes on board or purchasing a special travel coat with multiple compartments, we recommend flying Southwest or JetBlue. Not only do both airlines still offer free carry-on luggage, but both airlines also waive baggage fees for the first checked bag. Southwest goes even further, continuing to offer a second checked bag free.

2. Measure and weigh your bags.

While checking a bag can easily cost $40 to $70 roundtrip, it is the additional fees that really break the bank. If your bag weighs more than 40 to 50 pounds, you will likely be charged overweight baggage fees, which cost anywhere from $50 to $400 per bag roundtrip in addition to the checked baggage fee. If your bag is more than 62 linear inches (measured by length + width + height), you will likely be charged oversized baggage fees, which cost anywhere from $50 to $600 per bag roundtrip in addition to the checked baggage fee and overweight baggage fee, if applicable. It definitely pays to measure and weigh your bags. However, the definitions and pricing structures of oversized and overweight baggage vary greatly by airline. Make sure to confirm each airline’s oversized and overweight baggage policy in advance.

3. Book your tickets online.

With the exception of Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air, U.S. airlines typically do not charge travelers for booking tickets online. Booking online will help you avoid phone booking fees, which range from as low as $15, up to $45, depending on the airline. If you are booking a short flight, these fees can constitute a significant percentage of the total cost.

4. Be certain about your travel plans.

Refundable tickets are significantly more expensive. While it most often makes sense to purchase cheaper, non-refundable tickets, it can cost you much more if you need to change your non-refundable ticket. Ticket change fees range from $75 to $175. All the more reason to fly Southwest. Southwest is the only major U.S. airline that does not charge ticket change fees. Instead, they offer credit redeemable for future air travel on Southwest. Alternatively, travelers can try to minimize change fees by changing tickets online. Online ticket change fees are $10 to $25 lower if you purchased your ticket from Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, US Airways, or Virgin America.

5. Book your tickets directly through the airlines.

Surprisingly, some airlines charge an additional fee if you need to change a ticket that was booked by a third party, such as a travel agent or an online travel agent (e.g. Expedia or Orbitz). United, Frontier, and Delta have ticket change agency fees, ranging from $25 to $50. Delta, however, makes an exception and waives the fee if the change is made online.

6. Don’t pay for “premium” seating in economy.

Airlines continue to reserve an increasing number of select seats in economy or coach cabins as “premium” seating for frequent flyers and travelers willing to pay more fees. Not only does this mean it is more challenging to find adjacent seats for you and your travel companion(s), but this means you will likely have to pay for what has historically been a standard window or aisle seat. Emergency exit row seats, once a burden and responsibility for the leisure traveler, also now command a premium for the little bit of extra legroom they generally provide. Don’t despair. If you don’t want to pay the extra fees, even just on principle, select any available seat when you book your ticket. Then, keep checking online for seat availability. Airlines typically release some of the reserved seats as demand declines, e.g. when frequent flyers upgrade their tickets.

7. Make sure your carry-on items can fit underneath the seat.

Most travelers are savvy enough to avoid baggage fees by carrying on as much as possible. As a result, overhead compartments fill up fast. Some airlines offer priority boarding for $5 to $10 each way for travelers who want to ensure compartment space. However, you can avoid these fees by making sure your carry-on fits underneath the seat in front of you. Even if you decide to risk it, you should make sure your bag meets your carrier’s pre-specified carry-on luggage size. Checking bags at the gate is a hassle and can also cost you. Spirit Airlines, for example, recently announced it will charge $100 per carry-on each way (beginning in November) if the bag is checked at the gate.

8. Bring a book and/or magazine.

Most airlines allow passengers to carry on reading material separately. It will not count towards your carry-on and personal item size and/or weight restrictions. Taking advantage of this policy will provide you with entertainment on your flight. Particularly on longer flights, having an interesting book or magazine will prevent you from succumbing to the temptations of onboard Wi-Fi and entertainment. Many airports offer free Wi-Fi. If you plan ahead, you can send your work emails before boarding, save the $12.70 most airlines charge for a 24-hour pass, and curl up with a good book on your flight.

9. Bring your own food.

Airline food prices (and airport food prices) are inflated because they have to factor in the higher cost of using airport space (i.e. airport surcharges). Bringing your own food will help save you some cash. More importantly, unless you are traveling through San Francisco’s SFO Virgin America terminal or New York’s JFK JetBlue terminal where “state-of-the art” includes gourmet dining, bringing your own will ensure you get a good meal. Let’s face it: Airline food really isn’t food unless you are flying first class, so why pay an arm and a leg for it?

10. Dress warmly bring an extra sweater.

It’s definitely a bit chilly thousands of feet in the air. Dressing warmly and bringing extra layers will help keep you comfortable and hopefully help protect your body from catching germs and viruses that may be circulating around. The real impact on your wallet: you won’t consider paying extra for a pillow and blanket. That’s right. Airlines charge for that now!

Alicia Jao is the VP of Travel Media at NerdWallet, which recently launched an airline and baggage fee comparison tool to help you save money on air travel.

IPOs Are Great for Brokers and Bad for Investors

IPOs Are Great for Brokers and Bad for Investors

Facebook’s IPO was not a financial disaster for everyone. According to the Wall Street Journal, Morgan Stanley and other underwriters made a profit of about $100 million stabilizing Facebook stock since the start of trading.

How did Main Street investors do? Not so well. The value of Facebook stock purchased at the initial price of $38 lost well over $600 million in value. Facebook stock closed at $31.91 on Friday.

It gets worse. There are published reports that analysts at Facebook’s underwriters cut earnings estimates for the company in the middle of its IPO roadshow. That would be bad enough, but here’s the kicker: This information was reportedly conveyed to large institutional potential buyers of Facebook stock, but not to Main Street investors. Clearly, this is material information which, if known, would have affected not only the price at which investors would have been willing to pay for the stock, but also whether they would buy it at all.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is reportedly reviewing these allegations. Morgan Stanley defended its conduct, noting that the procedures it followed were the same ones it used for all IPOs. That’s a scary observation.

This is not the first time Morgan Stanley has been in hot water over its handling of IPOs. In 2003, the SEC alleged that Morgan Stanley created conflicts of interest for its research analysts. The conflict arose because of Morgan Stanley’s goal of generating investment banking business (so that it could be lead underwriter in profitable IPOs), and the responsibility of its analysts to generate objective research reports. If these reports were unfavorable, it could prevent Morgan Stanley from winning the IPO business.

In 2005, the SEC filed a complaint against Morgan Stanley relating to its conduct from March, 1999 to November, 2000, in allegedly inducing customers to place orders for shares in the aftermarket of IPOs, in violation of SEC Regulations. And in 2006, the SEC accused Morgan Stanley of failing to produce tens of thousands of e-mails relating to its practice of allocating shares of stock in IPOs and alleged conflicts of interest between its research and investment banking practices.

I don’t mean to single out Morgan Stanley. It’s no better or worse than its brokerage colleagues. The SEC settled its analyst conflicts case against ten of the largest Wall Street firms in April, 2003. Among those settling (in addition to Morgan Stanley) were Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citigroup, and Merrill Lynch.

The reality is that the brokerage model is fundamentally flawed and rigged against small investors. Regulatory actions frequently result in penalties that amount to little more than a slap on the wrist. These settlements are carefully worded. The brokers don’t admit liability and promise not to violate the securities laws in the future. Yet they continue to do so and the charade continues. Jed Rakoff, a U.S. district court judge in the Federal District Court in Manhattan, has been outspoken in his criticism of these settlements. He recently observed that defendants in SEC settlements repeatedly violate their agreement to comply with the securities laws. He pointed out that the SEC has not brought any contempt charges against large financial firms in the past ten years.

Main Street investors in IPOs are lambs waiting to be slaughtered. Don’t expect protection from regulatory agencies. Never has the maxim of “caveat emptor” been more appropriate.

Dan Solin is a senior vice president of Index Funds Advisors. He is the New York Times bestselling author of The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read, The Smartest 401(k) Book You'll Ever Read, The Smartest Retirement Book You'll Ever Read, and The Smartest Portfolio You'll Ever Own. His new book, The Smartest Money Book You'll Ever Read, was published on December 27, 2011.

The views set forth in this blog are the opinions of the author alone and may not represent the views of any firm or entity with whom he is affiliated. The data, information, and content on this blog are for information, education, and non-commercial purposes only. Returns from index funds do not represent the performance of any investment advisory firm. The information on this blog does not involve the rendering of personalized investment advice and is limited to the dissemination of opinions on investing. No reader should construe these opinions as an offer of advisory services. Readers who require investment advice should retain the services of a competent investment professional. The information on this blog is not an offer to buy or sell, or a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any securities or class of securities mentioned herein. Furthermore, the information on this blog should not be construed as an offer of advisory services. Please note that the author does not recommend specific securities nor is he responsible for comments made by persons posting on this blog.

5 Ways You Could Be Putting Your Savings at Risk

5 Ways You Could Be Putting Your Savings at Risk

Sometimes we think we're doing our finances well when those money-saving behaviors are really compromising the security of our savings. Sure, you know that following a budget and regularly depositing money into a savings account will build up a nice buffer in case you fall on hard times, but are you also doing things that could potentially put a big hole in that safety net?

Below are some of the behaviors that might appear to be beneficial to your bank account at first glance, but are really setting it up for a big loss:

1. Holding onto that low-interest account.

Yes, your account may not be earning anything, but certainly you aren't losing money, and at least it's safe in the bank, right? Well, if your money is sitting in a low-interest deposit account, you are, in fact, losing money.

Inflation is the gradual increase in the cost of goods and services year over year. So if the inflation rate is 2 percent, for example, an item that costs $1 today will cost $1.02 in a year. That also means that if your savings aren't growing at the same rate, that money is essentially losing value each year. It's tough to find interest-bearing savings accounts that match the rate of inflation these days, but keeping your money in one that earns little-to-nothing at all guarantees your future purchasing power will be decreased by that much.

2. Driving under the influence.

Having one too many cocktails means it's no longer legal to drive a car and time to find a ride or call a cab. Unfortunately, many drivers would rather risk a drive home while buzzed than get a ride from a taxi.

Keep in mind, however, that getting caught drinking and driving results in serious costs: Aside from the fact that you are putting others' lives at riskâ€"as well your ownâ€"just because you don't want to shell out for a cab, getting behind the wheel after a few drinks is an easy way to lose $10,000 in bail, court fees, and other associated fines, even if it's your first offense.

3. Exceeding the FDIC limit.

In your effort to amass impressive savings, make sure you're spreading the wealth across more than one bank if necessary. Most people are well aware that FDIC insurance covers deposits of up to $250,000 in most cases; what they often don't realize is that this limit is per depositor, not per account. That means if you have several savings, CD, money market, or other deposit accounts with one bank, any amount of the combined total balances that exceeds $250,000 is unprotected in the event that bank goes under.

4. Eating from the dollar menu.

We've all been there: You're driving home after work and can't bear the thought of having to cook dinner when you get home. Stopping for a $1 cheeseburger every now and then may save you on your monthly grocery budget, but habitual trips to the drive-through could cost you thousands of dollars down the line.

According to studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Americans spend as high as $147 billion on direct and indirect obesity-related costs each year. On an individual level, according to CBS, experiencing a severe heart attack results in an average total cost of $1 million! Do you have a spare million to cover the consequences of your poor eating habits?

5. Contributing too much to your 401(k).

When it comes to saving for retirement, the more you can sock away now, the better, right? Not necessarily. While making retirement savings a priority is great, you have to remember that you won't be able to touch that money for a long timeâ€"maybe several decadesâ€"without paying severe penalties (except in the case of proven, extreme financial hardship).

Over-commit to your retirement now and your personal savings will suffer as a result; hit a financial rough patch and they'll likely be depleted quickly. Experts recommend that you set aside 10 to 20 percent of your income for retirementâ€"so the good news is that the more money you make, the more that can be allocated toward your golden years.

Including savings in your budget is the foundation to setting yourself up for a lifetime of financial success, and it takes real discipline to stick to it. Make sure you aren't undermining your hard work by doing things that can ultimately put your savings at risk.

Casey Bond is editor-in-chief of www.GoBankingRates.com, which provides readers informative personal finance and investing content, as well as the best interest rates on financial services nationwide.

World Powers Play Blame Game With Flame Virus

World Powers Play Blame Game With Flame Virus

When news broke Tuesday that thousands of government computers in Iran had been infected with a sophisticated virus called Flame, officials in the country along with cybersecurity experts worldwide immediately started assessing blame across the world.

But the international case of cyber whodunit isn't likely to be solved anytime soon. Experts agree that the 20 megabyte fileâ€"extremely large for a virusâ€"was so complex that it was likely created by state-sponsored actors.

[Cyber Attack Talk May Outpace The Actual Threat]

But exactly which state is responsible? According to Kevin Coleman, author of The Cyber Commanders Handbook and a senior fellow with the Technolytics Institute, the virus' authors would have to be "really stupid" to allow it to be traced back to them, and they clearly were not.

"It's impossible to know who did it. I don't think it was a private hacking group, based on the information targeted. It wouldn't lend itself to criminal activity," Coleman says.

Experts immediately began looking at the United States and Israel, who Iran blamed for the 2010 Stuxnet virus, which damaged centrifuges inside uranium enrichment plants in the country. Iran has already admitted it lost "massive amounts of data" since March 2010.

But Coleman says "no one can be ruled out," including China, whose economy relies on Iran's actions.

"If I was China and I wanted to gather info about Iran, I'd make it look like the United States was behind this," he says. "China is a formidable opponent in all things cyberâ€"I would not rule anything past them."

[House Intel Chairman Predicts Major Cyber Attack on U.S.]

Adam Segal, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who specializes in cyberconflict and technology in China and India, says China "has an intelligence interest in Iran, just like every other major country."

"We know the Chinese do engage in cyber espionage, so they are a possibility," he adds. "When you put together a list of who has the technical prowess and who benefits from this information, you get a list of about five or six countriesâ€"the U.S., Israel, the U.K., Germany, China, and Russia."

Moshe Yaalon, the Vice Prime Minister of Israel, has hinted his country could be behind the virus.

"Israel is blessed with being a country rich in high-tech, and from that perspective, these achievements we take pride in, both in the civilian sector and the defense sector, open up very many opportunities," he said on Israel's Army Radio.

[U.S. Nukes Face Up to 10 Million Cyber Attacks Daily]

According to Kaspersky Lab, the Russian antivirus company that discovered Flame, the virus could automatically take screenshots, record audio, and detect Bluetooth-enabled devices on an infected computer and send them back to the attacker, making it "one of the most advanced and complete attack-toolkits ever discovered."

According to Kaspersky "arguably … the most complex malware ever found," but its purpose is completely different from Stuxnet, according to Coleman.

"We're comparing apples with orangesâ€"one's a weapon, one's for spying," says Coleman. "Stuxnet as a weapon is unparalleled. [Flame] is an act of espionage. As far as we know at this point, it's not destructive or disruptive."

Jason Koebler is a science and technology reporter for U.S. News  World Report. You can follow him on Twitter or reach him at jkoebler@usnews.com

Fox Airs 4-minute Video Attack on Obama

Fox Airs 4-minute Video Attack on Obama

It's not quite a political ad but it sure looks like one.

Fox News' "Fox Friends" aired a four-minute video today attacking President Obama. The video is made in the same style as the most negative of political ads, complete with frightening music, graphics and voiceovers. Obama's words are juxtaposed on screen with images of a dystopian America.

"The president says that he is still using that slogan [hope and change]," host Gretchen Carlson tells Fox viewers of the video. "So we decided to look back at the president's first term to see if it lived up to hope and change."

Fox has a slogan of its own: "Fair and Balanced." But with this new video, commentators on both sides of the political divide are questioning whether it's still operative.

At conservative website Hot Air, Ed Morrissey writes:

"Note that FF isn't just playing a campaign ad or a YouTube spot from an outside political action committee. Nor does this come from the production company of one of its opinion-program hosts. The video starts with "Fox and Friends Presents" on the screen, making this an explicit argument from the news channel itself.

Should a news organization produce and publish attack ads like this? I know the initial response will be that other news organizations offer biased perspectives and hagiographies of Obama that go well beyond a single video … and that response is entirely valid. However, we usually criticize that kind of behavior with other news organizations, too. If anyone wanted to look for evidence that the overall Fox News organization intends to campaign against Obama rather than cover the campaign, this video would be difficult to refute as evidence for that claim."

The liberal site Media Matters for America takes time to try to debunk each of the claims made about Obama in the video, writing that the video "furthers Fox News' role as the communications and campaign arm of the GOP."

A request for comment from Fox News was not immediately returned.

UPDATE, 6:15 p.m.:

In an E-mailed statement, Bill Shine, Executive Vice President of Programming at Fox News said:

“The package that aired on FOX Friends was created by an associate producer and was not authorized at the senior executive level of the network. This has been addressed with the show’s producers.”

TVNewser reports that the video “is not sitting well” with top dogs at Fox.

Whispers hears that Chris White, the Fox associate producer who made the video, has an offer from CNN.

WATCH the video below:

• Study: Is Fox too balanced?
• Wolf Blitzer Spars With Donald Trump Over Obama's Birth Certificate
• Check out U.S. News Weekly: an insider's guide to politics and policy.

Elizabeth Flock is a staff writer for U.S. News World Report. You can contact her at eflock@usnews.com or follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

U.S. General: As Long as Russia, China Have Nukes, So Will America

U.S. General: As Long as Russia, China Have Nukes, So Will America

Washington will not significantly shrink its nuclear weapons arsenal as long as Moscow and Beijing possess their own atomic arms that could target the United States, says the general who oversees America's nuclear fleet.

Senior U.S. officials do not view the Russians or Chinese "as enemies," says Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, U.S. Strategic Command chief. Still, both possess long-range nuclear missiles that could hit U.S. cities or targets, meaning "we must be mindful" of a need to maintain a robust U.S. nuclear fleet, he told a forum Wednesday in Washington.

While it has been 67 years since the last nuclear attack--launched by the U.S. on Japan--"as long as nuclear weapons exist, we will maintain a safe and reliable nuclear deterrent," Kehler says.

The United States and Russia are shrinking their atomic arsenals under a deal reached last year. The United States has nearly 1,740 nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, sub-based ballistic missiles, and warheads for heavy aircraft, according to the Pentagon. Russia has around 1,490; under terms of the 2011 treaty, the U.S. is headed toward 1,500.

[Gallery: Memorial Day Around The Nation.]

"At this level of reductions, it maintains a force able and ready," Kehler says.

The Strategic Command chief suggested Washington could eventually further shrink its nuclear fleet. But not today.

"I feel we are not at a place to go to zero," Kehler says.

Asked about a report from earlier this year that Obama administration and Pentagon officials are studying options to shrink the atomic fleet to just 300 ICBMs, Kehler would say only that a Pentagon study on further reductions is not yet complete.

President Obama talks often of his vision of a "nuclear-free world," and has pushed hard for nuclear weapons reductions between the Cold War foes. More pragmatic Obama administration officials simply want nuclear arsenal cuts because they feel the nation has more than enough and it would perhaps free up billions of dollars.

The sticking point to Obama's goal is the Russians, who "seem to be going the other way," says Michele Flournoy, Obama's former Pentagon policy chief, citing a renewed emphasis on nuclear arms in military doctrine and increased atomic weapons spending.

"Even though a second Obama administration might see it as possible to do more reductions," Flournoy says, "the challenge is getting the Russians to that point."

Meantime, Kehler told the forum the Pentagon is examining options for a missile defense shield that would provide an umbrella over the East Coast. But officials see no pressing need for such a system, which would be mandated in a House-passed Pentagon policy bill working its way through Congress right now.

Kehler also endorsed keeping--for now, at least--all three legs of the so-called nuclear triad, which consists of bomber planes that carry nuclear bombs, submarine-fired atomic-tipped missiles, and ICBMs. Some military experts and lawmakers have floated the notion of eliminating at least one leg to save money, and because so many delivery platforms are unnecessary.

"In this set of [security] scenarios, we need a triad" to give the president the full list of options, Kehler says. "I don't believe we need a triad out of theological beliefs...[or] because we've always had a triad."

John T. Bennett covers national security and foreign policy for U.S. News World Report. You can contact him at jbennett@usnews.com or follow him on Twitter.

• Putin's Russia is Pivotal For Future U.S. Foreign Policy
• Obama's Iran Options: Talk, Threaten or Attack
• Check out U.S. News Weekly: an insider's guide to politics and policy

Pentagon Official: Another Iraq, Afghanistan Unlikely 'Any Time Soon'

Pentagon Official: Another Iraq, Afghanistan Unlikely 'Any Time Soon'

U.S. soldiers with the NATO- led International Security Assistance Force are seen during a foot patrol in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The United States is unlikely to engage in another lengthy ground operation like the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, a senior Pentagon official said Wednesday.

Obama administration and Pentagon officials "are not abandoning" the ability to do counterinsurgency operations, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told a forum in Washington. But officials are shedding some of the force structureâ€"meaning peopleâ€"that was added to the Army and Marines after the 9/11 attacks that was used to wage the counterinsurgency campaigns in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

[See a collection of political cartoons on defense spending.]

"No one wants to get into another Iraq or Afghanistan any time soon," Carter says. And if Washington did find itself in that kind of scenario, "we would mobilize the reserves," while the active-duty force is expanded back to peak post-9/11 levels.

The Obama administration wants to shrink the Army over the next few years from 570,000 to around 482,000, and the Marines from 202,000 to 175,000 Leathernecks.

John T. Bennett covers national security and foreign policy for U.S. News World Report. You can contact him at jbennett@usnews.com or follow him on Twitter.

• Why The New F-22 Restrictions Ring Hollow
• Experts Skeptical of Romney's Defense Budget Plans
• Check out U.S. News Weekly: an insider's guide to politics and policy

Five Priceless Tweets Deleted By Politicians

Five Priceless Tweets Deleted By Politicians

The Sunlight Foundation's new site "Politwoops" intends to make politicians more transparent.

But the collection of tweets deleted by politicians reveals America's policymakers to be more bungling than corrupt, more swollen-headed than ill-intentioned.

Whispers has rounded up five of the more entertaining instances in which politicians press the delete button:

1. When they've made a bad joke.

2. When they tweet about birtherism.

3. When they insult two of their colleagues at the same time.

4. When there is a rookie running amok on their Twitter account.

5. When they tweet about themselves in the third person.

Stay tuned -- Sunlight says it plans to keep adding to the collection.

How Building a Side Business Can Help Retirees

How Building a Side Business Can Help Retirees

The thought of working forever can be downright depressing. But many retirees would benefit from a part-time gig that generates a side income. Here are several reasons building up another income stream could improve your retirement prospects:

Satisfaction beyond the financials. Especially at the start of retirement, many retirees are anxious about their nest egg keeping up with their lifestyle. Having a supplemental income can help reduce your dependence on your portfolio’s performance, which could lead to less stress and a better quality of life.

Fill up your schedule quickly. Some retirees have trouble finding activities to fill up the whole day, every day. With a side gig, boredom won’t be a problem. But make sure you are starting a side business in an area you are passionate about. You’re likely to know more about a business that is personally interesting to you, which will make your time at work more pleasant and could even make you more likely to earn a profit.

A trial before full retirement. While some retirees are perfectly happy to fill their days with leisure activities, other people feel more fulfilled if they are working and feel like they are making decisions that matter. It's difficult to figure out how you will react until you are already retired. With a side gig, you will be able to continue exercising your mental abilities while paring back the time and commitment a full-time job requires.

Maintain and grow your network. You might like to go back to the workforce one day. Or maybe you just want to keep up with your colleagues and friends and stay current on industry changes. When you retire, you often lose touch with colleagues and professional contacts. But if you have a side business, you will naturally evolve along with your industry and your contacts.

Improve your social life. You are likely to meet many new people through the course of building your side gig. You will also have great stories to share amongst your friends, because the quest to maintain a side business is always interesting. A side business gives you a great answer when someone you meet asks, “What do you do?”

A higher income. The income you receive through a side gig will boost your retirement security. It will help reduce the need to withdraw from your nest egg and ease the tension whenever stocks have subpar performance. And once you set up a steady income, those who are so inclined could even get more aggressive with their investments and potentially increase long-term returns.

The caveat is to select a side business that doesn't require a substantial amount of time and upfront financial commitment. But if you pick the right one, it could allow you to retire sooner and improve the quality of your retirement life.

David Ning runs MoneyNing, a personal finance site that shares money moves you can make to significantly increase your chances of having a comfortable retirement. He likes to share simple changes that anyone can make, such as picking the best online savings account and figuring out whether a 0 percent balance transfer credit card makes sense.

Once-Obese Women Still Face Stigma

Once-Obese Women Still Face Stigma

Overweight people walking

WEDNESDAY, May 30 (HealthDay News) -- Even after they shed their excess pounds, formerly obese women still have to contend with "anti-fat prejudice," according to a new study.

Spanish ID: 665227

Researchers asked young women and men to read about women who had either lost 70 pounds of excess weight or had stayed the same weight (weight-stable), and who were either currently obese or currently thin.

The participants were then asked about some of the women's attributes, including their attractiveness.

[Read: Junk Food Tax Must Be Fat, or Don't Bother. British Study Says.]

"We were surprised to find that currently thin women were viewed differently depending on their weight history," study leader Janet Latner, of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said in a news release from the University of Manchester, in England. "Those who had been obese in the past were perceived as less attractive than those who had always been thin, despite having identical height and weight."

The participants also showed greater bias against obese people after they had read about women who had lost weight, compared to after reading about weight-stable women -- regardless of whether the weight-stable women were thin or obese.

The findings, published May 29 in the journal Obesity, suggest that the stigma of obesity is so powerful that it can continue even after an obese person has lost weight.

The researchers said they were particularly troubled by the finding that participants' negative attitudes towards obese people increased when they were falsely told that body weight is easily controlled.

[Health Buzz: Obesity Not Always Tied to Heart Risk.]

"The message we often hear from society is that weight is highly controllable, but the best science in the obesity field at the moment suggests that one's physiology and genetics, as well as the food environment, are the really big players in one's weight status and weight loss," study co-author Kerry O'Brien, from the University of Manchester School of Psychological Sciences and Monash University in Melbourne, in Australia, noted in the news release.

"Weight status actually appears rather uncontrollable, regardless of one's willpower, knowledge and dedication. Yet many people who are perceived as 'fat' are struggling in vain to lose weight in order to escape this painful social stigma. We need to rethink our approaches to, and views of, weight and obesity," O'Brien noted.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases offers advice about choosing a safe and effective weight-loss program.

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Could Bloodletting Ease Heart Risks for the Obese?

Could Bloodletting Ease Heart Risks for the Obese?

Belly fat

WEDNESDAY, May 30 (HealthDay News) -- The ancient medical practice of bloodletting may benefit obese people with metabolic syndrome, a small new study suggests.

Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions -- including abdominal obesity, high triglycerides (a type of fat found in the blood), high fasting blood sugar levels and high blood pressure -- that increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Bloodletting was common throughout history but was abandoned in the 19th century when it was determined that it had little or no effect on most diseases. But this study by German researchers found that two sessions of blood donation improved blood pressure and markers of cardiovascular disease in obese patients with metabolic syndrome.

[Read: As Obesity Rates Rise, Cases of Kidney Stones Double.]

In the study, 64 patients were divided into two groups. One group donated 300 milliliters (ml) of blood at the start of the study and between 250 and 500 ml four weeks later. One group didn't donate blood.

Six weeks after the second blood donation -- which allowed sufficient time for the body to generate new blood and return blood volume to normal -- systolic blood pressure (the top number in a reading) among those who donated fell from an average of 148 mmHg to 130 mmHg.

They also had reductions in blood sugar levels and heart rate, and an improvement in cholesterol levels.

The study is in the May 30 issue of the journal BMC Medicine.

Blood donation is known to reduce levels of iron stores in the body. Prior research has found that an accumulation of iron in the body is associated with high blood pressure and diabetes, according to researchers.

"Blood donation may prevent not just diabetes but also cardiovascular disease for the obese," study leader Professor Andreas Michalsen from the Charit-University Medical Centre, in Berlin, said in a journal news release.

[Read: Obese UK Woman Cut Out of House.]

But another expert isn't convinced the findings support a bloodletting Renaissance. It's true that excessive iron can worsen high blood pressure and diabetes, so it's a good idea for anyone with those conditions to make sure they're not unnecessarily boosting their levels by taking an iron supplement or multivitamin containing iron, said Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, a preventive cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

"With the advent of diet and exercise and medications, we should probably leave this practice of bloodletting to the 19th century, at which time the practice was abandoned," Steinbaum said. "Clearly there are alternative ways to manage these issues."

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about metabolic syndrome.

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.