Heart, Pacemakers | featured news

A pacemaker has been built inside a heart by converting beating muscle into cells which can control the organ's rhythm, US researchers report. The heartbeat is controlled by electrical signals and if these go awry the consequences can be fatal. Scientists injected a genetically-modified virus into guinea pigs to turn part of their heart into a new, working pacemaker.

Some pacemakers are accessible wirelessly for reprogramming, but the trouble is that this easy access could be abused maliciously. Sure, passwords would keep the devices safer from such intrusions, but the patient could forget or lose those. Solution? Password tattoos.