If you are a heart patient with a pacemaker, the Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning about the mini computer that is inside each device. Unity Point St. Lukes Hospital cardiologist, Doctor Roque Arteaga says the F-D-A warning is due to the possibility that a computer hacker could interfere with how the pacemaker functions:
“Through the radio frequency signal you can in theory hack into the microprocessor or micro chip of the device and change settings, parameters or even access some of the personal information. All this is theoretical,” Arteaga says.

A hacker would have to be within the same room or nearby to be able to interfere with the pacemaker. But as a precaution, the manufacturer has created anti-hacking software that you can download to insure against that possibility. Doctor Arteaga warns that you should be at a heart clinic to have that procedure done, instead of trying to download the software yourself at home:

He says if you are dependent on the pacemaker you should have the software downloaded in the office or at the hospital in case something would go wrong. The doctor says if you are not pacemaker-dependent, you could download the software at home.

There have been no reports of pacemakers being hacked anywhere in the country, and the warning is being issued as a preventative measure. The doctor says there is also a risk from downloading the software. “The manufacturer indicates that even though the software improves the cybersecurity of the device — like any software you are downloading to a computer — it can also make the microprocessor malfunction too. And that is a theoretical possibility too,” according to Arteaga.

He works for St. Luke’s Cardiovascular Associates — which is sending letters explaining the situation to the 140 patients who are included in the pacemaker recall. The alert affects 465-thousand pacemakers nationwide.

(Radio Iowa)

Governor Kim Reynolds leaves today (Wednesday) for official state business overseas. During stops in Israel, Reynolds will be signing two “memorandums of understanding” that will formally link institutions in Israel with Iowa State University and the University of Iowa. “A big percentage of their GDP goes to research and development and they’re very innovative and entrepreneurial in spirit,” Reynolds says, “much like we are as Iowans and so we believe there’s a lot of opportunity.”

Reynolds says the new links will focus on Iowa’s strengths in agriculture at Iowa State and medical research at the University of Iowa. “This is an opportunity for us to look for economic opportunities between Israel and Iowa,” Reynolds says. “They’re a big start-up country and we’re always encouraging business to come to Iowa and invest.”

Two years ago, Israeli start-ups raised nearly four-and-a-half BILLION dollars in venture capitol in a country of eight million people. That’s about two-and-a-half times the population of Iowa. Israel is now a high-tech hub, second only to Silicon Valley in the number of start-up companies per capita.

The Israeli government provides significant support for research and development. South Korea is the only country that provides more. Reynolds is scheduled to meet with Israel’s prime minister during her trip. She will also speak next week at an international conference in Tel Aviv about “Wicked Water Problems.” The two-day event is co-sponsored by the American Water Resources Association and the Water Research Center of Tel Aviv University. Reynolds will visit Germany, too, but she’s not disclosing the details of that part of her trip.

“We’re always looking for opportunities, meeting with different companies to talk about opportunities that we have right here in Iowa,” Reynolds said. The governor is scheduled to return to Iowa on Friday, September 15th.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A judge is ordering the city of Des Moines to refund fines issued to hundreds of drivers who appealed speeding tickets they received from cameras on Interstate 235. District Judge Lawrence McLellan says the city violated their due process rights and failed to follow its own ordinances by requiring appeals to go through an unauthorized administrative hearing process.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says she agrees with President Donald Trump’s decision to phase out a program that protects young immigrants from deportation because she believes Congress should address the issue. The Republican governor told reporters Tuesday it’s Congress’ job to pass immigration law. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program has aided nearly 800,000 immigrants. On Tuesday, dozens of DACA supporters gathered at the downtown Des Moines federal building.

FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa State Penitentiary is trying out a new way to reward well-behaved inmates: The prison is hosting a family picnic. Warden Patti Wachtendorf says the Sept. 16 event will be the first-of-its kind at Iowa’s maximum-security prison for male offenders. Inmates who have not had rules violations in the last three years are eligible to attend, along with two visitors.

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) — Police in St. Cloud are investigating the fatal stabbing of a man from Iowa. Officers were called to a residence about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday where a man had been stabbed in the torso. Authorities say the stabbing was the culmination of an argument between the victim and another man visiting from Iowa. The victim was rushed to St. Cloud Hospital where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.

A University of Iowa physicist is looking forward to more discoveries with Voyager 1, while celebrating the historic mission that was launched 40 years ago today (Tuesday). Don Gurnett designed and helped build one of the instruments on Voyager 1, the first space craft to explore the solar system’s outer planets.

“For me, it’s a momentous time in the sense of 40 years,” Gurnett said. “I used to think of myself as almost a kid when I started this project, but actually I was 37. I figured that out the other day.” The now 77-year-old Gurnett remains a major player in the Voyager 1 mission. In 2012, he officially determined that Voyager 1 entered interstellar space.

Don Gurnet

“I think a lot of people thought once we get into interstellar space it would just be smooth, nothing changing, and relatively uninteresting – but that has turned out not to be the case,” Gurnett said. The space craft, launched on September 5, 1977, has journeyed farther than any man-made object. Voyager continues to collect information, although Gurnett believes its days are numbered.

“Our biggest problem is running out of electrical power in probably another 10 years or so,” Gurnett said. “We think we can keep running it until 2025.” The radio and plasma wave instrument that Gurnett helped build for Voyager 1 discovered, among other findings, that Jupiter has lightning. Gurnett has been teaching at the University of Iowa for 52 years.

(Radio Iowa)