Points of Interest

Identity thieves are experimenting with a new way to determine whether they can use stolen credit cards—donations to charitable organizations. Zulfikar Ramzan, senior researcher at software security firm Symantec, told The NonProfit Times that he has noticed the tactic being discussed in chat rooms used by underground organizations. While not yet a trend, Ramzan says that charitable organizations need to watch for series of recent, small donations such as $5. Sometimes they come from the same email address using different credit card numbers. Another cue that can alert agencies to fraud is multiple small donations lacking essential information such as a mailing address.

Jeffrey Lee, last surviving member of the clan that controls the Koongarra uranium deposit near Kakdu National Park in Australia, has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He could sell his portion of the deposit to the French energy company Areva and receive the equivalent of $4.2 billion for the estimated 14,000 tons of uranium. But, he vows never to sell. He informed the Sydney Morning Herald that "if you disturb that land, bad things will happen. I’m not interested in money. I’ve got a job…. I can go fishing and hunting. That’s all that matters to me."

Working from the premise that vibrations can be translated into images, Israeli pediatrician Igal Kushnir has developed an imaging technique for "seeing" the lung. His invention, Vibration Response Imaging (VRI), measures energy generated in the lungs and analyzes it to diagnose conditions such as asthma, pneumonia, emphysema and lung tumors. Marketed by his company Deep Breeze Ltd, Kushnir is set to reap rich rewards from his years of research. According to BusinessWeek Online, foreign investment banks and global medical technology giants are pursing Deep Breeze, and the device has already been approved for sale in South Korea, the European Union and the United States.

Using a wireless LCD mouth display unit to show its location in the mouth, Oral-B’s “smart” toothbrush lets its user know which teeth need cleaning. The Gadgeteer reports that its only disadvantage is the cost.