Google Trends is a fun way to compare the popularity of search terms, but the technology behind it can also be put to some important uses. Google.org, the nonprofit arm of Google, is using Trends to generate a flu tracker, showing the prevalence of flu outbreaks across America. Flu-related search terms are tracked to estimate when and where the flu happens, with data going back to 2003.

The data is tracked by state, so you can check and prepare when the flu starts to pick up in your area. According to Google's data, December is historically the worst flu month, so this is an apt time for Google Flu Trends to launch. Google is hoping that the tracker will be quicker and more accurate than the traditional method of waiting for doctors to report the flu, and they estimate that people are likely to Google the flu 1 to 2 weeks before they tell their doctors about it.

Google has officially launched a public beta of its new health and medical information service. Google has been privately testing Google Health in partnership with the Cleveland Clinic since February. But now anybody can sign up for the free service.

So what exactly is Google Health? It's a one stop for managing your personal medical records, sharing that information with doctors who use the service, and searching for health related information. You can use the service to get your prescriptions filled, check up on test results, or create alerts that will remind you to take your pills or get vaccinated on a regular basis.

Google says it will not advertise on the site, and it will not share your private data with anyone without your authorization. But the service could collect and use anonymous aggregated data.

[via PC Magazine]

The internet: How can a medium so conceptually full of potential win attract so many people full of utter lose and fail?

Wired reports that "griefers" (which is a polite euphemism, I suppose, for a term Weblogs Inc really wouldn't want me to use) lodged an attack on the non-profit Epilepsy Foundation last weekend.

Epilepsy is one of those really fun conditions that can vary wildly in seizure type and severity. About 3% of people with epilepsy have visual triggers. Griefers first put up a few GIFs that flashed, and then begin using links (with legitimate sounding names) to entire pages with flashing lights and color patterns.

There were seizures of various types and migraines reported from the event. Ever had a true migraine? Not a bad headache, but a true migraine? It's something you wouldn't wish even on a griefer.

Sorry, but why would anyone find this particularly amusing? And before anyone (again) ventures the comment spotted on Wired ("Why didn't the EF disable GIFs?"), really, let's think about this. How freaking low do you have to be to do this sort of thing? Hello? Maybe they should have disabled GIFs. And maybe we should all have some personal freaking responsibility to each other as, you know, people.

Full disclosure. As a person with a neurological condition (not epilepsy) I've found the internet is a lifeline in meeting other people with the same condition. I learn things from them I can not learn from my doctors. Doctors are very good, but they don't have the experiences I have. When these sites have issues, real live people do suffer. Sometimes not medically, but definitely in terms of support.

I don't believe any Download Squad readers are, or aspire to be, griefers. Our readers are way too cool for that. But restore my faith in the citizens of the interwebs. Do something nice to someone, anyone, online today.

[via Wired by way of Slashdot]

While you can't sign up for Google Health yet unless you're one of a few thousands patients at the Cleveland Clinic, Google is beginning to discuss their new health-focused service. In a blog post today, Google shows off a new screenshot which gives us a good idea of the type of information Google Healthusers will be able to store and sort online.

Users will be able to keep track of their conditions, allergies, prescribed medications, and previous medical procedures. But you'll also be able to find doctors, search for health information and save pages to your profile. Most importantly, you'll have access to your medical records wherever you are, without having to wait for a doctor to transfer files to your new doctor every time you move.

We're three weeks into the new year, and chances are many people's New Years resolutions have already fallen by the wayside, if not been completely given up on. If your New Years resolution involved eating better and being more active, then the site Wellsphere may be able to get you back on track.

Wellsphere is a website designed to connect users with the desire to improve their health with other people with similar wellness goals. It can also help you get connected to local resources in your area that can help them meet their goals. The website also creates groups for large organizations that want to improve the overall wellness of those involved in their program, for instance BeWell@Stanford for Stanford students. Companies can start their own similar company wellness program under Wellspheres iBeWell.

Google will launch its online consumer health service early next year. We've known that both Google and Microsoft were working on health related services for a while now. But Microsoft beat Google to the punch, launching its HealthVault portal earlier this month.

So what can we expect from Google Health? Google search chief Marissa Mayer says odds are if you're searching for health information online you're already using Google. The company hopes to leverage its search and data organization technology to help patients maintain their personal health information.

Google Health lets patients store personal medical records, search for health information, manage diet and other health information, and even find local doctors. The service will also have tools that allow doctors to better manage their information, and we assume, share that info with their patients.

But this raises an interesting question. Are doctors going to want to sign up for Microsoft, Google, ZocDoc, and other online services just to communicate with their patients? It seems more likely that an individual doctor or medical practice will pick one service and then stick with it.

For example, if you take your kid to Fluffy Bunny pediatrics, you'll find that the doctors are willing to share all of your child's medical records with you over Microsoft HealthVault. If you sign up for Google Health, you'll have to get old-fashioned paper records. Because otherwise, Fluffy Bunny doctors would have to spend time submitting all of their documents to 2 or more different sites, which would increase their workload, not decrease it. This, of course would force health consumers to sign up for multiple services if they want to make sure they have access to the latest information from all of their doctors, meaning that you're the one with a disorganized mess, not your doctor.

So while we like the idea of having a single online location to conduct all of your health-related searches, store all of your medical records, and keep your doctor and family up to date, we're just not sure there's room for multiple competing services in this market.

Microsoft has launched its new consumer health portal which is something of a cross between WebMD and Life Record. In other words, HealthVault both lets you search for general health related information and store your own personal health data online.

What does a software company know about medicine? Well, Microsoft has partnered with groups ranging from the American Heart Association to the Mayo Clinic. When you search for a disease, symptoms, or pretty much anything else you'll get results from those institutions, Wikipedia, the web, and sponsors. If you sign up for an account, you can also save results in a 'scrapbook."

As for your personal date, that will be stored in an encrypted database. You can set your privacy controls so that only you'll be able to see your records, or you can share them with family members or others. Searches data is not associated with your user account.

If you're not itching to come home from the doctor's office and type all of your data into a website, fret not. Microsoft is reaching out to doctors, encouraging them to submit your information directly to the website to improve communication between doctors and patients. In other words, you won't have to make a phone call to get the results of your latest test. You'll be able to go online. If Jay Parkinson is Doctor 2.0, then Microsoft wants HealthVault to be medicine 2.0.

Google is also working on a health-related offering, but there's no word on when the service will launch.

[via The New York Times and istartedsomething]

Earlier this year Microsoft picked up Medstory, prompting speculation that the software maker would be coming out with some sort of health-related search engine. Now the New York Times is reporting that both Microsoft and Google have slightly more ambitious plans in the health space.

Microsoft plans to launch a health service later this year that will involve some a way for patients to store health information online, on their computers, and cellphones. There will also be an online search component, although the company won't say much about the details.

Google is expected to launch Google Health next year. A small number of health professionals have seen a demo of the product, and Google Blogoscoped has a number of screenshots. By the look of it, Google Health will let you store your family's medical records online. You can also schedule reminders to make appointments with your doctor or refill your prescriptions.

And of course, there's a search function. You can search Google's doctor directory to find a medical professional near you. And you can search for health related information like suggested treatments or drug interactions.

Once upon a time, giving someone a copy of the DSM was almost guaranteed to ensure that they would come down with the plague. Or at least they'd convince themselves that they had malaria.

These days anyone with an internet connection can take advantage of self-diagnosis tools at sites like WebMD to scare themselves silly. And according to a new poll by Harris Interactive, over 160 million Americans, or 84% of all online adults can be called "cyberchondriacs."

That word's not entirely fair or accurate, with its implication that most Americans are hypochondriacs. In order to qualify, you just have to have searched for some form of health-related information at some point in your life. But it is interesting that the number is up 37% from just two years ago.

A few other juicy stats:

• 74% of those who say they've looked up health information have done so in the last month. That number is actually down from 85% in 2005.
• 88% of those who conduct health-related searches say that they're successful.
• 26% say the health information they get online is "very reliable," while 60% describe it as "somewhat reliable."

[via Reuters]

Needles are icky, kids hate them, but the fact is they do protect against harmful diseases and sickness.

A recent study showed that 90% of parents are convinced that their kid's shots are up to date, however in reality only 61% are.

A new online service for Canadian residents allows parents to set up and track their child's immunization records and receive a reminder two weeks before it's due. Canadian Immunization set up this free service that not only tracks and reminds of vaccinations, but also explains what shots are for, how they work and why children need them.

The online immunization service advises parents to be cautious, the tool isn't for every child. If your child is in a high risk group that includes kids with sickle cell anemia, cancer, cystic fibrosis, or other chronic diseases you are advised that there are different immunization requirements for your child and, you should stick to the old school and consult your physician.

[via CityNews]

About Inc, the lonely search engine company that tends to be forgotten about, is targeting health searchers with its recent purchase of the health care ratings site, UCompareHealthCare.com.

The site specializes in rating and providing information on doctors, nursing homes, hospitals, and specialty centers so that people can make more informed decisions on their healthcare.

With this purchase, About.com and the About Health team will see the addition of approximately five million additional monthly uniques.

Currently Google, Yahoo and MSN Live already provide specialty searches and results for Health related topics, and have for some time now.

[via PaidContent]

The team at Microsoft has agreed to acquire a company which specializes in medical information. Medstory Inc, is a small company that produced an artificial intelligence software which picks up and scans medical and health information in medical journals, government documents and the internet.

The Medstory team will join the Microsoft's Health Solutions Group which will manage the development and delivery of the new offering. The words "Microsoft Anti-Virus" could take on a whole new meaning.

Want to lose weight by playing video games? Not coordinated enough to play DDR? Tim Tucker has the solution for you: Tetris Weightlifting. It's a version of Tetris that you control with a pair of handles each attached to a set of weights. You pull the right handle to move the piece right and vice versa for the left, and press a button on either handle to rotate the piece. Tucker built the Tetris Weightlifting machine out of an open source version of Tetris and a Phidgets electronic sensor. "Users expressed high satisfaction with the system," says this promotional poster. "They focused more on game-play than on exercise, setting goals based on in-game cues rather than traditional metrics such as number of repetitions." It sounds like my kind of workout, but Tucker doesn't say how many calories players can actually burn. You can download the Java source for his customized version of Tetris as well as the C# code for his sensor controller.

[Via Waxy.org]

Tuesday on USA Today, Google search VP Marissa Mayer was on USA Today and gave some clues about what we'll be seeing next Wednesday at Google's annual Press Day. When asked about moving into other verticals like health, Mayer said, "Health is an interesting one—keep your eye out for that next week." That's all she said on the topic, but rumors about a Google Health site have been bouncing around for months. Mayer also talked a bit about about how Google will be integrating video into search results as well as Google News, saying, "The presentation of search results is going to change a lot in the next couple of years. Video will play a big role. If you search for how to cut up a chicken or how to change a flat tire, video is the right answer."