Microchip

It can be swallowed, injected, inhaled or delivered to the bloodstream through a time-release implant. Now scientists say they have devised a new way to give patients their medicine: through a fingertip-size microchip embedded in the body that doctors can control remotely via a wireless connection. The drug chip, more than a dozen years in the making, was used to deliver bone-strengthening hormones to women with advanced osteoporosis who otherwise would have needed daily injections.

In a boost to the state's technology industry, a Chinese electronics maker said it was ordering $6 billion worth of microchips and other components from three California tech firms, including Broadcom Corp. in Irvine. Huawei Technologies Co., one of the world's largest providers of telecom and Internet technology, said the investment — spread over three years — was a "significant increase" over the current contracts it has with Broadcom, San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc. and Avago Technologies in San Jose.

The European Economic Community Commission said today that it is investigating charges that Japanese companies are selling semiconductors at unfairly low prices--a process known as dumping--in the European market. The commission said the investigation was opened after claims by the European electronics industry that Japanese manufacturers were selling a new type of microchip called DRAMs in Europe at below-cost prices. DRAM stands for dynamic random access memories.

It can be swallowed, injected, inhaled or delivered to the bloodstream through a time-release implant. Now scientists say they have devised a new way to give patients their medicine: through a fingertip-size microchip embedded in the body that doctors can control remotely via a wireless connection. The drug chip, more than a dozen years in the making, was used to deliver bone-strengthening hormones to women with advanced osteoporosis who otherwise would have needed daily injections.

The story that you printed about the little cockapoo who was rescued from the freeway was very heartwarming. I'm sure that this story with the photos was responsible for getting this dog adopted. The diligent work of animal regulation officers and highway patrol officers saved her life once. You saved it a second time. Bringing the follow-up story to our attention, the fact that she would be euthanized (killed) because she was unclaimed and unwanted, certainly brought those people to the shelter willing to give her a good an loving home.

A West German businessman described as one of the world's top "techno bandits" who exported millions of dollars in state-of-the-art U.S. technology to the Soviet Union was convicted of 15 counts of wire fraud in Los Angeles federal court Friday. U.S. District Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler, hearing the four-week trial without a jury, found "overwhelming" evidence that Werner Bruchhausen, 47, is guilty of defrauding U.S.

Re "Dog and Cat Microchip Implants to Begin," April 20. Hooray to the City Council and city of L.A. for beginning to microchip animals adopted from our city shelters. As an employee of a private shelter in Los Angeles, I see thousands of stray cats and dogs come through our shelter yearly that clearly are owned animals without identification. I tell people until I am blue in the face that their pets must wear a collar and ID tag in case they get lost, but most people think it won't happen to them.

The future of health care could rest in "edible computers." That was the theme of last week's keynote speech by technology guru and MIT's Media Lab founder Nicholas Negroponte, who spoke at a medical conference in Irvine. The event, sponsored by Medical Data International of Irvine, was designed to explore how information and the computer age can advance the business of medicine. The key, warned Negroponte, is how quickly scientists can find new applications for the computer chip.

Microchip Technology Inc. warned its fiscal third-quarter sales would fall short of expectations because of an inventory backup among its distributors. Shares of the Chandler, Ariz.-based company had closed off $2.69 at $26.81 on Nasdaq before the warning.

The U.S. semiconductor industry appears to have worked through an inventory glut that had hurt fourth-quarter earnings and sent shares tumbling. Analysts said they expected shares of companies that make microchips to rise in the coming months as orders increased from customers that were using up inventory in the fourth quarter.

Gov. Jerry Brown raised the ire of bicyclists, Chinese-food chefs, Republicans and some pet lovers Friday as he announced action on dozens of proposed laws. Brown outlawed the sale of shark fins, despite protests from some Chinese American leaders who saw the move as an assault on Asian culture; vetoed a controversial bid to restrict how motorists pass bicyclists; and decided not to require microchip tracking of some dogs and cats. Among the 57 bills he approved were several intended to increase the safety of natural gas pipelines and one that requires all ballot initiatives to be decided in November general elections, which typically draw greater numbers of liberal voters than June primaries.

Naming a powerful ally in its quest to become the king of smartphones, Google Inc. said it was teaming up with Intel Corp. to develop software aimed at running on the chip maker's next-generation mobile microchips. At Intel's annual developer conference in San Francisco, the two companies said Tuesday that Google's Android software would be optimized for Intel's Atom processors. Atom chips are designed to require half as much power as earlier Intel models, so are better suited for portable, battery-powered devices.

With seven seconds left in Super Bowl LIV, Seattle's Andrew Luck makes the biggest play of his NFL career. The quarterback scrambles right and dives for the goal line. Officials signal the winning touchdown. Millions of delirious Seahawks fans tear off their 3-D glasses in celebration. Thousands more dial up instant replays on their hologram-projection TVs, reliving the play from every conceivable angle. Although the London Jaguars say they tackled Luck short of the goal line, the microchip inside the football doesn't lie. The game is over, and celebratory fireworks light the sky over Los Angeles.

Scientists in Pittsburgh can make footballs talk. Priya Narasimhan, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and her team of 10 engineering students have developed a "smart football" with a miniature GPS unit and accelerometer, both contained in a half-ounce microchip inside the ball. The chip can measure factors such as ball speed, spin, trajectory and ? even when it's buried under a pile of players ? the precise location of the football. The NFL is looking into the technology as a way to make officiating and game timing even more accurate.

To help make football a little safer, Intel Corp. executives last month proposed having players' helmets outfitted with microprocessors that would wirelessly alert doctors if the athletes suffered a hit hard enough to cause head injuries. And why not? Besides being installed in things as varied as ATMs, airport check-in kiosks, pacemakers and ocean monitoring sensors, microchips also are going into a staggering array of items that were once decidedly low-tech, including gravestones, running shoes, fish lures and pens.

To help make football a little safer, Intel Corp. last month proposed having players' helmets outfitted with microprocessors that would wirelessly alert doctors if the athletes suffered a hit hard enough to cause head injuries. And why not? Microchips aren't just for ATMs, airport check-in kiosks, pacemakers and ocean monitoring sensors anymore. They're also being installed in a staggering array of items that were once decidedly low-tech ? including gravestones, fish lures and writing pens.

Directors of animal shelters in the area are purring over a new microchip, which is being implanted in pets to help them get returned when they wander from their owners. The chip costs $40 to implant and will be offered at 45 area veterinary hospitals.

Broadcom Corp., looking to speed up development of microchips that will go into the next generation of cellular devices, has acquired Santa Clara-based Beceem Communications Inc. for $316 million. Chips from Irvine-based Broadcom currently power mobile devices including Apple Inc.'s iPad and iPhone, but have until now been largely limited to older-generation 2G and 3G devices. Beceem, whose engineering hub is in Bangalore, India, manufactures microchips that work with newer cellular networks that will double or triple the speed of wireless devices in the coming years.

The Los Angeles City Council is considering requiring pet owners to implant microchip ID's in their recovered dogs and cats. Local animal shelters already implant microchips in every dog and cat adopted, said Linda J. Barth, assistant general manager for L.A. Animal Services, with new owners paying $15 to $25 for the implants. Under the new ordinance, owners whose lost animals are recovered would be charged $15. "It's more about getting pets safely reunited," Barth said.