'Bitcoin baby' born after parents pay for fertility treatment in digital currency

THE world's first baby bought entirely with Bitcoins has been born in California.

The baby's parents paid fertility specialist Dr C. Terence Lee for fertility treatments using only Bitcoins after he offered them a 50 per cent discount on his services.

Dr Lee told the Bitcoin 2013 conference it was the first time anyone had paid for fertility treatments entirely in the digital currency.

The obstetrician and gynaecologist is something of a Bitcoin evangelist - he advertised a male fertility evaluation on Reddit last year for 15 Bitcoins, which was about $US5 at the time.

Then Dr Lee was on a mission to find clients who would pay for bigger transactions in Bitcoins.

"In some cases they reacted like I said I wanted to be paid in vials of crack cocaine," he told CNN Money.

Late last year, Dr Lee used a now-defunct Australian exchange service to transfer the money to Bitcoins, and it all went through without a hitch.

Dr Lee told the conference he was continuing to convert clients to the unconventional payment method.

"On the Friday before I came here, we did an ultrasound on a patient who paid with Bitcoin," he said at the conference. "We may also have the world's first Bitcoin twins."

The digital currency rocketed in value in April, before crashing soon after.

Majority of people failing to wash their hands correctly, say Michigan University researchers

IT seems like the simplest of tasks, yet it seems most of us need a hand when it comes to washing one of our most used body parts.
That's right, 95 per cent of us get an epic F for failure when it comes to washing our hands correctly.
University of Michigan researchers say the majority of people aren't only failing to wash our hands thoroughly enough, but that some of us aren't even using soap.
You don't have to be a myths expert to know that means that only five per cent of people actually wash their hands long enough to kill the germs that can cause infections.
What's more, researchers found 33 per cent of people didn't use soap, while the worst offenders didn't even wash their hands at all.
Men faired worse in the hygiene stakes than their female counterparts, with seven per cent of ladies failing to wash their hands compared to 15 per cent for the blokes.
When they did wash their hands, only half of men used soap compared to three quarters of women.
The researchers observed 3749 people washing their hands in public loos and also found people were less likely to soap up if the sink was dirty, but were more likely to do so earlier in the day as opposed to at night as they became more relaxed.
Hand Hygiene Australia director professor Lindsay Grayson said the findings were not completely surprising, particularly when it came to men's habits.
Professor Grayson, who is also the director of infectious diseases at Austin Health in Melbourne, said it seemed some people were not only failing to wash their hands at all, but were also doing so incorrectly.
"People should really wash their hands for a minimum of 15 seconds using soap and water," he said.
"You also need to wash between your fingers and the palms of your hands - in other words the areas which have the greatest contact with surfaces and under nails if they're long or fake".
He said it was ridiculous if people didn't wash their hands at all, particularly in public toilets and before eating when the risk of contamination, particularly from fecal matter, was greatest.
Professor Grayson said some people also mistakenly over used antibacterial soap thinking a quick rinse would cut it, but that a thorough rinse with soap and water was adequate at home.
According to the latest World Health Organisation guidelines, people should spend between 20 and 60 seconds washing their hands to ensure they are thoroughly clean, use soap and water and paper towel to rinse off.
Associate professor of hospitality business and lead investigator on the Michigan University study Carl Borchgrevink said their findings held implications for both consumers and for those who worked in restaurants and hotels.
"Imagine you're a business owner and people come to your establishment and get foodborne illness through the fecal-oral route - because people didn't wash their hands - and then your reputation is on the line," he said. "You could lose your business."
The findings appear in the Journal of Environmental Health.