HEALTH ISSUE: SHORT CUTS

SHORT CUTS

Annoyed by cellphones?

Scientists explain why

      Ever wonder why overhearing a cellphone conversation is so annoying? American researchers think they have found the answer. Whether it is the office, on a train or in a car, only half of the conversation is overheard which drains more attention and concentration than when overhearing two people talking, according to scientists at Cornell University. "We have less control to move away our attention from half a conversation (or halfalogue) than when listening to a dialogue," said lauren Emberson, a co-author of the study that will be published in the journal Psychological Science. "Since halfalogues really are more distracting and you can't tune them out, this could explain why people are irritated," she said.

Coffee addiction may shrink baby:

   Pregnant women who drink six cups of coffee every day may have smaller babies than women who consume less caffeine, according to a Dutch study. Researchers from the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam found that those who consumed the caffeine equivalent of six cups of coffee per day during any trimester gave birth to slightly shorter babies than those mothers had consumed less caffeine during pregnancy.