Swedish researcher feels the heat after taking his work home

Everyone knows that technology can be hazardous but a 50-year-old scientist did not suspect that his innocuous-looking laptop could be a danger to his health until it burnt his penis and lap.

The father of two had been writing a report at home for about an hour with the computer on his lap when he felt a burning sensation. He noticed a redness and irritation the next day but it was not until he was examined by a doctor that he realised how much damage had been done.

A letter by Claes-Gorn Ostenson of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden published in The Lancet, a medical journal, said: 'The ventral part of his scrotal skin had turned red, and there was a blister with a diameter of about 20mm.'

This was not the end to the unidentified scientist's nightmare; the blisters had broken two days later and became infected. The wounds took about a week to crust and heal.

Mr Ostenson noted that there was no warning on the laptop or its manual about using the device on exposed skin but said the patient suffered lap burns despite wearing trousers and underpants.

Advances in computer technology outpace just about everything except perhaps bra technology.

Women dissatisfied with their breasts now have plenty of non-surgical alternatives to sort out their hangups. Cox News Service in New York reported that in recent months the United States had awarded patents covering many newfangled bras with several more patents for other kinds of bras pending.