By VICTORIA COLLIVER, San Francisco Chronicle

SAN FRANCISCO - Wanted: Dark-haired HIV-negative men and women to participate in a study designed to measure drug levels in hair.

It's called the "Strand Study" and it's part of a larger effort by AIDS scientists to look at whether people who are HIV-negative can benefit from prophylactically taking anti-HIV drugs to reduce their chances of infection.

You might want to think twice about that plate of steak and eggs.

A new study that looked at Kaiser Permanente Northern California members over a four-decade period found that even borderline to moderately high cholesterol levels in your 40s can significantly raise the chances of developing dementia later in life.

There's a new cell phone application that could actually save lives: AT&T Inc. is introducing technology that lets patients monitor their heartbeat and automatically transfer the data to their cardiologists using Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones.

Talk about setting the chocolate bar high: $13 for 3.5 ounces.
But a new super-premium San Francisco chocolate-maker, Original Beans Inc., wants you to know you're buying more than just a piece of chocolate. For each purchase, the company -- whose slogan is "The Planet: Replant It" -- will plant a tree in the rain forest where the bar's ingredients originated.

Jeff Bledsoe's arms were bandaged and covered with bruises, but he just considers that part of the learning process.
The 53-year-old Brisbane, Calif., resident, who retired after 19 years as a computer programmer, was studying for a new career in phlebotomy, or blood drawing, by taking a two-week intensive class followed by clinical training.

Gretchen Sandstrom has become more focused on price and less loyal to specific retailers. The San Rafael, Calif., resident said she's become so accustomed to the sales she saw during the holiday season that she won't buy anything that's not heavily discounted.

John Mathson had been paying about $550 a month to continue his health insurance coverage after he got laid off in October after 39 years at a pulp mill.

Grocery stores have emerged as a bright spot, posting steady or increased sales at a time when almost all other areas -- including auto dealers, furniture retailers and department stores -- reported significant declines.

Alcohol problems cost California $38 billion a year in deaths, injury, health care expenditures, lost productivity in the workplace, crime, and pain and suffering, according to a summary released Wednesday of an upcoming study by an alcohol-industry watchdog group.