More than 4 billion of the 6 billion people on earth now have a cell phone, with a quarter of those owners getting one in just the last two years. And many are using them, in a giant global experiment, to change the way life is lived, from Manhattan to Ouagadougou.

Representatives from the American Telemedicine Association, along with leaders from other U.S. telemedicine programs, will participate next week in the inaugural Electronic and Telemedicine Hospital Symposium in Tehran, Iran, to advocate the use of telemedicine for medical diplomacy and cooperative international development.