July 18, 2017 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Lost mothers: An estimated 700 to 900 women in the U.S. died of pregnancy-related causes in 2016. We have identified 126 of them so far. (Pro Publica)
• Baby boomers turn to stem cells for help with painful joints (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Novel leukemia treatment could be first U.S. gene therapy (ABC)
• Dental lobby prevails: grieving parents shelve `Caleb’s law’ again (Times of San Diego)
• Could Charlie Gard’s case happen in the United States? (CNN)
• SDSU Study Reveals Hookah Chemical Linked To Cancer, Heart Disease (KPBS)
• 'Living Drug' That Fights Cancer By Harnessing The Immune System Clears Key Hurdle
• Her newborn kept getting sick because she was ingesting placenta, CDC says (Jewish World Review)
• Artificial sweeteners linked to weight gain over time, review of studies says (ABC)
• Seeking Online Medical Advice? Google's Top Results Aren't Always On Target (NPR)
• NHS ranked 'number one' health system (BBC)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• High speed Hyperloop ready for key test in Nevada (Reuters)
• Jupiter’s great red spot (CBS)
• FBI warns parents of privacy risks associated with internet-connected toys (Reuters)
• Honda recalls more than 1M cars over battery fires (10 News)
• China just switched on the world's largest floating solar power plant (WeForum)
• Food Evolution: The GMO debate continues (Cosmos)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

Lost mothers: An estimated 700 to 900 women in the U.S. died of pregnancy-related causes in 2016. We have identified 126 of them so far. (Pro Publica)

The U.S. has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the developed world. Yet these deaths of women from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth are almost invisible. When a new or expectant mother dies, her obituary rarely mentions the circumstances. Her identity is shrouded by medical institutions, regulators and state maternal mortality review committees. Her loved ones mourn her loss in private. The lessons to be learned from her death are often lost as well.

Baby boomers turn to stem cells for help with painful joints (San Diego Union-Tribune)

For pain doctor Mark Wallace, arthritis meant his hobby of competitive swimming was becoming too painful. “Every stroke was like an ice pick in my shoulder,” said Wallace, chief of the division of pain medicine at UC San Diego. Cortisone shots relieved the pain for about a month, and then it would return.

Novel leukemia treatment could be first U.S. gene therapy (ABC)

A treatment for a common childhood blood cancer could become the first gene therapy available in the U.S.A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted 10-0 on Wednesday in favor of the leukemia treatment developed by the University of Pennsylvania and Novartis Corp.

Dental lobby prevails: grieving parents shelve `Caleb’s law’ again (Times of San Diego)

It has become a familiar routine for the Sears family: Gather the medical experts, trek to Sacramento, and tell another panel of lawmakers how their 6-year-old son died from the anesthesia a dentist gave him to pull a tooth. Then watch as legislators water down the solution that pediatricians insist would prevent other California children from dying the same way.

Could Charlie Gard’s case happen in the United States? (CNN)

A beautiful boy born 11 months ago is dying in London. The world watches as his parents battle to keep their child alive. Courts will not allow the hospital to release the baby, Charlie Gard, into the parents' custody so they can travel to try an experimental treatment. Across the ocean, many people are appalled or confused, and wondering: Could a similar situation happen in the United States?

SDSU Study Reveals Hookah Chemical Linked To Cancer, Heart Disease (KPBS)

Burning hookah tobacco creates a byproduct that's believed to cause lung cancer and heart disease, according to a San Diego State University study released today.

'Living Drug' That Fights Cancer By Harnessing The Immune System Clears Key Hurdle

A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee unanimously recommended that the agency approve this "living drug" approach for children and young adults who are fighting a common form of leukemia. 

Her newborn kept getting sick because she was ingesting placenta, CDC says (Jewish World Review)

The practice of placenta-eating has gone mainstream and that's a problem, experts say 

Artificial sweeteners linked to weight gain over time, review of studies says (ABC)

But a new analysis of studies in The Canadian Medical Association Journal looked at the long-term heart health, weight, stroke incidence and blood pressure levels of more than 406,000 people who said they use artificial sweeteners in place of sugar and found that the effects weren't on the positive side.

Seeking Online Medical Advice? Google's Top Results Aren't Always On Target (NPR)

Google's search results on health issues can be influential, but they can also be unreliable or wrong. The highlighted answer may come from a dubious source while a more credible one is buried below.

NHS ranked 'number one' health system (BBC)

The UK health service was praised for its safety, affordability and efficiency, but fared less well on outcomes such as preventing early death and cancer survival.  The research by the Commonwealth Fund, a US think tank, looked at countries across the world, including the US, Canada, Australia, France and Germany. The US came bottom.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

High speed Hyperloop ready for key test in Nevada (Reuters)

Engineers will soon conduct a crucial test of a futuristic technology championed by entrepreneur Elon Musk that seeks to revolutionize transportation by sending passengers and cargo packed into pods through an intercity system of vacuum tubes… Hyperloop aims to achieve speeds of 250 miles per hour (402 km per hour) in its upcoming phase of testing.

Jupiter’s great red spot (CBS)

On July 10, 2017, NASA's Juno spacecraft flew directly over the Great Red Spot of Jupiter, giving us the closest view yet of the most massive storm in the solar system. 

FBI warns parents of privacy risks associated with internet-connected toys (Reuters)

 The FBI on Monday warned parents of privacy and safety risks from children's toys connected to the internet.

Honda recalls more than 1M cars over battery fires (10 News)

Honda is hitting its U.S. customers with yet another recall -- this time over flaming batteries.The Japanese firm announced on Thursday that it would recall nearly 1.2 million Accord vehicles produced between 2013 and 2016, after receiving multiple reports of the cars' battery sensors causing fires in the engine.

China just switched on the world's largest floating solar power plant (WeForum)

The facility is located in the city of Huainan, in China’s eastern Anhui province. It has a capacity of 40 megawatts (MW), enough to power a small town. And in a stroke of pleasing symbolism, the plant floats over a flooded former coal-mining region….

Food Evolution: The GMO debate continues (Cosmos)

Neil deGrasse Tyson's new film, Food Evolution, separates the hype from the science as it unravels the debate around food and GMOs. Here is the trailer.

November 29, 2017 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Women advised to sleep on side to help prevent stillbirth (BBC)
• VA study shows parasite from Vietnam may be killing veterans (AP)
• Hospitals are rationing saline solutions. Patients are starting to worry. (Sac Bee)
• Girl taking medical marijuana for seizures suing Jeff Sessions and DEA (CBS)
• Breast cancer tumors 'larger' in overweight women (BBC)
• Counting the costs: U.S. hospitals feeling the pain of physician burnout (Reuters)
• What The Industry Knew About Sugar's Health Effects, But Didn't Tell Us (NPR)
• Obscure vomiting illness linked to long-term pot use (KQED)
• Flies more germ-laden than suspected (BBC)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• FCC Unveils Plan To Repeal Net Neutrality Rules (NPR)
• Uber Data On 57 Million People Stolen In Massive Hack (NPR)
• The driverless revolution may exact a political price (Los Angeles Times)
• 20 countries agree to end coal use by 2030 (CS Monitor)
• Google to 'derank' Russia Today and Sputnik (BBC)
• FAA Approves Drone As 'Cell Phone Tower In The Sky' For Puerto Rico (NPR)
• Germany bans children's smartwatches (BBC)
• This Living Light is powered by a houseplant (Inhabitat)
• Artificial lights are eating away at dark nights — and that's not a good thing (Los Angeles Times)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

Women advised to sleep on side to help prevent stillbirth (BBC)

The risk of stillbirth is doubled if women go to sleep on their backs in the last trimester, a study finds.

VA study shows parasite from Vietnam may be killing veterans (AP)

A half a century after serving in Vietnam, hundreds of veterans have a new reason to believe they may be dying from a silent bullet — test results show some men may have been infected by a slow-killing parasite while fighting in the jungles of Southeast Asia. The Department of Veterans Affairs this spring commissioned a small pilot study to look into the link between liver flukes ingested through raw or undercooked fish and a rare bile duct cancer. It can take decades for symptoms to appear. By then, patients are often in tremendous pain, with just a few months to live.

Hospitals are rationing saline solutions. Patients are starting to worry. (Sacramento Bee)

Sacramento resident Charis Hill was caught off guard by the tiny bottle of saline solution hanging from the intravenous pole when she went for the latest infusion of medication that helps her avoid crippling pain. Accustomed to seeing a much larger bag of fluid, she immediately asked staff about the change. That’s when she learned that since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, key U.S. pharmaceutical plants on the island are experiencing manufacturing delays and distribution holdups that have caused unprecedented shortages…

Girl taking medical marijuana for seizures suing Jeff Sessions and DEA (CBS)

A 12-year-old girl is spearheading a campaign to legalize medical marijuana across the whole country. Alexis Bortell said she and her family had no choice but to move from their Texas home to Colorado to treat her severe epilepsy. Now, her family and a handful of others are suing Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Breast cancer tumours 'larger' in overweight women (BBC)

Women with a higher body mass index might need more frequent mammograms, researchers suggest.

Counting the costs: U.S. hospitals feeling the pain of physician burnout (Reuters)

(Reuters) - Dr. Brian Halloran, a vascular surgeon at St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, starts planning his garden long before spring arrives in southeast Michigan.

What The Industry Knew About Sugar's Health Effects, But Didn't Tell Us (NPR)

The sugar industry pulled the plug on an animal study it funded in the 1960s. Initial results pointed to a link between sugar consumption and elevated triglycerides, which raises heart disease risk.

Wrecked and wretched: obscure vomiting illness linked to long-term pot use (KQED)

For 17 years, Chalfonte LeNee Queen suffered periodic episodes of violent retching and abdominal pain that would knock her off her feet for days, sometimes leaving her writhing on the floor in pain.

Flies more germ-laden than suspected (BBC)

Flies' disease-carrying potential may be greater than previously thought, say US researchers.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FCC Unveils Plan To Repeal Net Neutrality Rules (NPR)

The FCC will vote Dec. 14 on a plan to undo rules that prevent Internet providers from blocking or slowing websites and apps. The plan would require broadband providers to disclose their practices.

Uber Data On 57 Million People Stolen In Massive Hack (NPR)

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says there is no excuse for the cover up of a 2016 data breach. A source tells NPR that the company paid hackers $100,000 to delete the data and keep the attack a secret.

The driverless revolution may exact a political price (Los Angeles Times)

Driverless vehicles threaten to dramatically reduce America's 1.7-million trucking jobs. It is the front end of a wave of automation that technologists and economists have been warning for years will come crashing down on America's political order. Some predict it could rival the impact of the economic globalization and the resulting off-shoring of jobs that propelled Trump's victory in the presidential election.

20 countries agree to end coal use by 2030 (CS Monitor)

Twenty countries and two US states have banded together through the Powering Past Coal alliance to phase out coal and cut carbon emissions by 2030 in an effort to keep to the Paris Agreement target for lowering emissions.

Google to 'derank' Russia Today and Sputnik (BBC)

Alphabet's Eric Schmidt says the search engine's algorithms can help reduce spread of propaganda.

FAA Approves Drone As 'Cell Phone Tower In The Sky' For Puerto Rico (NPR)

The aircraft is called the Flying COW, for Cell on Wings. Developed by AT&T, it can provide voice, data and Internet service for 40 square miles and up to 8,000 people at a time.

Germany bans children's smartwatches (BBC)

Telecoms regulator says kids' smartwatches are spying devices and are to be banned under German law.

This Living Light is powered by a houseplant (Inhabitat)

As organic compounds are released into the soil from photosynthesis, bacteria generates electrons and protons. These particles are tapped as an energy source to power the light.

Artificial lights are eating away at dark nights — and that's not a good thing (Los Angeles Times)

30% of vertebrates and more than 60% of invertebrates are nocturnal

December 27, 2017 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Breakthroughs put diseases on the back foot (BBC)
• 'Longest-frozen' embryo born 24 years on (BBC)
• US lifts ban on lethal virus experiments despite security risks (BBC)

 SCIENCE AND TECH

• Why California is phasing out these light bulbs January 1 (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Harvard student helps crack mystery of Inca Code (Boston Globe)
• SpaceX rocket launch lights up California sky, freaks out some residents (NPR)
• SpaceX and Irridium launching satellites that could someday revolutionize international space travel (CNBC)
• Edward Snowden made an app to protect your laptop (The Verge)
• Russian hacking groups, including Fancy Bear, targeted journalists around the world (CS Monitor)
• Library Of Congress Will No Longer Archive Every Tweet (NPR)
• Fungal disease poses global threat to snakes (BBC)
• As Corals Wither Around The World, Scientists Try IVF (NPR)
  
   

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

Breakthroughs put diseases on the back foot (BBC)

It has been a remarkable year of promise in medical science. Incurable diseases from sickle cell to haemophilia now look as though they can be treated. Here are the highlights.

'Longest-frozen' embryo born 24 years on (BBC)

US mother who gave birth to the child was herself only one year old when the baby was conceived.

US lifts ban on lethal virus experiments despite security risks (BBC)

Scientists can apply to make lethal strains of illnesses despite fear of accidental outbreaks.

SCIENCE AND TECH

Why California is phasing out these light bulbs January 1 (San Diego Union-Tribune)

If you have them, you can still use them. But starting Jan. 1, those traditional incandescent light bulbs will disappear from stores in California as part of a national initiative to switch over to more energy-efficient light bulbs.

Harvard student helps crack mystery of Inca Code (Boston Globe)

It’s a mystery that has left many scholars flummoxed. For all the achievements of the Inca Empire, including a massive roadway system, sophisticated farming methods, and jaw-dropping architecture, it was the only pre-Columbian state that did not invent a system of writing. Instead, the Inca, whose civilization originated in Peru and grew to include peoples and cultures all along the west coast of South America from 1400 to 1532, relied on knotted strings to encode information, a system so complex that scholars still struggle to make sense of it.

SpaceX rocket launch lights up California sky, freaks out some residents (NPR)

An iridescent streak lit up the sky over Southern California on Friday night, stopping traffic and leading some residents to marvel and others to worry about a UFO or even a nuclear bomb attack. In reality, it was a SpaceX rocket lifting off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, north of Santa Barbara, Calif., carrying 10 satellites for the Iridium constellation. They will be used in mobile voice and data communications.

SpaceX and Irridium launching satellites that could someday revolutionize international space travel (CNBC)

SpaceX's launch Friday marks the halfway point in putting a 75-satellite constellation into orbit. Iridium CEO Matt Desch says the Aireon system on board the satellites "could reduce both the cost and time of air travel.""Aireon makes the whole planet visible to air traffic controllers," Desch says.

Edward Snowden made an app to protect your laptop (The Verge)

...Snowden and Lee, who both sit on the board of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, partnered with the Guardian Project, a collective of app developers who focus on privacy and encrypted communications, to create Haven over the last year.

Russian hacking groups, including Fancy Bear, targeted journalists around the world (CS Monitor)

Journalists covering the Russian government have been identified as one of the main groups attacked by Russian hackers who exposed their personal messages and emails.

Library Of Congress Will No Longer Archive Every Tweet (NPR)

The library says that as of Jan. 1, it will only acquire tweets "on a very selective basis." By 2013, the archive had already amassed more than 170 billion tweets.

Fungal disease poses global threat to snakes (BBC)

Snake populations worldwide may already be infected with a potentially deadly disease, say scientists.

As Corals Wither Around The World, Scientists Try IVF (NPR)

Battered by climate change and pollution, coral reefs are dying off. But in Guam, one group of scientists are trying to revive these tiny animals — with the coral equivalent of IVF.

January 9, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• ADHD drug tied to heart defect in babies (Reuters)
• For Some With Intellectual Disabilities, Ending Abuse Starts With Sex Ed (NPR)
• Facing Down Flu: 5 Facts To Know Now (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Cold Casualties: Sharksicles And Frozen Iguanas (NPR)
• How North Carolina's alligators are surviving the cold snap (BBC)
• What You Need to Know About the Big Chip Security Problem (Bloomberg)
• Apple to issue fix for iPhones, Macs at risk from 'Spectre' chip flaw (Reuters)
• I Know Where You've Been: Digital Spying And Divorce In The Smartphone Age (NPR)
• Great Barrier Reef: Warmer seas 'turning turtles female'
• You may not know much about the companies exposing your personal information. But they know a lot about you. (Washington Post)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

ADHD drug tied to heart defect in babies (Reuters)

Pregnant women who take drugs like Ritalin and Concerta for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely than those who don’t to have babies with heart deformities and other birth defects, a recent study suggests.

For Some With Intellectual Disabilities, Ending Abuse Starts With Sex Ed (NPR)

The high rates of sexual assault among people with intellectual disabilities can make romantic relationships difficult. One class aims to teach them about healthy relationships and sexuality.

Facing Down Flu: 5 Facts To Know Now (NPR)

The nation is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad flu season.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Cold Casualties: Sharksicles And Frozen Iguanas (NPR)

As one no doubt remembers from grade-school science class, reptiles and fish take heat from their environment — when it is warm enough, all is well, but if it gets too cold, you can expect scenes like this.

How North Carolina's alligators are surviving the cold snap (BBC)

The reptiles employ a clever trick when the water they live in freezes over

What You Need to Know About the Big Chip Security Problem (Bloomberg)

Intel Corp.said on Jan. 3 that most of the processors running the world’s computers and smartphones have a feature that makes them susceptible to hacker attacks. The chipmaker, working with partners and rivals, says it has already issued updates to protect most processor products introduced in the past five years, but the news sparked concern about this fundamental building block of the internet, PCs and corporate networks.

Apple to issue fix for iPhones, Macs at risk from 'Spectre' chip flaw (Reuters)

 Apple Inc will release a patch for the Safari web browser on its iPhones, iPads and Macs within days, it said on Thursday, after major chipmakers disclosed flaws that leave nearly every modern computing device vulnerable to hackers.

I Know Where You've Been: Digital Spying And Divorce In The Smartphone Age (NPR)

Digital spy tools like that GPS tracker are changing divorce as we know it. Increasingly, couples are turning to the latest technology to spy on each other as their marriages fall apart, according to dozens of divorce lawyers, investigators and even a leading family court judge whom NPR interviewed. 

Great Barrier Reef: Warmer seas 'turning turtles female'

Green sea turtles' gender is temperature dependent and there are now too many females.

You may not know much about the companies exposing your personal information. But they know a lot about you. (Washington Post)

Alteryx is a data analytics company that makes its money by repackaging data that it has collected from different sources. This week, an analyst from the security firm UpGuard shared that Alteryx had not properly protected detailed information it had collected on 123 million U.S. households….This data leak was discovered by a researcher, and not (as far as we know) by a criminal. But the leak affects about as many people as the massive hack Equifax reported in September, which affected 145.5 million Americans, or nearly every adult. 

February 13, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Germs in airplane cabins are bad, but it's even worse at the airport terminal (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Middle age is not too late to increase cardiac fitness, studies show (Jewish World Review)
• U.S. flu outbreak worsens; hospitalizations highest in nearly a decade: CDC (Reuters)
• Where do you go when you die?  The increasing signs that human consciousness remains after death   (Newsweek)
• Blue Dye Kills Malaria Parasites — But There Is One Catch (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Count marks sharp drop in Monarch butterflies wintering in California (Reuters)
• Robots take to the slopes on sidelines of Winter Games (Reuters)
• Second asteroid in a week to pass close to Earth on Friday (Reuters)  
• Cheddar Man: DNA shows early Briton had dark skin (BBC)
• Artificial intelligence plays budding role in courtroom bail decisions (CS Monitor)
• Be My Eyes - new app for the blind (Reason)
• 50 Top Women in STEM (TheBestSchools.org)
• Seattle finds Facebook in violation of city campaign finance law (Reuters)
• Dry, warm start to winter saps Rocky Mountain snowpack (KPBS)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

Germs in airplane cabins are bad, but it's even worse at the airport terminal (San Diego Union-Tribune)

You don’t have to be a germophobe to want to slip on rubber gloves when you enter an airplane cabin.A new study confirms once again that various surfaces in the cabin of a commercial plane have many times the amount of bacteria than an average kitchen counter. But the latest study found that surfaces...

Middle age is not too late to increase cardiac fitness, studies show (Jewish World Review)

Strong gains were seen even in people who had sedentary lifestyles

U.S. flu outbreak worsens; hospitalizations highest in nearly a decade: CDC (Reuters)

(The U.S. flu outbreak worsened over the past week as more people headed to doctors' offices and emergency rooms, with hospitalizations at the highest in nearly 10 years, U.S. health officials said on Friday.

Where do you go when you die?  The increasing signs that human consciousness remains after death   (Newsweek)

Over the last few years, though, scientists have seen repeated evidence that once you die, your brain cells take days, potentially longer, to reach the point past which they’ve degraded too far to ever be viable again. This does not mean you're not dead; you are dead. Your brain cells, however, may not be.

Blue Dye Kills Malaria Parasites — But There Is One Catch (NPR)

Methylene blue used to be an anti-malarial treatment but fell out of favor. Researchers wondered, what if it were added to a current medication?

SCIENCE AND TECH

Count marks sharp drop in Monarch butterflies wintering in California (Reuters)

 The number of monarchs wintering in California has dropped to a five-year low, despite more volunteers counting more sites in search of the orange-and-black insect that is arguably the most admired of North American butterflies….

Robots take to the slopes on sidelines of Winter Games (Reuters)

While Alpine skiers fought high winds at the Pyeongchang Games on Monday, there were no such problems for robots competing in their own "Olympics" ski challenge.

Second asteroid in a week to pass close to Earth on Friday (Reuters)  A recently discovered asteroid was due to zip within 39,000 thousand miles (64,000 km) of Earth on Friday, marking the second space rock to pass within the orbit of the moon this week, according to NASA scientists.

Cheddar Man: DNA shows early Briton had dark skin (BBC)

A cutting-edge scientific analysis shows that a Briton from 10,000 years ago had dark brown skin and blue eyes.

Artificial intelligence plays budding role in courtroom bail decisions (CS Monitor)

AI algorithms that can scour through large sets of courthouse data to search for associations and predict which people are most likely to flee or commit another crime.

Be My Eyes (Reason)

Be My Eyes is an app newly available for Android (and available for iPhone since 2015) that connects blind people to volunteers willing to help them with small tasks. It's the latest fascinating demonstration of how voluntary tech-enabled networks can solve problems.

50 Top Women in STEM (TheBestSchools.org)

We simply looked for the best women in their respective fields — women who have gotten where they are by simply plowing through whatever obstacles may have stood in their path. Women with a lot of innate talent, certainly, but who have also put in a great deal of extremely hard work.  In other words, what our list shows — to today’s young women and whoever else may be interested — is that it can be done.

Seattle finds Facebook in violation of city campaign finance law (Reuters)

 Seattle's election authority said on Monday that Facebook Inc is in violation of a city law that requires disclosure of who buys election ads, the first attempt of its kind to regulate U.S. political ads on the internet.

Dry, Warm Start To Winter Saps Rocky Mountain Snowpack (KPBS)

Parts of the West are currently experiencing one of the driest and warmest winters on record. Snowpack is far below normal levels in southern Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and California, leaving some to worry about this year’s water supply.

March 15, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Battling skin cancer with a piece of tape instead of a scalpel (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Dentists keep dying of this deadly lung disease. The CDC can’t figure out why. (Washington Post)
• Genes have a role in empathy, study says (BBC)

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• Amazon looks at drones dropping packages on your patio from as high as 25 feet (Mercury News)
• Burger flipping robot begins first shift (BBC)
• Data breach victims can sue Yahoo in the United States: judge(Reuters)
• Can You Believe It? On Twitter, False Stories Are Shared More Widely Than True Ones (NPR)
• This Is Why You Don't See People-Size Salmon Anymore (NPR)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

Battling skin cancer with a piece of tape instead of a scalpel (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Put down the scalpel and bring out the tape. That’s the prescription from La Jolla’s DermTech, which offers skin tests for melanoma using a special adhesive tape. The genomic tests can quickly identify those who need further attention and reassure those who test negative for the cancer.

Dentists keep dying of this deadly lung disease. The CDC can’t figure out why. (Washington Post)

Seven of the patients were dead, and two more were dying of a rare chronic, progressive lung disease that can be treated but not cured.

Genes have a role in empathy, study says (BBC)

A study of 46,000 people found evidence for the first time that genes have a role in how empathetic we are.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Amazon looks at drones dropping packages on your patio from as high as 25 feet (Mercury News)

It’s not that drones get tired. It’s just that if they’re delivering your box of cat food and low-rise socks, dropping down to put them on your patio, and then flying back up for the next delivery takes power they need to conserve.

Burger flipping robot begins first shift (BBC)

Flippy, a burger-flipping robot, has begun work at a restaurant in Pasadena, Los Angeles. It is the first of dozens of locations for the system, which is destined to replace human fast-food workers.

Data breach victims can sue Yahoo in the United States: judge(Reuters)

 Yahoo has been ordered by a federal judge to face much of a lawsuit in the United States claiming that the personal information of all 3 billion users was compromised in a series of data breaches….  Yahoo was accused of being too slow to disclose three data breaches that occurred from 2013 and 2016, increasing users’ risk of identity theft and requiring them to spend money on credit freeze, monitoring and other protection services.

Can You Believe It? On Twitter, False Stories Are Shared More Widely Than True Ones (NPR)

An MIT study tracked 126,000 stories and found that false ones were 70 percent more likely to be retweeted than ones that were true. Twitter is asking outside experts to help it deal with the problem.

This Is Why You Don't See People-Size Salmon Anymore (NPR)

A study from federal researchers in November found that orcas' consumption of chinook salmon in the northeast Pacific Ocean has doubled since 1975, surpassing humans' catches, which have fallen by a third over that time.

April 19, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Romaine lettuce caused an ongoing e-coli outbreak, CDC says (Time Magazine)
• UC San Diego Bio-Engineers Develop Wearable Device To Monitor Stomach Activity (KPBS)
• Medicare Advisers Recommend Payment Cuts To Many Free-Standing ERs (NPR)

 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Officials warn Russian hackers targeting U.S. routers (CBS)
• Pentagon announces 2000% increase in Russian trolls since Friday (Axios)
• Those stickers warning that repairs will void your warranty are nonsense, FTC says (Washington Post)
• The oceans’ circulation hasn’t been this sluggish in 1,000 years. That’s bad news. (Washington Post)
• Thousands of apps in Google Play Store may be illegally tracking children, study finds (Washington Post )
• More than 100 parts for NASA's Orion capsule to be 3D printed (Reuters)

 For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

Romaine lettuce caused an ongoing e-coli outbreak, CDC says (Time Magazine)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that a recent outbreak of E. coli in multiple states was linked to romaine lettuce grown in Yuma, Arizona.

UC San Diego Bio-Engineers Develop Wearable Device To Monitor Stomach Activity (KPBS)

A pair of bioengineers at UC San Diego has come up with a wearable device that could provide some insight into digestive problems.

Medicare Advisers Recommend Payment Cuts To Many Free-Standing ERs (NPR)

An agency that advises Congress recommends a 30 percent reduction in some federal reimbursements to free-standing ERs that are within 6 miles of a hospital.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Officials warn Russian hackers targeting U.S. routers (CBS)

…Russian spies are reportedly trying to hack into routers. They’re the devices that allow communication between the internet and your computer and other connected devices.Access to a router can allow hackers to get personal information, financial data, and passwords from users, as well as infiltrate internet service providers.

Pentagon announces 2000% increase in Russian trolls since Friday (Axios)

Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in Saturday's Pentagon briefing that there has been a "2,000% increase in Russian trolls in the last 24 hours," following the coordinated strike against Syria on Friday night. The bottom line: The problem of Russian actors generating division and conflict among Americans isn't going away.

Those stickers warning that repairs will void your warranty are nonsense, FTC says (Washington Post)

If worries about voiding your warranty have ever kept you from trying to repair your own electronics, or from visiting the cheap repair shop on the corner, the government has good news for you. The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that warning stickers that say people will void their warranties are not only meaningless but also illegal. 

The oceans’ circulation hasn’t been this sluggish in 1,000 years. That’s bad news. (Washington Post)

The Atlantic Ocean circulation that carries warmth into the Northern Hemisphere’s high latitudes is slowing down because of climate change, a team of scientists asserted Wednesday, suggesting one of the most feared consequences is already coming to pass. The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation has declined in strength by 15 percent since the mid-20th century to a “new record low,” the scientists conclude in a peer-reviewed study published in the journal Nature. That’s a decrease of 3 million cubic meters of water per second, the equivalent of nearly 15 Amazon rivers…There is great fear that there may be a “tipping point” where the circulation comes to an abrupt halt.

Thousands of apps in Google Play Store may be illegally tracking children, study finds (Washington Post )

Seven researchers analyzed nearly 6,000 apps for children and found that the majority of them may be in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).  Thousands of the tested apps collected the personal data of children younger than 13 without a parent's permission, the study found.

More than 100 parts for NASA's Orion capsule to be 3D printed (Reuters)

 More than 100 parts for U.S. space agency NASA's deep-space capsule Orion will be made by 3D printers, using technology that experts say will eventually become key to efforts to send humans to Mars.

May 3, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

Health

• Tick- and mosquito-borne diseases more than triple, since 2004, in the US  CNN)
• Family credits Apple watch for saving daughter’s life (ABC)
• Trump’s health: three big ethics questions (BBC)
• Weedkiller found in granola and crackers, internal FDA emails show (Guardian)

Science and technology

• Data firm at center of Facebook privacy scandal will close (ABC News)
• How private is your DNA on ancestry websites? Golden State Killer case raises questions (Sacramento Bee)
• Hawaii Approves Bill Banning Sunscreen Believed To Kill Coral Reefs (NPR)
• The EU just made a dramatic move to protect bees (Science Alert)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

Health

Tick- and mosquito-borne diseases more than triple, since 2004, in the US  CNN)

Reported cases of what are called vector-borne diseases have more than tripled nationwide, growing from 27,388 cases reported in 2004 to a whopping 96,075 cases reported in 2016, according to the new Vital Signs report published by the CDC on Tuesday.

Family credits Apple watch for saving daughter’s life (ABC)

Florida resident Deanna Recktenwald may be alive today because of her Apple Watch. The 18-year-old from Lithia, Florida, was at church on April 22 when she got a notification from her Apple Watch: her resting heart rate had skyrocketed to 160 beats per minute.

Trump’s health: three big ethics questions (BBC)

US President Donald Trump's personal doctor Dr Harold Bornstein has claimed Mr Trump wrote his own letter of health during the election and later sent aides to 'raid' the physician's office. Dr Bornstein now says he fell out of favour with the president after divulging some of Mr Trump's prescriptions to US media. The BBC spoke to a US medical ethics expert to detail three of the ethical concerns brought up by these allegations around the president's healthcare.

Weedkiller found in granola and crackers, internal FDA emails show (Guardian)

US government scientists have detected a weedkiller linked to cancer in an array of commonly consumed foods, emails obtained through a freedom of information request show.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been testing food samples for residues of glyphosate, the active ingredient in hundreds of widely used herbicide products, for two years, but has not yet released any official results.

Science and technology

Data firm at center of Facebook privacy scandal will close (ABC News)

Cambridge Analytica is declaring bankruptcy and shutting down

How private is your DNA on ancestry websites? Golden State Killer case raises questions (Sacramento Bee)

The Sacramento Bee - Millions of Americans are doing it – packing up samples of their saliva and mailing it off to an online genealogy company to analyze their DNA and help trace their family tree.

Hawaii Approves Bill Banning Sunscreen Believed To Kill Coral Reefs (NPR)

Hawaii lawmakers passed a bill Tuesday that would prohibit the sale of over-the-counter sunscreens containing chemicals they say are contributing to the destruction of the state's coral reefs and other ocean life.

The EU just made a dramatic move to protect bees (Science Alert)

The European Union has announced it will ban the world's most widely used insecticides within 6 months, due to the damage they're doing to vulnerable bee populations. Neonicotinoids will be banned from use in all fields by the end of 2018, and will only be allowed to be used in closed greenhouses.

May 23, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• The FDA approved a drug that treats opioid addiction that isn’t addictive itself (Popular Science)
• Lost mothers: maternal mortality in the U.S. (NPR)
• Did Leaded Gasoline Contribute to the U.S. Baby Bust? (Reason)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Circuit breaker still in use despite safety concerns (Jewish World Review)
• DNA Data From 100 Crime Scenes Has Been Uploaded To A Genealogy Website — Just Like The Golden State Killer
• NASA looks to send a small nuclear reactor to the moon and Mars (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Uber ends Arizona self-driving program following fatality (Reuters)
• Why privacy settings can't keep your location secret (Marketplace)
• Security advocates challenge facial recognition in policing (CS Monitor)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

The FDA approved a drug that treats opioid addiction that isn’t addictive itself (Popular Science)

This week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave final approval for a drug shown to mitigate the symptoms associated with opioid withdrawal. It’s not the first treatment designed to help those with opioid addiction, but it has a distinguishing feature: It’s the first one that isn’t an opioid itself, and has no addictive component.

Lost mothers: maternal mortality in the U.S. (NPR)

Focus on infants during childbirth leaves U.S. moms in danger (latest in NPR’s Peabody Award-winning series)… The ability to protect the health of mothers and babies in childbirth is a basic measure of a society's development. Yet every year in the U.S., 700 to 900 women die from pregnancy or childbirth-related causes, and some 65,000 nearly die — by many measures, the worst record in the developed world.

Did Leaded Gasoline Contribute to the U.S. Baby Bust? (Reason)

The U.S. fertility rate has fallen to a 40-year low of 1.76 children per 100 women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Is lead to blame? A new study by three Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) economists says it is. 

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Circuit breaker still in use despite safety concerns (Jewish World Review)

Millions of U.S. and Canadian homes were built with circuit breaker panels that one expert has questioned as a potential fire hazard. Issues about Federal Pacific Electric's Stab-Lok circuit breakers were first raised decades ago with the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

 

DNA Data From 100 Crime Scenes Has Been Uploaded To A Genealogy Website — Just Like The Golden State Killer

The remarkable sleuthing method that tracked down the Golden State Killer was not a one-off. A company in Virginia is now working with several law enforcement agencies to solve cases using the same “genetic genealogy”... The company, Parabon NanoLabs, has already loaded DNA data from about 100 crime scenes into a public genealogy database called GEDmatch. And in about 20 of these cases, the company says, it has found matches with people estimated to be the suspect’s third cousins or even closer relatives.

NASA looks to send a small nuclear reactor to the moon and Mars (San Diego Union-Tribune)

California may be about to shut down its last remaining nuclear power plant, but NASA is looking at a couple of far-flung locations to place small, electricity-producing reactors — the moon and Mars. A new nuclear power system recently completed a series of tests that has scientists confident the project — launched in 2015 and called Kilopower— can provide enough safe and efficient energy to establish early settlements in space.

Uber ends Arizona self-driving program following fatality (Reuters)

…. Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] is not shuttering its entire autonomous vehicle program, a spokeswoman said, adding that it will focus on limited testing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and two cities in California. It aims to resume self-driving operations this summer, likely with smaller routes and fewer cars.

Why privacy settings can't keep your location secret (Marketplace)

Phone carriers collect a minute-by-minute record of everywhere you go. If you use GPS on your phone, that may be obvious. But carriers are also selling that information to companies that don’t do much to keep it secure

Security advocates challenge facial recognition in policing (CS Monitor)

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other privacy activists are asking Amazon to stop marketing a powerful facial recognition tool to police, saying law enforcement agencies could use the technology to "easily build a system to automate the identification and tracking of anyone."

June 5, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• As mental health subsides in older generation, what to do about their guns? (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Breast cancer: Test means fewer women will need chemotherapy (BBC)
• Therapy Made From Patient's Immune System Shows Promise For Advanced Breast Cancer (NPR)
• Government issues warning about pill pushed on the elderly (CNN)
• It's important to wear sunglasses even on cloudy days, ophthalmologists say (Jewish World Review)

 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• Need a little extra money? You'll soon be able to sell and rent your DNA (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• NASA’s new administrator says he’s talking to companies about taking over operations of the International Space Station (Washington Post)
• This start-up wants to turn your car into a vending machine (CNN)

 For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

As mental health subsides in older generation, what to do about their guns? (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The knock at the bedroom door of the North County home was innocent enough — a daughter calling out to her father on the other side to see if he was OK. But to him, it was the unrecognizable voice an intruder. He armed himself and fired a shot through the door, striking his daughter in the leg.

Breast cancer: Test means fewer women will need chemotherapy (BBC)

About 70% of women with the most common form of early stage breast cancer can be spared the "agony of chemotherapy", researchers say. It follows trials of a genetic test that analyses the danger of a tumour.

Therapy Made From Patient's Immune System Shows Promise For Advanced Breast Cancer (NPR)

Doctors at the National Institutes of Health say they've apparently completely eradicated cancer from a patient who had untreatable, advanced breast cancer.

Government issues warning about pill pushed on the elderly (CNN)

The US government is warning insurance companies to be on the lookout for suspicious prescriptions of a drug being used in nursing homes across the country.   The medication, called Nuedexta, is the only drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat a rare condition marked by uncontrollable laughing and crying, called pseudobulbar affect (PBA). …diagnosing a patient with a condition in order to secure Medicare coverage is considered fraud.  A CNN investigation published in October found that Nuedexta's maker had been aggressively targeting frail and elderly nursing home residents for whom the drug may be unnecessary or even unsafe.

It's important to wear sunglasses even on cloudy days, ophthalmologists say (Jewish World Review)

…What's the harm? Cataracts, other growths and some cancers are directly related to UV exposure.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Need a little extra money? You'll soon be able to sell and rent your DNA (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Feel like earning a little extra money and maybe improving your health at the same time? Consumers will soon be able to sell or rent their DNA to scientists who are trying to fight diseases as different as dementia, lupus and leukemia.

NASA’s new administrator says he’s talking to companies about taking over operations of the International Space Station (Washington Post)

The new NASA administrator said two of his top priorities are returning to the moon and restoring human spaceflight from U.S. soil.

This start-up wants to turn your car into a vending machine (CNN)

Forget your sunscreen on the way to the beach? Your Uber ride could save you a trip to the drugstore. Cargo, a New York-based company founded in 2016, equips ride-hailing drivers with boxes of snacks, drinks and beauty products to offer to passengers.

July 25, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Reports Suggest Children Throughout China Likely Injected With Faulty Vaccines(NPR)
• Chinese Company's Flawed Vaccines Draw Anger And A Criminal Inquiry  (NPR)
• Marines Who Fired Rocket Launchers Now Worry About Their Brains(NPR)
• Pepperidge Farm recalls Goldfish crackers amid salmonella scare (NPR)
• Ticks And Lyme Disease: 3 Factors Determine Risk Of Infection (NPR)
• Friends with Benefits: The latest research (Jewish World Review)
• Doctors Worry as Cancer Study Reveals Dark Side of Complementary Medicine (Inverse)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Adobe is using machine learning to make it easier to spot Photoshopped images (The Verge)
• Physicists Go Small: Let's Put A Particle Accelerator On A Chip (NPR)
• Migrating Arctic Geese Are Confused, Exhausted By Rising Temperatures (NPR)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

Reports Suggest Children Throughout China Likely Injected With Faulty Vaccines(NPR)

hundreds of thousands of children throughout the country have likely been injected with faulty vaccines….  China are one of the largest exporters of vaccines around the world, so this issue goes just beyond China.

Chinese Company's Flawed Vaccines Draw Anger And A Criminal Inquiry  (NPR)

President Xi Jinping has ordered an investigation — and promised serious punishment — after a drug company was found to have faked production records for a rabies vaccine and sold more than 250,000 doses of a vaccine for infants that didn't meet medical standards…Public outrage has grown steadily, with the news echoing a large recall from late last year, when Changsheng recalled 252,600 doses of the infant DPT vaccine (for diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus).

Marines Who Fired Rocket Launchers Now Worry About Their Brains(NPR)

Studies show that troops who repeatedly fire powerful, shoulder-launched weapons can experience short-term problems with memory and thinking. They may also feel nauseated, fatigued and dizzy. In short, they have symptoms like those of a concussion.

Pepperidge Farm recalls Goldfish crackers amid salmonella scare (NPR)

Pepperidge Farm announced a voluntary recall of four varieties of Goldfish crackers in a press release on Monday.

Ticks And Lyme Disease: 3 Factors Determine Risk Of Infection (NPR)

As it turns out, the chance of catching Lyme disease from an individual tick ranges from zero to roughly 50 percent, according to Mather. The exact probability depends on three factors: the tick species, where it came from and how long the tick was feeding.

Friends with Benefits: The latest research (Jewish World Review)

While research on the benefits of social connections has generally focused on the importance of "strong ties," or the intimate relationships we have with family and close friends, a growing body of research is shedding light on the hidden benefits of casual acquaintances, too.

Doctors Worry as Cancer Study Reveals Dark Side of Complementary Medicine (Inverse)

…While promising clinical trials have earned some practitioners of complementary medicine, like acupuncture, a greater degree of acceptance by the medical community in recent years, many patients in the United States, whether out of financial insecurity or mistrust of medicine, are pursuing complementary medicine instead of conventional medicine, rather than as a complement to conventional medicine. A new study in JAMA Oncology suggests that this trend has deadly consequences for cancer patients.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Adobe is using machine learning to make it easier to spot Photoshopped images (The Verge)

Experts around the world are getting increasingly worried about new AI tools that make it easier than ever to edit images and videos — especially with social media’s power to share shocking content quickly and without fact-checking. Some of those tools are being developed by Adobe, but the company is also working on an antidote of sorts by researching how machine learning can be used to automatically spot edited pictures.

Physicists Go Small: Let's Put A Particle Accelerator On A Chip (NPR)

…Scientists in California think small is beautiful. They want to build an accelerator on semiconductor chips. An accelerator built that way won't achieve the energy of its much larger cousins, but it could accelerate material research and revolutionize medical therapy.

Migrating Arctic Geese Are Confused, Exhausted By Rising Temperatures (NPR)

… The journey north usually takes about a month, and the geese make multiple stops along the way to eat and fatten up before they lay their eggs, says Bart Nolet of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology and the University of Amsterdam.But that pattern of migration is changing, as rapidly rising temperatures have led to earlier springs in the Arctic.

November 29, 2017 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Women advised to sleep on side to help prevent stillbirth (BBC)
• VA study shows parasite from Vietnam may be killing veterans (AP)
• Hospitals are rationing saline solutions. Patients are starting to worry. (Sac Bee)
• Girl taking medical marijuana for seizures suing Jeff Sessions and DEA (CBS)
• Breast cancer tumors 'larger' in overweight women (BBC)
• Counting the costs: U.S. hospitals feeling the pain of physician burnout (Reuters)
• What The Industry Knew About Sugar's Health Effects, But Didn't Tell Us (NPR)
• Obscure vomiting illness linked to long-term pot use (KQED)
• Flies more germ-laden than suspected (BBC)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• FCC Unveils Plan To Repeal Net Neutrality Rules (NPR)
• Uber Data On 57 Million People Stolen In Massive Hack (NPR)
• The driverless revolution may exact a political price (Los Angeles Times)
• 20 countries agree to end coal use by 2030 (CS Monitor)
• Google to 'derank' Russia Today and Sputnik (BBC)
• FAA Approves Drone As 'Cell Phone Tower In The Sky' For Puerto Rico (NPR)
• Germany bans children's smartwatches (BBC)
• This Living Light is powered by a houseplant (Inhabitat)
• Artificial lights are eating away at dark nights — and that's not a good thing (Los Angeles Times)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

Women advised to sleep on side to help prevent stillbirth (BBC)

The risk of stillbirth is doubled if women go to sleep on their backs in the last trimester, a study finds.

VA study shows parasite from Vietnam may be killing veterans (AP)

A half a century after serving in Vietnam, hundreds of veterans have a new reason to believe they may be dying from a silent bullet — test results show some men may have been infected by a slow-killing parasite while fighting in the jungles of Southeast Asia. The Department of Veterans Affairs this spring commissioned a small pilot study to look into the link between liver flukes ingested through raw or undercooked fish and a rare bile duct cancer. It can take decades for symptoms to appear. By then, patients are often in tremendous pain, with just a few months to live.

Hospitals are rationing saline solutions. Patients are starting to worry. (Sacramento Bee)

Sacramento resident Charis Hill was caught off guard by the tiny bottle of saline solution hanging from the intravenous pole when she went for the latest infusion of medication that helps her avoid crippling pain. Accustomed to seeing a much larger bag of fluid, she immediately asked staff about the change. That’s when she learned that since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, key U.S. pharmaceutical plants on the island are experiencing manufacturing delays and distribution holdups that have caused unprecedented shortages…

Girl taking medical marijuana for seizures suing Jeff Sessions and DEA (CBS)

A 12-year-old girl is spearheading a campaign to legalize medical marijuana across the whole country. Alexis Bortell said she and her family had no choice but to move from their Texas home to Colorado to treat her severe epilepsy. Now, her family and a handful of others are suing Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Breast cancer tumours 'larger' in overweight women (BBC)

Women with a higher body mass index might need more frequent mammograms, researchers suggest.

Counting the costs: U.S. hospitals feeling the pain of physician burnout (Reuters)

(Reuters) - Dr. Brian Halloran, a vascular surgeon at St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, starts planning his garden long before spring arrives in southeast Michigan.

What The Industry Knew About Sugar's Health Effects, But Didn't Tell Us (NPR)

The sugar industry pulled the plug on an animal study it funded in the 1960s. Initial results pointed to a link between sugar consumption and elevated triglycerides, which raises heart disease risk.

Wrecked and wretched: obscure vomiting illness linked to long-term pot use (KQED)

For 17 years, Chalfonte LeNee Queen suffered periodic episodes of violent retching and abdominal pain that would knock her off her feet for days, sometimes leaving her writhing on the floor in pain.

Flies more germ-laden than suspected (BBC)

Flies' disease-carrying potential may be greater than previously thought, say US researchers.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FCC Unveils Plan To Repeal Net Neutrality Rules (NPR)

The FCC will vote Dec. 14 on a plan to undo rules that prevent Internet providers from blocking or slowing websites and apps. The plan would require broadband providers to disclose their practices.

Uber Data On 57 Million People Stolen In Massive Hack (NPR)

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says there is no excuse for the cover up of a 2016 data breach. A source tells NPR that the company paid hackers $100,000 to delete the data and keep the attack a secret.

The driverless revolution may exact a political price (Los Angeles Times)

Driverless vehicles threaten to dramatically reduce America's 1.7-million trucking jobs. It is the front end of a wave of automation that technologists and economists have been warning for years will come crashing down on America's political order. Some predict it could rival the impact of the economic globalization and the resulting off-shoring of jobs that propelled Trump's victory in the presidential election.

20 countries agree to end coal use by 2030 (CS Monitor)

Twenty countries and two US states have banded together through the Powering Past Coal alliance to phase out coal and cut carbon emissions by 2030 in an effort to keep to the Paris Agreement target for lowering emissions.

Google to 'derank' Russia Today and Sputnik (BBC)

Alphabet's Eric Schmidt says the search engine's algorithms can help reduce spread of propaganda.

FAA Approves Drone As 'Cell Phone Tower In The Sky' For Puerto Rico (NPR)

The aircraft is called the Flying COW, for Cell on Wings. Developed by AT&T, it can provide voice, data and Internet service for 40 square miles and up to 8,000 people at a time.

Germany bans children's smartwatches (BBC)

Telecoms regulator says kids' smartwatches are spying devices and are to be banned under German law.

This Living Light is powered by a houseplant (Inhabitat)

As organic compounds are released into the soil from photosynthesis, bacteria generates electrons and protons. These particles are tapped as an energy source to power the light.

Artificial lights are eating away at dark nights — and that's not a good thing (Los Angeles Times)

30% of vertebrates and more than 60% of invertebrates are nocturnal

December 27, 2017 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Breakthroughs put diseases on the back foot (BBC)
• 'Longest-frozen' embryo born 24 years on (BBC)
• US lifts ban on lethal virus experiments despite security risks (BBC)

 SCIENCE AND TECH

• Why California is phasing out these light bulbs January 1 (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Harvard student helps crack mystery of Inca Code (Boston Globe)
• SpaceX rocket launch lights up California sky, freaks out some residents (NPR)
• SpaceX and Irridium launching satellites that could someday revolutionize international space travel (CNBC)
• Edward Snowden made an app to protect your laptop (The Verge)
• Russian hacking groups, including Fancy Bear, targeted journalists around the world (CS Monitor)
• Library Of Congress Will No Longer Archive Every Tweet (NPR)
• Fungal disease poses global threat to snakes (BBC)
• As Corals Wither Around The World, Scientists Try IVF (NPR)
  
   

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

Breakthroughs put diseases on the back foot (BBC)

It has been a remarkable year of promise in medical science. Incurable diseases from sickle cell to haemophilia now look as though they can be treated. Here are the highlights.

'Longest-frozen' embryo born 24 years on (BBC)

US mother who gave birth to the child was herself only one year old when the baby was conceived.

US lifts ban on lethal virus experiments despite security risks (BBC)

Scientists can apply to make lethal strains of illnesses despite fear of accidental outbreaks.

SCIENCE AND TECH

Why California is phasing out these light bulbs January 1 (San Diego Union-Tribune)

If you have them, you can still use them. But starting Jan. 1, those traditional incandescent light bulbs will disappear from stores in California as part of a national initiative to switch over to more energy-efficient light bulbs.

Harvard student helps crack mystery of Inca Code (Boston Globe)

It’s a mystery that has left many scholars flummoxed. For all the achievements of the Inca Empire, including a massive roadway system, sophisticated farming methods, and jaw-dropping architecture, it was the only pre-Columbian state that did not invent a system of writing. Instead, the Inca, whose civilization originated in Peru and grew to include peoples and cultures all along the west coast of South America from 1400 to 1532, relied on knotted strings to encode information, a system so complex that scholars still struggle to make sense of it.

SpaceX rocket launch lights up California sky, freaks out some residents (NPR)

An iridescent streak lit up the sky over Southern California on Friday night, stopping traffic and leading some residents to marvel and others to worry about a UFO or even a nuclear bomb attack. In reality, it was a SpaceX rocket lifting off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, north of Santa Barbara, Calif., carrying 10 satellites for the Iridium constellation. They will be used in mobile voice and data communications.

SpaceX and Irridium launching satellites that could someday revolutionize international space travel (CNBC)

SpaceX's launch Friday marks the halfway point in putting a 75-satellite constellation into orbit. Iridium CEO Matt Desch says the Aireon system on board the satellites "could reduce both the cost and time of air travel.""Aireon makes the whole planet visible to air traffic controllers," Desch says.

Edward Snowden made an app to protect your laptop (The Verge)

...Snowden and Lee, who both sit on the board of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, partnered with the Guardian Project, a collective of app developers who focus on privacy and encrypted communications, to create Haven over the last year.

Russian hacking groups, including Fancy Bear, targeted journalists around the world (CS Monitor)

Journalists covering the Russian government have been identified as one of the main groups attacked by Russian hackers who exposed their personal messages and emails.

Library Of Congress Will No Longer Archive Every Tweet (NPR)

The library says that as of Jan. 1, it will only acquire tweets "on a very selective basis." By 2013, the archive had already amassed more than 170 billion tweets.

Fungal disease poses global threat to snakes (BBC)

Snake populations worldwide may already be infected with a potentially deadly disease, say scientists.

As Corals Wither Around The World, Scientists Try IVF (NPR)

Battered by climate change and pollution, coral reefs are dying off. But in Guam, one group of scientists are trying to revive these tiny animals — with the coral equivalent of IVF.

January 9, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• ADHD drug tied to heart defect in babies (Reuters)
• For Some With Intellectual Disabilities, Ending Abuse Starts With Sex Ed (NPR)
• Facing Down Flu: 5 Facts To Know Now (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Cold Casualties: Sharksicles And Frozen Iguanas (NPR)
• How North Carolina's alligators are surviving the cold snap (BBC)
• What You Need to Know About the Big Chip Security Problem (Bloomberg)
• Apple to issue fix for iPhones, Macs at risk from 'Spectre' chip flaw (Reuters)
• I Know Where You've Been: Digital Spying And Divorce In The Smartphone Age (NPR)
• Great Barrier Reef: Warmer seas 'turning turtles female'
• You may not know much about the companies exposing your personal information. But they know a lot about you. (Washington Post)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

ADHD drug tied to heart defect in babies (Reuters)

Pregnant women who take drugs like Ritalin and Concerta for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely than those who don’t to have babies with heart deformities and other birth defects, a recent study suggests.

For Some With Intellectual Disabilities, Ending Abuse Starts With Sex Ed (NPR)

The high rates of sexual assault among people with intellectual disabilities can make romantic relationships difficult. One class aims to teach them about healthy relationships and sexuality.

Facing Down Flu: 5 Facts To Know Now (NPR)

The nation is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad flu season.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Cold Casualties: Sharksicles And Frozen Iguanas (NPR)

As one no doubt remembers from grade-school science class, reptiles and fish take heat from their environment — when it is warm enough, all is well, but if it gets too cold, you can expect scenes like this.

How North Carolina's alligators are surviving the cold snap (BBC)

The reptiles employ a clever trick when the water they live in freezes over

What You Need to Know About the Big Chip Security Problem (Bloomberg)

Intel Corp.said on Jan. 3 that most of the processors running the world’s computers and smartphones have a feature that makes them susceptible to hacker attacks. The chipmaker, working with partners and rivals, says it has already issued updates to protect most processor products introduced in the past five years, but the news sparked concern about this fundamental building block of the internet, PCs and corporate networks.

Apple to issue fix for iPhones, Macs at risk from 'Spectre' chip flaw (Reuters)

 Apple Inc will release a patch for the Safari web browser on its iPhones, iPads and Macs within days, it said on Thursday, after major chipmakers disclosed flaws that leave nearly every modern computing device vulnerable to hackers.

I Know Where You've Been: Digital Spying And Divorce In The Smartphone Age (NPR)

Digital spy tools like that GPS tracker are changing divorce as we know it. Increasingly, couples are turning to the latest technology to spy on each other as their marriages fall apart, according to dozens of divorce lawyers, investigators and even a leading family court judge whom NPR interviewed. 

Great Barrier Reef: Warmer seas 'turning turtles female'

Green sea turtles' gender is temperature dependent and there are now too many females.

You may not know much about the companies exposing your personal information. But they know a lot about you. (Washington Post)

Alteryx is a data analytics company that makes its money by repackaging data that it has collected from different sources. This week, an analyst from the security firm UpGuard shared that Alteryx had not properly protected detailed information it had collected on 123 million U.S. households….This data leak was discovered by a researcher, and not (as far as we know) by a criminal. But the leak affects about as many people as the massive hack Equifax reported in September, which affected 145.5 million Americans, or nearly every adult. 

February 13, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Germs in airplane cabins are bad, but it's even worse at the airport terminal (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Middle age is not too late to increase cardiac fitness, studies show (Jewish World Review)
• U.S. flu outbreak worsens; hospitalizations highest in nearly a decade: CDC (Reuters)
• Where do you go when you die?  The increasing signs that human consciousness remains after death   (Newsweek)
• Blue Dye Kills Malaria Parasites — But There Is One Catch (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Count marks sharp drop in Monarch butterflies wintering in California (Reuters)
• Robots take to the slopes on sidelines of Winter Games (Reuters)
• Second asteroid in a week to pass close to Earth on Friday (Reuters)  
• Cheddar Man: DNA shows early Briton had dark skin (BBC)
• Artificial intelligence plays budding role in courtroom bail decisions (CS Monitor)
• Be My Eyes - new app for the blind (Reason)
• 50 Top Women in STEM (TheBestSchools.org)
• Seattle finds Facebook in violation of city campaign finance law (Reuters)
• Dry, warm start to winter saps Rocky Mountain snowpack (KPBS)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

Germs in airplane cabins are bad, but it's even worse at the airport terminal (San Diego Union-Tribune)

You don’t have to be a germophobe to want to slip on rubber gloves when you enter an airplane cabin.A new study confirms once again that various surfaces in the cabin of a commercial plane have many times the amount of bacteria than an average kitchen counter. But the latest study found that surfaces...

Middle age is not too late to increase cardiac fitness, studies show (Jewish World Review)

Strong gains were seen even in people who had sedentary lifestyles

U.S. flu outbreak worsens; hospitalizations highest in nearly a decade: CDC (Reuters)

(The U.S. flu outbreak worsened over the past week as more people headed to doctors' offices and emergency rooms, with hospitalizations at the highest in nearly 10 years, U.S. health officials said on Friday.

Where do you go when you die?  The increasing signs that human consciousness remains after death   (Newsweek)

Over the last few years, though, scientists have seen repeated evidence that once you die, your brain cells take days, potentially longer, to reach the point past which they’ve degraded too far to ever be viable again. This does not mean you're not dead; you are dead. Your brain cells, however, may not be.

Blue Dye Kills Malaria Parasites — But There Is One Catch (NPR)

Methylene blue used to be an anti-malarial treatment but fell out of favor. Researchers wondered, what if it were added to a current medication?

SCIENCE AND TECH

Count marks sharp drop in Monarch butterflies wintering in California (Reuters)

 The number of monarchs wintering in California has dropped to a five-year low, despite more volunteers counting more sites in search of the orange-and-black insect that is arguably the most admired of North American butterflies….

Robots take to the slopes on sidelines of Winter Games (Reuters)

While Alpine skiers fought high winds at the Pyeongchang Games on Monday, there were no such problems for robots competing in their own "Olympics" ski challenge.

Second asteroid in a week to pass close to Earth on Friday (Reuters)  A recently discovered asteroid was due to zip within 39,000 thousand miles (64,000 km) of Earth on Friday, marking the second space rock to pass within the orbit of the moon this week, according to NASA scientists.

Cheddar Man: DNA shows early Briton had dark skin (BBC)

A cutting-edge scientific analysis shows that a Briton from 10,000 years ago had dark brown skin and blue eyes.

Artificial intelligence plays budding role in courtroom bail decisions (CS Monitor)

AI algorithms that can scour through large sets of courthouse data to search for associations and predict which people are most likely to flee or commit another crime.

Be My Eyes (Reason)

Be My Eyes is an app newly available for Android (and available for iPhone since 2015) that connects blind people to volunteers willing to help them with small tasks. It's the latest fascinating demonstration of how voluntary tech-enabled networks can solve problems.

50 Top Women in STEM (TheBestSchools.org)

We simply looked for the best women in their respective fields — women who have gotten where they are by simply plowing through whatever obstacles may have stood in their path. Women with a lot of innate talent, certainly, but who have also put in a great deal of extremely hard work.  In other words, what our list shows — to today’s young women and whoever else may be interested — is that it can be done.

Seattle finds Facebook in violation of city campaign finance law (Reuters)

 Seattle's election authority said on Monday that Facebook Inc is in violation of a city law that requires disclosure of who buys election ads, the first attempt of its kind to regulate U.S. political ads on the internet.

Dry, Warm Start To Winter Saps Rocky Mountain Snowpack (KPBS)

Parts of the West are currently experiencing one of the driest and warmest winters on record. Snowpack is far below normal levels in southern Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and California, leaving some to worry about this year’s water supply.

March 15, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Battling skin cancer with a piece of tape instead of a scalpel (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Dentists keep dying of this deadly lung disease. The CDC can’t figure out why. (Washington Post)
• Genes have a role in empathy, study says (BBC)

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• Amazon looks at drones dropping packages on your patio from as high as 25 feet (Mercury News)
• Burger flipping robot begins first shift (BBC)
• Data breach victims can sue Yahoo in the United States: judge(Reuters)
• Can You Believe It? On Twitter, False Stories Are Shared More Widely Than True Ones (NPR)
• This Is Why You Don't See People-Size Salmon Anymore (NPR)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

Battling skin cancer with a piece of tape instead of a scalpel (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Put down the scalpel and bring out the tape. That’s the prescription from La Jolla’s DermTech, which offers skin tests for melanoma using a special adhesive tape. The genomic tests can quickly identify those who need further attention and reassure those who test negative for the cancer.

Dentists keep dying of this deadly lung disease. The CDC can’t figure out why. (Washington Post)

Seven of the patients were dead, and two more were dying of a rare chronic, progressive lung disease that can be treated but not cured.

Genes have a role in empathy, study says (BBC)

A study of 46,000 people found evidence for the first time that genes have a role in how empathetic we are.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Amazon looks at drones dropping packages on your patio from as high as 25 feet (Mercury News)

It’s not that drones get tired. It’s just that if they’re delivering your box of cat food and low-rise socks, dropping down to put them on your patio, and then flying back up for the next delivery takes power they need to conserve.

Burger flipping robot begins first shift (BBC)

Flippy, a burger-flipping robot, has begun work at a restaurant in Pasadena, Los Angeles. It is the first of dozens of locations for the system, which is destined to replace human fast-food workers.

Data breach victims can sue Yahoo in the United States: judge(Reuters)

 Yahoo has been ordered by a federal judge to face much of a lawsuit in the United States claiming that the personal information of all 3 billion users was compromised in a series of data breaches….  Yahoo was accused of being too slow to disclose three data breaches that occurred from 2013 and 2016, increasing users’ risk of identity theft and requiring them to spend money on credit freeze, monitoring and other protection services.

Can You Believe It? On Twitter, False Stories Are Shared More Widely Than True Ones (NPR)

An MIT study tracked 126,000 stories and found that false ones were 70 percent more likely to be retweeted than ones that were true. Twitter is asking outside experts to help it deal with the problem.

This Is Why You Don't See People-Size Salmon Anymore (NPR)

A study from federal researchers in November found that orcas' consumption of chinook salmon in the northeast Pacific Ocean has doubled since 1975, surpassing humans' catches, which have fallen by a third over that time.

April 19, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Romaine lettuce caused an ongoing e-coli outbreak, CDC says (Time Magazine)
• UC San Diego Bio-Engineers Develop Wearable Device To Monitor Stomach Activity (KPBS)
• Medicare Advisers Recommend Payment Cuts To Many Free-Standing ERs (NPR)

 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Officials warn Russian hackers targeting U.S. routers (CBS)
• Pentagon announces 2000% increase in Russian trolls since Friday (Axios)
• Those stickers warning that repairs will void your warranty are nonsense, FTC says (Washington Post)
• The oceans’ circulation hasn’t been this sluggish in 1,000 years. That’s bad news. (Washington Post)
• Thousands of apps in Google Play Store may be illegally tracking children, study finds (Washington Post )
• More than 100 parts for NASA's Orion capsule to be 3D printed (Reuters)

 For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

Romaine lettuce caused an ongoing e-coli outbreak, CDC says (Time Magazine)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that a recent outbreak of E. coli in multiple states was linked to romaine lettuce grown in Yuma, Arizona.

UC San Diego Bio-Engineers Develop Wearable Device To Monitor Stomach Activity (KPBS)

A pair of bioengineers at UC San Diego has come up with a wearable device that could provide some insight into digestive problems.

Medicare Advisers Recommend Payment Cuts To Many Free-Standing ERs (NPR)

An agency that advises Congress recommends a 30 percent reduction in some federal reimbursements to free-standing ERs that are within 6 miles of a hospital.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Officials warn Russian hackers targeting U.S. routers (CBS)

…Russian spies are reportedly trying to hack into routers. They’re the devices that allow communication between the internet and your computer and other connected devices.Access to a router can allow hackers to get personal information, financial data, and passwords from users, as well as infiltrate internet service providers.

Pentagon announces 2000% increase in Russian trolls since Friday (Axios)

Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in Saturday's Pentagon briefing that there has been a "2,000% increase in Russian trolls in the last 24 hours," following the coordinated strike against Syria on Friday night. The bottom line: The problem of Russian actors generating division and conflict among Americans isn't going away.

Those stickers warning that repairs will void your warranty are nonsense, FTC says (Washington Post)

If worries about voiding your warranty have ever kept you from trying to repair your own electronics, or from visiting the cheap repair shop on the corner, the government has good news for you. The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that warning stickers that say people will void their warranties are not only meaningless but also illegal. 

The oceans’ circulation hasn’t been this sluggish in 1,000 years. That’s bad news. (Washington Post)

The Atlantic Ocean circulation that carries warmth into the Northern Hemisphere’s high latitudes is slowing down because of climate change, a team of scientists asserted Wednesday, suggesting one of the most feared consequences is already coming to pass. The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation has declined in strength by 15 percent since the mid-20th century to a “new record low,” the scientists conclude in a peer-reviewed study published in the journal Nature. That’s a decrease of 3 million cubic meters of water per second, the equivalent of nearly 15 Amazon rivers…There is great fear that there may be a “tipping point” where the circulation comes to an abrupt halt.

Thousands of apps in Google Play Store may be illegally tracking children, study finds (Washington Post )

Seven researchers analyzed nearly 6,000 apps for children and found that the majority of them may be in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).  Thousands of the tested apps collected the personal data of children younger than 13 without a parent's permission, the study found.

More than 100 parts for NASA's Orion capsule to be 3D printed (Reuters)

 More than 100 parts for U.S. space agency NASA's deep-space capsule Orion will be made by 3D printers, using technology that experts say will eventually become key to efforts to send humans to Mars.

May 3, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

Health

• Tick- and mosquito-borne diseases more than triple, since 2004, in the US  CNN)
• Family credits Apple watch for saving daughter’s life (ABC)
• Trump’s health: three big ethics questions (BBC)
• Weedkiller found in granola and crackers, internal FDA emails show (Guardian)

Science and technology

• Data firm at center of Facebook privacy scandal will close (ABC News)
• How private is your DNA on ancestry websites? Golden State Killer case raises questions (Sacramento Bee)
• Hawaii Approves Bill Banning Sunscreen Believed To Kill Coral Reefs (NPR)
• The EU just made a dramatic move to protect bees (Science Alert)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

Health

Tick- and mosquito-borne diseases more than triple, since 2004, in the US  CNN)

Reported cases of what are called vector-borne diseases have more than tripled nationwide, growing from 27,388 cases reported in 2004 to a whopping 96,075 cases reported in 2016, according to the new Vital Signs report published by the CDC on Tuesday.

Family credits Apple watch for saving daughter’s life (ABC)

Florida resident Deanna Recktenwald may be alive today because of her Apple Watch. The 18-year-old from Lithia, Florida, was at church on April 22 when she got a notification from her Apple Watch: her resting heart rate had skyrocketed to 160 beats per minute.

Trump’s health: three big ethics questions (BBC)

US President Donald Trump's personal doctor Dr Harold Bornstein has claimed Mr Trump wrote his own letter of health during the election and later sent aides to 'raid' the physician's office. Dr Bornstein now says he fell out of favour with the president after divulging some of Mr Trump's prescriptions to US media. The BBC spoke to a US medical ethics expert to detail three of the ethical concerns brought up by these allegations around the president's healthcare.

Weedkiller found in granola and crackers, internal FDA emails show (Guardian)

US government scientists have detected a weedkiller linked to cancer in an array of commonly consumed foods, emails obtained through a freedom of information request show.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been testing food samples for residues of glyphosate, the active ingredient in hundreds of widely used herbicide products, for two years, but has not yet released any official results.

Science and technology

Data firm at center of Facebook privacy scandal will close (ABC News)

Cambridge Analytica is declaring bankruptcy and shutting down

How private is your DNA on ancestry websites? Golden State Killer case raises questions (Sacramento Bee)

The Sacramento Bee - Millions of Americans are doing it – packing up samples of their saliva and mailing it off to an online genealogy company to analyze their DNA and help trace their family tree.

Hawaii Approves Bill Banning Sunscreen Believed To Kill Coral Reefs (NPR)

Hawaii lawmakers passed a bill Tuesday that would prohibit the sale of over-the-counter sunscreens containing chemicals they say are contributing to the destruction of the state's coral reefs and other ocean life.

The EU just made a dramatic move to protect bees (Science Alert)

The European Union has announced it will ban the world's most widely used insecticides within 6 months, due to the damage they're doing to vulnerable bee populations. Neonicotinoids will be banned from use in all fields by the end of 2018, and will only be allowed to be used in closed greenhouses.

May 23, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• The FDA approved a drug that treats opioid addiction that isn’t addictive itself (Popular Science)
• Lost mothers: maternal mortality in the U.S. (NPR)
• Did Leaded Gasoline Contribute to the U.S. Baby Bust? (Reason)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Circuit breaker still in use despite safety concerns (Jewish World Review)
• DNA Data From 100 Crime Scenes Has Been Uploaded To A Genealogy Website — Just Like The Golden State Killer
• NASA looks to send a small nuclear reactor to the moon and Mars (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Uber ends Arizona self-driving program following fatality (Reuters)
• Why privacy settings can't keep your location secret (Marketplace)
• Security advocates challenge facial recognition in policing (CS Monitor)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

The FDA approved a drug that treats opioid addiction that isn’t addictive itself (Popular Science)

This week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave final approval for a drug shown to mitigate the symptoms associated with opioid withdrawal. It’s not the first treatment designed to help those with opioid addiction, but it has a distinguishing feature: It’s the first one that isn’t an opioid itself, and has no addictive component.

Lost mothers: maternal mortality in the U.S. (NPR)

Focus on infants during childbirth leaves U.S. moms in danger (latest in NPR’s Peabody Award-winning series)… The ability to protect the health of mothers and babies in childbirth is a basic measure of a society's development. Yet every year in the U.S., 700 to 900 women die from pregnancy or childbirth-related causes, and some 65,000 nearly die — by many measures, the worst record in the developed world.

Did Leaded Gasoline Contribute to the U.S. Baby Bust? (Reason)

The U.S. fertility rate has fallen to a 40-year low of 1.76 children per 100 women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Is lead to blame? A new study by three Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) economists says it is. 

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Circuit breaker still in use despite safety concerns (Jewish World Review)

Millions of U.S. and Canadian homes were built with circuit breaker panels that one expert has questioned as a potential fire hazard. Issues about Federal Pacific Electric's Stab-Lok circuit breakers were first raised decades ago with the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

 

DNA Data From 100 Crime Scenes Has Been Uploaded To A Genealogy Website — Just Like The Golden State Killer

The remarkable sleuthing method that tracked down the Golden State Killer was not a one-off. A company in Virginia is now working with several law enforcement agencies to solve cases using the same “genetic genealogy”... The company, Parabon NanoLabs, has already loaded DNA data from about 100 crime scenes into a public genealogy database called GEDmatch. And in about 20 of these cases, the company says, it has found matches with people estimated to be the suspect’s third cousins or even closer relatives.

NASA looks to send a small nuclear reactor to the moon and Mars (San Diego Union-Tribune)

California may be about to shut down its last remaining nuclear power plant, but NASA is looking at a couple of far-flung locations to place small, electricity-producing reactors — the moon and Mars. A new nuclear power system recently completed a series of tests that has scientists confident the project — launched in 2015 and called Kilopower— can provide enough safe and efficient energy to establish early settlements in space.

Uber ends Arizona self-driving program following fatality (Reuters)

…. Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] is not shuttering its entire autonomous vehicle program, a spokeswoman said, adding that it will focus on limited testing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and two cities in California. It aims to resume self-driving operations this summer, likely with smaller routes and fewer cars.

Why privacy settings can't keep your location secret (Marketplace)

Phone carriers collect a minute-by-minute record of everywhere you go. If you use GPS on your phone, that may be obvious. But carriers are also selling that information to companies that don’t do much to keep it secure

Security advocates challenge facial recognition in policing (CS Monitor)

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other privacy activists are asking Amazon to stop marketing a powerful facial recognition tool to police, saying law enforcement agencies could use the technology to "easily build a system to automate the identification and tracking of anyone."

June 5, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• As mental health subsides in older generation, what to do about their guns? (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Breast cancer: Test means fewer women will need chemotherapy (BBC)
• Therapy Made From Patient's Immune System Shows Promise For Advanced Breast Cancer (NPR)
• Government issues warning about pill pushed on the elderly (CNN)
• It's important to wear sunglasses even on cloudy days, ophthalmologists say (Jewish World Review)

 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• Need a little extra money? You'll soon be able to sell and rent your DNA (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• NASA’s new administrator says he’s talking to companies about taking over operations of the International Space Station (Washington Post)
• This start-up wants to turn your car into a vending machine (CNN)

 For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

As mental health subsides in older generation, what to do about their guns? (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The knock at the bedroom door of the North County home was innocent enough — a daughter calling out to her father on the other side to see if he was OK. But to him, it was the unrecognizable voice an intruder. He armed himself and fired a shot through the door, striking his daughter in the leg.

Breast cancer: Test means fewer women will need chemotherapy (BBC)

About 70% of women with the most common form of early stage breast cancer can be spared the "agony of chemotherapy", researchers say. It follows trials of a genetic test that analyses the danger of a tumour.

Therapy Made From Patient's Immune System Shows Promise For Advanced Breast Cancer (NPR)

Doctors at the National Institutes of Health say they've apparently completely eradicated cancer from a patient who had untreatable, advanced breast cancer.

Government issues warning about pill pushed on the elderly (CNN)

The US government is warning insurance companies to be on the lookout for suspicious prescriptions of a drug being used in nursing homes across the country.   The medication, called Nuedexta, is the only drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat a rare condition marked by uncontrollable laughing and crying, called pseudobulbar affect (PBA). …diagnosing a patient with a condition in order to secure Medicare coverage is considered fraud.  A CNN investigation published in October found that Nuedexta's maker had been aggressively targeting frail and elderly nursing home residents for whom the drug may be unnecessary or even unsafe.

It's important to wear sunglasses even on cloudy days, ophthalmologists say (Jewish World Review)

…What's the harm? Cataracts, other growths and some cancers are directly related to UV exposure.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Need a little extra money? You'll soon be able to sell and rent your DNA (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Feel like earning a little extra money and maybe improving your health at the same time? Consumers will soon be able to sell or rent their DNA to scientists who are trying to fight diseases as different as dementia, lupus and leukemia.

NASA’s new administrator says he’s talking to companies about taking over operations of the International Space Station (Washington Post)

The new NASA administrator said two of his top priorities are returning to the moon and restoring human spaceflight from U.S. soil.

This start-up wants to turn your car into a vending machine (CNN)

Forget your sunscreen on the way to the beach? Your Uber ride could save you a trip to the drugstore. Cargo, a New York-based company founded in 2016, equips ride-hailing drivers with boxes of snacks, drinks and beauty products to offer to passengers.