HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

August 3, 2023 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• A meat allergy caused by tick spit is getting more common, CDC says (AP)
• COVID-19 is making its summer appearance in San Diego (SD Union-Tribune)
• Identity thieves can target your medical coverage, so you get their bills  (NPR) .
• Insurance coverage for mental health care gets a boost from Biden  (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Cloud company assisted 17 different government hacking groups -US researchers (Reuters)
• New study looks at role climate change is playing in current heat waves (NPR)
•  Elon Musk has replaced Twitter with X — and an actual business with science fiction (Los Angeles Times)
• A nematode survived 46,000 years in permafrost  (NPR)
• AI will take more jobs from women than men by 2030, report says (Washington Post)
• Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints( Reuters)
• Studies describe impact of Facebook and Instagram on the 2020 election(NPR)

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

HEALTH

A meat allergy caused by tick spit is getting more common, CDC says (AP)

More than 100,000 people in the U.S. have become allergic to red meat since 2010 because of a weird syndrome triggered by tick bites, according to a government report released Thursday. But health officials believe many more have the problem and don’t know it.  A second report estimated that as many as 450,000 Americans have developed the allergy. That would make it the 10th most common food allergy in the U.S… The reaction, called alpha-gal syndrome, occurs when an infected person eats beef, pork, venison or other meat from mammals — or ingests milk, gelatin or other mammal products. (Note: The Lone Star tick is now established in California and most other states.)

COVID-19 is making its summer appearance in San Diego (SD Union-Tribune)

Doctors urge those at high risk of more severe illness to seek out antiviral medication at first signs of infection

Identity thieves can target your medical coverage, so you get their bills  (NPR)

Consumers should know that medical identity theft can happen, whether from  a large-scale breach or theft of an individual’s data.

Insurance coverage for mental health care gets a boost from Biden  (NPR)

If you break your arm, you go to the doctor, your insurance (usually) pays. Why is it so much harder to get health insurance to pick up the tab if you have a mental health breakdown? That's the question President Biden asked Tuesday as he touted new rules he says will get insurance to pay for mental health care more often.

SCIENCE AND TECH

Cloud company assisted 17 different government hacking groups -US researchers (Reuters)

Researchers at Texas-based Halcyon said a company called Cloudzy had been leasing server space and reselling it to no fewer than 17 different state-sponsored hacking groups from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, India, Pakistan and Vietnam.

A new study looks at the role climate change is playing in current heat waves (NPR)

A new study looks at the role climate change has had globally in this summer's heat waves that have scorched much of the southern U.S., Europe and India.  

 Elon Musk has replaced Twitter with X — and an actual business with science fiction (Los Angeles Times)

 The bizarre renaming of Twitter is the latest and most pointed example of how Silicon Valley is losing touch with reality.

A nematode survived 46,000 years in permafrost  (NPR)

A tiny roundworm was revived after it was frozen in Siberian permafrost 46,000 years ago, when Neanderthals still walked the Earth. The worm, a previously unknown species of nematode, survived after entering a dormant state known as cryptobiosis, during which the animal doesn't eat and lacks a metabolism.

AI will take more jobs from women than men by 2030, report says (Washington Post)

 The report, published Wednesday, finds that nearly a third of hours worked in the United States could be automated by 2030. 

Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints( Reuters)

About a decade ago, Tesla rigged the dashboard readouts in its electric cars to provide “rosy” projections of how far owners can drive before needing to recharge, a source told Reuters. The automaker last year became so inundated with driving-range complaints that it created a special team to cancel owners’ service appointments.

Studies describe impact of Facebook and Instagram on the 2020 election(NPR)

Meta disputed findings released in four studies in academic journals examining Facebook and Instagram's impact on the 2020 election. NPR talks to UT-Austin professor Talia Stroud, a study co-author.