HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

May 24, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting-edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Zika proved to cause brain defects in mice, UCSD/Brazilian study shows (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• British researchers may just have discovered cure for multiple sclerosis (Daily Records)
• The lingering health effects of Agent Orange (Healthline, by Jamie Reno)
• Despite $10B 'Fix,' Veterans Are Waiting Even Longer To See Doctors (NPR)
• Suddenly Paralyzed, 2 Men Struggle To Recover From Guillain-Barre(NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• VIDEO: How a smartphone could help spot disease (BBC)
• Two undergrads invent gloves that translate sign language into speech(CS Monitor)
• Doctors explain how hiking actually changes our brains (Collective Evolution)
• What’s a carbon farmer? How ranchers are using dirt to tackle climate change. (CSMonitor)
• 'Smart leg' makes engineering prize list (BBC)
• Secret Harvard meeting on synthetic human genomes incites ethics debate (Jewish World Review)

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

HEALTH

Zika proved to cause brain defects in mice, UCSD/Brazilian study shows (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The Brazilian strain of Zika virus has been shown to cause brain defects in an animal model, according to a study by scientists from Brazil and UC San Diego. This is the first direct evidence of how Zika attacks; a mechanism that has been inferred in other studies, but not lab-demonstrated. The results may prove useful in testing vaccines against the virus, the study said.

British researchers may just have discovered cure for multiple sclerosis (Daily Records)

A new study published in the journal Nature Communications shows that scientists may have discovered a way to stop autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis or Type 1 diabetes by retraining the immune system.

The lingering health effects of Agent Orange (Healthline, by Jamie Reno)

Veterans are still suffering from the illnesses caused by the toxic herbicide used during the Vietnam War. They want to know why the VA doesn’t offer more help.

Despite $10B 'Fix,' Veterans Are Waiting Even Longer To See Doctors (NPR)

A $10 billion program to eliminate long wait times and other problems for veterans' health care hasn't worked out as planned. More veterans wait even longer for care now than they did a year ago.

Suddenly Paralyzed, 2 Men Struggle To Recover From Guillain-Barre (NPR)

Guillain-Barre syndrome can render healthy people temporarily paralyzed. It's something you're likely to hear more about as Zika continues to spread. And for those who get it, it is one wild ride.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

VIDEO: How a smartphone could help spot disease (BBC)

Detecting signs of disease without the need for expensive laboratory equipment.

Two undergrads invent gloves that translate sign language into speech (CS Monitor)

SignAloud gloves interpret the hand gestures of American Sign Language users and convert them into speech that hearing, English speakers can understand.

Doctors explain how hiking actually changes our brains (Collective Evolution)

While it may seem obvious that a good hike through a forest or up a mountain can cleanse your mind, body, and soul, science is now discovering that hiking can actually change your brain… for the better!

What’s a carbon farmer? How ranchers are using dirt to tackle climate change. (CS Monitor)

Scientists believe that relatively simple land management techniques can increase the rate at which carbon is absorbed from the atmosphere and stored in soils.

'Smart leg' makes engineering prize list (BBC)

An "intelligent" prosthetic limb, improved MRI scanners and green engines are the three finalists for a major UK engineering prize.

Secret Harvard meeting on synthetic human genomes incites ethics debate (Jewish World Review)

About 150 scientists assembled at Harvard last week for an off-the-record, no-media-allowed discussion of how to create, from scratch, an intact genome, including the genetic code of a human being. The idea is to go beyond "reading" genetic material to actively "writing" it, George Church, a Harvard Medical School researcher who helped organized the event, told The Washington Post in an interview Friday morning.