HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

East County News Service

February 8, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting-edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Trump and Congress may make it easier to get new drugs approved—even if they don’t work  (Los Angeles Times)
• CDC Seeks Controversial New Quarantine Powers To Stop Outbreaks (NPR)
•  Prion Test For Rare, Fatal Brain Disease Helps Families Cope (NPR)
• Genetic study reveals risk of deadly lung disease (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Senator asks Kaleo to explain $4500 pricetag for overdose, allergy devices (CNBC)
• MAP: Find Out What New Viruses Are Emerging In Your Backyard (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Macron offers refuge in France to U.S. scientists, entrepreneurs (Reuters)
• Seed-embedded bullets sprouting flowers: Can the US Army make that a reality? (CS Monitor)
• Exclusive: Boeing's space taxis to use more than 600 3D-printed parts (Reuters)
• Why is Google selling off its satellite fleet? (CS Monitor)
• How app makers increasingly track your every move (CS Monitor)
• Fall armyworm 'threatens African farmers' livelihoods' (BBC)
• Are We Eating Our Fleece Jackets? Microfibers Are Migrating Into Field And Food (NPR)

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

HEALTH

Trump and Congress may make it easier to get new drugs approved—even if they don’t work  (Los Angeles Times)

… The story of Tarceva shows the danger of approving experimental medicines before reliable scientific data show they are effective —  which regulators are now doing more frequently. Pressured by powerful pharmaceutical company lobbyists and often dramatic testimony by patient groups looking for hope, Congress has repeatedly loosened regulations to speed medicines to sale.Some doctors fear the bar for approval will be lowered even more.

CDC Seeks Controversial New Quarantine Powers To Stop Outbreaks (NPR)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants more flexibility in deciding whom to quarantine and why. But critics say the changes the agency has proposed raise civil liberties questions.

Prion Test For Rare, Fatal Brain Disease Helps Families Cope (NPR)

Scientists now have a fairly noninvasive way to test for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare form of dementia. A similar test, they say, might offer earlier diagnoses of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

Genetic study reveals risk of deadly lung disease (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Your risk for getting COPD may be measurable, according to a large international study that has identified genetic variants associated with the deadly lung disease.

Senator asks Kaleo to explain $4500 pricetag for overdose, allergy devices (CNBC)

Senator Amy Klobuchar wants drugmaker Kaleo to explain the $4,500 price tags on its auto-injector devices for opioid overdose and food ...

MAP: Find Out What New Viruses Are Emerging In Your Backyard (NPR)

If you're a germaphobe, make sure you're sitting down.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Macron offers refuge in France to U.S. scientists, entrepreneurs (Reuters)

French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron on Saturday called on U.S. scientists, academics and entrepreneurs at odds with Donald Trump's administration to move to France. The former economy minister, one of the frontrunners in the upcoming presidential election, urged U.S.-based scientists working on climate change, renewable energy or health issues who were wary of the new political situation to seek refuge across the Atlantic.

Seed-embedded bullets sprouting flowers: Can the US Army make that a reality? (CS Monitor)

The army is seeking a proposal for biodegradable ammunition that will not corrode and pollute soil and water.

Exclusive: Boeing's space taxis to use more than 600 3D-printed parts (Reuters)

 Boeing Co has hired a small company to make about 600 3D-printed parts for its Starliner space taxis, meaning key components in the United States manned space program are being built with additive manufacturing.

Why is Google selling off its satellite fleet? (CS Monitor)

Google opts to purchase satellite imagery rather than manage its own in-house fleet. 

How app makers increasingly track your every move (CS Monitor)

Privacy advocates say tech companies are becoming more brazen about collecting users' location data and personal information.

Fall armyworm 'threatens African farmers' livelihoods' (BBC)

Scientists say a pest that destroys maize is spreading rapidly across Africa and could reach Asia and the Mediterranean in the next few years.

Are We Eating Our Fleece Jackets? Microfibers Are Migrating Into Field And Food (NPR)

Fleece jackets and pullovers have transformed our experience of the outdoors. But the little, tiny synthetic fibers that fleece is made of could also be ending up in our diets.