SCIENCE AND HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS

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March 23, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

 

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

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

HEALTH

Cuba’s had a lung cancer vaccine for years, and now it’s coming to the U.S. (Huffington Post)

CimaVax, which is both a treatment and vaccine for lung cancer, has been researched in Cuba for 25 years and free to the Cuban public since 2011.

The Poignant Cry Of Babies With Birth Defects Linked to Zika (NPR)

The "new microcephaly." That's what doctors in Brazil are calling the birth defect believed to be caused by the Zika virus because it seems much worse than cases that have occurred for other reasons.

Big pharmacies are dismantling the industry that keeps US drug costs even sort-of under control (Quartz)

When US lawmakers convened a hearing last month to discuss the pricing of prescription drugs, it was the testimony of Martin Shkreli—the brash former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO who raised the price of AIDS medication by 5,000%—that garnered the headlines. But the hearing also looked at an issue that, while it got far less attention, could make drugs more expensive for far more people: almost everyone in America, in fact.

The Gendered Brain (Slate)

 Researchers investigate the difference between male and female brains.

Here's What Food Grown Near Chernobyl Is Like, 30 Years After The Nuclear Disaster (IFL Science)

 

… A Greenpeace report released this week notes that the concentrations of radioactive isotopes within locally produced food and crops sometimes contain up to 16 times that of the permissible limits. Researchers highlighted the nuclear isotope caesium-137 as a particular concern, not only because it is easily absorbed by plants, but because it takes several centuries to decay to the point where it becomes non-harmful.

 

How Gut Bacteria Are Shaking Up Cancer Research (Bloomberg)

Top scientists at Roche Holding AG and AstraZeneca Plc are sizing up potential allies in the fight against cancer: the trillions of bacteria that live in the human body.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Huge Underwater Methane Craters Discovered In The Arctic (IFL Science)

Craters up to a kilometer (0.6 miles) wide have been found within the Barents Sea off the northern coast of Norway. As reported by the Sunday Times, these are likely to be due to unstable build-ups of methane, a notoriously volatile and at times explosive natural gas.

CO2 levels spiked as world leaders negotiated historic climate deal (CS Monitor)

Last year was the fourth consecutive year that carbon dioxide grew more than 2 ppm, NOAA scientists say.]

WATCH: Shadow Of The Moon Crosses Earth During Solar Eclipse (NPR)

The total solar eclipse on March 9 wasn't visible anywhere in North America, but Indonesia got a perfect view. Now you can see the eclipse from the other side ... that is, the view from space.

Scientists discover plastic-loving bacteria in recycling plant (CS Monitor)

Researchers found a bacterium that will eat one of the most common forms of plastic. Is it the first step toward a solution for plastic pollution?

Tree planting 'can reduce flooding'(BBC)

Planting trees around rivers could reduce the height of flooding in towns by up to 20%, new research says.

These tiny birds can fly over 1,000 miles – nonstop (CS Monitor)

Researchers glean new insights into the ruby-throated hummingbird's impressive autumn migration.

Obama Administration Set to Expand Sharing of Data That N.S.A. Intercepts (New York Times)

The Obama administration is on the verge of permitting the National Security Agency to share more of the private communications it intercepts with other American intelligence agencies without first applying any privacy protections to them, according to officials familiar with the deliberations.

Skype co-founder launches ultra-private messaging, with video (Reuters)

 

A group of former Skype technologists, backed by the co-founder of the messaging platform, has introduced a new version of its own messaging service that promises end-to-end encryption for all conversations, including by video.

Nevada Solar Power Business Struggles To Keep The Lights On (NPR)

Since Nevada regulators began phasing out incentives, the solar power business has been in turmoil and many workers have been laid off. Now some worry what happened there will spread to other states.

 

 

 

 

 


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