HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

January 21, 2024 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• 1,500 Americans dying from COVID each week despite vaccines, treatments (ABC)
• Cases almost double as CDC expands warning of salmonella infections linked to recalled charcuterie meats (CNN)
• Researchers find a massive number of plastic particles in bottled water  (NPR)
• Why long COVID can cause exhaustion, or post-exertional malaise, after exercise 
• Red Cross declares an emergency blood shortage, as number of donors is down 40% (NPR)
• FDA clears first CRISPR treatment for a second disease, beta thalassemia (
  
  CNN)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Washington takes aim at facial recognition (Politico)
• His sock, shoe and iPhone were sucked out of Alaska Flight 1282. The phone still works (Los Angeles Times)
• Huge ancient lost city found in the Amazon  (BBC)
• State-backed Russian hackers accessed senior Microsoft leaders' emails, company says  (KPBS)

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

HEALTH

1,500 Americans dying from COVID each week despite vaccines, treatments (ABC)

For the week ending Dec. 9, the last week of complete data, there were 1,614 deaths from COVID, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The last four weeks of complete data show an average of 1,488 weekly deaths.  By comparison, there were 163 weekly deaths from the flu for the week ending Dec. 9, according to CDC data.

Cases almost double as CDC expands warning of salmonella infections linked to recalled charcuterie meats (CNN)

As cases of salmonella infections linked to recalled charcuterie meats double, the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention expanded its warning in a new food safety alert on Thursday.  There are now a total of 47 reported illnesses, including 10 hospitalizations, in 22 states... he CDC now says do not eat, serve or sell any lot of the following (both of which are sold in twin-packs):  Busseto brand Charcuterie Sample sold at Sam’s Club;  Fratelli Beretta brand Antipasto Gran Beretta sold at Costco

Researchers find a massive number of plastic particles in bottled water  (NPR)

Researchers from Columbia University and Rutgers University found roughly 240,000 detectable plastic fragments in a typical liter of bottled water. The study was published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Why long COVID can cause exhaustion, or post-exertional malaise, after exercise 

By taking biopsies from long COVID patients before and after exercising, scientists in the Netherlands constructed a startling picture of widespread abnormalities in muscle tissue that may explain this severe reaction to physical activity.  Among the most striking findings were clear signs that the cellular power plants, the mitochondria, are compromised and the tissue starved for energy. The tissue samples from long COVID patients also revealed severe muscle damage, a disturbed immune response, and a buildup of microclots.

Red Cross declares an emergency blood shortage, as number of donors is down 40% (NPR)

The American Red Cross announced that it is experiencing the lowest number of people giving blood in the last 20 years, in what the organization says is an emergency shortage.  In all, the Red Cross says that the number of people donating blood has dropped by 40% over the last two decades, and that the shortage could worsen in coming months if winter weather or seasonal respiratory illnesses like the flu or COVID-19 cause people to cancel their donation appointments.

FDA clears first CRISPR treatment for a second disease, beta thalassemia (CNN)

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a second use for the first CRISPR-based medicine, Casgevy, which was approved in December to treat sickle cell disease. The groundbreaking treatment can now also be used to treat transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia in people 12 and older. Like sickle cell, beta thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder.

SCIENCE AND TECH

Washington takes aim at facial recognition (Politico)

A group of Democratic senators on Thursday demanded that the Justice Department look at how police use facial recognition tools and whether it violates civil rights laws — part of a fresh wave of scrutiny in Washington to a technology that has triggered national concerns but has never come under federal regulations.

His sock, shoe and iPhone were sucked out of Alaska Flight 1282. The phone still works (Los Angeles Times)

Cuong Tran got his iPhone back after it was sucked out of the side of Alaska Flight 1282 when a door plug blew out. He got it back -- but not his sock or shoe.

Huge ancient lost city found in the Amazon  (BBC)

The discovery changes what we know about the history of people living in the Amazon.

State-backed Russian hackers accessed senior Microsoft leaders' emails, company says  (KPBS)

State-backed Russian hackers broke into Microsoft's corporate email system and accessed the accounts of members of the company's leadership team, as well as those of employees on its cybersecurity and legal teams, the company said Friday. / In a blog post, Microsoft said the intrusion began in late November and was discovered on Jan. 12. It said the same highly skilled Russian hacking team behind the SolarWinds breach was responsible.