HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

October 18, 2017 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• The little red pill being pushed on the elderly (CNN)
• Legal marijuana is saving lives in Colorado, study finds (Washington Post)
• FDA Panel Endorses Gene Therapy for a Form of Childhood Blindness (NPR)
• Obesity in Children and Teens Rose Sharply Worldwide Over Past 4 Decades (NPR)
• DNA study provides insight into how to live longer (BBC)
• In early study, rare tumors respond to precision therapy (SD Union-Tribune)
• 'I spent savings rather than wait' (BBC)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Researchers uncover flaw that makes Wi-Fi vulnerable to hacks (Reuters)
• Paris Mayor Plans to Eliminate All Non-Electric Cars By 2030 (NPR)
• Drone hits commercial airliner in Canada, no injuries (Reuters)
• After Hurricane Power Outages, Looking to Alaska's Microgrids For a Better Way (NPR)
• As an asteroid approaches, NASA carries out a cosmic fire drill (CS Monitor)
• Does "supervolcano" under Yellowstone have planet-killing potential? (CBS)
• Einstein’s waves detected in star smash (BBC)

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

HEALTH

The little red pill being pushed on the elderly (CNN)

The maker of a little red pill intended to treat a rare condition is raking in hundreds of millions of dollars a year as it aggressively targets frail and elderly nursing home residents for whom the drug may be unnecessary or even unsafe, a CNN investigation has found…The pill, called Nuedexta,... is being propelled by a sales force focused on expanding the drug's use among elderly patients suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's disease, and high-volume prescribing and advocacy efforts by doctors receiving payments from the company..

Legal marijuana is saving lives in Colorado, study finds (Washington Post)

 Marijuana legalization in Colorado led to a “reversal” of opiate overdose deaths in that state, according to new research published in the American Journal of Public Health.

FDA Panel Endorses Gene Therapy for A Form of Childhood Blindness (NPR)

After many setbacks for genetic therapies, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommended approval of the first gene treatment for an inherited form of blindness.

Obesity in Children and Teens Rose Sharply Worldwide Over Past 4 Decades (NPR)

The number of young people with obesity has risen tenfold since 1975, according to a study from the World Health Organization. At the same time, that rise has been far from uniform across the world.

DNA study provides insight into how to live longer (BBC)

A year in school adds nearly a year to your life, study in Edinburgh shows.

In early study, rare tumors respond to precision therapy (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Treatment of rare tumors can be improved with a “precision medicine” approach of matching treatment to the molecular profile of the cancers, according to a preliminary study from UC San Diego researchers.

'I spent savings rather than wait' (BBC)

Patients facing long waits for treatment tell the BBC what it is like to be left in limbo. 

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Researchers uncover flaw that makes Wi-Fi vulnerable to hacks (Reuters)

 Cyber security watchdogs and researchers are issuing warnings over risks associated with a widely used system for securing Wi-Fi communications after the discovery of a flaw that could allow hackers to read information thought to be encrypted, or infect websites with malware….  Belgian researchers Mathy Vanhoef and Frank Piessens of Belgian university KU Leuven disclosed the bug in WPA2, which secures modern Wi-Fi systems .. “If your device supports Wi-Fi, it is most likely affected,” they said on the www.krackattacks.com website… Microsoft Corp said it had released a security update for Windows. Customers who applied the update, or had automatic updates enabled, would already be protected….

Paris Mayor Plans to Eliminate All Non-Electric Cars By 2030 (NPR)

"We are seeing a revolution in terms of mobility and on the issue of climate," said the city's deputy mayor. "We can't wait."

Drone hits commercial airliner in Canada, no injuries (Reuters)

 A drone hit an airplane landing at a Quebec City airport this week, the first time an unmanned flying object has collided with commercial aircraft in Canada, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said on Sunday.

After Hurricane Power Outages, Looking to Alaska's Microgrids For a Better Way (NPR)

Alaska is a leader in microgrids since its remote communities have had to power themselves for decades.

As an asteroid approaches, NASA carries out a cosmic fire drill  (CS Monitor)

NASA is using the approach of a small asteroid to test the International Asteroid Warning Network. The test, involving scientists all around the world, has proven successful and could be used could be used to track any asteroids on a collision course with planet Earth. 

Does "supervolcano" under Yellowstone have planet-killing potential? (CBS)

According to reports, a "supervolcano" sleeping underneath Yellowstone National Park has the destructive capability to send the entire planet into a volcanic winter. Even more unnerving, [Arizona State University] researchers believe that the Yellowstone volcano could be ready to erupt within the next few decades.

Einstein’s waves detected in star smash (BBC)

Scientists detect the warping of space generated by the collision of two neutron stars.