HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

August 13,  2020 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• More Than Half of COVID-19 Survivors in Study Reported Psychiatric Disorders (Eco Watch)
• Researchers trained dogs to sniff out COVID-19 infections in just days (CBS)
• Nasal spray approved for treating suicidal people (Medical Xpress)
• 4 million people in the U.S. have tested positive for the coronavirus (NPR)
• Lawsuits over face coverings: What to know about the ADA and rules for businesses (10 News)
• Pfizer, U.S. Reach $1.95 Billion Coronavirus Vaccine Deal : Coronavirus Live Updates   (NPR)
• Dr. Anthony Fauci says he and his family have been receiving ‘serious threats’ (CNBC)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Florida Teenager Is Charged as ‘Mastermind’ of Twitter Hack (New York Times)
• NASA officials hold news conference following historic splashdown (Washington Post)
• Antarctic ice sheet collapse could add 3 meters to sea-level rise (Science Mag)

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

HEALTH

More Than Half of COVID-19 Survivors in Study Reported Psychiatric Disorders (Eco Watch)

A study from a hospital in Milan, Italy has uncovered another complication to the process of recovering from the new coronavirus. More than half of patients surveyed one month after their treatment had developed a psychiatric disorder. The study, published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity on Thursday, found that 55 percent of former patients surveyed experienced either post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, insomnia or obsessive compulsive (OC) symptoms.

Researchers trained dogs to sniff out COVID-19 infections in just a few days (CBS)

… According to the pilot study published Thursday in BMC Infectious Diseases by the University Veterinary Medicine Hannover, eight dogs from Germany's armed forces trained for just five days before they could identify the virus in humans. They sniffed the saliva of more than 1,000 people, both healthy and infected, identifying the coronavirus with a 94% success rate. 

Nasal spray approved for treating suicidal people (Medical Xpress)

 Johnson & Johnson's Spravato has been approved as the first antidepressant for actively suicidal people, as doctors are becoming increasingly concerned about COVID-19's effect on the mental health of Americans.  The Food and Drug Administration approval means the quick-acting nasal spray will be available to people with suicidal thoughts and a plan to put them into action, said Michelle Kramer, vice president of J&J's U.S. neuroscience medical affairs unit.

4 million people in the U.S. have tested positive for the coronavirus (NPR)

… More than 143,700 people have died from the virus in the U.S. — nearly twice as many as Brazil, the country with the second-highest number of fatalities. While confirmed cases have surpassed 4 million, federal health officials have said the actual number is likely many times higher. "Our best estimate right now is that for every case that was reported, there actually were 10 other infections," Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention....

Lawsuits over face coverings: What to know about the ADA and rules for businesses (10 News)

From the confrontation in a Los Angeles Trader Joe's to a showdown in a San Diego Starbucks, there have been a lot of customers claiming businesses can't legally require them to wear a mask… There's a …component  in the ADA: Subsection 36.208 allows businesses to turn disabled people away if they pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others.

Pfizer, U.S. Reach $1.95 Billion Coronavirus Vaccine Deal : Coronavirus Live Updates   (NPR)

The federal government has reached a $1.95 billion deal with Pfizer to acquire 100 million doses of its vaccine candidate against the coronavirus if the Food and Drug Administration OKs  it. The vaccine would be free to Americans, according to the deal, though health care providers could charge to administer it… Pfizer is working on the vaccine with BioNTech, a German company. Clinical trials began in April, and Pfizer announced positive early results this week, though it has yet to announce that data have been vetted and published in a medical journal. Larger safety and efficacy studies could begin later this month.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says he and his family have been receiving ‘serious threats’ (CNBC)

White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday that he and his family are receiving hate mail and “serious threats” …

SCIENCE AND TECH

Florida Teenager Is Charged as ‘Mastermind’ of Twitter Hack (New York Times)

The authorities arrested a 17-year-old who they said ran a scheme that targeted the accounts of celebrities, including former President Barack Obama and Elon Musk. Two others were also charged.

NASA officials hold news conference following historic splashdown (Washington Post)

NASA officials held a news conference on Aug. 2 after SpaceX's Demo-2 Crew Dragon capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico.

Antarctic ice sheet collapse could add 3 meters to sea-level rise (Science Mag)

The East Antarctic Ice Sheet could be in more danger of collapsing than previously thought, National Geographic reports. The ice sheet is the world’s largest, holding 80% of the planet’s ice.