HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

June 28, 2021 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

Health

• Supreme Court dismisses challenge to Affordable Care Act, leaving it in place (CNN)
• L.A. County urges everyone to wear masks indoors as Delta variant spreads  (Los Angeles Times)
• He Inherited A Devastating Disease. A CRISPR Gene-Editing Breakthrough Stopped It(NPR)
• Federal Watchdog: Abuse Allegations Not Adequately Reported In California Nursing Homes  (KPBS)
• ‘Long COVID’ is a risk for the unvaccinated. What you need to know (Los Angeles Times)
• Third member of U.S. FDA advisory panel resigns over Alzheimer's drug approval (Reuters)
  
   

Science & Tech

• Court says FTC hasn’t provided evidence Facebook is a monopoly, dismisses lawsuit (Washington Post)
• Congress Weighs a Moratorium on Facial Recognition and Biometric Surveillance Technologies (Reason)
• Big Tech antitrust bills pass first major hurdle in House even as opposition grows (Washington Post)
• Ransomware claims are roiling an entire segment of the insurance industry (Washington Post)

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

Health

Supreme Court dismisses challenge to Affordable Care Act, leaving it in place (CNN)

The Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the Affordable Care Act on Thursday in a decision that will leave the law intact and save health care coverage for millions of Americans. The justices turned away a challenge from Republican-led states and the former Trump administration, which urged the justices to block the entire law. The justices said that the challengers of the 2010 law did not have the legal right to bring the case. Justice Stephen Breyer penned the decision that was 7-2. Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented.

L.A. County urges everyone to wear masks indoors as Delta variant spreads  (Los Angeles Times)

Monday’s announcement is one of the clearest signals yet of just how seriously health officials are taking the strain, and the danger it poses, particularly to those who have yet to be inoculated.

He Inherited A Devastating Disease. A CRISPR Gene-Editing Breakthrough Stopped It(NPR)

… Patrick Doherty … was thrilled when he found out that doctors were testing a new way to try to treat amyloidosis. The approach used a revolutionary gene-editing technique called CRISPR, which allows scientists to make very precise changes in DNA… the promising results potentially open the door for using the same approach to treatment of many other, more common diseases for which taking cells out of the body or directly injecting CRISPR isn't realistic, including heart disease, muscular dystrophy and brain diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Federal Watchdog: Abuse Allegations Not Adequately Reported In California Nursing Homes  (KPBS)

By Amita Sharma

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General found instances where nursing homes were either late in reporting allegations of abuse or neglect, or didn’t report them at all.

‘Long COVID’ is a risk for the unvaccinated. What you need to know (Los Angeles Times)

 For untold numbers of people around the world, a bout with COVID-19 is just the beginning. Those in this unlucky group may have thought they’d recovered from the disease. But weeks or months later, they find themselves contending with a baffling array of symptoms that don’t quite add up to COVID-19 and just won’t go away.

Third member of U.S. FDA advisory panel resigns over Alzheimer's drug approval (Reuters)



A third member of a panel of outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has resigned in protest over the agency's decision to approve Biogen Inc's Alzheimer's disease treatment despite the committee's recommendation against doing so.

Science & Tech

Court says FTC hasn’t provided evidence Facebook is a monopoly, dismisses lawsuit (Washington Post)

A D.C. federal judge handed Facebook a major victory over regulators but gave the Federal Trade Commission 30 days to file an amended complaint with more details to bolster its case.

Congress Weighs a Moratorium on Facial Recognition and Biometric Surveillance Technologies (Reason)

Today, a group of congressional Democrats re-introduced the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act of 2021. And it's not a moment too soon. 

Big Tech antitrust bills pass first major hurdle in House even as opposition grows (Washington Post)

A total of six bills were considered. All were approved, the last one on a 21-20 vote.

Ransomware claims are roiling an entire segment of the insurance industry (Washington Post)

Cyber insurance carriers are raising premiums and limiting coverage in the face of severe ransomware attacks.