HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

East County News Service

February 2, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting-edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Air pollution may cause 21 percent of dementias worldwide, study suggests (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Trump wants to gut FDA regs. He needs a refresher course on Thalidomine. (Huffington Post)
• Most powerful HIV- attacking antibody yet has been constructed (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Drug distributors penalized for turning blind eye during opioid epidemic (NPR)
• An Early First Menstrual Period May Lead to Premature Menopause (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• How some retailers are tracking you as you walk down their aisles (Marketplace.org)
• Hackers launch major attack against PayPal users (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Privacy by design: How fashion combats surveillance (CS Monitor)
• The confusing, wild world of science under the Trump administration (CS Monitor)
• To catch a python: Florida hires Indian tribesmen to root out invasive snakes (CS Monitor)

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

HEALTH

Air pollution may cause 21 percent of dementias worldwide, study suggests (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Women aged 65 to 79 are 81 percent more at risk for general cognitive decline and 92 percent more likely to develop dementia if they live where fine particle matter exceeds the U.S. Environmental Agency’s standards, according to the study, led by University of Southern California scientists. / The study didn’t examine whether inhaling these particles also puts men at elevated risk.

Trump wants to gut FDA regs. He needs a refresher course on Thalidomine. (Huffington Post)

The scandal was the catalyst for pharmaceutical safeguards.  We should never go back.

Most powerful HIV- attacking antibody yet has been constructed (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A newly developed HIV antibody neutralizes 99 percent of virus strains, making it the most powerful yet found, according to a study led by Duke University scientists.

Drug distributors penalized for turning blind eye during opioid epidemic (NPR)

As the toll of the opioid epidemic grows, scores of doctors have lost their licenses and some have gone to prison. Pharmacies are being sued and shuttered. Pharmaceutical manufacturers are under investigation and face new rules from regulators. But penalties against companies that serve as middlemen between drug companies and pharmacies have been relatively scarce — until recently.

An Early First Menstrual Period May Lead to Premature Menopause (NPR)

Having a first period by age 11 and never having children were both associated with premature menopause, which this study defines as menopause by age 40.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

How some retailers are tracking you as you walk down their aisles (Marketplace.org)

When you go to the department store or your nearby pharmacy, don’t be surprised if they know who you are and are tracking you.

Hackers launch major attack against PayPal users (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Hackers have launched a major attack against PayPal users that’s meant to trick the company’s customers into providing information that could end up costing them money and their identity.

Privacy by design: How fashion combats surveillance (CS Monitor)

Designers, artists, and students around the world are creating accessories and clothing meant to hide wearers' identities from mass surveillance.

The confusing, wild world of science under the Trump administration (CS Monitor)

Anxiety could be distorting what appear to be typical events in a presidential transition into perceived acts of political malice.

To catch a python: Florida hires Indian tribesmen to root out invasive snakes (CS Monitor)

Tribesmen from India are working alongside a team of Labrador retrievers to help Florida remove Burmese pythons from the Everglades.