HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

May 8, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• In veterans, even a mild case of traumatic brain injury is linked to an increased risk of dementia (Los Angeles Times)
• This retinal implant may one day cure blindness caused by macular degeneration (Los Angeles Times)
• Regular fast food eating linked to fertility issues in women (BBC)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Uber CEO on flying taxis, the future and taking over a company in crisis (CBS)
• Russian spies posing as ISIS threaten to kill military wives' families, evidence shows (CBS)
• Elon Musk’s SpaceX is using a powerful rocket technology. NASA advisers say it could put lives at risk. (Washington Post)
• Electric Winnebagos are coming soon (Reuters)

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

HEALTH

In veterans, even a mild case of traumatic brain injury is linked to an increased risk of dementia (Los Angeles Times)

Researchers who examined the medical records of more than 350,000 veterans found that those who experienced at least one mild traumatic brain injury were more than twice as likely as their uninjured peers to develop dementia after they retired from the military.

This retinal implant may one day cure blindness caused by macular degeneration (Los Angeles Times)

For many of the 10 million Americans who are losing their vision to a thievish eye condition with no treatment, help may be on its way. In a very early clinical trial, researchers have implanted a stem cell "patch" to repair failing retinal cells in four patients with a condition called "dry" macular degeneration.

Regular fast food eating linked to fertility issues in women (BBC)

Women who regularly eat fast food and not enough fruit are more likely to struggle to conceive, a study suggests.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi on flying taxis, the future and taking over a company in crisis (CBS)

Uber is releasing new information about Uber Air, an ambitious plan to launch a fleet of autonomous flying taxis in two years. "CBS This Morning" got the first look at the design models that will be on display at Tuesday's Uber Elevate Summit in Los Angeles.

Russian spies posing as ISIS threaten to kill military wives' families, evidence shows (CBS)

Army wife Angela Ricketts was soaking in a bubble bath in her Colorado home, leafing through a memoir, when a message appeared on her iPhone from hackers threatening to slaughter her family. "Dear Angela!" the Facebook message read. "Bloody Valentine's Day!" "We know everything about you, your husband and your children," the message continued, claiming that the hackers operating under the flag of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants had penetrated her computer and her phone.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is using a powerful rocket technology. NASA advisers say it could put lives at risk. (Washington Post)

When Elon Musk and his team at SpaceX were looking to make their Falcon 9 rocket even more powerful, they came up with a creative idea — keep the propellant at super-cold temperatures to shrink its size, allowing them to pack more of it into the tanks. But the approach comes with a major risk, according to some safety experts. At those extreme temperatures, the propellant would need to be loaded just before takeoff — while astronauts are aboard. An accident, or a spark, during this maneuver, known as “load-and-go,” could set off an explosion.

Electric Winnebagos are coming soon (Reuters)

Winnebago is famous for campers, but the first electric Winnebago models won't be recreational vehicles. Instead, Winnebago's first plug-in models are intended to be used locally for things like mobile classrooms, outreach vehicles and bloodmobiles.