HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

November 6, 2019 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Facebook launches new tool to help you get health tests and screenings (CNN)
• Why You Might See a Nurse Practitioner and Not a Doctor at Your Urgent Care Clinic (Healthline)
• New Guidelines Issued for Colorectal Cancer Tests: Earlier Is Better (Healthline)
• Measles virus may wipe out immune protection for other diseases (Health News) 

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Alcohol breath tests, a linchpin of the criminal justice system, are often unreliable, a Times investigation found (New York Times)
• UPS drone makes first home prescription deliveries for CVS (Reuters)
• Why does the Arctic have more plastic than most places on Earth? (National Geographic)

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

HEALTH

Facebook launches new tool to help you get health tests and screenings (CNN)

Facebook has launched a new feature to help track what preventive health screenings might be recommended for you based on your age and sex. The tool, called Preventive Health, rolled out in the United States on Monday and focuses specifically on cardiovascular health, cancer screening and seasonal flu -- making recommendations such as when to get a cholesterol test or where to get a flu shot.

Why You Might See a Nurse Practitioner and Not a Doctor at Your Urgent Care Clinic (Healthline)

Experts say nurse practitioners are taking the place of doctors in many urgent care clinics and emergency rooms. Nurse practitioners say they provide quality healthcare, sometimes as good as a physician can offer. Doctors and medical groups say nurse practitioners don’t have the training or knowledge to diagnosis and treat serious medical conditions.

New Guidelines Issued for Colorectal Cancer Tests: Earlier Is Better (Healthline)

New guidelines were issued today on colorectal cancer screenings for adults age 50 to 75. The American College of Physicians recommends a fecal test every 2 years with the possible addition of a colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy every decade. Doctors note that the incidence of colorectal cancer is rising in younger adults, so earlier screenings are vital. Healthy adults should plan on getting regular screenings for colorectal cancer starting at age 50 and continuing through age 75.

Measles virus may wipe out immune protection for other diseases (Health News) 

Some families choosing not to vaccinate argue that measles is just a pesky childhood illness to be endured. But two new studies illustrate how skipping the measles vaccine carries a double risk.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Alcohol breath tests, a linchpin of the criminal justice system, are often unreliable, a Times investigation found (New York Times)

 But those tests — a bedrock of the criminal justice system — are often unreliable, a New York Times investigation found. The devices, found in virtually every police station in America, generate skewed results with alarming frequency, even though they are marketed as precise to the third decimal place. 

UPS drone makes first home prescription deliveries for CVS (Reuters)

United Parcel Service Inc Flight Forward drones have flown prescription medications to the front lawn of a private home and to a retirement center, the UPS unit's first revenue-generating deliveries for drugstore chain CVS Health Corp.

Why does the Arctic have more plastic than most places on Earth? (National Geographic)

Plastics travel on ocean currents and through the air to the far north and accumulate—sometimes inside the animals that live there.