HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

December 4, 2022 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Marine veterans sue over alleged toxic water exposure at Camp Lejeune: "Poisoned as a result of their service" (CBS)
• RSV straining children’s hospitals across California (Los Angeles Times)
• Almost Twice as Many Republicans Died From COVID Before the Midterms Than Democrats (Vice)
• Covid Killed Half as Many San Diegans During Year Two of the Pandemic, But More Young People (Voice of San Diego)
• States differ on how best to spend $26B from settlement in opioid cases (NPR)
• The pandemic isn't over yet, but thousands of public health workers lost their jobs  (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Lava, vog and "Pele's hair": The hazards posed by Hawaii's volcano eruption  (CBS)
• Notpla: UK plastic-alternative developer among £1m Earthshot Prize winners (BBC)
• Teenagers led a group of hackers who breached some of the world's biggest tech companies. The government wants to know how they did it. (CBS)
• Elon Musk suspends Kanye West from Twitter, unveils plan to incentivize advertisers to return (CBS)

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

HEALTH

Marine veterans sue over alleged toxic water exposure at Camp Lejeune: "Poisoned as a result of their service" (CBS)

A new law may allow as many as a million people, mostly Marines and their families, to sue the U.S. government over contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base in North Carolina. The law is a major change for veterans and others who say they suffered illnesses as a result of their service at the base.

RSV straining children’s hospitals across California (Los Angeles Times)

Nationally, hospitalization rates related to RSV — or respiratory syncytial virus — are exceptionally high, according to Dr. Theodore Ruel, chief of UC San Francisco’s pediatric infectious diseases and global health division.

Almost Twice as Many Republicans Died From COVID Before the Midterms Than Democrats (Vice)

The authors of a new study can’t say if this impacted the midterms, but say that it’s “plausible given just how stark the differences in vaccination rates have been, among Democrats and Republicans.”

Covid Killed Half as Many San Diegans During Year Two of the Pandemic, But More Young People (Voice of San Diego)

Public health professionals credit the vaccine for bringing the total death toll down. But the median age of death also dropped, meaning the virus killed a younger proportion of San Diegans as time went on.

States differ on how best to spend $26B from settlement in opioid cases (NPR)

With more than 200 Americans still dying of drug overdoses each day, states are beginning the high-stakes task of deciding how to spend billions of dollars in settlement funds from opioid manufacturers and distributors.  Their decisions will have real-world implications for families and communities across the country that have borne the brunt of the opioid crisis.  Will that massive tranche of money be used to help the people who suffered the most and for programs shown to be effective in curbing the epidemic? Or will elected officials use the money for politically infused projects that will do little to offer restitution or help those harmed?

The pandemic isn't over yet, but thousands of public health workers lost their jobs  (NPR)

The American public health system has never faced anything quite like the coronavirus pandemic. The system was pushed to its limits. So were the workers who staff it. And in recent months, thousands of those workers who were hired to fill gaps during the worst of the pandemic have lost their jobs.

SCIENCE AND TECH

Lava, vog and "Pele's hair": The hazards posed by Hawaii's volcano eruption  (CBS)

Hawaii's Mauna Loa, the world's largest active volcano, is erupting for the first time in nearly 40 years, sending lava spewing 100 feet to 200 feet into the air. For now, lava is not threatening any homes or communities and no evacuation orders have been issued, but that could change. Lava could eventually reach neighborhoods as it flows downhill though it could take a week or more for molten rock to reach populated areas.

Notpla: UK plastic-alternative developer among £1m Earthshot Prize winners (BBC)

A UK firm that makes packaging from seaweed has been named as one of the £1m winners of Prince William's Earthshot climate prize. The alternative to plastic was developed by London startup Notpla.

Teenagers led a group of hackers who breached some of the world's biggest tech companies. The government wants to know how they did it. (CBS)

The Biden administration announced Friday the U.S. would investigate recent hacks linked to a teenage cybercriminal group that focused on extortion. The U.S. Cyber Safety Review Board, a 15-member panel of experts from across government and private sector, will probe a series of high-profile hacks by the group, known as Lapsus$.  

Elon Musk suspends Kanye West from Twitter, unveils plan to incentivize advertisers to return (CBS)

Twitter CEO Elon Musk says Kanye West, now known as Ye, has been suspended from the platform for inciting violence after more antisemitic tweets. Musk also unveiled his plan to businesses in hopes of bringing them back to advertising on Twitter. Yahoo senior columnist Rick Newman joins "CBS News Mornings" with the latest.