HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

February 24, 2023 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• COVID-19 infection poses higher risk for myocarditis than vaccines (American Heart Assoc.)
• Hospitals contracted with private companies are cutting costs by relying on nurses (NPR)
• Teens, especially girls, are experiencing more violence, suicidal thoughts and mental health challenges, CDC survey finds (CNN)
• Idaho lawmakers introduce legislation to criminalize those who administer COVID vaccines KBTV)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Instagram and Facebook launch new paid verification service, Meta Verified (KPBS)
• Scientists have discovered a new core at the center of the Earth (Washington Post)
• Zoom was a pandemic darling. Now it’s part of the tech layoffs wave. 

(Washington Post)

• San Diego study shows a small animal can have a big impact on the climate (KPBS)
• Why America’s outdated energy grid is a climate problem (CNBC)
• AI-created images lose U.S. copyrights in test for new technology (Reuters)
• Space telescope, uncovers, massive galaxies near cosmic Dawn  (AP)

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

HEALTH

COVID-19 infection poses higher risk for myocarditis than vaccines (American Heart Assoc.)

The overall risk of myocarditis – inflammation of the heart muscle – is substantially higher immediately after being infected with COVID-19 than it is in the weeks following vaccination for the coronavirus, a large new study in England shows. The detailed analysis of nearly 43 million people was published Monday in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.

Hospitals contracted with private companies are cutting costs by relying on nurses (NPR)

More and more hospitals are contracting with private companies to run their emergency departments. To save money, many are increasingly relying on nurses and physician assistants instead of doctors.

Teens, especially girls, are experiencing more violence, suicidal thoughts and mental health challenges, CDC survey finds (CNN)

Teen girls in the United States experienced record high levels of violence, sadness and suicide risk in recent years, amid “significant” and “heartbreaking” declines in youth health and well-being overall, according to data published Monday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most teen girls (57%) felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021, double the rate for teen boys (29%). Nearly one in three teen girls seriously considered attempting suicide. Both rates “increased dramatically” over the past decade, according to the CDC. Most LGBQ+ students (52%) have also recently experienced poor mental health and more than one in five attempted suicide in the past year.

Idaho lawmakers introduce legislation to criminalize those who administer COVID vaccines KBTV)

The bill would make administering an mRNA vaccine -- a COVID vaccine -- a misdemeanor.

SCIENCE AND TECH

Instagram and Facebook launch new paid verification service, Meta Verified (KPBS)

Facebook and Instagram are launching a new subscription service that will allow users to pay to become verified. eta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — said it would begin testing "Meta Verified" in Australia and New Zealand this week, with other countries soon… In addition to a verification badge, the service includes more protection against impersonating accounts, increased visibility in areas such as search and recommendations, and more direct access to customer support…

Scientists have discovered a new core at the center of the Earth (Washington Post)

A recent study reveals a new, distinct fifth layer of Earth deep inside the core, which could help inform the evolution of Earth’s magnetic field.

Zoom was a pandemic darling. Now it’s part of the tech layoffs wave. 

(Washington Post)

Zoom’s struggles, which some attribute to fatigue with videoconferencing, follow its surge in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic.

San Diego study shows a small animal can have a big impact on the climate (KPBS)

A San Diego researcher thinks a jelly-like animal that lives in the world’s oceans can have an impact on the ocean carbon cycle….Researchers found that salps can account for a two to eight fold increase in carbon sequestration.

Why America’s outdated energy grid is a climate problem (CNBC)

Most of the U.S. electric grid was built in the 1960s and 1970s. Today, over 70% of the U.S. electricity grid is more than 25 years old, and that aging system is vulnerable to increasingly intense storms. Also, the electric infrastructure in the U.S. was built to bring energy from where fossil fuels are burned to where the energy will be used. But as humanity responds to global warming, renewable, zero-carbon sources of energy, especially wind and solar energy, are replacing fossil fuels. That requires a new transmission grid.

AI-created images lose U.S. copyrights in test for new technology (Reuters)

Images in a graphic novel that were created using the artificial-intelligence system Midjourney should not have been granted copyright protection, the U.S. Copyright Office said in a letter seen by Reuters.

Space telescope, uncovers, massive galaxies near cosmic Dawn  (AP)

Astronomers have discovered what appear to be massive galaxies dating back to within 600 million years of the Big Bang, suggesting the early universe may have had a stellar fast-track that produced these “monsters.” While the new James Webb Space Telescope has spotted even older galaxies, dating to within a mere 300 million years of the beginning of the universe, it’s the size and maturity of these six apparent mega-galaxies that stun scientists. They reported their findings Wednesday.