HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

August 5, 2024 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future

HEALTH

• Shingles vaccines may reduce dementia risk, two large new studies suggest (CNN)
• Texas woman sues prosecutors who charged her with murder after she self-managed an abortion_ (AP)
• Scientists make DNA discovery that could help find pancreatic cancer cure (Guardian)
• Rabies could become a disease of the past. Here's what it would take( NPR)
• A protein called Reelin may help protect brains against aging and Alzheimer’s  (NPR)
• Scientists make DNA discovery that could help find pancreatic cancer cure  (Guardian)
• Rabies could become a disease of the past. Here's what it would take (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• ‘Astonishing’ Antarctica heat wave sends temperatures 50 degrees above normal (CNN)
• Without backup plans, global IT outages will happen again  (Reuters)
• A manipulated video shared by Musk mimics Harris' voice, raising concerns about AI in politics (AP)
• As Great Salt Lake dries up, it emits millions of tons of CO2   (NPR)

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

HEALTH

Shingles vaccines may reduce dementia risk, two large new studies suggest (CNN)

Two new studies suggest that getting a vaccine to protect against a painful case of shingles may be beneficial for memory, too.An estimated 98% of US adults have had chickenpox and are at risk for shingles; both are caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is in the herpes family.

Texas woman sues prosecutors who charged her with murder after she self-managed an abortion_ (AP)

A Texas woman who was charged with murder over self-managing an abortion and spent two nights in jail has sued prosecutors along the U.S.-Mexico border who put the criminal case in motion before it was later dropped.

Scientists make DNA discovery that could help find pancreatic cancer cure (Guardian)

Hope for new treatments after researchers find spread of disease is aided by shutting down of molecules in key genes.

Rabies could become a disease of the past. Here's what it would take( NPR)

Each year, about 60,000 families say goodbye to a relative dying from rabies….  The vast majority of the recorded cases — a whopping 95% — are in Asia or Africa….Starting this month more than 50 lower-income countries will be able to apply to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance for financial aid to pay for the human vaccine and related supplies, like refrigeration. This initiative, which was delayed several years by the COVID pandemic, is aligned with the Zero by 30 campaign, a plan spearheaded by WHO and others aimed at ending rabies deaths caused by dogs by 2030.

A protein called Reelin may help protect brains against aging and Alzheimer’s  (NPR)

A key protein that helps assemble the brain early in life also appears to protect the organ from Alzheimer’s and other diseases of aging.

Scientists make DNA discovery that could help find pancreatic cancer cure  (Guardian)

Hope for new treatments after researchers find spread of disease is aided by shutting down of molecules in key genes.

Rabies could become a disease of the past. Here's what it would take (NPR)

Each year, about 60,000 families say goodbye to a relative dying from rabies…. / The vast majority of the recorded cases — a whopping 95% — are in Asia or Africa…. / Starting this month more than 50 lower-income countries will be able to apply to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance for financial aid to pay for the human vaccine and related supplies, like refrigeration. This initiative, which was delayed several years by the COVID pandemic, is aligned with the Zero by 30 campaign, a plan spearheaded by WHO and others aimed at ending rabies deaths caused by dogs by 2030.

SCIENCE AND TECH

‘Astonishing’ Antarctica heat wave sends temperatures 50 degrees above normal (CNN)

A record-breaking heat wave unfolding at what should be the coldest time in Earth’s coldest place has scientists concerned about what it could mean for the future health of the Antarctic continent, and the consequences it could inflict for millions of people across the globe.  Temperatures since mid-July have climbed up to 50 degrees Fahrenheit above normal over parts of Antarctica and unseasonable warmth could continue through the first half of August... Summerlike heat in the dead of winter – even if much of the continent is still below freezing – is an alarming development for a place more capable than any other of generating catastrophic sea level rise as fossil fuel pollution continues to drive global temperatures upward.

Without backup plans, global IT outages will happen again  (Reuters)

Elements of Friday’s global IT outage, which grounded planes and hit services from banking to healthcare, have occurred before and until more contingencies are built into networks, and organisations put better back-up plans in place, it will happen again.

A manipulated video shared by Musk mimics Harris' voice, raising concerns about AI in politics (AP)

A  manipulated video that mimics the voice of Vice President Kamala Harris saying things she did not say is raising concerns about the power of artificial intelligence to mislead with Election Day about three months away.

As Great Salt Lake dries up, it emits millions of tons of CO2   (NPR)

Scientists say the drying Great Salt Lake in Utah is now becoming a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions that are causing the climate to warm, according to a new study. Due largely to water diversions by farmers and Utah’s booming population growth, the Great Salt Lake has shrunk by almost half in recent years.