HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

November 21, 2024 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Millions of pounds of meat, poultry recalled over listeria concerns  (NPR)
• First US case of severe mpox strain reported in California (UK Independent)
• Is it the flu or is it COVID? One at-home test can tell you
• E. coli outbreak linked to organic carrots sickens people in 18 states
• This year's flu shot protects against 3 strains instead of 4  (NPR)
• Officials launch new online tool and guidance for South Bay’s rotten egg smell (KPBS)
• 22 pesticides show links to prostate cancer (Science News)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• With Musk in tow, Trump eyes changes to government policies on AI and its dangers (CNN)
• Fighting misinformation: How to keep from falling for fake news videos (USA Today)
• New Apple tool will make it easier to find your lost luggage  (USA Today)
• ‘Do not pet’: Why are robot dogs patrolling Mar-A-Lago? (BBC)
• Trump's FCC chair wants to ban TikTok, but 'accelerate' Musk's company  (USA Today)

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

HEALTH

Millions of pounds of meat, poultry recalled over listeria concerns  (NPR)

Public health authorities are urging Americans to check their fridges and freezers after recalling more than 11 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry items over possible listeria contamination.  The recalled products include salads, wraps, pasta bowls, burritos, enchiladas and many other ready-made frozen and family meals, and come from brands including Fresh Express, Rao’s, Boston Market, Atkins, Dole, ReadyMeals, Taylor Farms, Home Chef and Signature Select.  The stores that carry them include Aldi, Amazon Fresh, Giant Eagle, H-E-B, Kroger, Meijer, Publix, Target, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Wegmans and 7-Eleven…. The USDA is maintaining a list of recalled products...

First US case of severe mpox strain reported in California (UK Independent)

The new variant, known as Clade 1b, appears to spread more easily...The infected person had traveled to eastern Africa and was treated in Northern California upon return, according to the California Department of Public Health.

Is it the flu or is it COVID? One at-home test can tell you

NPR - This year testing got easier. For the first time, new home tests — available at pharmacies without a prescription — can test for both the flu and COVID simultaneously…. / People who test positive can ask their doctor to call in a prescription for antiviral medications like Paxlovid for COVID or Tamiflu for the flu, if they need medication. Those drugs work best if started within a few days of the symptoms starting. The new tests discriminate between influenza A or influenza B.

E. coli outbreak linked to organic carrots sickens people in 18 states

NPR - One person has died and at least 38 people have become ill following an E. coli outbreak linked to organic carrots, according to federal health officials…. / The CDC warned that the outbreak may have reached additional states and the actual number of infected individuals is likely much higher than reported.

This year's flu shot protects against 3 strains instead of 4  (NPR)

This year’s flu shot will be missing a strain of influenza it’s protected against for more than a decade.  That’s because there have been no confirmed flu cases caused by the Influenza B/Yamagata lineage since spring 2020. And the Food and Drug Administration decided this year that the strain now poses little to no threat to human health.  Scientists have concluded that widespread physical distancing and masking practiced during the early days of COVID-19 appear to have pushed B/Yamagata into oblivion.  This surprised many who study influenza, as it would be the first documented instance of a virus going extinct due to changes in human behavior.

Officials launch new online tool and guidance for South Bay’s rotten egg smell (KPBS)

  A new online dashboard from the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District updates every 24 hours with hourly hydrogen sulfide readings from Nestor and San Ysidro….The website has guidance on what to do depending on the hydrogen sulfide level. If it’s above 5 parts per billion, people should limit outdoor activities if the odor bothers them. If it’s above 30, people should close doors and windows and use air purifiers.

22 pesticides show links to prostate cancer (Science News)

The new finding comes from an analysis of pesticide use and prostate cancer incidence in over 3,100 U.S. counties.

SCIENCE AND TECH

With Musk in tow, Trump eyes changes to government policies on AI and its dangers (CNN)

The president-elect has promised to “slash excess regulations” and tapped tech billionaire Elon Musk, another critic of government rules, to help lead the effort. More specifically, the Republican Party, in its election platform, said it would repeal a sweeping executive order signed by President Joe Biden that set out actions to manage AI’s national security risks and prevent discrimination by AI systems, among other goals.

Fighting misinformation: How to keep from falling for fake news videos (USA Today)

A video claiming to show Haitian immigrants illegally voting for Kamala Harris in Georgia keeps getting shared as “news” all over X (formerly Twitter), even though it’s now been thoroughly debunked as fake and traced back to Russia... The same goes for another fake video supposedly showing an election worker ripping up votes for Donald Trump in Pennsylvania...Misinformation is everywhere. Do you know how to spot it? 

New Apple tool will make it easier to find your lost luggage  (USA Today)

Apple AirTags may soon be a truly indespensable travel tool. In its latest iOS update, Apple said it expanded the functionality of the "Find My" feature to enable users to share item locations with other people, and soon, with third party vendors. That means travelers will soon be able to send location data directly to airlines when their bags go missing, if they are linked to an Apple device.

‘Do not pet’: Why are robot dogs patrolling Mar-A-Lago? (BBC)

Robotic dogs are helping law enforcement protect President Donald Trump at his Florida residence.

Trump's FCC chair wants to ban TikTok, but 'accelerate' Musk's company  (USA Today)

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Brendan Carr to lead the Federal Communications Commission, the agency that regulates television, radio, wire, satellite and cable across the United States.... Here are three objectives Carr hopes to accomplish as Trump’s incoming FCC chair.