

April 4, 2025 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.
HEALTH
- Tuberculosis cases in the US rose to their highest levels in more than a dozen years (AP)
- The CDC Buried a Measles Forecast That Stressed the Need for Vaccinations(ProPublica)
- Vaccine critic’s apparent selection to head HHS autism study shocks experts (Stat)
- Utah becomes the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water (ABC)
- CDC advisory committees not mandated by law at risk of being terminated (Politico)
SCIENCE AND TECH
- Exclusive: Secretive Chinese network tries to lure fired federal workers, research shows (Reuters)
- Trump shifts cyberattack readiness to state and local governments in wake of info-sharing cuts (CSO)
- Encrypted messaging apps promise privacy. Government transparency is often the price (AP)
- Humming along in an old church, the Internet Archive is more relevant than ever (NPR)
For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.
HEALTH
Tuberculosis cases in the US rose to their highest levels in more than a dozen years (AP)
More than 10,300 cases were reported last year, an 8% increase from 2023 and the highest since 2011, according to preliminary data posted this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. / Both the number of cases and the rate of infections rose. Rates were up among all age groups, and 34 states had reported an increase.
The CDC Buried a Measles Forecast That Stressed the Need for Vaccinations(ProPublica)
Control and Prevention ordered staff this week not to release their experts’ assessment that found the risk of catching measles is high in areas near outbreaks where vaccination rates are lagging.
Vaccine critic’s apparent selection to head HHS autism study shocks experts (Stat)
The apparent choice of David Geier — who does not have a medical degree and who was disciplined by the State of Maryland’s Board of Physicians for practicing medicine without a license — to conduct a study looking for the link that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long asserted exists, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, struck many as a surreal choice. Geier and his father, a physician who lost his medical license in multiple states, have promoted claims that use of the preservative thimerosal in vaccines led to an increase in autism diagnoses. A raft of studies has refuted the allegation, and autism rates have not declined in the more than 20 years since thimerosal was phased out of most vaccines in the United States.
Utah becomes the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water (ABC)
Lawmakers in other states, including Ohio, South Carolina and Florida have also made proposals to restrict fluoride in public water.
CDC advisory committees not mandated by law at risk of being terminated (Politico)
HHS tells CDC leaders it is “recommending termination” of the discretionary advisory committees.
SCIENCE AND TECH
Exclusive: Secretive Chinese network tries to lure fired federal workers, research shows (Reuters)
A network of companies operated by a secretive Chinese tech firm has been trying to recruit recently laid-off U.S. government workers, according to job ads and a researcher who uncovered the campaign.
Trump shifts cyberattack readiness to state and local governments in wake of info-sharing cuts (CSO)
Shifting the burden of managing cyber emergencies to state and local governments while scaling back federal information-sharing groups could leave local, underfunded CISOs and CIOs less prepared for critical infrastructure attacks.
Encrypted messaging apps promise privacy. Government transparency is often the price (AP)
While such apps promise increased security and privacy, they often skirt open records laws meant to increase transparency around and public awareness of government decision-making. Without special archiving software, the messages frequently aren’t returned under public information requests. / An Associated Press review in all 50 states found accounts on encrypted platforms registered to cellphone numbers for over 1,100 government workers and elected officials.
Humming along in an old church, the Internet Archive is more relevant than ever (NPR )
If you've ever clicked on a hyperlink that's taken you to something called the Wayback Machine to view an old web page, you've been introduced to the Internet Archive…..A Pew Research Center study published last year found that roughly 38% of web pages on the internet that existed in 2013 were no longer accessible as of 2023. According to a Harvard Law Review study published in 2014, about half of all links cited in U.S. Supreme Court opinions no longer led to the original source material.
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