HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

July 16, 2015 (San Diego's East County)-- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Genetic Tweaks Are Restoring Hearing In Animals, Raising Hopes For People (NPR)
• States Make Laws To Protect Patients From Hidden Medical Bills (NPR)
• Biohackers Aim To Make Homebrew Insulin, But Don't Try It Yet (NPR)
• Trial over fate of frozen embryos underway in San Francisco (Reuters)
• Planned Parenthood says secret video distorts tissue donation program (CS Monitor)
• Even Mild Mental Health Problems In Children Can Cause Trouble Later (NPR)
• Why Sit-Down Meals May Be Just As Unhealthful As Fast Food (NPR)
• Smoking 'may play schizophrenia role' (BBC)
• Cancer immunotherapy approved in UK (BBC)
• 10 Drugs That May Cause Memory Loss (AARP)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• The future of travel? A tube called Hyperloop (Reuters)
• Why webcam indicator lights are lousy privacy safeguards (CS Monitor)
• Crazy paving: Rotterdam to consider trialling plastic roads (BBC)
• Is Google Photos storing your pictures without your knowledge? (CS Monitor)
• Malware And Hacking Forum Darkode Is Shut Down; Dozens Arrested (NPR)
• HostGator stops sending private encryption keys in plain text (CS Monitor)

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

HEALTH

Genetic Tweaks Are Restoring Hearing In Animals, Raising Hopes For People (NPR)

The latest accomplishment for gene therapy involves mice with inherited deafness. Meanwhile, the drugmaker Novartis is conducting the first trial of gene therapy for people with hearing loss.

States Make Laws To Protect Patients From Hidden Medical Bills (NPR)

Too many patients only learn after they get the bill that their insurer won't cover some medical services provided in the hospital. New laws in several states aim to stop those nasty surprises.

Biohackers Aim To Make Homebrew Insulin, But Don't Try It Yet (NPR)

Insulin can be expensive even with insurance, and millions of people need it to stay alive. Proponents of the biohacking movement say it should be possible to make it safely and cheaply.

Trial over fate of frozen embryos underway in San Francisco (Reuters)

A California judge will soon be asked to decide whether a woman can use frozen embryos against the wishes of her ex-husband to destroy them in a case that could set a new legal precedent in the nation's most populous state.

Planned Parenthood says secret video distorts tissue donation program (CS Monitor)

Planned Parenthood said that a secretly recorded video was edited to falsely portray the group's fetus tissue donation program. The video has since gone viral.

Even Mild Mental Health Problems In Children Can Cause Trouble Later (NPR)

Children and teenagers with a psychiatric disorder had six times higher odds of having at health, legal, financial and social problems as adults, according to a study published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry. Those with milder symptoms were three times more likely to have problems as adults.

Why Sit-Down Meals May Be Just As Unhealthful As Fast Food (NPR)

Fast-food restaurants are often demonized as the epitome of unhealthfulness. But a study suggests sit-down joints may be no better when it comes to sodium, saturated fat and the risk of overeating.

Smoking 'may play schizophrenia role' (BBC)

Smoking may play a direct role in the development of schizophrenia, researchers suggest.

Cancer immunotherapy approved in UK (BBC)

A pioneering cancer drug that harnesses the power of the immune system is approved for use in the UK.

10 Drugs That May Cause Memory Loss (AARP)

Having trouble remembering things? One of these meds may be the problem

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The future of travel? A tube called Hyperloop (Reuters)

When asked to imagine the future of transportation, most might draw a car of the future, perhaps solar powered and autonomously driven.

Why webcam indicator lights are lousy privacy safeguards (CS Monitor)

A recent academic study found that few computer users notice indicator lights and even fewer realize that the camera is always recording when the light is on. The lack of awareness, say researchers, makes people more vulnerable to webcam spying.

Crazy paving: Rotterdam to consider trialling plastic roads (BBC)

Dutch city could be first to pave its streets with recycled plastic bottles, a surface claimed to be greener, quicker to lay and more reliable than asphalt.

Is Google Photos storing your pictures without your knowledge? (CS Monitor)

Google Photos backs up users' pictures automatically, and continues to do so after the app is deleted unless users manually change the settings.

Malware And Hacking Forum Darkode Is Shut Down; Dozens Arrested (NPR)

Announcing an international takedown of a malware marketplace, federal officials say that the forum called Darkode has been dismantled and dozens of its members have been arrested. Darkode has been a marketplace to purchase and trade hacking tools since at least 2008.

HostGator stops sending private encryption keys in plain text (CS Monitor)

The Web hosting service had been e-mailing plain text private keys used for decrypting secure data transmitted online – a practice security experts say puts sensitive information at risk.