FDA Approves First 'Artificial Pancreas' for Diabetes

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The FDA approves the first artificial pancreas. The device is an automated insulin pump, known as the MiniMed 670G. It was developed by medical device company Medtronic for patients with Type 1 diabetes. The MiniMed is the size of a cell phone. It monitors a patient's blood sugar levels and delivers insulin as needed. This means type-1 diabetes sufferers won't have to prick their fingers to check their blood sugar levels and then inject insulin.

The device has a sensor that measures blood sugar levels, an insulin pump strapped to the body and an infusion patch with a catheter that delivers insulin. The FDA approved the device for people 14 years and older with type 1 diabetes. The system won't be available until spring.

WHO: 92% of The World Is Breathing In Excessive Air Pollution

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The World Health Organization says nearly everyone in the world is breathing in polluted air. A new WHO air quality model shows 92 percent of the world's population lives in places where the air quality exceeds WHO limits. WHO officials say 90 percent of air-pollution-related deaths happen in low or middle-income countries.

WHO hopes to lower those dangerous air pollution levels through BreatheLife. BreatheLife is a worldwide communications campaign aimed at increasing public awareness of air pollution and its risks.

First 3-Person-Baby Born Using New Method

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Scientists say the first three-person baby has been born. The five-month-old boy was treated by a US medical team in Mexico, where the procedure is legal.

The baby was created through a controversial technique that combines DNA from three different people.The technique allows parents with genetic defects to have healthy babies. The boy's Jordanian mother carries Leigh syndrome, a fatal neurological disorder, which is characterized by progressive loss of mental and physical abilities.The condition is responsible for the deaths of the mother's first two children.The "three-parent" technique developed by Dr. John Zhang of New Hope Fertility Clinic in New York, removes the DNA from one of the mother's eggs and inserts it into a donor's egg.

The egg which holds DNA from both the mother and donor is then fertilized with the father's sperm. Zhang created five embryos this way -- only one developed normally. The embryo was implanted in the mother. While some are touting this as a success, those against the procedure say it raises ethical questions, and doctors shouldn't play God.

 

Zika Virus Found In Mosquitos For First Time In US

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Marking an official first for the continental United States, authorities in Florida have found the Zika virus in trapped mosquitoes found within a 1.5 square mile area of Miami Beach, according to the LA Times. The find, although not a surprise since dozens of non-travel related cases have popped up in the area this summer, will help mosquito controllers target their efforts now that the insects have been confirmed as the source of transmission. To start their efforts Miami-Dade County’s Mosquito Control team will be conducting inspections to reduce mosquito breeding and will be spraying the eighth of a mile radius around the location where the infected insects were caught.

The US Center for disease control likens the find to a needle in a haystack but are confident in Florida’s capabilities to control the mosquito populations like they have previously done during outbreaks of dengue fever and Chikungunya. Florida Governor Rick Scott has announced according to ABC News that the number of locally transmitted Zika cases have risen to 14.

10 New Zika Virus Cases In Florida Leads To CDC Travel Warning

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ABC News is reporting that Florida Governor Rick Scott has activated the emergency response team from the CDC after ten additional cases of the Zika virus were reported in the Miami area. This on the heels of the 4 confirmed cases in the same area last week which were deemed the first time the virus was transmitted via mosquito in the continental United States. Most cases within the United States are still the result of traveling to a country where the virus has an outbreak. The Florida Department of Health confirmed that the ten additional cases were contracted locally, likely by mosquito bites, the department has also tested around 2,300 people for the virus and found 372 infected. 

According to ABC News, six of the ten had no symptoms and were identified through a door to door investigation.

Fears of an outbreak are trying to be calmed by the Governor, who reminded Floridians that the state has a proven track record of success managing mosquito-borne viruses, citing previous outbreaks of dengue fever. Authorities say to drain standing water and wear bug spray.

The CDC has issued a warning that pregnant women should avoid unnecessary travel to the affected areas in Florida.