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Mobile phones and tablets have pushed themselves to the center of modern life. Instead of going to the bookstore, readers download the latest novel direct to their devices. Online shopping has left malls quieter than ever. Video chatting helps far-flung families stay in touch. Health care needs this same kind of disruption. ... Personal technology can make routine medical care and healthy living easier. (Regina Benjamin and Andrew Thompson, 2/20)

The past 30 days have seen several unheralded but consequential strides in the scientific quest for god-like control of our destiny. Last week, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine published a report on human genome editing that allows the manipulation of sperm and egg cells to create changes that could be passed down to offspring. In January, scientists for the first time grew a part-pig, part-human “chimera,” a step toward developing animal embryos with functioning human organs for interspecies transplantation. With Tesla chief executive Elon Musk hinting last month at having made progress on a brain-computer interface, injectable electronics and other forms of human augmentation have clearly entered mainstream discussion as a way for humans to keep up with quickly advancing artificial intelligence. (Christine Emba, 2/20)

Among the threats to scientific advances are politicians who do not understand science. Unfortunately, too many of these politicians land jobs in the Iowa Legislature. They send a message this state is the last place a medical researcher should locate. (2/20)

Once again the General Assembly considers raising the cigarette tax. This time the proposal is to increase the tax by a $1.50 per pack. ... Unquestionably, Indiana is one of the unhealthiest states in the country.  We rank near the bottom in public health funding; we have one of the highest smoking rates; we have an infant mortality rate that rivals some third world countries; and, Indiana ranks as one of the worst in rates of obesity, cancer, and most measures of the chronic diseases that plague our nation. Despite the great advances in tobacco control that have occurred over the past half-century, tobacco still remains our number one public health issue; tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease and premature death. (Richard Feldman, 2/20)

About 80 percent of people with dementia develop Alzheimer’s disease, a particularly insidious form of dementia that leads to death. I am in the early stages of dementia, and they tell me my tests currently clear me of Alzheimer’s, so my experiences have been far less scary by comparison to many others’. My prognosis is for continued regression with no reversal. Otherwise, I am a healthy and physically active guy rapidly approaching 70 and generally enjoying retirement along with my wife of 49 years. (Kent Pollock, 2/20)

Part of the stigma associated with mental illness is the notion that the mentally ill are uniformly dangerous. It doesn’t help that any time there is a mass shooting, the immediate response is the perpetrator must be crazy. This sad lack of knowledge about the mentally ill is perhaps only eclipsed by our lack of understanding of the underlying causes of gun violence. When the two issues collide, the result is legislative mayhem. (2/20)

The opioid epidemic has led to what [Paul] Konowitz believes is a well-intentioned but misguided change in the way doctors prescribe pain medication. Or, more specifically, the way they avoid prescribing pain medication. He thinks there has been an overreaction, an overcorrection, so that many people who really need medication for pain are not getting it. There is evidence backing his theory. (Kevin Cullen, 2/20)