Good hygiene is important, but too much of it might be contributing to chronic disease in developed countries. A data breach at 23andMe has geneticists and cybersecurity experts speculating about the dangers of amassing genetic data online. Are environmental activists colonizing Africa by trying to ban GM crops and synthetic pesticides from the continent?

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Join hosts Dr. Liza Dunn and GLP contributor Cameron English on episode 251 of Science Facts and Fallacies as they break down these latest news stories:

* ‘Overly sanitized’ environments? Unraveling why diseases tied to chronic inflammation are spiking in the developed world

Personal hygiene is a simple but essential tool in the never-ending battle to prevent the spread of disease. But as with everything, balance is key. Recent research suggests that wealthy societies are too clean: our zealotry to avoid germs has prevented our immune systems from learning how to fight potentially harmful microbes we're routinely exposed to. The result, according this hypothesis, is chronic, low-grade inflammation which may contribute to a whole host of illnesses, including heart disease and stroke.

* In wake of 23andMe DNA data breach, privacy concerns reemerge

Late last year, hackers breached some 14,000 23andMe accounts by acquiring user passwords. Although no information stored on the website was stolen, hackers ultimately gained access to the ancestry data of nearly seven million users, and related health records in a subset of cases. The scandal has raised important questions about how individuals can protect their DNA data, not just from would-be thieves but also corporations and governments that may legally access the information. For instance, how do you stop a health care provider from sharing your genetics with a pharmaceutical company for marketing purposes?

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* Viewpoint: Are corporations and Western countries shackling African agriculture to suit their interests, as anti-GMO groups claim? Or are the activists doing the shackling?

Activist groups have alleged for decades that agriculture companies "hook" farmers in developing countries on their expensive but ineffective biotech seeds and synthetic pesticides. This arrangement, they claim, gives Western companies control of food production in these nations, enslaving them to "Big Ag." But what if it's the other way around?