Prognosis: Breakthrough

It's no secret that dangerous superbugs are showing up more and more in hospitals around the world. But where do they come from? How do they get into hospitals in the first place? In this episode of Prognosis, Bloomberg's Jason Gale unravels the mystery, taking us on a detective's search for the world's most deadly superbugs as they stealthily sneak into hospitals. And how one hospital has come up with a simple yet virtually foolproof safeguard against spreading those bugs once inside the building. The implications are huge for how hospitals around the world fight back against the spread of killer germs.

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Joel Grimwood was almost certainly going to die. The pump that kept his failing heart going had become infected, and surgery after surgery had scraped away parts of his chest. Drugs didn’t work because the bacteria were in a slime, impenetrable to antibiotics. What saved his life was a little-known treatment called phage therapy. Popular in the former Soviet Union, they’ve fallen out of favor in the West. The viruses are the natural predator of bacteria, and a small number of scientists are trying to turn them against the threat.

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Among those most vulnerable to superbug infections are cancer chemotherapy patients. In India, many are dying from bacteria poisoning their blood that even the most potent antibiotics available can't stop. This calamitous scenario portends a global crisis as superbugs spread through international travel and trade.

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On this new season of Prognosis, we look at the spread of infections that are resistant to antimicrobial medicines. You're probably more likely to have heard of these as superbugs. Their rise has been described as a silent tsunami of catastrophic proportions. We travel to countries on the frontline of the crisis, and explore how hospitals and doctors around the world are fighting back. Prognosis’ new season launches Sept. 5.

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Chinese consumers, just like Westerners, are lining up for DNA tests. But unlike their American and European counterparts, the Chinese appear to have far fewer qualms about privacy and sharing their data. And what they’re expecting to glean from their genetic information goes far beyond family trees or hints of future disease. From assessing the talents of hours-old infants to making career and life decisions based on DNA tests, the Chinese have fully embraced the genetics boom. 

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Do exercise-tracking apps and gadgets like the Fitbit actually make us healthier? Or do they just create a high-tech, data-centric illusion of control over our weight, sleep and general well-being? Bloomberg's Naomi Kresge loaded up some popular apps to find the answer –- and to see if she could get a better night’s sleep than her husband.

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By now most of us understand the privacy consequences of all the data we handed over to social media and Internet companies. But what happens to the huge amount of health information we generate from health apps, DNA kits, doctors' visits, blood tests and fitness trackers? Some of it's carefully protected by law. Other data -- including intimate details about our lives -- can be sold to brokers who trade it like a commodity. How worried should we be?

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On our latest episode of Prognosis, reporter Kristen V. Brown sells her DNA data to the highest bidder. Health data has turned into big business, but Brown quickly realized she wasn’t about to get rich. In exchange for an Amazon gift card or a few shares of marginal value, companies promise to use your data in the quest for better healthcare. 

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On this episode of Prognosis, reporter Michelle Fay Cortez probes one of the more disturbing unintended consequences of the genetic testing revolution. DNA tests have become so prevalent that more and more people are discovering they have rare and potentially dangerous or even lethal genetic mutations. But how accurate are those findings? And what should people and their doctors do about them? Michelle tells the story of one family faced with the decision whether to proceed with life-altering surgeries to avoid facing a cancer diagnoses one day in the future.

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A century-old quest for family records to unite relatives in heaven has transformed the church into a global leader in genealogy technology. That's paved the way for the success of companies like 23andMe who sell the promise of helping us figure out who are and where we come from.

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