The app will see you now

Why health apps are like the Wild West, with Apple just riding into town [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 18 October 2018 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair Editor's note Are mobile health apps helping your health? More than 300,000 health apps are available. While popular, these apps are uncharted – and unregulated – territory. Author Michael L. Millenson writes that not much research has been done on actual consumers to study [how apps impact individual health](. Turkish officials have leaked grisly details of the alleged killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, driving a fresh wedge between Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Since the 1960s, the two key U.S. allies and Middle East heavyweights have had a rocky relationship. Periods of warmth have been followed by sudden chills – often the result of being on opposing sides of regional power struggles, writes Nader Habibi, a scholar of Middle East economics and politics. Although Turkey appears to be amping up the pressure on the Saudi government over Khashoggi, the two countries’ tangled history suggests [something else may be going on](. President Trump has been trying to drum up support for a Space Force, but the United States already has a space agency – NASA – which turned 60 years old this month. [So why do we need a Space Force]( and what would it do? Political scientist Wendy Whitman Cobb explores whether a Space Force would pose international risks and reignite the race to militarize space. Lynne Anderson Health + Medicine Editor Top stories Jeff Williams, chief operating officer of Apple, talks about the Apple Watch 4 and its ability to detect irregularities in heartbeat on Sept. 12, 2018 in Cupertino, California. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo [Why health apps are like the Wild West, with Apple just riding into town]( Michael L. Millenson, Northwestern University As health care grows more digital, an array of health apps promise to track steps, count heartbeats and look at moles. But without more FDA oversight, could we be shooting ourselves in the foot? Things between Saudi Crown Prince Salman and Turkish President Erdogan have become rather tense. AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici [How Turkey and Saudi Arabia became frenemies – and why the Khashoggi case could change that]( Nader Habibi, Brandeis University The disappearance and alleged murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is worsening relations between US allies Turkey and Saudi Arabia. An expert on the region believes there may be a way out. Crowds watch as the space shuttle Discovery lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. AP Photo/Phil Sandlin [Would a Space Force mean the end of NASA?]( Wendy Whitman Cobb, Cameron University The United States already has a space agency: NASA. So why do we need a Space Force, and what would it do? Could a Space Force strain diplomatic relationships, reigniting the race to militarize space? Science + Technology - [Blockchains won’t fix internet voting security – and could make it worse]( Ari Juels, Cornell University; Ittay Eyal, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology; Oded Naor, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology The stability and integrity of democratic society are too important to be relegated to inherently flawed computer systems that are vulnerable to malfunctions and malicious attacks. Politics + Society - [Trump sees opportunity in Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis as midterms approach]( Marco Aponte-Moreno, St Mary's College of California Trump has called Venezuela a 'human tragedy' and threatened invasion while quietly deporting and denying asylum to Venezuelan refugees. His anti-socialist rhetoric may make for good midterm politics. - [What Thomas Jefferson, Donald Trump and the American people think about freedom of the press]( Jill Darling, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; Robert Shrum, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Americans are overwhelmingly committed to a free press and hostile to government restrictions, a new poll finds. But the country is divided on the meaning of President Trump's attacks on the press. Economy + Business - [No-deal Brexit: survey reveals 44% of people expect the UK to crash out of EU]( Bobby Duffy, King's College London; Anand Menon, King's College London The public is increasingly pessimistic about the way Brexit negotiations are going. Arts + Culture - [Legal weed: What your kids need to know]( Geraint Osborne, University of Alberta Parents can help protect their kids from cannabis abuse by openly discussing the health risks, the pleasures and the responsible ways to use the drug. Trending on site - [There are many types of obesity – which one matters to your health]( Amalio Telenti, The Scripps Research Institute Body mass index is often used to gauge health. But there may be more accurate measures. A report on your blood metabolites, your metabolome, may distinguish healthier-obese from sicker-obese. - [Nobel award recognizes how economic forces can fight climate change]( Andrew J. Hoffman, University of Michigan; Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, University of Michigan William Nordhaus showed that the market offers the best chance for preventing global catastrophe form climate change. - [Meet the trillions of viruses that make up your virome]( David Pride, University of California San Diego; Chandrabali Ghose, The Rockefeller University Just because you don't have the flu doesn't mean that your aren't teeming with viruses inside and out. But what are all these viruses doing, if they aren't making you sick? Today’s quote [In the 18th century, Swiss political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau noted that games establish habits and attachments that will shape what kind of political actors children become.]( ['Fortnite' teaches the wrong lessons]( Nicholas Tampio Fordham University [Nicholas Tampio] [Heat and Light podcast]( [Follow us on Twitter.]( [Join us on Facebook.]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? 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