Science

Most young adults won't pay more for coverage under Obamacare

Keith Seinfeld — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:51:06 +0000

If the price tag for health insurance goes up under Obamacare, it’s likely to hit some policy holders in their 20s, economists have warned. Now that the first round of numbers are available in Washington state, we can see whether that’s the case.

Under new law, CPR training mandatory in Wash. high schools

Keith Seinfeld — Wed, 08 May 2013 23:13:32 +0000

Starting this fall, all high school students will get CPR training under a new mandate signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Jay Inslee.

The students don’t have to get certified in CPR—the proposal for certification was rejected as too cumbersome for public schools. But the state-mandated health class, which kids typically take in 9th or 10th grade, will now include a day or two of CPR training.

Born between '45 and '65? Get tested for hepatitis C, says CDC

Keith Seinfeld — Wed, 08 May 2013 22:03:50 +0000

A silent epidemic in the baby-boomer generation has health officials urging widespread testing. It’s hepatitis C, which can quietly infect your liver for years, leaving tiny scars but without showing any symptoms.

Left untreated, you end up with cancer or in need of a transplant.

Now, a new battery of tests and better treatments are arriving, just as boomers reach an age when their livers could suddenly fail.

Balmy Monday breaks records in Seattle, Bellingham, Olympia

Keith Seinfeld — Mon, 06 May 2013 21:21:50 +0000

May 6 isn’t known for much. Perhaps it languishes in the shadow of its older sibling, Cinco de Mayo.

But at least this year, May 6 saw something special when the mercury climbed to a record-breaking high of 87 degrees at Sea-Tac Airport around 5 p.m., crushing the past record high of 79 set in 1957.

Fears of a Catholic monopoly dominate talk of hospital mergers

Keith Seinfeld — Mon, 06 May 2013 19:49:25 +0000

Washington is one of the least religious states in the country, but when it comes to health care, it has some of the fastest growing religiously-affiliated hospitals, partly because so many hospitals are merging.

The trend has some communities worried about losing access to certain medical procedures—if they’re not allowed under church teachings.

Dessert in space: Not so bad!

Martha Kang — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:43:47 +0000

“The food’s not so bad,” says Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, commander of the International Space Station.

Hadfield shared video of himself enjoying a post-lunch dessert of chocolate pudding cake and coffee.

Help coming to protect students with allergies

Keith Seinfeld — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:01:00 +0000

Nurses, teachers and other school staff will likely have more flexibility next fall to give adrenaline shots if a student goes into allergic shock. Both houses of the Legislature have unanimously approved a bill that loosens restrictions on how and when schools can use an epinephrine injector.

The change is meant to save the lives of kids who have a severe allergy, including some rare cases in which the first-ever reaction to a not-yet-diagnosed allergy takes place at school or on a field trip.

College athletes urged to get high-tech heart test

Keith Seinfeld — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:24:50 +0000

College and high school athletes are typically in top physical shape. Except a few have an invisible heart condition that can lead to sudden cardiac arrest, where they drop dead on the court or field.

A new study by a group of physicians led by a team doctor for the University of Washington Huskies recommends all student athletes get a high-tech heart scan called an electrocardiogram, or EKG.

The catch is their doctors probably need additional training.

Changing of guardian for health as smoking reaches crossroads

Keith Seinfeld — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 07:04:00 +0000

For the first time since 1998, Washington is getting a new secretary of health. Mary Selecky is retiring, and her replacement starts today.

Selecky has been a familiar face during health emergencies, such as the pandemic flu. She made tobacco her top health priority, and saw smoking rates drop year after year. But, as she steps down, the anti-smoking crusade is at a crossroads.

Why is it hard to give away free health insurance?

Keith Seinfeld — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 20:34:34 +0000

You might imagine everyone without health insurance will gladly sign up for free or subsidized coverage once it’s available this fall, under the Affordable Care Act.

However, it hasn't worked out that way for children. A high-profile effort to cover all the uninsured kids in Washington has stalled.

What happens if you cry in space?

Martha Kang — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Well, the tears don’t fall. And you’ll want a handkerchief, says Canadian astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield.

“It just forms a ball on my eyes,” he says. “So if you keep crying, you’re just going to end up with a bigger and bigger ball of water in your eye.”

UW physicist turns Planck data into hi-fi sound of Big Bang

Martha Kang — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:15:28 +0000

Close your eyes, press the play button and travel back 14 billion years in time.

That’s the sound of the Big Bang, in high fidelity.

“It sort of sounds like what an airplane sounds like flying over your house in the middle of the night,” says University of Washington physics professor John Cramer who recreated the sound using cosmic microwave data. “A very low frequency that sort of builds up them falls off again.”

World’s largest garage door: First giant step for Allen’s spaceship

Keith Seinfeld — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 22:58:47 +0000

Billionaire Paul Allen’s spaceship project has reached a milestone in the form of the world's widest garage door.

The door will make way for a strange vehicle under assembly in the Mojave Desert.

Study: Residents of walkable areas don't always walk more

Keith Seinfeld — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Having a walkable neighborhood has become a hot selling point for real estate. It’s also supposed to be better for your health — if it gets you out moving more.

But a study in Seattle suggests people don’t necessarily walk more just because they live in a walkable area.

Watch: Mesmerizing time-lapse video of northern lights

Martha Kang — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 05:38:07 +0000

The skies over Alaska lit up with “one of the best displays (of the northern lights) seen in recent memory” last Saturday, according to the photographer who captured it.