Science

“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.

Hadfield let the cake float out of its container in the gravity-free space before chasing after it a la Homer Simpson. 

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 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.

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.

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.

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.”