Science

Underwater robots evolve, teach us about nature

Keith Seinfeld — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:57:00 +0000

Robots are everywhere these days. They’re working in factories, and are the focus of student competitions. They are also teaching us about nature, especially in the case of robotic fish.

It might seem a little Hollywood to talk about "robo-fish." And as an engineering professor, Kristi Morgansen is a little shy about that.

“We usually call them fish robots, or robotic fish,” she said.

When sibling fights go beyond harmless kid stuff

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:26:59 +0000

I'll never forget the time my big brother sank his fork in the back of my hand after I snitched food off his plate.

But all siblings fight, right?

'Sort of' alive: Researchers probe how kids think about robots

Gabriel Spitzer — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:01:00 +0000

One way young kids learn to organize the world is by dividing it into living and non-living things. But now that robots vacuum our floors and smart phones talk back to us, do children think of technology as alive? A team of Washington researchers is exploring how kids interact with robots, and what that might reveal about both their brains and ours.

Could brain scans reveal the right treatment for depression?

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:55:00 +0000

Finding the right treatment for depression can be a struggle. People find relief with the first treatment only 40 percent of the time. Trying different antidepressants or therapies can take months, which means months of suffering.

Scientists are trying to better the odds by searching for signals in the body or in behavior that could be signposts to the right treatment.

Heroin becoming the scourge of 20-somethings

Keith Seinfeld — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:04:51 +0000

There are two versions of this story.

One is the story of how drug-abuse involving heroin has spiked upward, especially in young adults, over the past decade. Drug experts say people end up on heroin as a last resort, after getting addicted to prescription painkillers.

That version is in the news this week, and has made headlines for the past few years, when annual drug trends come out.

Hands-free gadgets don't mean risk-free driving

Howard Berkes — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 22:28:20 +0000

If you've felt smug and safe using built-in, voice-controlled technology for text messages, email and phone calls while driving, forget it. There are some sobering findings about the risk of distraction from the American Automobile Association and the University of Utah.

The proliferation of hands-free technology "is a looming public safety crisis," AAA CEO Robert Darbelnet says.

Designated drivers often fail to abstain from drinking

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 15:48:33 +0000

We might need to change the definition of a designated driver from noble abstainer to something along the lines of not as drunk as you.

The idea of having one person in a group agree not to drink so that everyone else can get home safely after a night of alcohol-fueled fun has been promoted as a way to reduce the dangers of drunken driving, especially among teenagers and young adults.

But when researchers put the idea to the test, the results weren't all that reassuring.

Obamacare pitch coming to libraries, pulpits, malls

Keith Seinfeld — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 23:41:11 +0000

Working families without health insurance will get extra attention all over Washington this fall. Health organizations are getting $6 million in federal grants to send health recruiters to libraries, church pulpits, and shopping malls.

Face-to-face marketing and in-person recruiting are needed, according to the masterminds behind the the new health-care law, because about 25% of the uninsured won’t be able to use the new website.

Wash. state earns 'A' grade for pain prescribing, for now

Keith Seinfeld — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Washington state has earned a top grade from the American Cancer Society when it comes to helping people suffering from long-term pain. However, the state’s law on pain medication is unusual enough that the Cancer Society is surveying doctors to learn more about how it’s working.

In the past, many patients in chronic pain—lasting months or years—believed they were just supposed to suffer through it.

How a person becomes involuntarily committed

Keith Seinfeld — Thu, 30 May 2013 20:56:54 +0000

Exactly one year has passed since an angry and unstable man killed four people at Seattle’s Café Racer and one more woman near downtown before shooting himself. Ian Stawicki was never diagnosed with a mental illness, but he exhibited many of the signs.

When someone is in a mental health crisis, who decides if the or she gets hospitalized involuntarily?

Bellevue-based asteroid miners plan public space telescope

Gabriel Spitzer — Wed, 29 May 2013 22:24:40 +0000

A company devoted to space exploration is planning to make an orbiting telescope available to students, scientists, and space enthusiasts.

Bellevue-based asteroid mining company Planetary Resources hopes to eventually extract rare minerals from asteroids. But first the company must prospect, which will involve a fleet of space-based telescopes. Now the company has announced it will deploy an extra telescope for public use, paid for by a crowdfunding campaign on the website Kickstarter.

Study suggests link between edible pot and overdose among kids

Keith Seinfeld — Tue, 28 May 2013 19:38:21 +0000

Doctors are sounding an alarm about marijuana and young children, especially when it comes to marijuana-infused products, or "medibles".

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.