Obituary: Dr. Heimlich; invented 1st aid for choking
The man who created the most common method for dislodging a piece of food that is choking someone died today at the age of 96.
Science
Some teen health issues linked with screen time
Watching too much TV has been linked to health problems like obesity and poor diet, but more and more, those screens are on smartphones. Same issues.
Mutations in ‘essential’ genes linked to autism
Mutations in those genes that are essential to life have been linked to autism in a huge review of family data in a few huge databases. From U.Penn.
When ice melts on Earth, it happens layer by layer
Even at very cold temps, the surface of ice is liquid, which makes it slippery. As it warms, deeper layers melt one at a time.
Based on acidity, where is the soil most fertile?
A research team in Calif. has produced a global map of soil pH, linking the fertility of the soil to wet and dry climates, as well as to human need for crops.
Cassini sees Saturn’s hexagon-shaped jet stream
An intriguing jet stream can be found in Saturn's atmosphere, and NASA's Cassini sent back a few pics from the latest phase of its mission.
Dementia less common among the well-educated
Challenging and using your brains throughout life seems to reduce the chances you'll develop dementia in old age. Go school.
New elements, up to 118 now, get names
It's official: The 7th row in the Periodic Table is now complete, and all the elements have names, as of Wednesday.
We can use genetics to clean the Chesapeake
A group of Md. students noticed that genetically engineered bacteria could eat plastic trash. Hmm. How could we use that here?
One little mutation can mean so much
How did unicellular organisms become multicellular? It could come down to a single mutation 600 million years ago in their DNA.