Posts by Jennifer Wilkens
Mosquito Hunters Search for Signs of Zika in Texas
Mosquito control is serious business in Harris County, Texas. The county, which includes Houston, stretches across 1,777 square miles and is the third most populous county in the U.S. The area’s warm, muggy climate and snaking system of bayous provide an ideal habitat for mosquitoes — and the diseases they carry. The county began battling…
Continue ReadingShould Pluto Be Named A Planet Again?
The New Horizons probe, which NASA launched nearly 10 years ago to observe Pluto up close, sent back some incredible of the planet. But wait, is it a planet, or not? When New Horizons left Earth in January 2006, Pluto was officially a member of the planet club along with Mercury, Venus, our lovely green home,…
Continue ReadingTrump University Waterboarding Scandal
In 2007 an American citizen was allegedly waterboarded in Provo, Utah as motivation to sell Trump University training. “Would I approve waterboarding? … I would — in a heartbeat,” Trump proclaimed at a rally in Columbus, Ohio, according to The Washington Post. “And I would approve more than that. Don’t kid yourself, folks. It works,…
Continue ReadingDr. Heimlich performs maneuver to save woman
Dr. Henry Heimlich recently saved a woman’s life by performing a maneuver he is credited with inventing. The gesture performed by Dr. Heimlich helped dislodge some meat stuck in a fellow resident’s airway at his senior citizen’s center. According to a recent article in the Huffington Post, Heimlich was sitting at a communal dining table at…
Continue ReadingHow criminals get their guns
by: Philip Cook, Duke University The San Bernardino massacre is unique in several respects, but it does bring into focus an important issue with broad relevance: how do dangerous people obtain guns, and what should the police and courts be doing to make those transactions more difficult? The shooters – Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik…
Continue ReadingCan your Facebook friends help you find a job?
by: Laura Gee, Tufts University More than half of jobs are found with the help of a social tie, whether a friend, relative or distant acquaintance. For example, a friend may tell you about a job opening at her firm or a parent may offer you an internship at his company. For the eight million people…
Continue ReadingWeight loss studies – Train the brain, not the body
Despite massive government, medical and individual efforts to win the war on obesity, 71 percent of Americans are overweight. The average adult is 24 pounds heavier today than in 1960. Our growing girth adds some US$200 billion per year to our health care expenditure, amounting to a severe health crisis. Drug research has not yielded…
Continue ReadingTexas Plans Lawsuit to Stop New Obama Transgender Bathroom Rules
Texas will sue to stop a federal directive instructing school districts to let transgender students use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity, Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday. Abbott, a Republican, made the announcement in a tweet. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is expected to discuss the lawsuit in a news conference Wednesday afternoon. The…
Continue ReadingMedicare Drug Pricing Proposal Stirs Opposition
A broad proposal by Medicare to change the way it pays for some drugs has drawn intense reaction and lobbying, with much of the debate centering on whether the plan gives too much power over drug prices to government regulators. One of most controversial sections would set up a nationwide experiment, scheduled to start in…
Continue ReadingSmall Boat Capsizes on Snake River in Idaho Falls
IDAHO FALLS — Two adults and two children were rushed to the hospital after a boat capsized around 7 p.m. in the Snake River below the Broadway Bridge. Emergency personnel pulled the four people from the water between where it capsized near the Pancheri Bridge. One child, around 5-years-old, was trapped under the boat for at…
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