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Picture illustrating heartburn

Heartburn is a burning sensation felt behind thebreastbone. It is a symptom that is commonly linked to acid reflux and is often triggered by food, particularly fatty, sugary, spicy, chocolate, onions, citrus, and tomato-based products. Lying down, bending, lifting, and performing certainexercises can exacerbate heartburn. Causes include acid reflux,gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), damage to the esophageal lining,bile acid, mechanical stimulation to theesophagus, and esophageal hypersensitivity. Heartburn affects 25% of the population at least once a month.Endoscopy andesophageal pH monitoring can be used to evaluate heartburn. Some causes of heartburn, such as GERD, may be diagnosed based on symptoms alone. Lifestyle changes, such aslosing weight and avoiding fatty foods, can improve heartburn.Over-the-counter alginates orantacids can help with mild or occasional heartburn. Heartburn treatment primarily involvesH2 receptor antagonists andproton-pump inhibitors. (Full article...)

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Megalobulimus dryades

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... thatBal Krishna Kaul, who served as the first Home and Finance minister ofAjmer State, undertook a 22-day hunger strike in Ajmer Jail?
... that3.5% of a country's population can potentially change its government?
... that weightlifterRi Suk, after returning from a four-year absence from competing internationally, then set eight world records in a single competition?
... that Shakira'sOral Fixation, Vol. 2 was only released in some Middle Eastern countries, and even then without the song "How Do You Do", which was deemed blasphemous?
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... that the first volume ofFelix Klein'sbooks on the history of mathematics does not mention the three women who originally transcribed his lectures?
... that some of the interior decoration of theErnst-Haeckel-Haus is inspired by jellyfish?
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In the news

Flooding nearHunt, Texas

Flooding in Central Texas(pictured), United States, leaves at least 120 people dead.
Astronomers announce the discovery of3I/ATLAS, aninterstellar object passing through theSolar System.
TheVera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile releases thefirst light images from its new8.4-metre (28 ft) telescope.
In basketball, theOklahoma City Thunder defeat theIndiana Pacers to winthe NBA Finals.

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On this day

July 13:Kashmir Martyrs' Day in Pakistan

Typhoon Soulik

1260 –Livonian Crusade:Samogitian forces defeatedTeutonic knights and theLivonian Order at theBattle of Durbe.
1713 – Eight representatives of theWabanaki Confederacy ratified theTreaty of Portsmouth, ending their hostilities against the British inQueen Anne's War.
1942 –World War II: The1st Filipino Infantry Regiment was converted from abattalion to accommodate a larger number of volunteers spurred on by theJapanese invasion of the Philippines.
2013 –Typhoon Soulik(pictured) made landfall inEast China andTaiwan, killing at least 20 people.
2020 – After a five day search, the body of American actress and singerNaya Rivera was recovered fromLake Piru,confirming her death.

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Today's featured picture

Thewood stork (Mycteria americana) is a large wading bird found in warmer parts of the Americas. North American birds may disperse to South America, where it is resident. Its bare head and neck are dark grey and the plumage is mostly white, with black on the tail and part of the wing. The sexes are similar, but the juvenile has a feathered head and a yellow, not black, bill. The wood stork nests colonially in wetlands, building its one-metre-diameter (3.3-foot) nest in trees; the breeding season starting when water levels drop. Theclutch of three to five eggs is incubated for around 30 days, and the chicks fledge 60 to 65 days after hatching, although many die during their first two weeks. The chicks are fed fish while the adult also eats insects, frogs and crabs as available, foraging by touch in shallow water. This wood stork was photographed with aYacare caiman in thePantanal, Brazil.

Photograph credit:Charles J. Sharp

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