Blocking Californians' beach access will soon carry a hefty fine

Frustrated beachgoers this summer will finally have a remedy against anyone who blocks public access to California's shoreline.



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Routine pelvic exam should be discontinued, physicians group says

The routine pelvic exam endured by healthy women at their physician's office is a yearly ritual that frequently produces pain, anxiety and embarrassment in return for no documented benefit, and it should be discontinued, an influential physicians group has concluded.



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Sexting in middle school linked with real-life sex, study finds

Sexting is not a harmless activity that younger teens see as a substitute for real sex. A new study of Los Angeles middle school students finds that those who sent or received sext messages were significantly more likely than their non-sexting peers to be sexually active.



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Malaria parasite alters host body odor to entice mosquitoes

The parasite that causes malaria tinkers with the body chemistry of its host, causing it to produce odors that attract more mosquitoes during a key phase in the parasite’s reproductive cycle, a new study suggests.



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Pain, opioid use surprisingly high in soldiers returning from war

U.S. Army researchers have found that soldiers coming home from war suffer from chronic pain and use prescription opioids at far higher rates than civilians.



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NASA Mars test a success. Now to master the parachute

Halfway to space in the skies above Hawaii, NASA successfully tested its Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator, a vehicle equipped with new technology for ferrying heavy payloads to Mars. A massive balloon lifted the saucer-shaped vehicle from a naval base in Kauai at 11:45 a.m. (Pacific) on...



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Recipes for Health: Orecchiette With Fresh and Dried Beans and Tomatoes

Once the beans are done, this pasta dish takes only 15 minutes.

















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Well: How Music May Make Babies Team Players

Researchers found that toddlers who were bounced to the beat of a song tended to be more helpful.

















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NASA makes second attempt to launch CO2-measuring satellite

Five years after a launch malfunction destroyed its twin, NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 is slated to blast off from the California coast Tuesday, becoming the nation's first satellite to exclusively monitor the greenhouse gas.



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Well: Keeping Your Cool

Summer heat waves are becoming more frequent and increasingly intense. They put both young and old, the physically active and the sedentary, at risk of a heat-related illness and death.

















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Developers seek end to federal protections for California gnatcatcher

Developers citing new scientific evidence are pressing to end federal protections for the California gnatcatcher, whose status as a threatened species has barred development in many areas of prime Southern California coastal real estate for two decades.



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Pregnant pause: Would you do a home test at the bar?

Ladies, how likely would you be to take a pregnancy test in the bathroom of a bar?



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California follows federal lead with its own brain-mapping initiative

It took 40 scientists, tens of millions of dollars and several decades to create a comprehensive atlas of the brain of the lowly fruit fly.



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Simulating a Martian landing in the sky above Hawaii

On a cloudless day in early June, Mark Adler stood facing the empty maw of the Pacific, contemplating invisible winds high above his head. For two years, he had pored over meteorological data from around the world in search of a sweet spot. That search landed him here, at the remote Pacific...



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California's pertussis epidemic escalates, health officials report

California's pertussis epidemic has escalated, state health officials said Friday, with 4,558 cases reported this year as of Tuesday — 1,100 of those in the last two weeks.



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EPA science advisors urge stricter limits on lung-damaging ozone

A committee of scientific advisors has urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to adopt a tougher federal standard for ozone, saying current limits on the lung-damaging pollutant fail to protect public health.



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On Air Force One, No Lightening Up on Burgers and Cake

The food on the president’s plane is plentiful in quantity and broad in appeal, but not always the perfect mirror of the nutritional recommendations coming out of the first lady’s office.

















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Women: You are having more headaches around menopause, researchers say

Women’s migraine headache problems rise in the years shortly before before and at the start of menopause, researchers say. That news might feel like vindication to the women who suspected as much but didn’t always get support from their doctors.



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New sengi species is related to an elephant, but small as a mouse

It may look like a mouse, but it’s actually related to an elephant. Meet the adorable Etendeka round-eared sengi, a newly discovered species of "elephant shrew" that lives in an isolated part of Namibia.



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Southland falls short of achieving 20% voluntary cut in water use

Southern Californians have fallen far short of achieving the 20% voluntary cut in water use sought by Gov. Jerry Brown in the face of the deep drought afflicting every corner of the state.



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Road to Mars: JPL scientists prepare for a supersonic test over Hawaii

If the wind blows the right way, sometime around sunset on Friday night, three tractor tugboats operated by P&R Water Taxi will pull up anchor in Honolulu and set off for the aquamarine waters west of Kauai.



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Well: 50 Ways to Love Your Quinoa

I continue to find new uses for quinoa, which keeps well in the refrigerator after it’s cooked and adds protein and textures to these easy salads, including some inspired by the ideas of the vegetarian cookbook author Deborah Madison.

















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Do animals experience emotion like we do? (Think Mr. G and Jellybean)

Mr. G and Jellybean appeared on YouTube a little over a month ago and became viral-video stars. Footage of the reunion of the goat and the donkey -- viewed nearly 6 million times -- was a clear example, some said, of how animals experience emotions, just like you and me.



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Well: Ask Well: Fatty Liver and Diet

A reader asks: My 22-year-old son has been diagnosed with fatty liver. What kinds of foods should be avoided in his diet?

















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