MAHA child health report ignores gun violence, the leading cause of child death
The Make America Healthy Again Commission, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has released its Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy, a 20-page report the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services described as a “sweeping plan” to “reverse the…
OpenAI installs parental controls following California teen’s death
Weeks after a Rancho Santa Margarita family sued over ChatGPT’s role in their teenager’s death, OpenAI has announced that parental controls are coming to the company’s generative artificial intelligence model. Within the month, the company said in a recent blog…
David Baltimore dead: Former Caltech president, Nobel winner was 87
In 2003, the Nobel Prize winner David Baltimore, then president of Caltech, paused to reflect on his role as one of the world’s most decorated scientists. “People keep e-mailing me to ask, ‘What is the meaning of life?’” Baltimore told…
‘I lost me’: How frontotemporal dementia changed a mind and a marriage
I lost me. You lost yourself? Yeah. Where did you go? I don’t know. I don’t have a sense of who I am. Marc Pierrat’s mind once ran as smoothly as the gears on his endurance bike. He was a…
Some vulnerable seniors can’t get COVID vaccines amid case spike
Seniors in some parts of the country say they are being denied COVID-19 vaccinations amid an ongoing spike in cases, leading to rising frustration over new Trump administration policies that are making it harder to get the shots. Matthew D’Amico,…
Why it’s ‘a very exciting time’ for dementia researchers
Like a lot of people my age, there are times when I can’t find my keys, or my sunglasses, or my phone. Now and again, I’ll get an idea to look something up, reach for my computer, and forget what…
Defiant RFK Jr. questions vaccine data, defends record under bipartisan Senate grilling
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s Health secretary and a longtime vaccine skeptic, struck a defiant tone Thursday as he faced bipartisan criticism over changes he has made to reorganize federal health agencies and vaccine policies, telling senators that he…
Contributor: MAGA has won the war on science
This is the story of two Republican doctor-senators named Bill. One of them, as majority leader from 2003 to 2007, helped a self-described “compassionate conservative” Republican president pass a Medicare prescription drug plan and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS…
California pushes back on Trump’s CDC with West Coast Health Alliance
SACRAMENTO — With the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in turmoil as vaccine skeptics gain influence in the Trump administration, California is partnering with Washington and Oregon to form a pact that will offer its own public health recommendations. Govs….
COVID wave washes over California, some health officials urge masking
A COVID wave is washing over California, with the state seeing continued increases in the number of newly confirmed cases and hospitalizations as some officials urged the public to take greater precautions. The extent of the recent increases has prompted…
I got COVID and can’t smell. But RFK Jr.’s vaccine policies still stink
For five years, I dodged every bullet. I don’t know how I managed to beat COVID-19 for so long, even as family, friends and colleagues got hit with the coronavirus. Although I took precautions from the beginning, with masking and…
Chagas disease: The deadly disease you’ve never heard of is here
It’s one of the most insidious diseases you’ve never heard of, but Chagas is here in California and 29 other states across the U.S. It kills more people in Latin America than malaria each year, and researchers think roughly 300,000…
Pasadena firefighters find woman’s body in burning home
The body of a woman was found by Pasadena firefighters responding to a house fire Saturday morning, officials said. Firefighters responded at 6:25 a.m. to a house engulfed in flames in the 1500 block of Lancashire Place, said Lisa Derderian,…
These California eggs are linked to a salmonella outbreak
Large, brown cage-free eggs from a small egg farm in San Bernardino County are at the center of a salmonella outbreak that has sickened scores of people across dozens of states, public health officials said Thursday. Country Eggs LLC of…
L.A. fires: After clearing 10,000 homes, Army Corps close to done
Less than eight months after the Eaton and Palisades wildfires destroyed 16,000 buildings in Los Angeles County, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday announced it was preparing to clear wreckage from the final residential parcel that opted into…
The FDA just overhauled COVID vaccine guidance. What you need to know
New federal guidance surrounding COVID vaccine authorization could make it more difficult for many people to be inoculated against the circulating — and, now, seasonally spiking — coronavirus. Under the approval for the updated COVID-19 vaccines that was issued Wednesday…
More dust storms called haboobs are coming, thanks to climate change
For anyone wondering whether intense dust storms, such as the haboob that enveloped Phoenix this week, are possible in Southern California, the answer is yes. They’ve hit in the recent past and are a growing issue over much of Southern…
Inside the fight over the recycling label on your milk carton
Lodi — A battle has been waging in Sacramento over whether beverage cartons — the ones used for milk, juice, broth, wine, even egg whites — should get the coveted chasing arrows recycling label. Earlier this year, the state agency in charge…
Methane leaks at California oil facilities are also spewing toxic chemicals
Large methane leaks at oil and gas facilities across the United States not only unleash massive plumes of the potent greenhouse gas, but also carry a toxic mix of air pollutants that jeopardize the health of communities nearby, according to…
Air pollution from gas and oil hurts people of color most, study finds
Iretha Warmsley was born and raised in South L.A.’s Black community, and for as long as she can remember, air pollution from oil and gas has been both a fact of daily life and a harbinger of death and disease….
ER doctors say we need to pay more attention to heat
Across Southern California, emergency room workers are primed for the wave of patients that pour in as heat waves like the current one drag into their second, third and fourth days. Heat takes an accumulating toll on the body, especially…
Here’s why — and how much — we should worry about the plague today
The plague — aka the Black Death, aka the Great Pestilence — is rarely contracted today, yet it recently infected a South Lake Tahoe resident. But before you put on your 17th century “air-purifying” beaked mask, let’s find out from…
Supreme Court says Trump may cancel DEI-related health research grants
WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court said Thursday the Trump administration may cancel hundreds of health research grants that involve diversity, equity and inclusion or gender identity. The justices granted an emergency appeal from President Trump’s lawyers and set aside a Boston’s…
This supplement is being banned across the U.S. What to know about synthetic kratom
An herbal supplement that’s marketed as a cure-all for chronic pain and sold in gas stations and smoke shops is getting banned in communities across Southern California and the nation. Kratom is derived from the leaves of Mitragyna speciosa, a…
San Gabriel Band of Mission Indian tribe wins land back for the first time
On July 10, a church signed the deeds transferring a half-acre of land hosting a community center in the heart of San Gabriel — less than a mile down the road from the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel — to an…
California plague case believed to be caused by South Lake Tahoe flea
A South Lake Tahoe resident has tested positive for the plague — yes, the same pest-transmitted disease estimated to have killed 25 million Europeans in the Middle Ages. It is believed that the person contracted the rare and dangerous disease…
California’s plan to meet electric vehicle goals despite Trump’s attacks
From Donald Trump’s first day back in office, he vowed to unravel California’s sway over the nation’s auto-emission standards by eliminating the state’s zero-emission mandates. He made good on that promise in the first several months of his second term….
Living unhoused and undocumented in one of California’s hottest regions
Temperatures were fast approaching 116 degrees as Rubén Partida loaded his dusty Nissan Frontier truck with two coolers of water and Gatorades blanketed in ice. As his neighbors prepared to shelter during the hottest part of the day on June…
COVID-19 surges nationwide — and the highest rates are in California
COVID-19 rates in the Southwestern United States reached 12.5% — the highest in the nation — according to new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released this week. Meanwhile, Los Angeles County recorded the highest COVID…
How are thousands of fake papers polluting science? Study takes a look
Fraudulent scientific research is now being produced and published on a large scale, with some unethical researchers colluding with unethical editors to attain the prestige that comes with publication, according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National…
Trump cut mental health funding for kids. These L.A. teens are stepping in
There are a lot of reasons why people reach out to Teen Line, a Century City-based hotline that connects young people in crisis to trained teenage volunteers. They call because someone is hurting them or they are afraid of hurting…
California valley fever cases hit record highs again in 2025
The latest California numbers suggest 2025 will be another record-smashing year for valley fever, the illness linked to drought and precipitation and spread by fungal spores. There were 6,761 cases reported through the end of July, according to state health…
In high-tech race to detect fires, Orange County bets on volunteers with binoculars
As California turns to satellite imagery, remote cameras watched by AI and heat detection sensors placed throughout wildlands to detect fires earlier, one Orange County group is keeping it old-school. Whenever the National Weather Service issues a red flag warning,…
A proposed California bill aims to safeguard HIV-prevention coverage
State lawmakers are considering a bill meant to protect access to HIV prevention drugs for insured Californians as threats from the federal government continue. Assembly Bill 554 would require health plans and insurers to cover all antiretroviral drugs used for…
Despite record amounts of trash, Angelenos are optimistic we’ll dig our way out
It doesn’t take an awful lot of investigating to see that we’re swimming in an ocean of waste: There are the maxed-out landfills, illegal trash dumping in the desert, choked-up rivers, strangled sea turtles and skyrocketing trash collection fees. But…
The unsung solution for our waste crisis: Reusable items
Figuring out what should go into your curbside waste bins is hardly straightforward. Consider your single-use coffee cup — the one holding the latte you’re going to drink as you drive to work. It’s paper, right? So it can be…
California has more cattle feedlots than any state, new map shows
In a first, researchers have identified the nation’s roughly 8,700 cattle feeding operations, and the map shows California has more of them than any other state. California also has the most feedlot acreage: over 85,000 acres, or 130 square miles,…
How UCLA’s research faculty is grappling with Trump funding freeze
Their medical research focuses on potentially lifesaving breakthroughs in cancer treatment, and developing tools to more easily diagnose debilitating diseases. Their studies in mathematics could make online systems more robust and secure. But as the academic year opens, the work…
Scientists argue for stricter lead soil contamination standards
It’s a number thousands of Palisades and Eaton fire survivors have come to depend on: 80 milligrams of lead in each kilogram of soil. Below this concentration, California has historically deemed yards safe enough for families to rebuild and move…
Homeowners say Army Corps botched L.A. fire cleanups. Agency documents concur
After January’s wildfires reduced thousands of homes in Altadena and Pacific Palisades to heaps of ash and rubble, wildfire survivors hoped federal disaster workers would give them a fresh start on a rebuild-ready lot. But many residents say that has…
George Kittle can smile. Smelling salts aren’t banned in NFL after all
When is AI not artificial intelligence? When it refers to ammonia inhalants, aka smelling salts. When are these AIs in the news? When it was reported that the NFL banned their use, San Francisco 49ers star George Kittle protested, and…
Deaths linked to L.A. firestorm could top 400, new study suggests
By all accounts, the January firestorms that decimated thousands of homes and killed 31 people in Los Angeles County were the most devastating in the region’s history. But new research argues that the Eaton and Palisades fires may have been…
Contributor: The true cost of abandoning science
Any trip to the dark night skies of our Southern California deserts reveals a vista full of wonder and mystery — riddles that astrophysicists like myself spend our days unraveling. I am fortunate to study how the first galaxies formed…
Researchers figure out what’s caused devastating sea star epidemic
A study published Monday offers clarity on a more than decade-long marine mystery: What has been killing the velvety sunflower sea star? In 2013, something began ravaging sea stars along the West Coast, turning them into decaying, fragmented carcasses. Over…
Gifford fire burns almost 50,000 acres in Los Padres National Forest
The Gifford fire has scorched nearly 50,000 acres in less than three days in the Los Padres National Forest as firefighters struggle to quell the blaze raging in the Sierra Madre mountains. Officials have reported three injuries, which were sustained…
Large Great White Shark spotted near Santa Monica
A roughly 15-foot Great White shark was captured on video last week swimming close to Santa Monica’s shores, providing a rare glimpse of the fully grown apex predator idling in near-urban waters. Photographer Carlos Guana launched a drone Thursday about…
Chronic symptoms of Lyme disease
Grammy award-winning pop star Justin Timberlake, 44, recently took to Instagram to share his diagnosis of Lyme disease, a bacterial infection that he said was “relentlessly debilitating, both mentally and physically.” His statement comes on the heels of criticism from…
Foie gras still on some store shelves in California, despite state ban
Despite California’s ban on foie gras, the pumped-up bird livers are being sold in Southern California stores. Foie gras, which is made by force-feeding ducks and geese, was spotted by Times journalists this week on the shelves of Wild Fork…
Mass shooter said ‘Football gave me CTE.’ Are youth athletes at risk?
Every fall, more than a million young Americans don helmets and shoulder pads to play high school football. But this year, questions are intensifying over the risk youth athletes face from repeated head injuries after a gunman who played football…
ChatGPT, Perplexity and other AIs fed scarily specific self-harm information to users
A few months ago, Northeastern University computer scientist Annika Schoene was playing around with ChatGPT when she found a troubling gap in its safeguards against harmful content. The usage policies of OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, state that users shouldn’t employ…
Study: Pandemic aged our brains faster, whether or not we got COVID
By almost any measure, living through a once-in-a-century pandemic emergency that killed 7 million people — including 1.1 million in the U.S. alone — was a harrowing experience. Now, there’s new evidence suggesting our brains bear the scars of that…
July is the worst month for drug overdose deaths. Is heat to blame?
Despite the dramatic reduction in L.A. drug overdose deaths in the last few years, there’s a fly in the ointment: With 1,894 drug-related deaths over the last decade, July was the decade’s single deadliest month for overdoses in L.A., according…
Perseids 2025: When the shower peaks and why you’ll see fewer meteors
When it comes to meteor showers, the Perseids pop. It’s not just about the quantity of meteors (as many as 100 per hour) and their showy quality (fireballs!) but also their superb timing. The annual shower hits its peak on…
California dairy farmers get $230 million to help cover costs of bird flu losses
The federal government has paid California dairy farms more than $230 million to subsidize losses in milk production resulting from bird flu, records show, an amount that the dairy industry expects to climb higher as more claims for damages are…
More liver disease among heavy drinkers — without more drinking
Serious liver disease is becoming more common among Americans who drink heavily, according to a new study from Keck Medicine of USC. It’s not that more people are partying with alcohol. And it’s not that the drinkers are having more…
Why is L.A.’s fire-evacuation plan still untested?
Just before sunrise on Nov. 8, 2018, a power line fell from a wind-worn Pacific Gas & Electric transmission tower and whipped into the structure nestled in the Sierra foothills. An electric arc sent molten metal into the dry vegetation…
Federal cuts leave Los Angeles County health system in crisis
Los Angeles County’s health system, which is responsible for the care of the region’s poorest, is careening toward a financial crisis because of cuts from a presidential administration and Republican-led Congress looking to drastically slash the size of government. President…
FDA panel on SSRI antidepressants in pregnancy raises alarms
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is turning its attention to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, a class of antidepressant drugs long criticized by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. On Monday morning, the FDA hosted a 10-person…
Eaton fire could wipe out California’s $21-billion wildfire fund, documents show
Damage claims from the Eaton wildfire in Altadena could wipe out the $21-billion fund California created to shield utilities and their customers from the cost of wildfires sparked by electric lines, according to newly released state documents. Investigators are seeking…
Cedars-Sinai doctors develop AI-powered mental health ‘robot’ therapist
Misty Williams checks into the emergency room at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from time to time for treatment of debilitating pain from sickle cell disease, which causes red blood cells to stiffen and block the flow of blood. After pain medication…
Is baby getting enough breastmilk? New device helps moms learn
A group of university researchers at Northwestern — including a nursing mother — have come up with a way to ease one of the most anxiety-producing dilemmas of early breastfeeding: How much milk is the baby consuming? The new device…
A link between gut bacteria and genes in colitis flare-ups
LOS ANGELES — Researchers have identified a gut-genetic interaction that could trigger an overactive immune response in the colon — offering one possible explanation for the pain and bleeding of ulcerative colitis, and why it behaves so differently from patient to patient….
What to know about President Tump’s ‘chronic venous insufficiency’
Earlier this week, President Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, or CVI, after he noted mild swelling in his lower legs. White House physician Dr. Sean P. Barbabella in a memo July 17 said the swelling prompted a full…
Immigration crackdown could stymie efforts to fight bird flu outbreak, experts fear
As authorities brace for a potential resurgence in bird flu cases this fall, infectious disease specialists warn that the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants could hamper efforts to stop the spread of disease. Dairy and poultry workers have been…
State lawmaker wants a crisis hotline for LGBTQ+ youth on student IDs
Bridget McCarthy believes that if her son Riley Chart had quick and easy access to a suicide prevention hotline designed for queer young people, he might be alive today. Chart, a trans teen who had once endured bullying because he…
Will personal firefighting devices help or hurt in future wildfires?
Patrick Golling yanked the pull cord, and the Honda engine roared to life. Seconds after it began sucking water out of his father’s pool, a powerful stream erupted from an agricultural irrigation nozzle fixed atop a bright red pole a…
Cyborg jellyfish could help uncover the depths and mysteries of the Pacific Ocean
For years, science fiction has promised a future filled with robots that can swim, crawl and fly like animals. In one research lab at Caltech, what once felt like distant imagination is becoming reality. At first glance, they look like…
How a Supreme Court win for public health bolstered RFK Jr.
WASHINGTON — Public health advocates won a big case in the Supreme Court on the last day of this year’s term, but the victory came with an asterisk. The decision ended one threat to the no-cost preventive services — from cancer…
Amid state inaction, California chef sues to block sales of foam food containers
Redwood City — Fed up with the state’s refusal to enforce a law banning the sale of polystyrene foam cups, plates and bowls, a San Diego County resident has taken matters into his own hands. Jeffrey Heavey, a chef and owner of…
Trump administration sues California over cage-free egg and animal welfare law
The Trump administration has sued California over the state’s voter-approved animal welfare law, which protects hens, pigs and calves from being kept in small cages, claiming the law has driven up egg prices and violates federal farming laws and regulations….
Life expectancy in California still hasn’t rebounded since the pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus caused life expectancy in California to drop significantly. It’s now been over two years since officials declared the pandemic-related public health emergency to be over. And yet, life expectancy for Californians has not fully…
The Trevor Project’s suicide prevention hotline for LGBTQ+ youth may soon go silent
Amy Kane was filled with dread when she heard that the national suicide prevention lifeline would stop offering specialized crisis intervention to young LGBTQ+ Americans and end its partnership with the West Hollywood-based Trevor Project. With the service set to…
Foreign honeybees are crowding out native species in southern California
LOS ANGELES — You’ve probably heard the phrase: “Save the bees.” But new research suggests we may need to be more specific about which bees we’re saving. Europeans introduced western honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) to the Americas in the early 1600s. They…
NIH budget cuts threaten the future of biomedical research — and young scientists
Over the last several months, a deep sense of unease has settled over laboratories across the United States. Researchers at every stage — from graduate students to senior faculty — have been forced to shelve experiments, rework career plans, and…
Commentary: A candid take on mortality and the power of friendship
They gather several times a week in the parking lot of a Vons supermarket in Mar Vista, and no subject is off-limits. Not even the grim medical prognosis for 70-year-old David Mays, one of the founding members of the coffee…
Should bioplastics be counted as compost? Debate pits farmers against manufacturers
Vernalis — Greg Pryor began composting yard and food waste for San Francisco in 1996, and today he oversees nine industrial-sized composting sites in California and Oregon that turn discarded banana peels, coffee grounds, chicken bones and more into a dark, nutrient-rich…
Once the global gold standard, U.S. government health guidance is falling apart
Weeks after President Trump took office, multiple government webpages referencing gender and sexual orientation abruptly disappeared from the internet. Many returned after a February court order. But they came with an unusual addition: a disclaimer from the Department of Health…
Federal contractors dumped wildfire asbestos waste at L.A. landfills
Federal contractors tasked with clearing ash and debris from the Eaton and Palisades wildfires improperly sent truckloads of asbestos-tainted waste to nonhazardous landfills, including one where workers were not wearing respiratory protection, according to state and local records. From Feb….
Newsom challenges Trump to step up on wildfire preparedness
As California’s fire season heats up, Gov. Gavin Newsom sharply criticized the Trump administration Tuesday for failing to devote adequate resources to wildfire preparation and response efforts on federal lands. Newsom said his office sent the White House a proposed…
I covered the L.A. fires in the Palisades. So I had my blood tested for lead
I watched my blood snake through the tube stuck into my arm as I sat under a canopy erected by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health at an Altadena church. Four months prior — almost to the hour…
Hardcore birders and casual sparrow spotters: Science needs you
Attention would-be warbler watchers and pigeon peepers: Ornithologists at UCLA and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County are recruiting volunteers for Project Phoenix, a multiyear citizen science initiative investigating birds’ response to wildfire. The team is seeking volunteers…
RFK Jr. is dismantling trust in vaccines, the crown jewel of American public health
When it comes to vaccines, virtually nothing that comes out of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s mouth is true. The man in charge of the nation’s health and well being is impervious to science, expertise and knowledge. His brand of arrogance…
Hims & Hers’ split with Wegovy maker weighs on the telehealth company
Hims & Hers, the high-flying telehealth company that rapidly ascended from a buzzy startup selling Viagra to a multibillion-dollar business with a Super Bowl ad, had a hard week. The San Francisco company’s shares took a dive Monday after its…
Contributor: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles threw trans kids overboard
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is the preeminent center for pediatric medicine in Southern California. For three decades, it’s also been one of the world’s leading destinations for trans care for minors. Don’t take my word for it: CHLA boasts about…
Trump administration restores funds for HIV prevention following outcry
The Trump administration has lifted a freeze on federal funds for HIV prevention and surveillance programs, officials said, following an outcry from HIV prevention organizations, health experts and Democrats in Congress. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health received…
Measles cases are on the rise in California
California has already reported more measles cases this year than in all of 2024, a worrisome development that comes as the nation is suffering its largest outbreak of the super-infectious disease in decades. The extent of the national outbreak has…
Malaysia will stop taking U.S. plastic waste. What will California do?
Malaysia will ban plastic waste imports from the U.S. starting Tuesday because of America’s failure to abide by the Basel Convention treaty on international waste transfers, in a move that could have significant consequences for California. Malaysia emerged as a…
One in five U.S. food and beverage products is made with synthetic dyes
Odds are, something in your pantry is colored with petroleum. Synthetic dyes — which give fruit snacks their bright colors and cereals their rainbow crunch — are embedded into the everyday foods that fill grocery store shelves, often in ways…
The numbers of gray whales migrating along the California coast continue to plummet
The number of gray whales migrating along the California coast has plummeted again this year, dropping to levels not seen since the 1970s, according to federal officials. There are now likely fewer than 13,000 gray whales migrating along the North…
Those cuts to ‘overhead’ costs in research? They do real damage
As a professor at UC Santa Barbara, I research the effects of and solutions to ocean pollution, including oil seeps, spills and offshore DDT. I began my career by investigating the interaction of bacteria and hydrocarbon gases in the ocean,…
Newsom’s podcast sidekick: a single-use plastic water bottle
Johnny had Ed. Conan had Andy. And Gov. Gavin Newsom? A single-use plastic water bottle. In most of the YouTube video recordings of Newsom’s new podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom,” a single-use plastic water bottle lurks on a table nearby….
How ICE is disrupting public health in Southern California
Missed childhood vaccinations. Skipped blood sugar checks. Medications abandoned at the pharmacy. These are among the healthcare disruptions providers have noticed since Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations began in Southern California earlier this month. Across the region, once-busy parks, shops…
Union presses California’s key bird flu testing lab for records
The union representing workers at a UC Davis lab that tests and tracks bird flu infections in livestock has sued the university, demanding that records showing staffing levels and other information about the lab’s operations be released to the public….
Supreme Court upholds laws that ban hormones for transgender teens
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that states may ban puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender teens, rejecting the claim that such gender-based discrimination is unconstitutional. In a 6-3 decision, the court’s conservative majority said states are generally free to…
Native American life expectancy is lower than previous estimates show
Official U.S. records dramatically underestimate mortality and life expectancy disparities for Native Americans, according to a new, groundbreaking study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The research, led by the Boston University School of Public Health, provides…
Final evacuation order officially lifted after Palisades fire
More than five months after a wildfire devastated the Pacific Palisades, the final evacuation orders have been fully lifted, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. A portion of the coastal Los Angeles neighborhood had remained under an evacuation order…
COVID ‘razor blade throat’ rises as new subvariant spreads in California
• COVID rising in wastewater in parts of California• New subvariant, ‘Nimbus,’ increasingly dominant nationally• Concerns rise about Trump’s appointees making vaccine access more difficult COVID-19 appears to be on the rise in some parts of California as a new,…
How L.A. General finds names for its John Doe patients
He had a buzz cut and brown eyes, a stubbly beard and a wrestler’s build. He did not have a wallet or phone; he could not state his name. He arrived at Los Angeles General Medical Center one cloudy day…
Trump signs laws to kill California auto emission standards. California AG sues
President Trump signed legislation Thursday seeking to rescind California’s ambitious auto emission standards, including a landmark rule that eventually would have barred sales of new gas-only cars in California by 2035. In a bill signing ceremony in the East Room…
Former Cedars-Sinai OB-GYN surrenders license after sexual abuse complaints
Former Cedars-Sinai Medical Center obstetrician-gynecologist Barry J. Brock has surrendered his medical license following an accusation of negligent care from the state medical board. Brock, 75, signed an agreement late last month to give up the license he has held…
State rescinds suspension efforts for Hollywood nursing home
The California Public Health Department has dropped efforts to suspend the license of a Hollywood nursing home whose actions were found to have led to two patient deaths in recent years. Brier Oak on Sunset was among seven Los Angeles…
As pressure mounts for post-fire soil testing, Newsom administration downplays concerns
Elected officials in California are calling on the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Newsom administration to pay for soil testing on properties destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades wildfires, underscoring the public health risk and financial burdens that could…
Salton Sea is emitting foul-smelling gas at high levels, study says
On scorching days when winds blow across the California desert, the Salton Sea regularly gives off a stench of decay resembling rotten eggs. New research has found that the shrinking lake is emitting the foul-smelling gas hydrogen sulfide more frequently…
On 7-5 vote, AQMD rejects gas appliance surcharge aimed at improving air quality
On a 7 to 5 vote, the South Coast Air Quality Management District on Friday rejected controversial measures aimed at reducing air pollution by imposing surcharges that could make natural gas-powered water heaters and furnaces more expensive to buy. In…
State moves to suspend licenses of troubled L.A. nursing home companies
The California Department of Public Health is moving to suspend the licenses of seven Southern California nursing facilities that have been repeatedly cited in recent years for contributing to patients’ deaths. The state health department sent letters last month to…
California asks FDA to undo limits on abortion pill mifepristone amid RFK Jr. scrutiny
California and three other states petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday to ease its restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone, citing the drug’s proven safety record and arguing the limits are unnecessary. “The medication is a lifeline…
One of the most lethal algae blooms in Southern California is over
It was one of the largest, longest and most lethal harmful algae blooms in Southern California’s recorded history, claiming the lives of hundreds of dolphins and sea lions between Baja California and the Central Coast. And now, finally, it’s over….
U.S. just radically changed its COVID vaccine recommendations: How will it affect you?
As promised, federal health officials have dropped longstanding recommendations that healthy children and healthy pregnant women should get the COVID-19 vaccines. “The COVID-19 vaccine schedule is very clear. The vaccine is not recommended for pregnant women. The vaccine is not…
Lawmakers ask Newsom, waste agency to follow plastic legislation law
California lawmakers are taking aim at proposed rules to implement a state law aimed at curbing plastic waste, saying the draft regulations proposed by CalRecycle undermine the letter and intent of the legislation. In a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom…
Want to understand CalRecycle’s chemical recycling rules? You’ll need to pay
Sacramento — Want to know what constitutes an acceptable form of recycling in California under CalRecycle’s new draft guidelines for the state’s landmark plastic waste law? It’ll cost you roughly $187, and even then you may not find your answer. The issue…
COVID variant NB.1.8.1 spreads as Trump pivots away from vaccines
A new, highly transmissible COVID subvariant has been detected in California — heightening the risk of a potential summer wave as recent moves by the Trump administration threaten to make vaccines harder to get, and more expensive, for many Americans,…
A warming planet is poised to get even hotter, forecasters warn
As hot, dry and disastrous as the last few years have been, it appears that the chaos caused by a warming planet is just getting started. Though the hottest year in nearly two centuries was recorded only last year, the…
Contributor: Slashing NIH research guarantees a less healthy, less wealthy America
In recent months, funding for biomedical research from the National Institutes of Health has been canceled, delayed and plunged into uncertainty. According to an April STAT News analysis, NIH funding has decreased by at least $2.3 billion since the beginning…
Firefighters make significant progress on Mono County blaze that prompted evacuations
Firefighters made steady progress fighting a slow-moving brush fire near Yosemite National Park and Mammoth Mountain on Sunday. The Inn fire began Thursday afternoon off Highway 395 in Mono County. By nightfall, it had grown to over 500 acres, prompting…
A mysterious, highly active undersea volcano near California could erupt later this year. What scientists expect
• Axial Seamount is the best-monitored submarine volcano in the world.• It’s the most active undersea volcano closest to California.• It could erupt by the end of the year. A mysterious and highly active undersea volcano off the Pacific Coast…
CalRecycle introduces revised landmark waste law regulations
State waste officials have taken another stab at rules implementing a landmark plastic waste law, more than two months after Gov. Gavin Newsom torpedoed their initial proposal. CalRecycle, the state agency that oversees waste management, recently proposed a new set…
Residents can have soil tested for lead around Eaton burn area
Residents in the Eaton burn area and downwind can now send in soil samples from their yard to test for lead, a potent neurotoxin that’s especially dangerous for kids, thanks to a new program from the Los Angeles County Department…
Trump cuts will cause a spike of HIV cases in L.A. and nationally
A growing coalition of HIV prevention organizations, health experts and Democrats in Congress are sounding the alarm over sweeping Trump administration cuts to HIV/AIDS prevention and surveillance programs nationally, warning they will reverse years of progress combating the disease and…
Fertility clinic director vows to rebuild after Palm Springs bombing
PALM SPRINGS — Less than a week after a targeted bomb explosion nearly destroyed his fertility clinic, Dr. Maher Abdallah stood below the blazing desert sun in front of a liquor store, its windows blown out by the powerful blast. Behind him…
Many fire cleanup workers are not protecting against toxic debris
A crew of 10, many sporting bright orange National Day Laborer Organizing Network T-shirts, funneled out of a Mexican restaurant on the edge of the Eaton burn scar. Four months — to the day — after winds smashed a tree…
Here’s how to lose weight safely with GLP-1s and reduce food cravings
Are cookies and chips the new cigarettes? And soda, breakfast cereals and ice cream the new opioids? In his new book, “Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine: The New Science of Achieving a Healthy Weight” (Flatiron Books), former FDA Commissioner David A….
The Eaton fire area’s next potential health issue: Mosquitoes
Cleanup efforts following the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires are underway, but an ongoing concern is swimming pools in the two burn zones, many of which contain stagnant water that has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes that can carry…
Contributor: The emergency in emergency medicine
If you have been to an ER lately — or if you’ve watched the disturbingly accurate TV show “The Pitt” — you’ve seen scenes that resemble field hospitals more than state-of-the-art medical centers. Waiting rooms have been turned into makeshift…
6 doctors on Biden’s cancer diagnosis and his treatment options
Former President Biden’s weekend announcement that he has an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bone sparked the usual sympathy from supporters — and sharp suspicions among detractors. The announcement comes amid fresh reporting on Biden…
Questions emerge over Biden’s cancer diagnosis, decision to run
WASHINGTON — The revelation that former President Biden has advanced prostate cancer generated more questions than answers on Monday, prompting debate among experts in the oncology community over the likely progression of his disease and resurfacing concerns in Washington over his decision…
5 quick exercises to improve your brain function as you age
Exercise has long been linked with stronger brains and reduced risk of dementia and other cognitive diseases. But new research suggests that older adults can significantly improve brain health with only a few minutes of daily movement. Researchers from the…
Biden is diagnosed with ‘aggressive’ form of prostate cancer
WASHINGTON — Former President Biden has been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer, his office said Sunday, a devastating development after having dropped his bid for reelection last summer over widespread concerns over his age and health. Biden’s personal office…
Nearly half of Pasadena Unified schools have contaminated soil, district finds
Eleven of the 23 Pasadena Unified School District schools, where students have been back on campus since January, have contaminated soil after the Eaton fire, the district found. More than 40% of the schools had lead at levels exceeding the…
California board voted to nix a controversial hazardous waste proposal
A state environmental oversight board voted unanimously to rescind a controversial proposal that would have permitted California municipal landfills to accept contaminated soil that is currently required to be dumped at sites specifically designated and approved for hazardous waste. Earlier…
Did the fires make Southern California’s beaches less safe?
It seems like a straightforward question: Do the tons of toxic material the Los Angeles County fires sent spewing into the ocean pose an ongoing threat to human health? For nearly five months, public agencies, advocacy groups and scientists have…
Researchers call on Newsom to pay for post-fire soil testing in Los Angeles County
A group of environmental researchers is calling on the Newsom administration to step in and pay for soil testing at thousands of homes destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades wildfires. Nearly a dozen university professors wrote a letter Wednesday to…
Are salmon sperm facials really good for your skin?
Just when it seemed that the skincare industry had exhausted itself with absurd products and cyborgian procedures, Kim Kardashian brought a new one into the cultural consciousness. In the summer of 2024, Kim Kardashian announced on “The Kardashians” that she…
Contributor: On autism and vaccines, there are lies, damned lies and statistics
During an interview in late April with Dr. Phil, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reiterated his appeal to parents on vaccine safety: “We live in a democracy, and part of the responsibility of being a parent is to do your own…
Researchers find drinking water is safe in Eaton, Palisades burn areas
Scientists have released some of the first independent test results confirming that drinking water in fire-affected areas around Altadena and the Pacific Palisades is largely free of harmful contaminants, as an Altadena utility lifted the last “do not drink” notice…
Antelope Valley residents say they are fed up with rampant dumping, official inaction
Eric Eller likes to ride his dirt bikes through the canyons, dry riverbeds and rocky outcroppings of the Antelope Valley in the high desert north of Los Angeles. Eller’s an off-the-grid kind of guy with a “Mad Max” vibe —…
Facing self-imposed budget cuts, Republicans in Congress mull the future of Medicaid
Congress is forging ahead with its budget for next year, but the most controversial program on the chopping block — Medicaid — is causing a rift within the Republican Party. Earlier this year, Congress passed a budget blueprint that contains…
Lawsuit blames Edison for toxic fallout from Eaton fire
Southern California Edison was hit with another lawsuit in the wake of the Eaton fire Wednesday, with lawyers claiming families living in or near areas devastated by the Eaton fire may have suffered from dangerous levels of lead, asbestos and…
More Californians use teletherapy than get therapy in person
More Californians are talking to their therapists through a video screen or by phone than in person, marking a profound shift in how mental healthcare is delivered as record-setting numbers seek help. While patients and providers say teletherapy is effective…
L.A. County finds high lead levels in soil on properties already cleaned by Army Corps
New soil testing by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has found high levels of lead and other toxic metals at homes destroyed by January’s catastrophic wildfires and cleared by federal cleanup crews. The county health department hired…
Meet Casey Means, L.A. holistic doctor and Trump surgeon general pick
President Trump’s choice of Dr. Casey Means, a Los Angeles holistic medicine doctor and wellness influencer, as his nominee for surgeon general appears to mark another attempt to defy establishment medicine and longstanding federal policy. Trump portrayed Means — a…
Indigenous tribes pitted against each other over a state bill to redefine land protection in California
In the last year, the Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians – Kizh Nation has worked to protect its cultural sites from more than 850 land development projects around the Los Angeles Basin, thanks to a 2014 state law that allows…
A new tool to combat L.A.’s disease-carrying mosquitoes shows promise
A battle is underway against an invasive mosquito behind a recent surge in the local spread of dengue fever in Southern California — and officials may have unlocked a powerful tool to help win the day. Two vector control districts…
7 million people have Alzheimer’s. Why is Trump administration derailing research?
Dr. Charles DeCarli, co-director of the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Research Center, got the news in a call from a colleague on March 24. “Your study was terminated.” DeCarli had been conducting a six-year examination, funded by the National Institutes of…
RFK Jr. said his agency will find the cause of autism. These researchers have actually been looking
The annual meeting of the International Society for Autism Research took place in Seattle this week. The field’s premiere scientific conference was scheduled to be held in the Emerald City five years ago, until COVID-19 dashed those plans. This time,…
A medical researcher is wrongly snagged by Trump’s word police
SAN FRANCISCO — Nisha Acharya, an eye doctor and UC San Francisco professor, was at her campus clinic tending patients when a surprising email arrived. Her federal research grant had just been terminated, according to a reporter for the Washington Post, who…
Monster earthquake could sink swath of California, heighten flood risk
A long-feared monster earthquake off California, Oregon and Washington could cause some coastal areas to sink by more than 6 feet, dramatically heightening the risk of flooding and radically reshaping the region with little to no warning. Those are the…
Contributor: To dumbly go where no space budget has gone before
Reports that the White House may propose nearly a 50% cut to NASA’s Science Mission Directorate are both mind-boggling and, if true, nothing short of disastrous. To make those cuts happen — a total of $3.6 billion — NASA would…
Can $1,000 a month get more students into nursing? L.A. effort says yes
Community colleges play a critical role in addressing California’s persistent demand for healthcare workers, preparing students to become the state’s next generation of nurses, medical assistants and physical therapy aides. But in the Los Angeles Community College District, where more…
California reports sharp rise in valley fever cases for first three months of 2025
California is heading toward another record year for cases of valley fever, the disease caused by fungal spores linked to cycles of drought and precipitation. There were 3,123 reported cases of valley fever in the first three months of the…
Measles confirmed in L.A. County resident who had traveled to Texas
Measles has been confirmed in a Los Angeles County resident who recently returned from Texas, a state that is in the midst of an outbreak of the highly infectious disease, health officials said Friday. The outbreak in Texas is one…
U.S. will lose population immunity to measles in a generation, Stanford scientists say
In December, Stanford School of Medicine colleagues Dr. Nathan Lo and Mathew Kiang got to talking. Childhood immunization rates were slowly but steadily falling nationwide, from 95% in the years before the pandemic to less than 93% in the 2023-24…
Ad campaign will target Trump allies for looming Medicaid cuts
With the Trump administration slashing budgets and threatening to revoke tax-exempt status for nonprofits, some Southern California social justice organizations have gone into a defensive crouch, hoping to wait out the passing storm. They are not openly fighting President Trump’s…
Save the Earth’s ‘creepy-crawlies.’ Some may save us
When I was a child, I visited the village in India where my father grew up. As we strolled down dirt roads, he reminisced on his barefoot youth. I don’t remember much of what he said — I was too…
Online charter schools skirt California’s childhood vaccine laws
Heartland Charter School in Kern County has several dream field trips on the calendar this spring, including tours of In-N-Out Burger, an Amtrak train ride along the Central Coast and a matinee performance of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”…
RFK Jr. announces a plan to ban certain food dyes, following California’s lead
WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services, on Tuesday announced a plan to ban synthetic food dyes that color everyday snack items such as Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and M&Ms. The first step in the plan is…
Contributor: RFK Jr.’s rhetoric masks the real tragedy people with autism are facing
As the leader of a nonprofit that supports thousands of children and adults with developmental disabilities across Los Angeles County, I’ve seen firsthand the strength, resilience and dignity of families raising children with autism. So when I heard the U.S….
Mexican child dies following infection with H5N1 bird flu
A 3-year-old girl in Mexico died this month after getting infected with H5N1 bird flu, according to a report issued by the World Health Organization this week. Authorities say the strain of bird flu is one that has been circulating…
Altadena residents with standing homes fear long-term health effects
On Jan. 7, two residents on opposite sides of Altadena — Francois Tissot, a Caltech professor who studies the geology of ancient Earth and our solar system, living in the east side of town; and Jane Potelle, an environmental advocate…
Oregon officials investigate rare brain disease blamed for 2 deaths
Health officials in Hood River County, Ore., are investigating three cases of a rare and fatal brain disease known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Two people have died and a third person is showing symptoms consistent with the disease. The disease has…
Why this L.A. hospital says infants have mental health needs too
A major initiative at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles aims to address a critical but much overlooked need: mental health care for families experiencing the complex flood of joy, fear and upheaval during the first few years of a child’s life….
Another dead whale washes ashore in Southern California
A dead 50-foot gray whale washed ashore in Huntington Beach on Friday, according to officials with the Pacific Marine Mammal Center. The cause of death of the young adult female is not yet known, said Glenn Gray, chief executive of…
La Brea Tar Pit experts met dire wolf ‘de-extinction’ with skepticism
When news broke that scientists in Texas had succesfully reintroduced the long-extinct dire wolf to the modern world, more people than just “Game of Thrones” fans took notice. Researchers at the Natural History Museum’s La Brea Tar Pits, where a…
L.A. County soil testing near Eaton, Palisades fires shows significant contamination
After months of questions in the aftermath of the Eaton and Palisades fires, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has finally shared preliminary results from soil testing in and around the burn areas. The publicly available data are…
The virus that killed Gene Hackman’s wife caused three recent deaths in California. Here’s what to know
Three people in Mammoth Lakes died recently after contracting hantavirus, the same infection that killed Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa earlier this year. The cases have heightened concerns among public health officials about the spread of the rare, but deadly…
How Trump’s tariffs could slow electric vehicle sales in California
The price of electric vehicles in the U.S. will likely rise due to the Trump administration’s new tariffs, potentially jeopardizing California’s ambitious climate goals. Over the past month, the Trump administration announced it will impose tariffs against many of the…
Federal legislation aims to help firefighters with job-related cancer
As firefighters battled the catastrophic blazes in Los Angeles County in January, California’s U.S. senators, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, both Democrats, signed on to legislation with a simple aim: provide federal assistance to first responders diagnosed with service-related cancer….
Busy but sad? You might have high-functioning depression
Judith Joseph has spent most of her life building an impressive résumé. She is a board-certified psychiatrist, chair of the Women in Medicine Initiative for Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at…
Scientists unsure why gray whales are dying off Pacific Coast again
Gray whales are dying in large numbers, again. At least 70 whales have perished since the start of the year in the shallow, protected lagoons of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula where the animals have congregated for eons to calf, nurse…
State orders Chiquita Canyon Landfill to take corrective measures or face fines
A smoldering chemical reaction brewing deep inside the recently closed Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic now threatens to consume an entire 160-acre canyon of buried waste, endangering a storage area for hazardous liquid waste, according to state officials. The California…
Measles erases immunological memory – Los Angeles Times
Dr. Adam Ratner has heard a lot of myths and misunderstandings about measles in his decades as a New York City pediatric infectious disease specialist. A troubling untruth he’s seen circulating on social media during the current outbreak is that…
California sues over cuts to CDC infectious disease funding
California and a coalition of other states sued the Trump administration Tuesday over its plans to cut billions of dollars in federal public health grants designed to make states more resilient to infectious disease, and accused the administration of overreaching…
CDC cuts infectious-disease funding for California
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has notified the California Department of Public Health it is suspending grants it had provided to support the state’s infectious-disease response during the COVID-19 pandemic. The directive was sent to all 50 states…
Possible cuts to HIV prevention could be deadly, healthcare providers say
Statements from the Trump administration that officials are considering cuts to key programs for the prevention of HIV and AIDS are generating outrage among two of the largest LGBTQ+ service organizations in Southern California. Leaders of the LGBT Center in…
Drug-resistant fungus an ‘urgent threat’ as it spreads in hospitals
A deadly, drug-resistant fungus that preys on the sick and old is continuing to spread in hospitals and senior care facilities across the country, killing more than 1 in 3 infected. Candida auris, a type of yeast that can cause…
RFK Jr. makes sweeping cuts in federal health staffing
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans Thursday to slash the Department of Health and Human Services, cutting nearly a quarter of its workforce in a major restructuring that will consolidate several departments. According to the Department of Health, the cuts…
Contributor: It’s no metaphor — undersea cables hold together our precarious modern life
In the early days of the pandemic, I began pondering the idea of healing. I stumbled upon a story about a cable repair vessel, the Leon Thevenin, which had attended to a cable break off the west coast of Africa….
Palisades and Eaton firefighters had elevated levels of mercury, lead in their blood
The immediate risks faced by the firefighters who were on the front lines battling the Palisades and Eaton fires that tore through Los Angeles County may have abated, but long-term health concerns remain. A team of researchers tested the blood…
Should doctors kick out unvaccinated children? Pediatricians face dilemma
Orange County pediatrician Dr. Eric Ball still feels guilty about the Disneyland measles outbreak of 2014. At the time, his office allowed children whose parents refused to vaccinate them to still remain as patients. Many took advantage of the policy,…
Earth 1, asteroids 0: The next generation of planetary defense takes shape at JPL
There is a non-zero chance that somewhere in the nearby solar system is a rock that might kill us all. This stony assassin may well be orbiting the sun at this very moment, careening down a celestial path that could,…
Trump administration cuts threaten efforts to fight outbreak killing sea lions
Redondo Beach — The Trump administration’s targeting of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will jeopardize efforts to save sea lions, dolphins, sea birds and other wildlife stricken by poisons lurking offshore, say marine scientists, public health officials and animal rescuers. Federal…
Tuolumne County confirms two measles cases
The Tuolumne County Public Health Department on Wednesday confirmed two measles cases a day after it opened an investigation into the possible infections. The department said the cases involved an adult and a child under 18 who lived in the…
How one UCLA ICU helps patients and staff live with dying
Extraordinary things happen in the cardiothoracic intensive care unit at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. The sick rise from bed with new hearts and lungs. Machines valiantly take over for faltering kidneys, heart valves, bronchial tubes. All patients enter with…
New strain of bird flu wipes out Mississippi poultry flock
A new strain of a highly pathogenic bird flu known as H7N9 has surfaced at a poultry farm in Mississippi where chickens are raised for breeding. The finding of the new strain came as researchers separately reported a potentially positive…
Amid tense clashes between NASA and Musk, NASA hitches a ride on SpaceX rocket
After every federal employee received an email asking them to list their recent accomplishments, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took to his social media platform X, warning any employee who didn’t respond would be terminated. NASA, instead, asserted that replying was…
Concerning H5N1 bird flu mutation appears in dairy cows
Scientists are sounding alarms about a genetic mutation that was recently identified in four dairy cow herds, nearly one year after H5N1 bird flu was first reported in Texas dairy cattle. Although not confirmed, scientists believe the infected herds are…
Trump’s EPA takes steps to roll back dozens of environmental regulations
President Trump’s new EPA administrator said Wednesday he was preparing to roll back dozens of landmark environmental rules, including those crucial to California programs on climate change and electric vehicles. “We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of…
L.A. County resident had measles when they recently flew into LAX
Public health officials have confirmed the first case of measles in a Los Angeles County resident this year — the second infected person known to have passed through Los Angeles International Airport in 2025. A county resident who traveled while…
What is hantavirus, the rare disease that killed Betsy Arakawa?
Officials announced Friday that Betsy Arakawa, Gene Hackman’s wife, had died of hantavirus — ending speculation about the circumstances surrounding her death while sparking new questions about the rodent-spread disease. Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a disease that attacks…
Hundreds of scientists from UCLA, USC protest Trump policy changes
Hundreds of scientists marched under sunny skies in front of federal offices in Los Angeles on Friday as part of a day of nationwide protests against Trump administration policies. Pushing back against perceived threats to research and science, they bore…
Second possible measles fatality in U.S. outbreak as N.M. man dies
An unvaccinated New Mexico man who recently died was found to be infected with measles. His death could be the second in an ongoing outbreak that has sickened more than 160 people in at least nine states. The official cause…
Smoke detectors in the sky: Will wildfire affect bird behavior?
As thick clouds of smoke rolled across Los Angeles in early January, Allison Shultz opened a freezer and took out a stash of pristine white pigeon feathers. The ornithology curator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County placed…
NIH-backed research saved my son’s sight — and his life
If you want to make this country great, imagine the strength of a nation whose children have been fought for and know they have been fought for. Last month, my son reached two years in remission from a rare, malignant…
Guest writers: Vaccines are out, measles is in
They say everything old is new again. Here are a few outdated bacteria and viruses looking to trend again as vaccination rates fall. Measles is in the air! That is to say that this highly infectious airborne virus has been…
Can food be safer and cheaper at the same time?
To hear Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tell it, making America healthy again means making American food healthy again. The nation’s top health official says hundreds of additives should be removed from the U.S. food supply out of concern that they’re…
‘Like someone put a blanket over the ocean’: Kelp could be among fires’ casualties
The boat bobbed gently off Malibu’s Big Rock Beach as a trio of scientific divers wriggled into wetsuits and double-checked tanks and regulators. Behind them unfurled a panorama of devastation from the Palisades fire a month earlier. Blackened vegetation dotted…
New JPL space mission seeks to unravel the mystery of cosmic ‘inflation’
Before there was light, there was cosmic inflation. Before life, planet Earth, the first galaxies — and even before the violent explosion of hot dense primordial stuff scientists traditionally have thought of as the Big Bang — our universe was…
How Do AI Voice Agents Handle User-Specific Vocabulary?
AI Voice Agents Handle User-Specific Vocabulary AI voice agents have evolved significantly, enabling them to understand and process user-specific vocabulary with increasing accuracy. This capability is essential in creating personalized interactions, as users often use industry-specific jargon, unique names, acronyms,…
The chances of an asteroid hitting Earth in 2032 have changed. But what’s the risk, really?
The chances that an asteroid, known as 2024 YR4, could hit Earth in seven years have fluctuated recently, but experts aren’t preparing for the worst yet. At the end of 2024, a NASA-funded telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, first spotted…
Mass firings at NOAA, National Weather Service ignite fury
As federal job eliminations struck the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service on Thursday, scientists and environmental advocates denounced the cuts, saying they could cause real harm to Americans. The full extent of the layoffs across…
Jaki jest najlepszy laptop Dell dla architektów?
laptop Dell dla architektów Wybór odpowiedniego laptopa dla architekta to kluczowa decyzja, która może znacząco wpłynąć na komfort i efektywność pracy. Architekci korzystają z zaawansowanych programów do projektowania, takich jak AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp czy 3ds Max, które wymagają dużej mocy…