Los Angeles Times - Science

Buzz Aldrin on his new book, space exploration and rapping with Snoop Dogg

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The second man on the moon, at 79, says his life is 'busier than it's ever been.' He has a new book, 'Magnificent Desolation,' is Twittering and advocates the colonization of Mars.

His mother's maiden name was Moon. Buzz Aldrin, it seems, was destined from birth to travel to the rocky sphere more than 200,000 miles from planet Earth.

Science Briefing

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Myanmar fossils may mean human roots in Asia / Crucial sea grass meadows found to be declining / Multiple genetic variations linked to schizophrenia / Deep-brain stimulators help some cerebral palsy p

Ancestry in Asia?

Roadside assistance for Mars rover

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Spirit rover is stuck in the Red Planet's fluffy soil, so engineers at JPL have re-created the scene in a sandbox to figure out how to get it free.

Getting your car stuck is irritating enough, but what do you do when your vehicle is dug into the sand of another planet and the nearest auto club is 180 million miles away?

O. Carl Simonton dies at 66; oncologist pioneered mind-body connection to fight cancer

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

He found that patients who think positively tended to live longer and have fewer side effects. His belief eventually was accepted by mainstream medicine.

Dr. O. Carl Simonton, a radiation oncologist who popularized the mind-body connection in fighting cancer and helped push the once-controversial notion into mainstream medicine, has died. He was 66.

Sheep getting smaller in Scotland due to climate change, study says

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The average weight and size of sheep on a remote island have been falling in small but steady increments since 1985. Milder winters mean smaller animals but a larger herd.

Along with polar icecaps and sandy beaches, sheep on a remote Scottish island are gradually shrinking as a result of global warming, according to a study published today in the journal Science. The finding offers unusual proof that large animals are already evolving to adapt to changes wrought by climate change, experts said.

El Nino more like Los Ninos, weather study finds

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 16:59:00 -0700

The Pacific Ocean warming can be broken down into two distinct patterns, Georgia Institute of Technology researchers say. The finding could help improve North Atlantic Hurricane predictions.

El Nino, the seasonal Pacific Ocean warming that affects the world's weather, may not be just one little boy -- it seems to be two little boys.

NASA launches moon mission

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

An orbiter will spend the next year cruising 31 miles above the lunar surface, looking for the best place to land and build Earth's first off-world colony.

NASA took the first concrete step toward returning human beings to the moon Thursday, successfully launching the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter on a mission to find the best place to land and build Earth's first off-world colony.

Surgery may not be first choice for diabetics with blocked arteries

Mon, 8 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

For those who haven't had a heart attack, drug treatment and lifestyle changes are as effective as bypass surgery and angioplasty in reducing the risk of death, researchers find.

For most patients with diabetes and clogged arteries who have not had a heart attack, treatment with drugs and lifestyle changes are as effective at reducing the risk of death as immediate bypass surgery or angioplasty, researchers said Sunday.

Oldest known granaries found near Dead Sea

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Sophisticated units for storing wild grains are about 11,300 years old, researchers report.

More than 1,000 years before humans began domesticating grains for food, they were building sophisticated storage buildings to hold the wild grains they were cultivating, researchers reported Monday.

Rising carbon dioxide affects ear structure of fish

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

As oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, scientists say, fish ears may get bigger. It's unknown whether that will be bad or good for the fish.

Listen up! Carbon dioxide being absorbed by the oceans is having a puzzling effect on fish -- their ears get bigger.