"A promising investigational drug." Those words are being written quite a bit during these days as politicians, scientists, and the general public explore avenues for combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Those same words were used in a press release from Saint Joseph Hospital in Humbolt County in announcing their participation in...
Russian Scientists Present Ancient Puppy Found in Permafrost
YAKUTSK, Russia — Russian scientists on Monday showed off a prehistoric puppy, believed to be 18,000 years old, found in permafrost in the country’s Far East. Discovered last year in a lump of frozen mud near the city of Yakutsk, the puppy is unusually well-preserved, with its hair, teeth, whiskers...
After Calorie Counts Go on Fast-Food Menus, Orders Dip a Bit
NEW YORK — Soon after calories were posted on fast-food menus, people cut back a little bit on what they ordered. But it didn't last. Customers at fast-food chains in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas ordered an average of 60 fewer calories per transaction in the weeks after the figures were...
Where Have the Wild Birds Gone? 3 Billion Fewer Than 1970
WASHINGTON — North America's skies are lonelier and quieter as nearly 3 billion fewer wild birds soar in the air than in 1970, a comprehensive study shows. The new study focuses on the drop in sheer numbers of birds, not extinctions. The bird population in the United States and Canada...
One Reason Housing Is so Expensive in California? Cities, Counties Charge Developers High Fees
[aggregation-styles] The Los Angeles Times Subscription SACRAMENTO — A long-awaited study detailing how much cities and counties charge developers to build housing in California found that such costs are often hidden, vary widely across the state and have slowed growth. The report, released this week by the state Department of...
One Reason Housing Is so Expensive in California? Cities, Counties Charge Developers High Fees
[aggregation-styles] The Los Angeles Times Subscription SACRAMENTO — A long-awaited study detailing how much cities and counties charge developers to build housing in California found that such costs are often hidden, vary widely across the state and have slowed growth. The report, released this week by the state Department of...
Brain Zaps Boost Memory in People Over 60, Study Finds
NEW YORK — Zapping the brains of people over 60 with a mild electrical current improved a form of memory enough that they performed like people in their 20s, a new study found. Someday, people might visit clinics to boost that ability, which declines both in normal aging and in...
Apple Watch May Spot Heart Problem but More Research Needed
WASHINGTON — A huge study suggests the Apple Watch can detect a worrisome irregular heartbeat at least sometimes — but experts say more work is needed to tell if using wearable technology to screen for heart problems really helps. More than 419,000 Apple Watch users signed up for the unusual...
Men Run Hollywood, But Female Film Stars Rule the Box Office
NEW YORK — A new study that analyzed four years' worth of films found that female-led movies have consistently outperformed those in which men get top billing. The study analyzed the 350 top-grossing films worldwide released between January 2014 and December 2017. Researchers found that in films with small, medium and...
Scientists Admit Errors in High-Profile Ocean Warming Study
Get ready for more "I told you so's" from climate-change skeptics. Two weeks after a high-profile study was published in the journal Nature stating that Earth's oceans are warming much faster than previously thought, its authors have submitted corrections to the publication. What went wrong with the study? The scientists...