KPCC: Science News

Obscured By War, Water Crisis Looms In Yemen

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:56:00 -0800

News from Yemen has been dominated recently by an escalating rebellion along the border with Saudi Arabia. But the country has been making news for decades because of its severe overuse of a rapidly disappearing water supply, the result of natural and political reasons.

Fungus Provides Clues To North American Extinctions

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:33:00 -0800

One of the great mysteries about North America is what killed off woolly mammoths and other exotic animals that roamed the land after the last ice age. Ideas have ranged from a comet impact and climate change to human hunters. A study published Friday in Science Magazine provides new clues about this - cleverly deduced from samples of a fungus that grew on the animal's dung.

Sounds During Sleep May Help You Remember

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Certain sounds played while people napped helped them remember information associated with those sounds once they woke up, say researchers at Northwestern University.

1 clean truck program, 2 ports, and now 2 strategies

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

A year after the Clean Trucks program began at the harbor complex, the two ports in San Pedro Harbor are headed in divergent directions. The port of Los Angeles continues to fight challenges to pollution controls in court. In Long Beach, harbor commissioners are trying to end the same lawsuit.

Calif. requires TVs to be more energy efficient; supporters hope rule becomes national model

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:59:40 -0800

Power-hungry TVs will be banned from store shelves in California after state regulators Wednesday adopted a first-in-the-nation mandate to reduce electricity demand.

Reef conservation strategy backfires

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:24:13 -0800

Conservationists worried about overfishing on the Pacific island of Kiribati persuaded fishermen to pick coconuts instead. The strategy backfired: Coconut oil production increased, but so did fishing. It turns out, fishermen who earned more money in coconut agriculture had more leisure time — which they spent fishing.

Camera that saved Hubble now on display

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:20:30 -0800

Two instruments from the Hubble Space Telescope, including the camera that corrected an early flaw in the telescope, are now on exhibit at the Smithsonian. The camera, about the size of a baby grand piano, is responsible for some of Hubble's most astounding photos.

Obama: Rally the world for climate deal next month

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:26:53 -0800

President Barack Obama, with China's leader at his side, lifted his sights Tuesday for a broad interim accord at next month's climate conference that he said will lead to immediate action and "rally the world" toward a solution on global warming.

Study: New device boosts heart failure survival

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:22:19 -0800

For the first time, a miniature heart pump shows the potential to become a widely used, permanent treatment for many older people with severe heart failure. But can we afford it?

Long Beach officials, environmentalists seek to unsettle port settlement with trucking industry

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:58:59 -0800

In Long Beach, public officials and environmental activists are challenging a plan by the harbor commission to settle a lawsuit with the trucking industry.

Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off on supply mission

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:21:59 -0800

With 100 Internet-savvy NASA fans cheering on the shuttle and churning out constant Twitter updates, Atlantis sailed smoothly into orbit Monday with six astronauts and a full load of spare parts for the International Space Station.

Can iPhone app interpret a baby's cry?

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:51:27 -0800

A new iPhone application, called Cry Translator, claims that it can help parents interpret the many subtleties in their babies' cries — from hungry to tired to needs a diaper change. Melissa Block puts the app to the test with the help of All Things Considered producer — and new mom — Melissa Gray.

Lower tuna limit still too high, researchers say

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:25:46 -0800

The international commission that regulates fishing of tuna and other large migratory fish in the Atlantic voted to sharply reduce the fishing quota for bluefin tuna at their latest meeting. But some scientists say the new quota is too high to sustain the species.

Santa Monica native is among those aboard Atlantis

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:11:36 -0800

SANTA MONICA - A Santa Monica High School graduate is a part of the six-member crew aboard the space shuttle Atlantis that lifted off today from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The dirt on dust

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:01:42 -0800

Where does all that dust under your couch come from? It turns out that most household dust comes from outside — and may contain some pretty harmful stuff. How the toxins in dust get into your body depends on the size of the dust particle.

Patients turn to online community for help healing

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:26:14 -0800

Many people already use the Internet to search for health information, but more Americans are using social-networking sites to talk to each other about their health. And many patients find it empowering to be able to share and learn from others who are going through the same thing.

Obama pushes China to stop censoring Internet

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:22:29 -0800

The president uses a town hall-style meeting with university students in Shanghai to focus on human rights, one of the trickiest issues separating China's communist government and the United States. Later, President Obama met with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing.

Empty debris basins wait for Station Fire's winter impact

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:59:47 -0800

Three months after the Station Fire ignited in dry brush in the Angeles National Forest, fire officials still consider it active.

But cold weather and the possibility of rain have Los Angeles county public works crews ready for the fire’s winter flood fallout.

Splash! NASA moon crash struck lots of water

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:37:15 -0800

Suddenly, the moon looks exciting again. It has lots of water, scientists said Friday - a thrilling discovery that sent a ripple of hope for a future astronaut outpost in a place that has always seemed barren and inhospitable.

Southland legislators will sell their constituents and themselves on $11 billion water bond

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Around the state, the governor has been signing into law the bills that constitute a $40 billion water management package. That’s ended most legislative water politics for a while. But a year of public politicking awaits the bond measure that's a key part of the water plan.