L.A. Times - Science

California needs new rules to help future wildfires from destroying homes and businesses. But Zone Zero regulations, a key tenet of the state's plans, have roiled homeowners.

Healthcare plans under Obamacare will skyrocket 97% on average in 2026 if enhanced tax credits aren't renewed, experts said.

A plan to kill hundreds of thousands of barred owls to save spotted owls overcame a major threat when senators this week failed to pass a Republican-led effort to keep it from happening.

Families pay thousands for a SoCal company's technology. Researchers say there's little evidence it helps.

A wave of the highly contagious respiratory syncytial virus is beginning to wash over the United States, sending greater numbers of babies and toddlers to the hospital for professional care.

A new report shows that Salmonella is widespread in packaged ground turkey and chicken. The report is based on USDA inspection reports.

A team of researchers has mapped the tree canopies at public schools across California. What they've found so far is that many kids face a dangerous lack of shade and greenery.

Top California health officials warn that federal cuts will be a devastating blow to public health, even as the state seeks to mitigate the damage.

Humpback whales and domoic acid contamination are putting the brakes on California's commercial Dungeness crab fishery this fall. Holiday crabs and crab cakes won't be easy to find.

October is a peak mating month for tarantulas in California, when the hulking, furry males set out in search of a mate. They don't always come out alive.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported the first death from West Nile virus in 2025, in a patient from the San Fernando Valley.

An otter is hopping on surfboards in Santa Cruz's storied Steamers Lane. Two years ago, a similar situation played out in these prime surfing waters. Is it the same otter? A different one? And what benefit, if any, is this otter gaining by accosting surfers and boaters?

A Los Angeles County judge ordered the owners of a troubled metal recycler to pay $2 million in penalties and permanently cease operations next door to a high school in Watts.

Rog Hanson emerges from the coastal waters, pulls a diving regulator out of his mouth and pushes a scuba mask down around his neck.

Tainted meat and poultry are a major cause of food-borne urinary tract infections in Southern California, according to a recently published study.