The California Cancer Research Act (CCRA), a statewide June 5 ballot initiative, aims to increase the tax on cigarettes, and a recent University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) study says the initiative would create thousands of jobs and significantly boost the state's overall economy. more ›

The short answer: You betcha. Now for the longer answer. A study released today found that while in some counties, including Los Angeles, the childhood obesity rate is showing some decline, there has been an increase in more than half the state's counties. more ›

Environmental Health Perspectives published findings from a study by scientists at the University of Wisconsin that reveal shocking relief for wallets from simply switching to two wheels. Focusing on eleven metropolitan cities in the upper Midwest, the study surveyed the economic and health benefits of swapping a car for a bicycle for trips less than five miles in length. more ›

It's a good question, considering the proposed Los Angeles Downtown Streetcar is (slowly) on its way to becoming a reality. A recent study has determined that opening month ridership for the public transit project will be between 6,610 and 8,390 riders daily, and those numbers have local leaders supporting the streetcar very encouraged. more ›

Los Angeles, the City of Angels... Wait, scratch that. Let's start again. Los Angeles, America's most stressful city... That sounds more like it. According to a recent Forbes study, L.A. ranks number one among fifteen U.S. cities. more ›

Environment California just released a new report, Danger in the Air: Unhealthy Air Days in 2010 and 2011. Guess what, L.A. The top five smoggiest metropolitan areas in the country in 2010 were in California. Ground-level ozone, smog's main component, is one of the most harmful and prevalent air pollutants, exacerbating respiratory illness and causing premature death. more ›

California has way, way more beer pong players than anyone else in the world, according to the company BPong.com. And it should know, because BPong.com is the "center of the beer pong universe." Right? Errr, no. Leave it to a bunch of drunkards to come up with a lame way of doing a "survey." more ›

The rising Pacific has an insatiable, slowly increasing hunger for multimillion-dollar homes. By 2100 the chilly sea could swallow numerous California coastal areas, including Malibu and Venice, according to a state-commissioned study released by San Francisco State University today. more ›

A new study by Harvard University researchers made the brilliant discovery that women in their late 50s who averaged three to fifteen drinks per week boasted about 30% higher odds of remaining free of chronic illness and mental health issues at age 70. more ›

Downtown L.A. residents are an inspiring bunch. According to an infographic released today as part of 2011's DTLA Demographic Study, the 'hood boasts young, smart, professional, pet-loving dames and dudes. more ›

A new study at UC San Francisco released on Wednesday states that pregnant California women have registered "some of the highest levels of the toxic flame retardant PBDE in their bodies ever recorded worldwide," reports LA Times. more ›

No one knows better than bloggers the kind of wrath that can be incurred by not properly noting that a post contains a spoiler, be it the end of a movie or a twist in a TV show. But a recent study out of UC San Diego suggests that spoiler alerts may be for naught -- according to a statement released by the university, researchers found that the pleasure people get from reading or watching something isn't diminished by knowing what's going to happen in the end. more ›

LADOT Bike Blog recently completed a report for the LADOT Bicycle Program Shared Lane Marking (SLM) Study that concludes the effectiveness of SLMs or sharrows on the streets of L.A. more ›

Of Metro's Red Line subway and Gold Line light rail, which puts commuters at more of a risk of exposure to potentially hazardous air pollutants? A study conducted by the University of Southern California finds that Red Line riders are exposed to up to twice as much unhealthy air as those on the Gold Line. more ›

A new study from U.C. Berkeley found Los Angeles teachers quitting their jobs "at an alarming rate," according to CBS Local. The study notes that teachers working at Los Angeles Unified inner-city charter schools are "up to three times more likely to quit their jobs" than educators employed in other districts. more ›

California reached a 5-year high with 11% percent of beaches reporting an increase in bacterial contamination. In Los Angeles County, Avalon Beach, Cabrillo Beach and Colorado Lagoon topped the list of dirty waters. Poche County Beach and Doheny State Beach were the OC's biggest offenders. more ›

A new study by U.S. 9th Circuit Judge Arthur L. Alarcon and Loyola Law School professor Paula M. Mitchell, predicts that by 2030 San Quentin's death row population will have grown to over 1,000 and that death penalty costs will reach $9 billion, according to the L.A. Times. more ›

New research from the New England Journal of Medicine revealed the not so startling news that potato chips rank as the worst snack food for your health ahead of candy, soda and ice cream. more ›

Half of all fixed-line internet traffic delivers video, audio and other real-time experiences from websites and applications such as Netflix, YouTube and iTunes, displacing good ol' web browsing for the first time as bandwidth leader during peak internet hours in North America, according to a new study. more ›

A Portrait of California, a new report released Tuesday by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) divides the state of California into five population segments ranked by quality of life based on health standards and living standards, among other factors, as well as ranks the state's major metropolitan areas, notes the Los Angeles Business Journal. more ›

The exact location in the brain that influences a gambler's belief that payoff is headed their way has been discovered by Caltech researchers, it was announced on Saturday, reports the Daily News. For example, despite perhaps intellectually knowing that mathematical odds don't change at a slot machine, say, people may sit at the same machine for hours because they think they're "due" for a jackpot. more ›

If you were under the misguided notion that your lungs were the only part of your body being damaged by a steady stream of inhaled smog, think again. Researchers at USC have published a study demonstrating that miniscule particles made up of burning fossil fuel and deterioration of car parts and pavement found in pollution created by freeways causes brain damage in mice, reports the Huffington Post. more ›

While on the stand to give testimony in his medical license hearing today, Dr. Michael Kamrava says that Nadya Suleman, aka OctoMom was "implanted with 12 embryos as part of a human study on fertility methods," reports KTLA. Kamrava claims that Suleman heard about the study, and volunteered to take part, and that she "signed a consent form listing the risks involved." more ›

As mentioned in Sunday's edition of Extra, Extra, the latest Field Poll has the Proposition to legalize marijuana on the losing end of the spectrum. According to the pre-election poll (.pdf), which last week found Democrats leading Republicans in the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races, "opponents now outnumber supporters 49% to 42%, a reversal from mid-September, when it was leading 49% to 42%." 1,092 likely voters were surveyed and there is a +/- 3.2% margin of error. more ›

Since California's no texting while driving law went into effect 19 months ago, texting and use of smart phones has just about doubled, finds a study conducted by The Auto Club. The membership organization found that 2.7% of drivers at anytime are breaking the law. The same study conducted earlier this year found that 1.1% of drivers were texting. more ›

Small business journal Portfolio.com yesterday released a study detailing the most and least stressful cities in the country, finding Detroit at the top of the list and Salt Lake City at the bottom. It wasn't based on personal interviews, rather it was based on data from issues that contribute to a populace's stress: Unemployment, poverty, unhealthy air, commuting and sunshine, to name a few. more ›

A police officer with just a high school degree is more likely to use force -- verbal threats, grabbing, handcuffing, throwing to the ground, shooting, etc. -- on a suspect than an officer with some college education, a study in Police Quarterly has found. But results also concluded there's no difference when it came to arrests or searches. more ›

Angelenos, think about this the next time you're on a date. A recent study published in the journal "Social Psychological and Personality Science" finds that looks, obviously, are not everything. There's something else heightens the attraction and it's just not your shared taste in music: we are more attracted to people who have meaning in their life. As GOOD Magazine puts it, "the moral of the story, perhaps, is that if you're toiling away at that corporate law firm or management consultancy because you think money or status will eventually bring you the interpersonal rewards you're looking for, you might have overlooked the real social power of having a deeper purpose." more ›

2009 might have been a good year for Los Angeles-area sports teams, but when it comes to the financial side, the news isn't anything to cheer about. A study conducted in partnership with the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the Los Angeles Sports Council, and the UCLA Anderson School of Management shows a decline in revenue in pro sports in the region, according to the Daily Breeze. more ›