LA Times Science Files for 2007/05/21

These are items compiled by staff of the LA Times.

• ENDANGERED SPECIES
  Wayward whales are headed back home
  

  A mother-and-child pair of wounded humpback whales stranded in the Sacramento River Delta were headed toward the ocean late Sunday after roaming for a week in brackish inland waterways. By Peter Hong, Times Staff Writer.

• MONDAY HEALTH
  Put to the test
  

  More schools are asking students to take drug tests, saying it gives them a reason to ‘say no.’ Addiction experts contend results are unreliable. By Shari Roan, Times Staff Writer.

• MONDAY HEALTH
  Suspects, but not all perps
  

  Contaminants that apparently cause mammary tumors in animals are identified. But more study is needed to determine if they’re a risk to humans. By Mary Beckman, Special to The Times.

• MONDAY HEALTH
  The risky-behavior gender gap narrows
  

  A study shows a rise in fatal car crashes among young women of drinking age and a shrinking male-female divide in a range of dangerous activities. By Melissa Healy, Times Staff Writer.

• ENDANGERED SPECIES
  Rare birds living on the edge at park
  

  Fires and human encroachment threaten the habitat of the endangered least Bell’s vireo and other species at Hansen Dam recreation area. By Louis Sahagun, Times Staff Writer.

• ENVIRONMENT
  Mayor touts L.A.’s climate plan, then jumps in SUV
  

  In case you missed the news, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and a selected posse from the City Council traveled by bus to Debs Park in northeast L.A. last week to announce how they’re going to lasso global warming. By Steve Hymon, Times Staff Writer.