Here's today's roundup of science, nature and environment news from the Bay Area and beyond.
News from The Associated PressGENEVA (AP) -- Seven nations may lose their ability to legally trade tens of thousands of wildlife species after U.N. conservation delegates agreed Thursday to penalize them for lacking tough regulations or failing to report on their wildlife trade.

Turning the Tide at Ocean BeachTurning the Tide at Ocean Beach Pencil-ready: Funding comes through for Ocean Beach adaptation studies As an Army Corps of Engineers dredge dumped sand offshore, a crowd of politicians, representatives from local and federal agencies, business owners and volunteers gathered in a crumbling parking lot on Thursday to voice their support for the Ocean Beach Master Plan, a sweeping project to prepare for sea level rise and stem erosion on San Francisco's western shore.


Lack of permit delays drone test for bird survey(AP) â Plans to launch a drone aircraft to take photos of salmon-munching seabirds nesting along the Oregon Coast have been scrubbed for lack of a permit. The Federal Aviation Administration told the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife that it needs a permit to fly even a tiny unmanned aircraft over the offshore rocks near Pacific City that are home to nesting cormorants.


UC Davis gets $53 million in stem cell funds to study Huntington's, other diseases - The Sacramento BeeThe University of California, Davis, scored a major coup in stem cell funding with a $53 million award Thursday for research into Huntington's disease, limb ischemia and osteoporosis. The grants were approved Thursday afternoon by CIRM - the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

California regulators take heat over frackingCalifornia oil regulators on Wednesday capped a series of seven public meetings on hydraulic fracturing with a Sacramento session, pledging to use thousands of public comments to guide their efforts to write rules for the controversial method of oil extraction.
