Here's today's roundup of science, nature and environment news from the Bay Area and beyond.

Ouch! July in US was hottest ever in history booksFederal scientists say July was the hottest month ever recorded in the contiguous United States. Climate scientist Jake Crouch of the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., said the U.S. is getting a double whammy of both localized heat and drought along with effects of global warming.

Report recommends changes at California salmon hatcheries - The Sacramento BeeMost of the salmon caught in California come from hatcheries in the Sacramento Valley, yet it turns out we don't know much about these fish even though we breed them by hand. A new study released Tuesday says the state needs to do a lot more to improve its salmon and steelhead hatcheries, and recommends difficult steps that could upset a lot of anglers.

Politicians struggle to limit genetically altered fishThe latest move by politicians to limit or ban the sale of genetically modified fish has been stymied. A U.S. Senate bill, which would have prohibited the sale of genetically engineered salmon unless the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration could find the fish would cause no significant environmental harm, was withdrawn from the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee late last week.

Marin breast cancer linked to vitamin D?A small pilot study of Marin County women determined through testing to be at high risk for breast cancer found them to be almost twice as likely to have a variant of a vitamin D receptor as the overall population of 338 in the study.

Small refinery leak leads to big disasterMonday's fire at the Chevron oil refinery in Richmond began with a hydrocarbon leak so small that the facility's emergency response team at first thought it posed little threat to the community, a company representative said Tuesday. [...]
