Here's today's roundup of science, nature and environment news from the Bay Area and beyond.
News from The Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) -- Patient after patient asked: Is eating organic food, which costs more, really better for me? Unsure, Stanford University doctors dug through reams of research to find out - and concluded there's little evidence that going organic is much healthier, citing only a few differences involving pesticides and antibiotics.
via Ap
Solar Bills Pass California Legislature | Government | ReWire | KCETThree bills designed to make it easier for Californians to join the solar world passed the California legislature this week. Though fairly technical in nature, the bills streamline and simplify the process of hooking up to solar power generation for California residents and businesses.
via Kcet
News from The Associated PressPASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- Thirty-five years after leaving Earth, Voyager 1 is reaching for the stars. Sooner or later, the workhorse spacecraft will bid adieu to the solar system and enter a new realm of space - the first time a manmade object will have escaped to the other side.
via Ap
New Tick-Borne Heartland Virus Has Scientists PuzzledFor a year and a half, scientists have been swarming over a 100-acre farm in northwestern Missouri, catching ticks and drawing blood from raccoons, possums, turkeys and deer. "They even bled my horses, and my dogs and cats," the owner of the farm said. "They got to looking at me, and I said, 'I already gave.'
via Nytimes
UK paraplegic woman first to take robotic suit homeLONDON (Reuters) - A British woman paralyzed from the chest down by a horse riding accident has become the first person to take home a robotic exoskeleton that enables her to walk. Although bionic exoskeletons have been used in hospitals and rehabilitation centers, Claire Lomas is the first to take the ReWalk suit home for everyday use.
via Reuters