mandalinarossa

Ouch.

Except that the time spent bounding on that bicycle seat turns out to be not so good for a dude's reproductive health. Just another danger for those who prefer peddle power in L.A.

And the problem isn't just with all that equipment bouncing around. UCLA researchers found that men who ride a lot end up producing more of a form of estrogen, and the results can include ...

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Cleo Berry: alive and two-legged.

It's another to wake up to an unflattering (and even more unflatteringly manipulated) photo of yourself on a New York City billboard, and all over the Internet, posing as a fat guy who ate so much junk food that he had to get his leg amputated.

Welcome to L.A. actor/director Cleo Berry's Friday night:

Blue Shield

We just gave this free ad to Blue Shield. Now it's UCLA's turn. No really, send us what you got.

Many fingers have been pointed at health insurance companies, but this week one of the biggest ones, Blue Shield of California, lashed out at some of the 1 percenter doctors who actually hand them the bill.

The target?

Don't even think about it.

Pretty extreme, but to be expected -- because, unlike keeping tuition affordable for students, UC leaders have always made it a priority to stay on the cutting edge of the fight against tobacco addiction. They've thrown bucketfuls of sweat and tears into blocking research gants from tobacco companies, and just this winter banned smoking at all the UC health campuses.

The new ban to end all bans was an executive decision by...

RadarOnline

Doctor's orders.

Battle of the studies! Just a couple months ago, Harvard University released some buzz-killing stats showing that "women who drink just four small glasses of wine a week increase their risk of developing breast cancer by 15 percent." That's largely because alcohol consumption is thought to increase estrogen levels -- and lord knows cancer cells love their estrogen.

But hold up: Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center here in L.A. would like to make a case for the red variety. A new study out of the hospital to the stars shows that...

County-USC Medical Center

Melinda is here to stay.

That's when officials at L.A. County-USC Medical Center announced that, yes, she's alive.

Melinda is not only with us, but she's a record-holder:

AIDSVu

There's a map for that.

A new location service developed with the help of Emory University called www.aidsvu.org will help you fined "zip-code-level" info on HIV cases. L.A. will be one of the first metropolitan areas in the nation ...

cure.med.ucla.edu

Dr. Peter Anton, who led the study.

But both those laboratory victories are far from practical application. One of the more tangible goals, as of late, has been to invent an HIV-preventing topical gel that people can purchase and apply themselves. Huge news on that front:

Shiny happy Walmart in Paramount.

So if we may: Please direct your attention to about 50 private-sector workers pumping their picket signs in Paramount this morning. They have a much quieter voice, but they're in a lot more danger. America's largest employer -- Walmart, of the happy-face stickers and glorious toilet-paper aisle -- is threatening to cut health-care benefits to impossible lows.

This, despite the fact that Walmart...

McDreamin' of universal health care.

The folks behind the annual check-up fest, CareNow/LA, are back again, so bring your party hats, glow sticks, sore throats and folding chairs.

It'll be swamped. Here are the details:

@ericspillman via Twitter

Kaiser nurses got an early start this morning on Sunset Boulevard.

Today, 2,500 employees from Kaiser Permanente join the fun across California from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., with up to 20,000 more expected to walk out tomorrow and the next day. Here in L.A., the spot to watch about 200 unionized nurses pump their signs and bark their slogans is the hectic corner of Sunset and Vermont, outside the hospital empire's biggest SoCal branch. So, uh: What do they want?

South L.A. gets tested.

About 18 churches throughout L.A. County Supervisor Mark-Ridley Thomas' STD-ridden second district, including Compton and Hawthorne, have expressed interest in hosting his "high-tech outreach effort to tackle sexually transmitted diseases" ...

And now it has the dreaded West Nile Virus. Or, rather, a chicken in the Franklin Canyon area (actually, this is north of B.H. but still in the 90210 zip code) came down with the bug, reports West Hollywood Patch.

The mosquito-borne illness can cause serious illness and even death for the elderly, although that's rare. Still, it won't take much to get the blue bloods of the hills to roll up their windows and avoid contact with the natives (which is what they do anyway).

Rabid bats.

Aside from maybe rabid raccoons -- or rabid possoms, or rabid rattlesnakes, or the neighbor's rabid purse-dogs -- we think not.

But uh: This nightmare is real. The plight of rabid-bat victim Steve Spence over the last couple weeks has been unthinkable:

The county's civil Grand Jury found that 56 cities in the region had funded their health care obligations for retirees to the tune of $0. That's zee-ro. Across the county only about 11 percent of such obligations were funded, and a majority of that liability comes from the L.A. County government's own lack of seed money.

In the Grand Jury's look-see, only the city of L.A.'s retirement health-care benefits seem to be relatively well-backed:

Stuck in Customs via Flickr

Delish.

The California drought may be temporarily on hold, but that doesn't mean Department of Water and Power problem-solvers have stopped scheming up new ways to keep your taps gushing and Bel Air fountain sculptures gurgling. But be warned: It'll cost you.

The LA Daily News runs a deja-vous piece this morning on a plan to turn almost 10 billion gallons of yearly sewage to crisp, clear drinking water. But this isn't the '"toilet-to-tap" plan of a decade ago," writes the Daily News. It would instead be modeled after the recycled sewage plan Orange County has been vetting since 2007:

Childrens Hospital Los Angeles

Super cute.

On Monday Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and the girl's parents made an appeal for a lung donor who would likely save Katelyn Policastro's life. If it happens, it would be a global first for a child with Katelyn's rare affliction, doctors say.

The typically fatal disease is called alveolar capillary dysplasia (ACD) and results in a lack of oxygen and pulmonary hypertension, according to the hospital, which states it is "typically fatal." But ...

George Hamilton, like allergens, thrives in warm weather.

New research suggests that allergens, like George Hamilton, are thriving because of warmer temps.

And thus you sneeze and have itchy eyes more.

Especially here in California.

Maybe.

Alex Padilla.

It's possible. A bill by San Fernando Valley-based state Sen. Alex Padilla will allow landlords to prohibit smoking in certain apartments, duplexes and townhomes if they want to. SB 332 just passed the senate, interestingly, 33-2.

It heads to the assembly next.

Here's what Padilla stated today:

Ted Soqui

L.A. housing complex near the air pollution of busy freeway.

According to the ALA's "State of the Air 2011" study, Los Angeles ranks number one in the United States with the worst "ozone pollution," number four with the worst "short-term particle pollution," and number two with the worst "annual particle pollution."

"Ozone and particle pollution levels today still contribute to thousands of hospitalizations, emergency room visits and early deaths every year," says Dr. Sonal Patel, volunteer physician for the American Lung Association in California, in a prepared statement. "We know that air pollution can literally stunt children's lung development."