Compound

Until recently, very few people had ever heard of raspberry ketones, the aromatic compounds that give the berries their distinctive smell. Today, health food stores have trouble keeping the capsules or drops of the stuff on their shelves. Almost overnight, an obscure plant compound became the next big thing in weight loss - and all it took was a few words from Dr. Oz. In a February episode of "The Dr. Oz Show," Mehmet Oz told viewers that raspberry ketones were "the No. 1 miracle in a bottle to burn your fat. " Once Oz calls something a "miracle," it doesn't remain obscure for long.

Known for the great variety of the roles he plays, Leonardo DiCaprio now is trying his hand at Malibu beach house landlord. He has listed this Cape Cod-inspired home for $75,000 a month for a long-term tenant or $150,000 a month for leases of less than six months. His Malibu Colony compound was recently remodeled and features a four-bedroom main house on the ocean side, a two-bedroom guest house and a detached loft with gym. There is a beach-front deck, a fire pit, gardens and lawn on the less-than-half-acre lot. DiCaprio, 37, whose blockbuster hits include "Titanic" (1997)

Cyberspace is a-twitter with the news that Ryan Seacrest is expected to close escrow this week on Ellen Degeneres' Beverly Hills compound, but there's been nary a peep about where she and spouse Portia de Rossi have decamped. Look no further than the Hal Levitt-designed midcentury in Beverly Hills that changed hands in April, according to area real estate agents familiar with that deal. The 8,500-square-foot house, built in 1958, features walls of glass, soaring ceilings, multiple fireplaces, a library, a black-and-stainless-steel kitchen, a sunken living room, four bedrooms and six bathrooms.

Cyberspace was a-twitter this week with the news that Ryan Seacrest is buying Ellen DeGeneres' Beverly Hills compound for $37 million, and that she and spouse Portia de Rossi are moving no farther than a Hal Levitt-designed midcentury — also in Beverly Hills. DeGeneres' new 8,500-square-foot house, built in 1958, features walls of glass, soaring ceilings, multiple fireplaces, a library, a black-and-stainless-steel kitchen, a sunken living room, four bedrooms and six bathrooms.

At a time when so many people are trying to clean out their systems with detoxifying pads, pills and gadgets, let's take a moment to honor the liver, the best detox device a body can have. Without prompting, the liver breaks down and dispenses with all sorts of toxic compounds, including alcohol and acetaminophen. Anyone who is truly interested in removing poisons from the body should probably spend less time applying detoxifying pads and potions and more time protecting their liver. One way to give your liver a lift is to avoid bombarding it with too many poisons in the first place.

Cocaine is highly addictive. But cocaine's appeal can be greatly reduced, if not wiped out, by activating a particular type of receptor in the brain, a new study suggests. Researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology trained several types of mice to give themselves cocaine. Then they gave the animals a compound called JWH133, which turns off a cannibinoid receptor called CB2. Normal mice responded by giving themselves less cocaine.

A large, half-packed suitcase on the floor of Salem Farhani's house showed just how fast he and his family bolted from their home - which had the bad fortune to be located within Moammar Kadafi's Bab Azizia compound. Inside the once-feared residential and leadership complex, the base that allowed Kadafi and his most trusted lieutenants to menace this country of 6 million for decades, rebels and ordinary Libyans pillaged and plundered. Some were rummaging through Farhani's home in search of valuables, others were snatching the thousands of weapons and ammunition stashed throughout the area.

It was a quiet night at the Crescenta Valley High School evacuation center. Eleven people were asleep in their cots, evacuated from homes near burning foothills in the Angeles National Forest. Then, with no warning, nearly 200 more evacuees turned up about 2:30 a.m. Some clutched pillows and still wore pajamas, said Mack Dugger, an American Red Cross volunteer on duty that night. They'd been jarred from their beds early Monday by automated phone calls -- known as reverse 911 calls -- warning them to get out of the path of the Station fire.

Outside, it's part paradise, part playground. Inside, it's an imaginative, high-tech hideaway. This gated compound with three guesthouses in the Beverly Hills Post Office area was designed by Santa Monica architect Aleks Istanbullu. Istanbullu, whose work includes the Biscuit Co. Lofts in downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Public Library's Westchester-Loyola Village branch and the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, has created a playful three-story main house using bold colors and irregular shapes around a swimming pool that has an underwater viewing chamber on its side.

The styrene folks are not amused — not amused at all — by the federal government’s addition of the compound to a list of substances that might cause cancer. Representatives from — the Styrene Information and Research Center --  said they would fight "vigorously" to remove styrene’s new designation as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.” That designation appears on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ most recent Report on Carcinogens.  The industry group contends that the inclusion is “completely unjustified.” In a news release Friday, the group condemned the inclusion, using terms such as “flawed process” and “preponderance of data” and tartly pointing out that the latest research by European scientists doesn’t support a link between styrene and cancer.

Until recently, very few people had ever heard of raspberry ketones, the aromatic compounds that give the berries their distinctive smell. Today, health food stores have trouble keeping the capsules or drops of the stuff on their shelves. Almost overnight, an obscure plant compound became the next big thing in weight loss - and all it took was a few words from Dr. Oz. In a February episode of "The Dr. Oz Show," Mehmet Oz told viewers that raspberry ketones were "the No. 1 miracle in a bottle to burn your fat. " Once Oz calls something a "miracle," it doesn't remain obscure for long.

Cyberspace is a-twitter with the news that Ryan Seacrest is expected to close escrow this week on Ellen Degeneres' Beverly Hills compound, but there's been nary a peep about where she and spouse Portia de Rossi have decamped. Look no further than the Hal Levitt-designed midcentury in Beverly Hills that changed hands in April, according to area real estate agents familiar with that deal. The 8,500-square-foot house, built in 1958, features walls of glass, soaring ceilings, multiple fireplaces, a library, a black-and-stainless-steel kitchen, a sunken living room, four bedrooms and six bathrooms.

Pro golfer Denis Watson and his wife, attorney Susan Loggans, have taken 24% off the price they were asking a year ago for their Pacific Palisades compound and relisted it for $17.95 million. The renovated Mediterranean-style estate, built in 1982, includes nine bedrooms, 91/2 bathrooms and 10,000 square feet of living space. The 2.5-acre equestrian property features a guesthouse, a tennis court, a swimming pool, corrals and a stream. Watson, 56, had three PGA tour wins before joining the Champions Tour when he turned 50. He was voted Rookie of the Year in 2007 and has four tour wins.

This Pacific Palisades compound features a contemporary three-story main house, unobstructed ocean and coastline views and a guesthouse with a claim to fame. The Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen-designed Case Study No. 9 house was one of a series of inexpensive and efficient experimental homes built in the middle of the last century. Location: 205 Chautauqua, Pacific Palisades 90272 Asking price: $15.95 million Previously sold: In 2010 for $10 million House size: Five bedrooms, nine bathrooms, 9,500 square feet Lot size: 43,500 square feet Features: Gated, art gallery, two offices, library, wine cellar, gym, swimming pool, ocean views About the area: In the first quarter, 50 single-family homes sold in the 90272 ZIP Code at a median price of $1,793,000, according to DataQuick.

Actor Harrison Ford has listed his compound in Brentwood for $8.295 million. The Colonial Revival-style house, designed by Gerard Colcord and built in 1951, is set off the street at the end of a long gated driveway. On more than three-quarters of an acre with mature trees and three detached guest suites, the two-story main house has been restored and remodeled in keeping with the original design. "It was a one-story Colcord country Colonial," said Bret Parsons, author of the book "Colcord Home.

Entered by a gated driveway that leads to a cobblestone motor court, this Cape Cod-inspired compound has a resort atmosphere with amenities such as a putting green, a 70-foot-long batting cage and a vineyard. Among the structures are a main residence with a library/music room and gym, a pool house with a kitchen, a detached theater with a projection system and bar, and a separate office suite. Location: 4385 Commonwealth Ave., La Canada Flintridge 91001 Asking price: $8.9 million Architect: Dave De Angelis Year built: 2006 Living space: Five bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, 10,644 square feet Lot size: About 1.5 acres Features: Wine cellar for more than 3,000 bottles, tasting room, heated floors, basement billiard room, roof deck, solar power, saltwater pool with spa, misting system, outdoor kitchen, lighted sports court, citrus grove, equestrian zoning About the area: Last year, 244 single-family homes sold in 91011 ZIP Code at a median price of $1,060,000, according to DataQuick.

The past and present converge in a leafy three-quarter acre compound in the heart of Brentwood Park. The two-story main house ? traditional English in style with Gothic touches ? was extensively remodeled in 2006 with a raft of creature-comfort upgrades. A private, gated yard at the rear of the property holds a ranch-style guesthouse and a converted stable that look much the same as when they were built in the 1920s. Producer Mike Fleiss, creator of "The Bachelor," and his wife, Alexandra Vorbeck, who designed the home's landscaping, purchased the property in 2004 and promptly took the aging main house down to its studs.

Update: Norm Zada, the former Stanford professor and money manager who created Perfect 10 magazine, has sold his compound in gated Beverly Park for $16.5 million. The Richard Landry-designed main house has 12,000 square feet of living space. A glass-and-steel bridge connects it to the 8,000-square-foot guesthouse. The 6.89-acre estate includes two pavilions, a paddle tennis court, a waterfall and a swimming pool. The property includes 10 bedrooms plus a maid's room; 18 bathrooms; and a gym. The property came on the market last year at $24.5 million.

Actress Priscilla Barnes, who was cast as a replacement roommate in the '80s sitcom "Three's Company," must have taken her role as a renter to heart. Barnes and her husband, Ted Monte, have become first-time homeowners with the purchase of a gated compound in Glendale for its asking price of $689,000. The property is more than a third of an acre and includes a main house, a guesthouse and stables. The main residence contains two bedrooms and two bathrooms. There is one bedroom and one bathroom in the guesthouse.