Origin

Long ago, some brazen wolves started hanging around human settlements, jump-starting events that ultimately led to today's domesticated dogs. Now geneticists say they have identified one of the key changes that turned wolves into the tame, tail-wagging creatures well-suited to living by our sides - the ability to digest carbohydrates with ease. The report, published online Wednesday by the journal Nature, found signs that dogs can break down starch into sugar, and then transport those sugars from the gut into the bloodstream, more efficiently than can wolves.

Los Angeles High School Sports Hall of Fame: 2013 Class AQUATICS Lenny Krayzelburg, Fairfax Marjorie Gestring, Los Angeles Sue Gossick, Taft SOFTBALL Laura Espinoza Watson, Banning GOLF Donna Caponi Byrnes, Granada Hills WRESTLING Briggs Hunt, Los Angeles VOLLEYBALL Craig Buck, Taft Jeff Stork, Taft Kim Ruddins, Westchester Ron Lang, Dorsey ...

In the wake of a scandal over its acquisition of looted antiquities, the J. Paul Getty Museum is trying to verify the ownership histories of 45,000 antiquities and publish the results in the museum's online collections database. The study, part of the museum's efforts to be more transparent about the origins of ancient art in its collection, began last summer, said Getty spokesman Ron Hartwig. "In this effort, and in all our work, when we identify objects that warrant further discussion and research, we conduct the necessary research to determine whether an item should be returned," Hartwig said in a statement to The Times.

The iconic Batmobile from the 1960s television show is set for the auction block this weekend. The midnight-black and fluorescent-red-pinstriped car that Adam West's Batman used to battle villains in Gotham will be up for grabs Saturday at a Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Ariz. There is a reserve price for the car, but neither the auction house nor the car owner, famed car customizer George Barris, would confirm the lowest dollar amount they would accept. But auction organizers have indicated it's in the multimillion-dollar range.

Dear Abby: "What would you do with a man who refuses to use a deodorant, seldom bathes, and doesn't even own a toothbrush?" "Absolutely nothing," she replied. The wry answer from Abigail Van Buren - the pen name of Pauline Friedman Phillips - was typical of the advice she dispensed for more than 40 years to newspaper readers around the world through her "Dear Abby" column, which debuted in 1956 in the San Francisco Chronicle. She got the bug to write it from her identical twin, who was already providing more homespun counsel in a syndicated newspaper column as Ann Landers.

Through three decades of fevered tabloid speculation and whispers of a deeper story, the official account never changed: Natalie Wood drowned accidentally. The 43-year-old star of "West Side Story," who couldn't swim, had been drinking the night before she was found floating face-down in frigid waters off Santa Catalina Island. When the L.A. County Sheriff's Department reopened the case in November 2011, around the 30th anniversary of her death, skeptics questioned the timing and doubted whether there was anything new to be learned.

Saying housing markets are much improved, Wells Fargo & Co. reported solid increases in overall lending and 25% higher profit for the fourth quarter, although some investors worried as the nation's largest home lender wrote fewer mortgages than in the previous quarter. The San Francisco bank said Friday that revenue grew more than 6% during 2012, with improvements in segments including commercial loans, credit cards and wealth management. But mortgage originations declined 10% compared with the third quarter, raising concerns that a refinance boom that has fattened banks' results may be waning.

At 25, the flamboyant Korean violinist Amadeus Leopold (formerly Hahn-Bin and before that, Hahnbin Yoo) already counts fans in classical music, fashion, the art world and pop culture. Last year the one-time prodigy at the Colburn School and protégé of Itzhak Perlman at the Juilliard School could be found within a few Manhattan blocks, performing at Carnegie Hall, the Louis Vuitton store on Fifth Avenue, the Museum of Modern Art and at the NBC television studios for a profile on the "Today" show.

Satellite broadcaster DirecTV is taking the next step with its in-house channel Audience Network. Best known as the channel that gave a second chance to critically acclaimed but low-rated dramas "Damages" and "Friday Night Lights," the Audience Network is now making a big push into original scripted programming with the drama "Rogue. " Set to premiere in April, "Rogue" is a gritty and dark look at a detective (Thandie Newton) who goes undercover and finds herself crossing lines and putting her career in jeopardy.

"Les Misérables" fans of a certain age may remember Colm Wilkinson, the big-voiced stage actor who originated the role of Jean Valjean in London and later on Broadway.  The producers of the new movie version have given the actor a cameo role as the Bishop of Digne, the priest who takes pity on Valjean. It's a brief role but an important one -- his act of kindness sets Valjean on a different path in life. After playing "Les Misérables" on Broadway, Wilkinson embarked on a career in Canada.