Scripps Institution Of Oceanography

The California Coastal Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a plan by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography to measure global warming by booming sounds through the Pacific Ocean--but only after the scientists first study the impact of loud noise on undersea life and confirm that there are no ill effects.

A controversial ocean sound experiment off Half Moon Bay has been halted indefinitely after the discovery of three dead humpback whales in the area, Scripps Institution of Oceanography officials said Wednesday. The whale carcasses were found just days after the ocean floor loudspeaker was turned on repeatedly, apparently before required steps were taken to ensure the safety of the whales and other marine life.

Dr. Richard Houghten did not choose his parents wisely. His father died at 58, his mother at 51. One grandfather died at 57, another at 47. An uncle, three brothers and his sister all have Type 2 diabetes. He is 59. The awareness of his own mortality drives Houghten, president and director of the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies. It drives the rest of us too, of course, but Houghten and the other biotech cowboys on La Jolla's "Science Mesa" are actually doing something about it.

You might never hear of Bill Fenical again. In the years ahead, though, you could owe him some of your good health. Perhaps your life. Fenical probably won't join the ranks of those Communications Age nobles who transform convenience gadgetry and technological gewgaws into inconceivable wealth. Yet this chemist is hot on the trail of discoveries far more tantalizing. William -- "call me Bill" -- Fenical, PhD, is out to cure cancer. Maybe prevent cancer.

Fred N. Spiess, 86, a scientist, inventor and former head of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, died Sept. 8 of cancer at UC San Diego's Thornton Hospital in La Jolla. Spiess was acting director of Scripps in 1962-63 and director for the 1964-65 academic year. He then served as associate director until 1980. From 1980 to 1988, he was director of UC's Institute of Marine Resources, headquartered at UC San Diego.

A prominent marine researcher died Sunday after exploring sunken ships with her husband and three other divers off the San Diego coast. Rescuers found Mia Tegner, 53, a scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, unconscious at a depth of about 90 feet, said city lifeguard Lt. Brant Bass. Tegner, an expert on kelp forest ecology, was very experienced, completing more than 3,000 dives, Bass said.

With the aplomb of a slapstick comedian, the penguin waddled across the Ross Ice Shelf, moving toward open water in a series of determined slips, slides and belly flops. Dressed in formal featherwear, the black-and-white bird struggled over the hard ridges of wind-rippled snow. But each step forward seemed more exhausting than the last. Finally, the penguin plopped down on its stomach, arched back its head and kicked its paddle-like feet in a flurry of frustration.

Sensors attached to an oil platform off Point Conception gather data for a wave forecasting program run by UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The information helps produce a Southern California swell model that is updated hourly. This and other results of the Coastal Data Information Program are available on the Scripp's Web site on the Internet at: http://cdlp.ucsd.

It was a chance encounter out here in the cold surging water, half a century ago. Nature's immutable cycles caught up with some of the most ambitious fishermen of the age. The sardine disappeared. There was disbelief, as you might imagine, even panic. Prayers resounded from the pulpits. The state Legislature legislated. News spread in the newspapers. Experts were summoned to investigate just what had cast this shadow on the California dream. These events have faded in memory now.