Seeds

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using the supplement nitric oxide? Richard Sunland Nitric oxide is a gas naturally found in the body; its function is conveying information between cells. One of its main jobs is increasing blood flow by dilating blood vessels, and that's why it's sometimes given in supplement form to heart patients, orally and intravenously. In at least one study it's been shown to be effective for lowering blood pressure.

Third-seeded USC took a major step forward with a 12-10 victory over second-seeded UCLA in the NCAA women's water polo semifinals Saturday at San Diego. The victory marks the Trojans' first win over the Bruins in an NCAA tournament. In the final Sunday, USC (23-5) will take on top-seeded Stanford (25-2) at 5:15 p.m. at the Aztec Aquaplex. The Cardinal advanced Saturday with a 12-3 victory over fourth-seeded UC Irvine (25-7). USC's victory against UCLA (22-4) was led by four goals each from Monica Vavic and Patricia Jancso.

Some good buys for your health and your pocketbook: Buy fresh fruits and vegetables in season. Buy frozen otherwise. Frozen is cheaper and may even be better for you than fresh. That's because produce is usually frozen at its ripest, which is usually when it maxes out in nutrient content too. Some nutrients do break down or leach out in the freezing process, but most make it through.

Second-seeded UCLA put away Iona, 14-3, and No. 3-seeded USC dominated Princeton, 14-2, on Friday in the opening round of the NCAA women's water polo championship tournament at San Diego State. UC Irvine was an 8-6 winner over Loyola Marymount, and Pomona-Pitzer fell to Stanford, 17-5. Senior KK Clark scored four goals for the Bruins (22-3), who established a 5-0 lead and never looked back. Sarah Orozco, another senior, had a hat trick for UCLA, which moved into a semifinal match Saturday with USC (22-5)

For 40 years, farmer Todd Leake and his family have battled bitter cold, hungry pests and a short growing season to coax soybeans out of their fields in eastern North Dakota. The one thing they never had to fight for, though, was their seeds. A decade ago, salesmen from as many as 50 seed companies would compete for their dollars. Each would promise healthier plants, richer yields or a better discount. Today the Leakes have little choice: There are four seed companies in their area, and all sell seeds that include genetic traits patented and licensed by Monsanto Co., the world's largest seed firm.

Re "Joining the Valley do-gooders," So-Cal Life, March 12 I thank Eryn Brown for writing about her realization that there is an organized "small army" of people willing to invest the time and energy to preserve and protect neighborhoods and communities in the San Fernando Valley from overdevelopment and traffic. Teaching "How to Be a Community Activist" is akin to a gardener planting seeds with the hope that they all will sprout under the right conditions. That's my planting plan for those in my class that day. ELLEN VUKOVICH Sherman Oaks

Schools seeded ninth or lower in the NCAA basketball tournament that have advanced to the regional semifinals since 1979 when the NCAA began seeding all teams: *--* 1979 Pennsylvania (9**), St. John's (10*) 1980 Lamar (10) 1981 St.

Baked A Novel Mark Haskell Smith Black Cat Press: 352 pp., $14 paper The first sentence of "Baked," the new thriller by Mark Haskell Smith, features a four-letter profanity. The second sentence goes: "He walked out of his house and into the white-light white heat of a bullet exploding out of a handgun…" — and the reader rests secure in the certainty that, whatever else it may or may not achieve, this narrative won't dither. Although "Baked" features odes to the virtues and variety of marijuana and not just murder and mayhem, its effect is rarely mellow.

Scientists using radiocarbon dating have confirmed that an ancient Judean date palm seed among those found in the ruins of Masada in present-day Israel and planted three years ago is 2,000 years old -- the oldest seed ever to germinate. The seed has grown into a healthy, 4-foot-tall seedling, surpassing the previous record for oldest germinated seed -- a 1,300-year-old Chinese lotus, researchers reported Thursday in the journal Science.

When my husband and I moved into our new home in the East Bay in 1984, we built raised beds for our first vegetable garden. We ordered seeds from Renee Shepherd's catalog ("Seeds: A Starter Set for Epicures," Feb. 12), which made us even more enthusiastic about gardening because it was beautifully illustrated and packed with information and good recipes. After the seeds were planted, our seedlings were promptly eaten by garden pests. I wrote to Renee for pest control advice, and she took the time to send me a handwritten note with recommendations for safely ridding the garden of certain pests.

As the top-seeded team in the NCAA men's volleyball Final Four, UC Irvine appears primed for a possible run to its third title in six years. Could this be the last hurrah for Coach John Speraw at Irvine? Speraw, a former UCLA player and assistant, has been regarded as the favorite to succeed Al Scates in Westwood ever since Speraw left the UCLA staff to take over at Irvine after the 2002 season. Scates coached his final match last month, concluding a 50-year tenure at UCLA that included 1,239 victories and 19 NCAA championships.

USC, on the verge of possibly being shut out from the first men's volleyball Final Four that it would play host to, breathed a sigh of relief Sunday when the NCAA selection committee awarded the Trojans an at-large berth. UC Irvine is seeded first and will play fourth-seeded Penn State on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Galen Center. Second-seeded USC plays third-seeded Lewis University at 8 p.m. Irvine (24-5) earned the top seeding by winning the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament championship with a five-set victory over Stanford on Saturday night.

Too many issues surround the Lakers. How will the Lakers absorb Metta World Peace's seven-game suspension? Will Andrew Bynum's aggressiveness become consistent? How will the Lakers look in the playoffs with a bench featuring Devin Ebanks and Jordan Hill? The Lakers will soon find out how well they manage all those uncertainties. But here's a dosage of good news: the Lakers officially have the No. 3 seeding in the Western Conference. Now don't expect the Lakers to hang their 23rd Pacific Division title banner in the Staples Center rafters after the Clippers lost Tuesday in Atlanta.

                                        Lakers fans might have forgotten with all the concern and criticism surrrounding Metta World Peace's ejection for elbowing Oklahoma City guard James Harden in the head that the Lakers' 114-106 victory Sunday over the Thunder made it...

VANCOUVER, Canada --- Finishing in the top eight in the West had taken so much out of the Kings that Coach Darryl Sutter wasn't sure what his players had in reserve before their first-round series against the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks. They had overcome a 7-8-1 start at home and repeated dips out of playoff position but then lost their final two games. Sutter, who took over for Terry Murray on Dec. 22, wasn't sure if his team had gone as far as it could manage.

-- The Times' Mike Bresnahan wonders how the Lakers will stack up Sunday against Oklahoma City. -- Sports Illustrated's Sam Amick highlights Derek Fisher's contention that the National Basketball Players Assn. shouldn't resist performing an audit. -- The Orange County Register's Janis Carr and ESPN Los Angeles' Dave McMenamin highlight Kobe Bryant's contention that he's not concerned about winning this season's scoring title. -- NBA.com's Nick Gallo lauds how OKC has put together its foundation.

When Ethiopia's civil war threatened to engulf the capital of Addis Ababa last May, a group of scientists and activists meeting near Stockholm reacted swiftly to rescue the precious contents of the Addis Ababa seed bank. The bank's director, Melaku Worede, had been among the experts and international leaders participating in discussions about how to best protect crop plants and seeds--key to the world's ability to feed its people. In the face of violent reality, talk shifted to action.

Tucked in cramped offices in the nation's capital, a fertile ground for flowering political careers, are some most unusual green thumbs. Last year alone, these modern-day Johnny Appleseeds helped to scatter 2.5 tons of seeds that produced $7 million worth of food. And they were planted in all 50 states as part of 6,000 projects for groups ranging from a convent in Santa Barbara to a soup kitchen in Brentwood, Long Island.

The Kings have waited 44 years to hold a 3-0 lead in a playoff series. Waiting an extra day before they can finish off the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks isn't bothering them. Players assembled Monday in El Segundo for a meeting and off-ice workouts, barely 12 hours after recording a 1-0 victory that put them in position to win their first playoff series since 2001. Game 4 isn't until Wednesday at Staples Center, so only a few players skated. That group did not include winger Kyle Clifford, who suffered an apparent head injury in Game 1. "I think it's actually a good thing to have a few days off to regroup, to get our legs back and be able to prepare for the next game," defenseman Drew Doughty said.

  The Kings, trying to take a 3-0 playoff series lead for the first time in their history, will face a different goaltender Sunday night at Staples Center than they faced in the first two games of their series against the Vancouver Canucks. Cory Schneider will start in goal instead of Roberto Luongo, the Canucks announced Sunday afternoon. It's more an effort to shake things up than an indictment of Luongo, but it's an interesting move by the top-seeded Canucks.