Fitness tests reveal that public school students are slightly trimmer than a year ago, but many youngsters fail California's basic level of conditioning. In L.A., the results are more discouraging.California public school students are slightly trimmer and more fit than they were a year ago, but many are still unable to meet the state's basic level of fitness, according to figures released today by the state Department of Education. And students in Los Angeles, especially high school students, were significantly less fit than the state average.

  Peter Houghton, the world's longest-surviving recipient of an artificial heart, died Nov. 25 at a hospital in his home city of Birmingham, England. He was 68.

  Rodents treated with reprogrammed adult cells showed vast improvement after three months. The therapy is several years away from being applied to humans.Taking the next step in a series of breakthrough stem cell experiments, scientists have cured sickle cell anemia in mice by rewinding their skin cells to an embryonic state and manipulating them to create healthy, genetically matched replacement tissue.

  Jack Witherspoon, 7, learned to cook while undergoing treatment uses his passion to put on a fundraiser for his cancer center.Those who crowded into a Redondo Beach restaurant could scarcely believe what 7-year-old Jack Witherspoon cooked up Wednesday night.

  Genentech shares plunge. The vote could be a sign of tougher standards at the agency.A Food and Drug Administration panel dealt a sharp blow to biotech giant Genentech Inc. on Wednesday by refusing to recommend approval for the company's high-profile drug Avastin as a treatment for breast cancer.

  Patients dropped by Blue Shield may sue as a class, a panel says.In a victory for consumers, a state appeals court Tuesday opened the way for class-action lawsuits against insurers that may have improperly dropped individuals for alleged errors and omissions on applications after medical claims had been submitted.

  The actor and his wife say the labeling of heparin by the manufacturer helped lead to the accidental overdose of their infant twins.Actor Dennis Quaid and wife Kimberly sued a leading blood-thinner manufacturer Tuesday, saying the labeling and design of the product led to a massive overdose of their newborn twins last month at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

  A study comparing the use of a placebo with the drug treatment finds little difference. Patience and over-the-counter remedies are recommended.The widespread use of standard antibiotics to treat sinus infections does not help cure patients and may harm them by increasing their resistance to the drugs, according to a study released Tuesday.

  Abdullahi Yusuf cancels a meeting with Secretary of State Rice. He plans to travel to London for treatment.The president of Somalia was hospitalized Tuesday with breathing difficulties and a severe cough, but officials said that his condition did not appear life-threatening and that he planned to travel to London for further treatment.

  A study of opposite-sex twins finds that those males' risk factor is the same as the risk for females in general. In the population at large, women are 10 times as likely as men to have the eating disorder.Prenatal exposure to female hormones increases the risk of anorexia nervosa, according to new research released Monday that bolsters the theory that the disorder has a biological basis in addition to a social and cultural one.