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.

Veteran actress Diane Ladd has put her gated compound in Ojai up for sale at $4.45 million. The main house, built in 1986, features a wraparound porch, four bedrooms and five bathrooms and 4,314 square feet of living space. There is a separate guest house, offices, hobby room and three-car garage. The 2.38-acre site includes mature trees, stone walkways, a mediation garden, yoga pavilion, tennis court, swimming pool and a greenhouse. Grandest pool around? Malibu has it Ladd, 80, has scores of film and television credits.

Actor Nick Nolte has put a Malibu compound up for sale that has seen a galaxy of stars come through its arched entryway. Besides Nolte, other notables to have owned the house include comedian Tommy Chong, Don Felder of the Eagles and music producer David Foster. Priced at $8.25 million and set in the Bonsall Canyon area, the two-acre retreat is covered with sycamore and pine trees. The main house, built in 1963, features 19-foot vaulted ceilings, skylights, six stone-and-carved-wood fireplaces, marble floors and mahogany French doors.

Actor Nick Nolte has put a Malibu compound up for sale that has seen a galaxy of stars come through its arched entryway. Besides Nolte, other notables to have owned the house include comedian Tommy Chong, Don Felder of the Eagles and music producer David Foster. Priced at $8.25 million and set in the Bonsall Canyon area, the two-acre retreat is covered with sycamore and pine trees. The main house, built in 1963, features 19-foot vaulted ceilings, skylights, six stone-and-carved-wood fireplaces, marble floors and mahogany French doors.

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.

First-time feature production designer Jeremy Hindle admits to some dicey feelings while taking director Kathryn Bigelow on an initial walk-through of "Zero Dark Thirty's" key set. But they weren't rookie jitters. "I remember telling her, 'You're going to feel insanely creepy. You're going to feel like he lived here,'" Hindle says. The verisimilitude Bigelow demanded for all aspects of the film was particularly important to the re-creation of the compound in which Osama bin Laden was killed by Navy SEALs last year.

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.

Director Scott Waugh has put his compound in Hollywood Hills on the market at $1.099 million. Built in 1915, Casa De Vasquez includes a three-bedroom, two-bathroom main house of 1,332 square feet, a detached office, a two-story guesthouse and a detached garage. The gated property features citrus trees, a cactus garden and an expansive patio. Waugh, made a splash last year as a director for the Navy SEALs action film “Act of Valor” and is co-founder of the studio Bandito Brothers.

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.

Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke has bought a gated home in Studio City for $4.575 million. The Craftsman-style two-structure compound, built last year, features an art studio, a bar, a gym, a library/study, a media room, seven bedrooms, nine full bathrooms and two powder rooms. The more than one acre of grounds includes a nine-car motor court, a swimming pool and a waterfall with a walking bridge. Right-hander Greinke, 29, pitched a shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates in his season opener for the Dodgers.

Director Scott Waugh has put his compound in Hollywood Hills on the market at $1.099 million. Built in 1915, Casa De Vasquez includes a three-bedroom, two-bathroom main house of 1,332 square feet, a detached office, a two-story guesthouse and a detached garage. The gated property features citrus trees, a cactus garden and an expansive patio. Waugh, made a splash last year as a director for the Navy SEALs action film “Act of Valor” and is co-founder of the studio Bandito Brothers.

Actor Chris Meloni and his wife, Sherman Williams, have leased a gated compound in Beverly Hills. The Spanish-style house, built in 1929, belongs to dancer-actor-choreographer Grover Dale and had been listed at $25,000 a month for a one-year-plus term. The 6,000-square-foot home features a courtyard entry, four fireplaces, a card room, a den, an office, four bedrooms and six bathrooms. There is a guesthouse and a swimming pool. Meloni, 52, is in “42” and “Man of Steel.” Often associated with his cop roles on “NYPD Blue” and “Law & Order,” he will star in the upcoming  TV comedy “I Suck at Girls” and played a vampire last year on the series “True Blood.” Dale, 77, appeared in the musicals “Li'l Abner” and “West Side Story” and the films “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” and “The Landlord.” He choreographed the musical “Billy” and shared a Tony Award as co-director of “Jerome Robbin's Broadway.” Brent Watson of Coldwell Banker's Beverly Hills North office was the listing agent.

The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Agency endured heavy criticism Tuesday as House members accused the agency of failing to act on complaints against the New England Compounding Center, the Massachusetts firm linked to an outbreak of deadly meningitis. Under harsh questioning from Republican and Democratic  lawmakers, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg conceded that her agency could have handled the situation better. "I wish we had been more aggressive, and I can assure you that we are being more aggressive now," Hamburg told members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Black particles floating in medication; rust and mold in "clean rooms" where injectable drugs are packaged, workers handling sterile products with bare hands. These were among the major violations a team of U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors uncovered recently after investigating 31 drug compounding pharmacies -- a special sweep undertaken in the wake of a deadly outbreak of meningitis spread by tainted drugs. None of the compounding pharmacies was in California. "It may surprise some people to know that, even in light of recent tragic events, some of our firms still challenge our authority to conduct full inspections of their facilities," said Dr. Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of the FDA. Results of the sweep were announced late this week.

Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke has bought a gated home in Studio City for $4.575 million. The Craftsman-style two-structure compound, built last year, features an art studio, a bar, a gym, a library/study, a media room, seven bedrooms, nine full bathrooms and two powder rooms. The more than one acre of grounds includes a nine-car motor court, a swimming pool and a waterfall with a walking bridge. Right-hander Greinke, 29, pitched a shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates in his season opener for the Dodgers.

Film director Joel Schumacher has put his longtime retreat in Carpinteria back on the market at $7.25 million. Set on 5.5 acres, the compound includes a three-bedroom main house, a guesthouse and a two-bedroom caretaker's house.  Built in 2000, the structures have a rustic feel and feature reclaimed barn wood. The main house includes a Diego Rivera-inspired mural entry.  There are 5.5 bathrooms and 6,500 square feet of living space. Schumacher, 73, gained recognition for his work on “St.

Film director Joel Schumacher has put his longtime retreat in Carpinteria back on the market at $7.25 million. Set on 5.5 acres, the compound includes a three-bedroom main house, a guesthouse and a two-bedroom caretaker's house.  Built in 2000, the structures have a rustic feel and feature reclaimed barn wood. The main house includes a Diego Rivera-inspired mural entry.  There are 5.5 bathrooms and 6,500 square feet of living space. Schumacher, 73, gained recognition for his work on “St.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Gunmen armed with suicide vests stormed the headquarters of the Kabul traffic department before dawn Monday, setting off a firefight that continued hours later, officials said. Initial reports indicated that at least 10 people were injured, including four police officers and six civilians, said Gen. Mohammad Ayob Salangi, the city's police chief. The assault began about 5:30 a.m., when one of the assailants blew himself up at the entrance gate to the compound in western Kabul, Salangi said in a statement.

KABUL, Afghanistan - A suicide bombing and armed attack rocked a government compound in western Afghanistan near Iran on Wednesday, leaving at least 49 people dead, including the nine attackers, and wounding more than 50, officials said.   The attack in Farah, capital of the far-western province with the same name, relied on tactics increasingly seen in attacks on Afghan government targets, analysts said. The approach includes a number of insurgents  using stealth, surprise and teamwork to breach the state's defenses and deliver a message that few areas of the country are beyond their reach.

A compounding company in Augusta, Ga., has recalled syringes of the cancer drug Avastin it supplied over five months to physicians treating vision problems after the Food and Drug Administration received word that five patients who received the compounded medication came down with eye infections that could leave them blind. The FDA announced the recall Thursday after regulators conducted a preliminary inspection of Clinical Specialties Compounding Pharmacy and found "practices at the site that raise concerns about a lack of sterility assurance.