L.A. to Be Linked by Satellite to AIDS
Symposium in Japan
The UCLA AIDS Institute will host a symposium in Japan, broadcast live by satellite to the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles on Thursday. “Treatment of HIV Disease: Advances and Future Challenges,” will be presented in Yokohama in conjunction with the 10th International Conference on AIDS.
Panelists will provide information on HIV-related topics including pathogenesis, AIDS malignancies and novel HIV therapeutic approaches, such as cytokines, vaccines and gene therapy.
Moderated by Dr. Ronald T. Mitsuyasu, associate director of the institute, panel members will include Dr. Martha Rogers, chief of epidemiology, division of HIV/AIDS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Steven A. Miles, assistant professor of medicine, UCLA CARE Center, and other experts in the field.
Advance registration for the symposium at the Biltmore is required, call (800) 535-1307, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.
ASTRONOMY
* The annual Perseid meteor shower may be unusually intense this year, says the Griffith Observatory, climaxing about 3 a.m. Friday. At the minimum, observers in dark locations can expect to see about one meteor per minute. If a so-called meteor “storm” occurs, up to several hundred meteors per hour could be visible.
The observatory will not be open late for this event. The observatory’s Sky Report, (213) 663-8171, gives additional information on celestial events.
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History will hold a Perseid Meteor shower party at 9 p.m. Friday, immediately following a planetarium program at 8 p.m. Call (805) 682-4711 or (805) 682-3224.
SCIENCE FOR FAMILIES
* Naturalist Lou Palermo will lead her students into the world of arachnids in “Exploring the Secret World of Spiders,” a field science program designed for the whole family at the Madrona Marsh Nature Preserve in Torrance on Sunday at 2 p.m. Reservations are required. Call the Friends of Madrona Marsh at (310) 326-3840 or (310) 782-3989.
* The Eaton Canyon Nature Center will host a “Bat Walk” on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Participants will learn about the three species believed to inhabit the canyon and how these gentle mammals are beneficial to people. Call (818) 821-3246.
* Machado Lake, in the Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park in Harbor City and Wilmington, will be explored in a two-hour walk and clean-up effort on Saturday at 9 a.m. Originally a saltwater marsh, the lake is now a freshwater system supporting a variety of plant life, shorebirds and migratory birds using the Pacific Flyway. Call the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy at (310) 373-0202.
* The William O. Douglas Outdoor Classroom will host two outdoor walks for families at the Sooky Goldman Nature Center in Upper Franklin Canyon. On Saturday, children ages 4 to 7, accompanied by an adult, can explore nature in a “Canyon Tykes” hike at 10 a.m. On Sunday, families with children can join in “Discovering Nature,” a 2 p.m. outing. Reservations are required for both events. Call (310) 858-3090.
* Caring for the Earth and all its plants and animals is the focus of “Nature Kids,” a program offered Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden for children ages 5 to 10. Advance registration is required. Call (805) 563-2521.
* Children 6 and older can explore force, energy and light with science educator Michelle Sullivan in “Magnets, Batteries and Bulbs,” workshops offered by Kidspace Museum on Friday at 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Call (818) 449-9144.
* Visitors to the Los Angeles Zoo on Saturday and Sunday can satisfy their curiosity about cats in a weekend of “Cool Cats,” programs offered by the zoo on the fabulous felines found there. Call (213) 666-4090.
