Answers from the research files: More UC discoveries

Does your neighborhood make you fat?

Too many fast-food restaurants and too few parks in poor neighborhoods are among the factors behind the high rate of obesity among low-income teens. According to a study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, 21 percent of teens from low-income families are obese - almost three times the number of obese teenagers from more affluent families. Low-income teens drink more sugary sodas, eat more fast-food meals and watch more TV, the study found, and their neighborhoods lack opportunities for outdoor activities. California is home to about 480,000 obese adolescents from all income levels.

Can you spread happiness?

You bet. The happier you are, the happier your friends will be. In fact, according to a UC San Diego study of 4,739 people over a 20-year-period, every happy friend increases your chances of being happy by 9 percent. On the flip side, every unhappy friend decreases your chances of being happy by 7 percent. Happiness spreads up to three degrees of separation. You are 15 percent more likely to be happy if directly connected to a happy person; 10 percent if it's the friend of a friend who is happy; and 6 percent if it's the friend of a friend of a friend.

Is the wind along California's coastline getting stronger?

Global warming is likely to produce increases in wind speed along the Pacific coast as land temperatures rise faster than ocean temperatures, according to a study from the Climate Change and Impacts Laboratory at UC Santa Cruz. Increasing wind strength could result in more intense upwelling of cold water earlier in the year. That could lead to the massive dead zone along the Oregon coast spreading to California. A stronger upwelling brings excessive amounts of microscopic algae to the surface. The algae sink to the ocean bottom, where they decompose and suck oxygen out of the water. Stronger winds also create higher fire danger