Haha, I didn’t know that. I don’t think they’re growing a brain, maybe it’s a case of a stopped clock.
There are some conservative judges on the 9th Circuit (including the Chief Judge, Kosinski). It's just that they are outnumbered by the liberals. Federal appeals courts sit in panels of 3 judges, so it's a real crapshoot who you will get on your panel in the 9th Circuit, but some panels are very conservative.