Archive for June, 2007
How Buildings Evolve (or Devolve)
I wonder if homes in the past fifty years or so have undergone a similar evolution in architecture– or devolution, depending on your point of view– as churches. Dining with FriendsDuring my former career as a Catholic priest, I taught a few Religious Studies classes at a small college. My favorite text in one class [...]
Post on Jun 29, 2007 by Jim Gunshinan
Harnessing Power from the Sea
California is looking at harnessing power from the sea to help meet the state's energy demand. Although not yet widely used, many believe tidal power has more potential than wind or solar power for meeting alternative energy needs. Quest radio looks at plans for tidal and wave power off San Francisco and along the northern [...]
Post on Jun 29, 2007 by Andrea Kissack
Window on the Bay, Part II
In my last post, I wrote about a recent visit to the Aquarium of the Bay at PIER 39 and a couple of the fascinating creatures we encountered there. Here are a few more: Drifting in slow motion are the otherworldly moon jellies. Found in temperate and tropical waters around the world, they like bays [...]
Post on Jun 28, 2007 by Ann Dickinson
Explosive Beetles Hack Ant Colonies for Royal Treatment
Guest blogging for Donovan is Dr. Wendy Moore of the California Academy of Sciences. With roughly 350,000 described species, beetles are without a doubt one of the most successful forms of life on Earth. Many beetle species use chemicals to defend themselves, but the true masters of chemical defense are the Bombardier Beetles which deliver [...]
Post on Jun 27, 2007 by Donovan Rittenbach
Coffee and Pi: Bay Area Science Cafés
It's a typical afternoon at a cafe– cappuccinos, conversation… and the science of black holes? Bay Area "science cafes" have exploded in popularity, putting scientists and everyday folk face to face for casual science roundtables, no lecture notes required. You may view the "Coffee and Pi: Bay Area Science Cafés" TV Story online, as well [...]
Post on Jun 26, 2007 by Amy Miller
Fur Seal Pup Rehab
Californians don't normally see fur seals along local beaches, but lately fur seal pups have been stranding themselves in alarming numbers. QUEST sails out with the Marine Mammal Center as they release these stowaways back into the wild and try to understand their mysterious behavior. You may view the "Fur Seal Pup Rehab" TV Story [...]
Post on Jun 26, 2007 by Chris Bauer
Fatal Attraction: Birds and Wind Turbines
With California's ambitious renewable energy goal, the state needs wind power. But California's largest wind farm cluster at Altamont Pass unintentionally kills golden eagles, burrowing owls and other threatened birds. Now, wind companies, scientists and environmentalists are working to bird-proof these massive wind farms. You may view the "Fatal Attraction: Birds and Wind Turbines" TV [...]
Post on Jun 26, 2007 by Gabriela Quirós
What is in your DNA?
How deeply do you want to look into your DNA? Credit: U.S. Department of Energy Genome Programs Remember Jim Watson? The guy who co-discovered what DNA looks like? Recently he got to look at the 6 billion letters that make up his DNA. And maybe soon you can get a peek at yours. In a [...]
Post on Jun 25, 2007 by Dr. Barry Starr
The Science of Making Decisions
Have you ever looked at your credit card bill and thought you needed to have your head examined? Stanford University is using complex brain imaging to study how humans make shopping decisions, and are finding that emotions play a large role in everyday purchases. You may listen to the "The Science of Making Decisions" Radio [...]
Post on Jun 22, 2007 by Andrea Kissack
Eye of the Beholder
The Viking Orbiter’s picture of a hill in the Cydonia region on Mars that sparked popular speculation of a monument-building Martian civilization. Credit: NASA/Viking When I heard the news flash that came out in early June about the alleged discovery of standing puddles of water on Mars, a part of me was immediately skeptical. Considering [...]
Post on Jun 19, 2007 by Ben Burress
Seeing the Invisible
Overlay of the profile of the Bullet Cluster measured using three different techniques. The light orange, round galaxies that make up the cluster are seen clearly in the image taken from optical telescopes. Overlaid is the distribution of gas measured from X-ray observations in red and the distribution of dark matter in blue. Composite Credit: [...]
Post on Jun 18, 2007 by Kyle S. Dawson
Does This House Come With a Prius?
One of the benefits of being on the staff of a nonprofit that is a guest at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is rubbing elbows with great scientists and researchers like Tom Wenzel in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division. I first met Tom after a talk he gave years ago about improving auto fuel economy without [...]
Post on Jun 15, 2007 by Jim Gunshinan
Wifi Revolution
Silicon Valley is planning what will be the country's biggest wireless network, serving 40 cities and 2.4 million people. It's just one of dozens of municipal wireless projects being launched across the country, many of which will be run by for-profit companies. Is wireless the next public utility? If so, who should control it, and [...]
Post on Jun 14, 2007 by Amy Standen
Window on the Bay, Part I
Bay pipefish (Syngnathus leptorhynchus)Our usual view of the Bay doesn't even scratch the surface. Literally. As we admire that beautiful expanse of water, how often do we stop to wonder what’s going on underneath it all? The Bay below the surface is a rich ecosystem of worms, snails, anemones, sea stars, clams, shrimp, crabs, and [...]
Post on Jun 14, 2007 by Ann Dickinson
Ray's 50-year love affair with 'dem bones
Photo Dong Lin, California Academy of SciencesWhat would you do if you saw an old guy, with a weather-beaten face and white hair, carving the flesh off the skulls of a dead seal lying in the sand on Ocean Beach, in San Francisco? Would you call the police? If you did, they probably wouldn't care, [...]
Post on Jun 13, 2007 by Donovan Rittenbach
The real Davy Jones locker
Laboratory photo of one of the newly discovered bone-eating worms, Osedax frankpressi, which has been removed from a whale bone On the heels of two humpbacks leaving the Sacramento River for the ocean, you may have seen this other news report on a rotting gray whale carcass on waterfront property at Point Richmond. (There's a [...]
Post on Jun 12, 2007 by Nick Pyenson
Turning skin cells into embryonic stem cells
Last blog I talked about how I may have to be cloned to get my own embryonic stem (ES) cells. I was willing to deal with all of the associated ethical baggage because these sorts of cells would be so useful. They'll help cure many of my future ailments without my body rejecting these ES [...]
Post on Jun 11, 2007 by Dr. Barry Starr
Titan: It's a Small World After All
A comparison of one of Titan's 'seas'(left) and Lake Superior. Credit: NASA/Cassini.Saturn's largest moon, Titan, has always held my imagination in a tight grip. Even back in my childhood (we're talking the 60's, before any interplanetary probe had even crossed the Asteroid Belt just beyond Mars), when we knew little more about Titan than its [...]
Post on Jun 08, 2007 by Ben Burress
Cleaning up Hunters Point
The Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard bears traces of a toxic — and historic– military legacy. It could also be the site of the new 49ers stadium. But cleaning up this 500 acre Superfund site is costly and time consuming. QUEST looks at how the site got that way, and how the Navy is cleaning it [...]
Post on Jun 07, 2007 by Amy Standen
Good Vibrations
How does an elephant know to avoid a hungry lion pride to the west from miles and miles away? They have friends who call them with the 411, dialing direct to their feet. According to expert Caitlin O'Connell-Rodwell, Elephants use their voices to create sounds, which transfer into waves through the ground. The elephants receive [...]
Post on Jun 06, 2007 by Amy Gotliffe
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