Archive for 2008
Chu, Two and Btu
People around here at Lawrence Berkeley Lab are saddened by the loss of Dr. Chu as director, but extremely excited about his nomination as Secretary of Energy.
Post on Dec 26, 2008 by Jim Gunshinan
Those Marvelous Mitochondria
This former free living bacterium now supplies our cells their energy.Current theories hold that life began on Earth around 3.5 billion years ago. About a billion years ago, a single celled beast engulfed and absorbed another single celled creature. We are all descended from that hijacking. The hijacked cell has over time become the mitochondrion. [...]
Post on Dec 22, 2008 by Dr. Barry Starr
Snows of the Solar System
Snow is quite unusual for the Oakland Hills. Is snow so unusual for the rest of the solar system?
Post on Dec 19, 2008 by Ben Burress
Reporter's Notes: Building Blocks Go Green
I got interested in this story after hearing Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla speak at a conference this fall in Sausalito. He explained how he decides where to invest in green tech and it was fascinating. He and other top venture capitalists think they can help stop global warming and make a ton of money at the same time.
Post on Dec 19, 2008 by Andrea Kissack
Engineering the Planet
On the surface, geoengineering almost seems like science fiction. Could humans engineer ways to compensate for global warming by changing dynamics in the Earth's atmosphere?
Post on Dec 18, 2008 by Lauren Sommer
Reporter's Notes: Dialing in on Traffic
The pilot project at UC Berkeley called Mobile Millennium uses cell phones as data points to show traffic patterns in real time. To become an early adopter of the technology, you must have an unlimited data plan on a mobile phone with a GPS system.
Post on Dec 12, 2008 by David Gorn
Watts In Your Kitchen?
Do you know how to spot hidden energy guzzlers in your house? You can compare your home energy use over time and spot those peaks and valleys that indicate something is wrong, or something is right.
Post on Dec 12, 2008 by Jim Gunshinan
Using Genetics to Pick Your Kids' Sports
A genetic test is available that claims to be able to help parents predict what sports their kids will be good at. The idea is that the parents can then funnel their kids into the sports at which they are most likely to succeed. How scary is that!
Post on Dec 08, 2008 by Dr. Barry Starr
Reporter's Notes: Get the Soot Out
It's not just truckers that will have to spend a lot of money to retrofit their diesel engines. And quite a few trucks on California roads will actually be unaffected by a new California diesel regulation. The California Air Resources Board is expected to vote on a new diesel-emissions regulation when the board meets on December 11 and 12 in Sacramento.
Post on Dec 05, 2008 by David Gorn
The International Year of Astronomy
2009 has been designated the International Year of Astronomy (IYA), in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Galileo first pointing the new invention of the telescope at the sky.
Post on Dec 05, 2008 by Ben Burress
Science Event Review— Ask a Scientist: How Computers Look at Art
What's amazing is that I knew nothing, nada, zip, zilch about art history and computer modeling prior to 7pm last night. I still don't know much, but enough to talk about it with my wife and friends. That's the brilliant thing about these informal science events, the information sticks with you.
Post on Dec 04, 2008 by Kishore Hari
Reporter's Notes: The Graying of HIV
Some 30 researchers from the University of California-San Francisco and the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology have come together to investigate why HIV-positive patients, who are now living longer lives thanks to anti-retroviral drugs, seem to be aging faster than their uninfected peers.
Post on Nov 26, 2008 by Gabriela Quirós
Turkey and Tryptophan
It is a commonly held assumption that eating copious amounts of turkey, which contain the amino acid Tryptophan, will trigger the drowsiness felt after a large Thanksgiving meal. Is this assumption true?
Post on Nov 26, 2008 by Cat
Producer's Notes: Waiting for the Electric Car
General Motors, Chrysler and Ford face an uncertain future. They have been lobbying Congress for a $25 billion bailout, which representatives seem reluctant to grant them. It seems like an odd time to be talking about technological breakthroughs in the automotive industry.
Post on Nov 25, 2008 by Gabriela Quirós
Producer's Notes: Inside an Explosion
We see or hear about explosions practically every day on TV, the movies and in the news, most people have no idea what an explosion really is.
Post on Nov 25, 2008 by Amy Miller
Producer's Notes: Fido Fights Cancer
I love my dog. For the past ten years, through thick and thin, Brodie has been my happy sidekick, trusted confidant, eager hiking partner and beloved friend. Most of all the kid makes me laugh. He is, I am prone to say, "a glorious twit!"
Post on Nov 25, 2008 by Chris Bauer
Curing AIDS with a Bone Marrow Transplant
Doctors announced in Berlin that a man who received a bone marrow transplant for leukemia was now also free of his HIV infection.
Post on Nov 24, 2008 by Dr. Barry Starr
Reporter's Notes: Underwater Laboratory
The Eye in the Sea is one of the coolest, gee-whiz scientific projects you'll see. It's part of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's so-called MARS project (that stands for Monterey Accelerated Research System). MARS is an undersea laboratory, set up deep on the sea floor about 30 miles offshore from Monterey.
Post on Nov 21, 2008 by David Gorn
Stars and Sand Grains
Astronomers have estimated that there are about 200 billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. Galaxies come in many sizes, both much larger and considerably smaller than our home galaxy.
Post on Nov 21, 2008 by Ben Burress
Science Event Pick: Gobble, Gobble– Science for Foodies
Here in the Bay Area, we're known the world around as foodies, especially given the recent popularity of the Slow Food Festival. As we approach the biggest food holiday of the year, it's a great opportunity to think about the science behind all of these scrumptious meals.
Post on Nov 20, 2008 by Kishore Hari
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