Building a Better, Tastier Tomato
Many tomatoes have been bred to travel well and look appealing, but now researchers are focusing on making them more nutritious and better tasting.
Audio Report on Aug 17, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
Internet in Cars: From the Desktop to the Dashboard
Car companies and Silicon Valley tech companies pair up to make smarter cars. But what happens when the internet makes its way into our dashboards?
Audio Report on Aug 10, 2012 by Andrea Kissack from QUEST Northern California
NASA's Mars Lander: The Exploration Begins
NASA's Curiosity lander has ended its 352 million-mile journey, landing safely on the surface of Mars. For scientists at NASA Ames in Moffet Field, the work is just beginning.
Audio Report on Aug 06, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
California Considers Banning Dogs in Bear Hunts
The legislature is considering a bill that would ban the use of hounds in both bear and bobcat hunting in the state.
Audio Report on Jul 27, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
A Unique HIV Case Inspires New Research
More than 34 million people live with HIV/AIDS worldwide but only one person may have been cured of the virus. We look at promising, genetic research that is aimed at replicating this apparent cure.
Audio Report on Jul 20, 2012 by Andrea Kissack from QUEST Northern California
Space Telescope to Begin Search for Black Holes
NASA's newest space telescope, NuStar, will soon begin its hunt for black holes. Scientists are hoping to learn more about how they grow and why they're such messy eaters.
Audio Report on Jun 29, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
From Alvin to Robots: Deep Changes in Ocean Science
Ocean technology has come a long ways since the submersible Alvin made its first dive in 1964. Increasingly, scientists rely on robots, rather than manned subs like Alvin, to explore the earth's depths. But can remote-control exploration capture the thrill of science?
Audio Report on Jun 22, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
Bio-Robotics: Biology Goes High-Tech
Meet "robo-squirrel." New technology in the emerging field of bio-robotics is helping biologists learn more about animal behavior.
Audio Report on Jun 15, 2012 by Lauren Sommer
Diversity in the Valley: The NewME Accelerator (Part Two)
This week we’re back in Silicon Valley, with a program called NewME, or New Media Entrepreneurship. It’s designed to encourage women and minorities to found technology companies. Seven participants from around the country shared a house in San Francisco for three months, got coached on their business plans and attempted to perfect the art of the pitch.
Audio Report on Jun 08, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
Diversity in the Valley: The NewME Accelerator (Part One)
If you look around Silicon Valley, ideas all seem to be coming from the same kind of people. By a recent estimate, one percent of technology entrepreneurs were African American. Only eight percent of companies were founded by women. One program aims to change this by encouraging more women and minorities to launch companies.
Audio Report on Jun 01, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
Energy-Saving Windows Get Smarter
Buildings are responsible for 40% of the country’s energy use. So, researchers are trying improve our energy efficiency by making windows dynamic and intelligent.
Audio Report on May 25, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
California's Deadlocked Delta: Is Carbon Farming the Future?
California’s Delta has a rich agricultural legacy, but farming there can be a risky business. Dozens of farms have been flooded over the past half century as aging levees have collapsed. Now, scientists are encouraging farmers to switch to a new crop. Instead of growing vegetables, they’d grow something that has all but disappeared in the Delta: wetlands.
Audio Report on May 18, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
California's Deadlocked Delta: Can We Bring Back What We've Lost?
California's Delta is a far cry from what it once was. About 97% of its historic marshes have been lost and scientists aren’t quite sure what the Delta once looked like. Now, a Bay Area group is working to reconstruct it through ecological detective work.
Audio Report on May 11, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
California's Deadlocked Delta: Can it Be Fixed?
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has been the subject of a decades-long water war, but most Californians have never heard of it. Why is it so important? And can the state ever break the water deadlock?
Audio Report on May 04, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
Life on The Gate: Working on the Golden Gate Bridge 1933-37
This year marks the 75th anniversary of an icon. When it opened in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension bridge ever built, constructed in one of the world’s most challenging settings. For the men who poured the concrete, and drove in each iron rivet, it was a life-changing experience.
Audio Report on Apr 27, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
A Happy, Noisy Mess: Community Science Workshops Take Root in California
One Bay Area man brings "hands-on" science to low-income neighborhoods.
Audio Report on Apr 20, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
Is Anyone Out There?
Planet hunters enter a new phase in their search for extra solar planets and alien life.
Audio Report on Apr 13, 2012 by Andrea Kissack from QUEST Northern California
The Political Firestorm Inside Your Sofa
To comply with California law, furniture makers treat the foam in cushions with flame-retardant chemicals, up to two pounds of chemicals in an average-sized sofa. Those chemicals can turn up in household dust, blood, and breast milk. But efforts to remove them have been blocked by the chemical industry.
Audio Report on Apr 06, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
Changing Foghorns
Lightkeeper Peter Berkhout takes QUEST radio reporter Craig Miller to see a genuine rarity: one of perhaps two or three remaining vintage foghorns anywhere in the U.S. that’s still in working order.
Audio Report on Mar 30, 2012 by Craig Miller from QUEST Northern California
The Salmon are Back! (But Why?)
Biologists say more than 800,000 Sacramento Chinook are off the coast right now. It’s the biggest number they've seen since 2005.
Audio Report on Mar 23, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
