QUEST Community Science Blog
Living in the Sun's Atmosphere
Illustration of a blast of solar wind impacting Earth's protective magnetic field. Credit: NASABreathe in, exhale. Feel the air in your mouth, windpipe, and lungs. That's a sample of Earth's atmosphere: the thin layer of gases enveloping our planet. Did you know that the Sun also has an atmosphere, and that the Earth is inside [...]
Post on Mar 28, 2008 by Ben Burress
Disaster Cats
How to prepare your pets for a disaster.Remember Katrina and the thousands of pets left behind, as heartbroken people headed for shelters? Or how about the many people who refused rescue because their pets could not join them? I know I didn't remember, because when I heard a presentation by Karen Oberdorfer, Pet Disaster Ambassador, [...]
Post on Mar 28, 2008 by Amy Gotliffe
Wild Prices for Wild Salmon
Image Source: AdactioThe expected shutdown of this year's salmon season in California is bad news not only for fishermen but for consumers too. It means that anyone buying wild salmon this year is going to pay some wild prices. There is another choice, of course, cheaper, farmed salmon. But that prospect has some consumers cringing… [...]
Post on Mar 27, 2008 by David Gorn
QUEST Season 2 Web Premiere: The Fierce Humboldt Squid
A mysterious sea creature up to 7 feet long, with 10 arms, a sharp beak and a ravenous appetite, has invaded ocean waters off Northern California. Packs of fierce Humboldt Squid attack nearly everything they see, from fish to scuba divers. Marine biologists are working to discover why they’ve headed north from their traditional homes [...]
Post on Mar 26, 2008 by Chris Bauer
Falcon Fascination Update
Clara soars over San Jose. Credit: Evet Loewen.The remarkable Peregrine Falcons of the Bay Area are making news again. Last year, we followed Jose and Clara, a mating pair that settled directly on San Jose City Hall. Thanks to the efforts of the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group, a webcam was set up to [...]
Post on Mar 25, 2008 by Lauren Sommer
Excellent conditions for skiing and supernovae
Julien Guy: supernova cosmologistI'm sitting in the airport right now, passing time as I wait for my flight back to SFO. Looking at the clock now, I see that my jet lag future does not bode well. I awoke at 5:00 AM here and nearly 11 hours later feel like the day is over, yet [...]
Post on Mar 24, 2008 by Kyle S. Dawson
Forgive Me Father, for I Have Polluted
Polluting Makes Vatican List of Grave Social Sins Over the course of a week of working with concrete, this landscaping job produced only one bucket of wastewater. Credit: Ann Hutcheson-WilcoxAs a lifelong Catholic and former Catholic priest, I often find myself wishing that the Church would stick to what it knows best: the Sacraments. I [...]
Post on Mar 21, 2008 by Jim Gunshinan
Chevron's Plans
Richmond city officials are expected to approve a controversial upgrade to the Chevron refinery plant. Quest reports on the decision and explores the debate around Chevron's billion dollar proposal. You may listen to the "Chevron's Plans" Radio report online, as well as find additional links and resources. Amy Standen is a Reporter for QUEST and [...]
Post on Mar 21, 2008 by Amy Standen
The joys of a detachable wHaT??
With the appearance of spring, I have been noticing new couples and flirtations come alive after being dormant in the gloomy days of winter. When out with my girlfriend and her new beau last night, it was all the more apparent as the third wheel! This is not the first time that during this time [...]
Post on Mar 19, 2008 by Cat
Sneak Peek of QUEST's New Season – Fierce Humboldt Squid
Humboldt Squid – known as "Diablos Rojos".I have to admit I had a bit of trepidation when QUEST set out to tell the story about Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas). The squid have aggressively expanded their territorial range from the warmer equatorial Pacific to waters off central California. These are not the little market squid you [...]
Post on Mar 18, 2008 by Chris Bauer
Explosive hypothesis about humans' lack of genetic diversity
Genetically, we're all pretty much the same. A massive volcanic eruption 75,000 years ago may be why. Lake Toba is all that is left of the volcano that nearly wiped out mankind.Last blog I talked about how East Africans are genetically more diverse than Asians. Who are genetically more diverse than Native Americans. From all [...]
Post on Mar 17, 2008 by Dr. Barry Starr
Equinox Season
It's approaching that time of year again: Spring Equinox. The blaze in my home's interior hallway has been signaling this for the last week. The shadow of Chabot's "solar clock" at noon on the equinox produces a pattern of solid green straddling the gnomonI noticed late in the afternoon a couple days ago that the [...]
Post on Mar 14, 2008 by Ben Burress
It's Not Easy Going Green
Image source: Michael PatrickMany Bay Area cities are trying to clean up their acts by putting in place new green initiatives. But from San Jose to Berkeley, some city leaders are finding out it's not always so easy to turn over a new leaf. QUEST looks at the challenges municipalities face with budget constraints, legal [...]
Post on Mar 13, 2008 by Andrea Kissack
Seed banking: saving both agri- and -culture
It's more than the genes that feed us. Some have dubbed it the "doomsday vault"; others, taking a more positive tone, call it a repository of biodiversity. However you look at it, the Global Seed Vault is a fortress. Buried under almost 500 feet of Arctic permafrost, secured against bomb blasts, earthquakes, and potential thieves, [...]
Post on Mar 13, 2008 by Robin Marks
Spring Dating Tips from the Plant Kingdom
It's almost spring: time for sultry nights, birds, bees, renewal and the sweet promise of new love. For us humans, that might mean flirty skirts, a new perfume, a dapper new hat or hip hair cut, all in the hopes of attracting a new, or very old and loyal, perfect mate. Plants also feel the [...]
Post on Mar 12, 2008 by Amy Gotliffe
Suggest a Story idea for QUEST
We want to hear from you if you have a great idea for a QUEST story. Review the submission guidelines and fill out this form. If we use your story idea in whole or in part, we would be glad to recognize you in the credits of the piece as a Contributor. Thanks in advance [...]
Post on Mar 11, 2008 by Craig Rosa
H-R: Not just for “Human Resources” Anymore
H-R diagram of 47 Tucanae I started off my last post talking about the well-known properties of globular clusters, but I chose not to dive into the details of the stars inside the clusters. The stars really deserve an article all to themselves. Now is the time for that article. Basically all of the stars [...]
Post on Mar 10, 2008 by Kyle S. Dawson
$15 per gallon of gas… coming soon?
What will life be like when gasoline reaches $15 per gallon? We may have to slow down our too-often fast paced and frenetic lifestyles—a blessing in disguise? That's the question asked of a group of scientists, sociologists, others, and myself who gathered at the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) Summer Study in [...]
Post on Mar 07, 2008 by Jim Gunshinan
Stamping out the Apple Moth
A tiny moth, new to California, is at the center of a controversy pitting state officials against Bay Area residents and politicians. The Light Brown Apple Moth is seen as a threat to California crops. Now the State Department of Food and Agriculture is planning to spray a synthetic hormone over Bay Area neighborhoods this [...]
Post on Mar 06, 2008 by Andrea Kissack
SF's Hometown Bacteria
If Chicago has deep dish pizza and Boston has cream pie, San Francisco has sourdough bread. And just like the pizza and pie, San Francisco sourdough just isn't the same outside its hometown. But that's because only San Francisco is home to a certain bacterium that bears its name– Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis. Of course bread uses [...]
Post on Mar 06, 2008 by Amber Dance
