QUEST Community Science Blog
News From Mars: A River Ran Through It
NASA's Curiosity rover, now exploring the alluvium at the base of Mount Sharp in Gale Crater for over two months, has struck pay dirt: the gravel and river stone conglomerate laid down by an ancient Martian stream!
Post on Oct 05, 2012 by Ben Burress from QUEST Northern California
Earth Science Week 2012: Careers in the Field
More than the good salaries and jobs, it's the coolness that attracts young people to geoscience.
Post on Oct 04, 2012 by Andrew Alden from QUEST Northern California
Think Pink? I’d Rather Raise a Stink
Every October, high-profile outlets from Ace Hardware to the NFL sell pink products to raise awareness and money for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Critics of "pinkwashing" urge consumers to ask just how much of that money goes to support breast cancer programs–and challenge us to move beyond awareness to action.
Post on Oct 03, 2012 by Liza Gross from QUEST Northern California
Illustrating Science: Translating Knowledge Into Pictures
Allison Bruce has a wonderful job: she spends all day making pictures for scientists. Bruce started out in science herself, earning a chemistry degree from UC Davis. After college, she worked in an environmental lab, but she didn't enjoy it and turned to art classes "to keep from losing my mind," she says.
Post on Oct 02, 2012 by Danna Staaf from QUEST Northern California
Get Your Binoculars, It's Raptor Viewing Time
The autumn brings the annual raptor migration over Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands north of San Francisco. Find out about their journey and the people who count them.
Post on Sep 28, 2012 by Sharol Nelson-Embry from QUEST Northern California
Things You May Not Know About California Tsunamis
Scientific agencies have helped the state improve its knowledge of tsunamis and its responses to them. They can teach you and help you respond, too.
Post on Sep 27, 2012 by Andrew Alden from QUEST Northern California
Creative Use of a Cancer Mutation May Improve Nylon Production
Chemists want to reengineer metabolic proteins and pathways in microbes so they can convert sugar into commodity chemicals. Now a mutant protein found in cancer cells provides clues to help scientists improve a protein that could help microbes create a precursor to nylon. In science, as in so much of life, inspiration can come from unusual places.
Post on Sep 26, 2012 by Melissae Fellet from QUEST Northern California
Science and the Flu: A Little Learning Is A Dangerous Thing
The first sniffles of flu season are upon us: a friend of mine was struck down, and couldn't join me in attending a science dialogue on Sunday night. This was darkly humorous, as the topic of the evening was pandemics.
Post on Sep 25, 2012 by Danna Staaf from QUEST Northern California
California's Farm Belt Didn't Dodge the Summer Heat Wave
Autumn is here, so says the calendar. Living on the coast, it might be easy to think that California escaped the heat wave suffered by much of the nation this summer. While that may be true for most of the large coastal population centers, it was a different story for much of the state's interior farm belt.
Post on Sep 24, 2012 by Craig Miller from KQED Science
Heat and Harvest: Calif. Farms on a Climate Collision Course
New pests, a shrinking water supply and rising temperatures will alter agriculture in California.
Post on Sep 24, 2012 by Molly Samuel from KQED Science
Genome 3.0: ENCODE Takes Our DNA From Junk to Treasure
New research is making us rethink how our DNA works – again.
Post on Sep 24, 2012 by Dr. Barry Starr from QUEST Northern California
Black Holes: Ultimate Trash Compactors of the Universe
As bizarre as black holes have been depicted in science fiction, the reality of black holes as described by science is far stranger.
Post on Sep 21, 2012 by Ben Burress from QUEST Northern California
Side Trips from Interstate 5: San Emigdio Mountains
Journeying through the Great Valley's southern rampart is time better spent than inching up the Grapevine.
Post on Sep 20, 2012 by Andrew Alden from QUEST Northern California
Culture Clash: Of Cats, Birds and Conservation
Feral cats threaten native wildlife, from reptiles to birds, and often lead a miserable life. By better understanding the concerns of cat colony caretakers, wildlife biologists hope to find enough common ground to benefit both cats and wildlife.
Post on Sep 19, 2012 by Liza Gross from QUEST Northern California
California Wildlife Mural Celebrates Its Third Birthday
In 2009, after West Valley College built its brand new biology building, a group of faculty stood in the natural history lab staring at a blank wall. "It's too empty," they agreed. "How about a mural?" suggested biology and genetics instructor Molly Schrey.
Post on Sep 18, 2012 by Danna Staaf from QUEST Northern California
The State of California's Sea Otters
Southern sea otters are local icons, gracing a plethora of souvenirs, murals and postcards throughout central and northern California. With a face like that, it’s easy to see why. But sea otters themselves are not so plentiful. In honor of Sea Otter Awareness Week at the end of September, take a closer look at what’s behind that furry façade.
Post on Sep 17, 2012 by Helen Taylor from QUEST Northern California
Coastal Cleanup by the Numbers
The annual cleanup is the largest, international volunteer event. How much trash has been collected and why is it important?
Post on Sep 14, 2012 by Sharol Nelson-Embry from QUEST Northern California
Japanese Tsunami Debris Reaches the West Coast
The data Californians start collecting this weekend will begin a new scientific project to trace the world's ocean currents.
Post on Sep 13, 2012 by Andrew Alden from QUEST Northern California
Expanding Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary – Round Table Discussion on Google+
KQED SCIENCE is hosting its first Google+ Hangout On Air round table discussion about the proposed expansion of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary from 1-2PM PDT.
Post on Sep 12, 2012 by Jenny Oh from QUEST Northern California
H2-Whoa: Computing With Water Instead of Electrons
Superhydrophobic surfaces enable simple water-based data storage and logic.
Post on Sep 12, 2012 by Melissae Fellet from QUEST Northern California
