Biology
Sand: Hold a Mountain in Your Hand
Sand . . . we play in it, we stroll on it, we make castles out of it, but what do we really know about it? The size, shape and location of a grain a sand can tell us a lot about it's origin, makeup and history.
Post on Dec 22, 2011 by Terri Kirby-Hathaway from QUEST North Carolina
Top KQED QUEST Stories of 2011
From hackerspaces to banana slugs, flying telescopes to cheese – it's been a quite a diverse year of storytelling here at QUEST. Here's a round-up of the top 10 video and audio stories and blog posts that you've enjoyed from the past year.
Post on Dec 21, 2011 by Jenny Oh from QUEST Northern California
O Perfect Christmas Tree
The Berkeley students from the Forestry Club described their trees as “free range,” in contrast to trees from Christmas tree farms, which are painstakingly grown to be perfect.
Post on Dec 20, 2011 by Jennifer Skene from QUEST Northern California
Algae…Soylent Green…and the Future of Biofuel
Can a renewable plant really replace crude oil? Find out how algae is becoming the fuel of the future — grown like a farm crop.
Post on Dec 19, 2011 by Gary Hochman from QUEST Nebraska
Biofuels Face a Reality Check
Despite the buzz around biofuels, the industry been slow to scale up. But Bay Area researchers are making breakthroughs that could move us one step closer to having our cars run on fuels from plants.
Audio Report on Dec 16, 2011 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
Gaming to Understand Disease
By playing Phylo, you help scientists better understand human disease and you get to have fun. Doing good by having fun is a win-win for scientists and the public.
Post on Dec 12, 2011 by Dr. Barry Starr from QUEST Northern California
Songbirds as a Measure of Farm Sustainability
John Quinn, a researcher at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, explains how he collects and uses bird calls to establish an indicator for farm healthiness known as the Healthy Farm Index.
Post on Dec 06, 2011 by John Quinn from QUEST Nebraska
Tidepooling Trip Planner
QUEST blogger Andrew Alden’s recent post about Bay Area Tides got me thinking about pulling on my rubber boots and heading out to the intertidal during an upcoming low tide. In the next few weeks, we’ll get some really low tides during daylight hours—a great opportunity to see the organisms that live on the narrow edge between the land and the ocean.
Post on Dec 05, 2011 by Jennifer Skene from QUEST Northern California
Porpoises Return to San Francisco Bay
Harbor porpoises haven’t been seen in San Francisco Bay for more than 60 years. Now, they’re returning in growing numbers and researchers are working to understand why.
Audio Report on Dec 02, 2011 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
USGS at the Forefront of Saving Bats From White-Nose Syndrome (WNS)
In the winter of 2007, residents of New York State began finding dead bats in their yards. Since then it’s estimated that more than a million bats have died from white-nose syndrome, a fuzzy white fungus that grows on their noses and wings.
Post on Dec 01, 2011 by Dr. Kimberli MIller from QUEST Wisconsin
A Day with Zoo Veterinarian Mike Selig
Carmen is a male two-toed sloth from South America and Jo is a four ton female elephant from Africa. They each have their own keepers who take care of them on a daily basis, but who do you call when they get sick? That’s Dr. Mike Selig’s job.
Post on Nov 29, 2011 by Toivo Motter from QUEST Ohio
Post on Nov 29, 2011 by David McGuire from QUEST Northern California
Living Longer
Using a genetic trick, scientists were able to increase the lifespan of a worm by changing how it used its genes. This extended lifespan was passed on to its kids and grand kids but not to its great grand kids.
Post on Nov 28, 2011 by Dr. Barry Starr from QUEST Northern California
HIV: Searching For a Cure
As we approach World AIDS Day, QUEST's Andrea Kissack talks with one of the world's top HIV/AIDS researchers about progress in the search to find a cure.
Audio Report on Nov 24, 2011 by Andrea Kissack from QUEST Northern California
Science on the SPOT: National Wildlife Health Center Investigates
The USGS National Wildlife Health Center investigates animal die-offs and threats to endangered species through on-site investigation and necropsies–animal autopsy–at its headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin.
Video on Nov 23, 2011 by Andy Soth from QUEST Wisconsin
New Research into Disappearing Bees
In 2006, the world learned that honeybees in America and Canada were dying in large numbers, and hives were becoming defunct. Five years later, what have scientists learned about the causes of Colony Collapse Disorder?
Video on Nov 22, 2011 by Spencer Michels from QUEST Northern California
Why I Do Science: Kandis Elliot
Kandis Elliot is on the Botany Department staff at the University of Wisconsin, but she's not a scientist or professor. Elliot is an artist and transforms mere photographs of plants into lush, painterly artworks that educate as well as captivate.
Video on Nov 22, 2011 by Andy Soth from QUEST Wisconsin
You Say Sweet Potato, I Say New World
As you fill your grocery cart with food for Thanksgiving, pause for a minute and think about where that food came from. I don’t mean is it local or organic or hormone/pesticide /gluten-free—I mean is it Old World or New World? On what continent did that food evolve?
Post on Nov 21, 2011 by Jennifer Skene from QUEST Northern California
The Season of the Gray Whale
One of the more remarkable migrations among marine animals occurs each year right outside the Golden Gate.
Post on Nov 17, 2011 by David McGuire from QUEST Northern California
Growing Skin
Biomedical researchers are investigating ways to 'grow' new skin in hopes that healing burns can be quicker, safer and more complete.
Video on Nov 15, 2011 by Perry Stoner from QUEST Nebraska
