Engineering
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
What's Next for Nuclear?
Can nuclear power be produced safely and affordably? A scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, is working to do just that.
Video on Sep 18, 2012 by Gabriela Quirós 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
California's Prop. 37: Are GMO Labels a Scarlet Letter?
Proposition 37 could make California the first state in the country to require "Made with GMO" labels on genetically-engineered foods. But would the labels inform people? Or scare them?
Audio Report on Sep 07, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
Facebook and Frank Gehry: Will the New Building Be A Marriage of Sustainability?
Facebook hired Frank Gehry to design its new building. Why? If the 'book wanted a green building (and who'd dare to build in the Bay Area without "a big emphasis on being eco-friendly"?), Gehry is a less than obvious choice.
Post on Sep 04, 2012 by Danna Staaf from QUEST Northern California
California Considers Giving Self-Driving Cars Green Light
California is considering rules that would allow self-driving cars on the road, but making rules for robots is no simple task.
Audio Report on Aug 24, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
Collaborative Creativity in the Digital World
When you think of digital art, Photoshop or a Wacom tablet may come to mind. And yes, drawing on a screen instead of a pad of paper is certainly one kind of digital art. But digital art can also happen on an entirely different level: art can be made with lines of code.
Post on Aug 21, 2012 by Danna Staaf 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
Fracking Gives Hydrogen Fuel Cells New Life
In 2009, U.S. Secretary of the Department of Energy Steven Chu dismissed zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as an impractical alternative to electric cars. Now an abundant supply of natural gas, from which hydrogen can be extracted, is changing Chu's mind, but that natural gas comes from the controversial hydraulic fracturing process.
Post on Aug 08, 2012 by C.K. Hickey 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
Avatars and the Mirrorbox: Can Humans Hack Empathy?
Virtual avatars are one thing. But what about real bodies? Would identifying with another person's body make you behave more like that person? If the body belongs to a different gender, age, or ethnicity than yours, would you become more empathic to others in that group?
Post on Jul 31, 2012 by Danna Staaf from QUEST Northern California
Illustrating Science: Int'l Science and Engineering Fair Student Projects Beautifully Visualized
ISEF student projects can be just as esoteric as Nobel laureates' research. But this year, those of ISEF's student scientists lucky enough to be paired with professional artists will see their research translated into compelling and accessible posters for the public.
Post on Jul 24, 2012 by Danna Staaf from QUEST Northern California
The Bay Area Thanks Buckminster Fuller for Geodesic Domes
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is showing, for just a few more short days, an exhibit called "The Utopian Impulse: Buckminster Fuller and the Bay Area." Fuller never actually lived in the Bay Area, but the exhibit's designers seem to think he would have liked it.
Post on Jul 17, 2012 by Danna Staaf from QUEST Northern California
Hetch Hetchy: Will We Do the Anthropocene Thing?
The Restore Hetch Hetchy proposal is the Bay Area's first serious encounter with Anthropocene engineering.
Post on Jul 12, 2012 by Andrew Alden from QUEST Northern California
Post on Jul 11, 2012 by Bradley Berman from QUEST Northern California
Oriental Ink Painting with a Computer Instead of a Brush
Traditional occidental painting techniques like watercolor or oil build an image from many layered brush strokes. You don't usually notice the individual strokes unless you stand very close. But in traditional oriental ink painting, called sumi-e, the brush strokes are the painting.
Post on Jul 10, 2012 by Danna Staaf 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
Soaring in Space: Citizen Science at 103,000 Feet
Citizen scientist Marc Labriet and students from Valley Christian High School in Dublin, CA collaborated on a special balloon project to retrieve images from near space as well as test theories on gamma rays and radiation repercussion yields.
Post on Jun 14, 2012 by Cat from QUEST Northern California
KQED Science Fan Spotlight
We'd like to share your stories about why you're passionate about science.
Post on Jun 13, 2012 by Jenny Oh from QUEST Northern California
