Health
Relaxing the Rules on Toxics Reporting
For 20 years, U.S. factories that put toxic chemicals into the air and water had to report them to the federal government and the public. The Bush Administration recently lowered those requirements by rewriting E.P.A rules. QUEST radio reports.
Audio Report on Apr 27, 2007 by KQED QUEST staff from QUEST Northern California
Relaxing the rules on toxic reporting
For the past two decades, U.S. factories that put toxic chemicals into the air and water had to report them, in detail, to the federal government and the public. The Bush Administration recently lowered those requirements by rewriting Environmental Protection Agency rules. That means, in California alone, as much as 6-hundred thousand pounds of toxic [...]
Post on Apr 26, 2007 by David Gorn
Earth Day Radio Special: The History of Environmental Justice
QUEST radio takes a look at the history of the environmental justice movement, and where it's going.
Audio Report on Apr 20, 2007 by KQED QUEST staff from QUEST Northern California
Discuss the "Earth Day Special: The History of Environmental Justice" radio report
Thirty-seven years after the first Earth Day, studies are still finding that people of color and low-income families have higher rates of exposure to hazardous waste sites and industrial polluters than the general population. A debate continues over why that is and just what to do about it. QUEST radio takes a look at the [...]
Post on Apr 19, 2007 by Amy Standen
Seeing red
Did you know most mammals are red-green colorblind? Part of what makes primates special is that most of us can tell the difference between red and green. In humans this difference is due to a single gene, the long wave cone photopigment gene. But is this gene enough? Or are there other changes in our [...]
Post on Apr 16, 2007 by Dr. Barry Starr
Journey Into Darkness
How do you prepare someone who is becoming blind? QUEST follows seeing adults through their physical and psychological training as they learn to live without sight.
Video on Mar 27, 2007 by Gabriela Quirós from QUEST Northern California
Orientation Center for the Blind – Student Stories (web only)
The Orientation Center for the Blind, in Albany, educates adults who are becoming blind. How do you prepare someone for their journey into darkness? Meet 2 more students who are walking this path.
Additional footage from our Journey into Darkness story.
Video on Mar 27, 2007 by Gabriela Quirós from QUEST Northern California
Discuss the "Journey into Darkness" TV story
The Orientation Center for the Blind, in Albany, educates adults who are becoming blind. How do you prepare someone for their journey into darkness? What are the current causes of adult blindness? Our QUEST story follows Regina, who is becoming blind, as she develops skills such as walking with a white cane and talks about [...]
Post on Mar 27, 2007 by Gabriela Quirós
Super Microscope
Cutting-edge microscopes at UC San Francisco are helping scientists create three-dimensional images of cells, and may help lead to new medical breakthroughs, including a treatment for Type 1 diabetes.
Video on Mar 20, 2007 by Gabriela Quirós from QUEST Northern California
Distrust of Science
"They're lying." "Who are they working for?" "What a bunch of gibberish." This is the sort of stuff I sometimes overhear when a scientist comes on TV. And I'm not the only one who is hearing this sort of thing. Many studies over the years have chronicled an increasing distrust of the scientist. Where does [...]
Post on Mar 19, 2007 by Dr. Barry Starr
Discuss the "Video Games – Access for All" Radio report
Video games are becoming so popular that last year’s sales in the U.S. surpassed movie ticket revenue. And as their popularity increases, the almost 50 million people that are living with a disability in the U.S. are wanting a voice in how the games are designed. At the San Francisco Game Developers Conference, developers are [...]
Post on Mar 09, 2007 by Amy Standen
Video Games– Access for All (radio)
Video games are becoming so popular that last year's sales in the U.S. surpassed movie ticket revenue. The almost 50 million people that are living with a disability in the U.S. are wanting a voice in how the games are designed.
Audio Report on Mar 09, 2007 by KQED QUEST staff from QUEST Northern California
Making babies without a dad
Wouldn’t it be great if same-sex couples didn’t need a sperm donor? Or an egg donor? Or if men or women didn't have to wait for that special someone to have a child? Well, if we were anything like Komodo dragons, women at least could have babies without men. Not two women together, but one [...]
Post on Mar 06, 2007 by Dr. Barry Starr
Green Burials
Tired of toxic embalming fluid, rain forest wood caskets and other ecologically unfriendly practices, a new generation of undertakers is attempting to green up the funeral industry with burials that go easy on the land.
Video on Feb 27, 2007 by Gabriela Quirós from QUEST Northern California
Genetic Testing through the Web
If you could learn your risk of getting cancer, would you? A San Francisco company now makes it easy to order medical genetic tests through the Web.
Video on Feb 20, 2007 by Gabriela Quirós from QUEST Northern California
Discuss the "Genetic testing through the Web" TV story
As more and more information on our genes has become available in the past 10 years, genetic testing has joined the arsenal of tools routinely used by health professionals. Today a San Francisco company called DNA Direct is bringing genetic testing directly to consumers. Tests to diagnose your risk of developing diseases such as breast [...]
Post on Feb 20, 2007 by Gabriela Quirós
Energy independence through genetics?
Like an ever growing number of Bay Area folks, I drive a Prius. The other day I was thinking why this is. Certainly part of it is doing my bit to at least slow down global warming. But another big reason is to do my part to wean the U.S. off foreign oil. I’m convinced [...]
Post on Feb 05, 2007 by Dr. Barry Starr
