News
Climate Threat to Dams Overlooked by Regulators
Hydropower provides a good chunk of California's electricity. It relies on a balance of heavy snow in the winter and heavy runoff in the spring. Climate change threatens to throw that balance out of whack, a problem the government isn't examining.
Audio Report on Jan 11, 2013 by Molly Samuel from KQED Science
Stanford Investigates the Hits that Cause Concussions
It's no secret that concussions are endemic in American football at every level, from peewees to the pros, but little is known about the hits that cause them. Stanford University is searching for answers.
Audio Report on Jan 04, 2013 by Sam Harnett from KQED Science
Think Tiny: The Science of New Year's Resolutions
Want to keep a New Year's resolution? One Stanford researcher says to give up on lofty goals. Instead, focus on tiny habits.
Audio Report on Dec 28, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
California Prepares First Fracking Regulations, Joining Nationwide Debate
The controversial drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing has created an oil and gas boom around the country – and that’s left state governments grappling with how to regulate it. Now, California is wading into that fight.
Audio Report on Dec 17, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from KQED Science
How Do California's Fracking Regulations Compare to Other States'?
California regulators are expected to release new fracking regulations by the end of the year. Most fracking rules come under state jurisdiction, and different states have different approaches.
Post on Dec 14, 2012 by Molly Samuel from KQED Science
With Large Oil Reserve, California Faces Fracking Debate
The new oil-and-gas boom that’s sweeping the country may be coming to California. With it comes the controversy over the drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing – or fracking.
Audio Report on Dec 07, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from KQED Science
Growing Pains for California's Electric Car Charging Network
KQED Science explores the growing pains of building an electric car charging network and the fledgling new industry rising up to meet the challenge.
Audio Report on Nov 30, 2012 by Alison van Diggelen from KQED Science
The Great Cancer Cell Mix Up
Under a microscope many cancer cells look the same. And since cell lines used in cancer research are anonymous, often shared informally between labs, the only way to definitively know where they came from is with DNA. But many scientists don't do this.
Audio Report on Nov 23, 2012 by Amy Standen from KQED Science
What Are Richmond Residents Breathing?
Chevron's Aug. 6 fire re-ignited questions many Richmond residents have asked for years. What does it mean to live next to the largest refinery on the West Coast? What are people living in the city breathing?
Audio Report on Nov 16, 2012 by Amy Standen from KQED Science
Cap-and-Trade 101: How California's Carbon Market Works
This week, California rolls out the heavy artillery in its attack on climate change with a program called “cap-and-trade.” It’s like a stock exchange for carbon emissions, where the state’s biggest polluters have to buy the right to emit greenhouse gases. It’s the most ambitious climate change policy in the country, but not everyone is happy with it.
Audio Report on Nov 09, 2012 by Molly Samuel from KQED Science
Looming Trade War Shakes Up U.S. Solar Industry
Federal officials have put trade tariffs on Chinese solar panels. American solar companies are split on whether it will be good or bad for the industry.
Audio Report on Nov 02, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from KQED Science
In Livermore, Still Waiting on Nuclear Fusion
The National Ignition Facility in Livermore, California, has been called a modern-day moon-shot, a project of "revolutionary science," and "the mother of all boondoggles." NIF, as it's known, is a five-billion dollar, taxpayer-funded super laser project whose goal is to create nuclear fusion – a tiny star – inside a laboratory. But so far, that hasn't happened.
Audio Report on Oct 27, 2012 by Amy Standen from KQED Science
China Tries Greening from the Ground Up
Green building and sustainable design are a trend in California, but nowhere is the urgency greater than in China, where hundreds of millions of people are moving to cities in pursuit of a better life.
Audio Report on Oct 19, 2012 by Marjorie Sun from KQED Science
Can Meditation Ease PTSD in Combat Vets?
The crisis of mental disorders such as PTSD has forced the military to rediscover therapies that would have considered from-the-fringes a generation ago.
Audio Report on Oct 12, 2012 by Amy Standen from KQED Science
SF Scientist Wins Nobel for Stem Cell Breakthrough
Shinya Yamanaka, a stem cell researcher at the Gladstone Institutes and professor at the University of California, San Francisco, has won this year's Nobel Prize in medicine.
Post on Oct 08, 2012 by Gabriela Quirós from QUEST Northern California
Century-Old Battle Over Yosemite's 'Second Valley' Heats Up
One of California's oldest environmental battles is on the San Francisco ballot. Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park holds most of San Francisco's water supply. But some environmental groups want to turn back the clock.
Audio Report on Oct 05, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from KQED Science
Counting Climate-Challenged Pikas
A group of West Oakland students treks up to the Sierra to try to help a small mammal that may be threatened by climate change.
Audio Report on Sep 28, 2012 by Molly Samuel from KQED Science
West Coast a Test Bed for Ocean Acidification
Scientists say the waters off the West Coast could be hit hard by ocean acidification, but thanks to the natural conditions, it's a good place to study how ocean species might adapt.
Audio Report on Sep 25, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
Space Shuttle Endeavour Makes a Bay Area Victory Lap
The Endeavour flyover will make for a striking sight: Piggybacked to a 747, the shuttle will be flying at a low altitude of 1500 feet in some parts of the Bay Area.
Audio Report on Sep 20, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
Is Nail Biting a Pathology? Or Just a Bad Habit?
Nail biting — like skin picking and hair tending — stems from an evolutionarily adaptive behavior: grooming. But in "pathological groomers," as they're known in in the world of psychiatry, that healthy urge goes haywire.
Audio Report on Sep 14, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
