News
Is Anyone Out There?
Planet hunters enter a new phase in their search for extra solar planets and alien life.
Audio Report on Apr 13, 2012 by Andrea Kissack from QUEST Northern California
The Political Firestorm Inside Your Sofa
To comply with California law, furniture makers treat the foam in cushions with flame-retardant chemicals, up to two pounds of chemicals in an average-sized sofa. Those chemicals can turn up in household dust, blood, and breast milk. But efforts to remove them have been blocked by the chemical industry.
Audio Report on Apr 06, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
California Utility Commission Defends $100 Million EV Charging Deal
Electric car drivers cheered last week when the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and NRG Energy announced plans to invest $100 million in the state’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Post on Mar 30, 2012 by Bradley Berman from QUEST Northern California
Changing Foghorns
Lightkeeper Peter Berkhout takes QUEST radio reporter Craig Miller to see a genuine rarity: one of perhaps two or three remaining vintage foghorns anywhere in the U.S. that’s still in working order.
Audio Report on Mar 30, 2012 by Craig Miller from QUEST Northern California
The Salmon are Back! (But Why?)
Biologists say more than 800,000 Sacramento Chinook are off the coast right now. It’s the biggest number they've seen since 2005.
Audio Report on Mar 23, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
Feds Pay For Out-of-the-Box Energy Ideas
Did you know the federal government has a clean tech venture fund? QUEST talks with the head of the program, ARPA- E, about some potentially transformational energy ideas.
Audio Report on Mar 17, 2012 by Andrea Kissack from QUEST Northern California
Tsunami Program Faces Cuts One Year After Disaster
Just one year after the disaster in Japan, proposed budget cuts could impact the US tsunami warning program.
Audio Report on Mar 09, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
Lone Wolf’s Historic Trek Provokes Questions and Concerns
OR7, the lone gray wolf from a pack in Oregon, crossed back into his home state yesterday after two months of wandering in Northern California. With OR7’s arrival, California has been thrown into a national debate about how to manage wolves.
Audio Report on Mar 02, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
Eavesdropping on the Heart: A Patient’s Campaign for Access
You could call it a sort of Silicon Valley approach to health: Campos has had his genome sequenced; he sleeps with a sleep monitor, and goes nowhere without his pedometer. He wants the same access to the information coming out of his own heart.
Audio Report on Feb 24, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
Up All Night on NASA's Flying Telescope
The Obama Administration’s new budget for NASA was released last week, and calls for cuts to many space programs. But one California-based project is likely to get more money. The SOFIA flying observatory, a telescope mounted on an airplane, is considered more nimble and cost-effective than other projects. Reporter Lauren Sommer recently caught a ride as it flew over the Pacific Ocean.
Audio Report on Feb 17, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
Building Better Roads with Next Generation Pavement
A third of Bay Area roads are in poor condition and funding is dwindling on the state and federal level. That’s something Congress is discussing in Washington this week. Meanwhile, researchers at two University of California campuses are trying to find ways to stretch those sparse dollars, by making pavement quieter, greener and more durable.
Audio Report on Feb 10, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
The Bay Area's National Park Expands South
The addition of Rancho Corral de Tierra is historic, "the largest land acquisition for Golden Gate National Recreation Area pretty much since it began."
Audio Report on Feb 03, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
Surgeons Seek Kid-Sized Tools for the Operating Room
If you’ve ever spent time in Silicon Valley or among hi-tech entrepreneurs, you may have heard the term “Valley of Death.” It’s used to describe the huge gulf that can exist between coming up with a new idea, and getting a product to market. Well, this is a real problem in hospitals, too. Especially when it comes to kids.
Audio Report on Jan 27, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
California Pushes to Get Clean Cars on the Road
California officials are considering the toughest regulations in the country to promote sales of cars powered by batteries, hydrogen fuel cells or other technology that produces little or no air pollution. These kind of tough mandates have been tried before but they failed. So is this finally the right time for the clean car?
Audio Report on Jan 19, 2012 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
Six Bay Area Cities Play the Waiting Game
This month may be the moment of truth for six Bay Area communities. Each one is vying to be the new home of a high-profile national research center. But when it comes to development in the Bay Area, there are no easy answers.
Audio Report on Jan 13, 2012 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
A Census for the Birds
Grab your binoculars and checklist! The annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count is under way. During the last two weeks of the year, from dawn to dusk volunteers spread out over 22,000 count areas, including Peru, Haiti, the U.S. and Canada. Their tally is used by scientists to understand changes in bird populations.
Audio Report on Dec 30, 2011 by Andrea Kissack from QUEST Northern California
Climate Change Throws a Wrench in Water and Weather Forecasts
2011 has been a record-breaking year for extreme weather events. Both the government and insurance companies try to plan for these events by predicting the risk. But as Lauren Sommer reports, climate change is making that tougher.
Audio Report on Dec 23, 2011 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
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
Can PTSD Nightmares Be Cured?
The hallmark of a healthy dream is its weirdness. PTSD dreams, in contrast, are like a broken record, the same, real-life event, played over and over again, in some patients, for decades.
Audio Report on Dec 09, 2011 by Amy Standen 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
