News
Chemistry By Smell
The idea behind Lighthouse for the Blind's chemistry summer camp was to show that chemistry isn’t just a visual science.
Post on May 20, 2011 by Amy Standen
Insuring for Extreme Weather
Climate change is throwing a wrench into the calculations of insurance companies trying to assess the risks of floods and other natural disaster events.
Post on May 13, 2011 by Lauren Sommer
Should SETI Stop Looking?
Of all the questions in science, few have haunted humans as persistently as this: Are we alone? For more than 50 years, scientists have listened for a signal from intelligent life on other planets… and come up empty. Now, they're running short of money. Is it time to give up?
Post on May 06, 2011 by Amy Standen
Spotted Owls Face New Threat
Spotted owls, one of the most iconic threatened species in the West, are still declining. That may be due in part to a new threat – not from humans, but from other owls.
Post on Apr 29, 2011 by Lauren Sommer
Toxic Algae on the Loose
California's commercial shellfish growers say there's something fishy going on.
Post on Apr 24, 2011 by Amy Standen
Combating Bay Invaders
California has passed the strictest rules in the country to prevent ocean freighters from introducing more foreign species to the bay. But the standards are so tough, officials may not be able to enforce them.
Post on Apr 15, 2011 by Lauren Sommer
How Green is Biomass Energy?
When you think of where energy comes from, you might picture a power plant or maybe wind mills. You probably wouldn't think of a pile of 12 tons of almond shells.
Post on Mar 25, 2011 by
Community Action Agencies Continue to Fight for Low-Income Families
Government works when it is directed towards helping its citizens live healthy and productive lives.
Post on Mar 11, 2011 by Jim Gunshinan
Life-Threatening Mushroom Poisoning
Since Northern California's mushroom season began last September, four people have suffered life-threatening injuries after eating poisonous wild mushrooms.
Post on Mar 09, 2011 by Gabriela Quirós
Fighting Fire Where Homes and Wilderness Meet
One idea for closing the state budget gap proposes trimming funds for Cal Fire, the state fire-fighting agency.
Post on Mar 04, 2011 by Amy Standen
The Science of Snow
Lots of snow means good skiing, but it also means an increased danger of avalanches.
Post on Feb 25, 2011 by
Can Heroes Be Made?
If there is one thing Stanford Professor Phillip Zimbardo is known for, it's that normal people can be turned into sadists. Can he leave a more optimistic legacy and prove the opposite to be true?
Post on Feb 18, 2011 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
Land Preservation on the Chopping Block
Under Governor Jerry Brown's proposed budget, state funding for the Williamson Act would be eliminated.
Post on Feb 11, 2011 by Lauren Sommer
Local Cheese Makers Fear a Raw Deal
Pasteurization may kill microbes like e.coli, but, they say, it also kills a cheese’s terroir, the unique taste associated with a particular place.
Post on Feb 04, 2011 by Amy Standen
How CFLs Got Their Bad Rap
CFLs — maligned for their industrial color and low-quality manufacturing — deserve better.
Post on Jan 21, 2011 by Amy Standen
Goodbye to the Bevatron
With the demolition of the Bevatron, a chapter of the Bay Area's high-level physics research comes to a close.
Post on Jan 13, 2011 by Amy Standen
California's Basement Bargains on Home Efficiency
After spending hundreds of millions of ratepayer dollars flooding the market with CFL light bulbs, California utilities are stepping up their efficiency game.
Post on Jan 06, 2011 by Amy Standen
Visiting the Dentist Chair of the Future
It probably goes without saying — the dentist’s chair isn’t the most popular place to visit. But going to the dentist may one day be a very different experience.
Post on Jan 03, 2011 by Lauren Sommer
UCSF Scientists Bio-Hack Bacteria
Researchers at the University of California-San Francisco have hacked into the genetic wiring of billions of individual bacteria and outfitted them with the kind of on/off switches normally found in computer chips, not living organisms.
Post on Dec 14, 2010 by Sheraz Sadiq
How Jet Lag Resets the Body Clock
Evolutionarily speaking, there is nothing natural about flying 600 miles per hour, crossing entire continents in the space of a day.
Post on Dec 10, 2010 by Amy Standen
