Tag: "kqed"
Debate Over on Climate Change, Says Chief UN Climate Negotiator
A United Nations expert recalls the exact moment she first witnessed the impact of climate change–and sees a concerted global effort as the only way to turn down the heat.
Post on May 28, 2013 by Lindsey Hoshaw from QUEST Northern California
Tracing the Origins of the Durian’s Stench
Researchers in Germany have identified compounds in durian that might be responsible for its unique smell.
Post on Nov 07, 2012 by Melissae Fellet from QUEST Northern California
Creepy Yet Compelling: Blood Vessels Blown in Glass
Halloween means time for gore! Blood, bones, brains and more! Severed fingers, severed toes, eyeballs and organs galore! But how accurate are all these loose bits of human anatomy in our front yards, costumes and punch bowls? Can we use that skeleton in the corner to bone up for a biology exam–or are we missing out on a tremendous opportunity to learn medical science?
Post on Oct 30, 2012 by Danna Staaf from QUEST Northern California
Women in Science: Meet a Mathematician, a Physicist and a Geologist Through Art
There's nothing like role models for inspiring the scientific spirits of women, today and tomorrow! And Marie Curie isn't the only one out there–history is rife with lesser-known but no less fabulous female scientists, engineers, and mathematicians.
Post on Oct 23, 2012 by Danna Staaf from QUEST Northern California
Information Is Beautiful Competition: San Francisco Design Company Takes Top Prize
The Bay Area is a magnet for both artistic spirits and data freaks. So, although the inaugural Information is Beautiful award competition drew entries from around the world, perhaps it isn't too surprising that the ultimate prize was snagged by San Francisco design company Stamen.
Post on Oct 16, 2012 by Danna Staaf from QUEST Northern California
Saving Bighorn Sheep, One Mural At a Time
Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep are animals worth seeing. With their bright white rumps and the rams' remarkable headgear, they bound and leap over seemingly impassable alpine terrain. But you may have a tricky time spotting one–there are only about four hundred in existence.
Post on Oct 09, 2012 by Danna Staaf from QUEST Northern California
Illustrating Science: Translating Knowledge Into Pictures
Allison Bruce has a wonderful job: she spends all day making pictures for scientists. Bruce started out in science herself, earning a chemistry degree from UC Davis. After college, she worked in an environmental lab, but she didn't enjoy it and turned to art classes "to keep from losing my mind," she says.
Post on Oct 02, 2012 by Danna Staaf from QUEST Northern California
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
Science and the Flu: A Little Learning Is A Dangerous Thing
The first sniffles of flu season are upon us: a friend of mine was struck down, and couldn't join me in attending a science dialogue on Sunday night. This was darkly humorous, as the topic of the evening was pandemics.
Post on Sep 25, 2012 by Danna Staaf from QUEST Northern California
California Wildlife Mural Celebrates Its Third Birthday
In 2009, after West Valley College built its brand new biology building, a group of faculty stood in the natural history lab staring at a blank wall. "It's too empty," they agreed. "How about a mural?" suggested biology and genetics instructor Molly Schrey.
Post on Sep 18, 2012 by Danna Staaf 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
Scientific Whimsy: The Magical Art of Tiffany Bozic
Tiffany Bozic, the first Artist-in-Residence at the California Academy of Sciences, named her first child after a rare bird found in Southeast Asia: Tesia olivea.
Post on Sep 11, 2012 by Danna Staaf 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
Starbucks' Food Waste Fuels Experimental Biorefinery
Most of our plastics come from petroleum-based chemicals. Now, thanks to engineered microbes, similar materials might be made using food waste from Starbucks.
Post on Aug 29, 2012 by Melissae Fellet from QUEST Northern California
Squid Skin: Why Pigment (But Not Glitter) Will Dance to the Beat
Squid and their relatives–a group of animals known as cephalopods–have the world's best skin. And it's not because they moisturize, lack pimples, or tan without ever burning. It's because their skin is a canvas of endless possibilities.
Post on Aug 28, 2012 by Danna Staaf 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
NASA's Roving Robotic Chemist Will Collect Clues For Life on Mars
Scientists are looking for elements and molecules that signify life as we know it. But even if they don’t find those molecules, minerals contain important information about the Martian environment. That could help scientists determine if life could have survived on the planet.
Post on Aug 15, 2012 by Melissae Fellet from QUEST Northern California
The Reverential and the Precious: Human Anatomy as Art
It may take an unusual muse to be deeply inspired by the body's insides. Artist Sara Nilsson possesses just such a muse–as well as the skill to create breathtakingly beautiful, anatomically accurate cross-sections of the human body with quilled paper.
Post on Aug 14, 2012 by Danna Staaf 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
Stunning Solar Visualizations: The Sun's Van Gogh-like Artistry
While nearly all eyes are focused on Mars, two astophysicists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have been quietly staring at the sun instead.
Post on Aug 07, 2012 by Danna Staaf from QUEST Northern California
