Tag: "kqedquest"
Getting to Know Your DNA
Image source: Chris 73If you could know more about your DNA, would you want to? And if you want to know more, is now the time to find out? You might think so given the flurry of company launches in the last few days. These companies promise to help "decode" your genetics (deCODEme). Or reveal [...]
Post on Nov 26, 2007 by Dr. Barry Starr
Carving the holiday dinosaur: a phylogeny of wishbones
A wishbone from a theropod and a turkey.This week, many of us celebrated one of the most American of holidays: Thanksgiving. Following tradition, most of us probably had a bite or two of turkey — if you were one of the fortunate to get your hands dirty, you may have used this New York Times [...]
Post on Nov 25, 2007 by Nick Pyenson
The Five Worlds of 55 Cancri
Artist concept of a Neptune-sized planet orbiting the star 55 Cancri. Credit: NASAAnother milestone has been reached in the two-decade old search for "extrasolar planets," a.k.a exoplanets– planets that orbit stars other than our Sun. In November it was announced that the leading exoplanet research team– the California and Carnegie Planet Search Team, led on [...]
Post on Nov 23, 2007 by Ben Burress
"So, did you go get that bear yourself?"
Ting explores Halloween enrichment. No, that is not a real giant candy corn. Zoo guests and especially young students often ask us how we get our animals, imagining myself or a zoo keeper running after zebras in the savanna sun with nets and ropes. Of course, this is quite illegal these days and I would [...]
Post on Nov 21, 2007 by Amy Gotliffe
Nature Deficit Disorder
Many people spend their holiday seasons inside shopping malls. More and more, kids, in particular, are passing up the opportunity to play outdoors during the rest of the year too. The trend could be contributing to serious health risks such as obesity. And so a movement of parents, teachers and lawmakers is trying to get [...]
Post on Nov 20, 2007 by Gabriela Quirós
Seeing the Trees through the Forest
The Forest Venus Landing. Credit: Soviet Planetary Exploration ProgramIt's time to get back to some of the reader’s questions. Over the last couple of months I've focused on the easy ones like "how big is the universe?". Now, people are asking the tough ones, like that from Mike: "There’s been a recent debate in our [...]
Post on Nov 19, 2007 by Kyle S. Dawson
Science v. Pseudoscience On Trial
NOVA commemorates the historical evolution trial of 2005. Credit: NOVAIf you tune in or point your web browser to PBS this week, you'll see a whole bunch about evolution. It's not Charles Darwin's birthday, but it's a celebration that may one day carry much more significance: it's the two year anniversary of the Kitzmiller vs. [...]
Post on Nov 16, 2007 by Nick Pyenson
Green Collar Jobs
Home designers and constructors are realizing that all houses are organic. The California Energy Commission asked the Davis Energy Group in Sacramento to evaluate new home construction in California a few years ago. The following excerpt from Home Energy Magazine tells you what they found. The increasing architectural complexity of new homes requires greater vigilance [...]
Post on Nov 16, 2007 by Jim Gunshinan
Cleaning Up Oil in the Bay
It has been nine days since a Chinese freighter hit the Bay Bridge spilling 58-thousand gallons of bunker fuel into the Bay. After a massive effort only 25 percent of the oil has been cleaned up. And experts say they may not be able to recover much more. As clean-up crews in hazmat suits scour [...]
Post on Nov 16, 2007 by Amy Standen
KQED extended coverage: SF Bay Oil Spill
Oil boom at Crab Cove. Credit: gwenOil Spill update: get KQED's news reports, interviews, analysis and photos as well as links to more coverage, photos from the community, and ways to help in the cleanup efforts. Includes coverage by QUEST radio reporter Amy Standen, and QUEST Managing Editor Paul Rogers. Go to: KQED | News: [...]
Post on Nov 15, 2007 by Craig Rosa
Below the surface of the spill
Oil booms at Crissy Field. Credit: fredsharplesJust two days before a container ship hit the Bay Bridge, spilling 58,000 gallons of oil into the waters of San Francisco Bay, QUEST web producer Craig Rosa and I were at Crissy Field beach. We were photographing pelicans and recording dogs playing in the sand for an upcoming [...]
Post on Nov 15, 2007 by Robin Marks
Delving into the Depths: Artists in Residence Part 2
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science." – Albert Einstein Photo credit: Dr. Richard Mooi It is not often that the public is able to see the components and care that go into creating a museum exhibit. However the California Academy [...]
Post on Nov 14, 2007 by Cat
Gay Genes? part deux
Bobby is more likely to be gay than Greg. Last blog I talked about some studies that link homosexuality and genes. The most powerful studies are those that compare identical twins to fraternal twins. These studies show that both twins in an identical pair are more likely to be gay than are both twins in [...]
Post on Nov 12, 2007 by Dr. Barry Starr
Stealth Comet Blows Cover
Comet Holmes, photographed on October 24, 2007, shortly after its unexpected outburst. Credit: Conrad JungAt the risk of sounding a news flash that will be past history by the time it hits the web, I can't let the sudden and unexpectedly bold appearance of normally mild-mannered and unassuming Comet Holmes pass without comment. British astronomer, [...]
Post on Nov 09, 2007 by Ben Burress
To the Moon
NASA has its eye on the moon again. The agency has announced a new effort to send humans back, possibly to build an outpost by 2020. Mountain View's NASA Ames Research Center will play a central part in the project, helping to identify scientific investigations that could be performed there on everything from geology to [...]
Post on Nov 08, 2007 by Andrea Kissack
The End of a Great Communicator
A tribute to the talking chimp who opened minds more than ears. Photo credit: Hi Pandian, flickr: Original photoIn some realm, Dr. Doolittle is taking a moment of silence. And though his delightful character may have been make believe, thanks to a certain chimpanzee, talking to animals is not. However, on October 30th the world [...]
Post on Nov 07, 2007 by Amy Gotliffe
Whose Telescope is it Anyway?
A few telescopes from the Allen Telescope ArrayIf you're at all like me, you spend a lot of time surfing the web pages of the astronomy departments in this country. Just the other day I was looking at the departments at Yale University, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin, UC-Santa Barbara and UC-San Diego. Each [...]
Post on Nov 07, 2007 by Kyle S. Dawson
Toilet Tryouts and Showering for Science
Some toilets are hot, and some are not. My wife and I recently took one of our "affordable" vacations, meaning that her company paid for her airfare and our hotel, and her frequent flyer miles paid for my ticket. We've gotten to Paris, France, and Miami Florida together thanks to her company, which we affectionately [...]
Post on Nov 02, 2007 by Jim Gunshinan
Robot Car Race
The DARPA Grand Challenge is one of the most unusual car races in the world. In this race, the cars drive themselves – no remote controls needed. And the contest is not a game. It could change the way all of us drive. We visited the leading Bay Area team, the Stanford Racing Team, as [...]
Post on Nov 01, 2007 by Lauren Sommer
Fish tale: The Old Man and the PCBs
When it comes to our health, the Bay-Delta's fish are flunking out of school. This past Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle Magazine featured an eye-opening story on Cambodian subsistence fishers in Stockton and the health concerns they face from a diet dependent on Delta fish. The piece illustrates how water quality in the Delta is an [...]
Post on Nov 01, 2007 by Ann Dickinson
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