Super Microscope
Cutting-edge microscopes at UC San Francisco are helping scientists create three-dimensional images of cells, and may help lead to new medical breakthroughs, including a treatment for Type 1 diabetes.
Video on Mar 20, 2007 by Gabriela Quirós from QUEST Northern California
Elk Return to the Bay Area
Tule Elk once dominated the Bay Area landscape, but after the Gold Rush they were hunted to near extinction. Now thanks to naturalists and inspired ranchers, they are making a comeback.
Video on Mar 20, 2007 by Chris Bauer from QUEST Northern California
Green Building Revolution
An explosion in green building is underway. Cleverly engineered libraries, office buildings, even public housing projects are popping up across the Bay Area, championed as much by landlords as by environmental groups.
Video on Mar 20, 2007 by Amy Miller from QUEST Northern California
Green Burials
Tired of toxic embalming fluid, rain forest wood caskets and other ecologically unfriendly practices, a new generation of undertakers is attempting to green up the funeral industry with burials that go easy on the land.
Video on Feb 27, 2007 by Gabriela Quirós from QUEST Northern California
California's High Speed Rail
State transportation planners have nearly finished designing a high-tech bullet train system that would take passengers from San Francisco to Los Angeles in two hours at 220 mph — faster than a Ferrari. But will California voters pay for it?
Video on Feb 27, 2007 by Chris Bauer from QUEST Northern California
Ladybug Pajama Party
Each year Ladybugs fly in by the millions to winter in the East Bay's Redwood Regional Park. We meet naturalist Linda Yemoto who explains this phenomenon. But how these beetles know where to go is still one of nature's mysteries.
Video on Feb 27, 2007 by Chris Bauer from QUEST Northern California
San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers
Take stroll through San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers with Executive Director Dr. John Peterson and learn about the building's Victorian history and rare collection of exotic Dracula orchids.
Video on Feb 20, 2007 by Chris Bauer from QUEST Northern California
Genetic Testing through the Web
If you could learn your risk of getting cancer, would you? A San Francisco company now makes it easy to order medical genetic tests through the Web.
Video on Feb 20, 2007 by Gabriela Quirós from QUEST Northern California
Web Extra: Chumash blessing and dance
Mati Waiya, Dolphin dancer and Chumash ceremonial leader, shares the blessing and dance seen briefly in "Condors vs. Lead Bullets," to remind us to never forget to look through the eyes of the ancestors so we can see our future.
Video on Feb 20, 2007 by Chris Bauer from QUEST Northern California
Condors vs. Lead Bullets
Once nearly extinct, California condors are making a steady recovery. But a new threat– lead poisoning from old bullets– is slowing progress, leaving scientists between wildlife preservation and the politics of hunting.
Video on Feb 20, 2007 by Chris Bauer from QUEST Northern California
Forensic Identification
Chelsey Juarez, a UC Santa Cruz doctoral candidate in forensic anthropology, has developed a novel technique to help identify the remains of migrants who die crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Video on Feb 13, 2007 by Gabriela Quirós from QUEST Northern California
Plug-In Hybrid Cars
A group of Bay Area engineers is trying to launch a green car revolution at 100 mpg by souping up Toyota's Prius. The holy grail of their "plug-in hybrids:" less smog, less global warming and a cure for America's oil addiction.
Video on Feb 13, 2007 by Gabriela Quirós from QUEST Northern California
San Francisco Bay Debris
Admiral Chester Nimitz was nearly killed when his seaplane hit a floating telephone pole 65 years ago. Ever since, a group of Sausalito sailors have been SF Bay's trash collectors – removing everything from floating concrete to dead bodies.
Video on Feb 13, 2007 by Amy Miller from QUEST Northern California
The Chemistry Behind Forensic Identification (web only)
Hear more from Chelsey Juarez, a UC Santa Cruz doctoral candidate in forensic anthropology, about the chemistry behind her technique to help identify the remains of migrants who die crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Video on Feb 13, 2007 by Gabriela Quirós from QUEST Northern California
What's Killing the Sea Otters?
Sea otters, the fuzzy mascots of the California coast, have fought back for 75 years from near-extinction, but now their population has mysteriously stalled. Pollution from land– perhaps even a parasite in cat litter– may be the culprit.
Video on Feb 06, 2007 by Amy Miller from QUEST Northern California
LCROSS animation (web only)
Why do NASA scientists in Mountain View want to crash a rocket on the moon? Watch an animation of the entire mission to find out.
Narrated by: Tony Colaprete, Team Leader LCROSS mission.
Video on Jan 29, 2007 by Chris Bauer from QUEST Northern California
