QUEST focuses on the many ways in which science, technology, engineering and sheer ingenuity are being used to address sustainability iss...
Science & Medicine
Science on the SPOT...
188 Views 03:30:00 12/11/10
Ocean tides rise and fall twice a day, influenced by the gravitational forces of the sun and moon. Studying tides' rhythmic movements helps us understand both the ...
[LESS INFO] 188 VIEWS | ADDED 03:30:00 12/11/10
Ocean tides rise and fall twice a day, influenced by the gravitational forces of the sun and moon. Studying tides' rhythmic movements helps us understand both the ocean and the cosmos. Astronomer Ben Burress explains how tides work, and QUEST visits Crissy Field in San Francisco to see the oldest continually operating tidal gauge in the Western Hemisphere.
Science on the SPOT...
122 Views 03:30:00 11/19/10
The California Academy of Sciences has the largest collection of biological reference materials west of the Mississippi. Dating back over 100 years, the collection...
[LESS INFO] 122 VIEWS | ADDED 03:30:00 11/19/10
The California Academy of Sciences has the largest collection of biological reference materials west of the Mississippi. Dating back over 100 years, the collection provides a treasure trove of biological information for scientists and researchers studying the natural world. Norman Penny, the Collections Manager of the Entomology Department, gives QUEST a small peek at The Academy’s vast butterfly collection.
Science on the SPOT...
116 Views 03:30:00 10/28/10
Can fire save the endangered Mission Blue Butterfly? The Golden Gate National Recreation Area experiments with using controlled burns to improve habitat for this c...
[LESS INFO] 116 VIEWS | ADDED 03:30:00 10/28/10
Can fire save the endangered Mission Blue Butterfly? The Golden Gate National Recreation Area experiments with using controlled burns to improve habitat for this critically imperiled Bay Area native.
Science on the SPOT...
60 Views 03:30:00 10/14/10
The Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco are a vital home to many birds and marine mammals. While the forbidding and inhospitable nature of the Farallon...
[LESS INFO] 60 VIEWS | ADDED 03:30:00 10/14/10
The Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco are a vital home to many birds and marine mammals. While the forbidding and inhospitable nature of the Farallones may be ideal for wildlife, it also makes this a difficult place for scientists to live and work. QUEST ventures out to these jagged rocks to get a glimpse of daily life on the islands and what it’s like there for the researchers from PRBO Conservation Science.
Science on the SPOT...
89 Views 03:30:00 10/02/10
California Highway One, between Pacifica and Montara, was carved out of the steep coastal cliffs. Plagued by closures due to rockslides and land slippage, this rou...
[LESS INFO] 89 VIEWS | ADDED 03:30:00 10/02/10
California Highway One, between Pacifica and Montara, was carved out of the steep coastal cliffs. Plagued by closures due to rockslides and land slippage, this route has earned the nickname "The Devil's Slide." Now two tunnels beneath San Pedro Mountain, each 30-feet wide and 4,200-feet long are being dug to bypass it. QUEST meets the engineers and geologists deep underground to learn how Caltrans is digging this new tunnel.
Science on the SPOT...
102 Views 03:30:00 09/16/10
Artist Kate Nichols longed to paint with the iridescent colors of butterfly wings, but no such pigments existed. So she became the first artist-in-residence at Law...
[LESS INFO] 102 VIEWS | ADDED 03:30:00 09/16/10
Artist Kate Nichols longed to paint with the iridescent colors of butterfly wings, but no such pigments existed. So she became the first artist-in-residence at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to synthesize nanoparticles and incorporate them into her artwork.
Science on the SPOT...
114 Views 03:30:00 09/04/10
Meet Shelley, a car that drives itself. Researchers at Stanford University have developed an autonomous race car and plan on taking it on one of the toughest cours...
[LESS INFO] 114 VIEWS | ADDED 03:30:00 09/04/10
Meet Shelley, a car that drives itself. Researchers at Stanford University have developed an autonomous race car and plan on taking it on one of the toughest courses in the country. First, the car is taking them for a test ride at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds.
Science on the SPOT...
78 Views 03:30:00 08/27/10
Pale ghosts that hide amidst their gigantic siblings, only a few dozen Albino redwood trees are known to exist. They are genetic mutants that lack the chlorophyll ...
[LESS INFO] 78 VIEWS | ADDED 03:30:00 08/27/10
Pale ghosts that hide amidst their gigantic siblings, only a few dozen Albino redwood trees are known to exist. They are genetic mutants that lack the chlorophyll needed for photosynthesis-- how and why they survive is a scientific mystery. QUEST ventures into the deep canopy of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park near Felton, California to track down these elusive phantoms of the forest.
Why I Do Science: E...
103 Views 03:30:00 08/25/10
As the "father of biodiversity," two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and guru of myrmecology (the study of ants), E. O. Wilson has been an inspiration to young scientis...
[LESS INFO] 103 VIEWS | ADDED 03:30:00 08/25/10
As the "father of biodiversity," two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and guru of myrmecology (the study of ants), E. O. Wilson has been an inspiration to young scientists around the globe. Wilson discusses his life, his career, and his hope for the future of our living world.
Going UP: Sea Level...
79 Views 00:30:00 08/25/10
Scientists say it's no secret San Francisco Bay is rising, along with all of the earth’s oceans. The reason -- global warming. This rise in sea level will affect e...
[LESS INFO] 79 VIEWS | ADDED 00:30:00 08/25/10
Scientists say it's no secret San Francisco Bay is rising, along with all of the earth’s oceans. The reason -- global warming. This rise in sea level will affect everyone who lives, works, or plays near the bay. QUEST asks how high will the Bay rise and when? And what steps can communities take to plan for it?
Homegrown Particle ...
71 Views 03:30:00 07/28/10
QUEST journeys back to find out how physicists on the UC Berkeley campus in the 1930s, and at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in the 1970s, created "atom sm...
[LESS INFO] 71 VIEWS | ADDED 03:30:00 07/28/10
QUEST journeys back to find out how physicists on the UC Berkeley campus in the 1930s, and at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in the 1970s, created "atom smashers" that led to key discoveries about the tiny constituents of the atom and paved the way for the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.
Restoration of the ...
66 Views 03:30:00 07/21/10
Flowing 330 miles from the Sierras to the delta, the San Joaquin River is California’s second longest river. It once boasted one of the state's great salmon runs. ...
[LESS INFO] 66 VIEWS | ADDED 03:30:00 07/21/10
Flowing 330 miles from the Sierras to the delta, the San Joaquin River is California’s second longest river. It once boasted one of the state's great salmon runs. But since the construction of Friant Dam near Fresno in the 1940s, most of the San Joaquin's water has been siphoned off to farmland in the Central Valley. Now, after years of lawsuits, a new effort to restore the river is offering hope that fish and farmers can co-exist.
Science on the SPOT...
108 Views 03:30:00 07/21/10
San Francisco 's fickle summer weather has earned it the nickname "Fog City." Science on the SPOT asks UC Berkeley's Todd Dawson to clear up the mysterious origins...
[LESS INFO] 108 VIEWS | ADDED 03:30:00 07/21/10
San Francisco 's fickle summer weather has earned it the nickname "Fog City." Science on the SPOT asks UC Berkeley's Todd Dawson to clear up the mysterious origins of this weather phenomenon, and share his research on how fog is integral to our state's ecology.
Ants: The Invisible...
47 Views 03:30:00 07/14/10
Most of us think ants are just pests. But not Brian Fisher. Known as "The Ant Guy," he's on a mission to show the world just how important and amazing these little...
[LESS INFO] 47 VIEWS | ADDED 03:30:00 07/14/10
Most of us think ants are just pests. But not Brian Fisher. Known as "The Ant Guy," he's on a mission to show the world just how important and amazing these little creatures are and in the process, catalog all of the world's 30,000 ant species before they become casualties of habitat loss. But he can't do it without our help.
Your Photos on QUES...
79 Views 03:30:00 07/14/10
Think there's nothing to new to see outside? Take a closer look. Photographer Ron Wolf leads us on a hunt for fungi and slime molds, with their surprisingly ornate...
[LESS INFO] 79 VIEWS | ADDED 03:30:00 07/14/10
Think there's nothing to new to see outside? Take a closer look. Photographer Ron Wolf leads us on a hunt for fungi and slime molds, with their surprisingly ornate and elegant patterns, at Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve in Los Altos.
Science on the SPOT...
42 Views 03:30:00 06/18/10
The Channel Islands, Monterey Bay, Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries cover more than 9,500 square miles of ocean habitat. While m...
[LESS INFO] 42 VIEWS | ADDED 03:30:00 06/18/10
The Channel Islands, Monterey Bay, Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries cover more than 9,500 square miles of ocean habitat. While most fishing and shipping are still allowed within sanctuary waters, some activities are now regulated or prohibited. Patrolling such an immense area by boat would take days... but now sanctuary managers are taking to the air in a rugged de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter bush plane to get a bird's eye view.
Ocean tides rise and fall twice a day, influenced by the gravitational forces of the sun and moon. Studying tides' rhythmic movements helps us understand both the ocean and the cosmos. Astronomer Ben Burress explains how tides work, and QUEST visits Crissy Field in San Francisco to see the oldest continually operating tidal gauge in the Western Hemisphere.