Recent Articles
The California Report
Report: Where You Live Changes How You're Treated by Doctors
A growing body of evidence indicates where you live can make a big difference in how you're treated for certain ailments. The report released Tuesday from the California Healthcare Foundation looks at treatments for breast cancer, prostate cancer and certain back conditions. »
QUEST
The Future of Water
Freshwater expert Sandra Postel reveals how water is destined to become our most precious resource— and the impact of your personal water footprint. »
The California Report
The California Report
Report: Where You Live Changes How You're Treated by Doctors. »
KQED News
Santa Clara County May Mandate EV Chargers
A proposal before county supervisors would require new and remodeled buildings to be wired for plug-in chargers. »
Forum
Jon Mooallem on the Weird World of People and Animals
Journalist Jon Mooallem noticed that his young daughter was always surrounded by wild animals: butterflies on her pajamas, a stuffed toy owl, and beavers in her bedtime stories. But these romantic portrayals, he says, hid a harsh reality. Scientists estimate half of all species could be gone by the turn of the century. So he embarked on his own journey to track down three endangered animals, and discovered the extreme -- even futile -- lengths humans go to save them. Jon Mooallem discusses his book, "Wild Ones," and the complex intersections of man and nature. »
QUEST
Saved From Living Death: How Genetically Modifying Chestnuts Could Bring Them Back
The American chestnut was the king of the trees in forests in the eastern U.S. until a fungus from Asia brought them down. We are getting very close to making a resistant American chestnut. Now the question is whether or not we should plant it out in the wild. »
KQED Science
UN to World: How About Eating More Insects?
The global human population is growing, but space available for farming isn’t. Insects require less land and water than, say, cows or chickens, and compared to the over-fished oceans, they’re a relatively untapped resource.
News Fix
News Pix: Bay to Breakers Rules and SF Citizen Scientists Take Over McLaren Park
San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr demonstrates the size of bags Bay to Breaker race participants are permitted to carry this weekend. (Deborah Svoboda / KQED) Pancho Ramos-Stierle, an Occupy the Farm supporter, held plant starts that survived a … Continue reading
KQED Science
Smartphone Apps Enable a New Phenomenon: the Grassroots ‘Bio-blitz’
Traditional bioblitzes often include scientists intensively collecting specimens over a 24-hour period. That takes special equipment and, depending on the species and the park, special permits. But with help from smartphones, just about anyone can produce a remarkable quantity of usable data.
Mindshift
Can a Toy Spark Interest in Engineering for Girls?
Katrina Schwartz It’s a common refrain that there aren’t enough women in jobs that require math and science skills like engineering and computer science. Though more programs are cropping up geared towards girls involved in science through camps, rocketry clubs or with more focused courses on STEM subjects, the gender imbalance is still striking. The … Continue reading → »
KQED Science
B612 Foundation: Defending the Earth from Merciless Asteroids
Envision the Earth plunging through space and passing a sign that warns, “Watch for falling rocks.” Now, what are we going to do deflect a catastrophic collision from space?
KQED Science
Stanford Study: Earth’s Center Is Not Quite What We Thought
When researchers applied the same amount of pressure to iron that they think it’s under at the center of the earth — about three million times as much pressure as at sea level — it was surprisingly soft.
QUEST
Thinking Like a Pirate – or a Scientist
New understandings about how scientists think inspire changes in school science standards. »
KQED Science
Remember the Quarries of Telegraph Hill
San Francisco's Telegraph Hill was once in danger of being erased by stone quarries. Today, it's holding up well.
State of Health
What’s a BRCA Gene Anyway?
The first thing you need to know about the BRCA gene is that you have it. Don't panic. Everyone does. In fact, we all have two of them -- the BRCA1 and 2 genes. They are normal genes that "have an important function in the cell. They are involved in repairing »
KQED Science
Kepler Scientist: “A Beautiful Instrument Has Died”
One of NASA’s most popular and successful missions has hit a disabling technical snag. The Kepler space telescope was launched on a search to disprove the notion that Earth is unique in the universe. Over four years, it found more than 100 planets orbiting distant stars.
KQED Science
A Mind for Animals: An Interview with Virginia Morell
In her new book Animal Wise, Virginia Morell challenges us to recognize the evolutionary roots of animal cognition and to see their rich intellectual and emotional capacities as shaped by natural selection.
News Fix
Enviros Livid as Brown Diverts Cap-and-Trade Funds
Cash rolling in from sales of carbon pollution permits to industry will amount to something on the order of $500 million in this first year of the program. Brown says the carbon-cutting programs the money is supposed to go to aren't ready for prime time, and in the meantime the funds can help balance the state budget.
News Fix
Point Reyes Oyster Farm Gets Its Day in Court
(BCN) Calling Drakes Bay Oyster Co. a "shining example of sustainable agriculture," a lawyer for the business urged a federal appeals court in San Francisco today to allow the company to keep operating. Drakes Bay Oyster Co. workers harvest strings … Continue reading
State of Health
Why Angelina Jolie’s ‘Medical Choice’ Is Likely Not Yours
Angelina Jolie lit up social media Tuesday morning with her announcement that she recently had a preventive double mastectomy.
