KQED QUEST is a weekly half-hour high-definition television series (20 episodes per year for three years) that shines a light on scientific discoveries, go behind the scenes on research expeditions, and explore ongoing issues of technological, biological, and environmental significance all with a local focus featuring Bay Area locations, experts, and organizations.

QUEST Television airs every Tuesday at 7:30pm on KQED 9, KQED HD, and in vivid high definition on Comcast 709. Every episode can also be found online at www.kqed.org/quest.

This is one of the best science shows out there, so I encourage everyone to check it out. I will be rotating the video content below every couple weeks.

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.

• Going UP: Sea Level Rise in San Francisco Bay – 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 Accelerators – 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 San Joaquin River – 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: Albino Redwoods, Ghosts of the Forest – 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: Edward O. Wilson – 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.

Down to a Science is a monthly science cafe series dedicated to exploring how science affects your daily life. Each month features a unique interactive discussion showcasing some of the Bay Area’s best scientists. The discussion takes place on the 3rd Monday of every month at the Atlas Cafe. For more info, check out www.sciencecafesf.com.
You can also check out all the DtaS vids on YouTube.

Nanotechnology & Solar Power
Jeff Grossman, UC Berkeley, discuss the potential of new developments in nanotechnology and how they may vastly improve efficiency of solar cells.

Science in Action originated as one of the first television programs on science in the 1950’s and it was produced right here at the California Academy of Sciences! Now, Science in Action encompasses media screens on the museum floor, a website and podcasts, guest lecture programs and our Thursday night science mixers. We gather and disseminate content through our partners, local programs, other media and Academy staff. Our goal is to increase public interest in and understanding of contemporary and everyday science issues leading to greater scientific awareness and literacy.

Check out all of SiA’s videos on the Cal Academy website.
Jupiter’s new spot
An amateur astronomer discovers a new, mysterious spot on Jupiter.

Jupiter’s New Spot from Science in Action on Vimeo.

Sponsored by the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, the Friends of Science is a forum for individuals who share the desire to enhance knowledge and understanding of science and technology. We are educators, students, community members, laboratory employees, and anyone else with a curiosity about the natural world and our understanding of it. More info can be found at http://www.lbl.gov/friendsofscience/.

Physics 101: What Our Next President Needs to Know
Rich Muller, author of Physics for Future Presidents, argues that the next president can’t afford to be ignorant about the science behind terrorism, nuclear dangers, energy, space, and global warming.
Muller, a MacArthur Fellow, Berkeley Lab physicist, and one of the most popular lecturers at UC Berkeley, discusses what it takes to survive in today’s increasingly dangerous world — information essential to the next commander-in-chief. He presented his talk Oct. 13, 2008.

Buildings That Think Green
Buildings are the SUVs of U.S. energy consumption, gobbling up 71 percent of the nation’s electricity. In this Sept. 22, 2008 talk, Arun Majumdar, Director of Berkeley Lab’s Environmental Energy Technologies Division, discusses how scientists are creating a new generation of net-zero energy, carbon-neutral buildings.

The mission of the SETI Institute is to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe.

SETI maintains a Youtube channel with videos featuring lectures and education on some of SETI’s project, including the Allen Telescope Array.

The Weather on Mars

Brian Malow is Earth’s Premier Science Comedian (self-proclaimed), entertaining and igniting interest in science.

Based in San Francisco, Brian has performed for the American Chemical Society, Scholastic Library Publishing, the National Association of Science Writers, the Koshland Museum of the National Academy of Sciences, Apple, Dell, and Microsoft.

Why is the Sky Blue?

Explo.tv webcasts many of the Exploratorium’s excellent program. With well over 600 programs, you can always find something interesting to watch.

Check out all of Explo.tv’s videos on their website.

Here is a list of recent webcasts:

• Geometric Threads (Clip) – Amy Williams, chair of Fashion at San Francisco’s California College of Arts encourages the creative spirit of her students through creation of opulent gowns, made in a day with just pattern makers tissue and tape. The result is not only an education for students, but also a playful and performative experience in the process of fashion creation.
• Flowers on the Freeway (Slideshow) – Hayes Valley Farm is a community-run farm on a former freeway
  in the middle of San Francisco. The land was slated for condo
  development but the plan was put off when the economy slumped.
  Out of the ashes of that dream arose a utopia of a different sort; a
  suspended reality where fruit trees are grown on what was once a
  freeway on-ramp choked with cars. Now there are flowers growing
  out of the double yellow lines, and constant opportunities for
  children and adults to learn how to grow food and to get dirty doing
  it. Although the farm has only an “interim use” permit, meaning
  that it can’t last forever, farmers Zoey Kroll and Jay Rosenberg
  know that the enduring harvest of this project–the truth that even
  the most outlandish-sounding things are possible if we make them
  so–will far outlive the farm itself.

• Meredith Monk Part 1 (Podcast) – Meredith Monk has been on the vanguard of interdisciplinary performance
  for 45 years. In this conversation from 1984, she discusses her works
  of that era, reflects on her process and aspirations for her work, takes
  questions, and performs excerpts from Education of the Girlchild.

• Meredith Monk Part 2 (Podcast) – Meredith Monk has been on the vanguard of interdisciplinary performance
  for 45 years. In this conversation from 1984, she discusses her works
  of that era, reflects on her process and aspirations for her work, takes
  questions, and performs excerpts from Education of the Girlchild.
• Story of a Plate (Slideshow) – Chef Mourad Lahlou of Aziza restaurant is known for elegance and sophistication in his modern Moroccan dishes but often finds inspiration in simple
  things and unlikely places. In this journey behind the kitchen
  door, we shadow his entire process as he follows his heart from
  farm to table. The process is a solid team effort, from Lahlou’s
  special relationships with the people who grow the food to the
  collaborative kitchen environment that he cultivates. We witness
  Chef Lahlou blend art and science, and precision and innovation,
  in his quest to create a plate that is elegant, surprising, and true to
  its ingredients.

Driven by curiosity, scientists are digging up the deep dirt on the universe. Each scientist shows us a different perspective, and each is breaking ground at a frontier of knowledge. If you’re curious, come hear about the vibrant world beneath the surface of things. Find out how promising approaches to preventing and treating disease at UCSF — a health sciences university — may well improve our lives in the years to come. It takes only 15 minutes to enjoy a good jolt of research java at the UCSF Science Café.

• Anti-Parasite Drugs for Neglected Chagas Disease Are in the Works – Larissa Podust, PhD, is working on a new drug for Chagas disease, a neglected scourge.
  

  

• Are Higher Testosterone Levels Associated with Greater Heart Risk? – Testosterone in men has become a hot health topic. New studies, including one by UCSF researchers, now are sparking a controversy over the role of testosterone in heart disease.
  

  

• Can Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Be Stopped Before it Begins? – UCSF researchers at the San VA Medical Center have been working with US Air Force officers to develop and field test Deployment Anxiety Reduction Training with the goal of stopping post-traumatic stress disorder before it starts.
  

  

• Industry, University Collaboration Key to Translating Discovery to Care – Panelists at UCSF Mission Bay event say venture capital firms, universities and corporations need to keep exploring new ideas for collaborating more efficiently.
  

  

• Tooth Enamel: Nature’s Crowning Achievement – Stefan Habelitz, an engineer and materials scientist, is blazing a new research trail by investigating tooth enamel in the UCSF School of Dentistry’s Marshall Lab, where researchers fruitfully focus on every facet of teeth, knowing they’re nothing to take for granted…
  

  

• All Charged Up Over EMFs – Cell phones, refrigerators, WiFi and your desk lamp: Just like anything you plug into the wall, they all emit EMFs — electromagnetic fields that vary in strength and design. Communities are scuttling plans for microwave communication dishes in their neighborhoods, citing health concerns about EMFs. Fairfax is just the latest city to put a moratorium on “smart meters” – which transmit energy information wirelessly. So what are EMFs, and how do they affect us?
• Cow Power Not Cutting It – Take a waste product like cow manure or trash, let it decompose for a bit and you’ll soon end up with methane gas. Methane is powerful contributor to climate change. But it can also be captured and used to make renewable electricity. That’s something farmers are experimenting with across California. But by solving one environmental problem, they’re running headlong into another. Lauren Sommer has more.
• Energy Storage: The Holy Grail – This week, we continue our series “33 by 20,” a look at California’s ambitious renewable energy goals. Solar and wind power are booming across the state. But renewables have a downside: there are times when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow. That variability causes problems on the state’s electric grid. So, California utilities are looking to smooth out those bumps with a new strategy: storing electricity.
• Plight of the Yellow Legged Frog – This is the classic environmental story: a species in trouble because of what our species is doing. It’s happening all over the world. But there are people tackling these problems one by one, coming up with simple ways of changing our behavior. This week we take a look at the plight of the foothill yellow legged frogs.
• Renewables on Indian Land – Indian reservations hold an estimated 10 percent of the nation’s renewable energy resources — hot, windy tracts that suddenly seem more valuable than ever. The Campo tribe, near San Diego, has taken the lead, building the country’s only utility-scale wind installation on Indian land. Plans are afoot to triple the project. But tribe members say tax incentives and other federal programs put Indians at a disadvantage.

Founded in 1999, the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are presented on six Wednesday evenings during each school year at Foothill College, in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley. Speakers over the years have included Nobel-prize winners, members of the National Academy of Sciences, the first woman in history to discover a planet, an astrophysicist who is an award-winning science fiction writer, and many other well-known scientists explaining astronomical developments in everyday language.

• A Scientist Looks at “Doomsday 2012″ and the Rise of Cosmophobia – Many people have heard the rumors that the world will end in 2012 — and that some astronomical event or alignment is to blame. Dr. David Morrison of the NASA Lunar Science Institute and SETI Institute discusses the public fears and how they have been enflamed by the media. He sets our minds at ease, showing why there is no reason to worry more in 2012 than any other year. Recorded April 21, 2010.
• Hearts of Darkness: Black Holes in Space – Black holes are regions of space where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape! No longer confined to the imaginations of science-fiction writers and theoretical physicists, black holes have recently been discovered in large numbers by observational astronomers. Learn about the remarkable properties of these bizarre objects from Dr. Alex Filippenko (University of California, Berkeley), one of the finest explainers in the field of astronomy. Recorded May 19, 2010.
• Life at the Edge: Life in Extreme Environments on Earth and the Search for Life in the Universe – Astrobiologist Dr. Lynn Rothschild of the NASA Ames Research Center has gone from the Bolivian Andes to the Rift Valley of Kenya searching for the hardiest of organisms in the most extreme environments for life. By getting to know life forms on Earth that can occupy the most hostile niches, we can begin to understand the survival requirements for life in general. She describes her quest for “life at the edge” and how such discoveries will shape our search for life in the Solar System and beyond. Recorded November 11, 2009.
• The Many Mysteries of Antimatter – Antimatter is just like matter with all its properties reversed. Scientists think there may have been equal amount of matter and antimatter in the early universe, and yet today we have lots of matter and very little antimatter. How and when that imbalance developed is one of the great mysteries in understanding the underlying properties of the universe. Dr. Helen Quinn, Professor of Physics at the Stanford Linear Accelerator and co-author of a popular book on antimatter, discusses the history of our understanding of antimatter and how we use the little bit of antimatter around today to study some of the highest energy processes among the stars and galaxies. (This talk is a bit more technical than our usual lectures, but well worth exploring if you are interested in some of the most exciting frontiers of physics.) Recorded March 10, 2010.
• The Search for Intelligent Life Among the Stars: New Strategies – A half-century ago, astronomers began trying to “eavesdrop” for radio messages from nearby star systems. However, today, SETI researchers continue to point their telescopes at individual stars, on the assumption that technically advanced societies will inhabit a watery world like our own. Dr. Seth Shostak of the SETI Institute describes these searches, but then discusses some novel ideas for how we might pursue the hunt for “cosmic company” and why it’s possible that we might find evidence of sophisticated intelligence out there within only a few decades. Seth Shostak is Senior Astronomer at the SETI Institute, in Mountain View, California and hosts the syndicated radio show called “Are We Alone?” Recorded January 20, 2010.

TWIS is a 1 hour weekly science/technology radio news show broadcast on KDVS 90.3 FM on Tuesdays 8:30-9:30AM PST.

• 05 August, 2010 – This Week in Science – Solar Flare Watch, Keep That Inner Child, Imaginary Dinosaurs, Gamers Beating Computers, Global Warming Benefits, Cultural Brain Wiring, And A Bit Of Artificial Intelligence.
  

  

• 12 August, 2010 – This Week in Science – Stone Tools To Rule Them All, Video And The Media Star, An Old Mantle Piece, Take Two And Have A Nice Day, It’s A Miracle… Tomato, Anger For Happiness?, Indian Superbugs, Pulsars For People, Bloomin’ Dust, Minion Mailbag, And Much More!!!
  

  

• 19 August, 2010 – This Week in Science – Mitochondrial Eve, Vitamins Cause Cancer, Pills For Life, Like Father Not Like Son, Crazy Kindergartners, Beer Goggles, Fuzzy Holes, Monkey See Monkey Say, Zombie Ants, and Much More!!!
  

  

• 26 August, 2010 – This Week in Science – New Worlds Ahoy, Neptune Makes A Lap, Air-tricity, Oil-Nom-Nom, Dry Water Is Not Wet, Destroying HIV, Buzz-Buzz-Groom, New Memristor Circuit, Space Flight Electroshock, Bi-focalled Bugs, Jetlag Fix, The Sex Lives of Birds, Double Complete Hand Transplant, And… A Camel! No, Wait… Tom Merritt!
  

  

• This Week in Science – 29 July, 2010 – Bankrolling ITER, The Ass Family Tree, Daydreaming Again?, No Safe Prions, The Mind of God, TWIWRD, Snails For Your Head, TWITEOTW, Porcine Optimism, And Much More!