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.

• Maya Skies – Armed with laser technology, Bay Area engineers are helping create detailed virtual records of the world’s great monuments. Their realistic recreation of the Mexican ruins of Chichén Itzá is the basis for “Tales of Maya Skies,” a new half-hour film about Maya astronomy designed especially for a planetarium.
• Mercury in San Francisco Bay – There’s a hidden danger in San Francisco Bay: mercury. A potent neurotoxin that can cause serious illness, mercury has been flowing into the Bay since the mining days of the Gold Rush Era. It has settled in the Bay’s mud and made its way up the food chain, endangering wildlife and making many fish unsafe to eat. Now a multi-billion-dollar plan aims to clean it up. But will it work?
• The Farallon Islands – “California’s Galapagos” – Lying 28 miles off the coast of San Francisco, the Farallon Islands sit amid one of the most productive marine food webs on the planet and hosts the largest seabird breeding colony in the continental United States. QUEST ventures out for a rare visit to learn what life is like on the islands and meet the scientists who call this incredibly wild place home.
• Why I Do Science: Drew Endy – Stanford University’s Drew Endy is a synthetic biologist, or as he puts it, someone who makes biology easier to engineer. He’s one of the leading lights of this relatively new scientific field which builds on disciplines like computer science, electrical engineering and genetics. Find out why Endy is passionate about the cutting edge of biology.
• Your Photos on QUEST: Doug Nomura – San José photographer Doug Nomura has learned just how to track his subjects to create arresting photos of birds in flight. He focuses his work on the Bay Trail, a 300-mile trail around the Bay. QUEST joins Nomura on the bayfront in Sunnyvale as he works to photograph the many bird species that call the South Bay’s mudflats home, or stop here as part of their migration.

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.

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.

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.

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

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?

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

Here is a list of recent webcasts:

• A Close Look at Clouds (Webcast) – Have you ever wondered exactly what clouds are made of, or what the difference is between a cumulus and lenticular cloud? Clouds are an ever-present, ever-changing part of our natural landscape. They come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes, and capture our imagination with their endless permutations. Join Exploratorium Senior Scientist Paul Doherty for a live Webcast about cloud physics. Paul will discuss the basic makeup of clouds, and explore some of the aspects that make them such a rich part of our daily lives.
• Astor Piazzolla (Podcast) – On January 15th we will release a gem of a vintage interview with revolutionary musician/composer Astor Piazolla!

  In this inspired 1989 chat, Argentinean nuevo tango composer and bandoneon (concertina) player Astor Piazzolla dazzles the audience with a surprising story about the tango’s origin in Argentina. He traces his musical beginnings and the “very beautiful way of feeling crazy” that resulted in his best compositions. Piazzolla also plays the bandoneon, and answers audience questions.

• Cubatron at the Exploratorium (Clip) – This After Dark event featured a special installation of the Cubatron by Bay Area artist and engineer Mark Lottor. A visually stunning and surprising favorite of music and art festival audiences, the Cubatron is a 3-D light sculpture made from 8-x-8-foot modular cubes, each containing 1,000 individually programmable RGB LEDs. Viewed from any direction—even underneath—the Cubatron’s thousands of programmed pixels paint exquisite arrays of color that cascade in spectacularly dynamic patterns.
• Nobody’s Ever Taught You Anything (Podcast) – Nobody can really teach you anything—rather, you have to learn it for yourself. So how can you help your students understand science? TI staff educator Modesto Tamez shares some thoughts about helping students make ideas their own.
• Whirled Music (Podcast) – Geeks have strange hobbies. Staff physicist Paul Doherty plays the corrugated plastic tube, also known as a “whirly,” and explains the surprising science behind the sound.

• Breast Cancer Lab Discoveries Quickly Lead to New Clinical Trial – New UCSF clinical trial tests intermittent high-dosage treatment for HER2-positive breast cancers.
• Egg Donors Should be Told of Possible Stem Cell Use, UCSF Group Says – A UCSF group recommends that egg and sperm donors for in-vitro fertilization be provided information on possible use of embryos in stem cell research.
• New Cancer Fighting Strategy Emerges from Antibody Signaling Discovery – A new discovery about cancer and the immune system points to previously unrecognized targets for drug development to battle solid tumors.
• Promise of “Pluripotent” Stem Cells from Adult Tissue Is Questioned – Stem cells derived from adult tissues differ from embryonic stem cells, researchers find.
• UCSF Chancellor Cites Need for Faster Pipeline of Better, Cheaper Drugs for Cancer Patients – UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann outlines a vision for faster development of better, cheaper drugs to fight cancer.

• Bay Area Ant Invasion – Like rainstorms and chilly weather, they seem to show up every winter. Ants. If your kitchen is currently under siege, chances are it’s by one particular species: Argentine Ants. These invasive insects have spread across California, forming one of the largest colonies on Earth and threatening native ecosystems. How can we stop them? Well, what if — as Lauren Sommer reports — we could speak their language?
• Is The Drought Over? – The recent rain storms have drenched Northern California, dumping in some places almost twice as much rain as we’d expect to see at this time of year. That’s great news for a state that’s suffered three years of drought. But are we finally in the clear? Amy Standen went in search of answers.
• Teaching the Brain To See – Thanks to stem cells and other cutting-edge technologies, doctors hope they may one day be able to restore sight to people who were born without it, or lost it, later in life. But a rare case here in the Bay Area suggests that curing blindness may be more than meets the eye.
• The Godfather of Green – Art Rosenfeld is retiring, stepping down from his post with the California Energy Commission. The 83-year-old nuclear physicist pushed California to enact some of the toughest energy efficiency standards in the world. QUEST talks with Rosenfeld about his passion for saving kilowatts. Andrea Kissack reports.
• Wither The Lawn – After three years of drought, California is finally getting some wet relief. Yet a series of strong storms doesn’t end the state’s need to conserve water. A new California law will impose restrictions on landscaping for decades to come. Katharine Mieszkowski reports on the future of the suburban lawn.

• Hubble Breakthrough: The First Photos of a Planet Orbiting Another Star – Paul Kalas was the leader of the team who managed the long-sought feat of actually taking a photograph of a planet orbiting another star. Before this, all the planets outside our solar system were found by indirect means. He describes how they achieved the breakthrough, using the Hubble Space Telescope, and discusses the wide range of planets out there that astronomers are discovering. Recorded October 7, 2009.
• 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.
• Planetary Protection and Hitchhikers in the Solar System: The Danger of Mingling Microbes – Scientists searching for life elsewhere have to worry about avoiding harmful cross contamination during the exploration of planets and their moons. We don’t want to take Earth microbes to Mars or bring back alien microbes to Earth. In this timely talk, Dr. Margaret Race of the SETI Institute gives a behind-the-scenes view of “environmental management” planning for solar system missions, and explains the role of the Outer Space Treaty and other related national and international policies in planning our hunt for life-forms out there. Recorded April 22, 2009.
• The Dark Side of the Universe: Dark Matter and Dark Energy – In the last decade or so, astronomers have been forced to accept two mysterious observations. About a quarter of the universe is made of “dark matter,” which attracts things with its gravity, but is otherwise invisible. And roughly two-thirds of the universe is composed of “dark energy,” which causes space itself to expand at an ever-increasing rate. That means only a small fraction of the universe is made of ordinary matter — the stuff we understand! In this non-technical presentation, Dr. Patricia Burchat of Stanford University explores the evidence for the dark side of the cosmos, and the experiments that are being developed to investigate it further. Recorded May 20, 2009.
• 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.

• 02 March, 2009 – This Week in Science – Materialistic Quantum Leap, R U Who U Think U R, Planets Old And New, Beware Cows And Women, Discriminating Damselfish, Cocaine 4 Babies, and Interview w/ Rich Mooney and Todd Roberts on Bird Brains and Lasers.
  

  

• 09 February, 2010 – This Week in Science – Quantum Algae, Determining Vegetative States – Or, Ali Pulls the Plug on Justin, Remember the Prions, Gay Science, Zen Bats and Drunk Bats, Scientists Say: Drink Beer, Daddy Sang Bass, Minion Mailbag, and Much More!
  

  

• 09 March, 2010 – This Week in Science – A City On the Move, Asteroids To Blame, Minion Miffed At Geo-Engineering, Ritalin On The Brain, A Snowball’s Chance, Gluten-Free Genes, Magnetic Meanderings, Ants vs. Toads, and Much More…
  

  

• 16 February, 2010 – This Week in Science – In the show this week: Synthesizing Proteins, Tiny Tightrope Walkers, GABA Goes Immune, Fabricating Electric Clothes, Multidemensional Drake Equation, Adventurous Great Tits, The Dino-Bird Question, Robot Patients, The Spiritual Brain, This Week in The End of The World, and Much More!
  

  

• 23 February, 2010 – This Week in Science – Kirsten Goes to AAAS, Dolphin Debates, Math With A Purpose, Power Naps, Wasps And Butterflies, Biological Aging, Exploring Explorit, TWI the Decade of Science: Brain-Computer Interfaces, and Much, Much More…