Search Results for Chemistry

It looks like frozen smoke. And it's the lightest solid material on the planet. Aerogel insulates space suits, makes tennis rackets stronger and could be used one day to clean up oil spills.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Apr 1 2008

It has been nine days since a Chinese freighter hit the Bay Bridge spilling 58-thousand gallons of bunker fuel into the Bay. After a massive effort only 25 percent of the oil has been cleaned up. And experts say they may not be able to recover much more. Amy Standen reports.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Nov 16 2007

For more than 100 years, south San Francisco Bay has been a center for industrial salt production. Now federal and state biologists are working on a 40-year, $1 billion project to restore the ponds to healthy wetlands for fish, wildlife and public recreation.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Sep 18 2007

Have we found the fountain of youth? Scientists are discovering ways to make animals live dramatically longer through calorie restriction – a diet that requires eating at least 30 percent fewer calories than normal. QUEST investigates why we age and what the societal costs are for living well beyond 100.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Sep 11 2007

Diesel engines are the durable workhorses of transportation, but as they get older, they spew unhealthy soot. Communities with the highest diesel smog levels, like West Oakland, California, are working hard to reduce the pollution.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Sep 4 2007

Is desalination the solution to the California's chronic water woes? Four Bay Area agencies think it might be -- and are studying whether to build the largest desalination plant in the country.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Aug 17 2007

Americans have made an enormous leap in life expectancy over the past century. Now, Bay Area scientists are looking to extend lifespan, and "healthspan" to 100 years and beyond.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Aug 3 2007

Just how safe is your shampoo, eye liner or aftershave? No one really knows. In an effort to shed more light on the ingredients in everyday cosmetics and toiletries, California lawmakers passed the Safe Cosmetics Act, which takes effect this year. It requires manufacturers to report all toxic or carcinogenic ingredients to the state and lets the public decide what is safe.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Jul 27 2007

It may look like waste, but to some people it's green power. Find out how California dairy farms and restaurants like Jardinière are taking their leftover waste and transforming it into clean energy.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Jul 10 2007

Hoping to leave today's silicon solar cells behind, the Palo Alto company Nanosolar is creating paper-thin solar panels harnessing nanotechnology, a product that could revolutionize solar power.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Jul 3 2007

Abandoned boats in the San Francisco Bay and Delta do more than take up space in marinas and harbors. They can become a wellspring of pollutants, including leaking battery acid, oil, fuel, and lead from paint. But what do you do with these rusting relics?

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: May 31 2007

QUEST radio takes a look at the largest wetlands restoration in the West-- the South Bay Salt Ponds Restoration Project. It will take decades and cost up to $1 billion to roll back the clock to the Bay's pre-industrial conditions.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: May 18 2007

Most people think of their house as a sanctuary from toxic air, but indoor air pollution can be at least as potent -- and often much more so -- as what you breathe outdoors.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: May 11 2007

For 20 years, U.S. factories that put toxic chemicals into the air and water had to report them to the federal government and the public. The Bush Administration recently lowered those requirements by rewriting E.P.A rules. QUEST radio reports.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Apr 27 2007

What's 100,000 times thinner than a strand of hair? A nanometer. Discover the nanotech boom in Berkeley, where researchers are working to unlock the potential of nanoscience to battle global warming and disease.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Mar 27 2007

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.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Feb 20 2007

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.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Feb 13 2007

Last fall, Governor Schwarzenegger signed a landmark piece of legislation-- the first in the nation-- to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the state. But signing the The Global Warming Solutions Act was the easy part.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Feb 8 2007

It's pretty easy to drive a converted biodiesel car when you live in the Bay Area, but what about a road trip? Our Quest producers drive to LA. and back in a biodiesel van to see how easy it is to be green.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Feb 1 2007