Global Warming is Mixing Up Nature’s Dinner Time, Study Says
Global warming is screwing up nature’s intricately timed dinner hour, often making hungry critters and those on the menu show up at much different times, a new study shows. Timing is everything in...
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Farming That Uses a Little Water … And a Whole Lot of Fish Poop
Editor’s Note: The following story was produced for Youth Takeover week at KQED. Most farms grow food with soil and water. But at Ouroboros Farm in Half Moon Bay, Ken Armstrong grows food with water...
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Why Do Tumbleweeds Tumble?
Tumbleweeds might be the iconic props of classic Westerns. But in real life, they’re not only a noxious weed, but one that moves around. As they roll and bounce, pushed by gusts of wind, they can...
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Watch These Cunning Snails Stab and Swallow Fish Whole
It might be time to rethink the phrase “moving at a snail’s pace.” New research shows that cone snails — ocean-dwelling mollusks known for their brightly colored shells — attack their prey faster than...
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Another Dead Whale, Another Confirmed Ship Strike
Marine scientists confirmed over the weekend that a dead fin whale found on a Bolinas shore last week died because it was hit by a ship. It’s the third whale in the Bay Area found to have died due to...
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You’d Never Guess What an Acorn Woodpecker Eats
Have you ever wondered why woodpeckers pound so incessantly? In the case of acorn woodpeckers — gregarious black-and-red birds in California’s oak forests — they’re building an intricate pantry, a...
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What Do Earwigs Do With Those Pincers Anyway?
When you walk through a park, go for a hike or take a trip to the zoo, most of the animals and plants you see appear symmetric. Whether it’s an oak leaf or an elk’s antlers, the right and left sides...
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The Giants of California: How Redwoods and Whales Got So Big
When Virginia-based ecologist Jeff Atkins visited the giant redwood trees at Muir Woods National Monument, he saw something that blew his mind. “I remember watching drops of water falling from the top...
View ArticleLate-Life High Blood Pressure May Harm the Brain, Study Says
Decades ago, hundreds of nuns and priests made an extraordinary decision: They agreed to donate their brains upon death to science, hoping to help solve mysteries about Alzheimer’s and other diseases....
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How Elephants Listen … With Their Feet
Caitlin O’Connell-Rodwell has been a regular at the same watering hole for more than 25 years. Most of the other patrons are elephants. This summer marks the Stanford researcher’s 26th visit to...
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A Sea Urchin Army Is Mowing Down California’s Kelp Forests — But Why?
Kelp forests are the marine mirror images to the towering redwoods onshore, the scaffolding that supports the image of the classic northern California coastline. But these oceanic forests are currently...
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One Way to Save Birds: Pay Farmers to Flood Their Land
An innovative scheme to leverage Central Valley farmland as temporary wetlands on the Pacific Flyway helped birds navigate California’s five-year drought, according to a new analysis. More than four...
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Watch This Bee Build Her Bee-jeweled Nest
A new type of bee is buzzing through California’s orchards. And researchers are hoping that the iridescent, greenish insect may help provide a more efficient way to pollinate nuts and fruits in an era...
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Bird Species Collapse in the Mojave, Driven by Climate Change
Bird populations in the Mojave are plummeting for lack of water, in an imbalance driven by climate change. A new study from UC Berkeley finds shrinking rainfall has led to the loss of more than 40...
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This Adorable Sea Slug Is a Sneaky Little Thief
The summer months bring low morning tides along the California coast, providing an opportunity to see one of the state’s most unusual inhabitants, sea slugs. Also called nudibranchs, many of these...
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How Kittens Go From Clueless to Cute
Every year, hundreds of thousands of kittens end up in animal shelters, in need of permanent homes. A 5-week-old kitten plays at a shelter run by the Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA in Burlingame,...
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The House Centipede Is Fast, Furious and Hella Leggy
As California enters the winter rainy season, at least one transplant won’t be disappointed to see a change in the weather. West Coast rain is just fine for the house centipede, a guest from the...
View ArticleScientists Uncover Genetic Basis for Toxic Algal Blooms
Despite decades of research, the trigger that causes algal blooms to begin poisoning their environment has long confounded scientists. Now, researchers from Scripps and UC San Diego have found the...
View ArticleTrump Administration Relying on Questionable Science in Move to Weaken...
The Trump administration is quietly moving to weaken U.S. radiation regulations, turning to scientific outliers who argue that a bit of radiation damage is actually good for you — like a little bit of...
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Your Guide to the 2018 Bay Area Science Festival
Curious minds of all ages can rejoice: The Bay Area Science Festival is upon us. Organized by UCSF, in collaboration with dozens of science and cultural institutions, the festival is brimming with...
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