Clik here to view.
How Scientists Detect the Most Lethal Shellfish Toxin You’ve Never Heard Of
There is a weapon that is released by algae around the world and concentrated, invisible, in the flesh of shellfish. An amount the size of a poppy seed is enough to kill a grown person. It’s part of an...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Watch Bed Bugs Get Stopped in Their Tracks
Summer is a time of travel and fun. But with every bed an exhausted traveler lies on after a day of sightseeing, the chances of bringing home an unwanted bug increase. Don’t let this happen to you. An...
View ArticleFor Devastating Bat Fungus, Potential Treatments But No Easy Solution
Last week, state scientists announced they had discovered for the first time in California an invasive fungus that causes a disease responsible for the death of over 6 million North American bats. The...
View ArticleElon Musk’s Latest Startup Wants to Test Brain-Reading Sensors in Paralyzed...
In front of a crowd of techies packed into a planetarium, Elon Musk strode out on stage, waxed philosophical about achieving symbiosis with artificial intelligence, and made his latest ambitious...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What Two Sisters With a Rare Heart Condition Taught Doctors About Our Genes
Early in February of 2008, just days after she was born, Tatiana Legkiy lay in a cardiac intensive care unit, her tiny body hooked up to a respirator. After crying for two hours, she was now briefly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
5 Things You Thought You Knew — But Didn’t — About Rattlesnakes
It’s summertime. The season for hiking and adventures outdoors. You might see a rattlesnake out on the trail. Don’t freak out. Most of what we think we know about rattlesnakes is off base. Here are a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Removing Invasive Shrimp May Clear Lake Tahoe’s Waters
Removing a species of tiny shrimp may be the key to returning Lake Tahoe’s waters to the clear cerulean shade extolled in vacation guides. According to the latest State of the Lake report from UC Davis...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Jumbo Squid Are Missing From Monterey Bay. Will They Ever Return?
Jumbo squid live up to their name. They can grow up to six feet long and can weigh 100 pounds. They’re deep red, muscular, and just plain mean. Mexican fisherman call them diablo rojo — red devil —...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pregnant Moms Who Breathe Dirty Air Have Children With Lower IQs, Study Finds
A new study focusing on mothers who breathe soot-laden air adds to a growing body of research into how air pollution affects cognitive development. Fine particles of pollution, small enough to breathe...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fear of Human Voices Can Shape an Ecosystem
In the mountains near Santa Cruz, there’s an area where nature’s rules don’t seem to apply. Everything looks normal — there’s a stream, oak trees, redwoods, bobcats, skunks and the occasional opossum....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Peregrine Falcons are Feathered Fighter Jets, Basically
UC Berkeley is known for a lot of things, from Nobel Prizes to football games at Memorial Stadium and top-flight students. But lately, two campus residents have been getting a lot of attention: A pair...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Wakefulness” Part of the Brain Attacked First in Alzheimer’s, Study Says
People who donate their bodies to science might never have dreamed what information lies deep within their brains. Even when that information has to do with sleep. Scientists used to believe that...
View ArticleUCSF Gets New Money to Study the ‘Galaxies’ Within You (Your Microbes)
Trillions of tiny organisms live in and on the human body. In our guts, on our skin, and in our noses. Scientists are finding that bacteria and other microbes that colonize us don’t just make us sick,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hey Siri,”How Do I Foster a Science-Minded Household?”
An unusual glow lights Charlize and Dayleen Sánchez’s faces. They brighten from cyan blue to red to green, and back again. Big sister Charlize, 12, and Dayleen, 9, are turning knobs to brighten or...
View ArticleThis Saturday is Free Fishing Day throughout California
Slather on the sunscreen, line up some some bait, and bring your tackle box – Saturday, August 31st is Free Fishing Day across California. You won’t need a sport-fishing license to cast a line that day...
View ArticleWeed For Pain? Public Confidence Is High But Evidence Is Slim
Most Americans say they’re interested in using pot products to relieve pain, but they may underestimate the risks. A new online survey from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) suggests that...
View ArticleStart September With Science — Our Recommended Reads
As the sand trickles through summer’s hourglass, Labor Day weekend offers one more opportunity this season to spend a few leisurely hours with a book. Here are a few favorites from the KQED Science and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
NASA’s Europa Clipper Is A Go
NASA has taken a big step closer to testing the waters of the ocean hiding under the icy crust of Europa, Jupiter’s most enigmatic moon. The Europa Clipper mission, in development at the Jet Propulsion...
View ArticleHow About a Burger With Everything – Except the Animals?
Someday you could slice into a steak from a Petri dish, or savor sashimi from a test tube. By growing meat in labs, a slew of Bay Area startups promise a future of tasty dishes for carnivores without...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kidnapper Ants Steal Other Ants’ Babies — And Brainwash Them
A miniature drama is playing out on the forest floor in California’s preeminent mountain range, the Sierra Nevada, at this time of year. As the sun sets, look closely and you might see a stream of red...
View Article