It's a typical afternoon at a cafe-- cappuccinos, conversation... and the science of black holes? Bay Area "science cafes" have exploded in popularity, putting scientists and everyday folks face to face for casual science roundtables.
Californians don't normally see fur seals along local beaches, but lately fur seal pups have been stranding themselves in alarming numbers. QUEST sails out with the Marine Mammal Center as they release these stowaways back into the wild.
California's largest wind farm cluster at Altamont Pass unintentionally kills golden eagles, burrowing owls and other threatened birds. Now, wind companies, scientists and environmentalists are working to bird-proof these massive wind farms.
The land north of San Francisco's Cliff House near the old Sutro Baths is getting a multi-million-dollar face lift by the National Park Service and local philanthropists. The area, rich in history, and in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge will get new trails, catwalks and other features, making it more accessible to millions of visitors.
Scoop a handful of critters out of the San Francisco Bay and you'll find tourists from far away shores. Invasive kinds of mussels, fish and more are choking out native species, challenging experts around the state to change the human behavior that brings them here.
California's landmark stem cell research program made headlines nationally, but what's the latest story behind the science? QUEST investigates the potential for medical breakthroughs in the next decade and how the Bay Area is leading the way.
A growing number of Bay Area police are putting away their old radar guns and embracing new laser beam guns, clocking cars with much more precision than before. QUEST TV finds out how they work.
It's not James Bond-- it's Graham Hawkes, record holder for the deepest underwater solo dive and inventor of Deep Flight, a winged submersible that may revolutionize underwater travel.
Can someone who's quadriplegic or hearing impaired play a video game? QUEST TV takes you to the international Game Developers Conference celebrated recently in San Francisco, where a group of gamers used colorful tactics to convince mainstream developers to make video games that are accessible for everyone.
QUEST talks with George Smoot, big bang researcher at UC Berkeley and winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Devastating over 1 million oak trees across Northern California in the past 10 years, Sudden Oak Death is a killer with no cure. But biologists now are looking to the trees' genetics for a solution.
The monster waves at Mavericks attract big wave surfers from around the world. But what exactly makes these Half Moon Bay waves so big?
Journey back in time to the birth of the Bay Area's environmental movement. Meet the everyday people who rescued the Bay Area from environmental disaster and continue to inspire a new generation.
Though you may not believe it, the Bay Area was home to the last whale hunting fleet in the United States - only a generation ago. Quest investigates how Richmond, California was part of a historic moment, and what remains today.
What are the current causes of adult blindness? Our QUEST story follows Regina, who is becoming blind, as she develops skills such as walking with a white cane and talks about her fears of becoming blind and how she has been preparing psychologically. We also talk with specialists about what causes adult blindness and how to prepare someone to live in the dark.
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.
Cutting-edge microscopes at UC-San Francisco are helping scientists create three-dimensional images of cells, and may help lead to new medical breakthroughs, including a treatment for Type 1 diabetes.
Tule Elk once dominated the Bay Area landscape, but after the Gold Rush they were hunted to near extinction. Now thanks to naturalists and inspired ranchers, they are making a comeback.
An explosion in green building is underway, with cleverly engineered libraries, office buildings, even public housing projects popping up across the Bay Area, and championed as much by landlords trying to cut energy and water costs as by environmental groups.
Ladybug Ladybug Fly Away Home! Each year Ladybugs fly in by the millions to winter in the East Bay's Redwood Regional Park. We meet naturalist Linda Yemoto who explains this phenomenon. But how these beetles know where to go is still one of nature's mysteries.
State transportation planners have nearly finished designing a high-tech bullet train system that would take passengers from San Francisco to Los Angeles in two hours at 220 mph -- faster than a Ferrari. But will California voters pay for it?
Tired of toxic embalming fluid, rainforest wood caskets and other ecologically unfriendly practices, a new generation of undertakers is attempting to green up the funeral industry with burials that go easy on the land.
Take stroll through San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers with Executive Director Dr. John Peterson and learn about the building's Victorian history and rare collection of exotic Dracula orchids.
If you could learn your odds of getting cancer, heart disease or diabetes, would you? A new generation of home genetic testing kits allows anybody with a cotton swab and a mailbox to find out. But does convenience come with a privacy risk?
Once nearly extinct, California condors are making a steady recovery. But a new threat - lead poisoning from old bullets - is slowing progress, leaving scientists to struggle with the passionate collision between wildlife preservation and the politics of hunting.
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.
Not satisfied with 50 mpg? 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.
Admiral Chester Nimitz was nearly killed when his seaplane hit a floating telephone pole 65 years ago. Ever since, a group of Sausalito sailors has toiled as San Francisco Bay's unheralded trash collectors - removing tons of debris every month, from floating concrete to dead bodies.
Call them demolition derby astrophysicists: NASA Scientists in Mountain View are building a spaceship they will deliberately crash into the moon in 2009, sending up a 40-mile high cloud of debris. Their goal? To find water for a future moon base.
Sea otters, the fuzzy mascots of California's coast, have fought back for 75 years from near-extinction, but now their population has mysteriously stalled. Scientists say pollution from land - perhaps even a parasite in cat litter - may be the culprit.
