Chemistry
KQED Science
Researchers at SLAC Study Promising Alternative to Morphine
Researchers are now studying a new kind of pain reliever with less side effects than morphine, using the Linac Coherent Light Source at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
KQED Science
Cassini Detects Signs of Conditions Friendly to Life
Far beneath the icy crust of Saturn's small moon Enceladus, hydrothermal activity may be at work, activity similar to what is found in some life-friendly environments on Earth.
KQED Science
Scientists Tackle a Dual Threat: More Acid, Less Oxygen in the Ocean
Marine scientists from up and down the West Coast say it's a one-two punch to the Pacific food web.
KQED Science
Banana Slugs: Secret of the Slime
Beneath the towering redwoods lives one of the most peculiar creatures in California: the banana slug. They're coated with a liquid crystal ooze that solves many problems slugs face in the forest -- and maybe some of our own.
KQED Science
Great Bird Goo Mystery: Why It’s Not as Easy as ‘CSI’
State scientists, federal agencies, and a lab in Britain are all trying to identify a mystery gunk that killed hundreds of sea birds in San Francisco Bay. It's been three weeks, and still no word on what the gunk is. KQED investigates why it's taking so long.
KQED Science
How Electric Light Changed the Night
Artificial light makes the modern world possible. But not all kinds of light are good for us. Electric light has fundamentally altered our lives, our bodies and the very nature of our sleep.
KQED Science
How Science Can Help Prevent a (Bad) Hangover
In the annals of medical research, you won’t find many studies on the common hangover. But one intrepid Bay Area scientist has taken on the topic -- and even has an inexpensive remedy you probably haven't heard about.
KQED Science
Stanford Scientist Shares Nobel in Chemistry
Two Americans and a German will share the Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing a new type of microscopy that allows researchers, for the first time, to see individual molecules inside living cells.
KQED Science
Computer-Generated Molecular Models Promise Greener Concrete
More precisely targeted cement would use less calcium and use less energy to create it. A study at MIT exploring the molecular structure of cement promises substantial energy and greenhouse-gas savings in this crucial technology.
KQED Science
Dancing with Atoms: Innovative Art Advances Computing and Chemistry
We humans are naturally enchanted by life at scales smaller than our own. An imaginative art installation can draw you into the sub-microscopic realm with the compelling immersion of a video game.
KQED Science
A Simple Mineral Has Geochemical Power That Helps Spark Life
New work shows that the simple mineral sphalerite has geochemical powers suitable for helping life to arise from precursors in the mineral kingdom.
KQED Science
A Quest for Vegan Cheese That Actually Tastes Like Cheese
A team of Bay Area scientists is biohacking baker's yeast, in an effort to produce proteins that are just like milk proteins, only they're aren't from milk.
KQED Science
Carbon-Tracking Satellite Will Monitor Earth’s ‘Breathing’
The data could yield a much more precise picture of how accumulating greenhouse gases will affect the planet.
KQED Science
Drought Tech: How Solar Desalination Could Help Parched Farms
While coastal communities debate the merits of desalting seawater as a drought solution, a new approach to desalination could be a boon to farmers far inland.
KQED Science
Consumer Gene Tests Face Uncertain Future
Personal genetics companies that offer health insights are working to satisfy federal regulators and keep up with changing science.
KQED Science
California Farmers Look to Oil Industry for Water
As water supplies tighten for California farmers, some are looking to an unlikely new source: a water recycling project in one of the state's oldest oil fields.
KQED Science
How Corrosive Water off the West Coast Threatens the Food Chain
Earlier this year, managers at a hatchery near Vancouver, Canada said they lost three years' worth of scallops -- 10 million animals -- to acidic waters. Ocean acidification is worse off the West Coast than anywhere else in North America.
KQED Science
California Takes Aim at Toxic Nap Mats, Paint Strippers
Six years after voters passed the California Green Chemistry Initiative, the state lays out its plan to get toxic products off shelves.
KQED Science
Why Distant Dust Storms Matter to California Rainfall
Scientists are finding that dust storms in Asia and Africa influence how much snow falls in the Sierra Nevada. The research could help make weather forecasting more accurate and improve how California manages its water supply.
