Stanford biology student’s Mother’s Day tribute song becomes YouTube hit
Last year, Stanford biology student Adam Cole decided to write an original song to honor his mom on Mother’s Day. The biology-themed ballad became a YouTube hit.
Science & Tech
Learn about Silicon Valley’s Innovations and Environment
As population ages, Menlo Park incubator invests in new medical devices
As the U.S. population ages, established Silicon Valley incubators are funding more startups with products that meet public demand for new medical tests and devices.
Stanford researchers say climate change affects where plants grow
With mounting evidence to support global warming, a team of Stanford researchers is studying the effects on California plants. Their findings suggest some may require cooler climates.
Corn ethanol is inefficient and drives food prices higher
Corn ethanol has environmental, economic and social impacts that reach far beyond the gas tank. And by almost any analysis, those impacts make it a poor choice for fuel in the United States.
Protesters demand hiring equality at Google; few women take computer science classes
As Stanford and other elite engineering programs around the country see the number of female students decline, Google and other tech giants are under fire for not hiring more women and minorities.
California ties for third most shark attacks in U.S. as attacks rise worldwide
There was a 25-percent increase in shark attacks worldwide in 2010, but California’s stats remained steady at five. The state is tied with Hawaii and South Carolina for the third most attacks in the nation.
East Palo Alto builds new bayfront park; still lags behind neighbors in parks per capita
East Palo Alto is planning to turn the vacant Cooley Landing into a bayfront park. It will add nine more acres of parkland to a city that does not have the state’s recommended number of parks per 1,000 people.
San Joaquin Valley farmers find new ways to irrigate but still have water-use critics
After 1992 water conservation legislation forced many San Joaquin Valley farmers to leave crops untended, farmers found more eco-friendly ways to irrigate land. Still agriculture watering has many critics.
Leaving idle appliances plugged in drives up power bills; which devices are worst offenders?
Household appliances draw surprisingly large amounts of energy during all hours they’re plugged in – even when they’re not in use. They are “energy vampires” that waste electricity and drive up power bills.