The landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act aims to keep aquifers healthy by requiring plans from newly formed local agencies. The policy represents a major shift, mandated by arguably the most important new California water law in 50 years.

The conflict between the state of California and a Silicon Valley billionaire over a beach on the San Mateo County coast is at an important juncture.

Stanford researchers suggest modern life has changed our internal thermostat.

A science communication researcher who is studying why some people think the Earth's surface is literally flat clues us in on who is buying this extremely wrong concept and how it has spread.

Family dynamics coupled with pumpkin pie can be extremely painful for people with eating issues.

Both California and federal health officials are probing the link between chemical food dyes and kids' behavior.

Despite an increase in insurance companies dropping coverage in fire-prone areas, nobody's ready to blow up the entire system yet. But some reforms may be on the way.

California farmers are receiving millions of dollars to pull carbon out of the atmosphere, making the state home to some of the first official 'carbon farmers' in the country.

It wasn’t hard for Shara Watkins to get pregnant, it was hard to stay pregnant. In 2016, she was devastated by two miscarriages. Finally, through the the aid of several medical interventions, she and her husband Robert successfully conceived again last year. They were elated when she reached her second trimester, the phase when the highest risk of  miscarriage subsides. Unfortunately the San Mateo couple’s struggles continued. Shara spent four months of her pregnancy on bedrest, so...

The Trump administration is laying the groundwork to enlarge California’s biggest reservoir. But the project runs afoul of both state law and the Winnemem Wintu tribe, which says the expansion would end up submerging its sacred sites.

All about that oh-so-special feeling you get after a night of heavy drinking, from the author of "Proof: The Science of Booze."

The days of re-setting clocks twice a year could be numbered. If Californians approve Proposition 7 it would pave the way for year-round Daylight Saving Time.

Home can be the most dangerous place in a heat wave. It doesn't have to be that way.

In summer of 2017, heat waves killed 14 people and in climate-driven crisis officials called a public health emergency. KQED examines who is vulnerable and why.

One year after devastating fires, the North Bay is grappling with how and where to rebuild.

This week corporate and civic leaders from around the world will gather in San Francisco for the Global Climate Action Summit. The effort was spearheaded by Gov. Jerry Brown to move the fight against global warming beyond the national commitments made in Paris nearly three years ago. "Look, it's up to you and it's up to me and tens of millions of other people to get it together to roll back the forces of carbonization," says Brown in a promotional video for the summit. It is likely...

A new, long-term art and science project at the University of California Santa Cruz tests possible scenarios for what gardens might look like 50 years from now as regional temperatures continue to rise.

Unprecedented smoke pollution across the West is creating public health risks and undermining decades of air quality gains.

How to work with trauma. People who lost their homes last fall in the northern California wildfires are feeling fear, anxiety, and sleeplessness seeing this summer's wildfires.

A new breed of smoke-chasing scientists is finding important clues to fire behavior in the smoke plumes from western wildfires.

For a century, California has harnessed its water with concrete, building dams and reservoirs on an epic scale. Now, as the state prepares to hand out $2.7 billion for new water storage projects, it looks as though that era of dam-building might be ending. During the height of the California's 5-year drought, state voters approved new funding for water storage as part of Proposition 1. This week, the California Water Commission will allocate those funds to the eight projects that have...

California wildfires can be less catastrophic if we deliberately burn dry grasses and brush ahead of time. Plus, there's less overall pollution.

It will most likely be weeks before the County Fire west of Sacramento is completely extinguished. By Friday it had consumed nearly 140 square miles -- an area larger than Las Vegas. Firefighters say it was a vicious cycle of weather conditions, terrain and vegetation that made it one of the fastest-growing fires in recent memory. But there was something else at work: a relatively new challenge confronting fire crews. Scientists have noted that nighttime temperatures -- overnight lows,...

Wolves, bears and mountain lions (oh my!) are some of the animals settling into a major new expansion of the Oakland Zoo. The zoo says its “California Trail” project is pushing the envelope for animal welfare and conservation. But whether zoos should even keep large predators remains controversial because of their need to roam and hunt. Reporter Sarah Craig takes us to meet the new arrivals.

The season of summer blockbusters is in full swing. From the rollicking space adventure of "Solo," to the universe-spanning "Avengers: Infinity War," characters are dodging blasters, collecting stones of power, and falling in love as their world hangs in peril. It's a lot of popcorn, and whole lot of fun. It's also a chance to lose yourself in new imaginary worlds. Sometimes what you see on screen can become inspiration for real life. "The number of present-day scientists who might...