Science Stories

Fire is a force for destruction, but also of rebirth. This vivid lesson is at the heart of Fire Among Giants, a provocative and intimate look at a world famous forest in the wake of the most destructive inferno on record. The ancient redwoods of California’s Big Basin State Park have witnessed centuries of change, […]

In The Century of Biology, noted bioethicist R. Alta Charo ponders the ever-shifting interrelationship between humans and nature. The power of CRISPR and genome editing fundamentally reshapes the realm of the possible, as humans can manipulate life with precision on the molecular level. What we will do with this power is a question that far […]

Coral reefs are truly magnificent ecosystems that support an abundance of marine life, and they are under threat. As climate change warms the oceans, corals become stressed by the heat and struggle to survive. Can modern genetic tools, like CRISPR-Cas9, help save them? Some scientists say it is our responsibility to make sure corals adapt to climate […]

Dr. Tshaka Cunningham is a molecular biologist and a Black man of faith. In this short film, the Science Communication Lab explores Dr. Cunningham’s personal and professional identities, and how they unite to help him promote community health through personal genomics. This short film was produced in partnership with undergraduate biology educators at San Francisco […]

What does a redwood forest look like, and sound like, in the wake of a devastating fire? See a forest in a new way in this new cinematic short from the Science Communication Lab.

Trees are magnificent organisms that have evolved very slowly over millions of years, making it hard for them to adapt to rapid changes in the environment. With climate change imminent, scientists estimate up to 25% of US forests will decline over the next three decades. In “Future of Forest,” the first film of this 2-part […]