Science and Technology

Charge! NAU's Bike-Powered Electronics Charging Station Opens

Janice Baker — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 11:14:00 +0000

Bike wheels are turning on the campus of Northern Arizona University, but not just for exercise. The eco-pedaler uses human power to charge portable electronics. Arizona Public Radio's Janice Baker reports.

Flu hits Arizona hard

Shelley Smithson — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 20:09:07 +0000

Right on the heels of the holiday season, it’s time for the flu season.

2012 The Warmest Year On Record

Laurel Morales — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:11:40 +0000

Last year was the hottest year on record for the contiguous United States. And the Upper Colorado River Basin had its driest year on record, according to the latest National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration climate report released Tuesday.

NAU Researchers Part of Gut Project

Shelley Smithson — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 22:04:04 +0000

Now, it’s time for a gut check. Literally. A researcher at Northern Arizona University is working with a team of scientists trying to unravel what lives inside our guts.

Local company launches new product that could be important part of solar energy's future

Shelley Smithson — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 11:00:00 +0000

It’s a cold morning in Flagstaff and the sun is still low in the winter sky.

Business partners Ryan Holtz and Jim Corning have positioned a photovoltaic panel to face southeast.

When they plug it in, a digital monitor starts measuring the amount of energy being produced by the sun.

“Wow. 159 watts, 160, cool,” says Jim Corning, a partner in Plug and Play Solar Kits of Arizona. “Now, we’re out from behind the cloud a little more. 178. Part of the fun is messing around with these things and getting them pointed right and seeing the output.”

Flagstaff USGS Team Helps Curiosity Rover Explore Mars

Shelley Smithson — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 18:07:31 +0000

Later this year, the Mars Rover Curiosity is scheduled to begin its longest road trip yet, to Mount Sharp. That’s a three-mile-high mountain on Mars that tells the planet’s geologic history in the same way the Grand Canyon’s exposes earth’s. But getting Curiosity to its ultimate destination depends on maps and cameras. That’s where Flagstaff’s office of the U.S. Geological Survey comes in.

4FRI Part 4: What Restoration Will Look and Smell Like

Rose Houk and Michael Collier — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Over the past several days, writers Rose Houk and Michael Collier have been reporting on the plight of our ponderosa pine forest and efforts to restore its health. In this final installment, we look at industry’s role, and what the public can expect to see when restoration gets underway.

Carving Grand Canyon: New Theories About An Old Canyon

Gillian Ferris — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 19:32:00 +0000

Flagstaff geologist Wayne Ranney discusses some new theories of how - and when - the Grand Canyon formed. The second edition of Ranney's book, Carving Grand Canyon, was recently released.

4FRI Part 3: A Collaboration of Unlikely Partners

Michael Collier and Rose Houk — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 12:00:00 +0000

The world’s largest ponderosa pine forest stretches from the San Francisco Peaks to the Arizona/New Mexico border, but now this forest is overgrown and threatened by huge fires.

In the third part of our series on the Four Forest Restoration Initiative, Michael Collier reports that collaboration has been essential in dealing with the threats to the forest.

4FRI Part 2: The Birth of a Collaboration

Rose Houk and Michael Collier — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 12:00:00 +0000

The ponderosa pine forest, across northern and central Arizona, looks green and healthy, but scientists say just the opposite is true. And they’ve joined with local government officials, environmentalists and industry to restore the forest’s health.