Science & Technology
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California approves an unprecedented plan to protect Joshua trees from climate change threats
A sweeping conservation plan identifies where Joshua trees may survive in a warmer future and plots out how to best protect that land.
Proponents say it’s the first time the state has taken steps to conserve a species that’s abundant now but is projected to lose much of its future habitat due to climate change.
Some fear the plan and the ...Read more

Western Colorado is at the 'epicenter of drought' as a hot, dry summer saps water supplies -- and fuels wildfires
DENVER — Drought and long, hot summer days are sucking Western Colorado’s rivers dry, parching farm fields and fueling the massive wildfires proliferating across the region.
A chunk of northwestern Colorado in the last week plunged into exceptional drought — the most dire category recorded by the U.S. Drought Monitor. The swath of ...Read more

What's behind the more than 130 small earthquakes hitting Northern California?
A series of more than 100 earthquakes has hit Northern California, shaking up the Geysers geothermal steam field in Sonoma and Lake counties.
Since Thursday, at least 131 earthquakes have been recorded — as small as magnitude 0.2 and as big as magnitude 4. The largest earthquake was recorded at 5:48 a.m. Pacific time Thursday, with an ...Read more

Commentary: The true cost of abandoning science
Any trip to the dark night skies of our Southern California deserts reveals a vista full of wonder and mystery — riddles that astrophysicists like myself spend our days unraveling.
I am fortunate to study how the first galaxies formed and evolved over the vast span of 13 billion years into the beautiful structures that fill those skies. NASA...Read more

Meta's superintelligence dream team will be management challenge of the century
Meta Platforms Inc. is spending a fortune to assemble the brightest minds in artificial intelligence. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg may want to note: Research suggests that packing a team with too much genius can backfire.
So far, more than a dozen engineers from OpenAI have defected to Meta, joined by notable experts from Anthropic ...Read more

Fake grass is greener but is it worse for the environment? Florida a new testing ground
MIAMI — From the front yards of West Miami-Dade to the waterfront mansions of Fort Lauderdale, artificial turf is appearing more and more.
And with the spread of artificial turf comes a mounting number of questions and criticisms — about everything from how it looks to how it impacts the environment, the climate and even human health. This ...Read more

Ecolab makes $1.8B deal to help expand its business with AI data centers, semiconductor industry
Ecolab is spending $1.8 billion for a high-tech business that purifies water for data centers and semiconductor operations.
The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company’s deal is for Montreal-based Ovivo Inc.’s electronics division, which has about $500 million in annual revenue and 900 employees.
“Ovivo Electronics’ unique technologies ...Read more
Block, formerly Square, lays off about two dozen more in Missouri
ST. LOUIS — The financial services firm Block, Inc., formerly known as Square Inc., will lay off 23 Missouri workers. These cuts come months after the company let go of 67 workers throughout the state.
According to a notice filed with the state Wednesday, the 23 affected positions include 19 remote customer support specialists and four remote...Read more

Why are Colorado rabbits growing tentacles and horns?
DENVER — Rabbits with tentacles in northern Colorado.
There’s not really a better way to sum up recent photos and headlines about cottontail rabbits spotted around Fort Collins with long, dangling growths on their faces.
But as concerning as they appear, the virus that causes the dark, wart-like growths is relatively common and usually not...Read more

Bessent sees Nvidia, AMD China agreements as a model for others
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the recent deal to allow Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to resume lower-end AI chip sales to China, on the condition they give the U.S. government a 15% cut of the related revenue, could serve as a model for others.
“I think we could see it in other industries over time,” Bessent said ...Read more
Whales and dolphins have an 'intriguing' relationship, study finds. What to know
MIAMI — The relationship between whales and dolphins has long been shrouded in mystery.
But, new research reveals that — despite their vast difference in size — these marine mammals often enjoy playful interactions, much like a Great Dane romping with a Chihuahua.
Scientists at Griffith University in Australia came to this conclusion by ...Read more

Jim Rossman: Password protecting your important notes and files
This week a reader writes, “In (a recent) column you mentioned that you keep some of your passwords in your iPhone in a locked note. Could you please explain how one locks a note? It sounds So useful. Also, on a PC using windows, is there a way to lock an individual file? I’m thinking particularly of a spreadsheet that might contain ...Read more

Gadgets: A great soundbar
For anyone who is not familiar with a soundbar, you need to be. A simple comparison of the sound your TV emits from the built-in speakers compared to how the same TV sounds with OXS’s S5 Soundbar, proves it doesn’t compare. The S5 is the device that will make or break the enjoyment of a media room or even a single-TV setup.
The OXS S5 ...Read more

Review: ‘Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound’ lovingly revives classic 2D experience
Before developer Tomonobu Itagaki brought the “Ninja Gaiden” franchise into the polygonal realm, the series had been an arcade mainstay and a classic Nintendo Entertainment System trilogy. The side-scrolling adventure was renowned for its difficulty and visuals that pushed the 8-bit system to its limits.
For its time, Ryu Hayabusa’s ...Read more

Are sharks an 'overwhelming problem' in Florida? What the experts say
MIAMI — Florida anglers say sharks are snatching their catches at unprecedented rates, calling it an “overwhelming problem” and blaming a boom in Gulf shark numbers.
But scientific research paints a more complicated picture.
Scientists who study sharks acknowledge that depredation — the act of fish being eaten by an underwater predator...Read more

California farmers, anglers and researchers often clash over salmon. Science united them
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In better times, droves of young winter-run Chinook salmon would travel 300 miles downstream from the Sacramento River, beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Pacific. They would return as adults, shimmering silver and red, and spawn at their exact place of birth in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta.
Today, fewer ...Read more

A new gold rush? How AI is transforming San Francisco
On a sunny day in San Francisco, along the city's waterfront, families dived into the wacky world of artificial intelligence inside the Exploratorium museum.
Visitors made shadow puppets for AI to identify, used AI to generate songs, asked chatbots questions and faced off with AI in a game in which players tried to draw images that only humans ...Read more

ULA Vulcan cuts through night skies on landmark national security mission
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — United Launch Alliance knocked out its first Vulcan Centaur launch of the year Tuesday night, and its first ever for the Space Force.
The company’s new workhorse rocket lifted off on the USSF-106 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 at 8:56 p.m. under clear skies except for a ...Read more
Environmentalists warn about Poinciana expressway's impact on Disney Preserve, wildlife corridor
ORLANDO, Fla. — A long-awaited design for an expressway that aims to change how Osceola County travels is set to be revealed to the public next month. But environmentalists have major concerns about its proximity to the 11,500-acre Disney Wilderness Preserve and its potential impact on wildlife.
The proposed Southport Connector is a 15-mile ...Read more

States scramble to complete renewable energy projects before tax credits expire
The abrupt termination of tax credits for clean energy projects is perhaps the most drastic blow that President Donald Trump has struck in his campaign against wind and solar electricity.
As states brace for the uncertainty ahead, they are scrambling to get pending projects off the ground before the tax credits expire.
“The real ...Read more
Popular Stories
- What's behind the more than 130 small earthquakes hitting Northern California?
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab enters a different kind of space race with a telescope deal
- Western Colorado is at the 'epicenter of drought' as a hot, dry summer saps water supplies -- and fuels wildfires
- Commentary: The true cost of abandoning science
- Are sharks an 'overwhelming problem' in Florida? What the experts say