Science & Technology
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Gadgets: Magic Cable
Just because a USB charging cable has the right connections doesn't mean it will give you optimum performance. There's a big difference in how much power they can carry, which translates into how fast they can charge your power-hungry device, and whether they are able to deliver the proper USB Power Delivery standard to power and run a laptop....Read more
Review: Ignore the negativity, ‘Star Wars Outlaws’ is fun and refreshing non-Jedi adventure
The best way to enjoy Star Wars is to ignore the franchise’s fans. The community is cancerous and its toxicity has metastasized through social media with a rabid irrational hate over most projects. With that bias, it makes any online criticism about Star Wars shows and video games hard to trust.
When it comes to “Star Wars Outlaws,” the...Read more
Jim Rossman: When is it time for a new phone?
I got a really simple question from a reader this week. It read, “I presently have an iPhone 13. Should I upgrade to iPhone 16?"
This is the exact question that I will be asking myself quite soon, so let’s take a look.
My phone is currently the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which was introduced with the other iPhone 13 models in September of 2021. ...Read more
Amid Boeing's Starliner troubles, WA space industry thrives
It’d be reasonable to think Washington’s space economy has a lot riding on Boeing’s Starliner, the spacecraft that left two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station and headed back to Earth with an empty cabin Friday.
The astronauts were scheduled to return on Starliner in June after a week on the ISS, but thruster failures ...Read more
How Ford is using AI, augmented-reality and 3D printing to improve quality
Artificial intelligence-powered photographic inspections, 3D-printed tools and augmented-reality training headsets are part of Ford Motor Co.'s strategy to improve vehicle quality, something that has continued to plague its financial results.
The Dearborn automaker in the second quarter was slammed with a more than 5% decline year-over-year in ...Read more
Has a California lab discovered the holy grail of plastic recycling?
Despite the planet’s growing plastic pollution crisis, petroleum-based polymers have become an integral part of modern life. They make cars and airplanes lighter and more energy efficient. They constitute a core material of modern medicine by helping to keep equipment sterile, deliver medicines and build prosthetics, among many other things. ...Read more
Why are sharks coming to Boston Harbor? Researchers believe it's a nursery ground: 'A really cool success story'
This is not your parents’ Boston Harbor.
Once unthinkable when the harbor was nasty and polluted, today’s cleaner waters have actually become a desirable shark habitat as young sharks migrate here yearly.
Shark researchers at the New England Aquarium report that they’ve been coming across the rebounding sand tiger shark population in ...Read more
Endangered species rebounds in California a century after being wiped out. 'Inspiring'
All on its own, an endangered species is making a fierce comeback in California, newly published state wildlife data show.
The state’s gray wolf population doubled in one fell swoop with 30 pups born across five of the seven packs this spring, bringing the total number of wolves to more than 60, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife�...Read more
New England leaders hold private clean energy talks as Massachusetts pursues more offshore wind
BOSTON — Top elected leaders from the northeastern parts of Canada and the United States urged their colleagues Tuesday morning to embrace renewable energy initiatives just as Massachusetts is attempting to spearhead a new round of offshore wind energy procurements without a key player.
At the outset of a regional conference hosted in Boston,...Read more
SpaceX launches Polaris Dawn spacewalk mission taking billionaire to space for 2nd time
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — Billionaire Jared Isaacman is back in space, but this time he’s planning on taking a historic walk outside the spacecraft as SpaceX found a hole in the weather to get the Polaris Dawn mission off the ground early Tuesday.
A Falcon 9 topped with the Crew Dragon Resilience skipped over the initial 3:38 a.m. target...Read more
Apple, Google lose multibillion dollar court fights with EU
Apple Inc. lost its court fight over a €13 billion ($14.4 billion) Irish tax bill and Google lost its challenge over a €2.4 billion fine for abusing its market power, in a double boost to the European Union’s crackdown on Big Tech.
The EU’s Court of Justice in Luxembourg backed a landmark 2016 decision that Ireland broke state-aid law ...Read more
Whales are recovering from near extinction, but industrial fishing around Antarctica competes for their sole food source
The Southern Ocean encircling Antarctica is the world’s largest feeding ground for baleen whales – species like humpbacks that filter tiny organisms from seawater for food. In the 20th century, whalers killed roughly 2 million large whales in the Southern Ocean. Some populations, like the Antarctic blue whale, were reduced by more than 99...Read more
I’ve visited the same Rocky Mountain subalpine meadow weekly for a decade of summers looking at plant-pollinator interactions – here’s what I learned
Imagine a bee crawling into a bright yellow flower.
This simple interaction is something you may have witnessed many times. It is also a crucial sign of the health of our environment – and one I’ve devoted hundreds of hours of field work observing.
Interactions between plants and pollinators help plants reproduce, support ...Read more
Washington finally catches a (small) break from drought conditions
SEATTLE — If you've noticed a little bit more greenery outside these last few weeks, your eyes haven't deceived you. Washington's drought conditions are improving ever so slightly.
And for what might seem like the first time yet this summer, the outlook for the months ahead seems to be improving.
Washington isn't out of the danger zone just ...Read more
Impressions: ‘Star Wars Outlaws’ is the Han Solo simulator fans always wanted
In a majority of “Star Wars” games, players inevitably take on the role of a Jedi. It’s a role that has been done to death, and that’s a shame because George Lucas’ sci-fi universe has so much more to offer. Mandalorians have an intriguing mythology while “Andor” and “Rogue One” show there’s more to the Rebel alliance than ...Read more
Denver waterway improvements on one gulch could mean taking dozens of homes -- but plans are still in flux
DENVER — A federally backed project that aims to restore wildlife habitat and reduce flood risks along the South Platte River and two tributaries could displace dozens of residents in some of the west Denver neighborhoods most prone to flooding.
Draft plans for Weir Gulch — which envision the acquisition of up to 70 residential properties �...Read more
US oil and gas production surged to record highs under both Trump and Biden-Harris, despite very different energy goals
The United States is producing more oil and natural gas today than ever before, and far more than any other country. So, what roles did the Trump-Pence and Biden-Harris administrations play in this surge?
The answer might surprise you, given the way each has talked publicly about fossil fuels: former President Donald Trump embracing ...Read more
If Colorado voters ban mountain lion hunting, would the feline's population explode -- or stabilize on its own?
For decades, licensed hunters have killed hundreds of Colorado mountain lions every year to control the state’s population of the elusive feline.
Voters in November will decide whether to ban the practice, along with the trapping of bobcats. That prospect has set off a deluge of competing claims about what will happen if big-cat hunting ...Read more
Silver State may become solar state under new federal plan
The U.S. is preparing for a gargantuan spike in the amount of energy it harnesses from the sun, and vastly changing the desert landscape of the Silver State’s public lands is a major component of that vision.
Within the Bureau of Land Management’s controversial plan that updates preferred solar zones for the first time in 12 years, Nevada ...Read more
Anchorage and tribe push for more studies on Eklutna River restoration as governor moves toward decision
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy will soon make a historic decision that could restore water to the long-dammed Eklutna River.
The decision could mark a turning point in a dispute between two electric utilities on one side, and the municipality of Anchorage and Native Village of Eklutna on the other.
The Chugach and Matanuska electric associations ...Read more
Popular Stories
- US oil and gas production surged to record highs under both Trump and Biden-Harris, despite very different energy goals
- Impressions: ‘Star Wars Outlaws’ is the Han Solo simulator fans always wanted
- I’ve visited the same Rocky Mountain subalpine meadow weekly for a decade of summers looking at plant-pollinator interactions – here’s what I learned
- Whales are recovering from near extinction, but industrial fishing around Antarctica competes for their sole food source
- SpaceX launches Polaris Dawn spacewalk mission taking billionaire to space for 2nd time