Science & Technology
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Nowhere in America is safe from climate-fueled storms and fires
Forecasters had warned for days that Hurricane Helene was likely to cause widespread devastation. But when the powerful storm struck Florida and barreled through the eastern U.S. last week, killing more than 180 people and taking whole communities offline, it still managed to come as a shock.
Florida’s Big Bend, where Helene made landfall, ...Read more
Successful Vulcan launch early Friday would unlock lucrative future for ULA
United Launch Alliance is footing the bill for the second ever launch of its Vulcan Centaur rocket, so it can finally see the payouts for the backlog of $3.1 billion worth of national security missions, something ULA cannot do until the Space Force signs off on it.
For that, Vulcan needs two successful flights.
The mission, dubbed Certifcation...Read more
Decision to reduce water flows in California's delta sparks debate over imperiled fish
LOS ANGELES — State and federal officials have decided to curtail additional water flows intended to support endangered fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta this fall — a controversial step that is being praised by major California water districts but condemned by environmental groups as a significant weakening of protections for ...Read more
Kitchenware to toys, household items linked to toxic flame retardants
From toys to kitchenware to food takeout trays, researchers have discovered a toxic chemical banned for its link to cancer in many common household items. Exposure to the flame retardant can come with serious health risks.
“We knew even before we started this study that there is no reason for our food-contact items, kitchen utensils, or toys ...Read more
Hurricane Helene shut down NC mine that is pivotal to world's semiconductor supply
The remnants of Hurricane Helene ripped through the Western North Carolina mountain town of Spruce Pine last week, disrupting a quartz facility integral to the global production of solar panels and semiconductor chips.
The largest Spruce Pine mine is owned by Sibelco, a private Belgium-based mineral company that is Mitchell County’s top ...Read more
Protection decisions loom for endangered North Atlantic right whales
Pregnant North Atlantic right whales will soon begin the long swim from the frigid waters off New England’s shores to the warm calving grounds of Georgia’s coast.
By the time the endangered mammals start arriving in mid-November, the federal government may — or may not — have imposed a revised vessel speed rule meant to protect the ...Read more
'Ring of Fire' eclipse will be visible across parts of South America
Lucky sky watchers across South America will be dazzled by a special space phenomenon on Wednesday, when the moon passes between the sun and Earth to produce a “Ring of Fire” eclipse.
Also called an annular solar eclipse, the celestial event will be most visible in parts of Chile and Argentina around 5:20 p.m. local time, according to NASA....Read more
Google is working on reasoning AI, chasing OpenAI's efforts
Google is working on artificial intelligence software that resembles the human ability to reason, similar to OpenAI’s o1, marking a new front in the rivalry between the tech giant and the fast-growing startup.
In recent months, multiple teams at Alphabet Inc.’s Google have been making progress on AI reasoning software, according to people ...Read more
AI can only do 5% of jobs, says MIT economist who fears crash
Daron Acemoglu wants to make clear right away that he has nothing against artificial intelligence. He gets the potential. “I’m not an AI pessimist,” he declares seconds into an interview.
What makes Acemoglu, a renowned professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, come off as a doomsayer locked in on the mounting economic and ...Read more
California saw muted progress on climate and environment laws this year. Here's what did pass
SACRAMENTO, Mo. — Even as California continues its crackdown on the fossil fuel industry in the legislature, this year was a muted one for new state laws tackling climate change and protecting the environment.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills mostly at the margins over the last week. Those include new laws to strengthen an existing plastic bag ...Read more
Why are so many historically rare storms hitting the Carolinas? Geography puts these states at risk, and climate change is loading the dice
Hurricane Helene caused deadly and destructive flooding when it swept through the Southeast on Sept. 26-29, 2024. Across a broad swath of western North Carolina, where the worst flooding occurred, the amount of rainfall exceeded levels that would be expected on average only once every 1,000 years.
But this wasn’t the first 1,000-...Read more
How the PlayStation 5 Pro improves the graphics of current games
When the PlayStation 5 launched, fans expected a higher level of fidelity in games. The previous generation had already pushed visuals to near Pixar-like quality and many gamers expected that this could be the console where visuals would move up another notch thanks to ray-tracing.
Launch titles such as “Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales...Read more
Review: ‘Astro Bot’ is the perfect Mario game for the PlayStation generation
One of the harder things about being a dad to a toddler is introducing video games to my son. I can’t exactly play “Space Marine 2” in front of him, so I have to pick my spots. I was in the middle of reviewing “Astro Bot” when he walked in and saw me playing the video game with an adorable hero running around.
His eyes grew big as ...Read more
Jim Rossman: What to do after after a data breach
This week a reader writes, “In the past several months, I've received six written notices of data breaches possibly affecting my respective accounts. In each case, the company that was breached is offering complimentary identity monitoring. Since each company is offering the monitoring through a different provider, do I need to sign up for ...Read more
How would California's skyscrapers survive a huge earthquake? LA County is about to find out
LOS ANGELES -- On paper, the deal makes sense.
Faced with the prospect of an extensive, and expensive, seismic safety retrofit for its 1960s-era downtown headquarters, L.A. County decided to vet an alternative: a far newer building, located just blocks away. Not only was it built under stricter standards, the reasoning goes, but it was ...Read more
Study finds Central Valley residents continually exposed to 'toxic soup' of pesticides
A recent UC Davis study found that as Central Valley residents go about their day, they regularly breathe in pesticides, including one that has been banned in California and another whose effects on people is unclear.
The study, which was conducted in 2022 with the help of Central Valley residents, found that seven of 31 adults and one out of ...Read more
Tech review: Open your front door with just a touch
There are gadgets that I review that my wife never interacts with, but when I review a smart deadbolt, it means she’s going to use it every day. I think we’ve had four or five different deadbolts over the last few years.
If you are married, the “spouse acceptance factor” is very important. Usually, one spouse or the other will be the ...Read more
Commentary: Desperate for good news about climate change? Consider the pace of clean energy growth
Climate change has been viewed almost universally as a burden, a hot potato to be passed from country to country at annual climate change conferences. Although it’s widely known that climate-friendly solar and wind energy have become cheaper and easier to produce, most don’t realize that they are very likely to get even less expensive and ...Read more
Commentary: Which water is safest to drink?
Source Water Protection Week reminds everyone how critical water is for our health and well-being. We take for granted that anytime we need to quench our thirst, bathe or wash our clothes, clean potable water will be available. Yet is this a safe assumption to make?
The United States water infrastructure is considered one of the most reliable ...Read more
Health risks are growing in mountain areas flooded by Hurricane Helene and cut off from clean water, power and clinics
Hurricane Helene’s flooding has subsided, but health risks are growing in hard-hit regions of the North Carolina mountains, where many people lost access to power and clean water.
More than 150 deaths across the Southeast had been attributed to Hurricane Helene within days of the late September 2024 storm, according to The ...Read more
Popular Stories
- How would California's skyscrapers survive a huge earthquake? LA County is about to find out
- Nowhere in America is safe from climate-fueled storms and fires
- Decision to reduce water flows in California's delta sparks debate over imperiled fish
- Kitchenware to toys, household items linked to toxic flame retardants
- Hurricane Helene shut down NC mine that is pivotal to world's semiconductor supply