Science & Technology

/

Knowledge

National Marine Fisheries Service/TNS/TNS

These Puget Sound orcas could be designated as distinct species

SEATTLE —For more than a century, killer whales have been understood to be just one worldwide species, Orcinus orca, with many types.

But now, after decades of work, scientists have determined the differences between the two types of killer whales that frequent the Salish Sea are so large, they ought to be designated separate species ...Read more

Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Starvation has decimated gray whales off the Pacific Coast. Can the giants ever recover?

LOS ANGELES — When large numbers of gray whales began washing up along North America’s Pacific Coast nearly six years ago, marine scientists could only speculate at the reason: Was it disease? Ocean pollution? Increasing ship collisions?

Many of the doomed cetaceans looked skinny or emaciated, while others looked torn up by orcas. Some had ...Read more

Wasim Muklashy/Dreamstime/TNS

Plan to shoot thousands of West Coast owls ignites protest

A federal government plan for hunters to kill thousands of invasive owls to protect the rapidly declining northern spotted owl has ruffled the feathers of dozens of animal advocacy groups.

On Monday, a coalition of 75 animal rights and wildlife protection organizations sent a letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland asking her to scrap ...Read more

Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Power up: PG&E says electricity plan can boost Silicon Valley innovation and economy

SAN JOSE, California — PG&E is pushing forward with quests to help bolster Silicon Valley’s economy and innovation future, including major South Bay and East Bay electricity projects, utility officials said Wednesday.

Executives with PG&E appeared at a power breakfast in downtown San Jose that was sponsored by law firm Hoge Fenton, using ...Read more

Tiffany Tompkins/The Bradenton Herald/TNS

What can Charleston and other coastal cities teach South Florida about sea-level rise?

MIAMI — South Florida is considered one of the most at-risk areas of the U.S. when it comes to sea-level rise. But what can the region learn from other areas facing similar challenges?

At the Aspen Ideas: Climate summit, which was held last week in Miami Beach, experts from cities that have been battered by climate change and sea-level rise �...Read more

Colorado Parks and Wildlife/TNS

Bat with species-devastating fungus discovered in Colorado

DENVER — A bat infected with a fungus that has killed millions of bats across the country was found in Longmont last month.

Testing this month confirmed the little brown bat was infected with white-nose syndrome — a deadly fungus that could devastate Colorado’s native bat populations. The bat found in Longmont is the second found with the...Read more

Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune/TNS

Some Minnesota cities want to impose fees on internet providers; customers could pay the price

Minnesota cities are asking the Legislature for power to slap internet providers with new fees, an idea they say will lead to more broadband in the state with the added bonus of helping to pay for basic government access programming like video of council meetings.

But the idea has caused a stir at the Capitol, where telecom groups and ...Read more

Convai/TNS

At GDC 2024, tech companies offer a glimpse of AI-powered characters

Glimpses of the future often emerge at the Game Developers Conference. It’s where indie games generate a buzz or the kernel of a big idea is planted. This year, artificial intelligence took center stage as Nvidia showed off jaw-dropping capabilities of its chipsets and software companies such as Convai and Ubisoft revealed intriguing ...Read more

Rossman, James/Jim Rossman/TNS

Jim Rossman: Facebook scammers rely on your good nature

I’ve been seeing a lot of potential scam posts on my Facebook feed lately.

I’m sure you’ve seen them.

As I was sitting down to write this column, I opened my Facebook page and the first post was from a small town where my wife’s family lived.

It is a post about a dog that supposedly escaped from a boarding kennel. The poster wants ...Read more

Sitpack/Sitpack/TNS

Gadgets: Massaging car seat

The Laxon Air Massage Vehicle Seat lets you drive in incredible comfort with the 3D air massager for your back and thighs.

The vehicle seat massager offers a refreshing in-car experience, with a special back-supporting massage and a dynamic mode for idle times. Drivers will experience comfort with air cushion support for the back area, which ...Read more

Giant Skull/TNS

Two new video game studios form with 'Star Wars' and id Software pedigrees

Video game studios like other tech industry has seen plenty of tumult this year. Publishers have announced several layoffs while others have said they will refocus their approach. That means plenty of talent is out there, and in this uncertain time, two studios have emerged boasting several big names and hints of promising AAA projects.

Giant...Read more

Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/TNS

The Klamath River's dams are being removed. Inside the effort to restore a scarred watershed

HORNBROOK, Calif. — Near the California-Oregon border, reservoirs that once submerged valleys have been drained, revealing a stark landscape that had been underwater for generations.

A thick layer of muddy sediment covers the sloping ground, where workers have been scattering seeds and leaving meandering trails of footprints. In the cracked ...Read more

Hector Vivas/Getty Images South America/TNS

This mega-city is running out of water. What will 22 million people do when the taps run dry?

MEXICO CITY — When Reina Cervantes Trejo heard the truck, gears grinding as it climbed the street to her house, she rushed outside.

"Thanks to our good Lord!" she said. "The water has finally arrived!"

Cervantes and her husband hurried to help the driver, Fredy Romero, as he yanked hoses from the truck to fill up a cistern and a hodgepodge ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Your dog can understand what you say better than you think, new study shows

Our dogs understand us better than they've been given credit for — and scientists say they have the brain wave evidence to prove it.

By placing electrodes on the heads of 18 pet dogs, researchers found striking evidence that the animals did not merely recognize the patterns of sound that come out of their owners' mouths, they actually ...Read more

Hold the applause. Biden's new EV rules don't go fast enough for the climate crisis

It may be tempting to look at new rules finalized Wednesday by the Biden administration boosting sales of electric vehicles as a big step toward slashing climate-changing pollution.

But the Environmental Protection Agency rules are more an incremental move, too weak and slow to respond appropriately to the gravity of the unfolding environmental...Read more

What is dirt? There’s a whole wriggling world alive in the ground beneath our feet, as a soil scientist explains

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

What is dirt? – Belle and Ryatt, ages 7 and 5, Keystone, South Dakota

When you think about dirt, you’re probably picturing soil. There’s so much more going on under ...Read more

Fighting every wildfire ensures the big fires are more extreme, and may harm forests’ ability to adapt to climate change

In the U.S., wildland firefighters are able to stop about 98% of all wildfires before the fires have burned even 100 acres. That may seem comforting, but decades of quickly suppressing fires has had unintended consequences.

Fires are a natural part of many landscapes globally. When forests aren’t allowed to burn, they become more ...Read more

Mario Tama/Getty Images North America/TNS

Editorial: Read it at Reddit: A right way for social media

Congratulations to the newly minted multimillionaires who made bank last week with the IPO of Reddit stock. Under the ticker RDDT on the New York Stock Exchange, the now-public company can fairly be considered one of the giant social media platforms.

And though Reddit surely has plenty of problems, it’s not a profoundly toxic place. It works,...Read more

Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Colorado-based companies Voyager Space, Palantir join forces on national security work in space

DENVER — Denver-based companies Voyager Space and Palantir Technologies have signed an agreement to work together on enhancing national security capabilities in the commercial space realm.

A memorandum of understanding approved in February seeks to combine Voyager Space’s more than three decades of space exploration and missions with ...Read more

Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

The key to Florida beaches' hurricane recovery: the humble sea oat

ARCADIA, Fla. — From eye level, the wisps of green emerging from sand dunes up and down Pinellas County’s barrier islands look sparse, stubby, almost tentative as they peek at the sun. Below the surface, though, they are spreading out, trapping sand in place and acting as a sort of skeleton for a whole ecosystem.

These are young sea oats, ...Read more