Science & Technology

/

Knowledge

Increased carbon in runoff from land is turning freshwaters darker. Andrew P. Hendry via Flickr

Your local fishing hole is getting browner, changing which fish species thrive and which ones struggle

The lakes, streams and ponds you’ve visited for years are likely looking more brown than they used to. And people who are fishing those waters are likely catching different species and sizes of fish than in the past.

Our research has identified a link between those two developments, which means that trout, bass, perch and whitefish ...Read more

Drinking water is getting saltier, particularly in coastal regions.
              SeizaVisuals/E+ via Getty Images

Salty drinking water could be increasing your blood pressure – people living in coastal areas are most at risk

When people consider what causes high blood pressure, they often think of lifestyle factors, such as eating salty foods, lack of exercise or smoking. However, an unexpected source of salt might also be raising blood pressure for millions of people: the water they drink.

As sea levels rise, more and more salt water tends to infiltrate ...Read more

Charley Gallay/Getty Images North America/TNS

Snap is cutting 1,000 workers in the latest tech layoff

Snap, the parent company of disappearing messaging app Snapchat, said Wednesday that it's laying off 1,000 workers to reduce costs.

The Santa Monica, California, social media company is pursuing profitability and efficiency as it faces stiff competition for ad dollars from bigger rivals such as Facebook parent company Meta and Google.

Snap ...Read more

Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Parmy Olson: Anthropic's Mythos is a wake-up call for everyone, not just banks

Mythos, a new artificial intelligence model that Anthropic PBC has teased as too dangerous to release, looked at first like a problem for banks. Days after the company announced the new technology, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent summoned Wall Street leaders to make sure they were taking precautions to defend their systems, creating ...Read more

Apple/TNS/TNS

Tech review: iPhone 17e gets speed, storage bump for the same price

Looking at products released in the last few years, you’ll notice Apple is paying more attention to the lower cost end of the market.

These would include the iPad at $349, the MacBook Neo at $599 and, the subject of this week’s review, the iPhone 17e.

Apple has a way of positioning products in price tiers. The iPhone 17 family includes the...Read more

Apple/Apple/TNS

Jim Rossman: Wired or wireless? Which way should you charge your phone?

When it comes to charging your phone, is it better to use a wired or wireless charger?

Does it even make a difference?

The vast majority of phones sold today have a USB-C charging port. Apple was really the last holdout, as they used Lightning ports to charge, but our friends in the European Union mandated that all phones sold in Europe had ...Read more

GREG ELLMAN/TNS

Gadgets: Great headphones at a nice price

Here's a question I get often: What is a good set of over-the-head headphones for traveling that won’t break the bank. And since traveling often includes flying, you want them to include some sort of noise-canceling.

That’s an easy one to answer, especially with the OneOdio new Focus A1 Pro hybrid active noise-canceling wireless ...Read more

BUSINESS WIRE/TNS

A look at ProbablyMonsters’ promising titles: ‘Nekome: Nazi Hunter’ and ‘Crimson Moon’

ProbablyMonsters launched its first two games last year, “Ire: A Prologue” and “Storm Lancers,” and the independent game company is following that up with two more projects that are more ambitious. The first is “Nekome: Nazi Hunter,” a third-person action game about revenge, and the second is “Crimson Moon,” a gothic action ...Read more

CAPCOM/TNS

Review: With ‘Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection,’ an RPG finally grows up

It was time for “Monster Hunter Stories” to grow up. Capcom’s spinoff of its popular action role-playing game started as a “Pokémon”-like adventure, one in which players rode monsters instead of slaying them. They collected all sorts of Monsties and teamed up with them in turn-based combat. Like its anime series, the game targeted a...Read more

Anthony Soufflé/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

It's foxes versus coyotes in a backyard battle for survival

MINNEAPOLIS — She was a young coyote, healthy and stout, with thick auburn fur so vibrant it reflected off the snow.

He was a biologist, holding a tranquilizer, who had been trying for a few years to trap and collar a carnivore near this particular St. Paul backyard, just a few blocks from Selby Avenue, amid all the homes and traffic, the ...Read more

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump administration promised 'gold standard science.' Scientists say they got fool's gold

LOS ANGELES — When President Donald Trump announced Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his pick for Health and Human Services secretary, he declared that the appointment marked the return of "Gold Standard Scientific Research" in the U.S.

In May 2025 Trump signed the "Restoring Gold Standard Science" executive order. Agencies including NASA and the ...Read more

Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Nevada river makes 'most endangered' list as mining, solar threats mount

The mighty-but-little-known Amargosa River gained dubious national recognition this week.

Without intervention preventing mining and solar farm development, the river that makes life possible in one of America’s harshest deserts is in grave danger, the nonprofit American Rivers declares in its top 10 most endangered rivers list, which was ...Read more

Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Artemis II does for our era what Apollo 8 did for 1968

Millions in the streets. An unpopular war. Violence. And in the middle of all that: a moonshot.

The parallels between today and 1968 are eerie.

Nearly 60 years ago, civil rights marches and anti-Vietnam-war rallies burst across the country. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated. Police beat protesters outside the ...Read more

Energy costs are hitting more American households harder than in past years. Olga Rolenko/Moment via Getty Images

New federal figures reveal 1 in 3 US households struggle to pay energy bills, but the reality is likely even worse

Americans’ concerns about being able to afford electricity and home heating fuel are elevated since the beginning of the Iran war. But newly released nationwide data shows that even before the war began, these concerns were widespread, long-standing and getting worse faster than the data can reflect.

The new information is from ...Read more

Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

A baby uses 3,000 diapers a year. Why a California lawmaker wants parents to know how they're made

Each year a baby goes through about 3,000 diapers, essential care products that are in continuous contact with sensitive skin. But manufacturers are not required to completely disclose what disposable diapers are made of, leaving parents in the dark. That may soon change in California.

A bill introduced last month would require companies that ...Read more

Microsoft raises Surface prices sharply in face of memory crunch

Microsoft Corp. raised prices sharply across its Surface-branded device lineup, becoming the latest personal computer maker to pass along costs fueled by a historic memory chip shortage.

The 12-inch Surface Pro, touted as an affordable, lightweight computer-tablet hybrid when it debuted last year for $800, now starts at $1,050. Older products ...Read more

Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS

Army Corps, DeSantis announce accelerated plan for Everglades restoration

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Monday that they will accelerate the plan for completing the reservoir known as the “crown jewel” of Everglades restoration.

The new plan moves the projected completion of the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir up by five years, from 2034 to 2029.

“We’ve taken on one of the most ambitious ...Read more

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Joint Base Andrews fuel leak pollutes Potomac River tributary, triggers state probe

BALTIMORE — Jet fuel leaks at Joint Base Andrews have spilled an estimated 32,000 gallons since the start of the year — enough to fuel a Boeing 787 — contaminating a tributary of the Potomac River and prompting a state investigation, state officials said Monday.

Potomac Riverkeepers called for the state to investigate potential criminal ...Read more

Amy Lutz/Dreamstime.com/TNS

Pittsburgh's tech community to pitch city as an AI hub during the NFL Draft

With millions of eyes around the world focused on Pittsburgh next week, the local tech community is determined to promote a new identity for the Steel City — as an artificial intelligence innovation hub.

“You have all kinds of organizations doing great things, cleaning up the city, rolling out the red carpet, and this event is going to push...Read more

Photo by Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/TNS

Florida wildfires shattering records amid long drought

In his 22 years as a Hillsborough County firefighter, Rob Herrin says he’s never been this busy.

One Sunday earlier this year offers a glimpse: Herrin and his team responded to a 300-acre brush fire, then another fire, and another. All told, they extinguished 22 brush fires in 24 hours.

And it was only February, months from peak fire season....Read more