Science & Technology
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Scientists solve mystery of what's killing billions of starfish off California and the West Coast
For years, it has been one of the biggest mysteries in marine biology: What is killing the starfish?
Since 2013, billions of sea stars, an elegant ocean species commonly known as starfish that are a key part of the environment along the coast of California and other states, have been dying. The animals have suffered from a disease that causes ...Read more

Commentary: This is how addiction science is saving lives
Like many who have endured childhood trauma, Shannon Hicks turned to drugs at an early age. Pregnant by 16 and a mother of two by 19, she was married and living in her first home — believing she was living the dream.
Shortly after her 20th birthday, Hicks was in a serious car accident and prescribed opioids for the resulting pain. But the ...Read more

It's tarantula mating season. Where you can spot the spider and how to avoid getting bit
If you suffer from arachnophobia, this is the time of year when you're most likely to run into one of your worst nightmares: a tarantula.
It's mating season for most of the 29 species of tarantulas in the United States, 10 of which can be found in California, according to Los Padres National Forest. Around this time, tarantulas tend to leave ...Read more

NASA Acting Chief Duffy issues directive to speed up moon reactor plans
NASA’s acting administrator Sean Duffy plans to accelerate the construction of a nuclear reactor that could be used on the moon and alter the way NASA will partner with industry to replace the aging International Space Station.
The plans, outlined in directives distributed inside NASA and seen by Bloomberg on Monday, mark the first major ...Read more

More than 1,600 wild horses rounded up in Wyoming in 2 weeks. 'Heartbreaking'
A wild horse roundup that was scheduled to last for a month in Wyoming ended in only two weeks after the Bureau of Land Management removed more than 1,600 animals from the range, officials said.
The agency’s 2025 wild horse gather in the Adobe Town Herd Management Area started July 15 and was scheduled to last through Aug. 15, but concluded ...Read more

Four new tarantula species -- with massive genitalia -- discovered
Residents of the Arabian Peninsula and Horn of Africa are no strangers to tarantulas, but four newly discovered species in the region are changing the way researchers look at this group of spiders.
The large arachnids may look like any normal tarantula from first glance — long, sturdy legs, hair covering their bodies and two shorter legs at ...Read more

NYC air quality worsens again amid Canadian wildfire haze
NEW YORK — Hazy skies and low air quality returned to the five boroughs on Monday, as smoke from Canadian wildfires again created a gray scene in the New York skies.
All of New York state and almost all of New England was under an air quality alert from the National Weather Service on Monday afternoon. The warning for New York City extended ...Read more

Researchers figure out what's caused devastating sea star epidemic
LOS ANGELES — A study published Monday offers long-awaited clarity on a more than decade-long marine mystery: What has been killing the sunflower sea star?
In 2013, something began ravaging sea stars along the West Coast, turning them into decaying, fragmented carcasses. Over the next few years, the wasting disease (SSWD) killed billions of ...Read more

Why is Microsoft soaring while Amazon sinks? AI growing pains
Wall Street analysts who follow tech and cloud computing were all but popping Champagne last Wednesday.
Microsoft had reported stellar financial results and strong growth that could be connected to artificial intelligence. After the market closed, extended-hours trading shot Microsoft's share price up by as much as 9%. The next day, Microsoft ...Read more

University of Maryland professor sorts through myths about long-term implications of solar farms
BALTIMORE — The Maryland Department of the Environment is pushing for 50% of the state’s electricity generation by 2030 to come from renewable energy resources, such as solar.
Solar projects in Maryland include utility-scale solar, which are larger in scale and generate power directly to the grid; community solar, which are smaller-scale ...Read more

Commentary: How California can cash in on federal incentives for green power before they disappear
California is often criticized for high electricity costs and slow development timelines. Rightly so: My electricity bill has doubled in a decade, and as a renter I can’t buy solar or batteries to cut the costs.
But critics confuse the real reasons for this problem. According to California’s utility regulators, our power bills are soaring ...Read more

Canada wildfires worsen air quality across Midwest, Northeast US
Smoke and grit from hundreds of forest fires have spread across large parts of Canada and the northern U.S., sending air quality across the Midwest and northeast U.S. and Toronto to unhealthy levels.
Air quality deteriorated to moderate in Chicago early Sunday with some areas deemed unhealthy for sensitive groups, and to unhealthy in Milwaukee ...Read more

Canada wildfires worsen air quality across Midwest, Northeast US
Smoke and grit from hundreds of forest fires have spread across large parts of Canada and the northern U.S., sending air quality across the Midwest and northeast U.S. and Toronto to unhealthy levels.
Air quality deteriorated to moderate in Chicago early Sunday with some areas unhealthy for sensitive groups, and to unhealthy in Milwaukee and ...Read more

Crypto mogul flies to space aboard latest Blue Origin flight
A Blue Origin rocket launched cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun and five others on a trip to the edge of space and back.
The flight lifted off Sunday at 7:42 a.m. local time from West Texas on a short suborbital joyride to space.
Sun founded TRON, a blockchain platform, and serves as an adviser to HTX, one of the world’s largest ...Read more

Minneapolis air quality ranked among the world's worst
Minneapolis had the fifth worst air quality among 125 cites worldwide on Saturday morning, according to an international air quality monitoring platform.
IQ Air gave Minneapolis an air quality index (AQI) of 107, making the air unhealthy for people with sensitive conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Only Kinshasa, ...Read more

After 10th air quality alert, Michigan official urges Canada to do more about wildfires
DETROIT — As Michigan extends its 10th air quality advisory of the season through Sunday, some Michigan officials are urging Canada to do more about the wildfires and their negative impacts on Michigan's air quality.
"Breathing in the Canadian wildfires smoke cannot be the new normal," said Candice Miller, Macomb County public works ...Read more

High levels of E.coli found at Lake Tahoe beach after sewage leak
Officials are warning the public to stay out of the water near a popular resort on Lake Tahoe's southern shore this weekend after detecting "high levels" of E. coli bacteria Friday after a sewage leak.
Water quality samples collected near the Camp Richardson Resort revealed elevated levels of Escherichia coli, commonly known as E. coli, ...Read more

Trump's billions in climate cuts have nonprofits scrambling to survive
If any nonprofit epitomizes the whiplash experienced by climate advocacy groups in the U.S. over the past few years, it’s Rewiring America.
Founded in 2020 shortly before former President Joe Biden was elected, the organization focuses on shifting U.S. homes from fossil fuel-powered appliances to electric ones like heat pumps — a prime goal...Read more

Strong airplane turbulence more likely with summer heat, climate change
MINNEAPOLIS — For most airline passengers, rumbles and shakes at 37,000 feet might jolt nerves or spill a drink.
But a Delta Air Lines flight that made an emergency landing at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport late Wednesday offers a lesson in the real dangers of severe turbulence. While U.S. airlines boast a consistent safety record...Read more

Intel used to be the most valuable US chipmaker. How it fell far behind Nvidia
Earlier this year, Intel's new chief executive Lip-Bu Tan made frank remarks about how the Silicon Valley chipmaker keeps coming up short.
"For quite a long time for Intel, we fell behind on innovation. As a result, we have been too slow to adapt and to meet your needs," Tan told Intel's customers and partners at a company event in late March. ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Commentary: This is how addiction science is saving lives
- Four new tarantula species -- with massive genitalia -- discovered
- More than 1,600 wild horses rounded up in Wyoming in 2 weeks. 'Heartbreaking'
- NASA Acting Chief Duffy issues directive to speed up moon reactor plans
- Researchers figure out what's caused devastating sea star epidemic