Science & Technology
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Southern California's unlikely AI mecca is this very industrial city
Five miles south of downtown Los Angeles, a single industrial block in Vernon is drawing as much electricity as a small town.
Inside a three-story, 242,000-square-foot building known as LAX01, rows of advanced artificial intelligence chips hum across six data buildings, consuming enough electricity to power more than 26,400 homes for a year. ...Read more
Tucked away in a downtown Chicago office building, fallen e-commerce star Groupon is ready for a comeback
Inside Groupon’s 2-year-old headquarters on the 25th floor of the Leo Burnett Building in downtown Chicago, a giant cat in a spaceship with flashing lights greets visitors in an otherwise staid office tower.
Here, the quirky e-commerce startup once dubbed the fastest-growing company ever, amid Super Bowl ads and ubiquitous media coverage, is ...Read more
One of the rarest animal adaptations in the world happens in the winter in Colorado
DENVER — Winter is hard, and for wildlife in Colorado, it’s even harder. To survive, many species have developed adaptations over hundreds of thousands of years that allow them to weather the storms, including hibernation, thicker coats, food storage and migration.
Some of the most interesting – and least understood – adaptations, ...Read more
Wind-battered Lick Observatory rushes to shield historic telescope after dome damage
Winds exceeding 110 mph that tore across the top of Mount Hamilton early Christmas morning blasted a massive steel protective door off the iconic white dome at Lick Observatory.
Now, with back-to-back rainstorms bearing down on the Bay Area, officials this week are racing to seal the gaping hole and protect the historic Great Lick Refractor ...Read more
With rain, early blooms, this SoCal desert escape is already blanketed in wildflowers
LOS ANGELES — Wildflower seekers typically must wait until February or March to see blankets of color in Borrego Springs but, thanks to the early autumn rain, the blooms are arriving early. Last weekend, visitors walking through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and nearby areas found tall, bright sunflowers, deep pink desert sand-verbena, basket...Read more
Scientists identify 4 main types of autism
For many years, autism has been identified as a spectrum with differing levels of ability. New research suggests that the age when symptoms first appear may help anticipate the specific traits, behaviors and genetic markers associated with an individual’s specific type of autism.
“Unraveling the complexity of autism is a particularly ...Read more
How California's Delete Act will protect personal information from data brokers in the New Year
Use a loyalty card at a drug store, browse the web, post on social media, get married or do anything else most people do, and chances are companies called data brokers know about it — along with your email address, your phone number, where you live and virtually everywhere you go.
But starting Jan. 1, under California's first-in-the-nation ...Read more
Can beavers help heal burn scars after wildfires? Colorado researchers built their own dams to find out
DENVER — High in the mountains west of Fort Collins, teams of scientists and engineers are pretending to be beavers.
They may not be swimming or chewing trees, but researchers with the U.S. Forest Service and Colorado State University are building fake beaver dams in burn scars to study how wetlands created by the dams impact ecosystem ...Read more
'No-brainer': St. Cloud, Florida's new drone program joins nationwide trend as city, population grows
ORLANDO, Fla. — When a mental health call came in to St. Cloud police last fall of a man digging into the street with a fixed-blade knife, officers weren’t the only ones to respond.
A drone, deployed and piloted from the real-time intelligence center inside police headquarters, beat the units to the scene and watched as the man put the ...Read more
Commentary: Hamstringing the humanities will hinder scientific discovery
It seems we’ve decided the humanities have less to give the human race — or more modestly, this country’s future — than the sciences.
This is a serious mistake. The sciences and the humanities are different faces of the human search for knowledge and not the opposites we have turned them into. If you hamstring one, you hamstring the ...Read more
Here are five climate issues facing California in the new year
As climate change continues to threaten California in 2025 — from devastating wildfires, declining kelp forests and struggling salmon runs to shrinking snowpack in the Sierra Nevada — the state has rolled out a range of measures to confront the crisis. These efforts come at a time when the federal government has prioritized fossil fuels and ...Read more
Florida's bear hunt ended Sunday. State won't say how many were killed
Florida’s first bear hunt in a decade ended Sunday, but state wildlife officials still won’t say how many bears were killed.
They also haven’t explained why.
“We’ll provide updates as soon as we’re able to,” a spokesperson, Shannon Knowles, replied by email Monday morning.
The 23-day hunt, which began Dec. 6 and is planned as an...Read more
12 swans found dead at Orlando's Lake Eola Park, bird flu suspected
ORLANDO, Fla. — A dozen swans have died at Lake Eola in the past week, leaving Orlando officials fearing another outbreak of bird flu at the city’s signature park.
City Commissioner Patty Sheehan posted on Facebook that two dead swans were found on Dec. 23, with the number growing to 12 by Sunday. Due to the holidays the city’s ...Read more
ServiceNow $12 billion deal spree is 'deja vu' of CEO's SAP says
After years of eschewing big mergers, ServiceNow Inc. is on a deal spree. It has spent at least $12 billion this year on acquisitions or strategic investments.
The action has some investors on edge about whether the software company is starting to lean on deals to spur growth, particularly given Chief Executive Officer Bill McDermott’s ...Read more
AI is coming – are you ready?
Everybody has heard about artificial intelligence, but AI is just now starting to hit the mainstream.
AI has started to creep into my online life lately, and it is changing the way I search for things online and converse with virtual assistants. You might find these in your online life as well.
We are all used to searching with Google....Read more
Gadgets: Universal travel adapter is a game changer
Tessan's Voyager 205 8-in-1 universal travel adapter is a game changer for frequent fliers. This pocket-sized adapter (3 by 2.16 by 2.20 inches; 11.8 ounces) features dual fast-charging modules that allow it to power up to eight devices simultaneously, one of the key reasons it's marketed as the world's most powerful travel adapter.
The eight...Read more
Are Colorado's new natural gas pipeline rules tough enough?
DENVER — A state audit in 2023 painted a grim picture of Colorado’s oversight of natural gas pipelines, but critics say despite the findings and legislation mandating improvements, new rules backed by regulators are inadequate.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday supported most of the recommendations by an administrative law...Read more
Mississippi River mining plan in Minnesota dredges up concerns about damage to natural areas
MINNEAPOLIS — The Mississippi River snakes below the bluffs at Spring Lake Park Reserve near Hastings, where people stroll or ski along the trails to take in the view of the majestic river.
But some local officials and river lovers are raising alarms about the prospect of that scenic vista changing. A proposal for a new phase of gravel mining...Read more
Google is at last letting users swap out embarrassing Gmail addresses without losing their data
Google has finally answered users' cries, allowing Gmail users to swap out embarrassing teenage email addresses.
Gmail account holders can now change their existing @gmail.com address while retaining their data and services.
Once changed, old email addresses will remain active, and users will continue to receive emails sent to both the old and...Read more
100,000-gallon sewage spill closes LA County beach
LOS ANGELES — A 100,000-gallon sewage spill has closed Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro, L.A. County officials said.
Visitors should avoid ocean water and any wet sand for at least three quarters of a mile upstream or downstream from the beach, the county public health department said in a release.
A sewage discharge from a manhole in Carson ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Commentary: Hamstringing the humanities will hinder scientific discovery
- Scientists identify 4 main types of autism
- With rain, early blooms, this SoCal desert escape is already blanketed in wildflowers
- Can beavers help heal burn scars after wildfires? Colorado researchers built their own dams to find out
- How California's Delete Act will protect personal information from data brokers in the New Year





