BALTIMORE — In 1998, Bruce Willis saved the world by blowing up an asteroid threat in “Armageddon.” In 2022, NASA did the real thing, crashing a spacecraft into asteroid Dimorphos to prove that we don’t have to end up like the dinosaurs.

On March 6, scientists from Johns Hopkins’ Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, and ...Read more

Apple has introduced a new low-cost laptop called the MacBook Neo.

I know Apple laptop and “low cost” usually don’t go together. Apple has never been a company known for inexpensive hardware.

Previously, Apple’s lowest price laptop was the MacBook Air (starting at $1,099), but the new $599 Neo is a full $500 cheaper.

So, why is the ...Read more

Aiper, a world leader in smart robotic pool cleaners (and smart yard innovations), launched Aiper Experts Duo, with the EcoSurfer S2 and the Scuba V3 robotic pool cleaners, with an impressive display and demonstration at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. The system is an intelligent two-robot system, working completely hands-free to ...Read more

It's one of the truly seminal events of the computer age.

In December 1979, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs led a delegation of his engineers into Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center, the legendary PARC, for a demonstration of PARC's most closely held inventions.

The research lab was already known to Silicon Valley cognoscenti for having invented a ...Read more

Jurors in New Mexico leapfrogged their California peers Tuesday, handing down a $375 million verdict against Meta for endangering children while a similar lawsuit remains pending in Los Angeles County.

The jury in Santa Fe came back with a decision in just hours while the L.A. panel slogged through its eighth day of deliberations over charges ...Read more

OpenAI plans to shut down its Sora text-to-video tool, a stunning move that comes three months after Walt Disney Co. pledged to invest $1 billion in the artificial intelligence company and allow the use of dozens of beloved characters.

The San Francisco-based company did not disclose why it was shutting down the tool or the timeline for its ...Read more

NASA unveiled a new vision for its near-term future Tuesday, including construction of a complete moon base, a major increase in robotic missions and a nuclear-powered spacecraft to bring a slew of helicopters to Mars.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman revealed the plans during a daylong session dubbed “Ignite” held in Washington, ...Read more

Epic Games, the developer of the popular video game “Fortnite,” is laying off more than 1,000 employees and cutting $500 million in costs.

Chief Executive Tim Sweeney announced the cuts Tuesday morning in a message to employees. He said it has nothing to do with AI and instead pointed to what he said was a lack of “Fortnite” engagement ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — Cary, North Carolina, video game developer Epic Games announced Tuesday it will lay off 1,000 workers as the company cited falling player interest in its hit Fortnite franchise.

This is Epic’s second mass jobs cut in the past three years. In September 2023, the company laid off 830 employees companywide, including 170 in the...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The California Department of Justice on Monday filed a lawsuit challenging a Trump administration order that called on a private Texas-based firm to revive controversial oil pipelines along the Central Coast despite ongoing state and local objections.

The March 13 order from U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright ...Read more

Jeff Bezos is trying to leapfrog into the artificial intelligence race with a $100 billion fund to acquire manufacturers and bring more AI superpowers to factory floors.

The Amazon founder has reportedly traveled to the Middle East and elsewhere to meet with potential investors for the massive fund. If he succeeds, it would be one of the ...Read more

Hidden beneath the surface of the world’s rivers, some of Earth’s great animal movements unfold – migrations that rival, in sheer biomass, the famous mass movements of zebra and wildebeest across the Serengeti.

For centuries, fish migrations were as predictable as the seasons. Salmon, sturgeon, giant catfish and many other ...Read more

Drugs found in treated wastewater can be stored in the leaves of vegetables irrigated with that water, Johns Hopkins researchers found. But are drug-infused greens sitting on your grocer’s shelf, and how powerful is the dose?

“Farming practices place a high demand on freshwater resources. With limited rainfall and droughts threatening ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The State Water Resources Control Board on Friday unveiled a draft approval that would advance Sites Reservoir, marking another step forward for what would be the largest reservoir project for California since the 1970s.

The draft decision came two months after the Bureau of Reclamation gave the project a green light on ...Read more

In the second week of the Iran war – with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, cutting off shipping of 20% of the world’s oil supply – the International Energy Agency announced the largest release of strategic oil reserves in history. Thirty-two countries will sell a combined 412 million barrels from their reserves into the global ...Read more

Alphabet Inc.’s drone delivery company Wing will begin delivering parcels to homes in the San Francisco Bay Area this year, marking its latest expansion in a small but fast-growing market.

Partnering with companies including Walmart Inc. and DoorDash Inc., Wing already offers drone delivery in North Carolina, Virginia and Australia, but this ...Read more

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.

Can a person survive inside a tornado? – Sophia, age 14, Greencastle, Indiana

I have seen the center of a monster. Most people describe the sound of a tornado as like a ...Read more

Apparently, cows know how to scratch an itch — with a broom. This fascinating new discovery provides the first known example of multipurpose tool use beyond chimpanzees. It required finding just the right cow (her name was Veronika) in just the right paddock (nestled in the Austrian countryside) with just the right owner (a particularly ...Read more

VIRGINIA BEACH — Bay Island, a serene and affluent residential neighborhood cradled by two offshoots of the Lynnhaven River, has long been a coveted place to live for hundreds of Virginia Beach families.

The island is known for its sweeping views, secluded atmosphere and easy boat access. But island life also comes with its downsides. Low-...Read more

Cities and states are filing lawsuits and scrambling for alternative sources of money as the Trump administration seeks to shut off the federal funding spigot for biking and walking trails.

Since the early 1990s, there has been fairly consistent — and largely bipartisan — federal support for bicycle and pedestrian projects. Federal funding ...Read more