With their surgical nibbles, these large, semi-aquatic, buck-toothed rodents have emerged as crucial helpers for ecologists restoring degraded wetlands across the Great Lakes.

They are not the well-known, dam-building beavers but can often be found in the same marshy ecosystems. Muskrats — which are more closely related to voles and hamsters ...Read more

California's tech companies, the epicenter of the state's economy, sent politicians a loud message this year: Back down from restrictive artificial intelligence regulation or they'll leave.

The tactic appeared to have worked, activists said, because some politicians weakened or scrapped guardrails to mitigate AI's biggest risks.

California Gov...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Late last month, California fire officials made a courtesy call to Los Angeles.

The state’s proposed Zone Zero regulations that would force homeowners to create an ember-resistant zone around their houses — initially planned to take effect nearly three years ago — had caused an uproar in the region. It was time for damage ...Read more

For the first time in more than a century, migrating salmon have climbed close to the headwaters of the Klamath River’s most far-flung tributaries, as much as 360 miles⁠ from the Pacific Ocean in south-central Oregon. The achievement is the clearest indication yet that the world’s largest dam removal project, completed on the river a year ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Last week, Bill Gates published a 17-page memo on his personal website that critics said pitted climate and public health efforts against each other, when they should instead be working in tandem.

Monday night, speaking at Caltech in Pasadena, Gates doubled down, brushing off the critiques that came from across the ideological ...Read more

Drivers navigating traffic on their morning commutes will be able to do much more than just find directions and the nearest gas station on Google Maps.

In the coming weeks, Google will add its artificial intelligence-powered assistant Gemini into Google Maps, making it possible for drivers to get answers to more complex questions while they're ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — While SpaceX has managed the lion’s share of launches this year, it’s set to be a team effort with United Launch Alliance as the two companies have lined up a pair of launches Wednesday that would tie the annual record for orbital missions from the Space Coast.

Both a SpaceX Falcon 9 and ULA Atlas V stand less than two ...Read more

The Wolfbox MF100 Air Duster is one of those gadgets you don’t think you need — until you try it, and suddenly you wonder how you lived without it.

The MF100 Air Duster is an endless amount of compressed air packed into a handheld device. There are three adjustable speeds (slow, medium, high) to suit specific needs, ranging from light ...Read more

In “Yakuza: Like a Dragon,” Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio poked fun of “Pokemon,” creating a spoof of the iconic scene in which Professor Oak asked the hero to choose a starting pocket monster before venturing out in the world. This “Sujimon” minigame nudged players to find all the different enemy types in the world and beat them all.

With...Read more

I usually write about things that happen to others, but this week it was my turn to do something worth sharing.

I left my iPhone in the cart at the grocery store, and I didn’t realize it until I drove home.

I got that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

My wife and I share locations with each other, so I asked her to check my phone’s...Read more

At a Cargill slaughterhouse in Texas, AI-equipped cameras scan every cattle carcass and let workers know when they’re literally leaving too much meat on the bone.

Even a 1% improvement in yield could produce millions more pounds of meat a year thanks to artificial intelligence.

“I do believe it’s the most transformative technology or ...Read more

In little more than five months, Amazon and Microsoft have announced they're collectively cutting more than 29,000 roles.

Microsoft has let go more than 15,000 workers since May, and Amazon announced last week it was cutting 14,000 roles. Artificial intelligence has taken some of the blame for the layoffs, but not in an obvious way.

The ...Read more

CHENNAI, India — Now that artificial intelligence has mastered almost everything we do online, it needs help learning how we physically move around in the real world.

A growing global army of trainers is helping it escape our computers and enter our living rooms, offices and factories by teaching it how we move.

In an industrial town in ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Blue Origin’s heavy lift New Glenn became the first commercial rocket to make it to orbit on its first try back in January. Jeff Bezos’ company is looking to repeat the feat while also nailing a return landing of its booster, something that didn’t come to fruition the first go-around.

The NG-2 mission carrying a pair of ...Read more

Three decades ago, a promising young industry was taking hold in Washington.

The technology sector was robust and growing fast. Microsoft had made the Pacific Northwest home, while newer companies flocked steadily to the region.

State lawmakers wanted to keep them coming. So in 1994, the Washington Legislature passed a pair of tax breaks ...Read more

The recent roadblock thrown in front of Colorado’s voter-mandated wolf reintroduction by the Trump administration may force state wildlife officials to find a new source of wolves, just months before the next planned releases this winter.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife had contracted again with Canada for wolves to bring to the state after ...Read more

Plumes of smoke drifted up from a fire steadily taking over a 30-acre prairie at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, north of the Twin Cities. Amid the haze, five black drones zipped around.

More than 150 feet below the flying robots, research student Nikil Krishnakumar raised the controller in the air.

“It’s all autonomous now,” he ...Read more

DENVER — Colorado Rep. Jeff Hurd has asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to issue an emergency order that the two units at the Comanche power plant keep operating because there’s a risk of an energy shortfall if the coal facility in Pueblo County is shut down when planned.

The Republican who represents Colorado’s 3rd Congressional ...Read more