Jan 25 An asteroid is coming exceedingly close to Earth, but will miss By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press An asteroid the size of a delivery truck will whip past Earth on Thursday night, one of the closest encounters ever recorded. NASA insists it will be a near miss. Continue reading
Jan 24 Watch 8:03 Salton Sea lithium deposits could help EV transition, support economically devastated area By Stephanie Sy, Lena I. Jackson The demand for electric vehicles is surging in the U.S., sparked in part by the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act and the subsidies it offers. But a looming supply shortage of lithium threatens to stall the EV transition. Stephanie Sy… Continue watching
Jan 24 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushes ‘Doomsday Clock’ to 90 seconds to midnight By Seth Borenstein, Associated Press The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists says the world is closer to Armageddon than it has ever been. The science-based advocacy group is moving its famous Doomsday Clock to just 90 seconds before midnight. Continue reading
Jan 24 New gene therapy delivers treatment directly to brain By Laura Ungar, Associated Press About 30 U.S. studies testing gene therapy to the brain for various disorders are ongoing, according to the National Institutes of Health. Continue reading
Jan 23 EPA considers tougher regulations on livestock farm pollution By John Flesher, Associated Press The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it will study whether to toughen regulation of large livestock farms that pollute waterways. The agency hasn't revised its rules dealing with the nation's largest hog, poultry and cattle operations since 2008. Continue reading
Jan 23 Microsoft announces major investment in artificial intelligence startup OpenAI By Matt O'Brien, Associated Press Microsoft says it is making a “multiyear, multibillion dollar investment” in the artificial intelligence startup OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT and other tools that can generate readable text, images and computer code. Continue reading
Jan 22 Watch 6:28 Earth’s ozone layer continues to recover, scientists report By William Brangham, Andrew Corkery, Solveig Rennan, Azhar Merchant In one of the great environmental success stories of our time, scientists say that a 35-year-old agreement has resulted in the steady and promising recovery of the Earth's ozone layer, a critical protective shield that blocks harmful ultraviolet radiation from… Continue watching
Jan 21 Watch 4:50 How an Alaska village’s switch to renewable energy helps local Native economies In the remote village of Ambler, Alaska, temperatures can fall to minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter, so heating the community is a big job. This past September, Ambler switched to a renewable energy option in an effort to… Continue watching
Jan 20 Google cuts 12,000 jobs as layoffs spread across tech industry By Kelvin Chan, Associated Press Google says it's laying off 12,000 workers, becoming the latest tech company to trim staff as the economic boom that the industry rode during the COVID-19 pandemic ebbs. The Silicon Valley giant's CEO Sundar Pichai shared the news Friday in… Continue reading
Jan 19 Watch 11:07 A look at the environmental and health effects associated with gas stoves By Miles O'Brien, Will Toubman There's been a heated debate lately about gas stoves and potential government regulation. The fire was lit last week after a member of a federal consumer agency suggested the government might ban them in newly built homes. That was quickly… Continue watching