The Clean Water Act has guaranteed the ability for states and tribes to have a final say on projects like oil and gas pipelines for half a century. But the Trump administration weakened this authority two years ago, stripping local governing entities of their power to protect their region’s clean water supply. Now, the Biden administration is reversing the Trump-era rule. “One pipeline may be fine, but multiple pipelines may not be,” says Lara Fowler, assistant director of Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment....

For decades, the rose-veiled fairy wrasse was mistaken for its relative, the rosy-scales fairy wrasse. The two reef fish both grow up to three inches long, sport the same shocking ombre patterning, and float around the water column like dazed little sprites. But there are some subtle differences. The rose-veiled fairy wrasse has a more rounded tail fin and red-purple crosshatches on parts of its body. The adults of both species also vary in coloration, though it’s hard to tell with the dimness underwater....

Now the Galaxy Z Fold 2 has been on the market for roughly 10 months and we’re presumably inching toward the introduction of its successor. That also means that we’ve had some time to really experience what life with a folding phone is like. In short, it’s kinda great. And it feels like there’s a ton of potential. What is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2? The Galaxy Z Fold 2 occupies the top spot as the flagship in Samsung’s folding phone offerings....

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s currently on sale. Garmin Instinct Solar smartwatch $249 (Was $399) One of Garmin’s most affordable smartwatches on sale at the moment, this GPS-enabled wearable can survive up to 100 meters under water. It has all the fitness tracking features you’d expect, as well as solar charging through its face. Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical $299 (Was $449) In addition to the typical Garmin Instinct features, this Tactical version includes military-oriented options like Jumpmaster mode for exiting airplanes, as well as blackout mode to quiet its internal antennas to prevent detection....

Cast iron has been used to cook for centuries, and for good reason—it boasts a range of unique properties that you won’t be able to find in stainless steel, non-stick, or aluminum cookware varieties. For anyone who hates scraping burnt remnants off their cookware, cast iron has a naturally non-stick finish without the addition of chemicals like perfluorocarbons that are often used in nonstick pans. Cooking with a cast iron pan also naturally adds iron into your food, which can benefit anyone who has an iron deficiency or anemia, which affects around 10 million people in the United States alone....

A healthy coral reef sounds like a bowl of Rice Krispies in milk. Snap. Crackle. Pop. “Thousands of invertebrates make this constant crackling, sizzling, static-like sound as … shrimp snap their claws and sea urchins scrape over rocks,” says scientist Tim Gordon. “Punctuated throughout that, you can hear the grunts, whoops, and chatter of many different fishes.” A dying coral reef, on the other hand, makes no sound at all....

Parthenogenesis, or reproduction from an unfertilized egg, is not an uncommon way for non-mammals to reproduce. Some fish, insects, and even—sometimes—komodo dragons engage in it. But for mammals, the rule is that parents of two biological sexes are needed to conceive an offspring, and the egg needs to be fertilized by a sperm. Scientists have been trying to figure out why this is the case for a long time, and a lot of that research has involved some of our favorite test subjects: mice....

Scientists observed EK Draconis as it hurled a burst of plasma into space that proved more massive than any previously recorded for a sun-like star. Our sun may have had similarly powerful storms in its past, which could have left their mark on Earth and its neighbors, the researchers concluded on December 9 in Nature Astronomy. Our sun periodically gives off explosions of radiation known as solar flares. The flares are sometimes accompanied by eruptions of superheated matter, or plasma....

Nowinski is the founder of the Sports Legacy Institute (SLI), which along with the Boston University School of Medicine is conducting autopsies on former athletes to research the effect of concussive impacts. To date eight former NFL players have promised to donate their brains to science after their death. Nowinski is a former professional wrestler who understands firsthand the potential ramifications of head impacts. At the heart of the SLI research is the detection of what’s termed Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy....

Climate change has been driving larger and more intense hurricanes in recent years. Evaporating sea water fuels hurricanes, whose strength depends on how rapidly water can evaporate from the ocean. When sea water evaporates, it transfers heat from the ocean to the atmosphere, which converts it into wind energy, creating stronger and stronger winds. As the temperature of the water goes up, so does the rate of evaporation — and so does the wind....

That special someone has just stomped on your heart and left it palpitating miserably on the floor. How can you help it recover? Apps may not heal heartache, but they can ease you through the process of a breakup and make that pain a little easier to bear. Because no two relationships are alike, we’ll cover a range of emotional scenarios in this list. Even if one or two apps don’t fit your current mood, hopefully, you’ll find at least one that repairs your injured feelings....

Earth orbit might be a good example as to why. The area of space where human activity has been most prevalent is filled with debris–the leftovers and byproducts of our presence there. And with private spaceflight now rapidly making up technical ground on even the world’s most capable space programs, it’s only a matter of time before manned exploration is happening elsewhere in the solar system and outside of the strict oversight of a state-sponsored space agency, advocates argue....

It’s easy for products like these to become a Frankenstein’s monster of fancy features. Of course, having the best tech inside doesn’t matter if it can’t work together. Sony has avoided that pitfall and made a truly great set of True Wireless (TWS) earbuds. They combine strong active noise cancellation (ANC), excellent sound, and a heap of customization options. There are a few nitpicks—why no multidevice connectivity!?!—but the Sony WF-1000XM4 buds work very hard to earn their high price....

But there are a few differences. For instance, no one knows quite yet if the Space Force will involve eventually putting military personnel in space or if it will simply involve boots on Earth, and lots of robotic technology in the sky. “I think Space Force is as much about career path for Department of Defense satellite operators,” Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist with Harvard and spaceflight historian, says in an email....

Florida Today broke the news today that SpaceX was hoping to land its next Falcon 9 rocket on the ground at NASA’s Cape Canaveral facility in Florida. SpaceX has attempted to land a rocket gently before, but those attempts were made on giant floating platforms in the ocean (which just missed). Then, last week, competitor Blue Origin managed to land it’s own reusable rocket safely on the ground, amping up the public pressure on SpaceX to successfully land their own rocket....

This year, designers at Sony found a new use for it: building slim speakers that produce louder, clearer sound than any others their size. Designers replaced a key speaker component, the damper, with a microns-thin ring of ferrofluid. Speakers generate sound waves when a magnet moves a voice coil back and forth to push against a diaphragm; the damper ensures that the spring doesn’t wobble and that the diaphragm doesn’t overextend....

But at least one group is banking on 3-D printing being an answer to, rather than a source of, America’s gun-safety problems. Following President Obama’s announcement yesterday asking for more private investment into gun safety technology, 3Dlt, a “3-D template marketplace,” has launched a crowd-funded innovation challenge to develop 3-D printed products that improve gun safety. The Cincinnati-based startup 3Dlt is a platform for buying and selling 3-D printer templates, but it also envisions itself as a social innovator that can help improve the world, one 3-D printed object at a time....

If you are someone that wants to be prepared for whatever comes their way, then you are in luck! Right now you can purchase the 2-pack 8-in-1 Maglight Mini Super Bright Utility Flashlight for a 40 percent markdown from its retail price. The super small 8-in-1 mini flashlight is designed to fit in your backpack or pocket. While it’s very small, it still offers up to 800 lumens, making it 30x brighter than your phone....

Streptococcus A is perhaps most infamous for being the most common cause of strep throat—a painful inflammation most common among children that can last weeks and cause serious complications if left untreated. The same strain is also responsible for a skin condition called impetigo. Although the CDC doesn’t track these “non-invasive” strep infections, it estimates that millions of them happen each year. The bacteria is also behind some serious ailments, such as necrotizing fasciitis and acute rheumatic fever....

It’s probably not surprising that so many people are smoking pot. In the past decade, public perception of marijuana use has shifted—more people are in favor of legalization, and, according to one Pew survey, 69 percent of people think alcohol is more damaging to a person’s health than pot. Legislation has followed—23 states have loosened their restrictions on marijuana use, most within the past five years. Several marijuana-centric online publications have sprung up, most recently Snoop Dogg’s merryjane....