Technology

Free Virtual Learning On Digital Literacy For New Mexicans Through GetSetUp Initiative

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A GetSetUp team member visits Corrales Public Library to help older adults learn digital literacy skills. Courtesy/New Mexico State Library and GetSetUp© 2025
New Mexico State Library News:

SANTA FE – The New Mexico State Library has announced a new statewide initiative that expands access to lifelong learning through a partnership with GetSetUp, a leading virtual learning platform designed for older adults.

The initiative, funded by a USDA Rural Utilities Service Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant, supports the State Library’s mission to close the digital divide and promote

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How Ubiquitous Small Particles Turn Harmful Inside Plants

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UCR plant biologist Juan Pablo Giraldo (left) and study first author Christopher Castillo (right) in the laboratory. (Juan Pablo Giraldo/UCR). Courtesy photo

SCIENCE News:

A new UC Riverside-led study reveals how common small particles produced by nature as well as human activities can transform upon entering plant cells and weaken plants’ ability to turn sunlight into food. The discovery offers a path to control this issue. 

Engine combustion and manufacturing, natural processes like forest fires and volcanic eruptions all emit nanoparticles, which are thousands of times smaller Read More

Additional Scenes From ScienceFest 2025

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The ScienceFest 2025 booth powered by Los Alamos MainStreet Saturday at Ashley Pond Park. The popular annual event featured more than 54 booths and 19 vendors this year, offering exciting things to see and do. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

Recardo Lambert of Los Alamos County Department of Public Utilities mans the Sewage Disposal education booth ‘Don’t Flush That’ demonstration Saturday at Ashley Pond Park. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

Even the turtles in the pond turned out in force for ScienceFest 2025 on Saturday at Ashley Pond Park. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com Read More

Heinrich On Energy Department Budget Request, Stresses Need For Affordable, Domestic Sources

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Video: Ranking Member Martin Heinrich of New Mexico delivers opening remarks on DOE’s Fiscal 2026 budget request, June 18, before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Courtesy/Heinrich Office

From the Office of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich:

  • Heinrich to Wright: “We cannot expect to maintain U.S. leadership in emerging technologies if we shortchange the offices, programs, and most importantly, people, needed to do so.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In his opening statement, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member on the U.S. Energy and Natural Resources Committee, grilled Read More

Catch Of The Week: Facebook Grocery Scams

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By REBECCA RUTHERFORD
Los Alamos

Watch out for the Facebook grocery giveaway scams- making the rounds once again online. What are these scams? Basically, they post in a Facebook group, offering free groceries like the ones below.

In the recent examples I’ve seen in local Facebook groups that advertised grocery distribution events — but with no listed location, organizer, or contact information- clearly a red flag. No contact info or location info should ring some mental alarm bells; this seems sketchy right away.

What’s the point of these scams? Most of the time it seems just to funnel the user Read More

Traffic Impact Alert For ScienceFest Events June 20-21

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LAMSCD News:

The Los Alamos MainStreet and Creative District (LAMSCD) reminds the public of road closures taking place today, June 20, and Saturday, 21, due to ScienceFest events.

There will be traffic impacts during the Los Alamos ScienceFest, particularly during the Night Market and Discovery Day events on both days.

Key Traffic Impacts:

  • Today’s Road Closure – Central Avenue from 20th Street to Oppenheimer Drive will be closed 4-9 p.m. during the ScienceFest Night Market.
  • Today’s Night Market – (North side of Ashley Pond): 5-9 p.m., featuring more than 30 vendors and taking place during
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Catch Of The Week: Spammy Facebook Pages

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By REBECCA RUTHERFORD
Los Alamos

Facebook can be awful, and one of the more annoying things about it lately is the proliferation of spammy/scammy state-themed groups.

See example image below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Example NM Themed Group

Courtesy image

The below post was in one of these groups last week, and it was just reposting old content from the big snowstorm we had in May. These groups’ admins just grab content from other pages and users and post it in their group. 

Example Post

Courtesy image

What’s the point of these groups? Pretty simple – to make money. Read More

Broadband Project Construction Expected To Begin June 2026

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Broadband Manager Jerry Smith

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

The community broadband project is in the planning stages, but Broadband Manager Jerry Smith reported to Los Alamos County Council in May that construction is tentatively scheduled to begin June 2026.

He explained that the project is in phase one, which is the design and engineering phase. Plans include high level and low-level designs.

The high-level design involves gathering data for the County, building maps, verifying County-owned infrastructure, discussing how to phase the build out, Read More

Free Public Lecture With Dinosaur Scientist Dr. Spencer Lucas To Kick Off 2025 ScienceFest Thursday June 19

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NMC News:

Dr. Spencer Lucas, Curator of Paleontology at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, will present a public lecture titled “Rethinking Mass Extinctions”, offering a radically different perspective on one of Earth’s most dramatic biological events.

Drawing from decades of research, Dr. Lucas challenges conventional thinking by reevaluating the evidence and arguments surrounding mass extinction events.

Spencer Lucas, PhD: “Rethinking Mass Extinctions”
When: 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 19
Where: Fuller Lodge

The talk coincides with the New Mexico Museum of Natural Read More

Los Alamos National Laboratory: Understanding Quantum Computing’s Most Troubling Problem

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In a new paper, Los Alamos scientists collect and review years of work on barren plateaus, a mathematical dead end that has plagued variational quantum computing. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

In variational quantum computing, a barren plateau represents a mathematical point from which quantum algorithms reach a dead end, stalling progress and wasting time and resources.

For the past six years, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has led the world in trying to understand one of the most frustrating barriers that faces variational quantum computing: the barren plateau.

“Imagine a landscape Read More