At least 140 million Sun-like stars in our Milky Way galaxy may have experienced similar stellar flybys, according to a new study by astrophysicists from the Jülich Research Centre and Leiden University.
Snapshot of a flyby of an ancient star. Blue-green particles indicate TNOs injected into the planetary region by the flyby. The perturbation star passed through the disk at perihelion distance 110 AU, on the right side of the picture. Image courtesy of Pfalzner others., doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02349-x.
The planets in our solar system accumulated from a disk of dust and gas orbiting the young Sun.
Thus, the planets move in circular orbits close to a common plane.
About 3,000 small bodies have been observed orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune. Surprisingly, most of them move in eccentric or inclined orbits.
Therefore, some force must have lifted these trans-solar objects (TNOs) out of the disk in which they formed and significantly altered their orbits.
“When we think about the solar system, we usually think of it ending with Neptune, the outermost known planet,” said Dr Susanne Pfalzner, astrophysicist at the Jülich Research Centre and lead author of the paper.
“However, thousands of objects are known to travel beyond the orbit of Neptune.”
“It is even suspected that there are tens of thousands of objects over 100 kilometers in diameter.”
“Surprisingly, many of these TNOs travel on eccentric orbits that are inclined with respect to the common orbital plane of the planets in our solar system.”
In this study, Dr. Falzner and her colleagues compared the properties of observed TNOs with thousands of flyby simulations to determine specific properties of stellar flybys that could potentially reproduce all of the different TNO populations, their locations, and relative abundances.
They Found A flyby of a 0.8 solar mass star at a distance of 110 AU could explain the inclined and highly eccentric orbits of known TNOs.
“We can even infer the orbits of very distant objects, such as Sedna, a dwarf planet discovered in the outermost solar system in 2003,” Dr Pfalzner said.
“There are also objects moving in orbits that are almost perpendicular to the planet's orbit.”
“Such flybys could even explain the orbits of two objects moving in the opposite direction to the planet: 2008 KV42 and 2011 KT19.”
“The best match we found in our simulations for the outer solar system today is a star that is slightly lighter than our Sun, about 0.8 times its mass,” said Dr Amis Govind, also of the Jülich research centre.
“It traveled about 16.5 billion kilometers from the Sun, which is about 110 times the distance between Earth and the Sun and just under four times the distance to the outermost planet, Neptune.”
Astrophysicists were surprised Found The irregular moons orbiting the giant planets in the solar system in distant, inclined, and eccentric orbits are actually TNOs that were launched into the inner solar system by close passes of their stars.
“Some of these objects could have been captured as moons by giant planets,” said Dr Simon Portegies Zwart, an astrophysicist at Leiden University.
“This would explain why the outer planets in our solar system have two different types of moons.”
“In contrast to regular moons, which orbit their planets in circular orbits close to the planet, irregular moons orbit their planets at greater distances in inclined, elongated orbits.”
“Until now, there has been no explanation for this phenomenon.”
“The beauty of this model is its simplicity. With just one source, it answers several outstanding questions about our solar system,” Dr Pfalzner said.
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Susanne Falzner othersOrbits of flybys of stars that formed the outer solar system. Nat AstronPublished online September 4, 2024; doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02349-x
Susanne Falzner others2024. A close flyby of a star could inject an irregular moon from outside the solar system. Apu JL 972, L21;doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ad63a6
With brighter screens, new hands-free gestures, and faster speeds for the first time in years, Apple’s smartwatch has firmly established itself as the market leader.
The Apple Watch Series 9 will be available in a variety of sizes and materials, with prices starting at £399 (€449 / $399 / AU$649), a £20 reduction in the UK. It will launch alongside the Ultra 2, which costs £799 (€899 / $799 / AU$1,399), £50 cheaper than last year’s model.
Both watches look similar to their predecessors on the outside, with the Series 9 sporting a slimmer, pillow-shaped shape and available in 41mm or 45mm size options, while the 49mm Ultra 2 sports a chunkier look with a sturdy titanium shell and oversized buttons.
New this year are significantly brighter screens. The Series 9 is twice as bright as last year’s Series 8, with a maximum brightness of 2,000. LiceThat puts it on par with rival Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6, and it has the same maximum brightness as the iPhone 15 Pro Max. A brighter screen makes it easier to read in direct sunlight, which is especially important for a watch.
The Ultra 2 goes even further, with a screen that can hit an impressive 3,000 nits at peak, which is 50% brighter than last year’s model. The super-bright screen is almost overkill unless you’re hiking through the desert, but you can unleash maximum brightness with the built-in torch mode to better light your way.
New, faster chips
Siri requests for apps, timers, and other simple actions are now much faster and more reliable, even when you’re out of range of your iPhone. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
The new S9 chip in both watches is the first to offer a significant speed boost since the S6 in 2020. The 30% performance increase isn’t dramatic for everyday activities, except for interactions with Siri, many of which are now handled on the watch. Setting timers, taking calls and other simple interactions are quicker without an iPhone or data connection. Voice input for messages and notes is also up to 25% more accurate, making it faster to send replies without a phone call.
Battery life for both models is around 36 hours for the Series 9 and 70 hours for the Ultra 2, enough for a full day and night, or nearly three days, on a single charge.
Double Tap is coming soon
The double pinch gesture is simple and easy to perform, making it especially useful for quick actions like silencing a timer when your other hand is occupied. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
Apple also added a new gesture for hands-free use of the Watch: “Double Tap,” which recognizes pinching your finger and thumb together twice, which is a simplified version of one of Apple’s existing gestures. AssistiveTouch accessibility features It’s for watches, but it’s faster and has become a standard part of every interface.
A double pinch will silence alarms and timers, start or end calls, and perform other basic actions. This feature only works when the screen is active, so the watch is facing you and can’t be accidentally activated. This feature requires the watchOS 10.1 update. It’s currently being tested in the public beta, but is working very well and should be fully rolled out by the end of October.
Sustainability
Apple doesn’t disclose the expected lifespan of the battery, but it is expected to last for more than 500 full charge cycles, retain at least 80% of its original capacity, and is replaceable. £95Repair costs Between £309 and £509 Varies by model.
They contain recycled aluminum, titanium, cobalt, copper, gold, plastic, rare earth elements, tin, and tungsten. Apple offers trade-ins and free recycling for its devices, and the report details the environmental impact of each watch.
price
The Series 9 comes in two sizes (41 and 45mm), a choice of materials, and a 4G option that requires an e-SIM-compatible phone plan add-on. Prices start from £399 ($399/AU$649), with the 4G model costing an extra £100 ($100/AU$160). The Ultra 2 costs £799 ($799/AU$1,399).
By comparison, the Apple Watch SE costs £259, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 costs £289, and the Google Pixel Watch 2 costs £269. £349The Garmin Venu 3 costs £449, while the Garmin Epix Pro costs £829.
verdict
Apple’s smartwatch didn’t need much to keep it in the top spot, but both the Series 9 and Ultra 2 look the same but with small but meaningful updates that are hard to beat.
The significantly brighter screen makes a big difference when you’re outside and want to see the time, alerts, and activity stats at a glance, and the faster chip means this watch will stay fast for years to come, making interactions with Siri super-fast, even when your phone isn’t nearby.
The upcoming double-tap gesture is also a handy addition, making tasks like checking train times a little easier when you’re rushing with your luggage.
If you want the best smartwatch for your iPhone, it’s hard to beat the Apple Watch, either model.
When the double-tap gesture is recognized, the watch vibrates and a notification pops up, here we are scrolling through widgets on the watch face. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
BP, a major player in the oil and gas industry, has recently entered into a five-year partnership with Palantir, a US company specializing in spy technology, to utilize artificial intelligence in expediting engineering decision-making processes.
This collaboration entails the implementation of large-scale language models to automate the analysis of data collected from BP’s various sites, thereby generating recommendations that can assist human decision-makers in drawing informed conclusions.
The partnership between BP and Palantir builds upon a longstanding relationship that has involved the use of Palantir’s technology to create digital replicas of BP’s oil and gas operations, such as the Khazan gas field in Oman and offshore oil platforms in the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico, including the location of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident.
Both companies affirm that their previous collaboration has led to performance enhancements, and the new software aims to ensure the safe deployment of reliable AI while guarding against potential inaccuracies or fabrications commonly associated with generative AI models.
The utilization of generative AI is becoming increasingly prevalent across various industries, from retail interactions to research and writing support, sparking debates on whether AI will replace or enhance existing job roles.
Sanjay Pandey, BP’s senior vice president of digital delivery, highlighted the benefits of employing advanced digital twin simulation techniques to optimize production processes and enhance operational performance in a secure manner.
Palantir’s Matthew Babin expressed enthusiasm about the potential of their technology to accelerate human decision-making by leveraging existing digital twins and operational workflows.
Noteworthy projects of Palantir include a five-year contract to develop a large-scale data platform for the NHS, raising privacy concerns about patient data security. The company’s founder, Peter Thiel, has been associated with supporting political figures like Donald Trump and has a history of collaborating closely with intelligence and military organizations.
Under the leadership of Murray Auchincloss, BP has been actively enhancing its technological capabilities, as evidenced by recent agreements such as the partnership with NASA to exchange expertise gained from working in challenging environments.
Additionally, BP made an investment of $5m (£3.8m) in Belmont Technology in 2019 to accelerate its AI platform development.
Recent news has not been favorable for those with a fear of flying. Reports of severe turbulence and mid-air door incidents can be distressing, especially for the estimated 5% of individuals who have a fear of flying.
With the summer holidays approaching, those of us with a fear of flying are preparing ourselves. Out of nearly two million flights in and out of the UK in 2023, only a small fraction experienced significant mechanical issues or worse.
A phobia often defies logic.
“When feeling anxious, the brain tends to exaggerate risks,” explains Professor Robert Baugh, Director of the Aviation Psychology Center. “While risks may seem more prominent and real, it doesn’t make them more likely to occur. You’re more likely to die from a donkey kick than from a plane crash.”
Baugh also acknowledges that fear of flying can be treated. As a pilot, Royal Air Force consultant, and fear of flying expert, he understands the obstacles individuals face.
Identifying the specific triggers is crucial to addressing flying anxiety. Techniques such as implementing cognitive and behavioral tools before boarding the flight can be beneficial.
Understanding flight mechanics and sounds can alleviate fears. Knowledge about what the pilot does during flight can provide comfort. Breathing techniques and muscle relaxation exercises can help manage anxiety during air travel.
For extreme cases, medication may be prescribed, and airlines offer courses for those with a fear of flying. Combining various techniques can significantly reduce flying anxiety and offer a sense of control.
About our experts
Professor Robert Baugh: Director of the Aviation Psychology Centre, psychologist, and Fellow of the British Psychological Society. Baugh has contributed to numerous publications on aviation psychology and human factors.
The second antitrust trial between Google and the U.S. Department of Justice commenced on September 9, with a federal judge in Virginia listening to opening arguments regarding whether the tech giant unlawfully monopolized the digital advertising sector. This trial carries significant implications for the tech industry, online publishers, and Google’s primary revenue stream.
This much-anticipated trial represents the second major U.S. antitrust case against Google, following a recent landmark ruling that found the company guilty of monopolizing the online search market illegally. Contrary to the previous case, the Justice Department is now seeking specific measures to compel Google to divest parts of its business and sell some of its advertising technology.
The Department of Justice’s second lawsuit, submitted in January 2023, targets Google’s Ads initiative, focusing on the company’s acquisition and utilization of digital advertising technology. The case revolves around Google’s role as an intermediary for website operators seeking to monetize through advertising, enabling them to sell ad space on their sites and connecting advertisers with potential customers, with Google retaining a significant portion of the ad revenue.
The Department of Justice argues that Google’s control over various aspects of digital advertising results from strategic acquisitions, culminating in a monopoly over the industry. The case delves into Google’s acquisitions of DoubleClick, Invite Media, and AdMeld, which allegedly granted the company dominance over both supply and demand in online advertising and intermediary exchange points.
During the trial, the Justice Department alleges that Google’s actions constitute anti-competitive behavior through exclusionary practices and acquisitions, leading to an illegal monopoly. Google’s defense maintains that its business model aligns with industry practices and that the Justice Department’s allegations stem from outdated perceptions of the digital advertising landscape.
Palaeontologists from the University of New South Wales have unearthed the fossils of three new species belonging to the thylacine genus. Basitinus, Nimbakinusand Ngamalasinas It inhabits upper Oligocene sediments in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwest Queensland, Australia. Bassinus timforkneri, Nimbasinus peterbridgeand Ngamalasinas NigermalbeniThese new species are among the oldest known thylacines and indicate an earlier diversification of the family Thylacidae. Thylacine More than previously understood.
Bassinus timforkneri Eating a corpse Silvavestius Michaelvirti.Image credit: Peter Schouten.
The three new species of Pectiniidae lived during the Late Oligocene epoch, between 25 and 23 million years ago.
The largest of these is Bassinus timforkneriThey weigh between 7 and 11 kg, roughly the same size as a large Tasmanian devil.
“Like the Tasmanian devil, Basisinas timforkneri “They could easily crush the bones and teeth of their prey,” said lead author Tim Churchill, a doctoral student at the University of New South Wales.
“But up until now, we've only seen much smaller Bassinus TurnbulliiWeighing in at around 2.7 kg, this dinosaur is the only thylacine relative found in the Late Oligocene.
“The lower jaw and teeth, including an isolated first molar, were found at the Hiatus site at Riversleigh, which is even older than the White Hunter site where B. turnbrii was previously found.”
“This will Basisinas timforkneri It is undoubtedly the oldest thylacine ever discovered.”
The second species is Nimbasinus peterbridgeIt was slightly larger than a long-eared quoll and weighed about 3.7kg.
The species was described from a nearly complete jawbone from the White Hunter site at Riversleigh.
“Nimbasinus peterbridge “It was probably a more generalist predator, targeting small mammals and other prey in the ancient woodland of Riversleigh,” Professor Mike Archer, from the University of New South Wales, said.
“We think it may have been directly related to only one other species. Nimbakinus,big Nimbasinus dicksoni (5-7kg) was discovered in 15 million year old deposits at Riversleigh.”
“This group of thylacines, Thylacine.”
“The other two new species described here appear to represent distinctive side branches on the increasingly complex thylacine phylogenetic tree.”
“This means Nimbasinus peterbridge It is probably the oldest known direct ancestor of the Tasmanian tiger.”
The third new species, Ngamalasinas NigermalbeniIt weighed about 5.1kg and was about the size of a red fox. This one was also unearthed at the White Hunter site in Riversleigh.
“This was a highly carnivorous thylacine,” said Dr Sue Hand, from the University of New South Wales.
“We know this because the cutting edges of the lower molars are elongated and have deep, V-shaped meat-cutting notches.”
“Ngamalasinas Nigermalbeni These notches were more developed than in any other thylacine species of similar size.”
The existence of three distinct lineages of specialized thylacines in the Late Oligocene highlights how rapidly this group of marsupials has diversified since they first appeared in the fossil record, the researchers say.
“These new species have very different dental adaptations, suggesting that several unique carnivore forest niches existed during this time,” Churchill said.
“All of these lineages became extinct by 8 million years ago, except for the lineage that gave rise to modern thylacines.”
“The previous idea that Australia was dominated by reptilian carnivores for the last 25 million years is steadily being disproved as each new discovery adds to the fossil record of these new thylacine-like marsupial carnivores,” Prof Archer said.
“The diversity of mammalian carnivores in Rivers Leaf during this period rivals any other ecosystem, including the large dispersal of mammalian carnivores that developed in South America,” Churchill added.
of study this month, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
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Timothy J. Churchill othersThree new opossum species (Marsupialia, Opossumidae) discovered from Late Oligocene deposits in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, north-west Queensland. Journal of Vertebrate PaleontologyPublished online September 6, 2024; doi: 10.1080/02724634.2024.2384595
Astronomers ESO’s Very Low Tilt Survey Telescope The Chilean VST satellite has captured a stunning image of the distorted spiral galaxy NGC 3312.
This VST image shows the spiral galaxy NGC 3312. Image courtesy of ESO / INAF / M. Spavone / E. Iodice.
NGC 3312 It is located in the constellation Hydra and is more than 160 million light years away from Earth.
Also known as ESO 501-43, IC 629, IRAS 10346-2718, LEDA 31513, Found It was discovered on March 26, 1835 by British astronomer John Herschel.
NGC 3312 is Hydra I Cluster (Abell 1060) is a galaxy cluster containing over 150 luminous galaxies.
As galaxies move through the hotter gas in the cluster, they lose cooler gas.
It is likely distorted by the cluster’s main elliptical galaxies, NGC 3309 and NGC 3311.
“The spiral galaxy in the centre of this VST image appears fuzzy across the entire screen, seemingly leaking its contents into the surrounding space,” ESO astronomers said in a statement.
“This is NGC 3312, the victim of an astrophysical robbery: ram-pressure stripping.”
“This occurs when galaxies move through a dense fluid, such as the hot gas suspended between galaxies in a cluster,” the researchers explained.
“This hot gas is pulled by the cooler gas in the outer shell of the galaxy, causing it to be pulled out of the galaxy and leak out into space.”
“This cold gas is the raw material for star formation, which means that galaxies that are losing gas in this way are at risk of losing a decrease in their stellar population.”
“Affected galaxies, typically those that fall into the center of a cluster, tend to eventually form long trailing tendrils of gas behind them, which is where their nickname ‘jellyfish galaxies’ comes from.”
“This is just one of the many astronomical processes that make our cosmic pictures so diverse and fascinating.”
noNothing makes you feel older than seeing people two generations younger than you playing Minecraft, except for people two generations younger than you. Looking at other people YouTubers are playing Minecraft (what are they doing? Why are they always so excited?). This seems a bit 2011. Gen A has generally grown up watching YouTubers play Fortnite, Roblox, and Elden Ring with their hearts out. But there are millions of people playing it every month, most of them kids. And there’s a strong nostalgia for the game among Gen Z youth who grew up with this blocky, virtual Lego game. A Minecraft movie was inevitable.
The film has been in the works since 2012 and was originally set to be directed by Ryan Reynolds’ Wrexham FC pal Rob McElhenney and star Steve Carell. But a series of setbacks, the COVID pandemic and a pesky actors’ strike meant filming didn’t begin (in Auckland, New Zealand) until early 2024. Due for release in April 2025, the Minecraft movie will be directed by Napoleon Dynamite’s Jared Hess and star Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Jennifer Coolidge, Jermaine Clement and Matt Berry. And judging by the trailer released this week, it’s even crazier than you’d think.
Video games and movie franchises can take many forms. Sometimes game characters escape into our world, like Sonic (the alien hedgehog) being sent to Earth or Barbie and Ken sneaking out of Barbieland. Real people get sucked into a video game and have to complete a magical quest to escape, like in Tron. Sometimes video game characters transform into humans, like in Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Prince of Persia, Doom and The Last of Us. Tetris is set in a real-life competition for the game’s license, while Gran Turismo tells the story of a player making it in real life as a driver.
In The Minecraft Movie, a group of humans are sucked into the Overworld, the dimension where Minecraft is real. A bewildered Momoa has just had highlights and bangs done at the hairdresser and accidentally bought a pink coat. Danielle Brooks from Orange is the New Black arrives with some “kids” (including 22-year-old Emma Myers from Wednesday). Here they meet Steve, one of Minecraft’s default characters. Steve is dressed in a light blue T-shirt and jeans, and is played by Jack Black, who is no doubt viewed as something of a talisman by Warner Bros. since playing Bowser in the Super Mario movie last year. “This guy is so useless,” Myers laments.
“Anything you can dream up, you can build here,” Black explains to our bewildered heroes, as cube-shaped pigs fly around and blocky pink sheep bleat. To get home, “they must embark on a magical quest to conquer the world (and protect it from piglins, zombies, and other evils).”
Box Office Quest…Minecraft Movie. Photo: Warner Bros.
Reaction to the trailer:terrible“, “Devastating” and “Expensive and cheap“To”It’s hard for the parents who are taken away.” and “The worst thing that will happen in the movie world in 2024” But like many video game spinoffs, the film isn’t aimed at adult film critics. Film buff Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian was highly critical of the 2023 film Super Mario Bros. The Movie in a two-star review (Wendy Eide of The Observer was similarly critical in a one-star review). That left The Guardian’s games editor Keza MacDonald inclined to defend the film as a decent translation of the game, even if it’s not that good a movie.
So what do the real connoisseurs think? “I think it looks awful,” says 10-year-old Arlo, playing Roblox on his iPad after school. “Minecraft isn’t even at its peak anymore, so why make a movie now? I don’t think it’ll be a hit.” (And he has a point.) Maybe he likes that the Minecraft world includes real people?
“No. They should have made it like The Lego Movie or Super Mario Bros., which were good because they didn’t have any live action characters. Steve is not Steve.” Sorry Minecraft. Sorry Jack Black. The experts said it. We’ll find out in April next year if the full version can save the day.
SpaceX launched the Polaris Dawn mission to attempt the first-ever private spacewalk, and one of the most dangerous spacewalks ever attempted.
The four-person crew will spend up to five days in Earth orbit, with two crew members performing an extravehicular activity (EVA) on the third day. During this EVA, the spacecraft will be depressurized for about two hours. The two remaining crew members will also need to wear space suits.
This is different from other modern spacewalks, which typically use an airlock to seal the craft off the vacuum of space while the astronauts are outside. The Crew Dragon capsule used in this mission has no airlock, making it more similar to the early days of spaceflight in the 1960s and 1970s. Additionally, all previous spacewalks have been conducted by government-trained astronauts, while the Polaris Dawn crew is civilian.
Although the spacesuits have been thoroughly tested on Earth, they are a new design, and the risks are compounded by the fact that the flight will be farther from Earth than any other human spaceflight since the end of the Apollo program in 1972.
Inside the Crew Dragon capsule
SpaceX
The flight’s mission commander is SpaceX’s Polaris program chief and billionaire co-founder Jared Isaacman. The rest of the crew is retired Air Force test pilot Scott Poteat and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon.
The Crew Dragon capsule used on this flight was named “Resilience” and was its third launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The reusable Falcon 9 first stage returned to Earth and landed on SpaceX’s Just Read the Instructions drone over the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsules are also used to transport astronauts and supplies to and from the International Space Station, and one of them is scheduled to return NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams to Earth in early 2025 after they were stranded when their launch vehicle, the Boeing Starliner, encountered problems.
pictureRon Musk is making headlines lately, with controversial posts and support for Donald Trump’s campaign. However, his negative comments are starting to affect Tesla owners, leading to a decline in sales for the second consecutive quarter in July.
Despite this, Tesla produces excellent electric cars like the latest Model 3, which is one of the best options available. Many other major and newer car manufacturers are catching up to Tesla in the electric car market. Here are the top 10 non-Tesla EVs you can buy now, excluding the upcoming Renault 5 set to launch in the UK in Q1 2025.
Lease A 48-month lease starts from around £152 per month, with initial costs of around £1,370. Selective Car Lease Sample lease, or OffersPrices vary when it comes to leasing, however, so we recommend you always shop around – check out our FAQs below for more information.
The Dacia Spring may not be the ultimate car in terms of refinement, but with a range of up to 140 miles and a comfortable ride, it’s perfect for city use.
There’s not a lot of space inside, but it can seat two adults and two children comfortably. The trunk is big enough for a carry-on or your weekly groceries. All models come with air conditioning, and more expensive models have a 10-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto smartphone connectivity. There’s also an app that lets you control charging and turn on the heat and air conditioning before you get in the car.
Most people will avoid entry-level cars, especially since the monthly costs won’t be that high. Take out a finance deal and upgrade to a better-equipped, more powerful version, with prices not exceeding £16,995.
Lease A 48-month lease starts from around £423 per month, with initial costs of around £5,501. Lease.com Sample lease, or Volvo Cars.
Volvo’s EX30 is a smart small car that feels premium but doesn’t come with a steep price tag.
The audio system uses a full-dash sound bar instead of speakers in the doors to produce impressive sound, the window switches have been moved to the center of the car – all to save costs – and you can operate most…
TIt was difficult to decide what to focus on for Alex Hern’s first TechScape since his retirement. (If you missed it last week, re-read the farewell newsletter he wrote after 11 years at The Guardian.) Why? Because with everything happening all the time right now, there are tons of topics to delve into.
We could discuss the possibility of Elon Musk running Donald Trump’s “Government Efficiency Commission” if he is re-elected as President of the United States. But that would require writing another newsletter on Musk, and you might be as tired of it as Alex is. The latter possibility is still two sides of the same coin. The chances of Musk quitting running a multi-trillion dollar company for a low-paying government job are not that high.
We can also talk about Pavel Durov’s first public statements since his arrest in France last month, and how Telegram’s anti-censorship stance has crumbled (right now Report Contents Previously it was a private chat reviewed by a moderator).
Or we could delve into Nvidia’s significant role in the economy, which I discussed with Nimo Omer in Monday’s First Edition newsletter.
Instead, let’s focus on the latest major event in the tech world, which has become exhaustingly busy over the past few years: the launch of Apple’s latest iPhones, and why, despite its flashy features and tech-forward attitude, many of you probably won’t be lining up to purchase one.
The reasons are complex. One is the simple price of the iPhone 16, which starts at $799 (£610). For many, such a high price is just too much, especially at a time when the economy is sluggish, jobs are scarce, and the new prime minister is positioning himself as head of a “pessimistic” government, as the Observer’s political editor Toby Helm put it.
“Sales of new mobile phones have fallen dramatically over the past decade,” says Ben Wood, chief analyst at market research firm CCS Insight. In 2013, Britons bought around 30 million new devices, up from just 13.4 million last year. CSS Insight predicts the figures will remain at roughly the same level. Its research suggests that most people expect to keep their next phone for up to five years.
At the same time, phone makers are making fewer dramatic changes to their products from year to year. “These days, phone updates are mostly incremental from a hardware perspective,” Wood says. “Last year’s iPhone might have a slightly bigger screen, a slightly better camera, and better battery life, but it’s probably pretty much the same as this year’s. This is in stark contrast to the mid-1990s through 2007 when there was an incredible acceleration in phone performance and features.”
AI is in the spotlight
Google’s Gemini enters a crowded AI “battlefield.” Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
The adoption of AI in iPhones, which Apple teased at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, will arguably mark a major change in how iPhones work. But as I explained in a controversial comment piece back in June, it may not create a strong desire to use ChatGPT on your phone.
Lest you think I’m just a doom-and-gloom tech reporter, market analysts agree. Wood believes AI has become a “battleground” between Google (which owns Gemini), Samsung (which is touting Galaxy AI), and Apple (which understood the challenge and cleverly named its version Apple Intelligence, trying to make the name synonymous with the technology). Is it worth the investment to put AI in your phone? “I’m not convinced that AI is going to have a significant impact on overall new product sales,” Wood says.
Moreover, Apple has already stated that European users won’t have access to the AI integrated into its devices. this year That’s because the company isn’t sure it can do so without violating the rules of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, with one exception: It will be available in the UK in December, which of course is no longer in the EU, but if you spend much of your time on the continent, it won’t be available there. That means you’re paying for minor updates and the potential appeal of AI at a yet-to-be-determined point in time.
Here’s an embarrassing confession: Despite all the latest cutting-edge tech, I don’t see the point in keeping up with the latest hardware. I’m not a huge Apple fanboy, but I do use an iPad (the 7th generation, released in September 2019 and discontinued a year later) every day.
It’s five years old and it works just fine, in part because, with a few exceptions, Apple tweaks the little details with each yearly hardware update. Does it really matter if a flashier screen makes your news app look a little sharper, or if a slightly faster processor makes apps launch a millisecond faster? And if it does, does that slight benefit justify the cost of a new device?
The same goes for my phone. When I dropped my Samsung that I had for years two months ago and the screen repair destroyed the keyboard and I needed a replacement, I decided to buy a similarly outdated phone, the 2021 Samsung A52. I chose this one because it was the latest model available at a relatively affordable price, and it still has a great battery. 3.5mm headphone jackI rely on this technology because Bluetooth headphones only give me the pain of losing my earbuds or having to listen to someone else’s music on public transport.
I would argue that the new iPhones are pretty expensive without all that many new features. Still, you might not think so. If you do, let me know. You can find me at X. @Stokell.
If you’d like to read the full newsletter, sign up to receive TechScape in your inbox every Tuesday.
Apple has lost its high-profile 13 billion euro (11 billion pounds) Irish tax battle with the EU, but the ruling will bolster efforts by the European Commission to crack down on “preferential” tax regimes favoring multinational companies.
The long-awaited ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) came after a years-long legal battle over whether the European Commission was right in 2016 to demand the return of 13 billion euros of “illegal” tax breaks given to Apple for giving the iPhone maker an unfair advantage.
ECJ (European Court of Justice) The verdict was given The Commission argued that a lower court ruling in favor of Apple should be overturned, upholding a 2016 European Commission decision that found Ireland had provided unlawful assistance to Apple in the tax treatment of profits from Apple’s activities outside the United States and that Ireland was required to recoup the money.
In 2020, a lower court, the General Court, annulled the 2016 European Commission decision, finding that it had not been sufficiently established that Apple’s subsidiaries enjoyed a selective advantage. That ruling has now been set aside by the European Court of Justice, which has confirmed the European Commission’s 2016 decision.
The ruling was a victory for EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who concluded: 2016 The iPhone maker benefited from billions of dollars worth of unfair tax breaks from the Irish government.
Vestager, who is due to step down this year, has been seen as a tough enforcer who has boldly taken on powerful multinationals such as Fiat, Amazon and Starbucks over their tax claims. But some of the cases have not stood the test of time, with a 2022 ruling against Fiat that was later overturned.
The case brings to an end a years-long legal battle that began in 2016 when the European Commission ordered Apple to pay billions of euros for significant underpayment of tax on profits from 2003 to 2014. Apple, which has had its European headquarters in Cork since 1980, was found by the EU’s competition watchdog to have benefited from a tax ruling by Irish authorities and to have paid an effective tax rate of 0.005 percent in 2014.
Apple has denied the accusations, saying the government aid money had not been paid, and CEO Tim Cook said: It is called The claim is “political nonsense.”
Apple challenged the Commission at the General Court, the EU’s second-highest court, and won. Conclusion In July 2020, Brussels ruled that Apple had failed to prove that it had obtained an illegal economic benefit in terms of tax in Ireland.
The Commission appealed, and last year the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice, Giovanni Pitruzzella, recommended that the Commission overturn the General Court’s earlier ruling. Advocate General Pitruzzella said the General Court had made an error of law and needed to carry out a new assessment. He recommended that the European Court of Justice remit the case back to the General Court for a new ruling on the substance of the case.
Pitruzella’s recommendation was not legally binding and did not have to be followed by the ECJ, but the attorney general’s opinion carries great weight and usually influences the court’s final decision.
Following the ECJ ruling, Apple said: “This case is not about how much tax we pay, but which government we owe tax to. We have always paid all taxes wherever we do business and have never had any special arrangements. Apple is a driver of growth and innovation in Europe and around the world, and we are proud to have consistently been one of the world’s largest taxpayers.”
“The European Commission is seeking to change the rules retroactively, ignoring the fact that our income is already subject to tax in the United States under international tax law. We are disappointed by today’s decision because the European Court of Justice previously reviewed the facts and invalidated this case in its entirety.”
Meanwhile, the ECJ It also ruled He upheld the 2.4 billion euro fine imposed by the European Commission against Google in an antitrust case. Whether Google falsely favored its online shopping service. In this case, the Attorney General said In January, the ECJ ruled that Google’s appeal should be dismissed.
Google said: “We are disappointed with the court’s decision, which concerns very specific facts. We made changes in 2017 to comply with the European Commission’s decision. Our approach has been successful for more than seven years, generating billions of clicks across over 800 comparison shopping services.”
Time flies: If your days seem to fly by with meetings, phone notifications, and caffeine breaks, rest assured, you’re not alone. This concept traces back to the writings of the Roman poet Virgil over 2000 years ago.
Last year, a study found that many people felt there simply isn’t enough time in the day to accomplish everything. It often feels like time is rushing by at an unstoppable pace.
However, a recent study from George Mason University in the US sheds light on how to slow down time. The research explores the phenomenon of time dilation, where our perception of time is stretched and slowed.
The study delves into whether certain images, experiences, and scenarios can make us feel like we’re spending more time on them than we actually are. The more memorable an image is, the more likely we are to believe we are viewing it for longer than we really are.
The lead researcher, Professor Martin Wiener, explains that our brains may delay the perception of time to gather more information from the moment. This poses an intriguing question: can we mentally slow down time to live more in the present and elongate enjoyable experiences?
Our subjective perception of time is dynamic, as various factors can influence how time appears to pass. For individuals with impulsivity or ADHD, time may seem to move faster, while experiencing “flow” can create the sensation of time slowing down during engaging activities.
Wiener emphasizes the importance of seeking novel experiences to expand our sense of time and enhance our memory. By immersing ourselves in new hobbies, places, subjects, and interactions, we can make better use of our time and feel like we’re living in a state of artificial slow motion.
About our experts
Professor Martin Wiener: An associate professor at George Mason University, Wiener leads a lab that investigates how the brain processes time and space. His research spans areas such as mapping the human brain, neuroimaging, and neuroscience journals.
The history of water on Mars is important for understanding the evolution of planets like Earth. Water escapes into space as atoms, but hydrogen (H) atoms escape faster than deuterium (D) (hydrogen atoms with a neutron in their nucleus), increasing the residual D/H ratio. The current ratio reflects the total amount of water Mars has lost.
These far-ultraviolet Hubble images show Mars near its farthest point from the Sun (aphelion) on December 31, 2017 (top), and Mars near its closest point to the Sun (perihelion) on December 19, 2016 (bottom). Images by NASA/ESA/STScI/John T. Clarke, Boston University.
There is ample evidence that Mars experienced an early wet period when liquid water flowed across the surface, leaving distinct erosion patterns and the presence of clay in the topsoil.
This wet climate period is thought to have ended over 3 billion years ago, and the fate of that water has attracted considerable interest.
As Mars cooled, some of the water remained trapped in the crust, some broke down into hydrogen and oxygen atoms, and many of the atoms escaped into space through the upper atmosphere.
“There are only two places water can go: it freezes to the ground, or the water molecules break down into atoms and those atoms escape through the top of the atmosphere into space,” said Dr John Clark, a researcher at Boston University.
“To understand how much water there was and what became of it, we need to understand how the atoms escaped into space.”
In the new study, Dr Clark and his colleagues combined data from NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to measure how many hydrogen atoms are escaping into space and the current rate of escape.
This information allowed the researchers to infer past rates of water escape and understand the history of water on Mars.
Specifically, the researchers measured hydrogen and its heavier isotope, deuterium.
Over time, more hydrogen than deuterium was lost, increasing the D/H ratio in the atmosphere.
Measuring this ratio today can give scientists clues about how much water may have been present on Mars during its warmer, wetter periods.
By studying how these atoms escape in the present, we can understand the processes that determined escape rates over the past 4 billion years and extrapolate back in time.
Most of the data comes from MAVEN, but the spacecraft is not sensitive enough to observe deuterium emissions throughout the entire Martian year.
Unlike Earth, Mars is farther from the Sun in its elliptical orbit during its long winters, making its deuterium emissions weaker.
The authors needed Hubble data to fill in the gaps and complete a three-Martian year (687 Earth days) annual cycle.
The Hubble Space Telescope also provided additional data going back to 1991, before MAVEN arrived at Mars in 2014.
Combining data from these missions provided the first complete picture of hydrogen atoms escaping Mars into space.
“In recent years, scientists have discovered that the annual cycle of Mars is much more dynamic than people would have expected 10 or 15 years ago,” Dr Clark said.
“The whole atmosphere is very turbulent, heating and cooling on short timescales of a few hours.”
“The brightness of the Sun on Mars varies by 40 percent over the course of a Martian year, causing the atmosphere to expand and contract.”
The team found that the rate at which hydrogen and deuterium are released changes dramatically as Mars gets closer to the Sun.
The classical view that scientists had until now was that these atoms would slowly diffuse upwards through the atmosphere until they reached a height where they could escape.
But that picture no longer accurately reflects the whole picture, because scientists now know that atmospheric conditions change very rapidly.
As Mars approaches the Sun, water molecules, the source of hydrogen and deuterium, rise rapidly through the atmosphere and release atoms at high altitudes.
The second discovery is that the transformation of hydrogen and deuterium is so rapid that the escape of the atoms requires additional energy to account for it.
At the temperatures of the upper atmosphere, very few atoms would be fast enough to escape Mars’ gravity.
When something gives atoms extra energy, faster (super hot) atoms are created.
These phenomena include the impact of solar wind protons entering the atmosphere and sunlight causing chemical reactions in the upper atmosphere.
of Survey results Published in the journal Scientific advances.
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John T. Clark others2024. Hydrogen and deuterium in the Martian atmosphere: seasonal changes and a paradigm for escape into space. Scientific advances 10(30);doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adm7499
In an experiment, physicists from the University of Bonn and the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau observed and studied the properties of a one- to two-dimensional crossover in a gas of harmonically confined photons (light particles). The photons were confined in dye microcavities, while polymer nanostructures provided the trapping potential for the photon gas. By varying the aspect ratio of the trap, the researchers tuned it from an isotropic two-dimensional confinement to a highly elongated one-dimensional trapping potential. The team paper Published in a journal Natural Physics.
A polymer applied to the reflective surface confines the photonic gas within the light's parabola. The narrower this parabola is, the more one-dimensional the gas behaves. Image courtesy of University of Bonn.
“To create a gas from photons, you need to concentrate a lot of photons in a limited space and cool them at the same time,” said Dr Frank Wevinger from the University of Bonn.
In their experiments, Dr. Wewinger and his colleagues filled a small container with a dye solution and used a laser to excite it.
The resulting photons bounced back and forth between the reflective walls of the container.
Each time they collided with a dye molecule they cooled, eventually condensing the photon gas.
By modifying the reflective surface, we can affect the gas's dimensions.
“We were able to coat the reflective surface with a transparent polymer and create tiny microscopic protrusions,” said Dr Julian Schulz, a physicist at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau.
“These protrusions allow us to confine and condense photons into one or two dimensions.”
“These polymers act as a kind of channel for the light,” said Dr Kirankumar Kalkihari Umesh, a physicist at the University of Bonn.
“The narrower this gap becomes, the more one-dimensional the gas behaves.”
In two dimensions, there is a precise temperature limit where condensation occurs, just as water freezes at exactly 0 degrees – physicists call this a phase transition.
“But if you create a one-dimensional gas instead of two-dimensional, things are a bit different,” Dr Wewinger said.
“So-called thermal fluctuations do occur in the photon gas, but in two dimensions they are so small that they have no practical effect.”
“But on one level, these fluctuations can make waves, figuratively speaking.”
These fluctuations destroy the order in a one-dimensional system, causing different regions in the gas to no longer behave in the same way.
As a result, phase transitions that are still precisely defined in two dimensions become increasingly blurred as the system becomes one-dimensional.
However, their properties are still governed by quantum physics, just like for two-dimensional gases, and these types of gases are called degenerate quantum gases.
It's as if water gets cold but doesn't freeze completely, but turns into ice at low temperatures.
“We were able to investigate this behavior for the first time in the transition from a two-dimensional to a one-dimensional photon gas,” Dr. Wewinger said.
The authors were able to demonstrate that a one-dimensional photon gas indeed does not have a precise condensation point.
By making small changes to the polymer structure, it becomes possible to study in detail what happens during the transition between different dimensions.
Although this is still considered fundamental research at this point, it has the potential to open up new applications of quantum optical effects.
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K. Kalkihari Umesh othersDimensional crossover in a quantum gas of light. National Physical SocietyPublished online September 6, 2024; doi: 10.1038/s41567-024-02641-7
Palaeontologists from the University of Bath and elsewhere have described a new genus and species of kritosaurine hadrosaur dinosaur from a partial skull discovered in the Late Cretaceous Cerro del Pueblo Formation.
Reconstructing your life Coahuilasaurus lipani. Image credit: C. Diaz Frias.
The newly described species is Coahuilasaurus lipani. It has an estimated overall length of 8 metres (26.2 ft).
It dates back about 72.5 million years ago, towards the end of the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period.
Coahuilasaurus lipani belongs to Kritosaurs, a unique family of duck-billed dinosaurs (Hadrosauridae), Kritosaurus navajovius and their relatives.
“Kritosaurus is one of the most diverse lineages of North American hadrosaurs, represented by numerous species that lived during the Late Cretaceous of the Western Interior,” they said. Dr Nicholas Longrich Researchers from the University of Bath and their colleagues.
“The striking changes in jaw morphology suggest different ecological niches and dietary specialization.”
“The diversity of cranial vault morphology among kritosaurs suggests that sexual selection may have driven the evolution of kritosaurs, similar to the crested lambeosaurs and ceratopsids.”
“Although klitosaurins’ bone protuberances are not very sophisticated, klitosaurins may have had sophisticated soft-tissue structures.”
“The function of the Kritosaurus crest is unclear,” the paleontologist said.
“Because it is conspicuous, it probably functioned as a display. In modern birds, skull ornaments are sometimes used in intraspecific combat, for example in hornbills, and the relatively robust crest feathers may have served a similar function.”
“As in lambeosaurids, the elaborate nasal cavity may have also been involved in vocalization.”
Part of a skull Coahuilasaurus lipani comes from the Cerro del Pueblo Formation in Coahuila, Mexico.
“The Cerro del Pueblo Formation harbors a diverse assemblage of dinosaurs, including theropods and ornithischians,” the researchers said.
“Theropods include tyrannosaurs and deinocheirs. Paraxenisaurus normalensis, Ornithomimidae, Caenagnatidae, Dromaeosauridae, and Troodontidae.”
“The ornithischian family includes ankylosaurs, ceratopsids, thescelosaurs, and hadrosaurs.”
According to the team’s analysis, Coahuilasaurus lipani is distinct from the kritosaurs found further north on Laramidia.
It may be related to the kritosaurid hadrosaurids, Gryposaurus monumentensis. This suggests that it is part of a distinct southern kritosaur lineage.
“With specimens from the Naashoibito Formation of the Kirtland Formation in New Mexico, Coahuilasaurus lipani ,”This study shows that kritosaurs survived in the south of Laramidia after local extinction in the north, a pattern also seen in parasaurolophus and lambeosaurines,” the scientists said.
“The southern fauna not only has different species but also different patterns of diversity change compared to the northern Laramidia fauna.”
“Differences in species composition and community structure in different regions of Laramidia mean that further studies on dinosaurs from Mexico and the southwestern United States are needed to understand the evolution of dinosaur diversity in western North America.”
“Southern dinosaur faunas may have been characterized by higher origination rates and lower extinction rates than northern faunas.”
of study Published in the journal on September 1, 2024 Diversity.
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Nicholas R. Longrich others2024. Coahuilasaurus lipania new species of kritosaurine hadrosaurid from the Upper Campanian Cerro del Pueblo Formation, northern Mexico. Diversity 16 (9): 531; doi: 10.3390/d16090531
A rare and lively encounter between a young wombat and an echidna has been caught on camera, delighting conservationists in Australia.
This active behaviour, captured on camera traps, is the work of the endangered northern hairy-nosed wombat (Laciorhinus kleftii) is proving successful.
At their lowest point in the late 1990s, with just 35 remaining in a small reserve in central Queensland, wombats were one of the rarest large mammals on the planet. Today, thanks to hard work, wombats' numbers have grown to around 400. In 2009, relocations began to the fenced Richard Underwood Sanctuary in southern Queensland, where around 15 wombats now live.
Andy Howe Howe of the Australian Wildlife Conservation Society in Newcastle, Australia, was sorting through 100 hours of footage recorded at the sanctuary when two clips caught his eye. The first, from early June, shows a northern hairy-nosed wombat baby, proving that the sanctuary's population has successfully raised young and that the pups are now foraging on their own. The wombats are well-groomed and at a healthy weight, Howe says.
Then, in footage taken a month later, he was seen with a young wombat and a short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatusThe echidna waddles around the frame, seemingly unfazed, while the wombat becomes increasingly agitated and throws himself into the dirt.
Tim Flannery A researcher at the Australian Museum in Sydney says he has never seen an interaction like this in his decades of experience studying mammals: “This is a nervous wombat and a happy echidna,” he says.
Northern hairy-nosed wombat, Richard Underwood Nature Reserve, Queensland, Australia
Brad Ruhe/Australian Wildlife Conservation Council
He says this is typical echidna behaviour, and that the animal's spine makes it difficult and dangerous to attack. For much of the video, the wombat points its tail at the echidna, a defensive posture in the tunnel where it presses the intruder against the roof of its burrow.
Flannery says it's “amazing” to see such natural, wild behaviour from a species so close to extinction. “It's very encouraging to see wombats thriving,” he says. Now that the transplant has proven successful, he suggests new populations be established elsewhere as soon as possible.
Before Europeans arrived, the species was found from northern Victoria through arid New South Wales and into central Queensland, and reestablishment of the species throughout its range would have major environmental benefits, Dr Flannery said.
“They're ecosystem engineers because they dig and burrow into the soil,” he says, “and their burrows provide shelter for other creatures during heat waves, droughts and fires.”
It has been found that Japanese eels attempt to escape from the stomachs of fish that have swallowed them whole, and sometimes succeed in doing so.
A few years ago, Yuba Hasegawa of Nagasaki University discovered that the Japanese eel (AnguillaAn eel (scientific name: Anguilliidae) that had been swallowed by a fish had somehow reappeared in the tank. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the eels had escaped through the fish's gills — 28 of the 54 that had been swallowed whole had managed to escape — but it was unclear how they had managed to do so.
Hasegawa and his team were able to capture this process by injecting a contrast agent into the eels, making them visible under X-rays.Odontobutis obscura), and 12 were able to navigate far enough back up the esophagus to bend their tails and exit the gill slits. Nine of these 12 escaped.
When the eels began to move backwards through the esophagus, in some cases their tails were not fully inside the stomach, but in other cases their entire bodies were inside the stomach and they spun around as if searching for an exit. Five of the 11 eels that were fully inside the stomach were able to place their tails at the entrance to the esophagus and return to the gills.
Two of the 11 took a wrong turn and headed for the intestines. All that didn't escape died within three and a half minutes.
The team now plans to test whether other eels and similarly shaped fish can escape in this way. “At present, the Japanese eel is the only fish species that has been confirmed to be able to escape from the digestive tract of a predator after being caught,” Hasegawa says.
However, other kinds of animals can escape being swallowed whole. For example, aquatic beetles Regimbaltia attenuata You can escape from the frog Crawling out of the anus.
Paleontologists have unearthed the fossils of two different large azhdarchoid pterosaurs. Inabatanin Arabia And previously known species Arambrugiana Philadelphia — Discovered in Upper Cretaceous deposits in Jordan, the fossils have led researchers to hypothesize that not only could the largest pterosaurs fly, but that they may have had a different style of flight.
Inabatanin Arabia (Top) Flying while flapping its wings Arambrugiana Philadelphia (Below) Soaring like a vulture. Image courtesy of Terrill Whitlatch.
Pterosaurs are an extinct group of flying reptiles that existed from the Late Triassic until the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period.
They evolved powered flight about 50 million years before flight feathers appeared in the fossil record, and some achieved wingspans twice that of the largest flying birds (12 metres versus 6 metres).
“Our team was very surprised to find a three-dimensionally preserved pterosaur bone, which is a very rare occurrence,” said University of Michigan paleontologist Kerstin Rosenbach.
“Because pterosaur bones are hollow, they are extremely fragile and, if preserved, are likely to be found flat like a pancake.”
Dr. Rosenbach and his colleagues discovered two azhdarchoid pterosaur specimens in Jordan, one of which corresponds to a giant species. Arambrugiana Philadelphia (wingspan about 10 meters) and the second is a new, smaller species. Inabatanin Arabia (Wingspan approximately 5 meters).
They used high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scans to analyze the internal structure of the wing bones.
“3D preservation is very rare, so we don’t have a lot of information about what the inside of a pterosaur bone looks like, so we wanted to do a CT scan,” Dr Rosenbach said.
“It’s entirely possible that nothing was preserved inside, or that the CT scanner was not sensitive enough to distinguish the fossil bone tissue from the surrounding matrix.”
“But fortunately, what we found was amazing, with exciting internal structures that were not only preserved but could be seen with a CT scanner.”
New specimens Arambrugiana Philadelphia Its wingspan was determined to be 10 metres, and the first details about the reptile’s skeletal structure were revealed.
CT scans revealed that the humerus is hollow inside, with a series of spiral ridges running up and down the bone, similar to the internal structure of a vulture’s wing bones.
The spiral ridges are thought to resist the torsional loads associated with soaring (sustained powered flight that requires flapping wings to launch and maintain).
The Inabutinin Arabian specimen is one of the most complete pterosaurs ever discovered in Afro-Arabia.
CT scans revealed that the structure of its flight bones is completely different from that of Arambourgiania philadelphiae.
The interior of the flight bone was crossed with an arrangement of struts that matched those seen in the wing bones of modern flapping birds.
This indicates that it was adapted to withstand the bending loads associated with flapping flight, and so it is likely that Inabatanin flew in this way, although it does not exclude the possibility that other flight styles may have been used from time to time.
” Inabatanin Arabia “It’s not uncommon, but it’s fun to see,” Dr. Rosenbach said.
” Arambrugiana Philadelphia It was totally unexpected and at first I had no idea what I was looking at.”
“Being able to see the entire 3D model, Arambrugiana PhiladelphiaI was really excited to see the spiral ridges on the humerus.”
The discovery of diverse flight styles among different sized pterosaurs is extremely exciting as it gives clues about how these animals lived.
It also raises intriguing questions, such as to what extent flight style correlates with body size and which flight style is more common among pterosaurs.
“We have very limited information about the internal structure of pterosaur bones over time, so it’s hard to say with any certainty which style of flight emerged first,” Dr Rosenbach said.
“If you look at other groups of flying vertebrates, birds and bats, you’ll find that wing flapping is by far the most common flight behavior.”
“Even soaring and gliding birds need some flapping to take to the air and continue flying.”
“This leads us to suggest that if flapping flight was the default state and was advantageous for a population of pterosaurs in a particular environment, in this case the open ocean, then soaring behaviour probably evolved later.”
a paper The paper on the survey results is Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
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Kirsten L. Rosenbach othersNew pterosaur fossils from the Afro-Arabian Late Cretaceous provide insight into the flying capabilities of large pterosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate PaleontologyPublished online September 5, 2024; doi: 10.1080/02724634.2024.2385068
isEvangelion was released 10 years ago, an eternity in the world of video games. It's also one of the most compelling games of the decade, and sometimes it's not. On the surface, it's a gorgeous online progressive rock space shooter made by Bungie, the creators of the Xbox classic Halo. Gather up with some friends, deploy somewhere in the shimmering landscapes of a future solar system, and shoot people, aliens, and robots to earn better loot.
None of this is unprecedented, and maybe that's the point. You could say that Destiny's touchstones are Halo with its gunplay, World of Warcraft with its persistent online space, and (admittedly, this is a bit odd) the immortal British retailer Marks & Spencer. This last point is especially true because Destiny is a game of fluctuating destiny that seems to fascinate everyone involved in video games, whether they actually play Destiny or not. Just as many in the UK secretly know if M&S is currently trending up or down (there is no middle ground), everyone in the games industry knows if Destiny is doing well or not. Is it doing better than it has in many years? Or is it in a state of decline that is not comparable to where it was two, five, or seven years ago? Destiny is always an uneasy conversation topic for us.
Amazingly, this has been the case from the very beginning. in front The beginning. Fate met with great misfortune. Revealed as a company Long before it was announced as a fictional universe, the game was announced as SKUs and Q1 financial forecasts, not as a fun gunfighting world dreamed up by the best combat designers in the industry. When the first game finally arrived, it was seen as a beautiful epicenter of action surrounded by something that felt somewhat hastily produced. It was an early star where dust and gas hadn't yet fully solidified. Sure, if you had the right shotgun, you'd go into battle and the whole world would sing with you, but the story and lore were scattered across the game's surface as a series of trading cards, as if Homer had unleashed the Iliad on a collection of beer mugs and hidden them across various battlefields.
A great action game… Destiny was shown on a curved screen at E3 in Los Angeles in June 2014. Photo: Michael Nelson/EPA
But here's the thing: people just couldn't stop playing Destiny. From the start, nights spent online with friends couldn't have been more fun: join in, blow up stuff, win stuff, and compare your gains. Leveling up felt like something meaningful here. New loot had real personality. Set pieces unfolded beneath skyboxes so vast and intense they reminded us that, spaceships aside, Bungie's soul has always been deeply romantic.
Part of the game's enduring appeal is a series of striking images: the funereal hulk of the Traveler, an artificial moon, floating in the sky above the world's last city. Claw-like eruptions of Martian rock illuminated by sunlight turned into a barium haze through the airborne dust. But from the beginning, Bungie's games also seeped into the real world: players could view their builds outside the game, millions of raid-party WhatsApp groups sprung up overnight, and websites and YouTube channels were devoted to everything from leveling tips to reconstructing the story of a Frankenstein-style soap opera.
So for the last decade, playing Destiny has meant arguing about the game, getting annoyed and uninstalling it, then reinstalling it and spending the night engrossed in the game again. The existence of conspiracy theories means that the game means something to people. Caves with easy loot The in-game economy nearly collapsed within the first few months. Was this a bug or an intentional design flaw? Raid area with cheese spots A place where players can dish out massive amounts of damage without putting themselves in danger. Is this the sign of an unstable map, or a sign of a savvy developer generating a different kind of buzz?
Inevitably, people were nostalgic for even the Grimoire lore cards by the time Destiny 2 came out in 2017. Since then, there have been ups and downs. Death of a major character Everyone was talking about it The price of the expansion is the samePeople get tired of the drudgery, they think the raids are unfair, they understandably complain about the store, but they also understandably buy Destiny: The Official Cookbook. Complicating things is the fact that Destiny has been steeped in nostalgia from the get-go. Another final point of connection to M&S is that Destiny is an institution.
Few would argue that Destiny is a great action game, and always has been. At its heart is a core of charismatic gunplay, and what radiates outwards from there is an evocative and unforgettable twist of sci-fi, combined with Bungie's long-standing talent for sad, flashy naming conventions. This is the studio that brought us Halo levels “Pillar of Autumn” and “Silent Cartographer.” It's no wonder that the game “Destiny Weapon Name or Roxy Music Deep Cut?” remains a reliable drinking game. (It goes both ways; it's easy to imagine Bungie releasing Sentimental Fool and Mother of Pearl SMGs.)
Striking image…Destiny 2. Photo: Activision
Still, there are fluctuations. The latest expansion was hailed as one of the best in a while, but player numbers haven't increased significantly since then. Over time, Bungie has gone from questions about the cost of cosmetics to serious allegations about its internal culture; the studio has changed owners and recently suffered layoffs. Last week, Destiny 2 Steam player numbers hit all-time low.
Still, we talk about the games that are always in the news (Includes bungeeannounced that it would be publishing a developer blog tonight discussing the future of the game. Many of us still feel nostalgia for a game that was born out of nostalgia. And these two things create a powerful allure. I remember when I first played Destiny 2, long after everyone I knew had cooled off from their obsession with the game. I found a game that kept me entertained for a few minutes, but those minutes could easily turn into hours. I also found a world that felt as if it was covered in blue plaques that told of a painter from long ago who once vacationed here.
After all, Destiny as a game benefits greatly from its dialogue fallbacks. For example, when I first met Devrim Kay, Destiny's gentlemanly sniper, in person, I knew so much about him I could have been his biographer. I felt like I was in the presence of a celebrity, even though he was just another quest giver.
of NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope It has provided astronomers with a detailed new image of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 5668.
In this image of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 5668, the Hubble Space Telescope was used to survey the area surrounding a Type II supernova event called SN 2004G to study the types of stars that end their lives as supernovae. The color image is composed of near-infrared and visible light observations by the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). Two filters were used to sample different wavelengths. The colors are obtained by assigning a different color to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image courtesy of NASA / ESA / Hubble / C. Kilpatrick.
NGC 5668 It is located in the constellation Virgo and is about 90 million light years away from Earth.
This galaxy, also known as IRAS 14309+0440, LEDA 52018, and UGC 9363, Found It was discovered on April 29, 1786 by German-born British astronomer William Herschel.
NGC 5668 belongs to two galaxy groups: the NGC 5638 group and the NGC 5746 group.
“At first glance, NGC 5668 does not appear to be a remarkable galaxy,” the Hubble astronomers said.
“It has a diameter of about 90,000 light-years and is roughly the same size and mass as our own Milky Way galaxy. It faces almost head-on, revealing open spiral arms made up of irregular, cloud-like patches.”
“One striking difference between the Milky Way and NGC 5668 is that new stars are forming 60 percent faster in this galaxy.”
“This confirms a galaxy with swirling clouds and gas flows, and bad weather that creates the perfect conditions for new star formation.”
Astronomers have identified two main drivers of star formation in NGC 5668.
“First, this high-quality Hubble Space Telescope snapshot reveals a central bar,” the researchers said.
“Although it may appear slightly elliptical rather than truly bar-shaped, it is likely to influence the galaxy's star formation rate, similar to the bar-like structure at the centers of many spiral galaxies.”
“Second, a high-velocity hydrogen gas cloud has been tracked moving perpendicularly between the galaxy's disk and the faint, spherical halo that surrounds it.”
“They are produced by the powerful stellar winds of hot, massive stars, which feed gas into new star-forming regions.”
“The elevated star formation rate in NGC 5668 is accompanied by a corresponding abundance of supernova explosions,” the researchers said.
“It has been discovered three times in our galaxy, in 1952, 1954, and 2004.”
Climate change affects our planet and our lives in many ways. Dry the atmosphere To Increase in home runs Climate change accelerates glacial melt with each Major League Baseball season. Greenland Ice Sheet The land ice mass that covers about 80% of Greenland. When glaciers melt, icebergs form, a process called “iceberg formation.” Glacier collapse Recent climate change has increased the rate at which icebergs are flowing from the Greenland Ice Sheet into the North Atlantic.
Scientists have found that in the past, large increases in the rate of glacial collapse have disrupted important ocean current systems in the Atlantic Ocean. Atlantic Meridional Gyre Or as the AMOC, it carries warm water north and cold water south, affecting global temperatures and moving nutrients across the Atlantic Ocean, meaning that disrupting the AMOC could change the climate and destabilize marine ecosystems. Recently, scientists conducted a study to determine whether the current increase in glacier collapse could disrupt the AMOC.
For this study, the researchers developed a method to quantify glacial runoff during past periods of increased glacial collapse in the North Atlantic that disrupted the AMOC. Heinrich Event They began by looking at present-day glaciers in the North Atlantic and the Arctic. As icebergs break up, they deposit sediment. This sediment includes sand and rocks from the land below the ice sheet, as well as the remains of organisms that lived on the ice sheet. When the icebergs melt at sea, the sediment is released and sinks to the ocean floor.
Scientists observed modern glaciers melting and measured the average amount of sediment, by volume, that they released. Using this average, the researchers estimated how much ice was released during past Heinrich events, based on the amount of sediment that was deposited on the floor of the North Atlantic Ocean.
Scientists used this method to estimate the total amount of ice lost during 10 Heinrich events (the last of which) that occurred over the past 140,000 years. Glacial Cycle Previous scientists had determined the duration of Heinrich events, which allowed the researchers to estimate the ice runoff rate during each event. The researchers compared their estimated runoff rates to current ice runoff rates and found that current ice runoff rates are similar to those of previous mid-sized Heinrich events that disrupted the AMOC. However, the scientists who conducted the study also noted that the AMOC is currently stable.
The researchers suggested two factors that could help explain why the current increase in glacial collapse is not disrupting the AMOC as much as it has in the past. First, the researchers think that the AMOC was stronger when the current glacial runoff rate began to increase than it was at the start of past Heinrich events, which may make the current AMOC more resistant to disruptions. Second, each of the 10 Heinrich events the scientists used in their study lasted about 250 years, while the faster glacial collapse seen today may have been due to a slowdown in the early Heinrich events. It began in recent decades They suggested that AMOC collapse could only occur after a longer period of increased glacier calving than has happened previously.
If the rate of glacial calving continues to increase by the time the AMOC collapses, the size of the Greenland Ice Sheet may limit its influence on the AMOC. The researchers noted that if the Greenland Ice Sheet continues to melt at its current rate, the rate of calving will slow before 250 years have passed. The icebergs that caused the Heinrich events in the last glacial cycle broke off from a much larger ice sheet. Laurentide Ice Sheet It no longer exists.
The scientists who conducted the study said that freshwater runoff from the melting Greenland Ice Sheet could also disrupt the AMOC, but its impact would be less severe than ice runoff. However, they noted that freshwater runoff is likely to increase as glacial collapse slows in the coming decades, which could have unpredictable consequences. The researchers suggested that the scientific community should continue their work to model the impacts of a melting Greenland Ice Sheet as accurately as possible, because, in their words, “the fate of the AMOC remains uncertain.”
IImagine a new racing video game. Whatever you imagined, What the Car? is not. While the world of racing games prides itself on cutting edge game engines and perfectly simulated motor engines that make the speedometer feel real and the driving experience more and more detailed and realistic, this is the opposite: this car literally drives around on foot.
Described as “a silly adventure full of races, laughs, and surprises,” What the Car? puts you in the shoes of a car with legs, sprinting and climbing one ridiculous obstacle after another to reach the finish line. “No one on the team owns or even likes cars,” says Tim Garbos, the game's creative director at Copenhagen studio Triband.
“That may seem wrong when you're making a car game, but it allowed us to naively misunderstand a lot of things about cars.”
Not only can this car walk around on two legs, it can also play foosball. It can even chop vegetables. Though it's technically a racing game, it's best thought of as a collection of mindless mini-games. Each of the hundreds of levels has a different challenge to reach the goal, whether that be a paraglider, a football or becoming an accordion to cross a crevasse.
Madcap…what car? Photo: Triband
Naturally, this not-so-racing game isn’t inspired by Forza, Gran Turismo, or even Mario Kart. Instead, the Triband team cites the adventures of The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario 64, with flashes of Katamari Damacy amid the chaos (cars have extra legs and roll around the track like balls). “The ever-changing format of the game is great when it takes inspiration from anything,” Garbos adds.
A version of the game was first released on Apple Arcade last year, where it won a Dice award for best mobile game. The PC version has been enhanced and will continue to receive monthly updates. Another addition is a full level creator, allowing users to build and share their own bizarre worlds. Garbos hopes that the levels will be approached in an appropriately nonsensical style: “People will create totally awful levels and force their friends to play them.”
The studio has previous experience pumping up humor with baseball bat-wielding cult hits “What the Golf?” and “What the Bat?” “As a studio, we’re big on the comedy game, and when we create a joke, we start by setting expectations by giving you a mundane backdrop, and then we subvert those expectations by doing something different,” Garbos explains.
As other successful parody games like Goat Simulator have shown, there’s an art to making something beautiful and silly. So how exactly does Triband strike that balance? “We focus on realism, car fans, and completely ignoring real vehicles while still providing a great overall experience. Sometimes you just need to give your car bigger legs, or make it fly or swim, and we make that happen…” [but] It has to be silly and funny, but it also has to work as a game. It has to be something you want to play for hours. It takes time and commitment.
“The comedy genre is under-represented in video games” … What the Car? Photo: Triband
Games are good at comedy, especially physical comedy. Think Octodad, Gang Beasts, Untitled Goose Game, and any game where characters comically glitch into the scenery. What the Car? joins the recently released Thank Goodness You’re Here! and the upcoming Baby Steps as games actively trying to make us laugh this year.
“I think the genre of comedy is underrated in video games compared to, say, television,” says Gerbos. “We take comedy pretty seriously. If you want to make someone laugh, it has to start with you. If it feels funny or silly, then you’re on the right track… Personally, I love showing this game to people and seeing their eyes light up at the jokes and trying to hide their little laughs. That’s why I make video games.”
We can’t help but wonder what kind of absurdist tri-band treatment we’ll get into next. “We’re just getting started,” Garbos teases. “We’re thinking about making parody games of common, well-known things, like newspapers.”
The alternative relationship dating app has experienced global expansion and nearly doubled its revenue last year, thanks to non-monogamous, queer, and kinky users.
Founded by an entrepreneurial couple in an open relationship, Feeld is “on a mission to elevate the human sexual and relationship experience” from its registered office in Carlisle, Cumbria.
Feeld has surged in popularity due to the increasing interest in non-traditional relationship structures like polyamory. Last year marked its first time filing full accounts with Companies House.
The company’s revenue increased from £20.7 million to £39.5 million, with profits rising from £2.4 million to £5.5 million in 2023.
Most revenue comes from outside the UK, with £33 million in sales from overseas. The app is free to download globally but charges users for full services.
Founded in 2014 by Dimo Trifonov and Ana Kirova, Feeld (formerly 3nder) arose from their openness about their relationship.
Ana Kirova is CEO of Feeld, a company founded by her partner Dimo Trifonov. Photo: Field
Kirova joined the company early on when it faced legal issues with Tinder. She became CEO in 2023 and led a rebranding and tech upgrade to resolve initial glitches.
Company filings show ownership shifts since Kirova’s appointment, with Trifonov transferring shares to her. Previously, Trifonov owned the majority of shares.
Feeld’s growth involves strategic decisions rather than aggressive expansion. The company values member feedback and aims to support their personal journeys.
The company’s innovative approach has set it apart in the dating app industry, reflecting changing trends and member response.
Feeld’s growth story includes overcoming challenges, like a lawsuit from Tinder, to expand its team from eight in 2016 to nearly 50 employees.
Children and teens with pneumonia who receive a visit from a medical clown to help slow their heart rates and promote independence appear to spend less time in hospital.
now, Karin Yaakoby Vienu Researchers from the Carmel Medical Center in Haifa, Israel, and their colleagues specifically studied its effects in children hospitalized with pneumonia (lung inflammation).
The researchers randomly selected 26 children and young people aged 2 to 18 with pneumonia to receive 15-minute visits from a health clown twice a day for two days after their arrival at the center, while another 25 children and young people received similar care but without visits from a clown.
The clowns sang and played music with the participants, encouraging them to eat and drink on their own. “At first they were getting fluids and nutrients through tubes,” says Jacoby Vianeu.
The researchers found that patients who received a clown visit stayed at the center for an average of 44 hours, compared with 70 hours for those who didn't. The results were presented at the European Respiratory Society conference in Vienna, Austria.
Doctors, who didn't know which patients had received Clown Care, decided when to discharge them based on improvements in breathing and heart rate and the ability to eat and drink on their own, the latter indicating they could take antibiotic tablets at home rather than being given drugs intravenously, Yaacobi-Vianeu said.
The clowns likely helped the participants recover through play. It can lower blood pressure,say Kelsey Glover “Play can also boost young people's well-being, mood, energy levels and physical confidence and capability,” say researchers from the University of Cambridge.
Graeber said the researchers should repeat the study in larger groups of children and teens with a variety of conditions at other hospitals.
aAnyone who saw the run that Tom Vickery uploaded to the sports-tracking app Strava on February 18th of last year might have been a little confused. The 30-minute sprint appeared to be taking place in the middle of the Channel, not far from Guernsey, toward the west coast of France. And, oddly enough, the run was in a straight line, as measured by a ruler, and was shown on Vickery’s public profile as a one-inch, unbending orange line within a blue swath of the app’s virtual ocean. Oh, and it was on world-record-breaking pace.
Of course, it probably came as no surprise to anyone who knows Vickery. The 38-year-old triathlon coach from Cambridge was on holiday to Bilbao for a two-day ferry trip, and this fairly fast jog was just one of almost four years of daily runs he had been recording on Strava at the time. Determined not to break the record on board, Vickery got up at 5am and spent his allotted 30 minutes sprinting up and down the deck. As the boat slid through the water, he appeared to be running faster than any long-distance runner in the world.
This is just one example of the lengths some people will go to to maintain a “streak.” A streak is something (actually anything) that continues uninterrupted over a period of time. It’s a form of gamification: the process of adding game-like elements to a task to make it more engaging. Perhaps the most famous “streak holder” is British runner Ron Hill, who ran every day for 52 years and 39 days (or 19,032 consecutive days), even going for a jog the day after breaking his sternum in a car accident in 1993.
Hill, a scientist, used to keep a diary of his runs, but more recently, advances in technology have made it possible to keep track of streaks in a more streamlined and user-friendly way. For example, on Snapchat, the word “streak” is part of the lexicon. A “snap streak” is the number of consecutive days that a user sends “snaps,” either photos or messages, to other users. To maintain a snap streak, a user must send a snap within a 24-hour period or the streak ends.
The helicopter descended into a remote part of the Amazon rainforest, where Brazil’s special forces leaped off and dove into the waters teeming with caimans.
Their mission was to uncover a massive steel structure concealed in the forests along the Boia River in Brazil. An illegal mining dredger was caught in the act of excavating the riverbed for gold.
In the crackdown, authorities found mercury bottles, gold, and a drill bit on board. They also discovered a high-tech Starlink satellite internet receiver, linking the criminal network.
Starlink antennas have become ubiquitous in the Amazon, providing internet connectivity to remote areas where it was once unimaginable.
Brazilian special forces said they had seized a number of Starlink antennas from criminals this year. Photo: Joan Raet/The Guardian
Starlink’s expansion in Brazil has transformed connectivity in remote areas, but it has raised concerns about data privacy and national security.
Brazilian authorities worry about Musk’s influence over Starlink and his erratic behavior, which could jeopardize the country’s reliance on the technology.
The global reliance on Starlink, led by Musk, has sparked debates about the potential risks of a single company dominating the satellite internet market.
A Starlink device discovered by Ibama during an illegal mining operation in a remote area of the Amazon. Photo: AP
Countries like Ukraine have shown the strategic importance of Starlink for national defense against potential threats. However, concerns about over-reliance on Musk’s company have surfaced.
Starlink’s near-monopoly in providing satellite internet services has raised questions about the geopolitical implications of Musk’s control over critical infrastructure.
As the competition in the satellite internet market intensifies, the Musk factor could sway customers’ choices, influencing the future landscape of global connectivity.
Calls for diversifying satellite internet providers and reducing dependence on a single entity like Starlink have gained traction amid growing concerns about data security and political influence.
vinegarFor the past decade or so, Brits looking to meet their soul mate online have relied on two main methods: trying their luck on dating apps, or trying to find the one by friending as many mutual acquaintances as possible on social media.
However, some people have found a third way by using services such as: Goodreads and Strava. They’re using apps to meet the partners they want to spend the rest of their lives with. These couples are turning out to be trendsetters: So-called hobby apps built around activities like running, reading, or watching movies are becoming popular, and not just for romance.
This is all part of a broader movement as people grow tired of the “digital town squares” offered by Twitter/X and other social media platforms. With many abandoning Elon Musk’s social network due to his stance on “free speech” (which some believe “amplifies hate”), competing apps like Bluesky and Threads are seeing a resurgence in user numbers.
While some users have turned to Twitter imitators, others have sought refuge in apps that promise to connect people with common interests. Running app Strava has seen its user base grow by 1.2 trillion users. Growing 20% in a year According to the digital market intelligence company: Sensor Tower. This success led them to add messaging tools to let users keep in touch as well as record their workouts. Ravelry is accessed through a number of third-party apps and has over 9 million users. Goodreads has over 150 million members.
Letterbox is a movie fan’s dream app, where you can check out the latest movies you’ve seen, review and rate them together with other movie fans and famous actors and directors. In March 2020, it had 1.8 million users worldwide, but now Over 14 million users. This summer, Sensor Tower reported that the app had grown its monthly active user base by 55% in a year.
“We think seriously about the tone and tone of everything we do, from community policy to editorial to social media. We want people to experience how we want their experience on Letterboxd to be,” says Gemma Gracewood, the app’s editor-in-chief. “We’re about movies.”
That’s refreshing in a world where politics and culture wars are imposed through algorithms. “Social media users have long turned to niche apps and spaces,” says Jess Maddox, an assistant professor of digital media at the University of Alabama. “Paradoxically, as major platforms like Twitter/X, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram push more algorithmically curated feeds, users may be less exposed to the content they want to see.”
The cozy feel of hobby apps, set up to share passions and pastimes, makes them a calmer place overall than the brusque racism you might encounter if you accidentally tap on X. “It’s a way for people to connect over shared interests,” said social media researcher Dr. Carolina Are at the Digital Citizen Center at Northumbria University. This means that apps can spend less time, effort and money on content moderation and instead focus on improving the overall experience, provided civility remains the number one priority.
“What’s unique about Letterboxd is that it doesn’t have the ‘town square’ that X has. It’s very much a single-channel conversation,” Gracewood says. Comments happen inline. Guardian and observer. This means that performatively reposting content to the main feed and encouraging mass posting is less possible. A similar situation exists on platforms like Goodreads or Strava, where you can communicate and message other users, but you can’t easily publicly denounce them.
Hobby apps are a welcoming place, so people spend a lot of time on them, and they may eventually turn into more of a service than advertised, including finding like-minded people who want to spend some romantic time together.
One reason people are starting to find love on apps that weren’t explicitly designed for that purpose could be that expectations are lowered, making them less sexual. “Dating apps are like dating supermarkets, something you have to do if you want to have any kind of connection,” Are says.
Book recommendation app Goodreads currently has more than 150 million members. Photo: goodreads.com
She points out that while dating apps are trying to shake off their reputation as shallow hookup sites, giant photos of users are still front and center to gauge compatibility. “A lot of people are becoming quite disillusioned with the fact that they’re being judged on their appearance,” she says. “In general, there’s a bit of disillusionment with the dating culture that the platforms foster, because it seems very impersonal. It’s all driven by algorithms, and that doesn’t seem to be serving people very well.”
Recent financial data from Match Group, which operates some of the best-known dating services, including Tinder and Hinge, shows that hobby apps are profiting from dating apps. Match’s stock is now trading at nearly $36 per share, down from a peak of more than $175 per share in October 2021. The company said in a statement. 6% reduction in staff . It was discontinued in July due to a decrease in paying users.
But the decline isn’t limited to the gaming giants: A report by Deutsche Bank analyzing the top 200 dating and social connection apps, “Dating: The Dating Debate – Has Saturation Level Been Reached?”, suggests that downloads worldwide are plateauing.
It also helps that hobby apps feel like a more cohesive, friendly community, and not just because the people are nice. Letterboxd has: A “zero tolerance” approach. Explicit or implicit hate speech, racism, homophobia, white supremacy, transphobia, or any other alienating attitudes.
Gracewood says Letterboxd has fewer than 10 staff members who moderate content and typically doesn’t need to step in often: “I don’t know if we’ve benefited from the shifts in culture and mission of other social media platforms, but from day one, we’ve always cared very much about what it means to build an online community and how to keep that community feeling free and welcoming and nice.”
Whether that’s a lighter approach compared to social media apps, TikTok employs 40,000 content moderators worldwide, compared to Meta is 15,000. Whether that will continue remains to be seen. “It seems like every app starts out unmoderated, and then something bad happens and they get heavily moderated,” Allais said. “So, [hobby apps] It’s going to be a similar trajectory.”
Chris Stokel Walker: The TikTok boom: China’s dynamite app and the race for social media superpowers (Camberley Press, £9.99). Guardian and observerOrder here The Guardian BookshopShipping charges may apply
In the past, intermittent fasting was not a choice due to scarcity of food. People would go hours or days without eating. Today, we have access to food whenever we want. This shift in eating habits has led to questions about the benefits of fasting and its potential reintroduction.
Intermittent fasting usually involves limiting food intake to specific times or days, like eating only for eight hours out of 24 (16:8 diet) or restricting calories for two days out of seven (5:2 diet).
Strong Points
Intermittent fasting can help with weight loss, particularly fat loss, as it reduces overall caloric intake. It also provides structure to eating days and can be flexible and intuitive. Some benefits include decreased hunger, lower levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin, reduced appetite, and improved fat burning.
Fasting may also lower the risk of type 2 diabetes and improve vascular health. Research shows that intermittent fasting is beneficial for cardiometabolic health and may have positive effects on long-term cardiovascular health.
There is evidence to suggest that fasting can protect against issues related to aging, improve autophagy, and potentially benefit brain health and cancer risk, but more research is needed to support these claims.
Cons
Concerns about fasting include potential muscle loss and the lack of long-term studies to support its safety. Some studies suggest that restricting eating to less than eight hours a day could increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, but data collection methods and sample sizes in these studies may be flawed.
There is also a risk of reduced protein intake with intermittent fasting, which could be problematic for some individuals, especially those with a history of eating disorders or health conditions that require regular meals.
Experts recommend ensuring adequate protein intake and incorporating strength training if trying intermittent fasting. It’s important to approach fasting like any other diet, not as a permanent solution, and to pay attention to food choices when breaking the fast.
About our experts
Dr. Jason Fung, Dr. Darryl Gioffre, Brady Holmer, and Drew Price are experts in their fields and have published work related to intermittent fasting, nutrition, and health.
debtOr for a few hours a week, I write for a tech company worth billions of dollars. Joining me are published novelists, budding academics, and other freelance journalists. The workload is flexible, the pay is higher than we’re used to, and there’s no shortage of work. But what we write is never read by anyone outside our companies.
That’s because we’re not writing for humans, we’re writing for AI.
Large-scale language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT have made it possible to automate huge parts of our linguistic lives, from summarizing any amount of text to drafting emails, essays, and even entire novels. These tools have become so good at writing that they have become synonymous with the very idea of artificial intelligence.
But before we risk god-like superintelligence or catastrophic mass unemployment, we first need training. Rather than automating our lives with these fancy chatbots, tech companies are contracting us to help train their models.
The core of the job is writing fictitious responses to questions for a hypothetical chatbot. This is the training data that needs to be fed into the model. Before the “AI” can even try to generate “good” sentences, it needs examples of what “good” sentences look like.
In addition to providing our models with this “gold standard” material, we also help them avoid “hallucinations” (a poetic way of saying lies) by using search engines to give them examples of citing sources – without seeing such texts, the models cannot teach themselves.
Without better language data, these language models simply cannot be improved: their world is our language.
But wait a minute: haven’t these machines learned billions of words and sentences? Why do they need physical scribes like us?
First, the internet is finite. And so is the sum of all the words on every page of every book ever written. So what happens when the last pamphlet, papyrus, and prolegomenon is digitized and the model still isn’t perfect? What happens when there are no more words?
The date for the end of language has already been determined. Researchers Announced in June “If current trends in LLM development continue,” this is expected to happen between 2026 and 2032, at which point “models will be trained on datasets roughly the same size as the available stock of publicly available human text data.”
Focus on the words humanLarge-scale language models do little more than generate prose, and many of them are already publicly available on the Internet. So why not train these models on their output (so-called synthetic data)? The cyborg Internet, jointly created by us and our language machines, could expand infinitely. But no such luck. Training current large-scale language models on their output won’t work. “Learning indiscriminately from data generated by other models leads to ‘model collapse’, a degeneration process in which a model forgets the true underlying data distribution over time,” Ilya Shumailov and colleagues write in the paper. NatureIn other words, they tend to go off the rails and produce nonsense. Giving something its own stench leads to debilitation. Who would have thought?
Shumailov explained that whenever a model is trained on synthetic data, it loses awareness of the long tail of “minority data” (rare words, unusual facts, etc.) that it was originally trained on. The breadth of knowledge is lost and replaced with only the most likely data points. LLM is essentially a sophisticated text prediction machine, so if the original digital data was already biased (mostly English-language, mostly US-centric, full of unreliable forum posts), this bias is only repeated.
When AI-generated synthetic data isn’t enough to improve models, something else is needed. This is especially true for Concerns grow The much-praised model will likely be unable to be improved upon before it becomes useful in practice. Sequoia is AI companies need to close a $500 billion revenue gap by the end of this year to keep investors happy. AI machines may be hungry, but so is the capital to back them.
OpenAI, the trillion-dollar Microsoft protectorate behind ChatGPT, recently signed a licensing agreement with the company. Hundreds of millions of dollars From News Corp Financial Times.
But it’s not just a matter of accumulating original words: these companies need the kind of writing that their models try to emulate, not simply absorb.
This is where human annotators come in handy.
IFritz Lang’s 1927 classic film Big citiesThe ancient Canaanite god Moloch is reincarnated as an insatiable industrial machine: technology that works us, not for us. Factory workers meet its ever-increasing demands by charging at dials and pulling levers. But they cannot keep up. The machines hiss and explode. And we see workers abandon the act of feeding and walk straight into the mouth of Moloch’s furnace.
When I first took on the role of AI annotator, or more precisely, “Senior Data Quality Specialist,” I was very conscious of the irony of my situation. Large language models were supposed to automate the work of writers. The more the models improved through our work, the faster our careers would decline. And I was, feeding our own Moloch.
In fact, if there’s anything that this model accomplishes quite well, it’s the kind of digital copywriting that many freelance writers do to earn a living. Writing an SEO blog about the “Internet of Things” might not require a lot of research, pride, or skill, but it usually pays a lot more than writing poetry.
Working as a writer at an AI company is like being told Dracula is coming to visit and instead of running away you stay home and set the table. But our destroyers are generous, and the pay is big enough to justify the alienation. If our division goes up in smoke, we’ll just go up in smoke.
The workers are held captive by Moloch the machine in Fritz Lang’s 1927 sci-fi classic Metropolis. Photo: UFA/Album/Alamy
Therein lies the ultimate irony: we have a new economic phenomenon that rewards, encourages, and truly values writing. And yet, at the same time, it is seen as an obstacle, a problem to be solved, an inefficiency to be automated. It’s as if we’re being paid to write in sand, to whisper secrets into a block of butter. Even if our words could cause harm, we wouldn’t realize it.
But maybe it’s folly to treasure such mundane technology: After all, how many people are actually worth impacting?
Francois CholetThe author of a best-selling computer science textbook and creator of the Keras training library (which provides the building blocks for researchers to create their own deep learning models), said he estimates that “it’s probably about 20,000 people employed full time” just to create the annotated data to train large-scale language models. Without human input, he says, the model output would be “really terrible.”
The goal of the annotation work I and other researchers are doing is to provide gold-standard examples for models to learn from and imitate. This goes a step beyond the annotation work we’ve done unconsciously so far. If you’ve ever faced a “Captcha” problem that asks you to prove you’re not a robot (e.g., “select all tiles with a picture of a traffic light on them”), you’ve actually just been doing Unpaid labor for machinesHelp teach them to “see.”
As a student, I remember repeating words like “left” and “right” at a laptop for hours on end to help develop self-driving cars. I was paid a few hours’ worth of money for each satisfying utterance, not even close to minimum wage, so I gave up.
The role today is different and a key part of the LLM’s development. Alex Manthey, head of data at Context AI, is one of the people hiring writers to improve the models. She says: observer This practice is “mission-critical” and “requires human intervention to review,” [the model’s output] The human touch that “makes sense to the end user” works: “There’s a reason why every company spends so much time and incredible amounts of money trying to make this happen,” she says.
According to Sholet and Manthey, employment in this field has recently shifted from controversial, low-paid jobs in developing countries to more specialized, higher-paid roles. As models improve their ability to produce text, the quality of training data required also improves, and wages rise accordingly; some remote annotation jobs pay writers more than £30 per hour. Third-party annotation vendors such as Scale AI (valued at $14 billion) are also capitalizing on this shortage of high-quality training data.
A selection of current job adverts for AI annotation roles in the UK involve a variety of tasks, including: “Create responses that will serve as the ‘voice’ of the future AI,” “Provide feedback to help AI models become more useful, accurate, and safe,” “Write clear, concise, factually and grammatically correct responses,” and “Coach the AI model by assessing the quality of AI-generated writing, reviewing the work of peer writing raters, and creating unique responses to prompts.” If chatbots can write like humans, so can we.
isAs Evie was scrolling through X in April, she saw some unwelcome posts in her feed. One was a photo of a visibly skinny person asking if they were skinny enough. Another post wanted to compare how few calories users were consuming in a day.
Debbie, who did not want to give her last name, is 37 and was first diagnosed with bulimia when she was 16. She did not follow either of the accounts behind the posts in the group, which has more than 150,000 members on the social media site.
Out of curiosity, Debbie clicked on the group. “As I scrolled down, I saw a lot of pro-eating disorder messages,” she said. “People asking for opinions about their bodies, people asking for advice on fasting.” A post pinned by an admin urged members to “remember why we’re starving.”
observer Twitter found seven more groups, totaling around 200,000 members, openly sharing content promoting eating disorders. All of the groups were created after Twitter was bought by billionaire Elon Musk in 2022 and rebranded as X.
Eating disorder campaigners said the scale of harmful content showed a serious failure in moderation by X. Councillor Wera Hobhouse, chair of the cross-party parliamentary group on eating disorders, said: “These findings are extremely worrying… X should be held accountable for allowing this harmful content to be promoted on its platform, which puts so many lives at risk.”
The internet has long been a hotbed of content promoting eating disorders (sometimes called “pro-ana”), from message boards to early social media sites like Tumblr and Pinterest, which banned posts promoting eating disorders and self-harm in 2012 following outcry over their prevalence.
Debbie remembers internet message boards in support of Anna, but “I had to search to find them.”
This kind of content is now more accessible than ever before, and critics of social media companies say it is pushed to users by algorithms, resulting in more and sometimes increasingly explicit posts.
Social media companies have come under increasing pressure in recent years to step up safety measures following a series of deaths linked to harmful content.
At an inquest into the death of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who died by suicide in 2017 after viewing suicide and self-harm content, the coroner ruled that online content contributed to her death.
Two years later, in 2019, Mehta-owned Instagram announced it would no longer allow any explicit content depicting self-harm. The Online Safety Act passed last year requires tech companies to protect children from harmful content, including advertising eating disorders, and will impose heavy fines on violators.
Baroness Parminter, who sits on the cross-party group, said the Online Safety Act was a “reasonable start” but failed to protect adults. “The obligations on social media providers only cover content that children are likely to see – and of course eating disorders don’t stop when you turn 18,” she said.
In the user policy, X We do not allow content that encourages or promotes self-harmwhich explicitly includes eating disorders. Users can report violations of X’s policies and posts, as well as use filters in the timeline to report that they are “not interested” in the content being served.
But concerns about a lack of moderation have grown since Musk took over the site: Just weeks later, in November 2022, he fired thousands of staff, including moderators.
Musk also brought changes to X that meant users would see more content from accounts they didn’t follow. The platform introduced a “For You” feed, which became the default timeline.
in Last year’s blog postAccording to the company, about 50% of the content that appears in this feed comes from accounts that the user doesn’t yet follow.
In 2021, Twitter launched “Communities” as an answer to Facebook Groups. Communities have become more prominent since Musk became CEO. In May, Twitter announced that “Your timeline will now show recommendations for communities you might enjoy.”
In January, Meta, a rival to X, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said it would continue to allow the sharing of content documenting struggles with eating disorders but would no longer encourage it and make it harder to find. While Meta began directing users searching for eating disorder groups to safety resources, X does not show any warnings when users are looking for such communities.
Debbie said she found X’s harmful content filtering and reporting tools ineffective, and shared screenshots of the group’s posts with the posters. observer Even after she reported it and flagged it as not relevant, the post continued to appear in her feed.
Mental health activist Hannah Whitfield deleted all of her social media accounts in 2020 to aid in her recovery from an eating disorder. She said she then returned to some sites, including X, where “thinspiration” posts glorifying unhealthy weight loss appeared in her For You feed. [eating-disorder content] The downside of X was that it was a lot more extreme and radical. Obviously it was a lot less moderated and I felt it was a lot easier to find something very explicit.”
Eating disorder support groups stress that social media does not cause eating disorders, and that people who post pro-eating disorder content are often unwell and do not mean any harm, but social media can lead people who are already struggling with eating disorders down a dark path.
The authors, who analysed two million eating disorder posts on X, said the platform offers people with illnesses a “sense of belonging”, but that unmoderated communities can become “toxic echo chambers that normalise extreme behaviour”.
Paige Rivers was first diagnosed with anorexia when she was 10. Now 23 and training to be a nurse, she came across content about eating disorders on XFeed.
Rivers said he found the X setting, which allows users to block certain hashtags or phrases, was easily circumvented.
“People started using weird hashtags like anorexia, which is a combination of numbers and letters, and that got through,” she said.
Tom Quinn, Director of External Relations Eating disorder charity Beat“The fact that these so-called ‘pro-ana’ groups are allowed to proliferate demonstrates an extremely worrying lack of moderation on platforms like X,” it said.
For those in recovery, like Debbie, social media held the promise of support.
But Debbie feels powerless to limit it, and her constant exposure to provocative content is backfireing: “It discourages me from using social media, and it’s really sad because I struggle to find people in a similar situation or who can give me advice about what I’m going through,” she says.
Company X did not respond to a request for comment.
ohOn August 24, when the Russian tech tycoon’s private jet landed at Le Bourget airport northeast of Paris, officers from the French judicial police were waiting for him. He was duly arrested and taken in for questioning. Four days later, he was indicted on 12 charges, including distribution of child exploitation material and complicity in drug trafficking, banned from leaving France, placed under “judicial supervision,” and required to report to the gendarmes twice a week until further notice.
The tycoon in question, Pavel Durov, is a tech entrepreneur who collects nationalities the way he collects airline miles. His Nationality Durov is French and was generously donated by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2021. Durov also appears to be a fitness fanatic with a strict daily routine: “After a recorded eight hours of sleep, Financial Times According to the report, “Without exception, he starts his days with 200 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and an ice bath. He doesn’t drink alcohol, smoke, eat sugar or meat, and takes time to meditate.” When he’s not engaged in these demanding activities, he’s also found time to be a sperm donor, father over 100 children, and rival Elon Musk as a free speech extremist.
Durov’s media profiles recall Churchill’s famous description of Russia as “an enigma wrapped in an enigma.” Durov left Russia after the Facebook clone he co-founded with his brother Nikolai in 2006 brought him into conflict with the Kremlin. He eventually emigrated to the United Arab Emirates, where he launched Telegram, a private social media platform that is as mysterious as its founder.
Telegram has around 950 million regular users. It is also a messaging system like WhatsApp, but allows groups up to 200,000 people, whereas WhatsApp has a limit of 1,024, so in that sense it is also a broadcasting system like X. One-to-one communication is only end-to-end encrypted if the user selects the “Secret Chat” option, but since many internet users do not change the default settings, in effect, According to one security expert“The vast majority of Telegram one-to-one conversations, and literally all group chats, are likely viewable on Telegram’s servers.”
Given that, it’s puzzling why there are so many bad actors on the platform. After all, rats generally hate sunlight. One critic says:“Telegram is the closest thing to a widespread dark web. Nearly a billion ordinary people are in contact with criminals, hackers, terrorists and child abusers. Despite the lack of technical security and privacy, the platform is a honeypot for people operating in the shadows.” And the reason they stay may be because Durov doesn’t believe in content moderation. In fact, he sometimes boasts about how lean he is running his operation. Like Musk, he doesn’t believe in expensive moderation teams. And it is believed that one of the reasons France prosecuted him is the way his company refused to cooperate with law enforcement agencies investigating criminal activity on the platform.
Telegram’s finances are also shrouded in mystery. Financial Times A detailed look at the company’s 2023 business plan reveals a loss of $173 million for that year. The company’s business model is vague, consisting of basic advertising, subscriptions, and (wait for it!) Toncoin cryptocurrency. There was talk of an IPO before Durov’s arrest, but that now seems like a pipe dream.
But all this is just noise obscuring the landmark importance of Durov’s arrest in a broader context. For the past 30 years, the democratic world has been gloomy about two challenges posed by technology and its corporate-controlled world. The first is the immunity given to tech tycoons by Article 230 of the Constitution. The Communications Decency Act of 1996,This absolved them from responsibility for the content displayed on their ,platform.,The second concern was the conflict between local laws and ,global technology that transcends borders.
Now, just as Durov’s plane landed in Le Bourget, a U.S. district court judge Landmark ruling This signals that the free ride given to companies by Section 230 may be coming to an end. French law officials have also signaled to tech moguls that while they may think they rule the world, France controls its own airspace. That’s why Musk might have to think twice about flying over Europe in the future. Long live France!
What I’m Reading
Hold that thought Those who think think A lovely, quirky essay by Joseph Epstein. London Review of Books On the art of difficult thinking.
Authority read The dangers of state powerA transcript of a wonderful interview that Yasha Maunk conducted with the late, great anthropologist James C. Scott.
Do you have an opinion on any issue raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of 250 words or less for consideration for publication, please email it to observer.letters@observer.co.uk
From the early days of robot creation, researchers have been dealing with the “uncanny valley” phenomenon, where something resembles a human but falls short of being completely realistic. A recent breakthrough involves attaching human skin to robots, creating a more lifelike appearance.
The team of researchers from the University of Tokyo, Harvard University, and the International Neurointelligence Research Center have successfully created lifelike skin for robots using live human skin cells, as detailed in a study published in the journal Cell Report Physical Sciences.
Lead author Michio Kawai explained that the skin is created by culturing skin cells from excess tissue with collagen tissue, which is then solidified around the robot using a perforated anchor structure.
Initially, they experimented with attaching skin using tiny hooks, but this caused tears. Instead, they developed a perforated anchor structure that mimics the functionality of real skin, creating a more natural appearance.
To ensure durability and flexibility, holes were drilled in the robot, collagen gel was applied, and skin was attached on top. This method aims to create robots that can self-repair surface damage and adapt to a wide range of tasks.
While the skin lacks blood vessels and must be kept moist to prevent drying out, future research aims to create pathways for nutrients and moisture within the skin tissue. Challenges such as maintaining sterile conditions during development must also be addressed.
In the quest for human-like robots, the team aims to replicate anatomical structures like glands, pores, blood vessels, fat, and nerves to achieve the perfect skin resemblance. As soft robotics technology advances, the potential applications of skin-covered robots expand to various fields.
While still in the demonstration phase for research purposes, this technology could eventually impact areas like skin aging, cosmetics, surgery, and training for surgeons. Despite the current limitations, advancements in robotic skin signal a promising future.
About our experts
Michio Kawai: A PhD student in bioengineering at Harvard University, focusing on research in Cell Report Physical Sciences, Helyon, and Case.
Shoji Takeuchi: Professor of Biohybrid Systems at the University of Tokyo, known for research in Science Robotics, Natural Chemistry, and Nature Communications.
Archaeologists have discovered a 2.7-kilometer (1.7-mile) long Roman defensive wall and moat in the southern Italian region of Calabria that was originally built by Roman general Marcus Licinius Crassus to contain Spartacus, a Thracian gladiator and leader of a slave revolt, and his forces.
A 2,070-year-old Roman wall in the Dossone della Meria Forest in south-central Calabria, Italy. Image courtesy of the University of Kentucky.
Spartacus He was a Thracian gladiator who became one of the most famous leaders of a major slave revolt against the Roman Republic known as the Third Servile War (73-71 BC).
Born around 103 BC in what is now Bulgaria, he initially served in the Roman army before being captured and sold into slavery.
In 73 BC, Spartacus and about 70 fellow gladiators Run away They escaped from the gladiator training school in Capua and took refuge on Mount Vesuvius, where they were soon joined by other fugitive slaves.
Spartacus proved to be a skilled leader and tactician, defeating the Roman armies multiple times. Military expansion to an estimated 70,000 slaves and others.
He was not the only leader of the rebellion: two other fugitive gladiators, Crixus and Oenomaus, formed the remaining two factions of the Slave Triumvirate.
This rebellion posed a great threat to Rome, and the Senate sent several legions to put it down.
Despite initial success, Spartacus and his forces were eventually cornered by the Roman general Marcus Licinius Crassus.
In 71 BC, Spartacus' forces were defeated in a final battle in Lucania and he was killed, although his body was never found.
Although the Spartacus rebellion was not intended to be a social revolution, it has served as an inspiration to many throughout history as a symbol of resistance against oppression.
“We believe that Spartacus attacked the newly discovered wall to escape a trap set by Crassus,” said archaeologist Paolo Visona of the University of Kentucky.
The Dossone della Meria forest in south-central Calabria, Italy, is home to 2.7 km of ancient stone walls and earthworks.
Archaeologists also unearthed numerous broken iron weapons, including sword hilts, large curved blades, spear tips, spearheads and other metal fragments.
“The discovery was made possible thanks to a tip-off from local environmental groups who knew the wall existed but had no idea what it was,” Prof Visonagh said.
“We surveyed the walls and trenches using ground-penetrating radar, LIDAR, magnetic measurements and soil core sampling.”
Wilmore and Williams were present to assist with the detachment of Starliner from the space station.
“We’re cheering for you. You’re going to be fine,” Williams communicated to mission controllers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston before the capsule separated. “Bring us back to Earth. Best of luck.”
Starliner’s journey back will mark the end of a turbulent few months for Boeing and NASA, whose test flights were meant to show that the spacecraft could reliably transport astronauts to low Earth orbit and pave the way for NASA to approve Boeing for regular flights to the space station.
However, the issues with the thrusters are the latest setback for Boeing’s Starliner program, which is already more than $1.5 billion over budget and years behind schedule even before its first launch. An initial uncrewed test flight that NASA required before Boeing’s spacecraft could carry astronauts also failed, leading the company to try again in 2022.
NASA officials stated earlier this week that they are collaborating with Boeing to enhance Starliner’s thrusters, and further analysis will be conducted once the spacecraft returns and engineers evaluate its performance.
To prepare for a potential thruster malfunction as Starliner embarks on its return journey, flight controllers adjusted the capsule’s usual undocking process: After separating from the space station, Starliner would automatically move away from the station in case of any issues.
Preliminary data showed that the thrusters successfully completed all 12 scheduled burns during the retreat, according to NASA.
Several hours later, at 11:17 pm EST, Starliner’s engines will execute a 59-second “de-orbit burn,” decelerating the spacecraft and initiating its reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. As it nears the landing location in New Mexico, parachutes will be deployed to slow the capsule, with airbags beneath the spacecraft deployed to cushion the landing.
For Boeing, a successful return of the Starliner spacecraft will be mixed feelings: If all goes well, it could demonstrate that NASA astronauts could safely ride back on the spacecraft, although NASA’s senior leadership unanimously opted for SpaceX to handle the return flight to reduce the risk of further setbacks.
Boeing designed the Starliner spacecraft as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which began in 2011 to support private spacecraft in place of NASA’s retired space shuttle fleet. Competitor SpaceX is developing its Crew Dragon spacecraft under the same program, which has been conducting regular round-trip missions to the space station since 2020.
Britain’s competition watchdog has accused Google of anti-competitive behavior in the market for buying and selling advertising on websites, following similar investigations in the US and EU.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had found that Google had “abused its dominant position” in online advertising, to the detriment of thousands of UK publishers and advertisers.
The CMA said that while the majority of publishers and advertisers use Google’s advertising technology services to bid for and sell advertising space, Google is preventing its rivals from offering a competitive alternative.
Regulators are focusing on Google’s role in three areas: owning two tools for buying ad space, running an advertising platform that allows publishers to manage their ad space online, and managing AdX, an ad exchange that brings together advertisers and publishers in a way that matches buyers and sellers in the stock market.
“The CMA is concerned that Google is actively using its dominance in this sector to favor its own services,” the watchdog said. “Google is putting competitors at a disadvantage and preventing them from competing on a level playing field to offer publishers and advertisers better, more competitive services that will help them grow their businesses.”
In its interim findings published on Friday, the CMA found that Google abused its dominant market position by using its own buying tools and inventory tools for publishers to bolster its own ad trading position and protect it from competition since 2015. The CMA also alleged that Google blocked rival ad inventory tools (called publisher ad servers) from effectively competing with its own product, DoubleClick for Publishers.
The CMA will consider Google’s response before making a final decision.
Regulators can impose fines of up to 10% of a company’s global turnover depending on the severity of the violations, and can also issue legally binding directions to end the violations.
In a statement, Google said the CMA’s arguments were “flawed”.
“Our ad tech tools help websites and apps fund their content and help businesses of all sizes effectively reach new customers,” said Dan Taylor, Google’s vice president of global advertising. “At the heart of this lawsuit is a misinterpretation of the ad tech sector. We disagree with the CMA’s position and will respond accordingly.”
The U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission are also investigating Google’s ad tech activities: In June 2023, EU regulators said Google may have to sell parts of its ad tech business to address concerns, while the U.S. Department of Justice is set to accuse Google in court on Monday of monopolizing the ad tech market.
Last month, a federal court ruled that Google was illegally monopolizing the internet search market, a decision that could lead to a partial breakup of the company’s business.
Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, has announced plans to enhance moderation on the messaging app and remove features that have been misused for illegal activities. Durov made these changes following his recent arrest by French authorities.
In a post on X, he stated that the goal is to shift Telegram’s moderation from criticism to praise. The changes include replacing the “People Nearby” feature with “Nearby Businesses” and disabling media uploads to Telegraph, the app’s blogging tool.
Furthermore, Durov shared that Telegram has removed references to private chats being protected and that moderation requests for those chats will not be processed. He emphasized that despite these changes, no alterations have been made to the app’s source code.
Durov acknowledged that a minority of Telegram’s 1 billion users have engaged in criminal activities, and these actions have negatively impacted the platform’s reputation. He also mentioned that Telegram now has 10 million paid subscribers.
Following his arrest, Durov addressed the situation on his Telegram channel and criticized the allegations that the app fosters anarchy. He highlighted the surprising nature of the French investigation and noted that authorities had access to communication channels with Telegram’s representatives.
Despite being released on bail, Durov faces challenges from Moscow officials who claim that France is pressuring him to disclose the app’s encryption keys to Western intelligence agencies. Russian diplomats offered assistance to Durov, but he declined their support.
The arrest has strained relations between Russia and France, with President Putin calling the actions against Durov “selective” and expressing limited contact with the Telegram founder over the years.
There is plenty of geological evidence that the Moon had ancient volcanic activity, but it is unclear how long that activity lasted. Magma eruptions create volcanic glass, which has been found in lunar samples before. Dr. Li Qiuli of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and colleagues analyzed about 3,000 glass beads taken from lunar soil samples collected by China's Chang'e-5 mission. They identified three glass beads as being of volcanic origin based on their texture, chemical composition, and sulfur isotopes. Uranium-lead dating of these volcanic beads determined that they formed about 123 million years ago.
Volcanic eruptions that produced glass beads on the Moon. Image courtesy of T. Zhang & Y. Wang.
Samples collected by the Apollo, Luna and Chang'e-5 missions have so far shown that the Moon experienced widespread basaltic volcanic activity between about 4.4 billion and 2 billion years ago.
The findings suggest that, at least on small, localized scales, volcanic activity continued for much longer than previously thought.
“Dating of lunar volcanic basalt samples returned to Earth by the Apollo and Luna missions or delivered to Earth as lunar meteorites reveals that lunar basaltic volcanism continued at least 2.9 to 2.8 billion years ago,” the researchers said.
“However, analysis of lunar samples returned by the Chang'e-5 mission demonstrates that basaltic volcanism persisted at least 2 billion years ago.”
“Remote sensing observations suggest that there may have been more recent volcanic activity on the Moon during the Late Copernican epoch (less than 800 million years ago).”
“However, none of these remote sensing observations provide precise dates for possible volcanic activity.”
“Furthermore, the proposed Late Copernican Ocean basalt outbursts cover only a limited area, and no samples are available.”
“Eruptions of gas-rich magma can produce magma fountains that produce sub-millimeter glass beads.”
“These beads could be deposited over a wide area and then transported farther across the lunar surface by impacts.”
“Volcanic glass may be a trace component in existing samples.”
In their study, Dr Li and his co-authors sorted 3,000 tiny glass beads retrieved from lunar samples collected by Chang'e-5, examining the beads' chemical composition, physical texture, and sulfur isotopes to distinguish between volcanic glass and glass produced by meteorite impacts.
They identified three of the beads as being of volcanic origin and used radiometric dating to determine that the beads were formed 123 million years ago.
Volcanic beads are rich in potassium, phosphorus, and rare earth elements, known as KREEP elements, which can produce radioactive heat.
Localized heating by KREEP elements could melt rocks in the Moon's mantle, causing small amounts of magma to erupt to the surface.
“The volcanic glass beads contained large amounts of rare earth elements and thorium, which may indicate that recent volcanic activity is associated with local enrichment of heat-producing elements in the mantle source of magma,” the researchers said.
Wang Biwen others2024. Samples brought back indicate volcanic activity on the moon 120 million years ago. Science 385 (6713); doi: 1077-1080; doi: 10.1126/science.adk6635
New research suggests that volcanoes on the Moon were active during the time of the dinosaurs on Earth, but much more recently than previously believed.
Initial analysis of samples collected by the Chang’e-5 lunar mission suggested that volcanic activity ceased approximately 2 billion years ago, updating an earlier evaluation that the Moon had been devoid of active volcanoes for about 4 billion years.
Researchers examined around 3,000 lunar glass beads that may have been produced by volcanic eruptions or meteorite impacts, identifying three of them as of volcanic origin based on their texture and chemical makeup.
The research team expressed being “surprised and excited” by their “unexpected” discoveries.
The presence of relatively recent lunar volcanism “implies that a small celestial body like the Moon may have retained enough internal heat to support activity until very late,” co-authors Professor Li Qili and Associate Professor He Yuyang from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, shared in an email.
However, it remains “unclear” why the Moon has remained volcanically active for such a long period, as per the study.
Planetary volcanologist Qian Yuqi from the University of Hong Kong commented that identifying such a young volcano has “major” implications for the Moon’s development.
“Where did they originate from?” Qian, who was not part of the research, inquired in an email. “This could lead to future missions to search for them.”
The Chang’e-5 lunar mission marked the first return of lunar samples since the U.S. Apollo program in the 1970s and the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 mission. In June, China achieved a historic feat by retrieving rocks from the far side of the Moon through its Chang’e-6 mission.
Pavel Durov, founder of the messaging app Telegram, currently under investigation in France, criticized French authorities for not addressing their concerns with the company directly and described his arrest as “misguided.”
In his first comments since being detained last month, Durov refuted claims that the app was an “anarchist haven.”
The billionaire, originally from Russia, expressed surprise over the investigation as French authorities had access to a hotline he helped establish and could contact Telegram’s EU representative anytime.
“Countries typically address grievances with internet services by filing a lawsuit against the service directly,” he stated.
“Resorting to outdated laws to prosecute a CEO for actions carried out by third parties on a platform he oversees is an ineffective approach.”
While acknowledging that Telegram is not without flaws, Durov denied any misuse associated with the app.
“Claims that Telegram serves as an anarchist stronghold are baseless,” he noted. “We eliminate numerous harmful posts and channels on a daily basis.”
Durov, now a citizen of France, was detained in the country last month as part of an investigation into criminal charges related to child sexual abuse images, drug trafficking, and fraudulent activities associated with the app.
He was accused by French judicial authorities of facilitating criminal conduct through the messaging app but was released on a €5 million bail under the conditions of reporting to the police twice a week and remaining in France.
The allegations against Durov include collusion in disseminating inappropriate images of children and multiple other offenses on messaging platforms.
His sudden arrest has raised concerns about legal accountability for Telegram, a widely used app with approximately a billion users, and sparked discussions on freedom of speech and governmental restrictions.
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