Stunning new images taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope show spiral galaxy UGC 3478 in great detail.
This Hubble Space Telescope image shows UGC 3478, a spiral galaxy located 128 million light-years away in the constellation Camelopardalis. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / M. Koss / A. Barth.
3478 posts It is located in the constellation Camelopardalis and is approximately 128 million light years away from Earth.
Also known as LEDA 19228, INTREF 304, IRAS 06280+6342, Seyfert galaxyA type of galaxy centered around an active galactic nucleus (AGN).
“If you look at the long, star-filled spiral arms and the dark threads of dust that crisscross them, your eye may be drawn to a bright spot at the center of UGC 3478,” the Hubble astronomers said.
“This spot is the core of a galaxy, and there's something very special about it: it's a growing massive black hole, what astronomers call an AGN.”
“As with other active galaxies, the brightness seen here hides a supermassive black hole at the galaxy's centre,” the researchers added.
“A disk of gas spirals into this black hole, and as the material collides and heats up, it emits extremely intense radiation.”
“The spectrum of this radiation includes hard X-ray emission, which makes it clearly distinguishable from stars in the galaxy.”
“Despite the strong brightness of the compact central region, the surrounding galactic disk is still clearly visible, making it a Seyfert galaxy.”
“Astronomers know that many active galaxies are far away from Earth because their nuclei are so bright that they stand out next to other fainter galaxies.”
“Located 128 million light-years away, UGC 3478 is Earth's very own neighbour,” the astronomers said.
Two filters were used to sample different wavelengths, and color was generated by assigning a different hue to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.
“The data used to create this image come from Hubble Space Telescope surveys of nearby powerful AGNs discovered in such relatively high-energy X-rays and are expected to help us understand how galaxies interact with their central supermassive black holes,” the researchers said.
noOstalgia is a strange thing, it can appear out of nowhere like a TIE fighter and hit you in the gut, leaving you confused and in pain. An hour into Star Wars Outlaws, I never expected to be emotionally overwhelmed by a simple quest to buy spare parts from a group of Jawas. But then I got in my speeder and rode out into the Dune Sea, and I saw their vehicles, black and huge, in the low sun. And I saw those little guys running around repairing droids. And I was transported back to when I was 12 years old, watching Star Wars on VHS in the living room, eating Monster Munchies my mom bought me, repeating lines with Luke. Ubisoft’s epic adventure is full of moments like this, and they saved my life many times.
All Pre-release talk You hear a lot about this not being a typical Ubisoft open world game, but Star Wars Outlaws is a lot like a typical Ubisoft open world game. You play as Kay Vess, a city thief who has been living quietly off her cunning until a lucrative heist goes wrong and she steals a spaceship and crashes it on the remote moon of Tshara. From here, she must survive while working for and at odds with the many criminal organizations in the galaxy, building a reputation as a skilled mercenary and thief. From here, it’s a familiar storyline. You’re soon given the main story quest, dozens of optional minor tasks, and the opportunity to take on various smuggler and rogue side jobs, usually traveling somewhere to get or blow things up. It’s like Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, or Watch Dogs. It’s Star Wars: Busy Work Strikes Back.
Star Wars Outlaws cleverly weaves in Star Wars culture. Photo: Ubisoft
But there’s also an important difference: here, you’ll be aided by your beloved pet Nix, who you can dispatch to distract guards, fetch useful objects, or crawl through tight spaces to unlock doors. Nix is adorable, and adds emotional depth and danger to Cay’s lonely life. But more importantly, the game expertly weaves Star Wars lore into the mix, with the buildings you invade being beautifully recreated Imperial research facilities, destroyed Republic starships, and vile Hutt fortresses, all filled with intricate visual and narrative details drawn from the original film trilogy. Everywhere you go, fans will find a treat: familiar droids, bits of history, and beloved spaceships. The streets of Mos Eisley are patrolled by Stormtroopers in their monstrous vehicles. Dewback.
The planets you visit aren’t huge explorable territories. Most have big cities and a few square miles of open terrain. But that’s ok. There’s plenty to discover, from Hutt treasure vaults in the valleys of Tatooine to pirate camps in the swampy forests of Akiva. Sadly, the speeder bikes handle badly and are like trying to traverse an alien planet on a beat-up old Honda 125. Equally unwieldy are the space flight sections, which are reminiscent of No Man’s Sky. The planets’ orbits are densely populated with abandoned spaceships, TIEs and pirate fighters that you can loot. You can rescue ships in distress or perform cargo pickup missions, but the flight simulation never quite matches up to the classic LucasArts space combat titles.
So much to discover…Star Wars Outlaws. Photo: Ubisoft
Most of the aboveground quests involve a combination of parkour (climbing pipes and cliffs painted yellow, although you can turn off the paint) and stealth, sneaking through steel corridors, passing walls of flashing buttons and beeping computer displays, destroying alarm panels, and silently taking down enemies. It’s basic, and at times it comes closer to Spider-Man’s Mary Jane missions, which can be frustratingly slow compared to Dishonored’s systemic complexity. As you progress, however, you’ll encounter different experts who can unlock new skills that allow you to move more quietly or use cool stealth toys like smoke grenades, making infiltration much more fun. You also have a very configurable laser gun with different modes that can be unlocked. You can temporarily pick up other weapons, but I like that Kay sticks to a Han Solo-style pistol. You can’t beat a good blaster by your side.
At its core, it’s a cheesy story that’s grown from a myth of street kids making it big into something a bit more interesting. As Kay recruits a raiding party that includes the laser-scarred battle droid ND-5, he forges friendships that both elevate and contrast the heist plan. Clashes with the Rebels also call into question the ethics of their war and their methods. There are great moments where it’s clear the designers took inspiration not only from Star Wars itself, but also from directors George Lucas reveres, John Ford and Akira Kurosawa.
Some may be nostalgic for the legends of the Jedi or EA’s Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor titles. Outlaws is definitely for Solo fans, not Skywalker fans, but it does feature some really compelling new characters. It gives most fans of the movies what they want, and they’ll get to geek out with things like the EG-6 power droid and the X-34 landspeeder. Chadra Fan Sitting at the bar in the cantina 😅 I’ve been wandering around for hours looking for this item and have rarely been disappointed.
If this Was Compared to Assassin’s Creed or Far Cry titles, this one falls into the so-so category: reasonably fun, a little frustrating at times, and chock-full of overused tropes of the open-world genre, but the Star Wars license grabs the game by the Corellian trousers time and time again, dragging it into thrilling territory. For the better part of the 40 or so hours I played, I felt like a 12-year-old again, feeling a little confused and giddy, but also blissfully familiar, enjoying every moment.
The number of planets in our solar system used to be limited to only eight, excluding Pluto. These include Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, often remembered by the phrase “My cultured mother served us nachos.” However, with the discovery of exoplanets since 1992, the list has expanded dramatically. These exoplanets, such as PSR B1257+12 b and 51 Pegasus b, have added to the existing planets, making it challenging for students to remember them all.
Scientists have observed a pattern among exoplanets concerning their masses, distances from their stars, compositions, and other factors. Interestingly, there are very few planets with masses similar to Earth and Jupiter orbiting very close to their stars, with less than 5% of Earth’s distance from the Sun.
Research indicates that the scarcity of what they call “Hot Neptunes” might be due to the evolution of large planets. As gas giants grow, they either become comparable in size to Jupiter or lose their outer gas layers, leaving behind a rocky core like Earth’s size. Furthermore, astronomers have recently discovered new exoplanets, TOI-2374 b and TOI-3071 b, in what they refer to as Neptune’s desert.
These exoplanets stand out due to their proximity to their stars, with TOI-2374 b having a mass 56 times that of Earth and TOI-3071 b being 68 times the Earth’s mass. Despite their extreme surface temperatures, the exoplanets have not evaporated, possibly due to their high metal contents.
The observations of these exoplanets provide valuable insights for future research and exploration, potentially shedding light on unexplored phenomena in Neptune’s desert.
IThe start of term is fast approaching. Parents are starting to worry about packed lunches, uniforms, and textbooks. School leavers heading to university are wondering what welcome week will be like for new students. And some professors, especially in the humanities, are anxiously wondering how to handle students who are already more adept at Large Language Models (LLMs) than they are.
They have good reason to be worried. Ian Bogost, a professor of film and media, said: and He studied Computer Science at Washington University in St. Louis. it is“If the first year of AI College ended with a sense of disappointment, the situation has now descended into absurdity. Teachers struggle to continue teaching while wondering whether they are grading students or computers. Meanwhile, the arms race in AI cheating and detection continues unabated.”
As expected, the arms race is already intensifying. The Wall Street Journal Recently reported “OpenAI has a way to reliably detect if someone is using ChatGPT to write an essay or research paper, but the company has not disclosed it, despite widespread concerns that students are using artificial intelligence to cheat.” This refusal has infuriated a sector of academia that imagining admirably that there must be a technological solution to this “cheating” problem. Apparently they have not read the Association for Computing Machinery's report on “cheating”. Statement of principles for developing generative AI content detection systemsstates that “reliably detecting the output of a generative AI system without an embedded watermark is beyond the current state of the art and is unlikely to change within any foreseeable timeframe.” Digital watermarks are useful, but they can also cause problems.
The LLM is a particularly pressing problem for the humanities because the essay is a critical pedagogical tool in teaching students how to research, think, and write. Perhaps more importantly, the essay also plays a central role in grading. Unfortunately, the LLM threatens to make this venerable pedagogy unviable. And there is no technological solution in sight.
The good news is that the problem is not insurmountable if educators in these fields are willing to rethink and adapt their teaching methods to fit new realities. Alternative pedagogies are available. But it will require two changes of thinking, if not a change of heart.
First, law graduates, like the well-known psychologist from Berkeley, Alison Gopnik says They are “cultural technologies”, just like writing, printing, libraries, internet searches, etc. In other words, they are tools used by humans. AugmentIt's not an exchange.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, the importance of writing needs to be reinstated in students' minds. processI think E.M. Forster once said that there are two kinds of writers: those who know their ideas and write them, and those who find their ideas by trying to write. The majority of humanity belongs to the latter. That's why the process of writing is so good for the intellect. Writing teaches you the skills to come up with a coherent line of argument, select relevant evidence, find useful sources and inspiration, and most importantly, express yourself in readable, clear prose. For many, that's not easy or natural. That's why students turn to ChatGPT even when they're asked to write 500 words to introduce themselves to their classmates.
Josh Blake, an American scholar, Writes intelligently about our relationship with AI Rather than trying to “integrate” writing into the classroom, I believe it is worth making the value of writing as an intellectual activity fully clear to students. you If you think about it, naturally they would be interested in outsourcing the labor to law students. And if writing (or any other job) is really just about the deliverables, why not? If the means to an end aren't important, why not outsource it?
Ultimately, the problems that LLMs pose to academia can be solved, but it will require new thinking and different approaches to teaching and learning in some areas. The bigger problem is the slow pace at which universities move. I know this from experience. In October 1995, the American scholar Eli Noam published a very insightful article: “The bleak future of electronics and universities” – in ScienceBetween 1998 and 2001, I asked every vice-chancellor and senior university leader I met in the UK what they thought about this.
Still, things have improved since then: at least now everyone knows about ChatGPT.
TRussian-born tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov founded wildly popular social networks and cryptocurrencies, amassed a multi-billion dollar fortune, and found himself at odds with authorities in Russia and around the world.
The man, who is just a few months away from his 40th birthday and has been nicknamed “Russia’s Zuckerberg” after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, has now been arrested in France after being detained at a Paris airport this weekend.
The St. Petersburg native rose to fame in Russia in his 20s when he founded VKontakte (VK), a social network that catered to the needs of Russian-speaking users and surpassed Facebook across the former Soviet Union.
After disputes with Russian authorities and an ownership battle, he sold VKontakte and founded a new messaging service called Telegram, which quickly became popular but also became controversial after being criticized for its lack of control over extremist content.
As this drama raged, Durov remained a mercurial and at times enigmatic figure, rarely giving interviews and limiting himself to the occasional cryptic statement on Telegram.
A self-described libertarian, Durov has promoted internet secrecy and message encryption.
He has steadfastly refused to allow moderation of messages on Telegram, where users can post videos, photos, and comments to “channels” that anyone can follow.
Durov, 39, had an arrest warrant out for him in France for allegedly conducting a wide range of criminal activities on Telegram, including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, and organized crime, including promoting terrorism and fraud.
The investigation has been entrusted to the French national police’s cyber unit and the national anti-fraud office. The suspect was still in police custody on Sunday, according to two sources familiar with the case. He has not been charged with any crime.
In 2006, Durov, a graduate of St. Petersburg University, founded VK, which captivated users despite its mysterious founder.
In an act that epitomized his unpredictable behavior, Durov in 2012 hurled large banknotes at passersby from VK’s headquarters on the roof of a historic bookstore on Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg.
While in a bathroom in Paris, Rob Minnick realized he needed help. He had flown 3,700 miles to explore the French capital, but kept disappearing every 10 to 15 minutes.
“People probably thought I had a severe stomach issue,” he recalled of his February 2022 trip. However, it wasn’t his stomach that was the problem – Minnick had developed a gambling addiction.
He found himself constantly searching for quick wins on his phone, dabbling in sports betting, slot-style games, blackjack, and roulette.
After returning home to New Jersey, attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings, and abstaining from gambling for eight months, Minnick relapsed in November 2022. This led to him spending 12 hours in a casino, resulting in six months of debt repayment.
At 23 years old, broke, and in desperate need of assistance, Minnick surrendered control of his bank accounts to his family and returned to GA meetings, a common path for gambling addicts. However, he ultimately discovered a different route to recovery.
Just four months after his last bet, while in a drive-thru at Dunkin’ Donuts, Minnick began sharing his insights on gambling odds through TikTok videos under the username rob_odaat.
By narrating his struggles with addiction and discussing the risks of gambling, Minnick hopes to provide a positive message on the issue and hold individuals accountable through both anonymous meetings and online posts.
Despite the surge in gambling popularity in the US, Minnick believes more people are becoming problem gamblers. He acknowledges that the prevalence of gambling addiction discussions falls into two categories, with many influencers promoting gambling predictions and advice.
Minnick posted questions on TikTok as a warning sign of gambling addiction. He feels outnumbered against production companies and influencers glorifying gambling victories and believes mainstream celebrities should speak out about their gambling struggles.
He draws parallels between the opioid epidemic and responsible gambling messaging, stating that the focus should be on the industry rather than individual gamblers. While he acknowledges the efforts of those promoting responsible gambling, he highlights the need for targeted support for at-risk gamblers.
Minnick believes that responsible gambling is important but should not solely benefit the industry and should focus on reaching and aiding individuals at risk of gambling problems.
A team of paleontologists led by Southern Methodist University has discovered more than 260 dinosaur footprints from the Early Cretaceous period in Brazil and Cameroon, marking a place where land dinosaurs were last able to travel freely between South America and Africa millions of years before the two regions split apart.
Theropod dinosaur footprints discovered in the Souza Basin in northeastern Brazil. Image credit: Ismar de Souza Carvalho/SMU.
Africa and South America began to separate about 140 million years ago, causing fissures in the Earth's crust called rifts to form along pre-existing weaknesses.
As the crustal plates beneath South America and Africa moved apart, magma from the Earth's mantle rose to the surface, forming new oceanic crust as the continents moved away from each other.
And eventually the South Atlantic Ocean filled the gap between these two continents.
Evidence of some of these major events was evident between the two sites, where paleontologists from Southern Methodist University discovered footprints of three-toed theropod, sauropod and ornithischian dinosaurs dating back 120 million years. Louis Jacobs and his colleagues.
“We determined that, in terms of age, the prints are similar,” Dr Jacobs said.
“From a geological and plate tectonic point of view, they are similar. In terms of shape, they are almost identical.”
Theropod dinosaur footprints discovered in the Kum Basin in northern Cameroon. Image by Ismar de Souza Carvalho/SMU.
The researchers found the footprints in the Borborema region of northeastern Brazil and the Kum Basin in northern Cameroon, more than 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) apart.
“Dinosaurs left their mark on a single supercontinent called Gondwana, which separated from Pangaea 120 million years ago,” Dr Jacobs said.
“One of the newest and narrowest geological connections between Africa and South America was an elbow in northeastern Brazil that borders the present-day coast of Cameroon along the Gulf of Guinea.”
“Because the two continents were contiguous along that narrow stretch, animals on either side of the connection could potentially migrate across it.”
“Before the continental connection between Africa and South America was severed, rivers flowed and lakes formed in their drainage basins,” he said.
“The plants provided food for herbivores, supporting the food chain. Muddy deposits left in rivers and lakes contain dinosaur footprints, including those of carnivores, providing evidence that these river valleys may have provided special migration routes for life to cross the continents 120 million years ago.”
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This article is based on a press release provided by Southern Methodist University.
Mushrooms have become a popular health trend, making their way into coffee, supplements, and even beer. Dyson recently unveiled their potential use for taming frizzy hair by utilizing chitosan, a fungus found in oyster mushrooms often used in skincare products.
This innovative ingredient, chitosan, is the key component of Dyson’s new styling cream and serum, both priced at £50 for 100ml and claimed to reduce frizz by up to 50%. It provides a delicate yet strong hold, enabling natural movement while keeping the hair in place.
Dyson’s engineers conducted thorough testing to determine the ideal chitosan percentage for long-lasting flexible hold. The products are packed with the power of up to eight oyster mushrooms, offering a unique approach compared to traditional polymer-based hair products.
James Dyson, the company’s chief engineer, explained that their complex polymers create flexible bonds that enhance the hold, movement, and shine of the hair, setting them apart from competitors. Dyson has a history of successful innovations, including bagless vacuums and bladeless fans, and is now venturing into the beauty market with products like the “supersonic” hair dryer.
While Dyson leads the way in harnessing the benefits of fungi, other companies are also exploring the use of fungal ingredients in various products. The growing popularity of mushrooms has prompted consumer advocacy groups to investigate the true impact and benefits of this trend in the beauty and health industries.
Though mushroom products have potential benefits, consumer advocates warn that there is not enough evidence to support their effectiveness or health benefits, cautioning consumers against assuming their advantages without thorough research.
Do you remember the days when pneumatic tubes were used for fast delivery of packages, mail, and important documents? Despite being touted as the future of delivery technology in shows like Futurama and Star Trek, pneumatic tubes started to disappear with the rise of the Internet, online purchasing, and improved communication methods.
Surprisingly, pneumatic tubes are now making a high-tech comeback, primarily in hospitals where they are used for quick, hygienic, and safe transportation of samples and sensitive information within large buildings.
How did the pneumatic tube come about?
The idea of pneumatic tubes initially included plans for a mass transit system where people would travel through tubes at high speeds using jets of air. While this idea didn’t fully materialize, some unique uses of pneumatic tubes included sending messages across tables in a Berlin bar and transporting various items like money, parts, and even fish in different industries.
Why are they returning?
Even though pneumatic tubes fell out of use in many areas, hospitals have continued to utilize them for efficient internal transfers. The modern version of pneumatic tube systems is highly automated, allowing for quick deliveries of samples and medicines within hospital premises.
Aside from hospitals, pneumatic tubes have found applications in waste disposal systems, such as the one on Roosevelt Island in New York, where these tubes whisk away trash at high speeds, eliminating the need for trucks and crews for garbage collection.
Overall, the pneumatic tubing market is expected to grow in the coming years, with valuations increasing and projects being built worldwide in various industries like dairy farms, cannabis dispensaries, and more.
It’s fascinating to see how technology that originated in the 1850s is making a comeback in the modern world.
As we age, our cognitive abilities, such as memory, language, and attention, tend to decline, and scientists have yet to find a way to prevent this decline.
However, there are steps you can take to slow down this decline, and recent scientific studies suggest that owning a pet could be one of them.
For instance, in a 2022 study conducted by US researchers, they examined the cognitive abilities of 1,369 older individuals covered by Medicare health insurance over a six-year period.
About half of the participants owned pets, and the researchers observed that those who owned pets experienced a slower decline in cognitive abilities compared to non-pet owners.
Furthermore, within the pet-owning group, those who had pets for a longer period performed better on the cognitive tests.
The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) has been tracking the aging process in people over 50 for over 25 years, helping scientists explore the positive effects pets have on the brain.
According to survey results released last year, owning a pet has been linked to slowing down cognitive decline, particularly in individuals who live alone.
Living alone can contribute to a faster decline in cognitive function and a higher risk of dementia, but having a pet appears to help mitigate these risks.
While there is still much to learn about brain health and aging, owning a pet could be a practical approach to maintaining mental sharpness as we grow older.
This article addresses the question posed by George Grainger from Truro: “Can owning a pet really slow down cognitive decline?”
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A warning from Britain’s largest mobile phone operator advises parents against giving smartphones to primary school children. EE recommends supplying children under 11 with old-fashioned or “dumb” mobile phones that only have calling and texting capabilities.
EE suggests using non-smart devices for children under 11 to limit access to social media and inappropriate content, such as feature phones with basic features.
This advice from EE is believed to be the first of its kind from a UK mobile operator and comes as parents face pressure to buy mobile phones for their children as the new school year begins.
Statistics show that by the age of 11, nine out of ten children own a mobile phone, and 60% of 8 to 12-year-olds have social media profiles despite age restrictions on social media platforms. Ofcom reports.
Ofcom’s findings also reveal that three in five secondary school students have faced potentially upsetting online interactions.
Calls for a ban on smartphones for under-16s and restrictions on mobile phone use in schools have been made by education councillors due to the negative effects of excessive screen time on children’s health.
EE also recommends that smartphone users aged 11 to 13 enable parental controls, use family sharing apps, and restrict access to social media.
For children aged 13 to 16, EE’s guidelines state that smartphones are suitable but parental controls should be used to manage and limit access to inappropriate sites, content, and platforms.
Carolyn Bunting, the chief executive of child safety group Internet Matters, acknowledges that parents want to make decisions regarding their children’s technology use but also value guidance to assist them.
The saying goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” But that’s not true. Criticism and rejection It produces brain activity that is indistinguishable from actual pain. Essentially, insults cause pain.
Insult is a complex concept. Has been studied for a long timeIt turns out that the impact of an insult depends not only on who gives it but also on who receives it.
Thus, when it comes to simple insults (insults that have no social or historical significance), the “target” has a great deal of control over the outcome.
And there are plenty of scientifically-recognized ways to successfully defuse an insult or reverse its effects.
One is to attribute category membership to the insulter, making him or her appear as a lower-status, more vulnerable to ridicule.
Someone says, “Your hair is weird,” and you respond, “OK, grandma, calm down,” and you put them in the “old, unfashionable, out of date” category, making them look even worse, especially if they’re a guy in his 20s and there’s no way they could be your grandma.
Some people recommend finding something the insulter says about themselves and highlighting it.
They say, “I don’t know why. [your attractive partner] If they ask you, “Shall I explain it to you? In crayons?”, they mean to insult you, but their response comes across as an admission that they are easily confused.
And then there is co-constructed critique, which takes the insult and builds on it, which de-fans the insult.
“You’re fat!” they say. You say, “I hope so, I’ve spent enough money to get here.”
There are countless other counter-attacks, but they all revolve around a central theme of not empowering the insulter, not elevating the insulter’s status, and maintaining control of the narrative and the interaction.
This article is a response to a question emailed to me by Archie Fox: “What’s the best way to respond to an insult?”
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NASA announced on Saturday that SpaceX will bring home the two astronauts who have been stranded on the International Space Station since early June due to issues with Boeing’s spacecraft. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will return to Earth aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft instead of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. This decision follows months of uncertainty within the space agency regarding the safe return of the crew members on a mission initially planned to last eight days.
The problems with the Starliner spacecraft have posed a significant setback for Boeing’s space program, which has been struggling to keep up with SpaceX. The Starliner program was already over budget and behind schedule before the launch of Wilmore and Williams in June.
Top NASA officials, led by Administrator Bill Nelson, held a formal review in Houston and based their decision on the results of tests conducted in orbit and on the ground. The announcement to choose SpaceX for the astronauts’ return was made during a press conference at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
Although the return plans have been finalized, Wilmore and Williams will remain on the space station for approximately six more months before coming back in February. NASA revealed that two seats on SpaceX’s next launch, Crew 9, will be left empty to accommodate the astronauts on their return journey.
The Crew 9 mission is scheduled to launch on September 24 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Meanwhile, the troubled Starliner spacecraft will return to Earth without its crew.
circleWhen Donald Trump posted a series of AI-generated images that falsely portrayed Taylor Swift and her fans as supporters of his presidential campaign, he inadvertently endorsed the efforts of an opaque non-profit organization aiming to fund prominent right-wing media figures and with a track record of disseminating misinformation.
Among the modified images shared by Trump on Truth Social were digitally altered pictures of young women sporting “Swifties for Trump” shirts, created by the John Milton Freedom Foundation. This Texas-based non-profit, established last year, claims to advocate for press freedom while also seeking to “empower independent journalists” and “fortify the pillars of our democracy.”
President Trump posts AI imitation of Taylor Swift and her fans Photo: Nick Robbins Early/Truth Social
Screenshot of @amuse’s “Swifties for Trump” tweet. Photo: Nick Robbins Early/Truth Social/X
The foundation’s operations seem to involve sharing clickbait content on X and collecting substantial donations, with plans for a “fellowship program” chaired by a high school student that intends to grant $100,000 to prominent Twitter figures like Glenn Greenwald, Andy Ngo, and Lara Logan. Despite inquiries into the foundation’s activities and fellowship program through tax records, investor documents, and social media posts, the John Milton Freedom Foundation did not offer any comment.
Having spent months endorsing conservative media figures and echoing Elon Musk’s allegations of free speech suppression from the political left, one of the foundation’s messages eventually reached President Trump and his massive following.
Experts caution about the potential dangers of generative AI in creating deceptive content that could impact election integrity. The proliferation of AI-generated content, including portrayals of Trump, Kamala Harris, and other politicians, has increased since Musk’s xAI introduced the unregulated Grok image generator. The John Milton Freedom Foundation is just one among many groups flooding social media with AI-generated content.
Niche nonprofit’s AI junk reaches President Trump
Amid the spread of AI images on X, the conservative @amuse account shared an AI-generated tweet from Swift fans with its over 300,000 followers. The post was tagged as “Satire,” marked with “Sponsored by the John Milton Freedom Foundation.” Trump then reposted screenshots of these tweets on Truth Social.
The @amuse account, managed by Alexander Muse, enjoys a broad reach with approximately 390,000 followers and frequent daily postings. Muse, indicated as a consultant in the Milton Foundation’s investor prospectus and a writer of right-wing commentary on Substack, has numerous ties to the @amuse account. The AI content includes depictions like Trump vs. Darth Vader and sexualized images of Harris, with the prominent watermark “Sponsored by: John Milton Freedom Foundation.”
aArtificial intelligence (AI) will soon be coming to iPhones in a move that Apple says will completely change how people use the devices. The iPhone maker’s AI tools, branded “Apple Intelligence”, will include an enhanced voice assistant, Siri, in partnership with ChatGPT owner OpenAI.
Apple isn’t the first smartphone maker to adopt AI: the technology is already available in phones like Google’s latest Pixel and Samsung’s Galaxy series.
But the sheer volume of data required for AI raises concerns about data privacy. Apple has built its reputation on privacy. Its advertisements state: Privacy. That’s the iPhone. – so this is an area where the company claims to be different.
What is Apple Intelligence and when is it available?
Apple Intelligence is the iPhone maker’s collective name for its AI features, including the ChatGPT-4o integration that will arrive in the iOS 18 software upgrade.
The first version of iOS 18 will debut alongside Apple’s iPhone 16 models in September, while the AI features will arrive later in the iOS 18.1 update scheduled for mid-to-late October.
The first iOS 18.1 Apple Intelligence features available in the beta include new writing tools, suggested replies in the Messages app, email summaries, transcription of phone calls, and more.
Other features coming later this year or in early 2025 include Image Playground, which lets you create your own animated images within the app, and custom emojis called Genmoji. Meanwhile, long-awaited AI enhancements to Apple’s chatbot, Siri, include ChatGPT integration, richer language understanding, and more. Deeper integration Within individual apps, Siri will be able to look at your calendar, photos and messages and improve responses to texts — for example, if you ask when your mom’s flight is going to land, Siri will make an inference based on recent messages and emails, Apple said.
Apple Intelligence is set to roll out globally, but regulatory concerns are expected to mean significant delays in the EU and China.
Because AI requires powerful hardware, the feature won’t be compatible with older devices: Apple says that to access all the features, you’ll need an iPhone 15 or later, or an Apple device with an M1 or M2 chip.
How will it change the way you use your iPhone?
The feature is being rolled out gradually, so you won’t see any dramatic changes right away. But with Apple Intelligence enabled, you’ll notice your interactions become more personalized and your tasks get done faster. For example, using the summary tool to write emails on the go can help. Call recording and transcription “After you’ve asked for permission, of course.”It can make everyday tasks easier and more enjoyable to perform, says Adam Biddlecombe, co-founder of AI newsletter Mindstream.
Similar to ChatGPT, Apple’s intelligent assistant will develop the ability to provide contextual responses, i.e. remember the threads of previous Siri conversations. On the privacy front, a new visual indicator around the Siri icon will let you know if Siri is listening.
But it’s worth noting that, like any shiny new technology, Apple’s AI may have some hiccups at launch. AI models need data to work, and while the technology is improving, even Apple’s CEO Tim Cook admits he’s “not 100% sure” Apple’s minds don’t hallucinate“I’m confident it’s going to be very high quality,” he said in a recent interview, “but to be honest with you, I’m nowhere near 100 percent. I would never say I’m 100 percent.”
So unless you have full confidence in the chatbot’s accuracy, we recommend double-checking the airline’s website to see when your mom’s flight will land.
How is ChatGPT on iPhone different from using the ChatGTP app?
Apple uses ChatGPT as a backup to perform functions it can’t control itself: Users ask Siri questions, but when Apple’s chatbot can’t answer more complex requests, it hands the baton over to ChatGPT.
The same thing Creating text and creating imagesWhile Apple Intelligence offers these features, and ChatGPT can write text and create images from scratch, Apple still isn’t that good at them.
Camden Woolven, head of the AI group at consulting firm GRC International Group, said the main difference between the app and ChatGPT on the iPhone is how it handles data: “When you use ChatGPT directly, your queries go directly to OpenAI’s servers. There’s no middleman.”
But when using Siri’s ChatGPT integration, Apple acts as a “privacy-focused intermediary,” he says.
“Siri will attempt to fulfill your request directly on your device, but if it can’t, it will send some data to Apple servers in an encrypted and anonymized form,” he explains.
If both your device and Apple’s servers can’t process the request, Siri will contact ChatGPT, “but even in that case, the request still goes to Apple first, where it’s anonymized and encrypted before being sent to OpenAI,” Woollven says. “This means that when you use Siri, your data gets an extra layer of privacy protection that you don’t get when using ChatGPT directly.”
Users can access the GPT-4o-powered Siri for free without creating an account, and ChatGPT subscribers can connect their account to access paid features, including larger message limits and access to enhanced features like a new voice mode that lets you communicate with ChatGPT over real-time video.
Are my conversations tracked or stored anywhere? If so, by whom?
Apple says that there are built-in privacy protections for users who access ChatGPT, and most of the processing is done on-device, so your data never leaves your iPhone.
IP addresses are hidden, OpenAI does not store your requests, and users who choose to connect their accounts are subject to ChatGPT’s data usage policy.
For more complex queries that require the cloud, Apple says it anonymizes and encrypts the data end-to-end before sending it to its servers or to ChatGPT. “This means that neither Apple nor even OpenAI can see the contents of your request, only the encrypted and anonymized version,” Woollven said.
But even anonymized data can still be linked to you if it’s specific enough, Woolven warns: “So while Apple isn’t directly storing your conversations in a way that can be linked to you, there is still a small risk that very specific queries could potentially be linked to you.”
More broadly, all Apple Intelligence requests that need to be processed off-device are sent to the company’s private cloud. Private Cloud Computing claims to protect your data from external sources.
Apple says it will be transparent about when it uses your data, providing a detailed on-device report called the Apple Intelligence Report that shows how your Siri requests were processed, so you can see for yourself what data was used and where it was sent.
But AI needs a lot of information to function, and to perform these functions, Apple will need access to more of your data: “Apple will be able to read your messages, monitor your calendar, track your maps and location, record your calls, view your photos, and understand other personal information,” Moore said.
I’m not sure about this, can I opt out?
Yes, you must turn on Apple Intelligence in Settings, so even if you’re concerned about data privacy or have doubts about the accuracy or usefulness of these features, you’re under no obligation to use them.
Two rows of rundown, dirt-smothered caravan parks line either side of the road near the motorway that winds into Bristol’s city center. Rats dart between water-filled concrete sluices and piles of rubbish-strewn vegetation. Drug users stumble out of a nearby underpass as trucks roar overhead.
It’s a dreary camp where around 30 Brazilian delivery drivers for big companies like Deliveroo and Uber Eats are forced to scrape by to make ends meet.
Celia Campos, 45, has been living in a caravan next to the lock for a year. “We left Brazil to look for a better place,” she says in rapid Portuguese. “But most of us don’t achieve our dreams. We come back in a worse state than when we left.”
Delivery drivers claim their income is not keeping up with rising prices, making it extremely difficult to make a living from delivering food.
The national minimum wage is £11.44 an hour, but food delivery companies like Deliveroo and Uber Eats do not formally employ their drivers – they are gig economy workers who are paid per delivery, meaning they can earn much less than the minimum wage.
Campos says she works long hours for both companies, working 333 hours in July and earning the equivalent of £6.27 an hour. Her pay records show she was paid around £1.20 for some Uber Eats deliveries. “We spend as much time as we can on the streets. I work from 8am until I’m tired, usually until midnight,” she says. “Delivery work is not good anymore. You have to be a slave to make enough money.”
She cannot afford Bristol’s soaring rents, which have risen faster than anywhere else in the country and have resulted in an increase in the number of people living in their cars in the West Country city.
Harsh living conditions, long hours and low wages have led to mental health issues in the camps. “I had depression for a year. It was awful,” Campos said. “I don’t want anyone to go through that. If you just work, work, work, work and you have no life… that’s what causes depression.”
Deliveroo, which recently survived a seven-year legal battle over greater rights for gig economy delivery workers, posted its first profit this month and reported a net profit of £1.3m for the first half of 2024.
Uber, which provides taxi and food delivery services, said it expects its pre-tax profits in the UK to rise to £32 million in 2022 from £5 million in 2021, with the delivery arm of its UK business generating revenue of £700 million.
The Labour government promised a new employment rights bill that would ban zero-hours contracts and provide sick pay from day one, but plans to introduce a single status for all employees – which would give gig economy workers the same rights as employed staff – have been replaced with a promise to consult on a simpler employment framework.
Some Labour MPs have raised concerns about Deliveroo’s relationship with the party after the company sponsored a series of Labour events, and its chief executive Will Thew was invited to a drinks party hosted by Keir Starmer last month. Shu appears in the video It was recorded at the event and shared on the PM’s official X account.
Another of the three women living in the caravan is preparing to work for Uber Eats. Lorena, 28, has been living in the caravan for a year and a half. She says she works 12-hour days and earns £600 a week, which works out to £7.14 an hour. “When I got here it wasn’t so bad but now I feel like a dehumanised person,” she says.
Riders say they get little support from the platforms they log into every day, so they look out for one another. They protect their mopeds, fix each other’s punctures, raise money for injured or sick workers. One person likens the road community to a labor union or “syndicate,” while another says Favela – A working-class slum in Brazil.
Some still feel vulnerable to street violence: Lorena fears that anti-immigrant protesters will burn down their house. “We feel threatened,” she says.
Her neighbour, Lucas, 25, is staying in a rundown caravan, its window seams covered with black duct tape and undersides covered with a tarpaulin, his double bed taking up most of the living space, just five metres by two metres.
The wall above the small camping stove is covered in black mold, making it dangerous to use in an enclosed space. “There is no comfort here. [in the caravan]”I just have a bed to sleep in and that’s it. Sometimes I lose motivation,” he says.
On the other side of the road, another rider prepares to head out on his moped. Freitas, 32, is a qualified pharmacist in Brazil but delivers takeaways in the UK, earning an average of £3.43 per delivery, according to figures from his Uber Eats app. “I studied for five years. I don’t want to tell my family what’s going on here,” he says.
He desperately wants to move because his caravan has no electricity, no heating and no place to cook. When it rains, the windows leak into his bed. “It’s hard to live like this. At night you have to wrap yourself up in a blanket,” he explains. “Many of the people who stay here develop mental problems because they live in a small box.”
Heather Mack, deputy leader of Bristol city council, said: “Most of us strive to treat others how we would like to be treated but shamefully this is not the case for companies like Deliveroo and Uber Eats in our city. People who work for a living should be able to live a life that provides the essentials we all need – safety, hygiene and food.”
Mack also called on the government to end “cruel and hostile environment” policies to give immigrants a path to legal work.
The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which led an unsuccessful legal campaign to secure employment rights for delivery drivers, said the Bristol camp was “emblematic of the mass misery that the gig economy is producing”. Maritza Castillo Calle, vice-chairman of IWGB, accused delivery companies of slashing driver pay to boost profits. “We should not be mistaken in thinking that Deliveroo’s first-ever profit last week is a direct result of workers facing unprecedented hardship,” she said.
Deliveroo said it was “very concerned” that delivery drivers were living in unsuitable conditions and would contact Bristol City Council. A spokesman added: “Deliveroo offers protections to its delivery drivers, including the flexible working they want, attractive income opportunities, free insurance, sickness cover, financial support for delivery drivers who become new parents and a range of training opportunities.”
Uber said Uber Eats offers thousands of delivery workers flexible ways to earn money. “When delivery workers work with us, they have a range of protections, including insurance for their journey, and we regularly work with them to see how we can improve their experience.”
Back in Bristol, Campos gets on his scooter. He’s exhausted after a long night’s shift, but he says he has to go back to work. “If you’re only getting paid £1, £2 or £3 per delivery, you have to make a lot of deliveries. The owners of these companies don’t think about us, the couriers who make their money, they only think about themselves.”
IIf you’re considering trading up to an electric vehicle but think it’s too costly, think again. Used Tesla Model 3 or Kia e-Niros, capable of 250-300 miles on a single charge, can now be purchased for just £14,000.
Last year, prices for used electric vehicles dropped significantly, making previously unattainable models now accessible to many families.
In fact, Autotrader reported that EVs are now almost as affordable as petrol cars, with the average price of a three- to five-year-old EV in July being £18,964, compared to £18,076 for a petrol car of the same model year.
Ground-breaking ultra-efficient models from three to four years ago are now available on the second-hand market at much more affordable prices, despite initially costing between £40,000 and £50,000 new.
According to David Smith of Cleveleys Electric Vehicles, there are some incredible deals available, with cars offering nearly the same driving range as new models, proven reliability, and warranties still intact, all at a fraction of the price.
One EV specialist highly recommends the Kia e-Niro, especially with its 64kWh battery. Photo: Sue Thatcher/Alamy
Smith also recommended the Kia e-Niro with its 64kWh battery for families under £15,000, citing its efficiency, range, and reliability.
Another model to consider is the MG5, which has proven to be extremely reliable according to Cleveleys Electric Vehicles.
Smith mentioned that longer-range EVs are not as risky as perceived, with many cars maintaining their mileage even after extensive use.
Buying a used, fuel-efficient EV eliminates the issues that new electric vehicles may face, making them a practical choice for many buyers.
For those looking to purchase, there are several affordable options available, like the Kia e-Niro and Tesla Model 3, both offering long-distance capabilities at competitive prices.
Charging at home is much cheaper than using public charging points, making EVs even more cost-effective in the long run.
The Tesla Model 3 has proven to be capable of long distance driving. Photo: Taina Sohlman/Alamy
Consider the warranties, charging options, and overall cost before making a decision on purchasing a used EV.
Charging at home is much cheaper than using a public charging point. Photo: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian
Consider the charging infrastructure, insurance costs, and warranty coverage when buying a used EV to ensure a wise investment.
The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is facing increasing challenges due to wildfires and their aftermaths, making sections of the trail hazardous and leading to sudden road closures. Long-distance hikers are experiencing significant environmental transformations as wildfires ravage the area, while rural communities near the trail are stepping up to assist hikers during wildfire emergencies.
According to Riley, wildfires are becoming more frequent and unpredictable, affecting a larger number of trails, users, and communities. The PCT, which traverses diverse terrains like the Mojave Desert, Sierra Nevada Mountains, and Cascade Mountains, attracts thousands of long-distance hikers and hundreds of thousands of day hikers annually.
However, the combination of global warming-induced extreme temperatures and decades of aggressive fire suppression has led to intense wildfire seasons altering the landscape along the PCT. Climate change effects are noticeable along the trail, with local weather scientist John O’Brien remarking, “This is an extended tour of climate history.”
Trail crews on the Pacific Crest Trail pass through burned areas of the Eagle Creek Fire in the Columbia River Gorge near Portland, Oregon, in 2018.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian via The Associated Press
Apart from fire risks, climate change is intensifying water scarcity along the trail and affecting wildlife populations. Glacial retreat in higher elevations is exposing more slippery rock, while river levels are peaking earlier in the season, leading to hazardous crossings.
Hikers like Karen Altergott have faced extreme weather conditions, from heavy late-season snowfall to intense heat waves, prompting concerns about the impact on health. Altergott emphasized the need for preparedness and flexibility when dealing with changing trail conditions.
Karen Altergott.Courtesy of Karen Altergott
The PCT community is coming together to tackle these challenges, with the Pacific Crest Trail Association releasing a smartphone app to help hikers navigate wildfire closures. Local “trail angels” are also stepping up to provide aid, transport, and support to stranded hikers during emergencies.
Becky Wade and her partner Jeff McCabe.Courtesy of Becky Wade
Becky Wade and Jeff McCabe, who have experienced evacuations due to wildfires, exemplify the importance of community support. Their efforts in assisting hikers around fire-affected areas highlight the crucial role of local residents in ensuring hiker safety along the PCT.
Although wildfires and their aftermath present challenges, hikers like Will Geolis attest to the enduring value of the PCT experience. While adapting to changing trail conditions is necessary, the trail’s community and scenic beauty remain priceless.
Joris aptly sums up the essence of the PCT experience, emphasizing that it’s the people and the journey that truly matter, rather than completing a continuous hike along the trail.
The Royal Society is facing pressure to remove technology mogul Elon Musk from its membership due to concerns about his behavior.
As reported by The Guardian, Musk, known for owning the social media platform X, was elected to the British Academy of Sciences in 2018. Some view him as a contemporary innovator comparable to Brunel for his contributions to the aerospace and electric vehicle sectors.
Musk, a co-founder of SpaceX and the CEO of Tesla, has been commended for advancing reusable rocket technology and promoting sustainable energy sources.
Nevertheless, concerns have been raised by several Royal Society fellows regarding Musk’s membership status, citing his provocative comments, particularly following recent riots in the UK.
Critics fear that Musk’s statements could tarnish the reputation of his companies. In response to inquiries, Musk’s companies, including X, provided comments.
Musk’s social media posts during the unrest were widely condemned, with Downing Street rebuking his remarks about civil war and false claims about UK authorities.
The concerns around potentially revoking Musk’s membership focus on his ability to promote his beliefs responsibly and not on his personal views.
The Royal Society’s Code of Conduct emphasizes that fellowship entails upholding certain standards of behavior, even in personal communications, to safeguard the organization’s reputation.
The Code stipulates that breaching conduct rules may result in disciplinary measures, such as temporary or permanent suspension. Specific procedures are outlined if misconduct allegations are raised against a Fellow or Foreign Member.
Expelling a member from the Royal Society is rare, with no records of such action in over a century. Previous controversies included a dean resigning over remarks about teaching creationism in schools.
A Royal Society spokesperson assured that any concerns regarding individual Fellows would be handled confidentially.
Water is a key component of exoplanets, and its distribution – on the surface or deep inside – has a fundamental impact on the planet’s properties. A new study suggests that for Earth-sized planets and planets with more than six times Earth’s mass, the majority of water resides deep within the planet’s core.
Most of the water isn’t stored on the surface of exoplanets, but deep within their cores and mantles. Image courtesy of Sci.News.
“Most of the exoplanets known to date are located close to their stars,” said Professor Caroline Dohn of ETH Zurich.
“That means they consist mainly of hot worlds with oceans of molten magma that haven’t yet cooled enough to form a solid mantle of silicate rock like Earth’s.”
“Water is very soluble in these magma oceans, unlike, say, carbon dioxide, which quickly outgasssssssssssss and rises into the atmosphere.”
“The iron core is beneath a molten silicate mantle. So how does water partition between the silicates and the iron?”
“It takes time for the iron core to form. Most of the iron is initially contained in the hot magma soup in the form of droplets.”
“The water trapped in this soup binds to these iron droplets and together they sink to the center. The iron droplets act like a lift force, being carried downward by the water.”
Until now, such phenomena were known to occur only under moderate pressures, which also exist on Earth.
It was not known what would happen on larger planets with higher internal pressures.
“This is one of the key findings of our study,” Professor Dorn said.
“The larger and more massive the planet, the more likely the water is to be integrated into the core, together with the iron droplets.”
“Under certain circumstances, iron can absorb up to 70 times more water than silicates.”
“But because of the enormous pressure at the core, the water no longer exists in the form of water molecules, but in the form of hydrogen and oxygen.”
The research was sparked by an investigation into the Earth’s water content, which four years ago led to a startling result: the Earth’s surface oceans contain only a tiny fraction of the planet’s total water.
More than 80 of Earth’s oceans may be hidden within it.
This is shown by simulations that calculate how water would have behaved under conditions when the Earth was young, so experiments and seismological measurements are compatible.
New discoveries about the distribution of water within planets will have a dramatic impact on the interpretation of astronomical observational data.
Astronomers can use telescopes in space and on Earth to measure the weight and size of exoplanets under certain conditions.
They use these calculations to create mass-radius diagrams that allow them to draw conclusions about the planet’s composition.
“Ignoring water solubility and distribution, as has been done in the past, can lead to a massive underestimation of the water volume, by up to a factor of ten,” Prof Doern said.
“There’s a lot more water on the planet than we previously thought.”
The distribution of water is also important if we want to understand how planets form and develop: any water that sinks to the core will remain trapped there forever.
However, dissolved water in the mantle’s magma ocean can degas and rise to the surface as the mantle cools.
“So if we find water in a planet’s atmosphere, there’s probably even more water in its interior,” Prof Dorn said.
Water is one of the prerequisites for life to develop, and there has long been speculation as to whether water-rich super-Earths could support life.
Calculations have since suggested that too much water could be detrimental to life, arguing that on such a watery world, an alien layer of high-pressure ice would prevent vital exchange of materials at the interface between the ocean and the planet’s mantle.
Current research has come to a different conclusion: Most of the water on super-Earths is locked away in their cores, rather than on their surfaces as previously assumed, so planets with deep aqueous layers are probably rare.
This has led astronomers to speculate that planets with relatively high water content could potentially form habitable environments like Earth.
“Their study sheds new light on the possibility that worlds rich enough in water to support life may exist,” the authors said.
of study Published in the journal Natural Astronomy.
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H. Luo othersThe interior as the main water reservoir of Super-Earths and Sub-Neptunes. Nat AstronPublished online August 20, 2024; doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02347-z
Tardigrades are a diverse group of microinvertebrates widely known for their remarkable ability to survive. Molecular clocks suggest that tardigrades diverged from other panarthropods (arthropods, tardigrades, velvet worms, and lobopods) before the Cambrian, but the fossil record is extremely poor. Now, paleontologists have described a new species of tardigrade and redescribed previously known species. readBoth are from Canadian Cretaceous amber.
Artistic Restoration read (Top) and Aerobius dactylus (Bottom) A hypothetical fossilization environment. Image courtesy of Franz Anthony.
First discovered in 1773, tardigrades are a diverse group of microscopic invertebrates best known for their ability to survive in extreme environments.
Also known as tardigrades or moss pigs, these creatures can live up to 60 years and grow to a size of up to 0.5mm. They are best seen under a microscope.
They can survive up to 30 years without food or water, and can survive temperatures as low as -272°C and as high as 150°C for a few minutes, and as low as -20°C for decades.
Tardigrades can withstand pressures ranging from nearly zero atmospheres in outer space to 1,200 atmospheres at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, and can also tolerate radiation levels of up to 5,000-6,200 Gy.
They survive by entering a state of suspended animation called biostasis, using proteins that form a gel inside the cells and slow down vital processes.
“Tardigrades are microscopic invertebrates characterized by a compact body shape with lobopod legs with four pairs of claws, and are closely related to the clawed pterygota and euarthropods. Panarthropods“Harvard doctoral student Mark Mapalo and his colleagues said:
“Tardigrades are widely known for having several species with cryptobiotic capabilities that allow them to survive extreme conditions such as the vacuum of space, ionizing radiation and freezing temperatures. Tardigrades are also found in marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats around the world.”
“Despite their ubiquity in the modern biosphere, tardigrades have a notoriously poor fossil record, and research into their macroevolution, such as the origin of their body shape, the timing of their terrestrialization, and the acquisition of their cryptic abilities, is limited.”
“Currently, only four fossil crown-group tardigrades are known, all preserved as amber inclusions, but only two of these have an established taxonomic position relative to extant tardigrades.”
For the study, the authors looked at a piece of amber containing a tardigrade fossil that was discovered in Canada in the 1960s. read and what was presumed to be another tardigrade, which was virtually unexplained at the time.
Using confocal laser scanning microscopy, a technique commonly used to study cell biology, the researchers were able to examine the microscopic structure of the tardigrade fossils in astonishing detail.
This study read It has been identified as a new species in the Tardigrade family tree, Aerobius dactylus.
“Both were found in the same Cretaceous amber, which means that these tardigrades coexisted with dinosaurs,” said Dr Javier Ortega-Hernández of Harvard University.
” read The seven claws are well preserved, and those that curve towards the body are smaller than those that curve away from it, a pattern seen in modern tardigrades.”
“The second, previously unidentified specimen had claws of equal length on each of the first three pairs of legs, but the outer claws on the fourth leg were longer.”
Both species serve as important calibration points for an analysis called a molecular clock analysis, which helps scientists estimate important evolutionary timing.
For example, new research suggests that modern tardigrades likely branched off during the Cambrian period, more than 500 million years ago.
The study also sheds light on the origins of tardigrades' remarkable ability to survive extreme environments by entering a state of torpor.
“This study estimates that this survival mechanism likely evolved during the middle to late Palaeozoic and may have played a key role in helping tardigrades survive the end-Permian mass extinction, one of the most severe extinction events in Earth's history,” Dr Ortega-Hernández said.
of result Published in a journal Communication Biology.
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MA Mapalo others2024. Inclusions in Cretaceous amber shed light on evolutionary origins of tardigrades. Communication Violet 7, 953; doi: 10.1038/s42003-024-06643-2
Despite warm ocean temperatures, hurricane season is on a lull.
This season is expected to be much more active than usual and is off to a record-breaking start.
Still, the unofficial peak of hurricane season is on September 10, so scientists wouldn’t be surprised if cyclonic activity picks up again soon.
The Gulf of Mexico is scorching hot, but hurricane season is on a lull (at least temporarily) — a surprise to researchers who say there’s a lot brewing in the Atlantic, but no storms are showing up on radar.
“Nothing is happening, which is extremely quiet and odd given the warm temperatures in the Atlantic and the La Niña climate pattern,” said Philip Klotzbach, a meteorologist at Colorado State University who specializes in seasonal hurricane forecasting in the Atlantic basin. “It’s a head-scratching situation right now.”
The La Niña weather phenomenon that scientists are predicting will develop this fall is closely linked to hurricanes, as is warming water in the Atlantic Ocean, with ocean heat content in the Gulf of Mexico at its highest since 2013, according to data from the University of Miami.
Warmer oceans increase hurricane energy through heat, increasing the risk of storms intensifying rapidly.
“We have plenty of fuel. It’s not going to hinder our season,” Klotzbach said.
Hurricane season begins on June 1 and ends on November 30. Hurricane scientists had predicted this year’s hurricane season would be record-breaking, but it got off to a record-breaking start in June with Hurricane Beryl being the first Category 4 storm to form in the Atlantic. Then, the slow-moving Hurricane Debbie dumped incredible rain on several southeastern states in early August. But since then, it’s been relatively quiet.
Steve Bowen, chief scientific officer at global reinsurance broker Gallagher Re, said weather trends off the coast of West Africa, including a strengthening monsoon, may have prevented tropical storms from developing in the Atlantic basin.
But that may not last long: The unofficial peak of hurricane season is September 10.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we get what’s called a backloading season with pretty good activity through September, October, and possibly November,” Bowen said.
Although things have calmed down recently, scientists believe this season has been quite active so far.
“We’ve already had two landfalls in the United States,” Bowen said. “Typically, the first major hurricane doesn’t form until August 31st. … Just looking at the statistics, we’re well ahead of normal.”
Neolithic people appear to have understood advanced concepts from sciences such as physics and geology, and used this knowledge to build megalithic monuments in southern Spain.
The dolmen, called Menga Dolmen, was built between 3600 and 3800 BC and is one of the oldest megalithic structures in Europe. The covered enclosure is made of 32 large stones, some of which are the largest ever used for such a structure. The heaviest stone weighs over 130 tonnes, more than three times the heaviest stone at Stonehenge in England, which was built more than 1000 years later.
“[In the Neolithic Period]”It must have been an impressive experience to experience these huge stone structures,” he said. Leonardo Garcia San Juan He studied at the University of Seville in Spain. “It still moves me. It still makes an impression on me.”
García Sanjuan and his colleagues are now conducting a detailed geological and archaeological analysis of the stones to deduce what knowledge Menga's builders needed to construct the monument in the city of Antequera.
Paradoxically, they found that the rock was a type of relatively brittle sandstone, meaning that it was at high risk of breaking, but the team found that they could compensate for that risk by shaping the rock, locking it into a very stable overall structure.
Neolithic people would have needed some way to make the stones fit together very snugly, Garcia-Sanjuan says. “It's like Tetris,” he says. “The precision, and how tightly each stone is fastened to each other, forces you to think they had some concept of angles, even if it was just rudimentary.”
The researchers also discovered that the 130-ton stone, laid horizontally on top to form part of the roof, has a raised surface in the middle and slopes down at the edges, which helps distribute forces in the same way an arch does and strengthens the roof, Garcia-Sanjuan says. “To our knowledge, this is the first time the principle of the arch has been documented in human history.”
The purpose of the mengas is unknown, but they were positioned to create unique light patterns inside them during the summer solstice, and the stones are protected from water damage by layers of carefully pounded clay, supporting evidence of their builders' knowledge of architecture and engineering.
“They knew about geology and the properties of the rocks they were working with,” Garcia San Juan says. “When you put all of this together — engineering, physics, geology, geometry, astronomy — you get what you call science.”
There are other Neolithic structures in France of a similar size to Menga, but less is known about how it was built, Garcia San Juan said. “To date, Menga is unique both in the Iberian peninsula and in Western Europe.”
“What's surprising is how sophisticated it is.” Susan Greaney “This architectural understanding of how weight is distributed is something I've never seen anywhere before,” says Professor David Schneider of the University of Exeter in the UK. But, she adds, this may be a testament to an understanding of architecture and engineering rather than an understanding of science.
Health workers assess a suspected case of MPOX in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Arlette Basij/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is currently in the midst of an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and neighboring countries, with the surge in cases being blamed in part on a new variant that is thought to be more deadly than the variant of the Mpox virus that caused a global outbreak in 2022. But there are treatments that may help.
How deadly is MPOX?
Studies have shown that the mortality rate among people infected with the currently circulating lineage I variant of MPOX is approximately 1-2%. 11 percentThe variation in reported mortality rates is probably due to differences in affected populations and problems with disease surveillance, Lilith Whittles At Imperial College London.
For example, infants and children with underdeveloped immune systems may be more likely than adults to develop serious, even fatal, infections, and people with suppressed immune systems, such as those with HIV, may also be more susceptible, she says.
Additionally, some areas have little access to health care and limited surveillance for MPOX. As a result, health care providers only catch the most severe cases and miss milder cases, making the death rate appear higher than it actually is. If MPOX symptoms are increasingly misdiagnosed as other illnesses, like measles or chickenpox, more cases will go undetected, Whittles says.
In fact, most deaths from MPOX occur due to complications such as sepsis, where infection enters the bloodstream and causes organ failure, and inflammation caused by the MPOX virus that damages the lungs, he said. Piero Oriaro At Oxford University.
What are the MPOX treatment options?
In the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries where the current outbreak is occurring, there are few treatments specific to MPOX. Instead, doctors focus on treating symptoms, which usually last two to four weeks, such as reducing fever and headaches with paracetamol (acetaminophen) and cleaning skin lesions to prevent bacterial infections, he said. Jean-Claude Udahemka At the University of Rwanda.
In the UK and US, doctors can use the antiviral drug Tecovirimat to treat people with severe smallpox. Originally developed to treat smallpox, its use against the disease was based on animal studies in which it improved survival rates compared to a placebo. Tecovirimat works by binding to a protein on the surface of both variola and smallpox that the virus uses to attack. Freeing itself from infected cells spreads to other cells.
Doctors in the United States and the United Kingdom can also treat MPOX with other antiviral drugs, such as brincidofovir and cidofovir. Protecting mice from lethal doses of the mpox virus. Both brincidofivir and cidofovir Interfering with enzymes Used by viruses to replicate their genome.
Another treatment, known as VIGIV, involves injecting people with smallpox with antibodies against smallpox taken from people who have had the smallpox vaccine, thus strengthening their immune response to the virus.
How effective is mpox treatment in humans?
Animal studies suggest that these treatments may be effective against MPOX, but their effectiveness in humans is unknown. Early results from a recent randomized controlled trial (best medical evidence) in the Democratic Republic of Congo suggest that tecovirimat does not accelerate the progression of MPOX. Healing of painful lesions in children and adults infected with lineage I variants of MPOX.
Nonetheless, the researchers found that the MPOX mortality rate for participants who received the antiviral drug was 1.7 percent, an improvement over the 3.6 percent mortality rate typically seen in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But this can be partly explained by the fact that participants in the trial received close care in hospital, Oriaro says.
Ultimately, better treatments and a better understanding of MPOX's lethality will be essential to protect people, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo, from the ongoing epidemic. Lucille Blumberg She is a researcher at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. “There's a lot of work to be done,” she says.
Chinese scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery in producing large amounts of water using lunar soil collected from the 2020 mission, as reported by state-run CCTV on Thursday.
The Chang’e-5 mission in 2020 marked a significant milestone in collecting lunar samples after a 44-year hiatus. Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences found high amounts of hydrogen in minerals present in the lunar soil. When heated to extreme temperatures, this hydrogen reacts with other elements to generate water vapor, according to China Central Television.
CCTV reported, “After extensive research and verification over three years, a new method has been identified for producing significant quantities of water from lunar soil. This discovery is anticipated to play a crucial role in designing future lunar research and space stations.”
This finding could have significant implications for China’s long-standing ambition to establish a permanent lunar base, amid the race between the United States and China to explore and exploit lunar resources.
On August 26, 2021, a small vial containing lunar soil brought back from the moon by China’s lunar probe Chang’e-5 was placed in Beijing.Ren Hui/VCG via Getty Images file
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has expressed concerns about China’s rapid progress in space exploration and the potential risk of Beijing controlling valuable lunar resources.
According to state media, the new technique can yield approximately 51-76 kilograms of water from one ton of lunar soil, enough to fill over 100 500ml bottles or sustain the daily water needs of 50 individuals.
China aims for its recent and upcoming lunar missions to establish a basis for constructing the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), a collaborative project with Russia.
The Chinese space agency’s plan includes establishing a lunar “base station” at the moon’s south pole by 2035, followed by a lunar orbiting space station by 2045.
This discovery coincides with ongoing experiments by Chinese scientists on lunar samples obtained from the Chang’e-6 probe in June.
While the Chang’e-5 mission collected samples from the moon’s near side, Chang’e-6 gathered lunar soil from the far side, perpetually hidden from Earth.
The significance of lunar water surpasses sustaining human settlement; NASA’s Nelson mentioned to NPR in May that moon water could be utilized to produce hydrogen fuel for rockets, potentially fueling missions to Mars and beyond.
IIt’s no exaggeration to say that the video game industry is currently undergoing a period of alarming turmoil: studios are closing, development budgets are exploding, and lucrative genres are becoming saturated with a host of entirely interchangeable big-budget contenders.
Into this uneasy market comes Sony’s new 5v5 “hero” shooter, Concord, a subgenre of multiplayer online blasters in which players control characters with elaborate special abilities rather than generic special forces soldiers or space marines. Set in a war-torn galaxy ruled by a dictatorial government called the Guild, the game puts players in control of a variety of freelance gunners, mercenaries who roam the space lanes in search of work and throw one-liners at each other in the game’s highly polished cutscenes. In-game, though, they do fight.
Heroism…Concord. Photo: Sony Interactive Entertainment
All the standard characters from hero shooters are there: regular soldiers, floating witches, teleporting weirdos, sassy tanks, etc., but they don’t have the instant appeal of Overwatch’s denizens D.Va and Mei. But they bring a lot of variety to the combat zone. Lark is a weird mushroom alien who plants spores to slow enemies and heal allies. Kipps is a stealthy assassin who can reveal enemy locations to his team. A chunky robotic one-off throws exploding trash cans. I like the innate flexibility of these skills and how they can be combined between characters. The submachine gun-toting Duchess can throw up a defensive barrier, which is useful as cover, but can also be used to block objective points for the enemy team or lure enemy soldiers into an ambush. Davers can bombard an area with a napalm-like substance called Burnite, which can be ignited by other players’ incendiary bombs, doubling its effect.
The 12 launch maps are mostly super-colourful takes on the sci-fi industrial spaces we’ve come to expect from Quake: Spine Works and Sorting Hub are labyrinthine complexes, all interconnected steel corridors, shipping containers and box-like warehouse choke points; Water Hazard is an abandoned oil rig with the remains of a giant sea monster lying on top like a nightmarish, Lovecraftian sushi plate; and my favourite is Train Trouble, a post-apocalyptic railroad graveyard where Mad Max meets Tatooine.
Lovecraft Sushi… Concord. Photo: Sony Interactive Entertainment
The crux of the matter is the excitement and tension of every moment of team-based combat, and Concord really does fly at times. There’s a bit of Destiny floatiness to movement that works brilliantly on this very vertical map, with players making full use of their double jump to make combat truly three-dimensional. The guns feel great; from shotguns to laser pistols, every weapon is solid and easy to read, and the audio and visual feedback perfectly communicates each weapon’s unique capabilities. There are sublime moments when the whole team comes together and all their abilities combine in unexpected ways to create an explosive, euphoric shooter experience that rivals the best moments in Overwatch.
But the big question at this point is whether the game is enough to draw players away from Activision’s games, or Valorant, or Apex Legends, or any of the others. It’s beautifully made, but most of it is painfully familiar, not just in character types and anime-esque visual aesthetics, but in structure as well. The game modes are all the standard types: team deathmatch, one where you have to capture three objective zones, one where there’s only one zone but it’s always moving, one where you have to pick up tokens from fallen enemies to score a kill, etc. This is what we’ve been playing since Doom. Meanwhile, the dialogue and humor are the same post-Whedon, cynical aloof approach that Marvel and Netflix YA dramas have been forcing on us for a decade. Oh, I miss the dark, anarchic satire and anarchic teammate-slaughtering mayhem of Helldiver 2.
The most interesting thing about Concord is the “meta” of the game, that is, the strategic part outside the main action. The game introduces some deck-building elements, where players must organize their own crew of characters. Each character has slight differences in their normal abilities. These characters all have their own buffs, called crew bonuses, which slightly boost the health, armor, or firepower of your team every time you play in a match. These buffs accumulate throughout the battle. So, if you’re playing in an organized team, you can work together to build a strong statistical advantage, just like having a good hand in Hearthstone. It’s an interesting idea, but in the chaos of a public server, where only a small percentage of participants play as part of an organized team, it’s unclear whether it will work.
Perhaps the bravest thing about Concorde is that it’s a premium-priced product rather than a “live service” free-to-play — meaning all subsequent content will be free rather than the run-of-the-mill season pass model — and it’s also unashamedly and vociferously pro-diversity, which will likely anger players who are increasingly jaded by modern online games. Should Frankly, it pisses me off because this small group of misanthropic, gatekeeping blabbermouths are ruining the fun for everyone else.
Ultimately, Concord needs time, space, and a healthy community to gain an advantage over its older, wiser competitors. Right now, players are getting a feel for the place, but the game is choppy and unfocused, yet at times surprisingly fun. Its attitude, detail, and elaborate backstory (explorable in a visual encyclopedia undoubtedly inspired by The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) give it the feeling of being something the development team really cares about, and if it’s not taken off life support by publisher funding anytime soon, it has a chance of finding an audience that feels the same way.
Ray Kurzweil is a prominent figure in the field of artificial intelligence, with over 60 years of experience. He has achieved many milestones in AI development, such as inventing the first commercially available large vocabulary speech recognition software. Kurzweil’s expertise in AI was recognized with the National Medal of Technology by President Bill Clinton in 1999 and his induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2002.
In addition to his practical accomplishments, Kurzweil is known for his accurate predictions about future technologies. His book “The Singularity is Near,” published in 2005, explored the rapid advances in computing and AI, predicting the future impact of AI on society. In his follow-up book, “The Singularity is Approaching,” Kurzweil delves into how AI will reshape our lives.
Kurzweil forecasts significant changes ahead, particularly in the realm of artificial general intelligence (AGI). He believes AGI will surpass human abilities in various cognitive tasks, potentially becoming available by 2029. The pace of technological advances in AI is accelerating exponentially, with Kurzweil emphasizing the need to prepare for the evolution of AI.
Another groundbreaking prediction by Kurzweil is the potential end of aging through advancements in healthcare and technology. He envisions a future where aging can be slowed down or prevented entirely, with life expectancy increasing significantly. Kurzweil’s optimistic outlook extends to the integration of AI with human intelligence by 2050, creating a new form of intelligence through the merging of human brains with computers.
As a futurist, author, and inventor, Ray Kurzweil continues to shape the conversation around AI and its impact on society. His visionary insights invite us to consider the possibilities and challenges that lie ahead in the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence.
Reports suggest that Americans are set to witness a peculiar and somewhat alarming occurrence as swarms of tarantulas are poised to invade certain regions of the country.
Despite the ominous connotations associated with this event, it is actually a normal annual happening where thousands of spiders are on the lookout for mates, particularly in Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
Naturally, one might feel inclined to take action upon witnessing such a spectacle, but how challenging is it to manage these swarms? And what level of threat do they truly pose?
What’s prompting the spider swarms?
The appearance of swarms of animals and insects typically indicates two main reasons: migration or mating. In the case of American tarantulas, it is primarily due to the latter. It is an intriguing scenario distinct from what we might typically envision.
“Every year, male tarantulas come out in search of a mate, while females remain in their burrows releasing pheromones to attract males,” stated Lauren Davidson, an entomologist at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. “It’s a fascinating phenomenon that occurs based on weather conditions and geographical location.”
Male tarantulas usually have a short lifespan solely for the duration of the mating season, with only mature males actively seeking a mate. Upon detecting a female’s pheromones, the male tarantula initiates a mating ritual by drumming near the entrance of her burrow. If the female is receptive, she will come out to meet him.
Wondering where you might encounter these males? Tarantula mating season varies across different regions; for instance, mating in Texas typically occurs in early summer, while in Colorado and New Mexico, it can extend until October.
Davidson notes, “The timing is consistent each year, and these events are often unnoticed by urban residents. It’s a cyclical process that occurs at night due to tarantulas being nocturnal.”
Though it may appear to be migration, the spiders are primarily in search of mates within close proximity to their usual habitats, generally traveling no more than a kilometer from home.
Encountering a tarantula: What to do?
While encounters with tarantulas may be rare, it is not impossible. If you do come across one, remain calm as these spiders are harmless. Despite their intimidating size, their venom is similar to that of a bee sting and bites are infrequent. Tarantulas typically avoid human contact and resort to kicking out irritating hairs if threatened.
Direct contact with these hairs can cause itchiness and irritation, but one would need to be in close proximity to the spider for that to occur. Davidson reassures, “Many people travel to witness these tarantulas as they are docile creatures and safe to handle.”
About our expert
Lauren Davidson: Associate Curator of Entomology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science and Manager of the Cockrell Butterfly Center. Davidson has authored several children’s books focusing on entomology education.
Life on Earth has faced various threats over millions of years, from asteroids to pandemics to climate change. According to the IPCC, nearly one in five terrestrial species is at risk of extinction by 2100 due to rising global temperatures.
Marine life is also in peril, with coral reefs disappearing rapidly. Dr. Mary Hagedorn, a coral reef expert, has been working on cryopreserving coral to ensure its survival and potential reintroduction into ecosystems.
Her innovative idea involves creating a lunar biorepository to store frozen cell samples of key species for ecosystem reconstruction. The moon’s cold temperatures and protection from radiation make it an ideal location for such a vault.
The focus is on preserving fibroblasts, which can be reprogrammed into different cell types, including stem cells for cloning. This initiative aims to safeguard Earth’s ecosystems and potentially support future human space exploration, such as Mars missions.
While the concept may seem futuristic, the team has already begun freezing cell samples from species like the starry goby for testing. The ultimate goal is to send diverse genetic samples to the lunar vault to ensure the preservation of essential species.
Creating a biorepository on the moon presents logistical challenges but could be achievable with NASA’s support and funding. Future generations might benefit from this innovative approach to conservation and space exploration.
Dr. Mary Hagedorn and Professor Ian Crawford are leading experts in this field, with a focus on conservation, lunar science, and astrobiology. Their research and work contribute to the understanding of ecosystems and the future of space exploration.
Physicists from the STAR Collaboration have observed an antimatter hypernucleus, antihyperhydrogen-4, consisting of an antihypernucleus, an antiproton, and two antineutrons, in nuclear collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Artistic representation of antihyperhydrogen-4 produced in the collision of two gold nuclei. Image courtesy of the Institute of Modern Physics.
“What we know in physics about matter and antimatter is that, apart from the opposite charge, antimatter has the same properties as matter – the same mass, the same lifetime before decaying, and the same interactions,” said Junlin Wu, a graduate student at Lanzhou University and the China Institute of Modern Physics.
“But in reality, our universe is made up of antimatter rather than matter, even though equal amounts of matter and antimatter are thought to have been created during the Big Bang about 14 billion years ago.”
“Why our universe is populated with matter remains a question, and we don't yet have a complete answer.”
“The first step in studying the asymmetry between matter and antimatter is to discover new antimatter particles. This is the basic idea of this research,” added Dr Hao Qiu, a researcher at the Institute of Modern Physics.
STAR physicists had previously observed atomic nuclei made of antimatter produced in RHIC collisions.
In 2010, they detected an antihypertriton, the first example of an antimatter nucleus containing a hyperon, a particle that contains at least one strange quark rather than just the light up and down quarks that make up ordinary protons and neutrons.
Just a year later, STAR physicists broke that massive antimatter record by detecting antihelium-4, the antimatter equivalent of a helium nucleus.
Recent analysis suggests that antihyperhydrogen 4 may also be feasible.
But detecting this unstable antihypernucleus is a rare event: all four components (one antiproton, two antineutrons and one antilambda) need to be ejected from the quark-gluon soup produced in the RHIC collision in just the right place, in the same direction and at just the right time, briefly becoming bound together.
“It's just a coincidence that these four component particles appear close enough together in the RHIC collision that they can combine to form an antihypernucleus,” said Brookhaven National Laboratory physicist Lijuan Luan, one of the STAR collaboration's co-spokespeople.
To find antihyperhydrogen-4, STAR physicists studied the trajectories of particles produced when this unstable antihypernucleus decays.
One of these decay products is the previously detected antihelium-4 nucleus, and the other is a simple positively charged particle called a pion (pi+).
“Antihelium-4 had already been discovered with STAR, so we used the same methods as before to pick up those events and reconstruct them with the π+ track to find these particles,” Wu said.
“It is simply by chance that these four component particles emerge from the RHIC collision close enough together to combine to form an antihypernucleus,” said Dr. Lijuan Luan, a research scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory.
RHIC's collisions produce huge amounts of pions, and physicists have been sifting through billions of collision events to find the rare antihypernuclei.
The antihelium-4 produced by the collision can pair up with hundreds or even a thousand pi+ particles.
“The key was to find an intersection point where the trajectories of the two particles had a particular characteristic – a collapse vertex,” Dr. Luan said.
“That is, the collapse apex must be far enough away from the collision point that the two particles could have originated from the decay of an antihypernucleus that formed shortly after the collision of the particle originally produced in the fireball.”
STAR researchers worked hard to eliminate the background of all other potential collapse pair partners.
Ultimately, their analysis found 22 candidate events with an estimated background count of 6.4.
“That means that about six of what appear to be antihyperhydrogen-4 decays could just be random noise,” said Emily Duckworth, a doctoral student at Kent State University.
Subtracting that background count from the 22, physicists can be confident that they have detected about 16 actual antihyperhydrogen-4 nuclei.
The results were significant enough to allow scientists to make a direct comparison between matter and antimatter.
They compared the lifespan of antihyperhydrogen 4 to that of hyperhydrogen 4, which is made from normal matter variants of the same building blocks.
They also compared the lifetimes of another matter-antimatter pair, antihypertritons and hypertritons.
Neither difference was significant, but the authors were not surprised.
“This experiment tested a particularly strong form of symmetry,” the researchers said.
“Physicists generally agree that this symmetry breaking is extremely rare and is not an answer to the imbalance of matter and antimatter in the universe.”
“If we saw this particular breaking of symmetry, we would basically have to throw a lot of what we know about physics out the window,” Duckworth said.
“So in a way it was reassuring that symmetry still worked in this case.”
“We agree that this result provides further confirmation that our model is correct and marks a major step forward in the experimental study of antimatter.”
STAR Collaboration. Observation of the antimatter hypernucleus antihyperhydrogen 4. NaturePublished online August 21, 2024, doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07823-0
This article is based on an original release from Brookhaven National Laboratory.
New genus and species of large theropod dinosaur named Alpkaraqsh Kyrgyzics. It was discovered in the Middle Jurassic Barabansai Formation in the northern Fergana Basin of Kyrgyzstan.
Reconstructing your life Alpkaraqsh Kyrgyzics.Image credit: Joschua Knüppe.
Alpkaraqsh Kyrgyzics roamed the Earth during the Callovian Period of the Jurassic Period, between 165 and 161 million years ago.
This ancient predator was 7 to 8 metres (23 to 26 feet) long and had highly prominent “eyebrows” on a part of the skull behind the eye sockets, called the postorbital bone, which indicates the presence of horns in this area.
Alpkaraqsh Kyrgyzics belongs to Metriacanthosauridae, a group of medium- to large-sized allosauroid theropod dinosaurs characterized by high, arched skulls, elongated, dish-like neural spines, and slender hind limbs.
“Theropod dinosaurs are well-known predators, similar to modern birds,” said Professor Oliver Rauhut from the SNSB – Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geology and his colleagues.
“A wide variety of theropods are known from the Mesozoic Era, the age of dinosaurs.”
“Just as lions today live mainly in Africa and tigers only in Asia, for example, Allosaurus was widespread throughout North America and southwestern Europe during the Jurassic, but a similarly sized Allosaurus lived in China.”
However, the region between Central Europe and East Asia was previously unknown, and no large carnivorous dinosaurs from the Jurassic period were previously known to have been found in this vast area.”
Two specimens of Alpkaraqsh Kyrgyzics were recovered from the top Barabansai Formation in Kyrgyzstan, Jalal-Abad, near the city of Tashkumil.
“While the type specimen represents a subadult individual, the smaller specimen is a juvenile, indicating that it probably lived in groups,” the paleontologists said.
Alpkaraqsh Kyrgyzics is the first diagnosable theropod species from the Jurassic of Central Asia in western China.
We suggest that metriocanthosaurid dinosaurs originated in Southeast Asia during the Late Early or Early Middle Jurassic and rapidly became the dominant group of apex theropod predators in many ecosystems on the continent during the Jurassic.
Alpkaraqsh Kyrgyzics “The discovery of a metriacanthosaurid dinosaur fossil isn’t necessarily a surprise, but it fills a major gap in our knowledge of Jurassic theropods,” Prof Rauhut said.
“This discovery provides important new insights into the evolution and biogeography of these animals.
This discovery paper issued this month in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
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Oliver W. M. Rauhut others A new theropod dinosaur from the Callovian-Balabansai Formation of Kyrgyzstan. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 201(4):zlae090;doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae090
Fragments of mitochondrial DNA can be added to the cell's main genome
wir0man/Getty Images
Mutations in which DNA from energy-producing mitochondria is mistakenly added to a cell's main genome were thought to be extremely rare. Now, studies of brain tissue show that such mutations occur in all of us, and their numbers may be a factor in ageing.
“Not only are they present, but they are abundant in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with cognitive abilities.” Ryan Mills At the University of Michigan.
In human cells, almost all of the DNA (about 6 billion letters) resides in the nucleus, but the energy-producing organelles called mitochondria have their own tiny genome of about 16,600 letters.
That's because mitochondria were once free-living bacteria with their own large genome. In the roughly 2 billion years since those bacteria formed a symbiotic relationship with our distant ancestors, most of the original bacterial genome has been lost or transferred to the main genome in the nucleus.
This evidence of transfer has led biologists to know for a long time that fragments of mitochondrial DNA could somehow find their way into the nucleus and then be added to the main genome. But this kind of mutation was thought to be very rare, Mills says. Over the past few years, work by his team and others has shown that this isn't as uncommon as we thought. At least in cancer cells.
Mills and his colleagues showed that these types of mutations also occur in non-cancerous cells by sequencing the DNA of brain tissue samples taken from 1,200 people during post-mortem examinations.
Although another team took the samples and sequenced them, Mills and his colleagues looked for mutations that add mitochondrial DNA to the nuclear genome. “We were just curious,” Mills says.
Not only did they find such mutations, but they also found that they were more prevalent in people who, on average, died younger.
It's not clear whether these mutations are just a symptom of aging or a cause of it, Mills says. “The jury is still out,” he says. “But if you take the entire mitochondrial sequence and put it somewhere in the genome, it's hard for me to believe that it wouldn't have an effect.”
Most political efforts to tackle climate change have had little effect
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Most climate policies fail to significantly reduce emissions and have little effect on halting climate change, meaning governments must work harder to find ways to actually make a difference.
Nicholas Koch Researchers from the Mercator Institute for the Global Commons and Climate Change in Berlin found this by assessing the impact of 1,500 climate policies implemented in 41 countries across six continents between 1998 and 2022.
The researchers began by using machine learning to identify moments when a country's emissions fell significantly compared to a control group of other countries not included in the analysis. They found 69 such emissions “breaks” and compared them to a database compiled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that tracks what climate policies were enacted and when.
Matching policy shifts with changes in emissions is not an exact science, but the team was able to identify 63 of these changes as being due to one or more policy interventions that took place within a two-year period before or after the change, to account for lagged or anticipated effects.
Each of the 63 breaks reduced carbon dioxide emissions by between 600 million and 1.8 billion tonnes, but the researchers found that overall, most climate policies have fallen far short of this level of success. “There are many policies that have not led to significant reductions in emissions, and more policies do not necessarily lead to better outcomes,” Koch said.
Many policies fail because they are too specific, he says. For example, governments might subsidize the purchase of new electric cars, but most cars on the road are not electric, so the impact is minimal. One measure that seems to be very effective is a total ban, for example stopping the use of coal for electricity generation, but these are always used in conjunction with others, making it hard for the team to identify whether they work in isolation.
Politicians are looking for a one-size-fits-all policy mix, but they're out of luck: there's nothing that works for all sectors. Pricing seems to be the most effective tool, especially in reducing emissions in commercial industries, but it's not the only solution, Koch says. “We've found that the most frequently used policy tools – subsidies and regulations – are not enough,” he says. “Only in combination with price-based tools like carbon prices, energy taxes, can we achieve significant emissions reductions.” In other words, people will only reduce their emissions if it hurts their wallets.
“A key value of this paper is that it identifies clear changes in emissions in specific sectors and countries.” Matthew Patterson The researcher, from the University of Manchester in the UK, points out that the OECD's database of policy change has some limitations because the government documents it draws from are not reported consistently around the world, but he says it is the best available for the purposes of this study.
“We've known for some time that climate policies work best in combination, but this study gives us more specific information about which combinations work and in what circumstances,” Patterson says. This will allow us to more aggressively pursue these “breaks” to address the emissions gap and create the policy combinations that most effectively address emissions.
Marion Dumas Researchers at the London School of Economics and Political Science say that while the study should be useful to policymakers, looking first at emissions trends – or the results – and then working backwards to understand the causes may not capture the full reality of policy interventions.
“This is a very interesting approach, but there is a lot of uncertainty as to how to simulate the likely outcomes. [emissions] “You need to map out the trajectory and then identify the tipping points,” Dumas said, adding that a two-year gap around the tipping point may be too short and underestimates the real impact of more gradual, longer-term policy changes.
“It's important not to overinterpret the headline results, which suggest that very few policies will reduce emissions.” Robin Rambo The researchers, from Imperial College London, say small emissions reductions that their team's methods didn't detect could add up to big differences.
Of course, a larger issue in identifying the most effective measures is that policymaking doesn't take place in a vacuum, and specific policies must be acceptable to the general public. “The political dynamics will determine whether that combination can be implemented in any given country or sector,” Patterson says.
“We know this is going to be very difficult politically,” Koch said, “but the good news is that in general it's possible to put policies in place to achieve these very ambitious goals.”
On July 23, 1999, just a few months before I enrolled in college, NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia launched with a precious cargo. Not only was it carrying a crew led by the first woman, Eileen Collins, its primary purpose was to launch the Chandra X-ray Observatory, a new flagship space telescope. Chandra This was the heaviest payload ever carried by a NASA space shuttle and turned out to be one of the last two missions completed by Columbia before it tragically exploded after launch on February 1, 2003.
Chandra is the first, and so far only, NASA mission named after a person of color. The late theoretical astrophysicist and Nobel Prize winner Subramanian Chandrasekhar was called Chandra by his friends and family. Chandrasekhar, whose last name means “crown of the moon,” made many important contributions to astrophysics. His most important work was discovering the Chandrasekhar limit, the maximum mass a white dwarf remnant can have before it collapses into a black hole.
It's fitting that an X-ray telescope mission should be named after a scientist who has spent his life thinking about the physics of black holes, as X-ray telescopes play a key role in black hole research. X-rays are high-energy light waves, which means they are produced in extremely energetic environments, such as those around black holes, where extreme distortions of space-time cause strong gravitational forces to accelerate particles to extremely high speeds. In other words, when we look at the universe through the lens of X-ray astronomy, rather than the visible wavelengths of traditional telescopes, we see an entirely different universe.
Importantly, X-ray astronomy can't be done from the Earth's surface, because it's blocked by the Earth's atmosphere. That's good for human health, but not so good for astronomers. Chandra is therefore a reminder of just how important it is to keep low Earth orbit debris-free, so we can safely launch space telescopes that perform tasks that are simply beyond the control of the Earth.
I feel like I have grown up with Chandra. And not just because I attended college at Chandra headquarters, now known as the Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in Massachusetts, and was often mistakenly called “Chandra”. One of my lab projects as an undergraduate was to adjust the light-gathering part of Chandra's backup camera. The following year, I wrote my undergraduate thesis under the guidance of Martin Elvis, an expert in X-ray astronomy. My research focused on the particle winds that fly out of galaxies that contain supermassive black holes. I used Chandra data to analyze what structures these galaxies take. It is true that Martin's letter helped me secure admission to at least one PhD program. In other words, without Chandra, my career may never have begun.
I am one of thousands of scientists in the fields of physics and astronomy who can tell similar stories of how Chandra data was the foundation of the early stages of their careers, or how they have dedicated their lives to using Chandra to explore the mysteries of the universe. Laura Lopez Ohio State University has used Chandra for many years to study supernovae. Daniel Castronow a staff scientist at CfA, is doing the same thing. The three of us were postdoctoral fellows at MIT and are from a generation that grew up on the power of the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Now, after 25 years in orbit, Chandra is under threat – not the reality of space debris and aging equipment, but the political climate. US President Joe Biden's appointees to head NASA recently tried to scale back the project, but the scientific community worked with Congress to save the mission. But things will never be the same. A compromise proposal, which has not yet been signed into law, would drastically cut Chandra's funding and limit its scientific scope. Notably, there is no scientific basis for opposing the plan. Recommendations They have an army of expert advisers, but NASA has cut funding it had already promised to scientists, leaving PhD students and postdocs without enough money to cover living expenses.
Chandra deserves better. And so does its global audience. Thanks to Chandra, we have discovered new neutron stars and learned about their interiors. Our knowledge of black holes has blossomed. We have gained a deeper understanding of stellar life cycles and the history of our galaxy. We have been able to study galaxy clusters and learn how dark matter is distributed within them, putting the Milky Way in context. There is still time to save Chandra, a monument to human ingenuity. The fact that it is still going strong after 25 years should be celebrated and it should be honoured by the continuation of the mission.
Chanda's Week
What I'm Reading
My friend is Andrea Kindried. From Slavery to the Stars: A Personal Journey And it's beautiful.
What I'm seeing
I've seen some classic episodes Star Trek: The Next Generation Like “Remember Me”.
What I'm working on
I am developing a new course that prepares students to understand science in a social context..
Chanda Prescod Weinstein is an associate professor of physics and astronomy and a faculty member of women's studies at the University of New Hampshire. Her latest book is A Disordered Universe: A Journey into Dark Matter, Space-Time, and Dreams Deferred.
People with a craving for pathological romance could, if they so wished, write algorithms to select attractive, pathological prospective spouses or recreational dating partners.
Driven by curiosity, Coltan Scribner, inventor of the Morbid Curiosity Scale (Feedback, November 19, 2022), has explored new uses for the tool. He and two colleagues have study explains that “behavioral attraction predicts mating interest among morbidly curious women” toward men with risky personalities.
They cite previous research that shows those “women are aware of the potential costs associated with such men.” The new study aims to help those women, stating: “Despite the potential costs of men high on the dark triad, it may be beneficial for women with pathological curiosity to develop a preference for such men to fulfill short-term mating goals.
The study doesn’t delve into the obvious business potential here. Feedback envisions a new era dedicated to the making and use of morbid gadgets. Perhaps brighter days lie ahead for this industry, originally called “computer dating.”
(For those interested, Scribner has also created a simple way to measure where you stand on the scale: a free online Morbid curiosity test Before we begin, we’re told that “‘morbid’ doesn’t mean curiosity is bad, it simply refers to the fact that the topic is related to death in some way.”
The limits of curiosity
What are the limits of your curiosity? Is there a foolproof, easy way to find out? Here’s a test.
The feedback includes a copy of a paper published by Subhash Chandra Shaw and his colleagues. Indian Army Medical Journal The title of the study and your response may tell you something about yourself.
Some politicians seek success through extremely eloquent speeches, which give them a momentary sense of persuasion.
Feedback noticed a similarity between the flashy but empty speeches of these politicians and the flashy but empty texts generated by ChatGPT and similar artificial intelligence computer programs.
Michael Townsen-Hicks, James Humphreys and Joe Slater of the University of Glasgow in the UK said: ChatGPT is bullshit“”teeth, Ethics and Information Technology They argue that “describing AI misinformation as bullshit is a more useful and accurate way to predict and discuss the behavior of these systems.” As a classic example of bullshit, the team cites a political candidate saying certain things simply because those words “might create a positive impression on potential voters.”
The feedback at least celebrates the skill of politicians who, like ChatGPT, can deliver endless streams of easy-to-swallow but indigestible chatter. In some countries, some of the most successful ChatGPT-esque politicians also display a visual counterpart to their words, a momentarily plausible physical aspect: they adorn their heads with ChatGPT-esque hair, or what might be mistaken for hair for a moment. There is little published research on why and how this happens.
It’s not such a small thing
Feedback continues its quest to create a list of trivial psychic powers, with Aline Berry confessing and professing that she has a trivial psychic power, which may not be trivial at all.
She writes, “I believe I have a superpower that I’ve taken for granted my whole life: when someone complains that they’re looking around for something, I usually find it within five minutes. Somehow, like Sherlock Holmes, I filter out the obvious things they no doubt see and focus on the lost item that’s camouflaged in such a way that it can easily be overlooked if not seen.”
“Recently, a friend of mine asked me for help after frantically searching for her car keys all morning. I stopped, looked around, realized there was no point in looking everywhere, and asked her if she’d looked in the fridge. Her eyes lit up – she’d placed her keys on something cold to remind herself to take them with her, but promptly forgot.”
Another skill emerged during her childhood: “I started a new school a few weeks late and was given a geometry problem. I had never studied geometry before and didn’t know any of the rules. So I looked at a graph and wrote the answer down. I was right. The teacher accused me of cheating and gave me a problem that I had drawn myself, that no one had seen. I wrote the right answer again. As punishment, the teacher gave me ten problems that had to be solved the right way. I didn’t know the correct rules, so I was happy when I got the news that I was going to a different school.”
A whirlwind of interest
An exercise in dimensional scaling. Which is more powerful: a) a storm in a teacup, or b) a storm in a teapot? An experiment is the real way to answer this question. Survey your colleagues (at least 50 people) and submit the three survey results (number of respondents, storm, and tempest) to Swirl of interest, c/o Feedback.
Marc Abrahams is the founder of the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony and co-founder of the journal Annals of Improbable Research. He previously worked on unusual uses of computers. His website is Impossible.
Do you have a story for feedback?
You can submit articles for Feedback by emailing feedback@newscientist.com. Please include your home address. This week’s and past Feedback can be found on our website.
Inanimate blobs of ion-laden jelly can play computer games Pong And it will continue to improve over time: The researchers are planning further experiments to see if it can handle more complex calculations, and hope that it could eventually be used to control robots.
Inspired by past research into playing with brain cells in a dish Pong, Vincent Strong So he and his colleagues at the University of Reading in the UK decided to try a tennis-like game with simpler materials. They mixed ions into a water-filled polymer material so that it responded to electrical stimuli. When an electric current was passed through the material, those ions migrated to the current source, dragging water with them and causing the gel to swell.
In their experiments, the researchers used a standard computer to Pong They then used a 3 x 3 electrode grid to send electric currents to different points in the hydrogel to simulate ball movement, while a second electrode grid measured the concentration of ions in the hydrogel, which a computer interpreted as instructions for where to move the paddle.
The researchers found that not only was the hydrogel playable, but that with practice, accuracy improved by up to 10 percent and rallies also lasted longer.
The hydrogel expands faster than it contracts, and expands more slowly even when a constant electric current is applied.These properties allow the gel to record signals of expansion, creating a sort of rudimentary memory, the researchers say.
“Instead of just knowing what happened moment by moment, it's remembering the movement of the ball throughout the entire game,” Strong said, “so it's not just experiencing where the ball is right now, but the entire movement of the ball. It's like a black-box neural network that remembers how the ball behaves, how it moves, what it's doing.”
A polymer gel sandwiched between electrodes that deliver electrical current and measure ion levels
Vincent Strong et al. 2024
Strong said that while the hydrogel is much simpler than neurons in the brain, experiments have shown it can perform similar tasks. He believes the hydrogel could be used to develop new algorithms that would allow regular computers to perform tasks with minimal resources, making problem solving more efficient. But the hydrogel could also become an analog computer itself.
“I wouldn't rule out putting something like a hydrogel inside a robot brain,” Strong says. “That sounds interesting, and I'd like to see it. But the practicality of that is… I don't know yet.”
ohBut out in the desert, the skies begin to darken. You are here to hunt Dosha-gama – fearsome, scaly, lion-like, squashed-faced beasts that roam the dunes in small herds. But a looming storm suggests something much bigger is approaching. Soon, a giant shadow descends from the heavens: Lei Dau, a horned, gold-trimmed dragon who wields lightning. Are you strong enough to face it? Or is it time to flee to the hills?
Monster Hunter is one of Capcom’s most successful game series, but it wasn’t always that way. When I started playing it on the PlayStation Portable in 2006, very few people were interested. It was notoriously cumbersome, demanding, and difficult, and online play didn’t work well. On the other hand, when I moved to Japan in 2008, it was hard not to see someone playing Monster Hunter on the train or in a cafe. It was 2018’s Monster Hunter: World that really made the game a global hit. Technology finally allowed for vast natural settings worthy of gigantic, intimidating, and highly realistic monsters, and smooth online play became a reality.
Watch the trailer for Monster Hunter Wild
“It was a challenge to bring the series to a global level that hadn’t been there before,” recalls Ryozo Tsujimoto, who worked as a designer on the original Monster Hunter, which was released in Japan and North America in 2004, and has led the series ever since.
“In order to make it a global hit, there are some things we haven’t done before… It may not be so visible to players, but compared to the past, we are in much closer communication with our Western offices and staff around the world, so we’re in a much better position than before to listen to player feedback and reactions to the game and decide how to approach the next title.”
Today marks the first day of Gamescom, the Cologne trade show that is currently the biggest event on the video game calendar. This year, I wasn't among the 300,000 or so spectators that flocked to Germany, but I did watch the two-hour livestreamed Opening Night broadcast yesterday. But don't worry if you didn't: here we bring you all the most interesting news, organized by theme, because we're tired of writing simple lists of games and trailers.
Frustrating news Xbox The biggest fanboy A new trailer for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, a new first-person adventure from Bethesda and MachineGames, has been released. In it, long-time video game actor Troy Baker looks charmingly excited about playing Indiana Jones. The game will be released on Xbox and PC on December 9th, but it was also announced that it will be released on PlayStation 5 in spring 2025. Earlier this year, Xbox head Phil Spencer said that Indiana Jones will be do not have It's planned to be a multi-platform game, so I'm interested to see how it unfolds.
An unexpected comeback Borderlands 4 is due to be released in 2025, and the trailer revealed very little – perhaps developer Gearbox was trying to capitalize on the anticipation of this month's film, but unfortunately, it wasn't very good.
Master of Albion. Photo: IGN
Peter Molyneux has released a new game, ” Master of Albionhas been kept very quiet (probably unsurprising as some of its recent games have been high-profile flops and the latest, Legacy, is Web3/blockchain and has gone very quiet after making £40m in NFTs in 2021). It's a mash-up of Molyneux's biggest god-game hits: Fable, Black & White, and Dungeon Keeper. By day, you build a town, design food, weapons, and armor to feed and equip your townsfolk, and generally play the role of a god. By night, you possess your warrior subjects and wield clubs to defend your town from fantasy creatures.
Ten years on from the first game, Monument Valley 3 is coming from Ustwo and Netflix, featuring the usual Escher-esque puzzles and mesmerizing colors. It'll be released on December 10th, and the previous two games will also be re-released on Netflix.
And the long-running Mafia series will see a new installment from Brighton-based Hangar 13, Mafia: The Old Country.
A debut game from a nervous developer Glowmade's multiplayer Rick and Morty-style cartoonish gameshow coliseum game, King of Meat, lets players create fearsome gauntlets that other players can challenge, much like a cartoonish Takeshi's Castle, and there was also Lynked: Banner of the Spark, a new cooperative action-adventure game that reminds me a bit of Hi-Fi Rush, from the new studio FuzzyBot, in which you kill evil robots and rescue cute ones to fuse with your arm for fighting powers.
Zombies and men with guns
Dying Light: The Beast. Photo: Techland
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has been shown off again ahead of its October launch, revealing one entire level of its single-player campaign, an overwhelmingly silly Cold War action-adventure. (Your character's analog camera is treated with the dignity of a gun, right down to the elaborate reload animations.) Techland is adding a new zombie game to its Dying Light series, The Beast, promising another 20 hours of open-world undead parkour action. There'll be even more zombies to shoot in the upcoming eight-player co-op survival game No More Room in Hell 2. And co-op survival shooter Arc Raiders, previously announced as a free game, will be released in 2025, and do not have You can play freely.
Most delayed TV shows Netflix's 100-player Squid Game was the show's most obvious video game tie-in, and I'm surprised it took this long. It's a selection of Fall Guys-esque cartoonish, sadistic challenges that look like a lot of fun.
Meanwhile, Deadpool director Tim Miller breathlessly teased his company Blur's new Amazon Prime TV series, The Secret Level, an anthology similar to Love, Death + Robots (also a Blur production) and described as a love letter to video games, due for release in December.
game I don't understand it, but it'll probably sell millions of copies.
Dune Awakening has received a tremendous response. Photo: Funcom
Billed as “the coziest open-world game ever,” Infinity Nikki seems like a completely baffling game, featuring pink-haired anime girls and a bunch of weird, cute singing creatures that look like adorable Noah's Ark. I'm not sure what to make of it.
And the upcoming Dune MMO, Dune: Awakening, in which hundreds of players explore the desert planet Arrakis and compete for abandoned technology and spice resources, drew a big response at the event.
For tasteful horror fans The trailer for Tarsier's upcoming Little Nightmares game looks very promising: a complex, intimate side-scrolling horror game. It's called ReanimalMeanwhile, Little Nightmares itself has been handed over to new developer Supermassive, a company with a long history in horror, and a trailer for it has now been released, maintaining the Tim Burton-esque toy-like atmosphere of the first two games.
game It looked especially cool
Majestic…Monster Hunter Wild. Photo: Capcom
With its menacingly majestic creatures, harsh weather, and expensive-looking production, Monster Hunter Wilds is a fantastic piece of work. I'm a long-time fan of the series and can't wait for this new game. Keep an eye out for an interview with the developer on the site soon.
There was an extended preview of Civilization VII, the latest attempt to capture the entire chaos of human history on a computer monitor.
meanwhile, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage The film depicts four kids in the summer of 1995, playing music in their garage and discussing their hopes for the future. But things don't always go as they hoped.
Finally, I note Shepherding the FlockDue for release in 2025, the game has a gentle Last Guardian vibe to it, as a young boy herds giant horned beasts through mountainous terrain.
A turn-based military tactics game…Tactical Breach Wizards. Photo: Suspicious developments
I was looking forward to Tactical Breakthrough Wizard For years, this game has been the third in the Defenestration Trilogy, a series of indie games about fun ways to throw enemies out of windows. It's made by the unfairly fun and talented developer Tom Francis. (Disclosure: I've known Tom since he was a games journalist.) In this turn-based, destructive military tactics game, you play a group of misfit wizards who make up for their uselessness as humans with some very useful abilities, like seeing a second into the future and raising the dead.
Our reviewer, Rick Lane, was totally enthralled by the game, writing, “Its blend of inventive, flexible puzzles and wickedly entertaining writing should be enough to warrant active play on anyone's console. But what qualifies it for the Bureau of Special Arcane Arts is how boldly it critiques the murky morality of military-themed games.”
Based on satellite analysis, it has been found that the construction of Tesla’s megafactory near Berlin resulted in the cutting down of approximately 500,000 trees.
The establishment of the German plant has sparked significant controversy, leading to widespread protests and discussions regarding the trade-offs associated with developing a green economy.
Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla, criticized local police for allowing “left-wing protesters” to escape.
Satellite imagery reveals that 329 hectares (813 acres) of forest were cleared at the site between March 2020 and May 2023, as reported by environmental information company Queiroz. This amounts to around 500,000 trees.
Since May, environmental activists have been protesting the expansion plans of the Gigafactory, occupying treehouses at a nearby campsite and attempting to storm the plant. In March, one group set fire to a utility pole, resulting in the halting of production at the plant for several days.
Germany: Police clash with hundreds of climate protesters trying to storm Tesla factory – VIDEO
Karolina Dujewo from the campaign alliance “Turn off the tap at Tesla” emphasized that the analysis points to the detrimental impact of the company’s electric car production on the local and global environment. She stressed the urgency to prevent increased deforestation and further environmental destruction in one of the driest regions in Germany, which also puts protected drinking water areas at risk.
Tesla did not provide a response to the request for comment.
Antoine Haruf, chief analyst at Queiroz, stated, “The Tesla factory in Germany has resulted in the loss of a substantial number of trees, which must be balanced against the advantages of transitioning from internal combustion vehicles to electric vehicles.” He highlighted that the felled trees equate to about 13,000 tonnes of CO2, equivalent to annual emissions from 2,800 people driving average internal combustion engine vehicles. Haruf emphasized the importance of acknowledging and mitigating these trade-offs.
In July, Tesla announced plans to double annual production to 1 million units at the Gigafactory in Germany, following approval from the Brandenburg Ministry of the Environment.
Numerous environmental accidents have occurred at the facility, which also manufactures millions of battery cells and has experienced incidents like leaks and spills of diesel fuel, paint, and aluminum.
While Tesla initially did not respond, they later stated that several accidents occurred on the factory premises during construction and operation, but no environmental harm was caused, and corrective measures were swiftly implemented when necessary.
Deforestation monitoring is conducted by Kayrros using publicly available optical imagery from the Sentinel-2 satellite with a resolution of 10 meters. This data is automatically processed and reviewed by remote sensing experts to ensure quality.
Queiroz mentioned the development of deforestation detection tools to assist companies in compliance with the upcoming EU Deforestation Regulation, which aims to prohibit the import of deforestation-linked goods by early 2025. The tool can also be utilized to independently oversee forests utilized as carbon offsets in voluntary carbon markets.
A groundbreaking space mission known as Polaris Dawn is set to take off next week with four private citizens on board. The mission is expected to feature the first ever spacewalk conducted entirely by a civilian crew.
The commander of the mission is billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, who is also the founder and CEO of Shift4, a payment processing company. Polaris Dawn is the first of three spaceflights funded and organized by Isaacman in collaboration with SpaceX, collectively known as the Polaris Program. This will be the first private SpaceX mission to reach orbit in 2021.
The crew of three includes pilot Scott Kidd-Poteet, a retired Air Force Lt. Col., and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. They will be venturing into space aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket for a planned five-day mission.
One of the highlights of the mission will be a spacewalk on the third day, where two crew members will exit the capsule via cables and spend up to 20 minutes in space. This is a historic moment as until now, spacewalks have been carried out exclusively by astronauts from government space agencies.
During the spacewalk, the Crew Dragon capsule will be fully exposed to the vacuum of space at an altitude of 435 miles above Earth. To prepare for this event, all four astronauts will don SpaceX-designed spacesuits for testing and future long-duration missions.
The mission aims to inspire people to dream big and push the boundaries of human exploration beyond Earth. The crew, including Isaacman, have undergone extensive training over the past two years in preparation for this momentous journey.
In addition to conducting science experiments and testing technology during the mission, the crew will also raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, continuing Isaacman’s philanthropic efforts in space.
Details regarding the cost, objectives, and timeline of future Polaris flights have not been disclosed by Isaacman at this time.
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