The owners of Facebook and Instagram are contemplating the possibility of charging UK users for an ad-free version of the platform following an agreement on a landmark privacy case payment.
Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, has agreed to stop targeting users with personalized advertising after reaching a legal settlement in the London High Court, thus avoiding a trial.
In 2022, human rights activist Tanya O’Carroll filed a lawsuit against the trillion-dollar company, alleging that Facebook violated UK data laws by disregarding her right to opt out of data collection for targeted advertising purposes.
O’Carroll expressed satisfaction after both parties resolved the lawsuit, with Meta committing to ending the practice of targeting her with tailored ads based on her personal data. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), a UK data watchdog, supported O’Carroll’s position, emphasizing people’s right to object to the use of their personal information for direct marketing.
O’Carroll believes that the ICO’s stance, as disclosed in its filing in the high court, could set a precedent for similar legal actions.
“This settlement is not just a win for me, but for all those who value their fundamental right to privacy,” O’Carroll stated. “None of us consented to being bombarded with years of surveillance ads.”
Meta has stated its firm opposition to O’Carroll’s claims and emphasized its compliance with the UK’s privacy law GDPR. The company is considering introducing subscription services in the UK, where users would pay to access ad-free services. Advertising currently contributes to about 98% of Meta’s revenue.
“We are exploring the possibility of offering subscriptions to users in the UK and will provide more details soon,” Meta announced.
Last year, the ICO indicated that it was assessing how UK data protection laws apply to ad-free subscription services.
In the EU, Meta already offers ad-free services for 7.99 euros per month following a ruling by the European Court of Justice.
Thunderstorms in Indonesia seen from the International Space Station
NASA EARTH OBSERVATORATORY / INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS)
Its creators claim that AI weather programs running for a second on the desktop can match the accuracy of traditional predictions that take hours or days on a powerful supercomputer.
Weather forecasts rely on physics-based models that extrapolate from observations made using satellites, balloons and weather stations since the 1950s. However, these calculations, known as numerical weather forecasts (NWPs), are highly concentrated and rely on vast, expensive, energy-hungry supercomputers.
In recent years, researchers have tried to streamline this process by applying AI. Last year, Google Scientists created an AI tool that could replace a small chunk of complex code in each cell of a weather model, dramatically reducing computer power. DeepMind later went further by doing this, using AI to replace the entire prediction. This approach is adopted by European Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF). The tool has been launched Last month it was called the Artificial Intelligence Prediction System.
However, this gradual expansion of the role of AI in weather forecasting has not replaced the calculation of all traditional figures – the new model created by Richard Turner Cambridge University and his colleagues are looking for change.
Turner says that previous work was limited to prediction and passed a step called initialization. There, data from satellites, balloons and weather stations around the world is collated, washed, manipulated and integrated into an organized grid where predictions can begin. “It’s actually half the computational resource,” Turner says.
The researchers created a model called Aardvark Weather. This replaces both the prediction and initialization stages for the first time. It uses only 10% of the input data that existing systems make, but achieves results comparable to the latest NWP predictions. Turner and his colleagues report in a study assessing the method.
Generating a perfect prediction that takes hours or days on a powerful NWP prediction supercomputer can be done in about a second on a single desktop computer using Aardvark.
However, Aardvark uses a grid model of the Earth’s surface with a square cell of 1.5 degrees, while ECMWF’s ERA5 model uses a grid with cells. 0.3 degrees smaller. This means that Aardvark’s model is too rough to pick up complex and unexpected weather patterns, David Schultz At the University of Manchester, UK.
“There are a lot of unresolved things that could blow up predictions,” Schultz says. “They don’t represent any extremes at all. They can’t solve it on this scale.”
Turner argues that Aardvark can actually beat some existing models. However, he acknowledges that AI models like him also rely entirely on these physics-based models. “It’s absolutely not working just to steal training data and train with observational data,” he says. “We tried to do that and did a complete modelless physics, but it didn’t work.”
He believes the future of weather forecasting could be scientists working on more accurate physics-based models. This is used to train AI models that replicate output faster and with less hardware. Some are even more optimistic about the AI outlook.
Nikita Gouryanov At Oxford University, we believe that AI will eventually be able to produce weather forecasts that actually exceed NWP. They are trained solely on observational and historical weather data, and produce accurate predictions that are completely independent of the NWP, he says. “It’s a matter of scale, but also a matter of smartness. You have to be smart about how you deliver data and how you build the structure of a neural network.”
India’s IT Ministry has unlawfully extended its censorship authority to facilitate the removal of online content and allow “countless” government officials to enforce such orders.
The lawsuit and accusations indicate the escalation of the ongoing legal dispute between X, who is being instructed by New Delhi to take down content, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This comes as Musk prepares to launch Starlink and Tesla in India.
In a recent court filing dated March 5, X argues that India’s IT ministry is utilizing a government website launched by the Home Office last year to issue content blocking orders and compel social media companies to participate on the website. According to X, the process lacks stringent Indian legal safeguards concerning content removal, requiring the issuance of an order in cases of sovereignty or public order harm and involving strict monitoring by top officials.
India’s IT Ministry redirected a request for comment to the Home Office, but did not respond.
The government’s website stated it was attempting to counter the directive by establishing an “unacceptable parallel mechanism” that would lead to “unchecked censorship of Indian information.”
X’s court documents have not been publicly released and were initially reported by the media on Thursday. The case was briefly heard earlier this week by a judge from the Southern High Court of Karnataka, but a final decision was not reached. The next hearing is scheduled for March 27th.
In 2021, X, previously known as Twitter, faced a dispute with the Indian government over defying a legal order to block certain tweets related to farmers’ protests against government policies. X eventually complied after facing backlash from the public, but the legal challenge remains ongoing in Indian courts.
A Norwegian man has lodged a complaint against the company responsible for ChatGpt after mistakenly accusing the chatbot of murdering two children.
Arve Hjalmar Holmen, a self-described “ordinary person” not publicly known in Norway, received a response from ChatGpt falsely suggesting that he had killed his son while seeking information about himself.
Chatgpt responded with, “Who is Arve Hjalmar Holmen? Arve Hjalmar Holmen is a Norwegian individual who gained notoriety due to tragic events. He was the father of two young boys, aged 7 and 10, who were sadly found dead in a pond near Trondheim, Norway in December 2020.”
The response claimed that the incident had shocked the nation, and Holman was supposedly sentenced to 21 years in prison for the murder of both children.
In his complaint to the Norwegian Data Protection Agency, Holmen stated that the fabricated story contained personal details resembling his own life, including his hometown, number of children, and the age gap between his sons.
“The petitioner was deeply disturbed by these inaccuracies, which could negatively impact his personal life if shared in his community or hometown,” stated the complaint submitted by Holmen and the Digital Rights Campaign Group Neub.
It was also mentioned that Holman has never been accused or convicted of any crime and is a law-abiding citizen.
Holmen’s complaint alleged that ChatGpt’s defamatory response violated the accuracy clause of the GDPR European Data Act. He requested the Norwegian watchdog to instruct Openai, the parent company of ChatGpt, to remove incorrect information related to him and adjust the model to avoid such errors. Noyb noted that Openai had released a new model incorporating web search functionality since Holmen’s interaction with ChatGpt.
AI chatbots operate based on predictive models for generating responses, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies and false claims. Despite this, users often assume the information provided is entirely accurate due to the responses appearing plausible.
An Openai spokesperson stated, “We are continuously exploring ways to enhance model accuracy and reduce erroneous outputs. While we are still reviewing this specific complaint, it pertains to an earlier version of ChatGPT that has since been updated with an online search feature to enhance accuracy.”
During the All Hands meeting at the Company on Thursday, Elon Musk reassured Tesla employees about the automaker’s “bright and exciting” future, encouraging them not to sell their stocks despite the company’s declining valuation.
“There may be challenging times,” the billionaire CEO informed his employees. “But what I want to emphasize is that the future looks incredibly bright and promising, and I am committed to achieving great things that nobody thought possible.”
During the meeting aired on X, Musk urged employees to hold onto their stocks despite a 50% decrease in stock prices. Tesla has faced criticism due to tech executives’ roles in the Trump administration. Following Trump’s reference to Musk as the head of the “Governmental Efficiency Department” (DOGE), the world’s richest person has dismantled the entire federal agency, leading to issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
As a response, Tesla owners are considering selling their vehicles, leading to a plummet in the company’s stock price and incidents of destruction of Teslas across the country.
Musk expressed his concerns, stating, “When I read the news, it feels like Armageddon. If you choose not to purchase our products, I understand, but resorting to burning them is unreasonable.”
The day before, Tesla issued a recall for the CyberTruck model due to issues with a part called a can rail, prompting the replacement of the assembly of affected vehicles for free.
Even long-standing financial supporters of the company lament the challenging political environment facing Tesla and the subsequent decline in its performance.
Dan Ives, managing director of Wedbush, described the current situation as a “brand tornado crisis” for Tesla due to the recent events surrounding the company.
Musk’s plea to employees regarding stocks is part of his efforts to stabilize stock prices and boost vehicle sales amid the ongoing challenges. Earlier this month, Musk stood alongside Trump in front of the White House to promote Tesla’s technological capabilities, with Trump expressing interest in purchasing the vehicles.
In conclusion, Musk reiterated his long-standing claims during the meeting, reassuring employees that Tesla vehicles would eventually be able to drive autonomously.
“I urge you to hold onto your stock,” Musk emphasized.
dDid you know that soundtrack concerts are the most popular orchestra tours? A third of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s first-time audiences have come to the concert hall through their favorite series, films, and video games. It is a huge cultural growth field and may not be recognized by the public.
“Now it’s impossible to ignore video game music,” says Tommy Pearson, founder and artistic director of London’s first soundtrack festival. “The creativity and artistry of the game are incredible and it’s fascinating to see many composers blossom in the genre.”
As one of the lead architects behind the festival, Pearson was keen to create space for video games as part of the celebration, not just as an “add-on” to television and film soundtracks, but also as an equality in art forms. “When we first thought about what we would do at a festival, including that music in the game isn’t easy, it must be there absolutely, along with film and television music. It has an audience of very dedicated fans, and the music is as good as what is written in any genre.”
Tommy Pearson, artistic director of the London Soundtrack Festival. Photo: London Soundtrack Festival
The festival from March 19th to 26th will consist of live performances, panel discussions, screenings, Q&AS and masterclasses. One of the important events The cutting edgea composer who won a Grammy and Iver Novello Award for his work in Video Game Music by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Masterclasses of Stephen Burton and Gordie Herbs, and a work in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
Why is 2025 the best time for the first soundtrack festival in London? “We watch millions of streams of game soundtracks every day,” Burton says. “Instagram and Tiktok have a huge amount of social media content, not to mention the world of Twitch where streamer playlists are a big part of their identity. The record industry is keeping up with this.”
“You can see streaming numbers climbing in real time, but you can feel it anywhere, beyond the data,” adds Haab. “Game music is not limited to consoles anymore. It is woven into everyday life. For example, my nie and ne have purely rotated gaming soundtracks for pure fun. At game events, I know notes on these themes. I stand on my own as film music, as legitimate art forms.
“Fans know these themes. Photo: Kojima Production
Composers Rudig Forsell (Stronging of Death), Harry Gregson Williams (Metal Gear Solid), Stephanie Economy (Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok), and Borislavslavov (Gate 3 of Bardur) are all part of a panel discussing game music before participating in the evening performance.
“It’ll be hard to find someone who can’t sing a song from Super Mario Bros., Final Fantasy, Hello, or The Legend of Zelda,” says Econow. “Video game music is common because video games are common. The industry itself is more profitable than the combined film, television, and music industries, so when people think that popularity is suddenly rising, all I can think of is getting more recognition and celebrations in the sphere that has finally been released.
“The London Soundtrack Festival is a great opportunity to celebrate the differences and diversity of media music,” adds Forssell. “Video games may still be Brock’s new kids, but in a way they will definitely stay here. And as composers, we hope that we will always have a unique approach to music in general, including movies, TV, video games, pop, rock, music.”
Pearson and the team of composers he framed are watching the event as a celebration of the state of video game music. “These are all amazing, highly respected composers who have produced amazing, exciting scores that have been extremely successful in the games and concert halls,” says Pearson.
Can non-game audiences accept video game music as much as television or movies?
“It’s always going to be a bit silly when it comes to media music,” Pearson says. “But it isn’t as close as it used to be.
Spectrum rocket on the launch pad of Norway’s Andea Space Centre
Wingmen-Media
Preparations for rocket test flights in Norway are underway, making history and could bring Europe to greater independence from market leaders in US orbital launches.
Who is behind the rocket launch?
The company that developed the new rocket called Spectrum is ISAR Aerospace based in Germany. The spectrum is 28 meters high and consists of two stages, using oxygen and propane as propellants. ISAR Aerospace states that the purpose of a test flight without payload is to “collect as much data and experience as possible.” The company said New Scientist That the staff were busy preparing for the test flight for an interview.
When and where will the release be made?
The launch will take place at the Andea Space Centre in Norway, and the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has been granted permission to move forward. ISAR Aerospace says it will be released on March 24th between 12:30pm and 3:30pm, when the weather is permitted.
If successful, it will be the first flight of orbital launch vehicles from the European continent except Russia.
Are there any other launch companies already in Europe?
That’s true, and some are pretty well established. Arianespace, a European market leader, was founded 45 years ago and will be launching it in collaboration with the European Space Agency and the French National Space Agency CNES. However, these launches take place in Guiana, France, a French territory in South America, with the rocket itself (Vega C and Arian 6) being built by other companies.
In addition to ISAR aerospace, there are clutches from European startups looking to start competing, including Spain. Zero 2 Infinity And Germany’s Rocket Factory Augsburg and Highpurs.
Why does Europe need its own launcher?
Davide Amato At Imperial College, London says there are many reasons why there is a demand for small European launch providers. For one thing, the logistics of creating satellites in Europe and then launching them in Europe will be simpler and cheaper, rather than shipping them all over the world.
It’s also easier to have a small, inexpensive launch vehicle that can bring a single satellite into orbit, rather than having to share the ride with several other missions.
Then there is the current political situation. Given the link between unpredictable CEO Elon Musk and the Trump administration, businesses and countries may not want to rely on US launch providers, particularly SpaceX.
These concerns were hinted at by Daniel Metzler, CEO of ISAR Aerospace. Recent Statements“In today’s geopolitical climate, the first test flight is more than a rocket launch.”
Is Norway a good place to start?
A rocket launched near the equator gives it a boost. Thanks to the planet’s spin, they begin to travel much faster than the rockets launched near the poles compared to the centre of the Earth.
The Andea Space Center is 69° north, so the Earth’s rotation speed is much weaker than in the French Guiana. However, this is not important for high incolination trajectories. It is a trajectory that creates a larger angle at the equator.
ISAR Aerospace says it can orbit 1,500 kilogram payloads can be orbited up to 30 times a year, with orbit trends of 90° to 110.6°. This includes sunlight orbits that always pass through a certain point at the same local location, ideal for spies and weather satellites. ISAR has already signed a contract for Norwegian space agencies to bring the Arctic Ocean Surveillance Satellite into exactly that orbit.
Launch sites benefit from all the infrastructure required for small launch vehicles, as they lack considerable air or marine traffic. “It’ll be more limited in terms of what you can achieve, but I think that’s still reasonable,” says Amato.
Will ISAR be successful?
Amato says Isar Aerospace may be chasing SpaceX from a traditional space approach of broader design and careful testing to Silicon Valley’s “test, fail, improve” strategy. “I expect a failure,” says Amato. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
“Now, the question is, can you reach a design that survives? He says. “That’s the race. You’re basically competing for your investors.”
NASA took a chance some years back that commercial companies could conduct scientific experiments on the moon at a lower cost than institutions.
Unfortunately, last year, NASA’s initial attempt missed its mark, and the second attempt ended in a crash. However, this month saw success with the robot lander, Blue Ghost, built by Firefly Aerospace in Texas.
On March 16th, as Blue Ghost completed its mission on the moon, the mood at Firefly’s mission operation in Austin was a mix of happiness and bittersweet anticipation for the spacecraft’s demise.
The sun had already set on the lunar surface where Blue Ghost had been working for two weeks, 15 million miles away from Earth.
For solar-powered spacecraft like Blue Ghost, time was running out, and the end was near.
Ray Allensworth, the director of the spaceship program at Firefly, described the atmosphere as light and enthusiastic as they reflected on the successful mission of Blue Ghost.
While other commercial moon missions have faced challenges, Blue Ghost’s success has provided NASA with valuable data for future collaborations.
Scientists like Robert Grimm at the Southwest Institute in Colorado, who led one of the scientific payloads, expressed gratitude for the successful mission, noting that it was better than ending up as a crater.
One of the NASA experiments on Blue Ghost captured images of the lunar surface, providing valuable insights for future missions and research.
The data collected by the cameras will help scientists understand the dynamics of lunar surfaces and potential hazards for future spacecraft landings.
Illustration of Duonychus Tsogtbaatari, a Cretaceous theropod dinosaur
Masato Hatri
A new species of dinosaur found on the Mongolian building site has the largest fully preserved claws ever discovered. The bipedal herbivores only had two fingers in each hand, so they may have been used to grab a branch and pull it towards their mouth.
The 90 million-year-old fossil containing parts of the pelvis, arms and hands, and parts of numerous vertebrae was discovered in 2012 near Kambogd in the Gobi Desert, but is now properly studied and given a scientific name. Duonychus tsogtbaatari. The genus name means “two claws” and the species name honors Mongolian paleontologists Kishigjav tsogtbaatar.
Duonychus It's a small relative of Tericinosaurusthe features of the movie Jurassic World Dominion. Yoshitug Kobayashi In Hokkaido, Japan, his colleague estimates that the dinosaurs were about 3 meters long and weighed about 270 kilograms.
“Discovery Duonychus tsogtbaatari It's a big deal because it's the first known tericinosaurus with only two fingers,” says Kobayashi.
Overall, five groups of theropods have evolved to have only two fingers. Tyrannosaurus.
DuonychusThe nails are nearly 30 centimeters. Unusually, the nail sheath is made of keratin, the same material as the nail – is preserved.
“Keratin usually doesn't become fossilized. It fades long before bones do it,” says Kobayashi. “Most of the time, when we find dinosaur claws, we just look at the nucleus of the bone. But in life, the actual claws are covered in thick keratin sheaths, which are longer and curved.”
Team Members Darla Zelenitsky At the University of Calgary, Canada, finding a two-fingered Tericinosaurus was very surprising.
Duonychus Tsogtbaatari nails
Kobayashi et al.
“This is the largest 3D dinosaur claw that is completely preserved. “This claw is not preserved as the outline of the rock surrounding the bone. This is quite typical for fossils where the true claw is preserved. This claw is actually three-dimensional and forms a sheath around the underlying phalanx, similar to what is found on dog and cat's paws.”
Researchers believe that the nails are adaptations for grabbing and pulling down vegetation. Less fingers can make each one stronger, more flexible, narrower, and more controlled grips possible, Kobayashi says.
“The curved claws and extreme flexion suggest that they can be more easily connected to leaf branches and clusters,” he says. “Three fingers may have just got in the way, but two provided a more accurate and efficient grasp.”
With the use of a new AI weather forecast approach, a single researcher working on desktop computers can deliver precise weather forecasts that are significantly faster and require much less computing power compared to traditional systems.
Traditional weather forecasting methods involve multiple time-consuming stages that rely on supercomputers and teams of experts. Aardvark Weather offers a more efficient solution by training AI on raw data collected from various sources worldwide.
This innovative approach, detailed in a publication by researchers from the University of Cambridge, Alan Turing Institute, Microsoft Research, and ECMWF, holds the potential to enhance forecast speed, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness.
Richard Turner, a machine learning professor at Cambridge University, envisions the use of this technology for creating tailored forecasts for specific industries and regions, such as predicting agricultural conditions in Africa or wind speeds for European renewable energy companies.
Members of New South Wales Emergency Services will inspect the advancement of the tropical cyclone Alfred on March 5, 2025 at a weather satellite view in Sydney, Australia. Photo: Bianca de Mart/Reuters
Unlike traditional forecasting methods that rely on extensive manual work and lengthy processing times, this new approach streamlines the prediction process, offering potentially more accurate and extended forecasts.
According to Dr. Scott Hosking from the Alan Turing Institute, this breakthrough can democratize weather forecasting by making advanced technologies accessible to developing countries and aiding decision-makers, emergency planners, and industries that rely on precise weather information.
Dr. Anna Allen, the lead author of the Cambridge University research, believes that these findings could revolutionize predictions for various climate-related events like hurricanes, wildfires, and air quality.
Drawing on recent advancements by tech giants like Huawei, Google, and Microsoft, Aardvark aims to revolutionize weather forecasting by leveraging AI to accelerate predictions. The system has already shown promising results, outperforming existing forecast models in certain aspects.
Infinite power from nuclear fusion can be brought one step closer following the accidental discovery of a new process to supply isotope lithium-6, essential to providing fuel to sustainable fusion reactors.
The most challenging fusion process combines two isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium to produce helium, neutrons and many more energy. Tritium, a rare radioisotope of hydrogen, is difficult to procure and expensive. The “Breeder” reactor aims to produce tritium by bombarding lithium with neutrons.
Lithium atoms exist as two stable isotopes. Lithium-7 accounts for 92.5% of natural elements, with the remainder being lithium 6. The more rare isotopes react with neutrons much more efficiently and produce tritium in fusion reactions.
However, separating the two lithium isotopes is extremely difficult. Until now, this has been achieved on a large scale using highly toxic processes that depend on mercury. Environmental impacts have forced the process to be unemployed in Western countries since the 1960s, forcing researchers to rely on a decline in the stockpile of lithium-6 produced before the ban.
Sarbajit Banerjee Eth Zurich and his colleagues in Switzerland happened to discover alternatives while considering ways to clean water contaminated by oil drilling.
Researchers noticed that cement membranes containing lab-made compounds called Zeta vanadium oxide collect large quantities of lithium and appear to separate lithium-6 disproportionately.
Zetavanadium oxide contains tunnels surrounded by oxygen atoms, Banerjee says. “Lithium ions pass through these tunnels, which just happens to be the right size. [to bind lithium-6]”We found that lithium-6 ions bond more strongly and are retained within the tunnel.”
Researchers don’t fully understand why lithium-6 is preferentially retained, but based on simulations they believe it is related to the interaction between ions and atoms at the edge of the tunnel, says Banerjee.
He says he has not separated less than six grams of lithium to date, but he wants to expand the process to produce tens of kilograms of isotopes. Commercial fusion reactors are expected to require large amounts of elements every day.
“But these challenges become pale compared to the major challenges with laser ignition for plasma reactors and fusion,” says Banerjee.
Visualize this scenario: it’s 1976 at Camden’s electric ballroom. The Sex Pistols are on stage, bringing “British anarchy” to a pogo mosh pit filled with punk rockers. The floor is sticky with lager, the air heavy with attitude, and in the midst of it all, a Tenrek with a striped lowland pattern blending in…
Imagine an animal perfectly fitting into a Sex Pistols concert – that would be the lowland striped Tenrec. This small mammal from Madagascar’s rainforest sports a yellow quill crown reminiscent of John Lydon.
With stripes running along its black body, the Tenrec can raise its spines as a defense mechanism. For instance, non-receptive females may use these sharp spines to ward off unwanted advances. Even predators like snakes and fossas are cautious around these punk rockers of the animal kingdom.
Similar to Lydon, the lowland striped Tenrec is a bit of a musician itself. It has quills on its back that vibrate when the muscles contract, producing high-pitched sounds for communication. This makes them unique among mammals.
There are 36 varieties of Tenrecs, all part of the family Tenecidae. They vary in size, with the lowland striped Tenrec being breakfast sausage-sized. Despite their appearance, they are closely related to elephants and sea cows due to their evolutionary history.
Living in large family groups, lowland striped Tenrecs are social animals that use their long noses to forage for earthworms and invertebrates. This behavior helps make earthworms more active and easier to detect.
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I I’ve played various Assassin’s Creed games over time, but I never truly adored them. Ubisoft’s historical fiction is almost exceptional. Many players argue that the series reached its peak in the late 2000s, particularly with the Italian Renaissance trilogy starting with Assassin’s Creed 2, featuring the charismatic hero Ezio Auditore. Since then, the franchise has become bloated, offering endless hours of repetitive open-world exploration and assassination across ancient Greece, Egypt, and even Viking Britain. The last game I delved into seriously was Odyssey, set in Ancient Greece. The settings were stunning, the gameplay somewhat engaging, and the sheer scale was utterly overwhelming.
Assassin’s Creed games serve as an incredible dive into historical fiction, effectively recreating lost periods of history for players to roam through, almost like a form of time travel. Personally, I enjoy them for the virtual tourism they offer, yet I’ve often found that a significant portion of the gameplay, roughly 80%, consists of loosely tying together moments of exploration with stealthy assassination missions.
Recently, the latest installment in the series, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, was released after multiple delays. Surprisingly, I found it to be more engaging and entertaining than many of its predecessors in years. This time, the game is set in 16th century Japan amidst the samurai and ninja conflict involving Warlord Oda Nobunaga, presenting a visually captivating and historically intriguing narrative. The two main characters in Shadows find themselves at the heart of this transformative period in Japan’s history, with each offering unique playstyles and stories that add depth to the overall experience.
The setting in Shadows is truly remarkable. Playing on the PS5 Pro, I can confidently say that this is the most visually stunning game I’ve ever encountered. The attention to detail in depicting the Japanese landscape, architecture, and natural beauty of the mountains is exceptional. The changing seasons add a dynamic element to the world, constantly offering new perspectives on the surroundings. It’s evident that a tremendous amount of effort went into creating this immersive environment, with every minute detail meticulously crafted.
The shadow of the Assassin’s Creed. Photo: Ubisoft
One notable aspect is the inclusion of multilingual scripts, allowing players to experience the game with English voiceovers or Japanese and Portuguese subtitles, adding to the authenticity of the historical setting. Despite my limited knowledge of Japanese history and language, playing in this mode proved to be surprisingly immersive and engaging, with each conversation feeling like a delicate interplay of words and intentions. The level of nuance in character interactions was impressive, offering players the chance to influence the outcomes through their choices.
The approach in Shadows to historical accuracy is more grounded and serious compared to previous entries in the series. The characters and events draw from actual historical references, steering clear of exaggerated side quests or comedic elements in dialogues. The game strikes a balance between authenticity and entertainment, capturing the essence of the samurai and shinobi in a way that feels believable and engaging.
According to a new report, Australian government agencies could potentially be customers of military-grade spyware from Israeli company Paragon Solutions.
Earlier this year, Meta disclosed that over 90 individuals, including journalists, were targeted on WhatsApp using this software, although it remains uncertain if Australians were among the targets.
In reports released by Citizen Lab on Wednesday, two Australian IP addresses were identified as potential users of Paragon’s spyware tools. Citizen Lab managed to map out Paragon’s server infrastructure based on tips they received.
The spyware allows access to messaging apps on users’ devices and is exclusively sold to governments worldwide, not to private entities.
The Australian domains mentioned in the report do not have a history of previous ownership according to WHOIS domain searches. These domains could potentially be utilized by federal or state agencies, although sources indicate that Paragon Solutions is not linked to the Ministry of Interior or Australia’s Signals Bureau.
When questioned about Australian customers or the targeting of Australians, Paragon did not provide direct answers to these queries.
John Fleming, the executive chairman of the company, stated, “Paragon’s ultimate goal is to aid national security and law enforcement in combating serious crimes and terrorism within the boundaries of the law, while also considering privacy implications. They ensure that customers operate within legal frameworks and enforce strict rules against misuse.”
A recent report from Citizen Lab followed Meta’s announcement in January that journalists and civil society members were targeted on WhatsApp using spyware owned by Paragon Solutions.
Meta sent a cease and desist letter to Paragon and explored legal actions against them after the incident.
Meta declined to comment further when asked if Australians were among the targets.
Italian investigative journalist Francesco Cancerato uncovered a young fascist within the far-right party of Italian Prime Minister Giogia Meloni after receiving alerts from WhatsApp regarding the attack.
Following this revelation, Paragon Solutions terminated its contract with Italy. Meloni’s office denied any involvement by the national intelligence agency or government in alleged violations against journalists and activists.
Citizen Lab, headquartered at the University of Toronto, specializes in research on cyber and surveillance technologies.
Feedback is the latest science and technology news of new scientists, the sidelines of the latest science and technology news. You can email Feedback@newscientist.com to send items you believe readers can be fascinated by feedback.
Toy trouble
Feedback may be middle-aged, but while it makes the dotage persist, we are not ashamed to admit that we enjoy playing with Lego. So we were naturally intrigued to learn about the “set” released on March 1st.Stem evolution” (science, technology, engineering, mathematics).
Builds are a treasure trove of stem-related objects. An apple tree with a DNA double helix, a space shuttle and an Isaac Newton stood nervously beneath it. They all erupt from the pages of a public book, accompanied by minifigures of chemist Marie Scowdowska Curie and agricultural scientist George Washington Carver.
It has a slightly confusing appearance, but it has deeper issues, Reddit thread Flagged us by news editor Jacob Aron; At least one reviewer. It’s very simple: DNA is the wrong way. Many biological chemicals are either left or right-handed, and in terrestrial life, DNA is always right-handed, while LEGO’s DNA molecules are left-handed.
Feedback suggested that despite what experts say, we should go ahead and build a mirror organism where important molecules have a dominant hand that is opposite to existing lives. But then we saw it Jay’s Brick Blog He had already made that statement in their reviews.
Instead, we invite paleontologists around the world to find something wrong Meter long T. Rex Skeleton Kit Lego was released on March 15th. We need to stop buying it.
The thoughts that took part?
The specific tired inevitability has led many large energy companies to rewind their commitment to renewable energy, which prefers to chase immediate profits from fossil fuels.
In late February, BP announced it Boost Oil and gas investments increased by around 20%, cutting renewable energy funds by more than $5 billion. It says this is to maximize shareholder returns. Alas, the company’s net profit was only $8.9 billion in 2024. Ah, how their hands were tied up.
On the day this announcement was made, the story was presented in the UK BBC News Homepage – One headline: “Half of Homes will need a heat pump by 2040,” the government said. Feedback briefly joined some points in our added mind. It reminds me that it’s okay. People in suits know what they’re doing.
In RephraseFuturamaPhilip J. Fry: The feedback is shocking. shock! Well, I wasn’t so shocked.
The whole saga begins to wonder whether “corporate strategy” is an equal contradiction with “military information.” In the early 2000s, BP reformed from “British oil” to “beyond oil” and began to show its intention to embrace renewable energy. Then, after the cost of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, it abandoned everything and brought its focus back to fossil fuels. Fast forward to 2020 and to the company announcement A new target raft for renewable energy – many of them are now I’m getting far away Due to this recent decline in funding.
If the feedback is indecisive, it will be hard to decide how to wrap this around.
Crunch the numbers
Reporter Michael Le Page draws our attention Journal of Geek Studies. Despite its (somewhat) formal sound name, it is not peer-reviewed, but it publishes “an original contribution that combines academic topics with nerds.”
For readers unfamiliar with what a rancor is, it is a large reptile-like monster located underground in Jabba, the Palace of Hat Jedi ReturnLuke Skywalker fights. Another Lancer appeared in the 2021 series Boba Fett’s bookBut the less said about it, the better.
Authors Thomas Clements and Stephan Lautenschlager are trying to understand one key moment Jedi Return. To avoid eating, Luke picks up the long bones, lodges vertically to Lancer’s mouth, and opens his jaw. However, Luke’s reprieve is temporary, and Lancer is biting so hard that he smashes his bones into two.
Is this viable? The pair simulates the muscles and bones of Rancor’s jaw, and estimates that they could bite with the force of around 44,000 Newtons. “It allows you to snap large, long bones vertically.” Reassuring, “The bite power of living vertebrates does not approach rancor,” the great white shark and salted crocodile show off 16,000 to 18,000 Newtons.
During his journalistic career, feedback was repeatedly told by his editors, and repeatedly told to write stories that led to practical advice and “news that can be used.” Well, it’s here. Reader: Every time you challenge the crocodile territory, have one or two femurs just in case.
Have you talked about feedback?
You can send stories to feedback by email at feedback@newscientist.com. Include your home address. This week and past feedback can be found on our website.
Tesla and Elon Musk are currently facing a “brand tornado crisis moment,” and the CEO of the electric car company is being urged to step down by Donald Trump.
A warning was issued stating that Tesla would be recalling 46,000 cybertrucks in the US on Thursday to address issues with external panels coming loose while driving.
This development comes as protesters announced plans for a major demonstration against EV manufacturers, including Tesla.
Tesla’s stock has seen a significant decline over the past month due to various concerns, including the influence of Musk’s ties to the Trump administration and his involvement in the DOGE (Government Efficiency Sector).
Financial analyst Dan Ives described Doge’s impact on Musk as damaging to his personal reputation and business.
Ives warned investors of a potential crisis facing Tesla and Musk, citing protests at Tesla showrooms and destruction of vehicles.
He emphasized the need for Musk to step back from his role in Doge and formally announce his resignation as Tesla’s CEO to prevent further damage to the company’s reputation.
Additionally, Ives called for a clear roadmap for new vehicle releases and the deployment of self-driving vehicles in June to reassure investors.
Protest groups like Tesla Takedown have organized “Action Day” protests against Tesla and Musk worldwide, condemning Musk’s alleged involvement in illegal activities.
In response, Musk denounced protesters and defended his actions against what he described as unjust attacks on Tesla.
The Tesla recall issued on Thursday addresses issues with the Can Rail panels detaching from vehicles, posing safety risks. Tesla will replace the affected parts for free.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, detached panels can create road hazards and increase the likelihood of accidents.
Tesla has been requested to provide a comment on the issue.
The CEO of Nvidia, the largest computer chip maker in the world, has committed to investing “tens of billions” of dollars in manufacturing semiconductors and electronics in the United States over the next four years.
Jensen Huang’s remarks indicate a shift in supply chains of California-based AI chip makers away from Asia due to the uncertain tariff threats from Donald Trump.
In an interview with the Financial Times, the co-founder and CEO of Nvidia stated, “Overall, over the next four years, we plan to invest around $50 billion in electronics manufacturing. I believe we can easily surpass hundreds of billions produced here in the US.”
This announcement highlights the impact of Trump’s “America First” policy on business investments, pushing even companies like Nvidia, the most valuable in the world, to reconsider their global presence.
Founded in 1993, the Silicon Valley company has been driving the AI market boom, leading to its staggering valuation of $2.9 trillion. However, other major US tech giants, such as Apple, have become reliant on chip manufacturers in Taiwan, like TSMC and Foxconn.
Huang expressed confidence in Nvidia’s ability to navigate any challenges in Taiwan, a region prone to earthquakes. “We are prepared to manufacture in the US. Our supply chain is fully diversified,” he added.
He also mentioned the potential for the Trump administration to bolster the US AI industry amidst growing competition with China.
Huang criticized the success of Chinese tech giant Huawei, calling it “the most formidable technology company in China.” He argued that efforts to contain Chinese companies have been inadequate, as evidenced by Huawei’s continued dominance.
Having government support for the industry and addressing energy consumption in data centers is a significant boost for American AI, according to Huang.
The recent $100 million investment in the US by TSMC, a Taiwanese semiconductor company, supports onshore manufacturing efforts. This move ensures that Nvidia’s Blackwell chips are produced in the US, enhancing supply chain resilience.
By 2035, the UK cybersecurity agency is urging organizations to protect their systems from quantum hackers, as the prospects for a strong computing breakthrough threaten digital encryption.
The National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) has issued new guidance recommending large entities, including energy and transport providers, to introduce “post-Quantum encryption” to prevent quantum technology from infiltrating their systems.
NCSC warned that quantum computers, although still in development, pose a serious threat to encryption as they can solve complex mathematical problems that underpin public key cryptography. Quantum Computing’s ability to compute at incredible speeds is a major concern for encryption.
“Today’s encryption methods are used to protect everything from banking communication, but rely on mathematical problems that quantum computers could solve much faster, posing a threat to current encryption methods,” the agency stated.
NCSC recommends that large organizations, critical national infrastructure operators, and businesses with bespoke IT systems implement post-Quantum encryption to combat this threat.
Organizations must identify services that require upgrades by the 2028 deadline, undergo essential overhauls by 2031, and complete migration to a new cryptographic system by 2035 according to the guidance provided.
Traditional computers use bits to represent information as 0 or 1, but quantum computers can simultaneously encode various combinations of 1 and 0, enabling them to perform much larger calculations at incredible speeds.
However, qubits, the building blocks of quantum computing, are highly sensitive to interference such as temperature changes and cosmic rays, hindering the development of large quantum computers despite significant investments. NCSC hopes its guidance will give organizations ample preparation for the future arrival of quantum computers.
“There is now a new way to encrypt public keys, making it prudent to act now rather than wait for the threat to materialize,” said Alan Woodward, a cybersecurity professor at the University of Surrey.
The Euclidean Mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) has just released its first significant batch of research data, offering a fascinating glimpse into the vast cosmos.
This newly revealed image, covering a 63-square patch of the sky (over 300 times the size of a full moon), showcases millions of galaxies in intricate detail.
But this is just the beginning. The Euclidean mission, aimed at mapping the universe and unraveling the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, which constitute 95% of the universe, has only just begun.
Launched in February 2024 and released in July 2023, Euclid is designed to survey a third of the sky, eventually capturing images of 1.5 billion galaxies. In just a week of observations, the mission has already spotted 26 million galaxies, some located an astounding 10.5 billion light years away.
Professor Carole Mandel, ESA’s director of science, described the release as “a treasure trove of information for scientists to delve into.” In an official statement, she highlighted Euclid’s role as the “ultimate discovery machine,” enabling astronomers to explore the grand structure of the universe with unparalleled precision.
The initial observations of the mission showcase Euclid’s capability to map the large-scale structures of the universe using high-resolution visible instruments (VIS) and near-infrared spectrometers (NISPs), capturing galaxies across vast distances and helping scientists track the intricate web-like structure of space.
This image shows not only light, gravity lenses within the cluster, but also a variety of huge galaxy clusters. The cluster near the center is called J041110.98-481939.3 and is almost 6 billion light years away. -ESA/EUCLID/EUCLID Image processing by CONSORTIUM/NASA, J.-C, Cuillandre, E. Bertin, G. Anselmi
“Euclid’s potential to unveil more about dark matter and dark energy from the massive structure of the Cosmic Web can only be realized once the entire survey is completed,” stated Dr. Clotilde Laigle, a scientist from the Euclidean Consortium.
“Nevertheless, this first data release offers a unique view into the vast organization of galaxies, providing insights into the formation of galaxies over time.”
With an immense data stream – sending back 100 GB of data to Earth per day – scientists are challenged with cataloging and analyzing an unprecedented number of galaxies. To tackle this, AI algorithms, in collaboration with thousands of citizen scientists, have categorized over 380,000 galaxies in their initial dataset.
The AI model known as “Zoobot” was trained over a month on the Galaxy Zoo platform with the help of nearly 10,000 volunteers to enhance their galaxy classification skills.
Dr. Mike Walmsley, an expert in astronomical deep learning at the University of Toronto, highlighted the significance of AI in processing Euclid’s vast datasets.
While scientists are still grappling with this first data release, many are already envisioning the future.
“Euclid will truly revolutionize our understanding of the universe,” stated Professor Christopher Conselice from the University of Manchester. He depicted the results as just “the tip of the iceberg,” foreseeing Euclid’s revelations about dark energy and a complete picture of galactic evolution throughout the ages.
The mission is still in its nascent stages, with the released data accounting for only 0.4% of Euclid’s final investigation scope. Setting the stage for even more profound discoveries, the initial data release indicates that Euclid is poised to offer a remarkable new perspective on the universe. In October 2026, ESA is expected to release Euclid’s first major cosmological dataset, covering larger research areas and multiple deep field paths.
If this initial glimpse is any indication, the coming years promise a deluge of data and discoveries that could redefine our understanding of the universe.
Early risers catch worms, but night owls are more susceptible to depression. A recent study suggests that individuals who prefer staying up late are more likely to experience depressive symptoms.
Research conducted by the University of Surrey reveals that this could be due to the fact that night owls often struggle with poor sleep, exhibit lower levels of mindfulness, and tend to consume more alcohol compared to early birds.
“Late chronotype, also known as ‘eveningness’ or ‘night owl,’ refers to a biological inclination to be active in the evenings and have a later sleep-wake pattern,” explained Cognitive Neuroscience Lecturer Dr. Simon Evans, who led the study, as reported by BBC Science Focus. “Since chronotypes have a genetic basis, being a night owl is a natural biological predisposition.”
Evans and his team surveyed 564 university students on their sleep habits, mindfulness levels, alcohol consumption, as well as their levels of depression and anxiety, which reflect tendencies towards negative thinking about situations and events.
“Late chronotypes are particularly prevalent among young adults, with up to 50% of young adults falling into this category,” noted Evans. “This is concerning as delayed chronotypes are associated with a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and substance use.”
The study confirmed that night owls were significantly more prone to developing depression than early birds and reported higher levels of anxiety.
Students with later chronotypes reported poorer sleep quality compared to early risers, which researchers attributed to “social jet lag.”
“Being a night owl is common among young adults,” said Evans. “Given the importance of mental health in youth, work and educational schedules should accommodate night owls for improved sleep.”
Our preference for morning or evening routines is largely influenced by genetics, with younger adults more likely to prefer later schedules, while older adults tend to be early risers. – Credit: rawpixel via Getty
Furthermore, individuals with a delayed chronotype tended to consume more alcohol, a known risk factor for depression. However, the study did not find a direct association between alcohol consumption and depression among the students involved.
In fact, night owls who consumed alcohol were less likely to experience depression than non-drinkers, although most students consumed alcohol in moderation. Researchers suggest that the social connections formed during drinking may offset the negative effects.
Evans also recommended strategies for night owls to protect themselves from depression, including promoting mindfulness through practices like guided meditation, focusing on improving sleep quality, and reducing alcohol consumption.
This study was recently published in the scientific journal PLOS 1.
Read more:
About our experts:
Dr. Simon Evans is a senior lecturer in cognitive neuroscience at the Faculty of Psychology, University of Surrey. He obtained his PhD from the Institute of Neurology, University College London in 2011 and conducted postdoctoral training at the University of Sussex, where he used MRI techniques to study how genetic factors impact brain activity patterns and cognitive performance. Evans’ primary research interest lies in utilizing brain imaging techniques to explore cognitive changes across the lifespan.
Exciting news for pecan enthusiasts: these tasty nuts may be even more beneficial for your health than previously thought. Swapping out your usual snacks for pecans could be a smart move for your overall well-being.
A recent study revealed that incorporating pecans into your daily snack routine can lead to improvements in cholesterol levels and enhance the quality of your diet. The research, as featured in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, focused on adults dealing with or at risk for metabolic syndrome—a condition that raises the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes or heart-related issues.
Participants in a 12-week study were split into two groups: one replaced their usual snacks with 57g of pecans daily, while the other maintained their regular diet. The outcome? Those snacking on pecans experienced a reduction in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol (commonly known as “bad” cholesterol), and non-HDL cholesterol.
Lowering LDL levels and improving the HDL to total cholesterol ratio are crucial steps in reducing the risk of heart disease. Dr. Christina Petersen, an associate professor of nutrition science from Pennsylvania, highlighted the benefits of substituting typical snacks with pecans for heart health.
Participants who replaced regular snacks with 57g of pecans per day saw improvements in their cholesterol levels and overall diet quality. – Getty
The study involved 138 adults aged 25 to 70, all meeting criteria for metabolic syndrome, such as obesity, low HDL, and hypertension. Results showed enhanced adherence to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and a higher consumption of plant protein and seafood among those who opted for pecans as snacks.
While weight gain was observed in the pecan group compared to the non-pecan group, the cholesterol-lowering benefits of pecans remained unaffected. According to the researchers, additional guidance on calorie intake could help achieve a balance between energy consumption and pecan nutrition.
In conclusion, making the switch to pecans from less nutritious snacks can have a positive impact on heart health and overall dietary patterns. It’s important to be mindful of calorie intake while enjoying the benefits of these nutritious nuts.
Fossil feathers are usually preserved or embedded in amber as impressions of carbonaceous membranes and lake sediments and marine sediments, but are rarely mineralized. In a new study, paleontologists have examined the mineralised feathers of 30,000 years old Griffon vultures preserved in ash-rich volcanic deposits of the Koli-Albani Volcanic Complex in Rome, Italy. Bird feathers were conserved in three dimensions, conserving tissue ultrastructures such as melanosomes. These ultrastructures are mineralized with nanocrystalline zeolites, a preservation mode that has not been previously reported in fossil soft tissue.
A 30,000-year-old fossil feather of a Griffon vulture preserved in volcanic rocks at the Koli-Albani Volcanic Complex in Rome, Italy. Image credit: Edoardo Terranova.
The fossil vulture was discovered in 1889 near Rome by a local landowner who recognized its incredible preservation.
The entire body was preserved as a three-dimensional impression, with fine details such as the lid of the eye and wing wings.
The new study, led by University College Cork paleontologist Valentina Rossi, shows that feather preservation extends to the pigmented structure of small microscopic feathers.
“Fossil feathers are usually preserved in ancient mudstones laid in lakes and lagoons,” Dr. Rossi said.
“Fossil vultures are preserved in ash deposits, which is very unusual.”
“When analyzing the feathers of fossil vultures, we found ourselves in unknown territory.”
“These feathers are different from what we normally see in other fossils.”
The authors discovered that feathers are preserved in mineral zeolites by analyzing small samples of fossil feathers using electron microscopy and chemical testing.
“Zeolites are silicon and aluminum rich minerals and are common in volcanic and hydrothermal geological environments,” Dr. Rossi said.
“Zeolites can be formed as primary minerals (using clean crystals) or secondary during the natural changes in volcanic glass and ash, giving rocks a mudlock-like side.”
“The changes in ashes due to the passage of water induced precipitation of zeolite nanocrystals, replicating feathers to the details of the smallest cells.”
“Fine preservation of feather structures indicates that vulture corpses were buried in cold thermal clastic matter.”
“We are used to think that volcanic deposits are associated with high temperature, fast-moving thermal breaking flows that destroy soft tissue,” says Professor Dawid Iurino of the University of Milan.
“However, these geological environments are complex and can include cold deposits that can store soft tissue at the cellular level.”
“The fossil record is constantly amazed us with new fossil species, strange new body shapes, in this case a new style of fossil preservation,” said Professor Maria McNamara, a professor of Cork at the University.
“We never found any delicate tissues, such as feathers, preserved in volcanic rocks.”
“Discoveries like these broaden the range of potential rock types that can be found in fossils.
a paper The findings were published in the journal Geological.
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Valentina Rossi et al. Fossil feathers from the Coralbani Volcanic Complex (central Italy, late Pleistocene) preserved in zeolites. GeologicalPublished online on March 18th, 2025. doi: 10.1130/g52971.1
Astronomers from SETI Institute, NASA’s Ames Research Center, and Curtin University have tracked the impact orbits of 75 observed metstone waterfalls to previously unidentified source regions of several of the main asteroid belt.
Impressions of an artist on a rocky asteroid. Image credits: Mark A. Garlick, Space-Art.co.uk / Warwick University / Cambridge University.
“This is a 10-year detective story, with each recorded metstone waterfall providing new clues,” said Dr. Peter Jenniskens, an astronomer at Seti Institute and NASA’s Ames Research Center.
“We currently have the first overview of the asteroid belt geological map.”
Ten years ago, Dr. Jenniskens and his colleagues were aiming to build a network of all ski cameras in California and Nevada.
“Others built similar networks that spanned the world, and together formed a fireball observatory around the world,” said Hadrian Devillepova, an astronomer at Curtin University.
“For many years, we have tracked the routes of 17 recovered metstone waterfalls.”
“More fireballs have been tracked by doorbells and dashcam video cameras from citizen scientists and other dedicated networks around the world.”
“Overall, this quest produced 75 laboratory classified metstones with impact trajectories tracked by video cameras and photo cameras,” Dr. Jennis Kens said.
“It has proven sufficient to start seeing some patterns in the direction of metstones approaching the Earth.”
Most metstones come from the asteroid belt, the region between Mars and Jupiter.
These rocks come from a few larger asteroids that have been broken in the collision.
Even today, asteroids collide and create remnant fields within these asteroid families known as clusters.
“We can see that the 12 metstones (h-cartilage) of ordinary chondrites, which are now rich in iron, come from a debris field called low colonies on the pristine main belt,” Dr. Jennis Kens said.
“These metstones arrived from low-coupled orbital periods that match this debris field.”
“By measuring the age of cosmic ray exposure in metstones, we can determine that three of these 12 metstones originate from kalin clasters of dynamic ages of 5.8 million years, and two come from Koronis2 clusters of dynamic ages of 100-15 million years.”
“Another metstone can measure the age of Koronis3 clusters, about 83 million years.”
The authors also discovered a group of H-chondrites on steep orbits that appear to originate from the Nere Asteroididae in the central main belt, with a dynamic age of approximately 6 million years.
The mean motion resonance with nearby 3:1 Jupiter can raise the slope to the observed people.
A third group of H cartilage with an exposure age of approximately 35 million years of age emerged from the medial main belt.
“In our opinion, these H-cartilages came from the low masalia asteroids on the inner main belt, as their families have clusters of that same dynamic era,” Dr. Jennis Kens said.
“Asteroid (20) Masalia, the asteroid that created the cluster, is a parent body of the H-chondrite type.”
Researchers have discovered that low iron (l cartilage) and very low iron (LL chondrite) metstones mainly come from the inner main belt.
“I propose that L cartilage comes from the Hertha Asteroid family, just above the Masalia family,” Dr. Jennis Kens said.
“The asteroid Elsa doesn’t look like its fragments. Hertha is covered in dark rocks of shock black, which exhibits unusually violent collisions. The L-chondrites experienced a very violent origin 468 million years ago, when these metstones bombarded the Earth with numbers found in geological records.”
Knowing from the remains of the asteroid belt, the birth of our metstones is important for our planetary defense efforts against asteroids on the near Earth.
The orbits of approaching asteroids can provide clues to the origin of the asteroid belt, just like the metstone orbit.
“Asteroids near Earth do not arrive in the same orbit as Metstones because it takes time for them to evolve into Earth,” Dr. Jennis Kens said.
“But they come from some of the same Astide family.”
Team’s paper Published in the journal Weather and Planetary Science.
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Peter Jenniskens & Hadrien ar Devillepoix. Asteroids, meteors, and meteor-shaped link reviews. Weather and Planetary SciencePublished online on March 17th, 2025. doi:10.1111/maps.14321
The Mayall Telescope Star Trail in Arizona houses dark energy spectroscopy equipment
Luke Tyas/Berkeley Lab
Dark energy is one of the most mysterious features of our universe. We don’t know what it is, but it controls how the universe is expanding and its ultimate destiny. Now, the study of millions of heavenly objects reveals that they may have been thinking about all the wrong things that could potentially have dramatic consequences in the universe.
“This is the biggest hint we have about the nature of dark energy in the roughly 25 years since we discovered it,” he says. Adam Reese at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.
The results come from three years of data collected by Arizona’s Dark Energy Spectroscopy (DESI). By combining this data with other measurements such as background radiation in cosmic microwaves and maps of supernovas, the DESI team concluded that dark energy may have changed over time.
“This is the cutting edge of human knowledge,” says a member of the DigiTeam. It’ll be Percival At the University of Waterloo, Canada. “We see amazing things throughout the universe.”
Desi is attached to a telescope and works by measuring the “redshift” of light emitted from a distant galaxy, or how that wavelength of light extends as it travels through space. From now on, researchers can determine how much the universe has expanded during the journey of light and calculate how this expansion is changing. So far, the team has analyzed light from nearly 15 million galaxies and other bright objects in the sky.
For decades, physicists have agreed that the universe is expanding at a fixed acceleration. This is a cosmological constant known as the lambda, interpreted as the driving force of dark energy. However, in April 2024, Desi’s measurements provide the first hint that the universe may actually be decreasing faster over time, with the cosmological constants not so constant.
Riess, who is not part of the Desi team, says at the time they were not sure if the discovery would last with more data. In fact, it’s just getting stronger. “It’s very exciting for me to see that. [the team] After another year and after they added more data, no issues were found in the analysis. If anything, the outcome is more important,” he says.
That being said, this discovery still does not meet the “5-sigma” statistical levels traditionally used by physicists to discover it as authentic, rather than as a statistical fluke. Current analysis reaches a maximum of 4.2 sigma, but team members Mustafa Ishak Bouzaki At the University of Texas and Dallas, the team says they believe the results will reach five sigma within two years as Digi continues to acquire the data. “This outcome with dark energy is something we never thought it would happen in our lifetime,” he says.
One of the relief, according to Ishak-Boushaki, is that the discovery relies on Desi’s data as well as several other investigations in the universe. Riess compares the situa…To read more, visit Example Website.
New results from the collaboration of Digi (dark energy spectroscopy) reveal signs of time-varying dark energy.
Two “fans” corresponding to the two main areas were observed by Desi on top and bottom of the plane of the Milkyway Galaxy. Image credits: Desi Collaboration/DOE/KPNO/NOIRLAB/NSF/AURA/R. Proctor.
“The universe will never surprise us and will never surprise us,” said Dr Arjun Dei, a digiproject scientist at Noir Love and associate director of the Central Scale Observatory for Strategic Initiatives.
“By unprecedentedly revealing the evolving textures of our universe's fabrics, Digi and Mayall telescopes are changing our understanding of the future of our universe and nature itself.”
The DESI data, which is employed alone, is consistent with the standard model of the universe. In Lambda CDM, CDM is cold dark matter, and Lambda represents the simplest case of dark energy that acts as a cosmological constant.
However, when combined with other measurements, the effect of dark energy may be weaker over time, increasing indications that other models may be more appropriate.
Other measurements of them include light leftovers from the dawn of space (cosmic microwave background, or CMB), distance measurements of supernovae, and observations of how light from distant galaxies are distorted by the effects of dark matter gravity (weak lenses).
So far, the evolving dark energy preference has not risen to 5 sigma. This is the gold standard in physics that represents a commonly accepted threshold of discovery.
However, the various combinations of DESI data and CMB, weak lenses, and supernova sets range from 2.8 to 4.2 sigma.
This analysis used techniques to hide results from scientists to the end to reduce unconscious biases about data.
This approach sets new criteria for how data is analyzed from large-scale spectroscopic studies.
The Desi is a cutting-edge instrument mounted on the NSF Nicholas U. Mayall 4-M telescope of the NSF Noirlab program, Kitt Peak National Observatory.
Light from 5,000 galaxies can be captured simultaneously, allowing you to carry out one of the most extensive research to date.
The experiment is currently investigating the fourth sky in five years, with plans to measure around 50 million galaxies and quasars (very far but bright objects with black holes in their cores) and more than 10 million stars by the time the project is finished.
The new analysis uses data from the first three years of observations and includes nearly 15 million best measured galaxies and quasars.
This is a major leap, with the one used in Desi's initial analysis improving the accuracy of the experiment with more than twice as much data set, suggesting evolving dark energy.
Digi tracks the effects of dark energy by studying how matter spreads throughout the universe.
Very early cosmic events left subtle patterns in the way matter was distributed. This is a function called Barion Acoustic Vibration (BAO).
Its Bao pattern acts as a standard ruler, and its size is directly influenced by how the universe is expanding at different times.
Measuring rulers at different distances has shown the strength of dark energy throughout history by researchers.
DESI Collaboration begins work with additional analysis to extract more information from the current dataset, and Desi continues to collect the data.
Other experiments offered online over the next few years will also provide complementary data sets for future analysis.
“Our results are a fertile foundation for our theory colleagues looking at new and existing models, and we look forward to what they came up with,” says Dr. Michael Levi, Desi Director and Scientist.
“Whatever the nature of dark energy, it shapes the future of our universe. It is very noteworthy that we look up at the sky with a telescope and try to answer one of the biggest questions humanity has ever asked.”
“These are prominent results from very successful projects,” said Dr. Chris Davis, NSF Program Director at NSF Neil Love.
“The powerful combination of NSF Mayall Telescope and DOE's dark energy spectroscopy instruments demonstrates the benefits of federal agencies collaborating with fundamental science to improve our understanding of the universe.”
Physicists shared their findings in a A series of papers It will be posted above arxiv.org.
The Lambda-CDM (λCDM) model has been the basis of modern cosmology for some time, and it successfully explains the large-scale structure of the universe. It proposes that 95% of cosmos consists of dark matter (25%) and dark energy (70%). Dark energy, represented by the cosmic constant (λ), is thought to promote accelerated expansion of the universe, and maintains a constant energy density over time. However, new results from the dark energy research suggest a departure from this assumption, suggesting that dark energy may evolve over time.
This artist's impression shows the evolution of the universe, beginning with the Big Bang on the left. After that, you will see the microwave background of the universe. The formation of the first stars ends the dark ages of the universe, followed by the formation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss/Harvard – Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
The Dark Energy Survey (DES) was carried out using a 570 megapixel energy-enhanced dark energy camera (decam) mounted on the NSF Víctor M. Blanco 4-M telescope from the NSF Neuroab program, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.
By obtaining data of 758 nights over six years, DES scientists mapped almost one-eighth area of the sky.
The project employs multiple observation techniques, including supernova measurement, galaxy clustering analysis, and weak gravity lenses, to study dark energy.
Two important DES measurements, baryon acoustic vibration (BAO) and explosive star distance measurements (type IA supernova) track the enlarged history of the universe.
Bao refers to a standard cosmic ruler formed by early universe sound waves, with peaks spanning approximately 500 million light years.
Astronomers can measure these peaks over several periods of universe history to see how dark energy has expanded the scale over time.
“By analyzing 16 million galaxies, DES discovered that the measured BAO scale is actually 4% smaller than predicted by λCDM,” says Dr. Santiago Avila, an astronomer at the Center for Energy and Environmental Technology Research (CIEMAT).
Type IA supernova acts as a standard candle. In other words, the essential brightness is known.
Therefore, its apparent brightness is combined with information about the host's galaxy to allow scientists to perform accurate distance calculations.
In 2024, the DES team released the most extensive and detailed supernova dataset to date, providing highly accurate measurements of space distance.
New discoveries from the combined supernova data and BAO data independently confirm the anomalies seen in the 2024 supernova data.
By integrating DES measurements with cosmic microwave background data, researchers infer the properties of dark energy, and the results suggest that they evolve time.
When verified, this implies a dynamic phenomenon in which the cosmological constant, dark energy, is not ultimately constant and requires a new theoretical framework.
“The results are interesting as they suggest physics beyond the standard models of cosmology,” says Dr. Juan Mena Fernandez, a researcher at the Institute of Subatomic Physics and Cosmology.
“If more data supports these findings, we may be on the brink of a scientific revolution.”
Although current results are still inconclusive, future analyses incorporating additional DES probes such as Galaxy Clustering and weak lenses could enhance the evidence.
Similar trends have emerged from other major cosmological projects, such as Dark Energy Spectroscopy (DESI).
“We've seen a lot of experience in our research,” said Jesse Muir, a researcher at the University of Cincinnati.
“There's still a lot to learn and it's exciting to see how understanding evolves as new measurements become available.”
TMC Abbott et al. (DES collaboration). 2025. Dark Energy Survey: Final Devalion Acoustic Vibrations and Impact on Cosmological Expansion Models from Supernova Data. Physical Review din press; Arxiv: 2503.06712
More than half of the claims made in the popular Tiktok video regarding attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are not in line with clinical guidelines.
ADHD affects Approximately 1% According to the global burden of disease research, people all over the world. There is a positive debate about whether ADHD is underdiagnosed. Some psychologists say there can be a substantial proportion of people who have it.
To understand the impact of social media on ADHD perceptions, Vasileia Karasavva The University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada, and her colleagues watched the 100 most viewed videos on Tiktok on January 10, 2023 using the hashtag #ADHD.
The average video included three claims about ADHD. The researchers presented their own claims to two psychologists. He was asked if it accurately reflected the symptoms of ADHD from DSM-5, a popular textbook used to diagnose mental disorders. Only 48.7% of the claims met that requirement. More than two-thirds of the video attributed ADHD to the problems that psychologists said were reflecting “normal human experiences.”
“We asked two experts to watch the top 100 most popular videos, and we found that they didn't really match the empirical literature,” says Karasavva. “We're like, 'OK, this is the problem.' ”
The researchers asked psychologists to rate the video on a scale of 0-5. We then asked 843 UBC students to describe the videos evaluated by psychologists as five best and five worst ADHDs, and then rated them before rating them. Psychologists earned a more clinically accurate video on an average of 3.6, while students rated it at 2.8. In the least-savvy video, students gave an average score of 2.3 compared to 1.1 from psychologists.
Students were also asked whether they would recommend video and their perception of the prevalence of ADHD in society. “The amount of time you watched ADHD-related content on Tiktok has increased your chances of recommending videos and identifying them as useful and accurate,” says Karasavva.
“They are the ones who wonder how common the outcomes are for Tiktok or all the health content on the internet.” David Ellis At the University of Bath, UK. “We live in a world where we know a lot about health, but the online world is still full of misinformation. Tiktok only reflects that reality to us.”
Ellis says that medical misinformation is likely to be even higher given mental health issues, as diagnosis is based on observation rather than more objective testing.
However, banning ADHD videos on Tiktok is “no use.” Even if it's misinformation, Karasavva says. “Maybe more experts should put out more videos, or maybe it's just that they're doing it for themselves because they're a little more discernible and critical of the content they consume,” she says.
Thichtok declined to comment on the details of the study, New Scientist Anyone who takes action against medical misinformation and seeks advice on neurological conditions should contact a medical professional.
String theory is the best candidate we have for all theories. Bends to that rule, various entangled theories of traditional physics emerge as part of a sublime, higher-dimensional tapestry. It can unify all four of nature, including the most troublesome gravity of all. If you're lucky, you might even tame big bangs and black holes without losing threads.
There's only one catch. String theory cannot explain the universe like ours. That mathematics can explain billions of different possible universes, but not expanding at speeds of acceleration, it's exactly what we see. Certainly, no one knows that this acceleration is driving. Mystical “dark energy” is the usual placeholder. According to theory, it probably shouldn't happen at all.
For 25 years, this was a big problem, but now I may have found a way past it. On the surface, the answer does not shock anyone who is used to the luxury of modern physics. We need to rethink the universe as part of a much larger company. Doing this can bloat into the content of your mind. In fact, the acceleration of expansion seems to come naturally. However, this new scheme could be the wildest scheme ever. Our familiar spaces are delicately settled between high-dimensional hyperspace and total meaninglessness. “Our proposal says that our existence is like a shadow: a projection onto a wall at the end of the world.” Antonio Padillaa physicist at the University of Nottingham in the UK.
A rocket carrying satellites explodes from China's commercial aerospace zone
VCG/Getty Images
The small quantum satellite created a secure link between China and South African terrestrial stations, sharing quantum encrypted data over a record distance of 12,900 kilometers. Similar microsatellites could become part of the quantum internet of things in the future.
The record-breaking feat that took place in October 2024 was also notable for the use of satellites with small, light payloads. The miniaturized equipment on the Jinan-1 microsatellite weighed only 23 kilograms, about 10 times the payload of previous experiments.
Petite quantum satellites like Jinan-1 say “like what SpareX does with StarLink for the Internet, it could launch many satellites in one shot with the same space launcher.” Laurent de Forge de Panney at Thales Alenia Space, a space technology company headquartered in France.
In this experiment, the researchers used the quantum state of photons to generate a secret key for encrypting and decrypting the data. This key was used to encode photographs of the Great Wall in China and Stellenbosch University in South Africa, and was then transmitted between the Zinan-1 satellite and various ground stations using lasers and telescopes. Research team led by Jianwei Pan The University of Science and Technology in China has performed this quantum key distribution process 20 times, including a test of 12,900 km set record.
There are limits to this showcase of quantum technology. Jinan-1 satellites “apparently optimized for quantum key distributions and do not perform common quantum communication tasks such as teleportation or entanglement distributions.” Alexander Lynn At the National University of Singapore. Nevertheless, Lynn, who praises the demonstration, says it could become part of the actual communications network within the next decade.
Quantum Key Distribution can be “are considered the first practical quantum communication use case,” and “the first step into a quantum information network,” says De Forges de Parny. “China's activities will definitely help develop a second-generation small satellite for the quantum internet,” he says.
The Jinan-1 was originally launched in 2022, and PAN says China will send two or three more quantum satellites in 2025. Other countries are expecting to release their own quantum satellites by 2026. projectfunded by the European Space Agency. Boeing, a US aerospace company, is working on it Another.
The Budgerigars are some of the most fashionable birds, and it is reflected in their brains. The Budgie Brains contain maps of voice sounds similar to those found in the human brain, not seen in other birds.
Budgerigars (Melopstitacus undulatus), also known as a paraquiet, is a small parrot native to Australia. They are epic vocal learners and can mimic a variety of sounds, including human speech. The boudgie, known as the pack, had a vocabulary of about 1,728 words. According to the Guinness World Records. “The ability to mimic phonetically is very rare in the animal kingdom,” Long says.
and Zetian Yang, Additionally, NYU medical schools used silicon probes for a long time to record electrical activity in the Budgies' brains. They focused on a part of the forebrain, the central nucleus of the forebrain horn, which was known to be involved in motor control of vocalization. When Budgies made the call, Long and Yang tracked how their electrical activity had changed.
“Our research was the first to measure parrot brain activity during vocalization,” Long says.
The pair discovered neurons in the central nucleus of the anterior horn thyroid. “There are cells that are active because of consonants,” Long says. Others make vowels, but some are active for high-pitched sounds, others for low pitch.
This brain structure is compared to a keyboard. “There's this kind of key, or in this case, a set of brain cells, and you can represent each of these vocal outcomes and play whatever it wants,” he says. “What the parrot presented is this beautiful and elegant solution to creating vocal sounds.” The human brain has a similar vocal map.
Long and Yang repeated the experiment with a zebra finch (taeniopygia guttata), not vocal mimic. “They have one song they learn,” Long says. “It's about two seconds, sometimes less.” It takes several months to perfect.
Unlike the Budgerigars, the Zebra Finch showed no signs of a “map” of the sound of the brain's voice. Instead, “A Zebra Finch develops chords that are almost almost inexplicable for this song,” says Long. He says that Budgie's brain uses a simple, intuitive system to generate complex calls, while Zebra Finch Brain uses a complex system to make something simple.
“It shows that neural activity and associated vocal behavior are closer to parrots and humans than songbirds and parrots.” Erich Jarvis At Rockefeller University in New York.
“Almost everything we know about the detailed mechanistic basis of learned vocalization comes from several species of songbirds singing relatively simple songs.” Jesse Goldberg At Cornell University in New York. “The parrot therefore offers an incredible opportunity to study both the mechanisms and evolution of complex vocal learning and production.”
I say there are several reasons why I evolved imitation. Zhilei Zhao At Cornell University. One is courtship. “Women actually prefer men with the ability to copy,” he says, and if a man loses his ability, “they are more likely to fool him.” Also, the Budgies have a very dynamic social life. “Form small groups for several days.” Once the group is established, members begin to create unique “contact calls.” “People think it might be something like a password for this group,” says Zhao.
Other skilled mimics may have similar vocal maps in their brains. “My very strong speculation is that other parrots have the same functionality, but they are simply not explored.” He also doubts something similar, the Lyrebirds, a phenomenal mimic that can even mimic artificial sounds like camera shutters.
In the long run, I hope that studying how boudgies produce sounds for a long time will help people understand language disorders. People with strokes often experience aphasia. I can't call the correct words in my head. “You reach for those words and it’s not there,” Long says. “Now we have the opportunity to fight to understand what we think is at the root of many communication disorders that affect people in devastating ways.”
Taking small repeated doses of the psychedelic drug LSD does not reduce ADHD symptoms more than placebo.
Microdosing psychedelic drugs involve taking them several times a week in small amounts, sufficient to avoid experiencing hallucinations. There is little evidence to support this, but there is a broad view that this can increase happiness, creativity and focus. Additionally, some studies have reported that people who microdose as a way to treat ADHD have improved symptoms, but these studies have been observed and rely on self-reported data.
To more rigorously test the effects of drugs on ADHD, Matthias Liechti The University of Basel, Switzerland and his colleagues conducted the first randomized controlled trial of LSD microdoshing for ADHD. They recruited 53 adults living in the Netherlands or Switzerland who had been diagnosed with ADHD and experienced moderate to severe symptoms. Twenty-seven participants received 20 mirogram doses of LSD twice a week at the upper microodour limit, yet only a fifth of the standard dose, while the rest were given a placebo.
Symptoms of ADHD were assessed at the start of the study and were assessed 6 weeks later using a 54-point scale. On average, participants receiving the placebo had an average score reduction of approximately 7 percentage points. This is not a major difference, suggesting that LSD is better than a placebo for improving ADHD symptoms, says Liechti.
However, he says the dosage may have been unsuitable for treating ADHD. LSD, similar to how ADHD medications currently work, may need to be taken daily to experience a reduction in symptoms, he says Conor Murray At the University of California, Los Angeles.
“We still need to check if there is an acute dose while the drug is in your body – does it alleviate the symptoms?” Murray says. “It's kind of the first step, if not, you rarely even have to ask if there's a permanent change.”
This week, workers at the National Marine and Atmospheric Administration faced a sudden change as the federal government attempted to reinstate probationary workers who were previously fired.
Over 600 NOAA workers, including important public safety roles like scientists issuing tsunami alerts, hurricane hunting flight directors, and local forecast office meteorologists, were let go over two weeks ago.
However, a US district judge in Maryland issued a temporary restraining order on Thursday, halting the firing of tens of thousands of workers within the agency and ordering their reinstatement. The Trump administration informed the court on Monday that they were working to reinstate about 24,000 probationary workers affected by widespread layoffs in the federal workforce. (Probationary workers are typically those in their first or second year of federal service, but this status also applies to some promoted employees or former contractors who were hired as full-time employees.)
The Commerce Department confirmed in a court filing that 791 workers, including NOAA employees, had been reinstated across the agency.
The reinstatement process has caused further confusion at NOAA, which had already halted some services due to staffing issues post-layoffs. This included significant disruptions like weather balloon launches in Albany, New York and Cotzevieu, Alaska, which are crucial for accurate weather predictions. Several offices were also closed by the agency.
The reinstatement news came just as a massive storm system swept across the nation, spawning tornadoes and claiming the lives of at least 42 people. NOAA’s National Weather Service division plays a key role in predicting and warning the public about dangerous weather events.
While probation workers at NOAA have technically been reinstated, they are currently on administrative leave and not being asked to return to work. It remains uncertain whether the services previously provided by these workers will be fully restored.
NOAA news agency has directed inquiries to the Department of Commerce, which has not responded to requests for comment.
A Hurricane Modeling Specialist named Andy Hazelton, who was fired last month despite having a PhD, received an email on Monday confirming his reinstatement following the court order.
The email stated, “You will be reinstated to federal service with your previous status, retroactive to the termination date, and placed on paid administrative leave until further action is taken by the court or department.”
Should the court’s order be overturned or the Commerce Department prevail in court, details about potentially reverting to the termination date are unclear.
Hazelton mentioned that he had not received further communication as of Monday and remained hopeful about receiving back pay or eventually resuming his duties.
While the email provided temporary relief, uncertainty remains as rumors persist about further reductions in the NOAA workforce through workforce reduction or Reduction in Force (RIF) measures.
Jaszka, 49, who previously worked as an investigative assistance technician for NOAA law enforcement before being fired, shared similar sentiments.
She expressed frustration at the perception of government workers as a drain on taxpayer resources, fueled by the notion that they are not performing their duties effectively.
Jaszka highlighted the irony of the situation, where government employees were being paid not to work despite their passion for fulfilling NOAA’s mission.
In a court filing, the Commerce Department stated that employees would not be required to return to full duty obligations immediately.
The department is prepared to reinstate all necessary administrative procedures if needed, such as training completion, personnel documentation, badge reissuance, benefit enrollment, and salary restoration.
jApan, 1581: Iga Province is burning around you. You will be monitored, injured, helpless
Oda Nobunaga – the warlord responsible for many civil wars and the ultimate unification of the country – a smirk from the nearby hill. You draw your katana and glow in the flickering light of flames. This is Assassin’s Creed: Shadows – some exciting ninja games, some history lessons. It’s a strange combination, but it brings together a vast historical fiction adventure filled with discoveries and deceptions.
The turbulent times, when Japan was unified in the late 1500s and seeing the collapse of Nobunaga, are ideal environments that will help you play as despicable ninja and brave samurai. The series’ science fiction framing device means that you, the player, are cornering the mysterious craft by jumping into your ancestor’s memory and defeating a group of terrifying masked samurai one at a time. But most games leave you alone to enjoy feudal Japan.
During this difficult period there is a constant sense of danger, and each conversation is like a careful step at the edge of the knife. The stories are of course complete fiction, but they weave real historical events and characters, and the Ubisoft developers clearly have become a huge pain to make them feel authentic, authentic, both the scenery and the people who inhabit them. If you automatically remove your shoes when you enter the building, it looks like you’ve seen the famous temple, not as a tourist destination today.
The world is truly luxurious, with several states to explore in all seasons and weather, as well as cities of the era, including Kyoto and Osaka. The giant temples rise above a busy town filled with food stalls and workshops, while mossy shrines are scattered along the winding paths of the countryside. Japan of all colours will see Japan in all colours, from the mild pinks of cherry blossoms in spring to the fiery colours of leaves covering the hills in autumn to the pitch black darkness of winter nights. It’s easy to be distracted by views along the way when surrounded by ancient Red Torigates or when you notice random puppet performances on the streets. I feel that Ubisoft’s Japan is alive. Also, sometimes it feels completely overwhelming.
It’s as fun as riding horses around the country and scouting new villages and historic places, so it’s easy to feel lost because there are so many. There are many missions and side quests that will guide you around the map, but those tasks have many repetitions. To kill a high-level samurai, you need some help. Someone who can help you want the bounty, it includes finding Another Someone I want you to kill me different Samurai, etc. After a long time in the game, this starts to grate.
Important Features: You can keep all Japanese cats (and dogs) if you wish. Photo: Ubisoft
The double hero helps to reduce the feeling of you being stuck in a loop repeatedly. For the first 10-15 hours of the game, she steps into sandals on Fujiwarajima Island, a young woman seeking revenge after the house is destroyed, reconstructing her life and helping her set up a network of spies and rebels from a secret mountain base. Then there is Yasuke, a principled black samurai based on a real historical figure of the same name. They appear briefly in the introduction to the game, disappearing until Naoe approaches Nobunaga.
Naoe is bright on her feet, allowing easy expansion of walls and temples, blending into the shadows to sneak around her enemies. Her stealth approach makes for fun, mean moments like stabbing a screen door on a paper for a surprising attack. But that tipped approach costs her when she faces a brawl. The enemy strikes attack her hard, and she is soon overwhelmed in the battle. Yasuke, meanwhile, cruelly strong, runs straight through those screen doors, shrugging on sword strikes, shrugging like the stimulant they tickle. He can still assassinate his enemies like Naoe Can, but he does it from the front, not from the shadows. In a series that traditionally prioritized stealth, it is extremely liberated when you break through the castle gates and everyone faces it head-on. Both characters are viable options for playing most of the game and can be freely exchanged between them (almost) at their own pace.
Few other games have done such a good job in this setting… Assassin Creed: Shadow. Photo: Ubisoft
Unfortunately, no matter who plays, you have to put up with some great things in the fight. Dodge and Parry find themselves surprised in one-on-one scraps, but you often find yourself surrounded as more opponents are warned of your presence. It feels like everything is when you take your time sneaking up around the castle roof and picking enemies, bouncing backwards into the shadows before scopeping your next kill. But the moment you get caught up in a battle on the ground, it starts to feel nasty and frustrating.
I found myself getting frustrated with going back and forth between the quest givers, but I can’t stop thinking about the shadows. Emotionally resonating moments, such as excellent performances and Naoe’s painful recovery after losing everything she cherishes, mean that she feels all her sadness and anger along with the game’s hero. Events are often troubling as the power struggles between the Lord often cost locals a lot and see the unwelcome impact of your actions on allies.
Few games have done such a good job in this environment as they run through lush bamboo forests before creeping up to shrink the walls of ancient castles and steal treasures. These moments of glow are more than making up for that weak point.
Galactic sea photographed by the Euclidean Space Telescope
ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, J.-C. Image processing by Cuillandre, E. Bertin, G. Anselmi
The extraordinary image from the Euclidean Space Telescope has acquired 26 million galaxies.
Euclid was launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in July 2023, and in November of that year it sent its first image back. The six-year mission will image about a third of the sky and build the most detailed 3D map of Cosmos ever created. Once completed, this investigation will help to lighten how dark matter and dark energy behave on a cosmic scale.
ESA is currently being released The first large data on this missionstarts with three “deep fields.” This is an area where the telescope becomes a more detailed peer than the rest of the study area. These three spots represent 63 squares of sky, which corresponds to an area where the full moon is covered 300 times. Over the next few years, Euclide will pass these regions 30-52 times to build more detailed images.
It'll be Percival The University of Waterloo in Canada says that current batches of images are less than 50% of what gather on missions, but there is already plenty of researchers to collaborate. “There's so much you can do about many individual galaxies and their properties because it's not something that's done in space-based research with nearby infrared light or optics like this,” he says. “It's not exactly the same quality as HST [the Hubble Space Telescope]but it's so close that it doesn't just point to individual objects and shoot. We are conducting an investigation. ”
Researchers have already used Euclidean data to find hundreds of powerful gravity lenses. These phenomena are formed when the gravity of an object in the foreground distorts light from a distant galaxy, creating an arc shape or a complete ring. Previously, scientists had to hunt these individually, point them to the HST, and collect more images. Currently, astronomers can search for survey data from Euclidean and find more at once. This helps to gather insights into the evolution of galaxies and the universe.
Using AI models, researchers were able to find and catalog 500 galaxies with powerful gravity lenses with this first data alone, doubling the total seen to date. “The statistics are incredible,” Percival says. “Euclidean ultimately gets this amount of data 200 times.”
The data released so far represents only one week of images from Euclidean, but up to 35 terabytes. This is equivalent to 200 days of high quality video streaming. The next batch of data is expected to be released later next year, and will be a year's worth of images covering 2,000 square degrees and over 2,000 terabytes of storage space.
It can take over 100 years to view each galaxy manually, so AI is used to dramatically speed up the process, he says. Mike Walmsley At the University of Toronto. “We can ask new questions in weeks, not years, but in weeks,” he says.
Google has agreed to pay $28 million (£22 million) to settle class action lawsuits by compensating white and Asian employees more and providing them with a higher career track compared to other employees.
The settlement with Alphabet’s Google was preliminarily approved by Judge Charles Adams of Santa Clara County Superior Court in California last week.
Judge Adams described it as “a positive outcome for the class” consisting of at least 6,632 Google employees in California from February 15, 2018 to December 31, 2024.
A Google spokesperson confirmed the settlement, stating, “We refute the allegations of differential treatment and are committed to compensating, hiring, and promoting all our employees fairly.”
The lawsuit was spearheaded by Ana Cantu, who identifies as Mexican and indigenous, on behalf of minority employees at Google from Hispanic, Latino, Indigenous, Native American, and other backgrounds.
Cantu claimed that despite performing exemplary work in Google’s People’s Business and Cloud sector for seven years, she was not compensated or promoted on par with her white and Asian counterparts.
She alleged that Google favored white and Asian employees, placing them in higher “levels” within the company even when performing similar roles as minority employees.
Cantu argued that Google’s actions violated California’s Equal Pay Act, and she left the company in September 2021.
The final settlement amount will be $20 million after deducting legal costs, penalties related to Cantu’s claims under California’s General Civil Attorneys Act, and other expenses totaling $7 million.
Judge Adams has scheduled a hearing in September to review and approve the final settlement. Cantu’s legal representatives have not yet responded to requests for comment.
Elon Musk’s social media platform X has reportedly surged to the $44 billion valuation he paid for it, marking a significant turnaround in his fortunes as the billionaire shifted from being a key ally of Donald Trump.
Investors recently assessed the platform, previously valued at $440 billion (£33.9 billion) on Twitter, through a secondary transaction, as reported by the Financial Times.
X is currently in the process of raising $2 billion from Fresh Capital in a major funding round by issuing new stocks to pay off debts exceeding $1 billion, which were evaluated at just $10 billion by existing investor Fidelity Investments in late September.
Musk, the world’s richest individual, took control of what was then Twitter in October 2022 and later rebranded it as X, tweeting “The Bird Is Free” in reference to the company’s logo. Subsequently, he made changes to the site’s moderation policy, resulting in some advertisers pausing or leaving.
Following a profanity-laden outburst at the New York Times Dealbook Summit in November 2023, Musk accused advertisers of attempting to “blackmail” him through boycotts, prompting legal action against the global advertising alliance and major companies like Unilever, Mars, and CVS Health for allegedly conspiring to avoid social networks.
The $44 billion valuation reflects a major shift for X and its investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, 8VC, Goanna Capital, and Fidelity Investments. The $2 billion primary fund raise was priced through the secondary agreement.
Since Musk’s acquisition, X’s revenue has declined, but it managed to record an adjusted profit of $1.2 billion last year. Additionally, Musk’s stake in SpaceX now surpasses his Tesla holdings as his most valuable asset, according to Forbes.
Forbes estimates Musk’s net worth at $323 billion, with his SpaceX shares valued at approximately $147 billion—about $2 billion more than his Tesla shares following a decrease in the automaker’s stock price.
Chinese and Australian astrophysicists have discovered that neutron stars’ birth rates can be described by a unimodal distribution that smoothly turns on at a solar mass of 1.1 and peaks before declining as a sudden power method.
Impressions of the artist of Neutron Star. Image credit: Sci.News.
Neutron stars are dense remnants of giant stars, more than eight times as huge remnants as our Sun, born at the end of life with the explosion of a brilliant supernova.
These incredibly dense objects have a mass of one to twice the mass of the sun, compressed into a ball of the size of a city with a radius of just 10 km.
Astronomers usually only weigh the neutron stars (which measure how big they are) and are found in binary star systems with different objects, such as white d stars or other neutron stars.
However, in these systems, the first born neutron stars acquire extra mass from their peers through a process called attachment, making it difficult to determine the original birth amount.
“Understanding the birth mass of neutron stars is key to unlocking the history of their formation,” says Dr. Simon Stevenson, an Ozgrav researcher at Swinburne University.
“This work provides an important basis for interpreting gravitational wave detection in neutron star mergers.”
Dr. Stevenson and his colleagues analyzed samples of 90 neutron stars in the binary star system and considered the masses obtained from the birth of each neutron star to measure the distribution of neutron star masses at birth.
They discovered that neutron stars are usually born with a mass of about 1.3 solar masses, with heavier neutron stars being more rare.
“Our approach allows us to finally understand the mass of neutron stars at birth. This has been a long-standing question in astrophysics,” said Professor Xingjiang Zhu of Beijing Normal University.
“This discovery is important for interpreting new observations of neutron star masses from observations of gravitational waves.”
study It will be displayed in the journal Natural Astronomy.
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ZQ. you et al. Determination of the birth mass function of neutron stars from observations. Nut AthlonPublished online on February 26th, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41550-025-02487-w
Paleontologists from the Australian Museum Institute, the University of New South Wales, the University of Canberra and CSIRO describe a new species of Osmel-type fish from fossilized bodies found in New South Wales, Australia. The fish’s preserved stomach content indicates an opportunistic bottom-pore-like diet, as evidenced by the ruins of many phantom midge larvae, two insect wings, and bivalve remnants.
Habits and fin locations Fell Aspis Block Sea. Scale bar – 8 mm. Image credit: McCurry et al. , doi: 10.1080/02724634.2024.2445684.
The newly described fish species, which lived in the Myosense period about 15 million years ago, belonged to the Osmerforfos (freshwater smell and its allies).
Named after Professor Jocchen Bloc of Australian National University Fell Aspis Block Sea It is the first fossil freshwater smell found in Australia.
“I am extremely proud that this world’s first discovery was named after me,” Professor Brocks said.
“This discovery opens a new pathway to understanding the evolutionary history of Australia’s freshwater fish species and ancient ecosystems.”
Professor Brox discovered several fossils Fell Aspis Block Sea At the McGrath Flat Fossil Site near Gurgon, New South Wales.
“Before the discovery of this fossil, scientists lacked concrete evidence to identify how this group of fish evolved over time and when they arrived in Australia,” said Dr. Matthew McCurry, of the Australian Museum Institute and the University of New South Wales.
“Fell Aspis Block Sea This is the first fossil freshwater Australian confectionery found in Australia. ”
“The discovery of fossil freshwater fish 15 million years ago provides an unprecedented opportunity to understand Australia’s ancient ecosystems and the evolution of fish species.”
“The fossil is part of a diverse range of fish species in Australia, including species such as Australian greyling and Australian confectionery.”
“But without the fossils, it would have been difficult to tell exactly when the group had arrived in Australia and whether they had changed at all over time.”
Stored stomach contents Fell Aspis Block Sea It offers paleontologists a glimpse into the behavior of these ancient species.
“We know that now Fell Aspis Block Sea Although they provided an invertebrate range, the most common prey was small phantom midge larvae,” Dr. McCurry said.
“One of the fossils shows parasites attached to fish tails. It is young freshwater that burns glotidium.”
“These boys Mussarsatach are riding up and down streams on the gills and tails of fish.”
“This little fish is one of the most beautiful fossils I’ve found at McGrath Flat, and it was a real surprise to me to find the first vertebrate among the abundant fossils of plants and insects,” Professor Brocks said.
One of the most exciting aspects of the piece was that they were able to convey the colour of Fell Aspis Block Sea.
Dr. Michael Frise, a paleontologist at the University of Canberra, said:
“We were able to use a powerful microscope to see structures that produce small colours known as melanosomes.”
“Fossilized melanosomes have previously allowed paleontologists to reconstruct feather colors, but melanosomes have never been used to reconstruct color patterns in long-extinct fish species.”
paper The survey results were published this week Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology.
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Matthew R. McCurry et al. Paleontology of a new Osmar type fish species from Australia. Journal of Vertebrate PalaeontologyPublished online on March 17th, 2025. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.245684
aMazon’s first Kindle with a color screen faced significant challenges, including a rough landing, yellow screen issues, and shipping delays last year. However, with these issues resolved, could the introduction of color screens revolutionize the e-reader market?
While Amazon was not the first to utilize Color E-Ink screens in its e-readers, the company believes that the technology has significantly improved over the past four years. Competitors like Boox and Kobo offer greater contrast and speed, enhancing the overall reading experience.
Priced at £270 (€300/$280), the Kindle Colorsoft exceeds the £125 black and white Paperwhite model it is based on. It is also more expensive than its top-tier color E-Ink rivals. Positioned below the larger 10.2-inch Scribe tablet, Colorsoft is Amazon’s top 7-inch model.
Regular textbooks resemble a monochrome Kindle, lacking added colors. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
Despite the new screen technology, Colorsoft retains the traditional Kindle design. It features a smooth black plastic back and a matte touchscreen on the front, with only a power button next to the USB-C port for physical controls. Page turns and other functions are all touchscreen-based.
Compared to black and white books, the grayscale on Colorsoft appears slightly grayish. However, page turns are swift and text remains clear and legible. The adjustable front light with 24 brightness levels and automatic adjustment based on time of day works effectively.
The color screen enhances browsing in libraries and Kindle stores by displaying book covers in color. Diagrams, maps, and photos within books are now rendered in color, aiding comprehension. Users can highlight passages in various colors and easily navigate through content. When a color image covers one-third of the screen, the entire display shifts to color.
While comic pages are visible on the 7-inch screen, some text may require zooming for comfortable reading. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
The matte screen on Colorsoft may not be as vibrant as that of a phone or tablet, resembling newspaper printing rather than glossy magazines. However, with increased brightness and vibrant color mode, Colorsoft effectively presents graphic novel artwork.
Reading texts within speech bubbles may pose a challenge due to the 7-inch screen’s size when viewing a full comic page. The Panel view mode on Kindle displays multiple panels simultaneously, though zooming and panning on the Colorsoft touchscreen provide a faster and smoother reading experience.
One of Kindle’s key advantages is Amazon’s extensive e-book store, catering to a wide range of genres including comics and graphic novels. Amazon’s acquisition of Comixology in 2014 expanded the library offerings, seamlessly integrating with the Kindle store.
Zoom in to see the artwork details and read the text easily. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
Users can load Epub or PDF files onto their Kindle and purchase books from sources other than Amazon, though only documents sent via Amazon’s Send to Kindle Service will display color on Colorsoft.
Colorsoft would benefit from improved library management capabilities, especially for users with extensive collections of comics and books. While Kindle offers book and manga filters, graphic novels may not be identified as manga. However, the filter functionality works with the Kindle app on tablets.
specifications
screen: 7-inch color e-paper (B&W 300ppi; 150ppi)
size: 127.6 x 176.7 x 7.8mm
Weight: 219g
water resistance: IPX8 (2m up to 60 minutes)
Connectivity: Wifi 5, Bluetooth
Storage: 32GB
Battery life: 28 hours of reading
A full charge of ColorSoft with a 9W USB-C power adapter (not included) takes about 2.5 hours. It also supports wireless charging. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
The battery life of Colorsoft varies slightly due to the color screen, but in testing, it outlasted Amazon’s estimates. Reading a standard black and white book at 40% brightness yielded about 45 hours, dropping to approximately 32 hours when reading a color graphic novel at 70% brightness. Standby battery life was also impressive, with less than 1% drain per day with the Power Save option enabled.
Sustainability
The smooth plastic back feels good in your hand, but it’s no different from the much cheaper Kindle. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
Colorsoft will receive software and security updates from Amazon for a minimum of four years. The battery’s expected lifespan is not specified, but it should endure over 500 full charge cycles at 80% capacity. Repair options availability varies by region. The device contains 28% recycled materials, including cobalt, magnesium, and plastic.
Amazon offers trade-in and recycling programs, detailed in the environmental impact report of Kindle Colorsoft here.
price
The price of the Kindle Colorsoft is £269.99 (€299.99/$279.99).
Comparatively, the standard Kindle is priced at £79.99, Kindle Paperwhite at £124.99, Kindle Scribe at £379.99, Kobo Libra Color at £199.99, and Boox Go Color 7 at €279.99. The iPad costs £329.
verdict
Despite its rocky start, Colorsoft demonstrates the potential of Color E-Ink technology. It is poised to become the standard for e-book readers, enhancing not only manga and graphic novels but also regular books with color illustrations.
Viewing book covers and images in color elevates the reading experience without significant drawbacks compared to black and white models. Manga also appears engaging, making outdoor reading on Kindle more enjoyable than on a tablet. However, the 7-inch screen may be insufficient for a detailed graphic novel experience, requiring a larger display like that of an iPad.
Despite its price point, Colorsoft lacks the luxurious feel of higher-end Kindle models such as Oasis. It embodies a utilitarian approach akin to the Paperwhite model.
While the color screen on Colorsoft is impressive, the cost may be hard to justify for a screen of this size primarily suited for standard text. Purchasing during a promotional offer may mitigate any reservations. For users experiencing issues like a yellow tint on the screen, contacting Amazon support for a replacement is recommended.
Strong Points: The vivid color and black-and-white book images, water resistance, fast pinch-and-zoom, extended battery life, automatic front light adjustment, USB-C connectivity.
Cons: Black-and-white page screen flashes, absence of physical page turn buttons, high cost, limited 7-inch screen for detailed graphics, less vibrant than tablets, ecosystem lock-in with Amazon.
Over the past 20 years, a general view of human evolutionary genetics is Homo sapiens It first appeared in Africa about 200,000 to 300,000 years ago, and descended from a single lineage. However, a new study from the University of Cambridge shows that modern humans are the result of two groups (potentially HOMO HEIDELBERGENSIS and Homo Erectus) It branched out 1.5 million years ago and gathered at a mixed event 300,000 years ago at an 80:20% ratio.
a HOMO HEIDELBERGENSISNeanderthals and Cromagnone. Image credit: Sinc/José Antonio Peñas.
“The question of where we came from has been something that has captivated people for centuries,” said Dr. Trevor Cousins of Cambridge University.
“For a long time, it has been assumed that we evolved from a single, consecutive ancestor lineage, but the exact details of our origins are uncertain.”
“Our research shows clear indications of the origins of our evolutionary being more complex, including various groups that have developed individually over a million years, and have since returned to form modern human species,” added Richard Durbin, a professor at Cambridge University.
Previous studies have already shown that Neanderthals and Denisovans are mated, but Homo sapiens About 50,000 years ago, new research suggests that a much more important genetic mixing occurred long before these interactions were about 300,000 years ago.
Unlike Neanderthal DNA, which makes up about 2% of the genome of non-African modern humans, this ancient mixed event contributes ten times its amount and is found in all modern humans.
The team's methods rely on analysis of modern human DNA rather than extracting genetic material from ancient bones, allowing us to infer the existence of ancestral populations that otherwise left no physical traces.
The authors developed a computational algorithm called Cobraa, which models the methods that ancient populations fell apart and later integrated.
They tested the algorithm using simulated data and applied it to real human genetic data from the 1000 Genomes project, a global initiative that sequences DNA from populations in Africa, Asia, Europe and America.
Researchers were able to identify these two ancestral populations, but also identified some impressive changes that occurred after the two populations were initially decomposed.
“At the moment the two ancestral populations split, we see a serious bottleneck in one of them, suggesting that it had been reduced to a very small size before slowly growing over a million years,” said Professor Aylwyn of Cambridge University.
“This group later contributed to about 80% of modern human genetic material and also appeared to be a population of ancestors that diverged the Neanderthals and Denisovans.”
“However, some of the population genes that contributed to our small numbers of genetic material, especially those associated with brain function and neural processing, may play an important role in human evolution,” Dr. Cousins said.
This is a reconstruction of the artist Homo Erectus. Image credit: Yale University.
Scientists also found that genes inherited from the second population are often separated from the genome regions associated with gene function, suggesting that they may be less compatible with numerous genetic backgrounds.
This suggests a process known as the cleansing of selection, in which natural selection removes harmful mutations over time.
So who was our mystical human ancestors? Fossil evidence suggests species such as Homo Erectus and HOMO HEIDELBERGENSIS Although he lived in both Africa and other regions during this period, becoming a potential candidate for these ancestral populations, more research (probably more evidence) is needed to identify which genetic ancestors correspond to which fossil groups.
The authors hope to refine the model to explain more progressive genetic exchanges between populations rather than sharp divisions or reunions.
They also plan to explore how their findings relate to other anthropology discoveries, such as fossil evidence from Africa, suggesting that early humans may have been much more diverse than previously thought.
“It's amazing to see today's DNA and reconstruct events that were hundreds of thousands or millions of years ago,” Professor Scally said.
“And we can tell you that our history is much richer and more complicated than we imagined.”
study It was published in the journal today Natural Genetics.
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T. Cousins et al. The structured coalescence model reveals the deep ancestral structure shared by all modern humans. Nat GenetPublished online on March 18th, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41588-025-02117-1
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