The Earth is about 4.5 billion years ago. When it was formed from rocks colliding around the dim young sun, it was probably not lively, and for a long time geologists thought life would not appear for more than a decade. The idea came from the analysis of Moonlock, brought back from Apollo Landings. This indicated that the Earth was hampered by space rocks from 4 billion to 3.8 billion years ago. The meaning was that, as we know, it must have started after that, since the previous creatures were getting faster.
“There are two problems with that.” Philip Donohue At the University of Bristol, UK. First, the model suggests that some life could have survived deep within the ocean. Even worse, it appears that the heavy late artillery fires did not actually occur now. The Apollo mission produced the impression of a large artillery over a short period of time, as all gathered rocks of similar age.
Early in the history of the Earth, we found that major effects had sporadically occurred over hundreds of millions of years. However, it is also known that a Mars-sized body collides shortly after the formation of Earth, evaporating the planet's surface. “If life had been born earlier, it would have been wiped out,” Donohue said.
The oldest rock on the earth
Life began when inerts were self-organised into a living system, but despite decades of research, how it happened remains a mystery. As the fossil record gets worse, it's also a big challenge to understand that it happened when it happened…
Nigeria has filed a lawsuit seeking $79.5 billion from the government for economic losses caused by $2 billion in cryptocurrency exchange operations and back taxes, according to court documents filed on Wednesday.
Authorities have criticized Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, blaming it for the devaluation of the Nigerian currency. Two executives of the company were arrested in 2024 after local Naira trading websites emerged as popular platforms. Binance, which is not registered in Nigeria, has not yet commented on the situation.
The Nigerian Federal Internal Revenue Service (FIRS) claims that Binance owes corporate income tax due to its significant economic presence in the country. FIRS is seeking income tax payments for 2022 and 2023, along with a 10% annual penalty on the outstanding amounts. Additionally, FIRS is demanding an unpaid tax rate of 26.75% based on the interest rate of the Nigerian central bank.
Nigeria is already facing four counts of tax evasion related to the cryptocurrency industry, including non-payment of VAT, company income tax, failure to file tax returns, and conspiracy to help customers evade taxes through the platform.
In response to the allegations, Binance announced in March that it had halted all Naira transactions. The company is also facing separate allegations of institutional money laundering, which it has denied.
Google’s AI “co-scientists” is based on the company’s Gemini major language model
Raa/Nurphoto/Shutterstock
Google has announced an experimental artificial intelligence system that uses advanced reasoning to help scientists integrate vast amounts of literature, generate new hypotheses, and propose detailed research plans. “Idea with [the] “AI co-scientists” is about giving scientists a superpower,” says Alan Karthikesalingam of Google.
The tool, which has not yet been officially named, is based on Google’s Gemini major language model. When researchers ask questions or specify goals, they come up with their first idea within 15 minutes, for example, to find a new drug. According to Google’s Vivek Natarajan, several Gemini agents “discuss” these hypotheses with each other, ranking them over the next hours and days, and improving them.
During this process, agents can search the scientific literature, access databases, and use tools such as Google’s AlphaFold system to predict protein structure. “They constantly refine ideas, discuss ideas, criticize ideas,” says Natarajan.
Google has already made the system available to several research groups and has released a short paper explaining its use. The teams who tried it were keen on the possibilities, and these examples suggest that AI co-scientists can help integrate their findings. However, whether the example supports the claim that AI can generate new hypotheses is debatable.
For example, Google says a team used the system to find a “new” method of potentially treating liver fibrosis. However, drugs proposed by AI have been previously studied for this purpose. “It is well established that all identified drugs are anti-fibrotic.” Stephen O’Reilly at the UK biotechnology company Alcyomics. “There’s nothing new here.”
The potential use of this treatment is not new, but team members Gary Peltz at Stanford University School of Medicine in California, two of the three drugs selected by AI co-scientists showed promise in testing for human liver organoids, while the two he selected were both his. There is no growing evidence supporting a choice. Peltz says Google gave him a small amount of money to cover the costs of the test.
In another paper, Jose Penades Imperial College London and his colleagues explain how co-scientists proposed hypotheses that matched unpublished findings. He and his team are studying mobile genetic elements that can move between bacteria – bits of DNA that can move between bacteria – mobile gene elements. Some mobile genetic elements hijack the bacteriophage virus. These viruses consist of a DNA-containing shell and a tail that binds to specific bacteria and injects DNA into IT. Therefore, if the element can enter the shell of a phage virus, you can ride another bacteria for free.
One mobile genetic element creates its own shell. This type was particularly popular and confused Penade and his team. The answer they discovered recently is that these shells can connect with different phage tails, allowing mobile elements to enter a wide range of bacteria.
The discovery was still unpublished, but the team asked AI co-scientists to explain the puzzle. The number one suggestion was to steal a different phage tail.
“We were shocked,” Penades says. “I sent an email to Google. I can access the computer. Is that right? Otherwise, I can’t believe what I’m reading here.”
However, the team released a paper supplied to the system in 2023 – how this family of mobile genetic elements “It steals the tail of a bacteriophage and spreads naturally.” at the time, researchers thought that the elements were limited to obtaining tails from phages that infect the same cell. Only later they discovered that elements can pick up tails floating outside the cell.
So one explanation of how AI co-scientists came up with the correct answer is that they missed the obvious limitation that stopped humans from getting it.
What’s clear is that instead of coming up with a whole new idea, you’re given everything you need to find the answer. “Everything was already public, but it was publicly available on different bits,” Penades says. “The system was able to put it all together.”
The team tried other AI systems already on the market, but none of them came up with an answer, he says. In fact, some people didn’t manage it even when they gave the answer to a paper explaining it. “This system suggests something you’ve never thought of,” says Penades, who hasn’t received funding from Google. “I think it’s going to change the game.”
It becomes clearer over time whether it really changes the game. There’s a mix of Google’s track record when it comes to claiming AI tools to help scientists. Its Alphafold system withstands hype and won the team behind it a Nobel Prize last year.
Despite his discoveries, Palgrave believes that AI can help scientists. “In general, I think AI has a huge amount of contributions to science when implemented in collaboration with experts in their respective fields,” he says.
EU copyright law architects assert the necessity of the law to safeguard writers, musicians, and creatives left vulnerable by the “irresponsible” legal gap in the EU’s artificial intelligence legislation.
This intervention occurred as 15 cultural organizations penned a letter to the European Commission, highlighting a draft rule under the AI Act that cautioned about copyright protections being compromised and a concerning legal loophole being exploited.
Axel Voss, a member of the European Parliament, emphasized that the 2019 copyright directive was not designed to address generative AI models, raising concerns about the unintended consequences of the law.
The introduction of ChatGpt, an AI chatbot capable of generating content like essays and jokes, has brought attention to the urgent need for copyright protections in light of the rapid advancements in AI technology and their impact on creative works.
Issues arising from the EU AI legislation negotiations have highlighted the challenges of securing strong copyright safeguards to protect creative content, with concerns surrounding the legal gap that favors Big Tech over European creatives.
The debate around AI and copyright law intensifies as generative AI models like ChatGpt and Dall-E become more widely used, leading to legal disputes over copyright infringement and the ethical implications of using AI to produce creative content.
The lack of enforceable rights for authors and creators in the AI law framework has raised alarms among cultural organizations and industry stakeholders, prompting calls for greater transparency and accountability in the use of AI technologies.
As the European Commission considers the future of AI regulation and its implications for copyright protection, the need for robust measures to safeguard the rights of creatives and uphold the integrity of their work remains a top priority.
Greenland ice sheet algae absorb light and accelerate melting
Laura Halbach
Dark algae growing on the surface of the Arctic ice sheet are likely to expand future coverage, and tend to exacerbate melting, sea level rise and warming.
“These algae are not a new phenomenon.” James Bradley At the Institute of Oceanography in Marseille, France. “But if they bloom more intensely or the flowers bloom more widely, this is an important thing to consider in future projections of sea level rise.”
Greenland's ice sheets, which cover most of the island, are rapidly melting due to rising temperatures, making them the biggest contributor to sea level rise worldwide.
ancylonema Algae under a microscope
Natural Communication
ancylonema Algae species bloom in patches of ice called ablation zones, which are exposed as snow lines recede to the ice sheet every summer. Flowers darken the ice, reduce its reflectivity, absorbing more heat, thereby increasing melting in these regions by an estimated 10-13%.
To better understand this feedback loop, Bradley and his colleagues gathered ancylonema Samples from the southwest tip of the ice sheet were examined for cells using advanced imaging techniques.
The results reveal that algae are highly adapted to malnutritional conditions and suggest that they can invade ice at high elevations with low nutrients.
Global warming already causes snow lines to increase altitude over time, exposing more ice. Ice algae should add yet another layer to these interactions and explain it in future climate forecasts.
“We have been studying glacial algae flowers for several years, and one of the biggest questions that remains is that we can grow to such high numbers in such undernourished ice.” I say that. Christopher Williamson At the University of Bristol, UK, where he was not involved in the project. “A big part of understanding this puzzle is the amount of nutrients needed for glacial algae cells and whether it can efficiently take and store rare nutrients available in the system. This research is cutting edge. They do an amazing job of demonstrating these things using the methodology of
A huge elliptical galaxy called the NGC 3640 has interacted with several small galaxies in the past, as revealed by data analysis from ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at a fictional observatory in Chile.
This VST image shows two elliptical galaxies, the NGC 3640 and the NGC 3641. Image credits: ESO/INAF/MIRABILE et al. /Ragusa et al.
NGC 3640 is located approximately 88 million light years away from Earth in the constellation of Leo.
Also known as Leda 34778 and UGC 6368, the galaxies have diameters of 90,000 light years.
It was first discovered on February 23, 1784, by the German-British astronomer William Herschel.
The NGC 3640 is part of a relatively young group consisting of at least eight galaxies.
It also forms a pair that interacts with an elliptical galaxy known as NGC 3641.
“Throughout their extensive lifetimes, galaxies undergo changes,” said Dr. Marco Miraville, a colleague from the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics, in a statement.
“As they traverse space, they may either acquire gas or stars from other galaxies, or even merge with them.”
“Following these events, the galaxy will exhibit distortions, as demonstrated by the compact NGC 3640 and the diffuse light surrounding it.”
“This galaxy has left behind a ‘scar’ that hints at a tumultuous history, which astronomers can use to uncover its past and present.”
To unravel the history of the NGC 3640-NGC 3641 pair, Dr. Mirabile and co-authors used VST to study spheroidal, compact clusters of gravitationally bound stars.
These clusters typically contain some of the oldest stars formed within the galaxy, serving as fossil records that reveal the galaxy’s history even after significant events.
“The results affirm that NGC 3640 has indeed interacted with other galaxies in the past, showing signs of previous involvement with the smaller NGC 3641,” noted the astronomer.
“However, the smaller galaxy displays a noticeable lack of distortion in its shape or spheroidal clusters.”
“This suggests that, although their interaction has been significant, NGC 3640 is not currently in close proximity to pose a threat. NGC 3641 may be safe – at least for now.”
Marco Mirabire et al. 2024. Vegas-SSS: Tracing the stellar cluster population of the interacting NGC 3640 Galaxy Group. A&A 691, A104; doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202451273
New research reveals how hundreds of species affect Earth’s surface processes, from vast termite mounds visible from space to beavers that produce whole wetlands.
Termites mounds in the bangle bangle range in Western Australia. Image credit: ouderkraal/cc by-sa 3.0.
“This study shows that the role of animals in shaping the Earth’s landscape is far more important than previously recognized,” says Professor Gemma Harvey, a researcher at Queen Mary University in London.
“From beavers that create wetlands to ants that build soil mounds, these diverse natural processes are extremely important, but there is a risk of losing them as biodiversity decreases.”
“From small ants moving through soil to salmon remodeling riverbeds, this study highlights the diversity and scale of animal impacts across all freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems.”
“By estimating the collective energy of these natural engineers, this study shows that their topographical contributions are comparable to those of hundreds of thousands of major floods.”
In this study, Professor Harvey and colleagues identified 603 species, genera, or families, including insects, mammals, fish, birds, and reptiles to create landscapes in a surprising way.
Despite covering only 2.4% of the planet’s surface, freshwater habitats take on a third of these astonishing species.
Animals collectively contribute at least 76,000 gigare energy each year to shape the surface of the earth. This is a number that rivals hundreds of thousands of extreme floods.
This estimate is likely to be conservative, especially in tropical and subtropical regions where biodiversity is the highest but research is limited.
“Terrates build a huge network of Brazilian mounds. Some cover thousands of kilometers, but salmon spawning can alter as much sediment as annual floods.” The researcher said.
“Even ants change soil structure and drainage through their small but countless actions.”
Almost 30% of identified species are rare and endemic or threatened, and can cease to cease before a critical topographical process is completely important.
This loss can have great consequences for the ecosystem and the landscapes they support.
“This study provides new insights into biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration,” Professor Harvey said.
“How can rewild and species reintroduction projects, such as the reintroduction of beavers to restore wetlands, help combat environmental challenges such as erosion and flooding by leveraging these natural processes? It shows that.
study It was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Gemma L. Harvey et al. 2025. The global diversity and energy of animals that shape the surface of the earth. pnas 122 (8): E2415104122; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2415104122
In 1983, theoretical physicist Brandon Carter said that the time it took for humans to evolve on Earth compared to the total lifespan of the Sun was essentially unlikely to have been our evolutionary origin. We concluded that observers like humans who are comparable to the above are very rare. . In a new study, scientists from Pennsylvania, the University of Munich and the University of Rochester have critically reevaluated the core assumptions of Carter's “hard step” theory through the lens of historical geologics. Specifically, they propose alternative theories with no harsh steps, and the evolutionary specificity required for human origin can be explained through mechanisms other than essentially non-performance. Furthermore, if the surface environment of the Earth initially did not reach the specific important intermediate steps necessary for human existence, as well as human life, the timing of human origin would be a habitability surrounding the history of the Earth. Controlled by continuous openings in the new global environment window.
The new theory proposes that humans may represent potential consequences of biological and planetary evolution. Image credit: Fernando Ribas.
“This is a huge change in how we think about life history,” said Professor Jennifer McCalady of Pennsylvania.
“It suggests that the evolution of complex life may be less about the interaction between luck and its environment, and I am to understand our origins and our place in the universe. paves the path for exciting new research in our quest.”
“The 'hard step' model, originally developed by Brandon Carter in 1983, took humans to evolve on Earth compared to the total lifespan of the sun, so our evolutionary origins are largely due to the fact that He claims it is unlikely. Human beings are extremely low across the globe. ”
In a new study, Professor Makaradi and her colleagues say that the Earth's environment is initially incapable of parasitic life in many forms, and only important evolutionary steps when the Earth's environment reaches a state of “tolerant” claimed that it was possible.
“For example, because complex animal life requires a certain level of oxygen in the atmosphere, oxygenation of the Earth's atmosphere through photosynthesis is the oxygenation of the Earth's atmosphere through microorganisms and bacteria, and oxygenation of the Earth's atmosphere through planets. It was a natural evolutionary step, said Dr. Dan Mills, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Munich.
“We argue that intelligent life may not need a series of lucky breaks.”
“Humans did not evolve “early” or “slowly” in the history of the Earth, but when conditions were right, they “on time.” ”
“It's probably just a matter of time, and while other planets can probably achieve these conditions more quickly than Earth, other planets may take even longer.”
The central prediction of the “hard step” theory is that, based on Carter's, steps such as the origin of life, the development of complex cells, and the emergence of human intelligence, if there are no other civilizations, then the other civilizations are He says there is little that exists in the universe. The interpretation of the total lifespan of the Sun is 10 billion years, and the age of the Earth is about 5 billion years old.
In a new study, the authors have the ability to originate human origin by continuous openings in the window of habitability to the history of the Earth, driven by changes in nutritional availability, sea surface temperature, ocean salinity levels, and oxygen levels. I suggested that the timing could be explained. atmosphere.
Given all the interaction factors, the Earth has only just become kind to humanity recently. It is simply a natural result of workplace conditions.
“We believe we need to use geological time scales rather than predicting based on the lifespan of the sun, because it takes time for the atmosphere and landscape to change,” Penn State said. said Professor Jason Wright.
“These are the normal timescales on Earth. When life evolves with planets, they evolve at the planet's pace on the planet's timescale.”
Team's paper It was published in the journal this month Advances in science.
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Daniel B. Mills et al. 2025. A reevaluation of the “hard step” model for the evolution of intellectual life. Advances in science 11(7); doi:10.1126/sciadv.ads5698
An extreme class of planets not found in our solar system, Ultrahot Jupiters offers a unique window into atmospheric processes. Using four telescope units in ESO’s extremely large telescopes, astronomers are currently being investigated deep into the atmosphere of the Ultra Hot Jupiter ExoPlanet WASP-121B, revealing separate powerful winds in separate layers, We have formed a map of the 3D structure of the atmosphere.
This diagram shows the atmospheric structure and movement of the WASP-121B. Image credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser.
The WASP-121B is a gas giant exoplanet 1.87 times larger than Jupiter and 1.18 times larger.
First discovered in 2016, this alien world takes just 1.3 days to traverse the parent F6 star WASP-121 (TYC 7630-352-1).
The WASP-121 system is approximately 881 light years away from the puppy’s constellations.
The WASP-121B is what is called “Ultra Hot Jupiter” and takes only 1.3 days to get the WASP-121 into orbit. It’s so close to the parent star, that when it gets closer, the star’s gravity begins to tear it apart.
Astronomers estimate the planet’s temperature is about 2,500 degrees Celsius (4,600 degrees Fahrenheit), high enough to boil some metals.
“The WASP-121B atmosphere behaves in a way that challenges understanding of how the weather works not only on Earth, but on all planets,” says the astronomer at Lagrange Laboratory, an astronomer at ESO. said Dr. Julia Victoria Seidel. Cote d’Azur.
“It feels like something from science fiction.”
“What we found was amazing. The Jet River rotates material around the planet’s equator, and another flow at a lower level in the atmosphere moves the gas from the hot side to the cool side. “
“We’ve never seen this kind of climate on any planet.”
“The observed jet stream spans half the planet, gaining speed and thrusts the air in the sky hard as it crosses the hot side of the WASP-121B.”
“Even the strongest hurricanes in the solar system seem milder in comparison.”
Dr. Seidel and colleagues to reveal the 3D structure of the atmosphere of the WASP-121B Used Espresso equipment located in ESO’s extremely large telescopes (VLTs) combines the light from four large telescope units into a single signal.
This combination mode of VLT collects 4 times the light of an individual telescope unit and reveals the details of the feinder.
Espresso was able to detect signatures of multiple chemical elements by observing the planet’s complete passage in front of the host star, resulting in different layers of the atmosphere.
“The VLT has led to three different layers of the Exoplanet atmosphere falling on one side,” said Dr. Leonardo A. dos Santos, an astronomer at the Institute of Space Telescope Science.
Astronomers were able to track the movement of iron, sodium and hydrogen, and track winds in the deep, central and shallow layers of the Earth’s atmosphere, respectively.
“It’s a very challenging observation for space telescopes and highlights the importance of ground-based observations on exoplanets,” Dr. Dos Santos said.
Interestingly, observations are also It was revealed Titanium is present just below the jet stream.
This was another surprise, as previous observations of the planet showed that this element was absent, and perhaps hidden deep within the atmosphere.
“It’s truly amazing to be able to study the details of such vast distances such as the chemical composition and weather patterns,” said PhD Viviana Prinos. A student at Lund University.
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JV Seidel et al. Vertical structure of the atmospheric jet stream of the exporanet. NaturePublished online on February 18th, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08664-1
Three layers of the atmosphere of a giant tyro gas
ESO/m. Cone Messer
The atmosphere of a distant world is mapped in detail for the first time, revealing a strange, dizzy weather system, and the fastest winds ever blew inexplicably around the Earth's stratosphere.
Astronomers have been studying the WASP-121B, also known as Tylos, since 2015. A planet 900 light years away is a vast ball of gas twice the size of Jupiter, and the stars orbit very closely and complete their perfect orbit. Only 30 Earth Time. This close orbit heats the planet's atmosphere to a temperature of 2500°C, and is hot enough to boil iron.
now, Julia Seidel Chile and her colleagues' observatory in southern Europe use a very large telescope at the observatory to see in the burnt, hot atmosphere of Tyros, with at least three different layers of gas in different directions around the planet. I found out there. I've seen it before. “It's absolutely crazy, it's a science fiction-like pattern and behavior,” Seidel says.
The atmosphere of our solar system planets is driven by the internal temperature difference, whereas the winds in the upper layers are more affected by the temperature difference, and the strong wind flows are more affected by the temperature difference. shares a similar structure to Created by the heat of the sun, it warms the daylight side of the planet, while the other warms.
However, in the atmosphere of Tyros, it is driven by heat from the planetary stars, and it is the lower wind that moves away from the warm surface, but the jetstream is primarily in the middle layer of the atmosphere, surrounding the equator of Tyros. It looks like it's moving. In the direction of the planet's rotation. The upper layer also exhibits jetstream-like characteristics, but hydrogen gas floats outward from the planet. This is difficult to explain using current models, Seidel says. “What we're looking at now is actually the opposite of what comes out of theory.”
Furthermore, Tylos' jetstream is the most powerful ever, blasting at about 70,000 km/h on half the planet. This is almost twice as much as the previous record holder. It is unknown what exactly drives this velocity, but researchers believe it is caused by the planet's strong magnetic field or by ultraviolet rays from the stars. “This could change the flow pattern, but this is all very speculative,” Seidel says.
If there is one word related to scientific curiosity, it is “why”. Why is the universe expanding? Why are the rise in cancer cases among young people? Why is the sky blue?
In contrast, it is rare to pay much attention to questions that begin with “when.” Certainly, the universe began 13.8 billion years ago, our planet began 4.5 billion years ago, or Homo sapiens It evolved 300,000 years ago. However, these confident statements hide a lot of scientific conspiracy, mystery, and uncertainty. That may all be strange, well, why? Why not focus on “when” a little more?
Ask when we force us to sharpen our thinking, carefully define our terminology, and think about what the beginnings really look like. In this spirit, addressing seven of the most important “when” questions in a special package that begins here is “When did time begin? Tip: It wasn’t a big bang.” Each piece indicates “When?” It could be one of the most interesting questions you can ask.
Ask when we have already taught us so much about the epic sweep of universe history
To give an example, I’ve recently begun to see that the first galaxy appeared much earlier than you could imagine. The “when” here dramatically changes not only the early universe but also how the chemical elements that took place in order to create life were born. Without “when,” there is no “way,” and certainly no “why.”
Science is increasingly well equipped to investigate when things happened. Distant past dates can be inferred using evidence from radioisotopes or by extrapolating from known points in history. Our special feature reminds us that we have already asked what we have told you about the epic sweep of space and earthly history, from the switch on the first star to the first life of this planet. It’s something.
Of course, why is a key part of scientific curiosity, and asking what we do frequently, but let us not give it all the glory. If not now…
This article is part of a special series that explores seven of the biggest chronological challenges of all time. To read other stories in this series, come back today later:
When did the time begin? Tip: It wasn’t a big bang
Why it’s so difficult to know why Homo sapiens became a clear species
When did the first galaxy form? Much faster than we thought
tomorrow:
When did life begin on Earth? New evidence reveals shocking stories
When did plate tectonics begin? Problems are very important for childhood
We reveal a fundamentally different view of the origins of civilization.
Why geologists cannot agree when the Anthropocene era began
tBelow are some video game developers who are not as vocal as Joseph Fares of Hazelight. Fares is known for his viral rant at a live streamed awards show and is considered a refreshing and unpredictable voice in the industry. He believes in speaking his mind and finds it strange that people can’t express their thoughts freely in interviews.
Although Fares is seen as a passionate advocate for cooperative gameplay in the gaming community, in his native Sweden, he is best known as an award-winning film director. His films range from comedy to more introspective works like Zozo, which explores his experiences as a child during the Lebanese civil war.
With no formal training, Fares learned by trial and error, eventually leading him to the world of game development. His passion for storytelling and gaming culminated in the creation of Hazelight Studios, dedicated to producing story-driven cooperative games.
“There was a lot of trial and error. I just did it, did it, and did it until I got it right.”… Brothers: A story about two sons. Photo: 505 Games
Fares’s latest game, Split Fiction, continues his tradition of innovative storytelling and gameplay. He believes in pushing the boundaries of the medium and creating unique experiences for players. Despite the challenges of interactive storytelling, Fares is determined to explore new ways of narrative in gaming.
“New things in the industry were extremely challenging”… it takes two.
Fares remains critical of the gaming industry’s shift towards live service games and believes in balancing creativity with commercial success. He values the artistry of game development and aims to create memorable experiences for players.
bThe reality competition series of East Games and Amazon Prime Video is hosted by YouTubers MrBeastnot a well-made show. That’s certainly expensive Show, Beast, the alter ego of Jimmy Donaldson, 26, of Greenville, North Carolina, likes to remind viewers frequently. The series is a shocking feat for viewers outside of YouTube territory, especially Donaldson’s territory: 1,000 contestants, and 1,000 contestants filmed on a 1,107 camera system, $5 million They fight each other with the prize money. Donaldson. For the competition, Donaldson and his group designed warehouse war zones modeled after the squid game of the Netflix dystopian series, built bespoke cities, and purchased private islands (and also included Lamborghini and others). (It will be given along with other gorgeous prizes). The contestants who are eliminated in the first episode are dropped into invisible depths through the trapdoor. There is a pirate ship with cannons.
But due to all the exaggerated displays of wealth, the show still looks terrible. Many point out that the central conceit of the show has broken Americans’ psychological battles for abandoned it and lavish prizes. For our age of clothing, Donaldson a Self-style Willy Wonka figure.
Certainly, Beast Games has rotten rot, but it’s a terrible, compelling core, but it also conveys its surface. At the style level, the show erases any remaining lines between YouTube and TV. Beast Games has a higher production budget than any of MrBeast’s YouTube videos, reaching over 360 million subscribers in 15-30 minutes. (Almost everything incorporates the concept of a basic magnet, bound by the ocean, stuck in the great pyramids, or helping the blind man to see again. looks Like YouTube content, content is an operator word (Donaldson made the first three episodes available on YouTube).
And it’s popular. Beast Games is currently from Amazon Prime Video The least viewed non-script series So far, it has reached 50 million viewers in 25 days (although it is worth noting that Amazon has not disclosed what counts as “viewers”). It reached number one on Amazon in 80 countries. According to Netflix, in 2021, Squid Game reached 142 million households for reference. The show is not a change of ocean. Many reality shows look awful. Many Americans have long consumed YouTube videos as sources of entertainment, but as television changes both shape and function, it’s a line in the sand.
What is TV in 2025? Is it a device? style? format? It’s hard to say – the content is Shift from linear platforms to streaming platforms device usage shifts to YouTube. In the US, people watch YouTube on TV more than any other device, CEO Neal Mohan declared in him Annual letter This month, “YouTube is a new TV.” YouTube doesn’t make television in itself, but it does. Global viewers Streaming According to the company, last year there was over 100 million hours of “content” on television screens. 400m hours Probably an audio-only podcast month. The company closed its original division in 2022, but is now promoting children’s entertainment. We are looking for a dedicated head of family entertainment and learning Second half of 2024.
Functionally, YouTube may not be as new as the next evolution. Formally, they are converging. YouTube talent (and digitally native influencers like Tiktok talent) I had a hard time breaking into Hollywood. Despite the vast numbers of fans, the spirit of the platform – the incentive structure of more eyeballs, ring light glare, the maximalist aesthetic for the biggest audience – is a dovetail with evolving Hollywood logic.
As one Mrbeast director I said time: “These algorithms are toxic to humanity. They prioritize addictive isolated experiences over ethical social design, all with advertising alone. That’s not MrBeast I have a problem. Next It’s a platform that encourages someone like me to study holding graphs so that videos can be made more addictive. In other words, value-neutral entertainment for the arts. Content as a means of end. This isn’t much different from the business logic of streaming platforms. Hollywood has its own race for its viewers. The rise of mid-TV, Major cheap Netflix gloss, Infinite scrolls in the “Content” library – It reflects the spirit of MrBeast’s lowest common denominator attention economy.
After all, Donaldson leads the Amazon show, which styled after the Netflix original series. This is explicitly fixed in “entertainment.” The show, as it says, “making history of entertainment,” is the biggest, brightest, most shocking, and most interesting. Similarly, products with no complexity, value, or even storytelling, due to the one value of attracting attention. Using Entertainment’s MrBeast-Ifive as Vox’s Rebecca Jennings Please put it downthe line between content, entertainment, television and influencers is more blurry than before. He went beyond what divisions remained – does Hollywood subscribe?
tYears ago, Parisian studios did not effectively create a new subgenre of narrative adventures, with teenage mystery life is strange. Part thriller, some relationship drama, it created an emotional Paean with unwavering friendship, using music, art and friendly characters. After a series of sequels, Nod's Montreal Studios created a new story about teenage relationships, split into two episodes or tapes.
In 1995, the introverted teen Swan faces his last quiet summer in a rural Velvet, Michigan town before his family moved to Vancouver. However, in the parking lot of a local video store, she meets fellow 16-year-old Nora, Autumn, and Kat, and the four girls bond about boredom and frustration with small town life. Soon they are inseparable, hiking in the nearby forest, setting camp fire, and confessing their secrets. Here they form the Bloom & Rage of the riot grrrl band, leading their dreams, desires and fear into fantasies of fame and revenge against silly boys and oppressive parents. However, when their swirling emotions seem to awaken a supernatural being in the forest, something terrible happens and the girls swear each other to the secrets of their lives.
A quiet summer, and… Lost record: Bloom & Rage. Photo: Don't nod
Twenty-seven years later, the group meets again in a rough bar on the outskirts of the town, which holds a special connection to their stories. Fall received an ominous package addressed to their band. Anything in the box could be the horrifying result of that tumultuous summer.
In the typical style of Not Nod, the game captivates interactive scenes and cinematic sequences, controlling the conversation that subtly shapes your relationships and story direction. The story interacts between two timelines that remind you of 2022 and two pivotal summers together in 1995. Sometimes the decision you make at the bar as 43-year-old Swann is renovated into her youthful experience, creating a fascinating ambiguity of causality and memory.
As with how we edit memories, just as it actually happens… Lost Records: Bloom & Rage. Photo: Don't nod
Certainly, this game is about how we create and edit memories, just as we do what actually happens to girls. Swann is an avid filmmaker, and 1990s video cameras are with you throughout the game. You can always press the appropriate trigger and see the world through the camcorder lens. In the main story, we use it to shoot a band's music video, but you can record it at any time. This feature is incentivized by a bunch of theme checklists. Record 10 different birds, or 5 ruined playground rides, or graffiti snatches. But you can also capture your own scenes from and around town, record friends casually, and build sequences of themes that can be stored and edited. The interface recalls games like No Man's Sky and Marvel's Spider-Man, where shooting objects are practical gameplay components, but here the camcorder is also a factor of recollection and nostalgia. At the same time, we ask an interesting question about how the role of a player, both as a gamer and a cinematographer, relates to the protagonist, which we embodies in the game.
It's not the only clever trick the game plays in formats and conventions. For example, the dialogue system is specially designed to capture the dynamic energy and chaos of excitatory groups. Options and responses vary depending on who you are watching while you are speaking, characters screaming at each other and comments are lost in the noise. Sometimes you can time out the options in the dialog and choose not to say anything. In some great moments, this mechanic captures the desperate improvisational nature of a teen relationship, moments of wobbling or fleeting eye contact with one comment all day long.
You may find the dialogue to be robust and overly listened, and the sense of authenticity is increased. Those who have played Life Is Strange also see many similarities with the game, especially between Swann and Max Caulfield.
But like its predecessor, Lost Records stunningly captures the way in which seemingly insignificant moments are billed in meaning in younger adults. There's a picnic by the lake, then there's a game of truth or a crackle with absolute strength. The 90s setting is well supported with support with spot-on-contemporary references, from grunge band mixtapes to video players and trawldolls.
In the background, there is subtly a hint of the mystery at the heart of the game, and there is much to expect from the second part. Mainly, it's the character and its vulnerable relationship that sticks to you. Three days after finishing the game, I'm still thinking about them. Unless you simply refuse to indulge in emotional young adult drama, you will be there too.
Meta has revealed plans to construct the longest underwater cable project in the world that will connect the US, India, South Africa, Brazil, and other regions.
The tech company, now known as Meta, announced that Project Waterworth will span 50,000km (31,000 miles) of submarine cable.
With a 24-pair fiber system, the cable will have increased capacity to support AI projects, according to Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
In a blog post, Meta stated: “Project Waterworth will provide top-tier connectivity to the US, India, Brazil, South Africa, and other major regions.”
“This initiative aims to facilitate greater economic collaboration, enhance digital inclusion, and create opportunities for technological advancement in these regions.
“In countries like India, where significant growth and investment in digital infrastructure have already been seen, Waterworth will further accelerate progress and support the nation’s ambitious digital economy plans.”
Over the past decade, Meta has collaborated with various partners to develop over 20 submarine cables, including multiple deployments of industry-leading cables with 24 fiber pairs compared to the typical 8-16 pairs of other systems.
The UK currently has around 60 submarine cables, through which 99% of data is connected to the global network.
Submarine cables handle over 95% of internet traffic worldwide, raising concerns about vulnerability to attacks, accidents, and geopolitical tensions during conflicts.
NATO initiated a mission in January to increase surveillance of Baltic vessels following incidents that damaged key submarine cables the previous year.
The UK Parliamentary Committee recently requested evidence on the nation’s ability to safeguard subsea cable infrastructure from threats and ensure national resilience in the event of significant and prolonged damage.
In 2018, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Russian companies allegedly involved in providing underwater capabilities to Moscow to monitor the underwater network.
In July, much of Tonga experienced a blackout after submarine internet cables connecting the island network were damaged, causing disruption for local businesses.
Meta stated in a blog post that the cable systems will be laid at depths of 7,000 meters and will utilize enhanced burial techniques in high-risk fault areas, such as shallow waters near the coast, to avoid hazards like ship anchors.
In January, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the completion of professional fact-check reviews on Facebook and Instagram, aiming to “dramatically reduce censorship,” a move that garnered significant criticism.
Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have produced an excellent image of the Spiral Galaxy UGC 5460.
This Hubble image shows the UGC 5460, a spiral galaxy about 60 million light years away in the URSA major constellations. Image credits: NASA/ESA/Hubble/W. Jacobson-Galán/A. Filippenko/J. Mauerhan.
UGC 5460 is It was located His major in Ursa is about 60 million light years.
Otherwise known as IRAS F10048+5205, Leda 29469, or TC 132, the galaxy is seen to be very close to face.
Two supernova explosions, named in 2011 and 2015 SN 2011ht and SN 2015ASwere observed with UGC 5460, respectively.
“Hubble targeted this galaxy because of the explosion of these two stars, collecting data from three observational programs aimed at studying different types of supernova,” says Hubble astronomers. said in a statement.
“SN 2015as was what is known as the Core Collapse Supernova. The intense events occur when the solar nucleus collapses under its own gravity, and begins to rebound material outside the core. It's an explosion.”
“The Hubble observations in SN 2015A help researchers understand what happens when the supernova's expanding shock wave collides with the gas surrounding the exploded star.”
“SN 2011HT may have been a Core Collapse Supernova, but it could also be a con man called the Luminous Blue variable.”
“The bright blue variable is a rare star that experiences eruptions so large that it can mimic a supernova.”
“Crucially, while these eruptions are intact, bright blue variables appear, but stars going to supernovae are not.”
“Hubble searches for stellar survivors at the location of SN 2011HT and it is possible that the explosion's identity will finally be revealed.”
The color image of the UGC 5460 is Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) UV, near-infrared, and optical parts of the spectrum.
“The image combines light of four different wavelengths to reveal the central bar of the star, a winding spiral arm, and a bright blue star cluster on the UGC 5460,” the astronomer said.
“In the upper left corner of this image there is an object much closer to it. It's a star just 577 light years away in our own galaxy.”
Paleontologists at American universities in Cairo and elsewhere say they found the almost perfect skull of Hyaenodont Bust Don Siltos in the lower part of the Ebel Catrani Formation in Egypt.
Bust Don Siltos. Image credit: Ahmad Morsi.
Bust Don Siltos lived in Egypt’s lush forests around 30 million years ago during the Oligocene era. Egypt is now home to the desert.
It is also known as Pterodon syrtos, the ancient species had the weight of hyenas or leopards (27 kg).
The animal had sharp teeth and strong jaw muscles, suggesting a strong bite.
It had a highly carnivorous diet that likely preyed on primates, early hippos, early elephants, and other large mammals.
“Bust Don Siltos belongs to a species of extinct group of carnivorous mammals known as hyaenodonts,” Dr. Shoruk al Ashkar, a paleontologist at Mansora University, American University in Cairo and colleagues, said.
“Hyenodons evolved before modern carnivorous animals such as cats, dogs and hyenas.”
“After the extinction of dinosaurs, these predators with hyena-like teeth hunted in African ecosystems.”
The skull of Bust Don Siltos was excavated in the Jebel Catlany Formation in the Faium depression.
“For several days, our team excavated a densely packed layer of rock dating back about 30 million years,” said Dr. Al Ashkar.
“As we were about to wrap up, our team members found something amazing. A large set of teeth sticking out from the ground.”
“His excited cry united the team and marked the beginning of an extraordinary discovery. The almost complete skull of an ancient apex carnivorous animal – a dream for a vertebrate paleontologist.”
“Faium is one of Africa’s most important fossil regions,” added Dr. Matt Bose, fossil curator at the Duke University Museum of Natural History.
“Without it, we would know little about the origins of African ecosystems and the evolution of African mammals like elephants, primates, and hyenodon.”
“Discovering Bustodon is an important achievement in understanding the diversity and evolution of Hyaenodonts and its global distribution,” said Dr. Al-Ashqar.
“We want to continue our research to unravel the complex relationships between these ancient predators and their environments across time and the continent.”
In their study, the authors also reevaluated a group of lion-sized hyanodons discovered in the rocks of Faium over 120 years ago.
They established a new genus of hyaenodont, sekhmetops, and reanalyzed materials from 33.8 million years ago.
They demonstrated that both Bustodon and sekhmetops actually belonged to the Hyaenodont group, which originated in Africa.
“Relatives of Bustodon and sekhmetops spread across multiple waves from Africa and eventually reached Asia, Europe, India, and North America,” they said.
“18 million years ago, some relatives of these Hyaenodonts were among the largest mammalian meat eaters to walk the planet.”
“However, radical changes in Africa’s global climate and geological shifts opened the continent to modern cats, dogs, and hyena ancestors.”
“As the environment and prey changed, the specialized and carnivorous hyaenodonts became less diverse and eventually became extinct, bringing primate relatives face to face with new adversaries.”
Survey results will be published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
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Shorouq F. al-ashqar et al. Cranial anatomy of hypercarnivore Bust Don Siltos Gen. November. (hyaenodonta, hyainailourinae) and reevaluation of Pterodon in Africa. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Published online on February 16th, 2025. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2442472
Using Gemini South Telescope, NSF's Noirlab astronomers imaged a beautiful nebula around the young open cluster NGC 2040.
The nebula, including the NGC 2040, resembles the vivid roses in this image taken by a Gemini Southeres scope. Image credits: International Gemini Observatory / Neur Love / NSF / Aura / J. Miller & M. Rodriguez, International Gemini Observatory & NSF No Arab/TA Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage & NSF No Arab/NSF No Arab/NSF No Arab, NSF No Arab.
NGC 2040 It is about 160,000 light years away from Earth, the constellation of Dorado.
This cluster, also known as the Cal 60 or ESO 56-164, resides within the large Magellan cloud, a satellite d-star galaxy of the Milky Way.
NGC 2040 is a so-called OB association, usually a stellar group containing stars between 10 and 100 stars O and B.
“O- and B-spectral types of stars live a short life of just millions of years, burning very hot before they explode like supernovae during that time,” Noirlab astronomers said in a statement.
“The energy released by these massive star explosions will be fed into the formation of NGC structures in the 2040s, while the material emitted sowing the growth of the next generation of stars.”
Most of our galaxy stars are thought to have been born in the OB Association, as well as NGC 2040.
“NGC 2040 is part of a large structure of interstellar gas known as LH 88, one of the largest active star-forming regions within the large Magellan cloud,” the astronomer said. Ta.
“Thousands of new stars will be born in the region over the millions of years to come.”
“When stars O and B end their supernovae life, they enrich the clusters with elements like carbon, oxygen and iron,” they said.
“Along with the rich hydrogen in the cluster, these elements provide the components necessary for the formation of new stars, planets, and perhaps life.”
“The bright stars seen in the image are widely separated, but their movements through space are similar, indicating that they have a common origin.”
“The layered ambiguous structure of LH 88 is the remains of an already dead star.”
“The delicate leaves of the rose were formed by both the shock waves of the supernova and the stellar winds of the stars of O and B.”
Paleontologists have identified a new genus and species of small dinophalosaurid archosauromorph from a fossilized skeleton found in China’s Yunnan province.
Holotype of Austronaga Minuta Most of the caudal vertebrae, which were found in looping in Yunnan Province, China, were found, and preserved in the skull, anterior cervical spine, and blocks. Image credit: Wang et al. , doi: 10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.231013.
Austronaga Minuta lived in the Thetis Sea during the Middle Triassic period around 244 million years ago.
This new species is an Archosauromorph, a member of a group that contains all forms more closely related to it (such as Crocodilians and dinosaurs, etc.) than Lepidosaurs.
Ancient reptiles are sister species Dinocephalosaurus orientalis, another amazing marine reptile from the Triassic period in central China.
“The Medium Triassic in southern China has produced a prominent marine vertebrate assembly that dramatically alters the understanding of the Tethys Sea and its coastline biota,” says Vertebrate paleontology and paleontology. A colleague and colleague at the institute said. National Geopark.
“The Triassic non-quadrilateral alxaulmorph group holds an important position in these findings.”
“They were traditionally called prototrosauria or prototrosaurs, but are now considered paraphrasing groups.”
“One species belonging to this group of reptiles, Dinocephalosaurus orientalis one of the most interesting reptiles discovered in recent years from the Triassic period in southern China,” they added.
“Its very elongated neck reminds me of a similar condition as seen in the ausauromorph, another aquatic creature. Tanistrophius. ”
“Both species have more than twice the necks as the trunk.”
“Yunnan’s new non-crocodile Archosauromorph shares many features Dinocephalosaurus And along with the latter, it can be distinguished from other long-necked Archosauromorphs. ”
“However, this new species also exhibits many different anatomical features. Dinocephalosaurus therefore, new genus and species have been proposed. ”
A small but mature skeletal specimen of Austronaga Minuta was recovered from the Guanling Formation in Waina village in Yunnan Province, southwestern China.
“The specimen is very compacted, but contains almost completely completely complete, with the anterior part of the skull joint with the skull, and most of the caudal tail of about 60.” The paleontologist said.
Their phylogenetic analysis shows that Austronaga Minuta With Dinocephalosaurus and Pektden It forms a clade representing the Dinocephalosauridae of the Archosauromorph family.
New marine reptiles probably had an aquatic or semi-aquatic lifestyle.
“The dentition Austronaga It's less specialized than that Tanistrophius and Dinocephalosaurus yet they have enlarged teeth like these species. This corresponds to the food possibilities of small aquatic animals, such as fish and cephalopods,” the researchers said.
“Other potential indicators for aquatic movement are Austronaga. ”
“The elaborate structure of the caudal neural spines and chevrons is only observed in Austronaga and Dinocephalosaurus Among these non-crocopodan alxaulmorphs. ”
“These structures of the tail are not essential for aquatic propulsion, taking into account the absence of other aquatic reptiles and even some aquatic lines.”
“Nevertheless, similar morphology converges in many aquatic reptiles: caudal neural spines like plates have been developed in basal fishy disease. Sclerocormus and Chaohusaurus. ”
“The T-shaped chevron is found in the mysterious Zauroptari horn Atopodentatus and with primitive placedonts Paraplacodos and Placodus. ”
“Therefore, we consider the morphology of the caudal vertebrae. Austronaga Suitable for aquatic or at least semi-aquatic animals. ”
Findings are reported in a paper In the journal Palasiatica spine.
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W. Wang et al. 2024. A small dinophalosaurid archosauromorph from the Triassic period in central Yunnan Province, southwestern China. Palasiatica spine 62(1):13-32; doi:10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.231013
Bacteria resistance to antibiotics is a global health concern as once easily curable infections have become more difficult to treat. Many bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli It can generate resilient forms with additional survival mechanisms. For example, they can form a shield like a mat called Biofilmto keep yourself safe. Or they can move as a group known as Flockfind new resources. Researchers are studying antibiotic-resistant bacteria They have not studied how nutrients affect protective bacterial behavior across generations. Multi-generational memory.
Researchers at the University of Texas recently tested whether iron in the environment contributes to multi-generational memories of bacteria. Iron is an important nutrient for bacteria, just like humans. Metabolism and respiration. However, the amount of iron bacteria varies greatly depending on environmental conditions. If there is too little iron, bacteria cannot flourish. in the case of E. colidifferent iron levels may change their behavior.
The researchers created two groups E. coli. They gave the first group sufficient iron levels to inhibit growth. They gave the other groups 1,000 times more iron, making it extremely abundant. after that, Y removed nutrients from both groups of bacteria and raised the temperature so high that it caused them to stress. To see how their behavior has changed.
They found that bacteria tend to move towards different defensive behaviors depending on the iron level. Bacteria with less iron tended to crowd more frequently, whereas bacteria that formed more iron formed more frequently biofilms. Iron levels also influenced the ability of bacteria to form biofilms. This is because bacteria containing excess iron better protected biofilms, which form biofilms. However, they also found that for tracking exposure to two antibiotics, bacteria given to less iron become harder and better. Kanamycin and Chloramphenicol.
Scientists observed five generations e. E. coliCheck for each group to see if this behavior persists. They discovered that bacteria have tailored their herds and biofilms to their preferences for up to four generations. In other words, I remembered the iron level of my ancestors. But this Iron memoryas researchers called it, disappeared by the fifth generation. Based on these results, the researchers concluded that bacterial colonies can convey information about their environment, but only for a short time.
Researchers also found that bacterial memory itself is associated with iron levels. By observing behavioural and genetic changes in bacteria, they identified two proteins that regulate the amount of bacteria absorbed. Fepa and fur. These were observed that all affected bacteria tend to be herd when iron levels were lower and these proteins worked more vigorously. They interpret this result and show that iron levels leave permanent physical changes in bacteria, affecting the bacterial environment memory, leading to behavioral changes.
The researchers also suggested that their findings could help scientists improve antibiotics. They explained that antibiotics produce harmful chemicals that damage bacterial cells. Reactive oxygen species Or ROS. They found that high iron levels within the environment promote this ROS production. Therefore, bacteria with low iron levels survived the treatment better as antibiotics generate less productive ROS. They suggested that the findings suggest that low iron levels also support bacteria in responding to antibiotics, as they adapt quickly to environmental stresses.
Researchers say learning how bacteria use iron memories can help scientists fight antibiotic resistance through multi-generational adaptations. Bacteria that remember previous antibiotic exposures are much more difficult to kill and are constantly concerned about antibiotic resistance. Researchers concluded that antibiotics could potentially provide benefits in the future by breaking the memory of such bacteria. Still, they acknowledged that further research is needed to determine the limitations of this mechanism and whether it works in other bacteria.
Cancer therapy using genetically modified immune cells called CAR T cells has maintained people without potentially fatal neurotumors for a record 18 years.
“This is, to my knowledge, the longest lasting complete remission among patients who have received T-cell therapy in their car,” he says. Karin Stratoff At University College London, where he was not involved in treatment. “This patient will be cured,” she says.
Doctors use CAR T-cell therapy to treat certain blood cancers, such as leukemia. To do this, they collect samples of T cells that form part of the immune system from the patient's blood and genetically manipulate them to target and kill cancer cells. The modified cells are then returned to the body. In 2022, a follow-up study found that this approach was in remission for two people with leukemia for about 11 years.
However, CAR T-cell therapy usually fails against solid tumors such as neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma occurs when developing neurons in children and usually becomes cancerous before the age of five. Such tumors often resist being attacked by the immune system, reducing the effectiveness of the modified T-cell.
This is the reason Cliona Rooney At Baylor School of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and her colleagues were surprised that people with neuroblastoma in childhood treated with CAR T cell therapy as part of their 2005 trial remained in control of cancer. . 18 years later. “These results were amazing. It's very rare to get a complete response from neuroblastoma with this approach,” says Rooney.
The person was treated at age 4 after several chemotherapy and radiation therapy failed to completely eradicate the cancer. At the time, the team also treated 10 other people who were in the same condition that the cancer had recurred after standard treatment, and they all had virtually no side effects, says Rooney. One of these participants showed no signs of cancer before dropping out of the study nearly nine years later, making follow-up impossible. The remaining nine participants eventually died from cancer. This was mainly killed within a few years of receiving treatment.
It is unclear why some people responded much better than others. “That's a million dollar question. I really don't know why,” Rooney says.
One reason is that each individual's T-cell behaves slightly differently depending on a variety of lifestyle factors, such as their genetics, prior exposure to infections, and diet, Rooney says. In fact, the team found that CAR T cells last longer in the blood among longer surviving participants.
Another explanation is that some participants' tumors were more immunosuppressive and strongly resisted T cells in the car, Rooney says.
The Rooney team is now looking for new ways to design cells so that it can benefit more people. “We have to improve them and make them stronger without increasing toxicity,” she says.
Such efforts are likely to lead to even greater success, Straathof says. “Now we have a glimpse of what is possible.”
I“I’ve always hated getting up in the winter. As a kid, I threw a Harkle Darkle at me while I watched my uniform warm up with the radiator. Recently, I had a few minutes of smartphone alarms. I set it up continuously. It’s too dark and I’m too groggy.
I’ve heard a sunrise alarm clock before the filterI was asked to review them, but I didn’t think they could solve my awakening anguish. Essentially, they are a combination of an alarm clock and a light therapy device that will glow as the brightness increases as your wake-up time approaches. Light interacts with our circadian rhythms, just like when the sun rises, so we wake up biologically prepared for the day.
How a sunrise alarm clock made my morning better
As a tech-interested author, I often review attractive and useful gadgets, from electric heaters to ERMs to cat smart drinking fountains. It’s fun, but in the long run, only a few products will change my lifestyle. Sunrise alarm clocks were quickly proven to fall into this exclusive category. Throughout the majority of winter, I woke up in the darkness so that my organs probably cannot receive signals from my brain and prepare for the day.
My Top Sunrise Alarm Clock Picks – Lumi Body Cooks Park 100 and Philips Smart Sleep Wake Light – have changed the equation clearly. I wake up, feel more energetic, less grogled and mentally sharp.
What’s important about sunrise alarm clocks
All sunrise alarm clocks I tested had strengths such as alarm sounds, soothing design and useful features, but only certain models have a brightness threshold that appears to wind a circadian clock. The value exceeded. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) lamps are often advertised with Lux ratings for brightness, but this important statistic tends to be absent in the sunrise alarm spec sheet. One great indicator is whether it is certified as a medical device, as is present in the Body Cooks Park 100.
How these devices play in a healthy sleep
Sleep is personal and there is no device suitable for all slingers. For me, the sunrise alarm clock benefited my sleep and wake cycle more than any other product. It probably excludes my memory foam mattress. Very good models like the Lumie Sunrise alarm can be purchased for under £40. So if you find dark mornings difficult, it’s definitely worth a try.
An important advantage of sunrise alarm clocks is that your phone no longer includes your morning waking up. Stopping the alarm on your smartphone means your day starts with your on-screen eyes. And the path from here to Doom scroll is the length of Thumbprint. With all sorts of alarm clocks, you can start without a smartphone in the morning.
If you’re still waking up on the other side of your bed, you can find additional recommendations for the best mattresses, sleep AIDS and electric blankets in the filter guide. The mornings are made by people who are not born.
This week’s pick
Editor’s Pick
Ella Foot will be testing a cold-water swimsuit at Lago di Nenbia in Trentino, Italy. Photo: Ella Foot
Guardian readers are no strangers to cold water dips. I also include myself. So we thought it was time for the filter to put some outdoor swimming kits at that pace.
Luckily, a new kind of thermal swimsuit (not wetsuits) is available in the market designed for colder temperatures. So, we’re still deep into the cold-water swimming season, but we asked experienced outdoor swimmers and writer Ella Hoot to test these swimsuits. She also rounded up her favorites wisely. hat, glovesthe flask and other items will warm up afterwards.
Hannah Booth Editor, filter
Just in case you missed it…
The elements are ready… a guide to waterproof jacket. Photo: Thomas Eversley/Alamy
If you’re keen to get wet outdoors, strictly tested waterproof jackets for men and women will keep you dry even in the most fierce downpours. Paddy Maddison and Sian Lewis of Keen Hikers have gone hundreds of paces over the years and know what to look for in high-performance jackets. It could be a valuable investment in a country that rains more than 150 days a year.
Please participate
thank you! Tell us how you can make things last longer. Photo: Uchida Kyoko/alamy
Do you have something that isn’t doing the job at all? It could be an expensive suitcase with unstable wheels, a beloved armchair with hanging springs, or your favorite jumper is a tattered jumper. If so, we’d love to hear a new advice column from you. I also want to hear how you see yours, from shoes to coffee machines, to make yours last longer.
Reply to this newsletter or email thefilter@theguardian.com.
Protesters gathered outside Tesla dealers across the United States on Saturday in response to Elon Musk’s efforts to sculpt government spending under President Donald Trump.
Groups of up to 100 demonstrators gathered outside the electric car manufacturer’s showrooms, including New York, Seattle, Kansas City and across California. Organizers said the protests took place in dozens of locations.
While the protests were scattered, they highlighted the risks to the car companies that have a close ties with Musk’s underlying right-wing agenda. Many protesters likened the Trump administration to the Nazis to carry placards. This is a characteristic that masks have previously highlighted.
Musk leads Doge, whose name comes from the US president’s “government efficiency,” or the Internet dog meme. Doge’s actions have rapidly dismantled government agencies, fired large federal workers across the United States, and have been criticized by some constitutional experts as illegal.
Some Tesla investors have asked whether Musk and the Trump administration’s relationship, including spending more than $200 million on a presidential campaign, will dent sales, particularly in liberal regions of the United States. Locations, including California, tended to be the largest market for U.S. electric vehicles, while Republicans and the Trump administration were actively opposed to technology.
Protest outside Tesla dealer in New York Saturday. Photo: Justin Lane/EPA
American musician Sheryl Crow posted a video of himself on Saturday, bidding farewell to Tesla, led by the Instagram social network. She said she sold the car and donated money to the US National Public Radio Station (NPR), which is “under threat by President Musk.”
“My parents always said… you’re the one you hang out with,” she wrote. “It’s time you have to decide who you’re going to suit. A very long Tesla.”
People within the Tesla business claim that the company is separate from the CEO. But that surge in valuation has played a key role in building the wealth of masks used to fund Trump’s campaign, thanks to previously burgeoning sales.
Tesla’s stock accounts for about a third of Musk’s wealth, according to Bloomberg. The private rocket company SpaceX is another third of ownership, while the rest links to Xai, X Social Network, Boring Company, Tunnel Business, and stakes from Brain-Computer Interface Company NeuralInk. Musk uses Tesla and SpaceX shares to secure personal loans worth billions of dollars.
Tesla reported its first annual sales decline in 2024 amid a tough time for the global automotive industry. It is not yet clear whether Musk’s right-wing politics contributed to its decline, and the company could potentially be able to compensate for the lost left-wing clientele with new enthusiasts on the right.
Some commentators have linked the sharp decline in German Tesla sales with a December declaration of support for the far-right alternative Deutschland (AFD). German Tesla sales fell 60% year-on-year in January, but delivery schedules could be affected by other factors that exceeded demand.
Tesla could be vulnerable to political backlash in other ways. In the UK, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davy said this week that the Labour government should impose tariffs on Tesla vehicles in retaliation from the White House, which taxes steel imports.
Ultra is Samsung’s biggest and largest mobile phone, packed gills with the latest technology. This means more artificial intelligence than ever before.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra leads the new wave of Android phones that promise to do it all. Combining Google’s advanced AI support with various Samsung tools for writing, drawing, photography, and chat.
However, at £1,249 (€1,449/$1,299.99/$2,149), the reality is slightly less futuristic than expected. While some AI tools can be impressive, others may falter.
The S25 Ultra is a modern glass slab enclosed in a titanium band. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
The Ultra boasts a slimmer design, 14g lighter than its predecessor, with sharp flat sides and minimal bezels on a large, breathtaking screen. It is nearly a glass slab with a vibrant display.
It features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Chip, outpacing even the recent OnePlus 13 in performance tests. The chip’s performance is remarkable, enabling users to accomplish tasks smoothly on the phone. With a battery life lasting two full days of moderate use and 7.5 hours of active usage on tasks like photography and media, the Ultra stands out as one of the longest-lasting devices on the market.
specification
Main screen: 6.9 inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X (500PPI) 120Hz
Connectivity: 5G, USB-C, WiFi 7, NFC, Bluetooth 5.4, UWB, GNSS
water resistance: IP68 (1.5m in 30 minutes)
size: 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2mm
Weight: 218g
Sustainability
Samsung claims that the S25 Ultra is The most durable ever, although a case is still recommended for drops. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
Samsung does not specify the expected battery lifespan, but it is designed to retain at least 80% of its original capacity after 500 full charge cycles.
Phone repairs are possible, with screen replacements costing £204 at authorized service centers, including battery replacement. Samsung also offers a self-healing program. The phone scored 5 out of 10 for repairability by experts at iFixit.
The device contains recycled materials such as aluminum, cobalt, copper, glass, gold, plastic, rare earth elements, and steel. Samsung provides a trade-in recycling scheme for old devices. The company also releases annual sustainability reports and impact assessments for some specific products.
More AI in more places
Some new AI tools are useful, while others are a bit gimmicky or unreliable. The Drawing Assist tool turns rough sketches into art (left). Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
Samsung has integrated numerous “Galaxy AI” tools, including new drawing features and AI selection tools introduced last year. These tools allow users to interact with images, text, icons, and more on the screen, offering options like drawing, editing, searching, and more.
The “Now” bar on the lock screen displays various widgets like Google’s Live Sports Score, current music, timers, flight reminders, and more. It resembles Google’s At a Glance feature and Apple’s dynamic widgets, providing convenient access to timely information. Live notifications, such as sports scores, can also be shown in the status bar.
The AI-curated snapshots feature local weather, calendar events, photos, reminders, health information, Spotify playlists, and more. It even warns users about using the phone while walking. However, some may find these features less useful.
The S-pen stylus remains for drawing on the screen, but one of the important selling points since the Galaxy Note series era – the magic wand and the remote feature have been removed. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
Introducing the Next Generation of Google’s Gemini Assistant, promising to perform multiple tasks efficiently. While the capabilities are impressive when they work, they can sometimes falter, leading to frustration with inaccuracies. Trusting the AI tools completely can be a challenge.
The overall software experience with One UI 7 is smooth, resembling Apple’s iOS in some aspects but offering enough customization options to personalize the phone’s look and functionality. Samsung’s commitment to providing software and security updates for the S25 Ultra for seven years after release rivals the best support from Google and Apple.
camera
The camera app is fairly easy to operate despite its functionality. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
The S25 Ultra features a revamped camera system similar to its predecessor, offering a range of options from the main 200mp camera to various telephoto lenses. The new and improved 50MP Ultra Wide Camera provides better low-light performance compared to previous models, producing sharper images in dimly lit environments.
Equipped with numerous modes and tools, including portrait modes and manual controls, the camera app allows users to capture unique and high-quality photos. The standout feature remains the adaptability to use multiple lenses for different scenarios, offering versatility in photography.
price
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra starts at £1,249 (€1,449/$1,299.99/A$2,149) with 256GB of storage.
Comparatively, the Galaxy S25 is priced at £799, the S25+ at £999, the Z-fold 6 at £1,519, and the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL at £1,099. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is priced at £1,199.
verdict
The Galaxy S25 Ultra sets a high standard for Android phones with its powerful features and versatility.
Boasting multiple lens options in the camera system, top-of-the-line Android chip, long battery life, expansive storage, a large screen, and a stylus, the Ultra offers a complete package for users.
However, while it excels in many areas, the design and lack of significant innovation may leave some users wanting more. The AI features, while impressive at times, can also be hit or miss, affecting the overall user experience.
The Ultra stands out as a top-tier mobile phone, but buyers should temper their expectations regarding exaggerated AI capabilities.
Strong Points: A massive 120Hz screen, a highly capable camera with 3x optical zoom, excellent software with 7 years of support, top android chip, long battery life, access to the latest AI features.
Cons: The huge and extremely expensive S-Pen doesn’t have the small magic of the previous version, and does not significantly improve the formula of its predecessor.
Nadia Odunayo may not have had the intention of taking on the formidable global giant that is Amazon, but she has undoubtedly become a hero for many book lovers who believe they don’t need Amazon.
For 18 years, bibliophiles logged their readings, left reviews and star ratings behind, and received their next reading suggestions from Goodreads, a platform founded by two Stanford University graduates in California.
In 2013, the creator of Goodreads sold the platform to Amazon, causing its already massive popularity to soar. Currently, Goodreads boasts an estimated 150 million users.
Among these users since 2012 is Odunayo, a software engineer and developer based in London. Six years ago, she sat down and envisioned an app that could complement Goodreads.
After creating a demo for several friends, she quickly realized that she had inadvertently created a potential competitor. The app leveraged AI to provide reader tracking tools, trends, and personalized book recommendations. As of this week, Storygraph has amassed 3.8 million active users, many of whom have made the switch from Goodreads.
In a blog post titled “Leave Goodreads in 2025!” just before Christmas, a book blogger and reviewer known as Bunny expressed dissatisfaction with Goodreads, stating, “I feel Goodreads is outdated. Its interface is clunky and offers limited functionality… I found Goodreads’ recommendations overwhelming and heavily skewed towards popular titles.”
Bunny announced her decision to switch to Storygraph, emphasizing, “I’ve loved it from the start! Not only is it female-owned, but it also offers a plethora of wonderful features.”
A Goodreads representative mentioned that the platform welcomes millions of readers, facilitating the exploration of hundreds of millions of books within the community. The spokesperson emphasized strong growth in user engagement with the platform.
Odunayo, 33, remarked, “I believe people appreciate the diversity of data we offer. With many exciting features and a engaged reader community…”
“But when people compare us to Goodreads, the prevailing sentiment is, ‘It’s the fact that Amazon doesn’t own it.”
Storygraph has attempted to address concerns surrounding malicious reviews and personal attacks by disallowing private messages and comments on reviews. Odunayo emphasized the importance of avoiding a scenario where users face unwarranted criticism or harassment.
Despite the increasing user base, Storygraph remains independently operated by Odunayo, who actively engages with users through social media and shares insights about the app and her reading habits.
As Storygraph experiences continued growth, the question arises: can it endure? What if Amazon attempts to acquire Goodreads competitors with lucrative offers?
Odunayo firmly states, “That’s not something we’re interested in. StoryGraph has had zero external investment; it’s a fully self-sustained venture. While anything is possible, we are currently content and committed to StoryGraph. I believe it’s the culmination of our life’s work.”
She further adds, “I believe there’s no cap on our potential growth while maintaining our current ethos. Our goal is to reach more users and become a globally acclaimed app.”
For Odunayo, the initial motivation behind all this stands stronger than ever – the love for books. Reflecting on her journey, she states, “I recall a friend caught up in social media for years, only managing to read 45 books.” She realized, “I’m single, no kids; with a 9 to 6 job, I only read 13 books this year.”
Currently, Odunayo reads 70 to 80 books yearly, distinguishing between fiction and non-fiction. Her current book is Time saving by Kaliane Bradley. She credits interacting with readers for broadening her reading choices and emphasizes, “Reading is ingrained in my identity as not just a CEO but a committed reader.”
The recent opening rejected a $97.4 billion bid by a consortium led by billionaire Elon Musk for ChatGpt makers, stating that the startup is not up for sale.
This unsolicited offer is Musk’s latest attempt to thwart a startup co-founded with CEO Sam Altman.
“Openai is not for sale. The board unanimously turned down this latest attempt to disrupt Musk’s competition. Openai emphasized that their mission is to ensure that AGI benefits humanity and mentioned the possibility of a reorganization as a nonprofit organization.”
Altman confirmed in an interview with Axios that Openai is not for sale, and he responded to Musk’s offer with a simple “no thanks,” prompting Musk to call him a “swindler.”
A consortium, including Musk-led AI startup Xai, stated that they would withdraw their bid for Openai’s nonprofit status if plans to become a for-profit organization were removed, as per a court application filed on Wednesday.
Two days ago, the consortium introduced new terms in the proposal through a court filing. The filing exposed that the client’s “published ‘bids’ were not actual bids at all.” The Openai board communicated their position to Musk’s lawyer on Friday.
Other investors in the consortium include Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital, and Hollywood Power Broker Ari Emanuel.
Altman and Musk have been in conflict for several years.
After Musk’s departure in 2019, Openai established a for-profit division that attracted significant fundraising, leading Musk to claim that the startup was deviating from its original mission and focusing more on profits than public good.
Musk filed a lawsuit against Altman, Openai, and their major supporter Microsoft in August last year on grounds of breach of contract.
In November, Musk requested a preliminary injunction from a US district judge to prevent the transition to a for-profit structure.
wHEN Congress was postponed to the holiday in December. This is a groundbreaking bill aimed at overhauling how technology companies protect the youngest users. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) introduced in 2022 was intended to be a massive calculation for Big Tech. Instead, the bill waned and died in the House despite sailing through the Senate in July with a 91-3 vote.
Kosa is passionately defended by families who say children have fallen victim to the harmful policies of social media platforms, and advocates who say bills that curb the unidentified power of big technology have been postponed for a long time is. They are seriously disappointed that a strong chance to check out Big Technology has failed due to Congress' indifference. However, human rights groups argued that the law could have led to unintended consequences that impacted freedom of speech online.
What is the Kids Online Safety Act?
Kosa was introduced nearly three years ago in the aftermath of a bomb revelation by former Facebook employee Frances Haugen, and the extent to which the social media platform's impact on younger users. Platforms like Instagram and Tiktok would have required that children be affected through design changes and address online risks to allow younger users to opt out of algorithmic recommendations.
“This is a basic product praise bill,” said Alix Fraser, director of the Council on Responsible Social Media Issues. “It's complicated because the internet is complex and social media is complex, but essentially it's just an effort to create basic product driving standards for these companies.”
The central and controversial element of the bill is its “duty of care” clause, declaring that businesses “have an obligation to use the platform to act in the best interests of minors,” and the regulatory authority It has declared it open to interpretation by They would have also requested that the platform implement measures to reduce harm by establishing “safeguards for minors.”
Critics argued that the lack of clear guidance on what constitutes harmful content encourages businesses to filter content more aggressively, resulting in unintended consequences for free speech. Delicate but important topics such as gun violence and racial justice can be considered potentially harmful and may subsequently be ruled out by the corporation itself. These censorship concerns are particularly prominent in the LGBTQ+ community, saying that opponents of the Kosa could be disproportionately affected by conservative regulators and reduce access to critical resources.
“Using Kosas we see a truly intentional but ultimately ambiguous bill that requires online services to adopt online services to take unspecified actions to keep children safe. A policy analyst at the Center for Democracy Technology, who opposes the law and receives money from technology donors such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.
The complex history of the Kosa
When the bill was first introduced, over 90 human rights groups signed letters against it, highlighting these and other concerns. In response to such criticism, the bill's author published a revision in February 2024. Most notably, the state attorney general changed the enforcement of its “duty of care” provisions to the Federal Trade Commission. Following these changes, many organizations, including the Glaad, the Human Rights Campaign and the Trevor project, have withdrawn their opposition, saying the amendments “significantly reduce the risk of the matter.” [Kosa] It has been misused to suppress LGBTQ+ resources and to curb young people's access to online communities. ”
However, other civil rights groups have maintained their opposition, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the ACLU and the future battle, calling Kosa a “censorship bill” that harms vulnerable users and freedom of speech. They argued that the duty-of-care provision could easily be weaponized by conservative FTC chairmen against LGBTQ+ youth, as well as the state attorney general. These concerns are reflected in the appointment of Republican Andrew Ferguson, Trump's FTC chairman; Who said in the leaked statement He had planned to use his role to “fight the trans agenda.”
Concerns about how Ferguson will manage online content are “what LGBTQ youth wrote and called Congress hundreds of times over the past few years in this fight,” says Saraphilips of the Future Fight. Ta. “The situation they were afraid of has come to fruition. Anyone who ignores it is really just putting their heads in the sand.”
Opponents say that even if KOSA doesn't pass, they've already achieved a calm effect on content available on certain platforms. recently Report User MAG has found that hashtags for LGBTQ+-related topics are classified as “sensitive content” and are restricted from search. Laws like Kosa, Bhatia of the Center for Democracy Technology, said it doesn't take into account the complexity of the online landscape, and it's likely that the platform will lead preemptive censorship to avoid litigation.
“Children's safety holds an interesting and paradoxical position in technology policy, where children benefit greatly from the internet, as well as vulnerable actors,” she said. . “Using policy blunt instruments to protect them can often lead to consequences that don't really take this into consideration.”
Supporters will make backlash at Kosa an aggressive lobbying from the tech industry, but fight for the future – two top opponents – EFF will be supported by large tech donors Not there. Meanwhile, the large tech companies have been split up by KOSA, with X, SNAP, Microsoft and Pinterest quietly supporting the bill, Meta and Google.
“The Kosa was a very robust law, but what's more robust is the power of big technology,” Fraser is the power of problem 1. “They hired all the lobbyists in town to take it down, and they succeeded with it.”
Fraser added that supporters are disappointed that Kosa didn't pass, but “will not take a break until federal law is passed to protect children online.”
Potential revival of Kosa
Besides Ferguson as FTC Chairman, it is unclear what the changing composition of the new Trump administration and Congress will mean for the future of Kosa. Trump has not directly expressed his views on Kosa, but some of his close circles are Revealed support After last minute amendments to the 2024 bill Promoted by Elon Musk's X.
The death of the Congress in Kosa may seem like the end of a winding and controversial path, but defenders on both sides of the fight say it's too early to write legislative obituaries.
“We shouldn't expect the Kosa to go quietly,” said Prem Trivedi, policy director at the Institute for Open Technology, which opposes Kosa. “Whether it's being reintroduced or seeing if a different incarnation is introduced, it will continue to focus more broadly on online safety for children.”
Senator Richard Blumental, who co-authored the bill with Senator Marsha Blackburn, has promised to reintroduce it in future legislative sessions, and other defenders of the bill say they won't give It’s.
“I want to talk about the worst days of their lives over and over again, in front of lawmakers, in front of staff, in front of the press, knowing something is known. I've worked with a lot of parents who think that, and to change,” Fraser said. “They don't intend to stop.”
The eastern half of the US is bracing for severe weather this weekend, with “life-threatening” flash floods expected in parts of the southeast and heavy snowfall as the storm progresses from the Midwest to New England.
The heaviest snow is predicted in Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, and Maine, with double-digit totals projected by the National Weather Service.
Workers removing snow from sidewalks during a winter storm in Chicago on February 12, 2025. Scott Olson/Getty Images
The National Weather Service issued an early warning on Saturday highlighting the potential for severe flash floods in Ohio and Tennessee valleys, especially in Kentucky and Tennessee.
Approximately 21 million people from Arkansas to Pennsylvania have been placed under various flood warnings.
A broad range of severe thunderstorms is anticipated across the region, bringing rainfall of up to 6 inches and isolated higher totals of 8 inches in certain areas.
The Weather Bureau stated, “The heavy rainfall poses the greatest risk of life-threatening flash floods, notably in northwest Tennessee and western Kentucky, where there is a high risk of excessive rainfall (level 4/4) in effect.” Read more in the Short-Range Forecast Discussion.
Apart from flooding, there is also a potential for thunderstorms and strong tornadoes in parts of the Lower Mississippi Valley, according to the National Weather Service.
A large area of rain and thunderstorms is expected to persist along the mid-Atlantic and southeastern coasts through the weekend, increasing the risk of heavy precipitation and flash flooding.
Further north, medium to heavy snowfall is forecasted from the upper Midwest through the Great Lakes to New England, affecting around 70 million people with winter weather warnings from Nebraska to Maine.
A mix of sleet and freezing rain is expected in much of the northeast, creating hazardous driving conditions.
The NWS Weather Prediction Center warned, “The greatest risk for ice accumulation due to freezing rain is in the northeast.” They also cautioned that in some areas, icing could lead to power outages. Read the advisory on x website.
The storm is expected to intensify in the northeast from late Saturday through Sunday, with strong gusty winds and periods of snow creating extremely difficult travel conditions, as per the Weather Service.
Early next week, forecasts indicate that rain and snow will move away from the east coast, but breezy winds will maintain cooler temperatures across much of the eastern US.
Quality of sleep is often judged by the number of hours we sleep, but recent research suggests that the timing of sleep may be more crucial than the duration.
A study published in the journal Sleep indicates that the consistency of your sleep schedule, rather than just the number of hours slept, is a strong predictor of your risk of mortality. Even individuals who consistently get 7-8 hours of sleep but have irregular sleep patterns were found to be at a higher risk of stroke, heart attacks, and cancer. On the other hand, those with a consistent sleep routine had up to a 48% lower risk of death from all causes.
It’s important to note that simply sticking to an erratic sleep pattern with minimal hours of sleep is not advised. The study found that individuals who slept less than six hours or more than nine hours per night had a higher risk of mortality. While sleep duration is significant, the link between mortality and consistent sleep patterns was stronger.
Researchers analyzed data from nearly 61,000 individuals in the UK Biobank, totaling over 10 million recorded sleep hours. By studying sleep patterns and mortality rates, they identified the factors associated with an increased risk of early death.
These findings may lead to updated public health guidelines on sleep recommendations, emphasizing the importance of not only getting sufficient sleep but also maintaining a consistent sleep schedule for overall health improvement.
Further research is needed to determine if these findings are applicable to a broader population beyond the UK.
Triple J played continuously for 8 hours. The DJ remixed it, the dancers grooved to it, and many of us listened, sat down, and felt frustrated.
Slowly, Centrelink Hold Music has become a part of the cultural landscape, serving as the backdrop for art and going viral on TikTok.
Influencer and comedian Lyanna Kea’s TikTok dance in 2024 garnered 91,000 likes and 2,297 comments, echoing the frustration of a caller on hold.
“Everyone recognizes the tune on Centrelink,” Kea remarked. “Everyone knows the feeling of being stuck on hold for hours before being abruptly disconnected.”
“It’s ingrained in everyone’s minds.”
In 1989, Tim Carlton, a 16-year-old American at the time, created a song that was later used by Cisco, a major supplier of corporate mobile phones, and has since gained global recognition.
The tune is now known worldwide for its presence on Cisco’s hold music playlist. It was even featured in a 2023 Bud Light commercial and has garnered millions of plays on Spotify.
In 2018, Centrelink swapped its classic hold music for Opus No. 1 synth melodies, even reaching audiences in countries like Switzerland and Poland.
Both Australians and global citizens have been impacted. Artist Jonathan Hobbsey created a performance piece for the Fringe Festival in 2023, inspired by lockdown experiences.
“I wanted to evoke a communal experience that resonated with people,” Hobbsey explained. “Music is the sound of limbo.”
Music On Hold Australia’s manager Jenny Crosby emphasized the importance of a good hold song having consistent beats, volume, and minimal emotional content.
“Hold music may seem dull in the music world, but it serves a purpose,” she noted.
Twenty years ago, Crosby curated a collection of songs for the ATO, with some still playing today, proving their lasting appeal.
Lauren Roseworn, a social sciences professor, suggested that Centrelink embrace its hold music legacy to connect with people’s shared experiences.
“Instead of dwelling on the negative, we can find humor and solidarity in these familiar tunes,” she concluded.
Distribution area and sampling site for pangolins in China and Malay. Image credit: LAN et al. , doi: 10.1093/gigascience/giaf003.
Pangolins are living fossils with many unique biological properties, including the body-covering keratin scale, a special diet, a long, muscular tongue, a sensitive olfactory system, and the ability to dig holes.
Locals in that distribution area have traditionally used their scales and meat for medicine and food.
An excess excerpt of pangolin, driven by rising demand for luxurious foods and traditional Chinese herbal medicines, has pushed the animal to the edge of extinction.
Currently, pangolins are the most trafficked wildlife in the world, with over 900,000 individuals poaching 67 countries from six continents involved in illegal poaching and trade.
Poaching is more rampant for Asian pangolins compared to African pangolins, particularly Malayan pangolins and Chinese pangolins.
These two species are listed as Critical at risk On the IUCN Red List for the first time since 2014.
“World Pangolin Day is celebrated on February 15th, so a new study presenting high-quality genomic data for these pangolin species is the genetic vulnerability and risk of extinction in Malayan and China's pangolin species. It's fitting that he is in the spotlight on the subject,” Yang Hua and colleagues.
The starting point for their analysis was to generate genome sequences of Chinese and Malay pangolins at significantly higher resolutions than those currently available.
Having such high quality data in the form of near-gap chromosomal scale sequences will capture important information, which is a key indicator of genetic health, and important information, which is the risk of extinction in any population. It's very valuable for it.
Therefore, the analysis included estimates of genetic diversity. This shows how many genetic variations exist between individuals in the population.
Scientists then used high-quality data as reference points and used previously published genomic data from 37 Chinese pangolins and 72 Malayan pangolin individuals to conservation inheritance of five pangolin populations. The condition has been reassessed.
They found the overall genetic diversity was surprisingly high. This is a positive indication of the genetic health of the population.
However, their detailed analysis showed that some of these populations were at higher risk of extinction than others.
Specifically, based on genetic data from one pangolin population, the authors have shown that this population has significantly faster and more sharper population declines within the last 10,000 years compared to the other populations in the study. I confirmed that it was over.
Furthermore, other genetic parameters in their studies indicate that this population, particularly in particular, is at a very high risk of extinction.
In addition to this, analysis of pangolin specimens from Taiwan revealed equally painful data.
Severe survival pressures require future work to solidify certain pangolin populations to some extent at the risk of extinction.
The data also show that further research into regional differences in these populations should be more careful as it has the capacity to help guide the already ongoing genetic rescue efforts.
“In addition to supporting the management of illegal poaching and human trafficking, the Chinese government has built breeding centres for the conservation of pangolins in both China and Malay and developed artificial breeding and breeding programs.” Academy and Northeast Forestry University.
“With the support of these data, we can better assess the genetic rescue strategies of wild populations by reconstructing and releasing these prisoner individuals in the future.”
a paper The findings were published in the journal gigascience.
____
TIANMING LAN et al. 2025. Enhanced inbreeding estimation and global conservation insights through chromosomal-level gatherings of pangolins in China and Malay. gigascience 14: GIAF003; doi: 10.1093/gigascience/giaf003
Paleontologists explain new specimens of the genus Archeopteryx From the Mercim Formation in Franconia Albus in Bavaria, Germany.
Karlsruhe specimen: (a) Original condition of the slab before preparation. (b) Slab containing the remains of the left arm and fragments of the right arm after initial preparation. Image credit: foth et al. , doi: 10.3897/fr.28.131671.
Archeopteryx It is a genus of dinosaurs, like feathered birds, that lived during the Jurassic period about 150 million years ago.
3 species and over 10 specimens Archeopteryx It is now all known from Bavaria, Germany.
It is considered the first known bird, Archeopteryx It had primitive properties like teeth and long bone tails, and was similar in size to Eurasian magpies.
“Archeopteryx Dr. Christian Foss, a paleontologist at Friborg and Rostock University, and his colleagues, said:
“To date, this taxa is known only from the lower Titonians of Bavaria in Germany. Nine of the 11 specimens currently known as this genus have been excavated from the Altmühltal Formation.”
“Morphological variation, such as dentition and limb proportions – suggestions within the genus Archeopteryx They may experience evolutionary changes and be divided into different species during this period. ”
“For over 150 years, the genus Archeopteryx “It was the only Jurassic representative that could be introduced to the Pareve, the theropod clade, which includes the bird and its closest parents, Doromaosaurid and Trudontid,” they added.
“Discovering diverse communities of Pallavia packaging from slightly older rocks in northeastern China over the past decades, identification of fragmented harem specimens. Archeopteryx As another taxa, Ostromia Classicesand discovery Alcmonavis Poeschlielucidated the previously unexpected complexity of the evolution, diversity and distribution of Pallavia in the late Jurassic period. ”
Reconstruction of Archeopteryx albersdoerferi. Image credit: Zhao Chuang/Martin Kundrát.
new Archeopteryx The specimen – a fragmentary skeleton – was discovered in May 2019 in the Mörnsheim Formation in Mörnsheim, Baibaria, Southern Germany.
“The skeleton is the third Aviala specimen found in the Mörnsheim formation,” the paleontologist said.
“It consists of fragments of both the right forelimb and shoulder, left forelimb and both the hind limb.”
Unofficially called Karlsruhe specimen, the new fossil is about 149 million years old, and is the 12th specimen representing it Archeopteryx Genus.
“The specimens are within the size range of specimens for Dating, Munich, Thermopolis and feather wings and therefore represent one of the medium sizes. Archeopteryx Samples,” the researchers said.
Their paper It was published in the journal in January 2025 Fossil Record.
____
C. foth et al. 2025. new Archeopteryx From the Mercim Formation in lower Titonia at Mullheim (Jurassic Evening). Fossil Record 28(1):17-43; doi:10.3897/fr.28.131671
When it comes to a good night’s sleep, the quality of your sleep may be more important than the number of hours you get. A new study published in the journal sleep suggests that the regularity of your sleep schedule is a strong predictor of your overall risk of death. In fact, research shows that even those who consistently get 7-8 hours of sleep but have irregular sleep schedules are at a higher risk of stroke, heart attacks, and even cancer compared to those with a consistent sleep-wake routine.
Individuals with the most consistent sleep-wake times have been found to have up to a 48% lower risk of all-cause death compared to those with inconsistent routines. However, maintaining a consistent sleep schedule doesn’t mean you can skimp on sleep. Those who slept less than six hours or more than nine hours each night were also at a higher risk of death. Overall, the link between mortality and consistent sleep patterns was found to be stronger than the link between mortality and sleep duration.
Researchers analyzed sleep data from nearly 61,000 people in the UK biobank, totaling over 10 million hours of recorded sleep. Using advanced algorithms, they tracked mortality rates over an average of 6.3 years to identify factors associated with early death. The hope is that these findings will inform updated public health guidelines and sleep recommendations, emphasizing the importance of not only getting enough sleep but also maintaining a consistent sleep schedule for improved overall health.
Further research is needed to determine if these findings apply to populations outside the UK and to a more diverse range of individuals.
The UK semiconductor designer ARM reportedly plans to launch its own chip this year after landing Meta as one of its first customers.
The move represents a massive overhaul of the SoftBank-owned group’s business model, licensing chip blueprints to Apple and Nvidia.
ARM CEO Rene Haas is set to announce its first in-house chip as early as this summer, according to a Financial Times report citing people familiar with the plan.
Since the company was founded in 1990, more than 300 million chips have been shipped based on ARM design, and almost all world smartphones are based on ARM technology. Moving from chip design to manufacturing a full, proprietary processor could also compete with the largest customers in the £500 million semiconductor industry.
ARM declined to comment. The company’s shares rose more than 6% on Thursday after finance reported its plans.
Financial Times also has its own intellectual property by creating a vast infrastructure network for AI, which has shifted to the production of AI chips by the son of SoftBank founder Masayoshi, and building a vast infrastructure network for artificial intelligence. It reported that it is one step in a big plan to make more money from.
Masayoshi Son, CEO of Softbank Group. Photo: Mitsui/Aflo/Rex/Shutterstock
Last month, Son announced its Stargate initiative at Openai. It spends an estimated £400 million building AI infrastructure, funded by Abu Dhabi State Fund MGX and Oracle, and is armed as a major technology partner alongside Microsoft and Nvidia.
According to those familiar with the plan, ARM’s chips are the central processing units (CPUs) of servers in large data centers and are expected to be customizable for clients, including Meta. These people said production will be outsourced to manufacturers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
Another transaction essential to ARM’s chipmaking project is SoftBank’s anticipated acquisition of Ampere. It could be valued at nearly $6.5 billion (£5.155 billion).
Cambridge Headquarted Arm has more than doubled to $173 million since it was listed on the Nasdaq in 2023. Before SoftBank took over it in 2016, ARM was previously listed in London.
Meta is the latest big tech company that looks to ARM for power-efficient server chips instead of Intel and AMD. Meanwhile, ARM’s Nvidia partnership with Amazon has driven the rapid growth of data centers that power Openai, Meta, and human AI assistants.
Close-up photo of astronaut shoes and shoe marks in lunar soil taken by Buzz Aldrin in July 1969
NASA/Johnson Space Center
We say don’t stop thinking about or talking about the moon Matthew CindelCurator of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
“In cities with lots of artificial light that tend to make it difficult to see stars, the moon is still very bright above us. We have been obscuring the stars, but where do we go? And yet, the moon is this extremely constant presence during our nighttime,” he says.
in Ring: The history of the moon in myths, maps and matterCompiled by Sindel, 19 authors tell the story of this coexistence between humanity and celestial bodies through a series of insightful essays, impressive images, and detailed maps of the geological features of the moon.
“It’s a story of how people’s views across the universe have changed, how physics works, how they see their position in the universe, what their views are about,” says Sindel.
Geological Maps – Almost 4 dozen of them – Location month Changing readers’ understanding of the reality of the moon. They are part of the lunar atlas produced by NASA and the US Geological Survey between 1962 and 1974, and are based on telescope observations, images, and samples taken by Robotlanders and astronauts.
In these maps, the moon is divided into 144 sections called Quadrangles, some of which were named in the 1600s and began sketching what cartographers saw through newly developed telescopes (hereinafter referred to as).
Three portrayals of the moon by Claude Melan (1637) are considered to be the most detailed and realistic portrayal of the moon surface.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Beyond being a scientific document, the maps revealed the culture of their time. Part of the moon was named after modern monarchs, such as the Oceanu Philip IV of Spain. The dark plains of the moon were often labeled “sea.” Because early observers imagined they were like the oceans of Earth. Even today, looking at the moon maps can make you think about sailing through the Serenity seas or taking a dip in the Rainbow Bay.
Cindel says the more powerful telescopes came into being, the deeper the moon’s imagination became. One notable example is the 1835 Great Moon Hoax in New York solar The newspaper has released a series of false reports of the discovery of moon life, accompanied by flying and other sculptures of fantastic creatures. In the same era, we see the beginning and surge in science fiction stories about visiting the moon, folding into modern writers and scientifically advanced visions of the future, with ancient people worshipping it as a god. It was linked.
Published by the Great Moon Hoax (1835) solar It depicts a human-like moon valley and a flying bat-like creature
Library of Congress Prints and Photography Division Washington, DC
Sindel says that with scientific advances, many researchers have continued to cherish a very direct and personal approach to the moon. In the 1840s, it was possible to combine cameras and telescopes to photograph the moon, but due to technical challenges, many moon cartographers still have the eyes of being the best cartographer instrument. got it.
The map below shows the Petavius square, named after the 17th-century theologian Dennis Petau, and features a crater of the same name, about 200 kilometers in diameter.
In May 2024, a Fantastic ads Going viral on social media, “There are real cases of fraud and abuse across the country. [election] “The system that erodes our trust.” advertisement The “whistleblower” who shared evidence of election fraud has vowed that he will “reward on payments from the $5 million fund.”
This reward was courtesy of the group that had just been announced. Fair Election Funddocumented documents show that there is a deep connection to Elon Musk’s political network.
The fair election fund “emphasis on these cases” to share their stories with “a large portion of the group’s budget is dedicated to whistleblower payments” and “affective pay and earned.” We have pledged to launch a “media campaign.”
It followed after that Another ad It was run in swing states during the Olympics, telling viewers to share evidence of election fraud, saying, “You might qualify for compensation.”
Despite the group’s high-profile, deep pocket supporters and favorable bounty offers, no evidence of voters or election fraud was revealed. Instead, the group incorporates a series of unrelated detours into tangential areas like third-party voting access, and efforts to reveal fraud have concluded that many research, court decisions, and bipartisan investigations have concluded. I’ve reaffirmed that I’m there. Voter fraud is extremely rare.
The Fair Election Fund is now radio silent. SiteMap data shows that the website has not been updated since October and that the group’s X/Twitter account has not been posted since November. Group’s SpokesmanFormer national team member Doug Collins has appeared. Trump’s Veterans Secretaryand still is Leading the government’s ethics bureau.
Close relationship with the world’s wealthiest man
The Fair Election Fund is the fictitious name of another 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, and the documented documentation is revealed and operated within a network run by Musk’s top political advisors. You can do it. The group received funds from the same dark money vehicle that Musk used to guide his political spending, and also routed the funds to another musk-backed nonprofit.
The group is now housed in a nonprofit organization called the Interstate, and previously known as the fund. It was formed on January 3, 2023, a nonprofit organization. We raised $8,226,000 from a single donation in 2023.
The naming of two sax-led groups, and naming them for the Republic and it’s for funding – and the timing of their creation in January 2023 was originally the group currently housed a fair election fund. It suggests that it was intended to support operations. Mask was the first to support him.
Sachs’ involvement continues until 2024, and her name will appear on record This was accompanied by the purchase of the Fair Election Fund’s broadcast.
Musk has been like that since 2022 Secretly channel his political spending Through a dark money nonprofit organization called Building America’s Future. The group is run by General and Phil Cox, two Republican operatives involved in the failed presidential bid for DeSantis. I’ll give advice to Musk now. Building the future of America It is reportedly In 2024, we supported the Fair Election Fund. That too Half provided of Republic’s comprehensive funding in 2023.
Ron DeSantis, whose presidential bid for the Florida Governor, was endorsed by the Republic Group. Photo: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA
The Fair Election Fund/Interstate Priorities also served as a conduit to support other musk-backed groups. Group’s 2023 Tax Return It shows that he has won a $1,550,000 grant to citizens for his sanity. Masks were funded in 2022 by building the future of Americaand aired racist and transphobic ads of that election cycle. The grant created almost entire citizens for sanity Funding for 2023.
During the 2024 election cycle, Musk released at least $277 million in political contributions to the super PACs he worked to elect President Trump and other Republicans. I don’t know how much he gave to other politically active groups disguised as donors.
Detours to third-party voting access
The fair election fund’s goal of exposing election fraud at first glance seemed to have no significance.
Of the $5 million fund, the group announced $75,000 in payments of “prizes” and released it $50,000 July 2024 and $25,000 September 2024. Fair Election Fund It was promised While we will not “emphasis” the narratives of election fraud collected through these payments via “active payments and acquired media campaigns,” we suggest that any evidence generated is consequential or reliable. Not there.
Instead, the group detoured in July 2024: $175,000 advertisement “Blitz” targeting North Carolina Election Commission (NCSBE) members delay Third-party presidential candidates Cornell West and Robert F. Kennedy JR will be on the poll. Back then, Republicans and their allies believed West and Kennedy would do. I’ll act as a spoiler to help Trumpby sucking up left-leaning votes away from the Democratic presidential candidate.
Ironically, the NCSBE delayed decisions regarding Western and Kennedy’s eligibility and is based on evidence. The petition was obtained through fraudulent means – Concerns that appear to coincide with the Fair Election Fund’s mission to expose election fraud.
Fair Election Fund advertisement NCSBE Democrats declared “threatening your right to vote” and provided compensation for evidence of members’ “shady backroom deals.” The group too Projected image I drove next to the NCSBE building. Mobile sign Around the agency’s headquarters.
Mark Elias, a Democratic lawyer who tried to stay west of votes in North Carolina and elsewhere, was a frequent target for the group. October 2024, Group announcement Performing six-figure ad purchases to “troll” Elias. The ads included mobile billboards around Elias Law Group Office and full-page ads for the Washington Post. “We’ve broken Mark Elias and his racist voter suppression lawsuit. Cornell West, but the fair election fund has stopped him.”
The fair election fund was then directed towards a series of efforts to chase other trending right-wing conspiracy theories.
For example, fair election funds over the summer are Online Funding Platform ActBlueclaiming he found it.”60,000 potential contradictionsIn ActBlue Facilitation’s contribution to the Biden-Harris campaign, based on a survey conducted “from late July to early August.” The group is “I spent $250,000 About these initial findings” – Amazing
The newly detected neutrino, called KM3-230213A, has an incredible energy of 220 peta-electronic (PEV), making it one of the most powerful basic particles ever detected. Its energy was about 100 million times more energy than visible photons, and about 30 times the highest neutrino energy previously detected.
Visual impressions of ultra-high energy neutrino events observed in KM3NET/ARCA. Image credit: km3net.
Cosmic neutrinos are generated near or along cosmic ray propagation pathways, leading to the generation of secondary unstable particles, which then collapse into neutrinos.
Cosmic rays interacting in the Earth's atmosphere generate atmospheric neutrinos that form the experimental background of cosmic neutrinos.
Monitor a huge amount of neutrino observatory to detect space neutrinos. Cherenkov Light It is induced by the passage of charged particles due to neutrino interactions within or near the detector.
“This high-energy neutrino is extremely rare and makes it a monumental discovery,” says Professor Miroslav Filipovich of Western Sydney University.
“This finding represents the most energetic neutrinos ever observed, providing evidence that such high energy neutrinos are being produced in the universe.”
“Detecting such extraordinary particles brings us closer to understanding the most powerful forces that shape our universe.”
Detection of KM3-230213a is KM3NET Telescopephotoelectron-filled tubes are used to capture light from charged particles generated when neutrinos interact with the detector.
“KM3NET's research infrastructure consists of two detector arrays of optical sensors deep in the Mediterranean,” the physicist said.
“The ARCA detector is located approximately 3,450 m deep off the coast of Portopalo Di Capo Passero in Sicily, Sicily, Italy, and is connected to the INFN coastal station, Nazionali Del Sud using electro-optic cables.”
“ARCA's geometry is optimized for research into high-energy cosmic neutrinos.”
“The ORCA detector is located at a depth of approximately 2,450 m in France's offshore Toulon and is optimized for studying neutrino oscillations.”
“Both detectors are under construction, but they are already working.”
The KM3-230213A event recorded light of over 28,000 photons, providing clear trajectories and compelling evidence suggesting the cosmic origin of the particles.
“KM3NET can reconstruct neutrino trajectories and energy,” says Dr. Luke Burns of Western Sydney University.
“To create neutrinos like these, like explosive stars and super-large black holes, requires extreme cosmic conditions.”
“The work of following up on the radiotelescope, like the Australia Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder, helps unlock their secrets.”
The researchers concluded that it is difficult to clearly determine its origin based on a single neutrino.
Future observations will focus on constructing clearer images of such events in order to construct clearer images of such events.
“The energy of the KM3-230213A event is much greater than the energy of neutrinos detected so far,” the scientists said.
“This suggests that neutrinos may be derived from a different cosmic accelerator than low-energy neutrinos, or this could be the first detection of cosmicogenic neutrinos. Universe.”
Team's paper Published in the February 12th issue of the journal Nature.
____
KM3NET collaboration. 2025. Observation of ultra-high energy cosmic neutrinos using KM3NET. Nature 638, 376-382; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08543-1
mThe butt effect is some of the best science fiction ever made. That might sound like an epic comment, but it's true. As a trilogy, original games from 2007 to 2013 are easy to pick the most brain ideas from the sci-fi genre and invested them into memorable military role-playing games that have been the first to the controversial end. I slotted it.
Whether you prefer Asimov's hopeful optimistic outlook, Shelley's dark and reflective commentary, Star Trek's accessible thought experiment, or BattleStar Galactica's arch melodrama, Mass Effect is it I have everything. The trilogy grazes Star Wars West-inspired ratios as happily as Iain M Banks' “hard” sci-fi, bringing all its moods and micro-story into a galaxy that is captivating and believable Melding, walking in one way or another breathtaking optimism, and a choking smile.
Mass effects are special. And, like a successful video game series, franchise achievement rests on the shoulders of the developers' vast assemblies. Bioware project director Casey Hudson and studio co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk have earned plenty of credits, but much of their souls comes from other creatives at Bioware. Written by Drew Calpisin, Derek Watts's Art Direction, Lead Designer Preston Wattmaniuk's vision, and Jack Wall's rising film music.
Every time you play, you can feel the choking inevitability of closed sacrifices around you. I needed music to match
“I made the Jade Empire soundtrack very successful in BioWare before Mass Effect,” Wall tells me that he asks how he became part of the team working on the original title. “Then they put out an audition process for what the team called SFX, the codename for Mass Effect. It was a blind audition, and Bioware got files back from many composers. The team was , I listened to all these different things and decided who nailed it the most. And I won that audition blind.”
Soon, Casey Hudson began working on giving an overview to the wall. “His mission was, 'I want this to sound like '80s science fiction music'. There is no Star Wars. There's nothing like the Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, or Blade Runner. Those were the main ideas. “Hudson specifically guides vintage analog synth sounds (particularly in films) that defined science fiction of the era, and wants to imagine a multi-layered multi-removal approach from the Tangerine Dream as the perfect accompaniment to a dense, complex mass-effect universe. I was thinking that.
Wall explains that Bioware played music written by another composer called Sam Hulick. Although Hulick was not chosen as a lead composer (as he was considered too junior for his job), Wall gave him equal credibility on the soundtrack.
Up until Mass Effect 2, music really became itself and essential to the whole experience. If Mass Effect has this almost utopian outlook, then the sequel is dark if mid-20th century science fiction optimism was established to establish the universe. The end of everything is nearing. From the off point, the final act is a “suicide mission” and it is said that the problem should be sorted out before reaching the return point. There is extensive pessimism, and with each moment you play, you can feel the choking inevitability of closed sacrifices around you. I needed music to match.
“At the beginning of development, Casey Hudson came in and said, 'I want to write the ending now,'” Wall says. I want it to be the main moment everyone remembers. He gave me some guidance and told me through what he wanted. [players] Feeling – This is always the best way to work with the supervisor. ”
“The team will decide who nailed it the most”… Jack Wall.
This track may be the aptly named Suicide Mission, which may be the most important part of the entire trilogy. It has an orchestral bias more than anything in the first game and reflects a serious overall tone. It shows how quickly they mature from one game to the next.
“It had to be epic, it had to feel like a movie, it had to feel 'one guy against everything',” Wall says. “You had to feel like you were saving the world and saving the galaxy. I came up with that main theme. [Hudson] I liked it right away. ”
However, before Wall and Hudson began installing the pieces together there was maintenance to do. Bioware and Wall were not impressed by how the music from the first game was patched to the final product. “The transition was awful,” Wall says, asking for an example.
“So, what we decided is that in Mass Effect 2, we'll do all the implementations we've never done before,” he continues. “I had an amazing assistant called Brian Didomenico who worked with me in my studio every day. He sat in my vocal booth with a desk and a PC. I told him I was my track. Sent, he implemented them into the game and did playtests there. And we tweak it until it really gets better… Bioware puts out the game when it's ready Things were delayed a lot because they were known for it, but the fans were very happy when they got it.”
Wall remembers finishing the game. It's noted that the entire ending sequence passed “in a tiny little video spitted out by the game engine.” He took the files and fed them to his Mac's film editor, stitched together the endings and edited the suicide mission. He then wrote various endings on the track, reflecting the player's choices.
“The end of everything is near”…Mass Effect 2. Photo: EA
“It was the biggest heart that I've ever done in my life,” he laughs. “And no one walked me around because they were surprised when they were about to finish the game. I handed it over and they had a lot of massages at their end to make it work. It had to, but they did it…and the result is one of the best ending sequences of the game I've ever played. It was worth the effort.”
Wall didn't return to the score for Mass Effect 3, the most popular game in the trilogy. “Casey wasn't particularly pleased with me at the end,” he says. “But I'm very proud of that score. It was nominated for BAFTA and it really worked… [even if] It didn't go as well as Casey had hoped. “Talk to the wall, I feel a near-Fleetwood Mac level creative tension between him and Hudson. The duo have created something amazing that will live forever in the minds of sci-fi and RPG enthusiasts, but at the expense of some relationships.
“That kind of fallout is just part of the transaction,” he says. “It's one of the few things in my career and it was a tough time, but that's it.”
You can survive the final mission in Mass Effect 2. Make all the right choices and execute your plans with absolute clarity and determination, and you can save all your crew as your hero and all your crew stare at a particular death. But, at least for most players, a much more likely outcome is losing at least one member of the team. This bundle of ragtags of heroes splits, gets injured, loses morale and sets foot into the climax of a series that is hopeless. For me, it reflects the brutal reality that good science fiction reveals.
Elon Musk has stated that he will retract a $97 billion offer to purchase the nonprofit organization behind Openai if the makers of ChatGpt agree to abandon plans to convert them into for-profit entities.
“If the board of Openai, Inc is willing to uphold its charitable mission and ensure that any “sales” are conducted without conversions, Musk will withdraw his bid,” he stated on Wednesday. “If not, the nonprofit must be compensated based on the amount paid by the prospective buyer for the assets.”
Earlier this week, Musk and a group of investors made their offer, adding a new twist to the ongoing controversy surrounding the artificial intelligence company he co-founded a decade ago.
Openai is currently operated by a nonprofit board dedicated to its original mission of developing AI “safer and more advanced than humans” for the public good. However, as the business grows, it has announced plans to change its corporate structure formally.
Musk, along with his AI startup Xai and a group of investment firms, seeks control over Openai by transforming the nonprofit into a for-profit subsidiary.
Openai CEO Sam Altman swiftly dismissed the unsolicited offers in a social media post, reiterating at AI’s Paris Summit that the company is not for sale. Openai’s board chairman, Bret Taylor, echoed these sentiments at the event on Wednesday.
Musk and Altman were instrumental in launching Openai in 2015, but had disagreements over leadership, leading to Musk stepping down from the board in 2018 only to rejoin in 2024.
During a video call at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Musk criticized Altman once again, comparing Openai to turning the Amazon rainforest into a timber company. Altman countered that Musk’s legal challenges were influenced by his competing startups.
Musk is currently seeking a California federal judge’s intervention to prevent Openai’s commercial conversions, alleging breach of contract and antitrust violations. While the judge has shown doubt about some of Musk’s arguments, no ruling has been issued yet.
A speech by US vice president JD Vance represented a disruptive consensus on how to approach AI. He attended the summit alongside other global leaders including India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen. I did.
In his speech at Grand Palais, Vance revealed that the US cannot be hampered by an over-focus on global regulations and safety.
“We need an international regulatory system that promotes the creation of AI technology rather than strangle it. In particular, our friends in Europe should look to this new frontier, optimistic rather than fear. ” he said.
China was also challenged. Vance worked with the “authoritarian” regime in warning his peers before the country’s vice-president Zhang Guoqing with a clear reference to Beijing.
“Some of us in this room learned from our experience partnering with them, and what we’ve learned from your information to the authoritarian masters who try to penetrate, dig into your information infrastructure and seize your information. It means taking the country with you,” he said.
A few weeks after China’s Deepshek rattles US investors with a powerful new model, Vance’s speech revealed that America is determined to remain a global leader in AI .
2. Go by yourself
Naturally, in light of Vance’s exceptionalism, the US refused to sign the diplomatic declaration on “comprehensive and sustainable” AI, which was released at the end of the summit. However, the UK, a major player in AI development, also rejected it, saying the document is not progressing enough to address AI’s global governance and national security implications.
Achieving meaningful global governance for AI gives us even more distant prospects, as we failed to achieve consensus over seemingly incontroversial documents. The first summit held in Bletchley Park in the UK in 2023, at least voluntarily reached an agreement between major countries and high-tech companies on AI testing.
A year later, the gathering in Bletchley and Seoul had been carefully agreed, but it was already clear by opening night that this would not happen at the third gathering. In his welcoming speech, Macron threw the shade with a focus on Donald Trump’s fossil fuels, urging investors and tech companies to view France and Europe as AI hubs.
Looking at the enormous energy consumption required by AI, Macron said France stands out because of its nuclear reliance.
“I have a good friend on the other side of the ocean who says, ‘drills, babes, drills’. There is no need to drill here. Plugs, babysitting, plugs. Electricity is available,” he said. We have identified various national outlooks and competitive trends at the summit.
Nevertheless, Henry de Zoete, former AI advisor to Rishi Sunak on Downing Street, said the UK “played the blind man.” “If I didn’t sign the statement, I’d brought about a significant will with Trump’s administrators at almost cost,” he wrote to X.
3. Are you playing safely?
Safety, the top of the UK Summit agenda, has not been at the forefront of Paris despite continued concerns.
Yoshua Bengio, a world-renowned computer scientist and chairman of the major safety report released before the summit, told the Guardians of Paris that the world deals with the meaning of highly intelligent AI. He said that it wasn’t.
“We have a mental block to the idea that there are machines that are smarter than us,” he said.
Demis Hassabis ir, head of Google’s AI unit, called for Unity when dealing with AI after there was no agreement over the declaration.
“It’s very important that the international community continues to come together and discuss the future of AI. We all need to be on the same page about the future we are trying to create.”
Pointing to potentially worrying scenarios such as powerful AI systems behave at first glance, he added: They are global concerns that require intensive and international cooperation.
Safety aside, some key topics were given prominent hearings at the summit. Macron’s AI envoy Anne Boubolot says that AI’s current environmental trajectory is “unsustainable” and Christy Hoffman, general secretary of the UNI Global Union, says that AI is productivity at the expense of workers. He said that promoting improvements could lead to an “engine of inequality.” ‘ Welfare.
4. Progress is accelerating
There were many mentions of the pace of change. Hassavis said in Paris that the theoretical term for AI systems that match or exceed human on any intellectual task is “probably five years or something apart.”
Dario Amodei, CEO of US AI company Anthropic, said by 2026 or 2027, AI systems will be like a new country that will take part in the world. It resembles a “a whole new nation inhabited by highly intelligent people who appear on the global stage.”
Encouraging governments to do more to measure the economic impact of AI, Amodei said advanced AI could represent “the greatest change to the global labor market in human history.” I’ve warned.
Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGpt developer Openai, has flagged Deep Research, the startup’s latest release, released at the beginning of the month. This is an AI agent, a term for a system that allows users to perform tasks on their behalf, and features the latest, cutting-edge model O3 version of OpenAI.
Speaking at the Fringe Event, he said the deep research was “a low percentage of all tasks in the world’s economy at the moment… this is a crazy statement.”
5. China offers help
Deepseek founder Liang Wenfeng had no shortage of discussion about the startup outcomes, but he did not attend the Paris Summit. Hassavis said Deepshek was “probably the best job I’ve come out of China.” However, he added, “There were no actual new scientific advances.”
Guoqing said China is willing to work with other countries to protect security and share AI achievements and build a “community with a shared future for humanity.” Zhipu, a Chinese AI company in Paris, has predicted AI systems that will achieve “consciousness” by 2030, increasing the number of claims at the conference that large capacity AI is turning the corner.
6. Musk’s shadow
The world’s wealthiest person, despite not attending, was still able to influence events in Paris. The consortium led by Elon Musk has launched a bid of nearly $100 billion for the nonprofit that manages Openai, causing a flood of questions for Altman, seeking to convert the startup into a for-profit company.
Altman told reporters “The company is not on sale,” and repeated his tongue counter offer, saying, “I’m happy to buy Twitter.”
We were asked about the future of Openai’s nonprofit organizations. This is to be spun as part of the overhaul while retaining stocks in the profit-making unit. Things…and we’re completely focused on ensuring we save it.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Altman said the mask bid was probably an attempt to “slow us down.” He added: “Perhaps his life is from a position of anxiety. I feel the man.”
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