Over the past weekend, the internet was buzzing with the name of David Mayer, sparking intrigue and speculation online.
David Mayer gained temporary fame on social media when ChatGPT, a popular chatbot, seemed reluctant to acknowledge his name.
Despite numerous attempts from chatbot enthusiasts, ChatGPT consistently failed to produce the words “David Mayer” in its responses. This led to theories that Mayer himself may have requested the omission of his name from ChatGPT’s output.
OpenAI, the developer behind ChatGPT, clarified that the issue was a software glitch. An OpenAI spokesperson mentioned, “One of our tools mistakenly flagged the name, preventing it from appearing in responses. We are working on a fix.”
While some speculated that David Mayer de Rothschild could be involved, he denied any connection to the incident, dismissing it as a conspiracy theory surrounding his family’s name.
The glitch was not related to the late Professor David Mayer, who was mistakenly linked to a Chechen militant. It is speculated that the glitch may have been influenced by the GDPR privacy regulations in the UK and EU.
OpenAI has since resolved the “David Mayer” issue, but other names mentioned on social media still trigger error responses on ChatGPT.
Helena Brown, a data protection expert, highlighted the implications of the “right to be forgotten” in AI tools. While removing a name may be feasible, erasing all traces of an individual’s data could pose challenges due to the extensive data collection and complexity of AI models.
Given the vast amount of personal data used to train AI models, achieving complete data erasure for individual privacy may prove challenging, as data is sourced from various public platforms.
Physicists have discovered a new way to look inside protons using data from smashups of high-energy particles. Their approach uses quantum information science to map how the tracking of particles flowing from electron-proton collisions is affected by quantum entanglement inside the protons. As a result, it became clear that quarks and gluons, the basic building blocks of the proton’s structure, are affected by so-called quantum entanglement.
Data from past proton-electron collisions provide strong evidence that proton quarks and gluon oceans are entangled, which plays a key role in strong force interactions. There is a possibility that there are. Image credit: Valerie Lentz / Brookhaven National Laboratory.
“Until we did this work, no one had observed the internal entanglement of protons in experimental high-energy collision data,” said Brookhaven Laboratory physicist Zhoudunming (Kong) Tu. states.
“For decades, we have had the traditional view of the proton as a collection of quarks and gluons, and we have had many questions about how the quarks and gluons are distributed within the proton, so-called single particles. The focus has been on understanding the nature of
“Now that we have evidence that quarks and gluons are entangled, this situation has changed. We have a much more complex and dynamic system.”
“This latest paper further deepens our understanding of how entanglement affects the structure of protons.”
“Mapping the entanglement between quarks and gluons inside the proton provides insight into other complex questions in nuclear physics, such as how parts of the larger nucleus affect the proton’s properties. There is a possibility that
“This will be one of the focuses of future experiments at the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), a nuclear physics research facility scheduled to open at Brookhaven Laboratory in the 2030s.”
In their study, Dr. Tu and his colleagues used the language and equations of quantum information science to predict how entanglement would affect particles flowing from collisions between electrons and protons.
Such collisions are a common approach to probing the structure of protons, most recently performed at the Hadron Electron Ring Accelerator (HERA) particle collider in Hamburg, Germany, from 1992 to 2007, and were used to investigate the future EIC. Experiments are also planned.
The equation predicts that if quarks and gluons are entangled, it can be revealed from the entropy of the collision, or disorder.
“Think of a child’s cluttered bedroom with laundry and other things strewn about. Entropy is very high in that cluttered room,” Dr. Tu said.
Calculations show that protons with maximally entangled quarks and gluons (high “entanglement entropy”) should produce a large number of particles with a “random” distribution (high entropy).
“For maximally entangled quarks and gluons, a simple relationship exists that predicts the entropy of particles produced in high-energy collisions,” says the theory, which is affiliated with both Brookhaven Institute and Stony Brook University. said Dr. Dmitri Kharziyev of the house. .
“In our paper, we used experimental data to test this relationship.”
The scientists started by analyzing data from proton-proton collisions at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, but they also wanted to look at “cleaner” data produced by electron-proton collisions. .
Physicists have cataloged detailed information from data recorded from 2006 to 2007, including how particle production and distributions change, as well as a wide range of other information about the collisions that produced these distributions. It became.
When we compared the HERA data with the entropy calculations, the results were in perfect agreement with our predictions.
These analyzes, including the latest results on how the particle distribution changes at different angles from the point of collision, provide strong evidence that quarks and gluons inside the proton are maximally entangled .
“Unraveling the entanglement between quarks and gluons reveals the nature of their strong force interactions,” Dr. Kharziyev said.
“It could provide further insight into what confines quarks and gluons inside protons, one of the central questions in nuclear physics investigated at the EIC.”
“Maximum entanglement inside the proton appears as a result of strong interactions that produce large numbers of quark-antiquark pairs and gluons.”
of the team work appear in the diary Report on advances in physics.
_____
Martin Henczynski others. 2024. QCD evolution of entanglement entropy. Progressive member. physics 87, 120501; doi: 10.1088/1361-6633/ad910b
This article is based on a press release provided by Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Meta has disclosed that it intervened this year to stop around 20 covert influence operations globally. However, the company mentioned that concerns regarding AI-based election distortions may not be realized until 2024.
Nick Clegg, the president of international affairs at Meta, which oversees Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, stated that Russia continues to be the main source of hostile online activity. He expressed surprise that AI has not been utilized to deceive voters during recent busy election periods globally.
The former British deputy prime minister mentioned that Meta, with over 3 billion users, utilized AI tools to create images of political figures like Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, J.D. Vance, and Joe Biden last month. Over 500,000 requests for such images had to be removed before the American election day.
Security experts at the company have been dealing with new operations using fake accounts to manipulate public debate toward strategic goals every three weeks. These operations include Russian networks targeting countries like Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
Another operation based in Russia uses AI to create fake news sites resembling well-known brands to weaken support for Ukraine and promote Russia’s role in Africa while criticizing African countries and France.
Mr. Clegg highlighted that Russia remains the most frequent source of covert influence operations disrupted, followed by Iran and China. He noted that the impact of AI-generated deceptive content from disinformation campaigns appears to be limited so far.
While the impact of AI manipulation on video, audio, and photos has been modest, Mr. Clegg warned that these tools are likely to become more pervasive in the future, potentially changing the landscape of online content.
In a recent evaluation, the Center for Emerging Technology and Security suggested that AI-generated deceptive content influenced the US election discourse, but evidence of its impact on the election outcome is lacking. The report warns that AI-based threats could negatively affect democratic systems by 2024.
Sam Stockwell, a researcher at the Alan Turing Institute, highlighted how AI tools may have shaped election discourse and spread harmful content subtly, such as misleading claims and rumors that gained traction during recent elections.
Map showing where asteroid fireballs can be seen in Siberia
ESA
A dramatic but harmless spectacle will take place over Siberia today as an asteroid about 70 centimeters in diameter burns up in the atmosphere.
The space rock will illuminate the sky over northern Siberia at around 11:15 pm local time (4:15 pm Japan time). Warning from the European Space Agency (ESA).
Alan Fitzsimmons Britain's Queen's University Belfast says objects of this size pose no danger to people on the ground, but early warnings are a positive sign that our ability to detect these objects before they hit Earth is increasing. It is said that this is a sign.
“It's small, but it's still going to be pretty spectacular,” Fitzsimmons said. “The sky above the impact site will darken and a very impressive, very bright fireball will spread across the sky for hundreds of kilometers around it.”
Several objects of this size collide with Earth every year, and we are getting better at detecting them early. The first discovery was in 2008. The next discovery was made six years later, but the pace of observations has picked up. Today's asteroid, named C0WEPC5, is the fourth predicted to hit Earth this year.
Early warning of small asteroids gives astronomers the opportunity to observe them, collect data, and even try to collect any small pieces that survive. Fitzsimmons said the first such predicted impact in 2008 led to the recovery of a small piece of rock and generated important science. “What was beautiful was that the meteorite's reflectivity matched exactly what was measured by telescopes before the impact, and it was a perfect match between what we saw in space and what we later found on Earth. “It shows a very nice direct connection,” he says.
Detecting larger, more dangerous objects heading toward Earth could provide an opportunity to deflect them or at least evacuate the dangerous area.
NASA and ESA currently have dedicated programs for asteroid discovery and tracking. This involves a large network of dedicated observatories and amateur astronomers who read the positions of known objects so that their orbits can be better understood and predicted.
This latest asteroid was discovered by NASA's Asteroid Earth Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). ATLAS operates four telescopes around the world and is designed to provide up to a week of collision warning.
“This is a victory for science, [for] “If you happen to be in Siberia this evening, there will definitely be something to take your mind off the very cold temperatures,” says Fitzsimmons.
Drugs are rarely famous, and even more rarely superstars, but with his ability to grab headlines, Ozempic is the Taylor Swift of pharmaceuticals. So what exactly is behind that star power? Even as the drug and its derivatives become more widespread, researchers are racing to figure out how they work.
“We are seeing an incredible amount of benefits,” he says. Stephen Dayan at the University of Illinois. “It's early days, but these drugs look like they're going to change not only medicine, but the entire economy.”
Because most drugs treat only one or two symptoms, “cures” that promise to address all ailments are usually met with skepticism and suspicion. Ozempic seems to be bucking that trend. Wegovy, a version of Ozempic approved for weight loss last year. Reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke An increase of almost 20%. The emergence of “Ozempic pregnancy” suggests Fertility benefits. People started noticing its positive effects on depression and anxiety. In May, Results showed that it also reduced the risk of kidney failure Deaths in diabetic patients were also observed during the three-year trial. In July, another version of The drug was found to reduce brain atrophy Cognitive function declines slowly in Alzheimer's patients.
Wegovy and other weight loss drugs are widely promoted in the US
Richard Levin/Alamy
Why this drug is effective against so many conditions remains a mystery, but researchers are beginning to unravel the mechanisms underlying its extraordinary abilities. Understanding everything from its impact on reward circuits in the brain to its impact on inflammation…
HHello. Welcome to TechScape. Happy belated Thanksgiving to all my American readers. I hope you all enjoy a fun holiday party this weekend. I’m looking forward to baking gritty bunts for the Feast of St. Nicholas. This week in tech: Australia causes panic, Bluesky raises the issue of custom feeds, and we cover the online things that brought me joy over the holidays.
Australia on Thursday passed a law banning children under 16 from using social networks.
My colleague Helen Sullivan reports from Sydney: The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) would prohibit social media platforms from allowing users under the age of 16 to access their services, with penalties of up to A$50 million (A$3,200) for failure to comply. He is threatening to impose a fine of US$ 1,000,000. However, it does not contain any details about how it will work, only that companies are expected to take reasonable steps to ensure that users are over 16 years of age. Further details will be available by the time the Age Assurance Technology trials are completed in mid-2025. The bill will not take effect for another 12 months.
The bill also does not specify which companies would be subject to the ban, but Communications Minister Michel Rolland has said that Snapchat, TikTok, X, Instagram, Reddit, and Facebook are likely to be subject to the ban. YouTube is not included because it is for “important” educational purposes, she said.
The new law was drafted in response to Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying there was “a clear causal link between the rise of social media and the harm it causes to Australian youth mental health.”
TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and X are angry. Following the bill’s passage, Mehta said the process was “fast-tracked” and that it would take a long time to hear from young people, the steps the tech industry has already taken to protect them, and existing research on the impact of their social media use. He said he did not consider the evidence.
Australian children are not a significant user base for these companies. According to UNICEF, in 2023, there were 5.7 million people under the age of 18 living in Australia. Facebook reported 3 billion monthly users in 2023. May 2023. There are approximately 370 million Facebook users in India. Even if all Australian children were to leave social media, which is unlikely, the number of users would not decline significantly.
If countries around the world turn their young people away from social media, social media companies will face an uncertain future.
Of concern to tech companies is the precedent set by the new law. Tech companies also fiercely opposed measures in both Australia and Canada that would require them to pay for news content. The issue was not the amount requested, but what happened next. If countries around the world required people to pay for news, the financial burden it would place on Facebook and others would be enormous, as would the responsibility of determining what is news. As countries around the world turn their young people away from social media, social media companies will face an uncertain future. The pipeline of incoming users will dry up.
What tech companies want in Australia is a measure that would require parental consent, but this would be a more vague standard and one that would divide responsibility between companies and users. Mehta and others opposed a 2023 law passed in France requiring parents to approve accounts for children under 15 with far less vigor than Australia’s new law. However, in an ominous sign for Australia’s measures, local French media reports that technical challenges mean the under-15 rule has not yet been implemented. Also, does the parental consent feature work? Data from several European countries shows that it doesn’t. Nick Clegg from Meta said the company’s data shows that parents are not using parental control measures on social networks.
Australian law shows that this is indeed possible in any country. We have seen the laws of one country tilt the global governance of social networks before. In the United States, a law governing children’s privacy passed in 2000 imposed a minimum age of 13 for social media users. Social network privacy policy.
Click here for a comparison of Australia’s social media ban laws with those of other countries.
Britain is being warned by its cybersecurity chief about the seriousness of online threats from hostile states and criminal organizations. Richard Horne, director of the GCHQ National Cyber Security Center, highlighted a threefold increase in “serious” incidents due to Russia’s “aggression and recklessness” and China’s “highly sophisticated” digital operations.
In his recent speech, Mr. Horne emphasized the growing hostile activity in UK cyberspace, driven by adversaries aiming to cause disruption and destruction. He mentioned Russia’s aggressiveness and recklessness and China’s continued sophistication as cyber attackers.
Despite the increasing risks, Horne expressed concern that the severity of the threats facing the UK has been underestimated. This serves as a wake-up call for businesses and public sector organizations.
The NCSC reported a significant increase in serious cyber incidents over the past year, with 430 incidents requiring assistance compared to 371 in the previous year. Horne stressed the need to enhance protection and resilience against cyber threats across critical infrastructure, supply chains, and the economy.
The NCSC’s investigation does not differentiate between nation-state attacks and criminal incidents, but ransomware attacks remain a significant concern in the UK. Recent incidents targeting high-profile organizations like the British Library and Synnovis highlight the reliance on technology and the potential human cost of cyberattacks.
With various cyber threats emanating from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, the NCSC is urging organizations to ramp up their cybersecurity measures and stay vigilant. The warning signals the need for a collective effort to safeguard against cyber dangers.
Alan Woodward, a cybersecurity expert, reiterated the importance of staying alert to cyber threats. The government’s warning serves as a reminder for both public and private sectors to prioritize cybersecurity measures.
The United States announced new export restrictions targeting China’s advanced semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, drawing immediate criticism from the Chinese government.
The U.S. government is expanding efforts to curb exports to China of cutting-edge chips that can be used in advanced weapons systems and artificial intelligence.
Monday’s announcement comes weeks before Donald Trump returns as president, where he is expected to strengthen Washington’s hawkish stance on China. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Monday that President Joe Biden’s term has been particularly challenging in “strategically addressing China’s military modernization through export controls.”
Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said: “The United States has taken significant steps to ensure that our technology is not used by adversaries in ways that threaten our national security.” . The U.S. government continues to work with allies and partners to “actively and aggressively protect our world-leading technology and know-how from being used to undermine our national security.”
The Chinese government pledged on Monday to protect its interests, with a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce saying the United States was “abusing export control measures” and “impeding normal economic and trade exchanges.”
The latest U.S. rules include restrictions on sales to 140 companies, including Chinese semiconductor companies Pyotek and SiCarrier, without additional permits. The Commerce Department said they also affect Nowra Technology Group, which makes chip manufacturing equipment. Others include entities in Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
The new U.S. rules also include regulations for 20 types of chip manufacturing equipment and three types of software tools for semiconductor development or production. “We are in constant dialogue with our allies and partners to reevaluate and update our controls,” said Alan Estevez, Undersecretary of Commerce for Industry and Security.
Netherlands-based computer chip equipment maker ASML, the only manufacturer of cutting-edge chip-making machinery, said it does not expect new U.S. regulations to impact its latest financial metrics. Ta.
ASML said the latest U.S. regulations, if implemented by the Dutch government, will impact exports of deep ultraviolet lithography (DUV) systems to some chip manufacturing plants in China. ASML is the only manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment (EUV) that produces cutting-edge chips. The company already cannot sell EUV equipment to China because of existing government restrictions on the use of US technology.
Separately, the Dutch government said on Monday that it shares the United States’ security concerns regarding exports of advanced semiconductor manufacturing tools and is considering the latest U.S. rules.
The US Department of Commerce said the new regulations are aimed at slowing China’s development of advanced AI that could “change the future of warfare” and undermining the development of China’s own semiconductor ecosystem.
The agency said this was in line with Washington’s “small garden, high fence” policy of strategic restrictions, an approach that Chinese President Xi Jinping criticized last month.
Since the launch of ChatGPT raised global awareness of the power of AI, calls for further shutdowns of the semiconductor supply chain have been growing.
Thibault Denamiel, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told AFP that the move confirms “the trajectory of U.S. policy rather than a significant increase in regulatory efforts.”
“The additions become less important in light of the incoming Trump administration’s proposals,” he added, noting that the president-elect has vowed drastic action to trivialize these latest restrictions on chip technology.
IIf you were an avid video game fan in the summer of 1994, you probably remember where you were when the August issue of Edge magazine went on sale. By that time, Sony had already announced its intention to develop a PlayStation console (in October of the previous year). But it was the cover of the world’s most advanced gaming publication that really opened up this machine’s potential. Edge not only listed the specs in full, but also attached glowing endorsements from Capcom, Namco, and Konami. One developer breathlessly told the magazine: “This will revolutionize the way computers work today.” Suddenly, the entire structure of the console gaming business was under threat. All I needed was a boost.
Sony’s entry into the video game industry has become the stuff of legend (and will probably be fodder for a regular Netflix movie one day). In the late 1980s, the company was keen to gain a foothold in an increasingly lucrative business after the failure of its MSX gaming computers. So when the opportunity arose to build a CD-ROM drive for the soon-to-be-released supercomputer, Nintendo (SNES) console, Sony jumped at it. But behind the scenes, Sony’s engineering genius Ken Kutaragi was also designing a standalone system. playstationit can play not only SNES games, but also the new CD format controlled by Sony itself.
Nintendo felt a threat to its supremacy. As a result, when Sony announced the PlayStation at the big Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago in 1991, Nintendo actually canceled the deal and instead partnered with Philips to create a SNES-based CD add-on. It was immediately announced that it would be produced. Sonny was shocked and humiliated. Jilt Bride in the Cathedral of the Tech Industry. Various theories have been proposed about Nintendo’s motives, but the most obvious was that it was a highly protective company wresting control back from an ambitious consumer electronics rival. Whatever actually happened, the PlayStation was over. Or was it?
Some of PlayStation’s first games. Photo: Lou Benoist/AFP/Getty Images
No, no. It wasn’t. Instead, an enraged Sony scrapped the Nintendo-based technology, and Kutaragi began work on a new console codenamed PS-X. This game console is designed around a powerful 32-bit Risc processor and includes a co-processor named Geometry Transformation Engine. Fast and detailed real-time 3D visual mathematics. At this stage in the early 1990s, the company made two important decisions. One was a development deal with arcade legend Namco to create new PS-X exclusive titles. The other was to send engineers on a worldwide developer tour to recruit developers. Support your console with exciting 3D graphics demos. Sony successfully capitalized on widespread dissatisfaction with Sega and Nintendo, which had bound publishers to restrictive and complex licensing agreements for years, while also captivating programmers and artists with its thrilling technology. By early 1994, 250 companies had signed up to create games for the machine, beating out the meager support gained by rival multimedia consoles such as the Philips CDi and 3DO. I could feel the momentum building.
When the PlayStation launched in Japan in December 1994, it launched Sega’s long-awaited 32-bit CD-ROM machine, ostensibly a similar 32-bit CD-ROM machine that supported the company’s biggest arcade titles, Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter. I played against Saturn. At first, Sony seemed to balk, and the launch of this machine didn’t draw the same chaotic lines that greeted the Saturn a few weeks earlier. But as the US and European release dates approached, both the hype and the software library grew. Titles like 3D fighting game Toh Shin Den, platformer Jumping Flash!, and racer Motor Toon GP exploit the visual potential of machines with rich, detailed 3D environments and smooth vehicle and character animation. I showed off. By the end of that year, Wipeout and Tekken had joined that list. These beautiful and thrilling games pack attitude and perfectly embody Sony’s philosophy that if it’s not real-time, it’s not a game.
Starting in 1996, Sony began seriously promoting the PlayStation as a lifestyle accessory rather than just a children’s toy. Geoff Glendening, head of marketing at Sony London, famously introduced the console to nightclubs and music festivals. Advertising giant TBWA was hired to develop a fresh image of the machine as cool and desirable, culminating in an award-winning production in 1999. double life commercial. But more importantly, the console’s friendly development environment and Sony’s excellent support for third-party studios ushered in an era of enthusiastic experimentation.
Now, when we look back at titles like Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and Driver, we see open, explorable worlds, genre-defying design, and cinematic storytelling. Discover the origins of modern 3D game design. We’ve seen Namco ease its role as a semi-first-party creator and push the Ridge Racer and Tekken franchises to new heights both technically and design-wise. We’ve seen Japanese publishers break away from restrictive relationships with Nintendo and Sega and bring out gorgeous blockbusters like Final Fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid.
But importantly, PlayStation also brought with it an undercurrent of whimsy and playfulness. From PaRappa the Rapper to BibliBong to LSD: Dream Emulator, music and imagery were explored, sometimes to disconcerting effect. And while people in their 20s loved Tony Hawk and Tekken, kids weren’t left behind. This era was also the era of beloved comic book platformers like Jumping Flash, Spyro, Croc, and Crash Bandicoot. When Nintendo finally released the N64 in 1996, it found that PlayStation had already captured the majority of its potential users. Another layer of Sony’s long revenge.
Something for kids… Crash Bandicoot. Photo: Universal Interactive
The original PlayStation went on to sell 100 million units over its 10-year lifespan. This broke the monopoly enjoyed by Sega and Nintendo and cemented a series of huge game franchises that still thrive today. At launch, there was uncertainty about the CD-ROM format, which provides slower access to data than cartridges, but Sony leveraged its music and film technology expertise to overcome obstacles and establish the format as the future. I did. Its industrial design was stunning, a sleek gray machine that fit next to my TV and video recorder in my living room. An innovative joypad. Those cute little memory cards. Start-up animation with music swells. The TV advert made me want it, and the launch price (£299 compared to the Saturn’s £399) made it more accessible.
However, looking back at the feature in Edge magazine that was published a few months before the game’s release in Japan, and which has since been followed by many similar reviews in the gaming press, it feels like something important is already happening. I did. Quotes, specs, and screenshots of demos seem to pop off the page. Even if PlayStation’s success wasn’t inevitable at that point, in the notoriously unpredictable video game business, it was as close as it gets.
JAguar finally revealed its highly anticipated Type 00 electric car at its Miami Art Week launch event. The marketing campaign teaser video released on social media two weeks ago generated mixed opinions. Here, industry experts share their thoughts on the car, its launch, and marketing.
Jeff Dodds
Former Honda Marketing Manager, currentChief Executive of Formula E, where Jaguar competes
I recently owned a Jaguar iPace. It’s a nice car, but it didn’t bring a smile to my face. That’s what I look for in a car. Jag knows this too.
If Jaguar’s goal was to grab attention at the launch, they definitely achieved it. There was a lot of anticipation leading up to the release, and some guests were eager to see the beastly monster unveiled. It wasn’t terrible, but it was quite unique. It’s larger, bolder, and more disruptive than I expected. It will definitely turn heads. Not everyone will love it, but that’s a good thing. Inspector Morse may not go for it, but his grandson might if he just started a cybersecurity startup.
The event itself was completely different, industrial, and edgy. British grime MC and rapper Skepta may not be the typical Jaguar brand ambassador, but there he was, performing a DJ set surrounded by influencers and cultural tastemakers in downtown Miami. That’s a significant departure from the past. Maybe too much deviation? Possibly. Jaguar has quickly become a brand of conversation in the past tense, so I commend them. I believe you’ll find joy in riding the Type 0.
Ginny Buckley
Founder of UK EV buying website Electrifying.com
In Jaguar’s 90-year history, no event has created more global buzz than a controversial rebrand. Now that the dramatic Type 00 cover has been unveiled, the new logo and flashy advertising may fade from memory.
I first saw this car at a briefing session at Jaguar Land Rover’s Midland Design Studio. In my over 25 years as a motoring journalist, no car has impressed me as much as this £100,000+ all-electric GT.
Mr Buckley says the new Jaguar Type 00 concept car is “much bigger, bolder and more disruptive than we ever imagined”. Photo: Electricifying.com
Yes, it’s pink. Very pink. Presented in Miami Pink and London Blue, the car’s colors reflect the city it was revealed in and Jaguar’s British heritage.
The color is inevitably a point of focus for many critics. According to Jaguar’s design team, this color is “production ready” and could stir things up among traditional Jaguar fans if it becomes part of the final color palette.
Beyond the color, the Type 00’s design is striking with a long hood, massive grille, and front-hinged butterfly doors. Jaguar has also eliminated the rear window.
I find the Type 0 to be fresh and bold. My 15-year-old son described it as “the best,” and I take that as a compliment.
Buckley said the Miami pink color “could cause a stir among traditional Jaguar fans.” Photo: Jason Koerner/Getty Images for Jaguar
“It’s going to challenge people and be polarizing,” said Jerry McGovern, Jaguar’s Chief Creative Officer. And it will. If their aim was to spark discourse, they have succeeded.
The question now is whether Jaguar can evolve the brand rapidly enough to attract the new generation of young, affluent buyers they hope will purchase the car.
Manfredi Ricca
Global Chief Strategy Officer at brand consulting firm Interbrand. He has collaborated with Bugatti and was instrumental in the relaunch of Mini and BMW.
Flashback to two weeks ago. Jaguars weren’t particularly interesting to many. Then, a 30-second video was released. Millions of heads turned instantly. In just 24 hours, Jaguar became a global talking point without unveiling any products.
Consequently, anticipation for the new lineup, with leaks surfacing on the eve of the release, has reached the intensity and reach of a World Cup final.
Campaigns designed for brand activation don’t get much better than this. Many overlook the fact that Jaguar Land Rover wasn’t attempting to evolve a successful brand; instead, it was reinventing a struggling one.
The reality today is that there are more people who appreciate Jaguar’s history than those who actually desire a Jaguar car.
Museums can subsist solely on the past, but commercial entities can’t. Companies must transform their legacy into something that attracts enough customers willing to pay a premium.
Ricca says the Jaguar Type 00 will “tempt” potential customers. Photo: Jason Koerner/Getty Images for Jaguar
Once a trailblazing manufacturer of some of the world’s most innovative cars, Jaguar is once again adored by a few rather than ignored by many.
The concept introduced in Miami will captivate those few, but the true test lies in turning them into enthusiasts in 2025 when the car hits the market, and customers in 2026.
Richard Exon
Co-founder of advertising agency Joint, previously collaborated with Audi and Range Rover.
Jaguar deserves praise for its ambitious rebranding efforts. Making a clean break from the past is the best approach. The company aims to attract an entirely new customer base with its latest car range, and a more modern, inclusive, and daring brand strategy could prove successful.
However, good intentions aren’t enough when the execution is as lackluster as Jaguar’s pre-launch promotional video content.
Exxon said Jaguar’s rebranding video was “derivative and disappointing.” Photo: Jaguar/PA
Fortunately, the concept car images feature a bold new aesthetic that demands a fresh evaluation.
The critical next step is how well the innovative design of the concept translates into the final manufactured product available for purchase.
Jaguar’s troubled car brands seldom get second chances, so let’s hope Jaguar rises to the occasion, rebounds from the video mishap, and dares to be as unique as it aspires to be.
When it comes to buying something you love, planning ahead is key. Take the time to carefully consider and prepare before making a purchase, especially when buying something second-hand. Monica Marriott Mills, a TikTok user who shares insights on vintage clothing styles, suggests starting by creating a detailed list for each person you need to buy gifts for.
“I create a profile for each person, noting their preferences, favorite colors, and any items they have mentioned wanting, like a photo frame for their wedding anniversary,” she explains. “By jotting down this information on your phone, you can stay focused while shopping at thrift stores or antique shops.”
Marriott Mills, like many others her age, buys 50% of her Christmas presents second-hand. According to a report from the resale app Vinted, more than half of people under 45 buy used items at least once a month, compared to 43% of all consumers.
If you’re short on time, online second-hand marketplaces like eBay, Vinted, and Vestiaire Collective are convenient options to explore. You can browse and shop from the comfort of your own home.
Shopping for second-hand items can potentially allow you to purchase gifts that may have been out of reach if bought new. For example, a beginner in sewing might appreciate a sewing machine. While John Lewis sewing machines start from £135 when new, you can find similar working models on eBay starting at just £10 through bidding or £45.99 for an instant purchase, complete with a box.
Please Wake Up Early
Shoppers at the Red Brick Market in Liverpool, England. Keep an eye out for bargains in charity shops and markets. Photo: Chris Hellier/Alamy
If you know someone is selling household items or electronics, consider checking charity shops, flea markets, antique stores, car boot sales, and online marketplaces for hidden gems.
Marriott Mills suggests researching the delivery schedules of used furniture stores as a strategy to score great deals. “The second-hand furniture store from British Heart Foundation in my area opens on Tuesdays, so I try to visit on that day,” she shares.
“Being one of the first shoppers can be advantageous, but consider going early on Saturdays or during your lunch break.” If you can’t shop in person, many of these stores have online platforms as well.
Also Look for Children’s Gifts
eBay, Vinted, and Facebook Marketplace are excellent sources for finding gently used toys that make perfect gifts for children. Some items are even new and still in their packaging.
For example, LOL dolls typically cost around £25 each when new, but you can find bundles of dolls in good condition on eBay for as low as £4. If you’re looking for larger items like playhouses or kitchens, check out Facebook Marketplace where prices range from £10 for brand new items that normally cost between £60 and £200.
However, be mindful of the seller’s location when purchasing larger items, as they may only be available for local pickup. Shipping costs could offset any savings you make.
Designer Goods Search Filter
“You’ll find a plethora of designer items on Vinted and Depop,” Marriott Mills suggests. “Sometimes, it’s hard to tell if a gift is brand new or gently used.”
You can refine your search by specifying “New with Tags” in the search bar to find brand new items. For instance, Ralph Lauren beanies typically cost between £80 and £110 when new, but you can snag one in like-new condition on Vinted for as low as £25.
Check for Safety
When purchasing a used toy, it’s important to check for loose parts or signs of damage. Photo: PhotoAlto/Alamy
For electronics and lighting products, try to test them out before purchasing to ensure they are safe and functional. Luke Osborne, Deputy Technical Director at Electrical Safety First, recommends performing checks like verifying the presence of a genuine safety certification label on the product.
“Also, check if the product comes with a 3-pin UK plug containing a fuse. Foreign plugs and adapters may not offer the same level of protection as a 3-pin plug,” he adds.
When buying a used toy, inspect for loose or damaged parts, wear and tear, and signs of damage. While many charity shops sell battery-operated and electric toys, they may not always be tested for safety. Watch out for obvious signs of damage, such as battery leakage, that could pose a safety hazard. If you’re satisfied with the item, check the return policy before making a purchase and test it out once you get home. Keep your receipt handy, as returns are typically allowed within 28 days.
Shopping online from platforms like Vinted or eBay requires sellers to disclose the working condition of the toy. If the item arrives and doesn’t function as described, buyers are usually protected by a warranty that offers a refund.
Parents can refer to a used toy buying guide to ensure the safety of toys, as some older toys may contain traces of harmful chemicals like chromium, selenium, and lead. Look out for recalled toys, which can often be identified through a quick online search. Safety and quality marks like the Lion Mark and CE Mark indicate compliance with safety standards.
It’s crucial to sanitize toys before gifting them. Soft toys can be washed in the washing machine, while plastic and wooden toys can be cleaned with soap and water.
Beware of Scams
Shopping online comes with risks of potential scams, but there are precautions you can take to avoid falling victim. “Before making a purchase, always check reviews,” recommends Marriott Mills. Be cautious if a seller has few reviews or if the reviews are negative. Positive reviews can provide assurance of a legitimate transaction. For designer items, consider using authentication websites like Legit Grail.
Look out for sellers who include the original receipt with the item, as this can help verify authenticity. Familiarize yourself with hallmarks and engravings to authenticate jewelry or tableware. “I gave my mom a silver bracelet stamped with 925. I knew it was genuine,” says Marriott Mills. “Don’t hesitate to double-check. You can even Google it right there in the store or at an antique shop.” Depop, eBay, and Vinted offer buyer protection guarantees, ensuring a refund if the item significantly differs from the description.
Present Them Well
Cardboard gift boxes make any gift look great. Photo: Purestock/Alamy
While many second-hand gifts may not come in their original packaging, you can present them beautifully with some extra care and thoughtful wrapping. Cardboard gift boxes are a versatile option to elevate the presentation of your gifts. Additionally, consider repurposing items you have at home, such as a shoebox for a makeshift basket or an old perfume box for stocking stuffers.
Recent research has uncovered the reason behind the evolution of our brains, pointing to the influence of gut microbes. Specifically, the study suggests that the intestines may have played a key role in boosting energy production over time, leading to the growth of crucial organs.
The study reveals that organisms with larger brains relative to body size, like humans and squirrel monkeys, have higher energy levels compared to those with smaller brains, thanks to their digestive microbes. These microbes help in breaking down food and producing energy efficiently.
This groundbreaking research is the first to demonstrate how the gut microbiome can drive biological differences between animal species.
“The connection between the gut and brain has always been acknowledged on some level. We often refer to ‘gut feelings,’ and it’s known that stress and anxiety can manifest as gut symptoms,” said lead author of the study, Katherine Amato, Associate Professor at Northwestern University, in an interview with BBC Science Focus.
Amato further elaborated, stating, “This study goes beyond that and proposes that the activities in the gut may have laid the groundwork for the evolution of our brains.”
The intestines harbor over 100 trillion microorganisms, a count that surpasses the number of cells in the body. These intestinal microbes collectively weigh around 2 kg (4.4 pounds) – equivalent to the weight of a large pineapple.
Researchers were particularly intrigued by how these tiny gut microbes influence brain size in relation to body size. While humans may not have the largest brains in the animal kingdom, they have a significantly higher brain-to-body ratio compared to other species.
The experiment, detailed in the journal microbial genomics, involved transferring gut microbes from three primate species to mice – two with large brains (humans and squirrel monkeys) and one with a small brain (macaque). The results showed that mice receiving gut bacteria from larger-brained species produced more energy to support brain function, while those with gut flora from smaller-brained primates stored more energy as fat.
Amato explained, “Our findings suggest that as humans and squirrel monkeys independently evolved larger brains, their microbial communities also adapted in similar ways to meet the energy demands.” The study also found that the outcomes of feeding human microbes to mice were more akin to other large-brained species than previously thought.
Researchers are now extending their studies to other primate species to further explore the impact of gut microbes on brain evolution.
About our experts:
Dr. Katherine Amato is an Associate Professor of Biological Anthropology at Northwestern University in Illinois, USA. Her research interests include the gut microbiome, human evolution, and primate ecology.
Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have provided an unparalleled snapshot of intermediate spiral galaxy NGC 1637.
This Hubble image shows NGC 1637, an intermediate spiral galaxy located about 38 million light-years away in the constellation Eridanus. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / D. Tilker.
NGC1637 It is located in the constellation Eridanus, about 38 million light years from Earth.
This galaxy, also known as LEDA 15821 or UGCA 93, is located around this galaxy. 30,000 light years Across.
it was discovered It was discovered on February 1, 1786 by German-British astronomer William Herschel.
At first glance it looks like NGC1637 will be displayed Despite being a fairly symmetrical galaxy, it has some interesting features that have led astronomers to classify it as a biased spiral galaxy.
“The new images of NGC 1637 come from an observational program dedicated to studying star formation in nearby galaxies,” Hubble astronomers said.
“Stars form in cold, dusty gas clouds that collapse under their own gravity.”
“As young stars grow, they heat the nursery with starlight, wind, and strong outflow.”
“Together, these factors play a role in controlling the rate of star formation in future generations.”
“Evidence of star formation is scattered around NGC 1637, if you know where to look.”
“The spiral arms of the galaxy are dotted with what look like pink clouds, many with bright blue stars.”
“The pinkish color comes from hydrogen atoms excited by ultraviolet radiation from young, massive stars.”
“This contrasts with the warm yellow glow at the galactic center, where older, redder stars are densely clustered.”
“The stars that sparkle their birthplaces are relatively short-lived, and many of these stars explode as supernovae just a few million years after their birth.”
In 1999, Lick Observatory's supernova search discovered a type II supernova in NGC 1637.
named SN 1999emThis supernova was hailed as the brightest supernova observed that year.
It has been closely tracked by astronomers and has been shown to have dimmed relatively slowly over the years.
“When a massive star annihilates as a supernova, its explosion outstrips its entire home galaxy for a short period of time,” the astronomers said.
“Supernovae mark the end of a star's life, but by compressing nearby gas clouds, they can also jump-start the formation of new stars, starting a star's life anew.”
Primordial black holes have been theorized for decades and may even be the eternally elusive dark matter. However, primordial black holes have not yet been observed. These tiny black holes could become trapped in rocky planets or asteroids, consuming their liquid cores from within and leaving hollow structures behind, according to a duo of astrophysicists from the University at Buffalo, Case Western Reserve University, and National Donghua University. It is said that there is. Alternatively, microtunnels could be left in very old rocks on Earth, or in the glass or other solid structures of very old buildings.
An artist's impression of a primordial black hole. Image credit: NASA.
Small primordial black holes are perhaps the most intriguing and intriguing relics of the early universe.
They could act as candidates for dark matter, be sources of primordial gravitational waves, and help solve cosmological problems such as domain walls and the magnetic monopole problem.
However, so far no convincing primordial black hole candidates have been observed.
Professor Dejan Stojković of the University at Buffalo said: “Although the chances of finding these signatures are low, the search does not require many resources and the potential reward of providing the first evidence of a primordial black hole is enormous. It's going to become something.”
“We need to think outside the box because what has been done so far to find primordial black holes has not worked.”
Professor Stojkovic and colleague Dr. De Zhang Dai, of Case Western Reserve University and National Donghua University, are investigating how large hollow asteroids can grow without collapsing, and whether a primordial black hole is The probability of passing was calculated. Earth.
“Because of such long odds, we have focused on hard traces that have existed for thousands, millions, or even billions of years,” Dr. Dai said. .
“If the object has a liquid central core, a trapped primordial black hole could absorb the liquid core, whose density is higher than that of the outer solid layer,” Professor Stojković added.
“In that case, if the object was hit by an asteroid, the primordial black hole could escape from the object, leaving only a hollow shell.”
But would such a shell be strong enough to support itself, or would it simply collapse under its own tension?
Comparing the strength of natural materials such as granite and iron to their surface tension and surface density, the researchers found that such hollow objects could be less than one-tenth the radius of the Earth, making them smaller than normal We calculated that it was more likely to be an asteroid than a planet. .
“If it gets any bigger, it will collapse,” Professor Stojković said.
“These hollow objects could potentially be detected with telescopes. The mass, and therefore the density, can be determined by studying the objects' trajectories.”
“If an object's density is too low for its size, that's a good sign that it's hollow.”
For objects without a liquid core, the primordial black hole could simply pass through, leaving a straight microtunnel behind.
For example, a primordial black hole with mass 10twenty two grams, leaving a tunnel 0.1 microns thick.
Large slabs of metal or other materials could serve as effective black hole detectors by monitoring the sudden appearance of these tunnels, but very old materials from buildings that are hundreds of years old Searching for existing tunnels has a higher probability. From the oldest to rocks that are billions of years old.
Still, even assuming that dark matter is indeed composed of primordial black holes, they calculated that the probability that a primordial black hole would pass through a billion-year-old rock is 0.000001.
“You have to compare costs and benefits. Does it cost a lot of money to do this? No, it doesn't,” Professor Stojković said.
“So, to say the least, it's unlikely that a primordial black hole will pass through you during your lifetime. Even if you did, you probably wouldn't notice.”
“Unlike rocks, human tissue has a small amount of tension, so the primordial black hole won't tear it apart.”
“And while the kinetic energy of a primordial black hole may be huge, it is moving so fast that it cannot release much of that energy during a collision.”
“If a projectile is moving through a medium faster than the speed of sound, the molecular structure of the medium has no time to react.”
“If you throw a rock through a window, it will probably break. If you shoot a window with a gun, it will probably just leave a hole.”
team's paper Published in a magazine physics of the dark universe.
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De Chan Dai and Dejan Stojković. 2024. We're looking for planets, asteroids, and tiny primordial black holes on Earth. physics of the dark universe 46: 101662;doi: 10.1016/j.dark.2024.101662
Approximately 46,000 years ago, a group of Neanderthals resided in caves in what is now Spain and gathered fossils, as reported by a researcher in a paper published in the magazine Quaternary period.
Marine fossils from the Prado Vargas Cave, Spain. Image credit: Lewis others., doi: 10.3390/quat7040049.
Collecting is a form of leisure, even a passion, involving the collection, preservation, and display of objects.
When tracing its origins in literature, we are reminded of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (7th century BC) known for collecting books, marking the emergence of writing and the dissemination of knowledge on clay tablets.
This innate curiosity and interest in collecting stones and fossils, known as manuports, dates back to the dawn of humanity.
Archaeologists have long known that Neanderthal dwellings contained objects devoid of practical value, indicating a cultural significance attached to these items.
In the case of the Prado Vargas Cave in Cornejo, Burgos, Spain, archaeologist Marta Navazo Ruiz and her team unearthed 15 marine fossils from the Late Cretaceous period in the cave’s Mousterian level.
The fossils, primarily mollusks and a few echinoderms, hinted at a deliberate collection rather than accidental gathering by the Neanderthals.
The presence of these fossils within the cave suggests intentional behavior, possibly for social or symbolic purposes.
The researchers proposed hypotheses ranging from aesthetic appreciation to cultural identity reinforcement through these fossil collections.
This discovery elevates the Prado Vargas Neanderthals as early fossil collectors, shedding light on their efforts towards understanding and preserving natural history.
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Marta Navazo Ruiz others. 2024. Were Neanderthals the first collectors? First evidence found in level 4 of the Prado Vargas cave in Cornejo, Burgos, Spain. Quaternary period 7(4):49;doi: 10.3390/quat7040049
TThe Swedish government’s survival checklist for war would have seemed strange a few decades ago: a sleeping bag, spare battery, one week’s worth of cash, and preserved foods like rice and cereals.
While not explicitly named, Russia looms in the background, evoking memories of the Cold War. The pamphlet “In Case of Crisis or War” has been updated to address the current threat.
The guide now considers the possibility of an “armed attack against Sweden” along with “cyber attacks” and “disinformation campaigns.”
In addition to the traditional threats of nuclear conflict and armed invasion, Europe now faces the 21st-century enemy of cyberwar.
Richard Horne, from the National Cyber Security Center, warns of underestimated risks from countries like Russia and China.
Recent incidents have shown an increase in serious cyber attacks, prompting British ministers to highlight the potential impact of Russia’s cyber operations.
Various European countries, including Sweden, Norway, and Finland, are advising citizens to prepare for power outages caused by cyber attacks.
Experts stress the seriousness of Russia’s cyber threat and the need for organizations to plan for cyberattacks on key infrastructure.
Recent evidence points to Russian cyber interference in UK institutions, prompting calls for preparedness against cyber threats.
Amid rising cyber tensions, countries are emphasizing the importance of stockpiling essentials and strengthening cybersecurity measures.
As governments ramp up cybersecurity efforts, individuals are advised to use strong passwords and verify information sources.
The UK government recommends emergency preparedness and offers guidance on dealing with potential cyber threats.
Experts emphasize the resilience of Baltic and Scandinavian countries in the face of potential cyber and armed conflicts.
As the world faces various threats, the importance of preparedness, including stockpiling essential supplies, is underscored.
Paleontologist Tabata Klimek of Santa Federal University and his colleagues said, “The armadillo family is represented by modern armadillos and extinct armadillos.''
“This group is stratigraphically and geographically widespread, from southern Patagonia to southern North America.”
“The paleontological record of armadillos is represented primarily by osteoderms.”
“According to other interpretations, they are known from nearly all South American mammal faunas from the late Paleocene/early Eocene, or only from the early Eocene.”
“Euphractinae is the most diverse clade (subfamily) of Dasypodidae,” they noted.
“The earliest undisputed occurrences of euphractin date back to the mid-to-late Eocene of the Gran Barranca region of Argentine Patagonia and the mid-Eocene Upper Lumbrella Formation of northwestern Argentina.”
“Partetus “It is one of the earliest branching euphractins,” they added.
“The genus was described in 1902 and the type species is Partetus chicoensis I'm from Patagonia, Argentina. ”
8 bone embryo fossils Partetus Oliveirai It was discovered in the Guavirotuba Formation in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.
“The Guavilotuba Formation is the main lithostratigraphic unit of the Curitiba sedimentary basin,” the paleontologists said.
“It is represented by distributed fluvial system deposits consisting of immature subalcoholic sand and mud interspersed with limited gravel deposits at the edges of the basin.”
“Geological features indicate a semi-arid environment, with temporary rivers forming during the rainy season, transporting sediment and forming alluvial fans.”
This new species expands our knowledge of the diversity of armadillos, which lived in southeastern South America during the Paleogene period.
“Partetus OliveiraiThe osteoderm differs from other species of this genus in the following ways: (i) More surface glandular and ciliary pores. (ii) flat surface joint areas between osteoderms; There is no groove in the central part of the osteoderm. (iii) large size,” the researchers said.
“Combined, this set of traits does not exist in any other species. Partetus Genus. ”
“The increase in the number and size of surface glandular and ciliary pores may be related to the global cooling that occurred during the mid-to-late Eocene, which affected South American faunas. .”
“Finally, this new species expands our knowledge of the lesser-known diversity of mammals that lived in southeastern South America during the Eocene.”
of findings Published in Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
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TDF Klimek others. 2024. Uncovering the diversity of Paleogene zonal fauna from Brazil: new species Partetus (Euphractinae) Guavilotuba Formation (Middle to Late Eocene). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 44 (1): e2403581;doi: 10.1080/02724634.2024.2403581
Tattoos printed on a person’s scalp can detect electrical activity in the brain and transmit the signals to a recording device.
Lu Nanshu
Printing temporary tattoos on people’s heads could make it easier to analyze their brain waves.
Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method of measuring electrical activity in the brain through electrodes placed on the scalp. It can be used to test patients for neurological conditions such as epilepsy, tumors, and damage from stroke or head trauma.
Because human skulls vary in size and shape, technicians must spend considerable time measuring and marking the scalp to obtain accurate values. The gel helps the electrodes detect brain signals, but when it dries it stops working. The cables that connect to the electrodes can also cause discomfort and interfere with delicate electrical signals.
Lu Nanshu A team of researchers at the University of Texas at Austin hopes to get around this problem by printing temporary tattoos on test subjects’ scalps. Tattoo ink is made of two polymers called poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSS). It has excellent conductivity and durability, and does not irritate the skin.
A computer program creates a personalized tattoo design based on a 3D scan of your scalp, and a printer controlled by a robotic arm applies ink directly to your scalp. The ink comes in two different formulations, one for the electrodes that receive brain signals and one for the connection that goes to the back of the neck. From there, physical wires transmit the signal to small devices that record the data.
“Our technology embodies the first hair-compatible temporary electronic tattoo that enables high-quality brain monitoring,” says Lu.
This tattoo has been found to work well on bald heads and people with buzz-cut hairstyles. “This method has not yet been extensively tested on long, thick, curly hair, but it could be possible in the future by changing the nozzle design or incorporating robotic fingers into the hair parting. “It could be possible,” she says. The researchers say it is also possible to make the process completely wireless by embedding a data transmitter into the tattoo.
Archeology has a long history of utilizing various philosophies and philosophical concepts. One common criticism is that theoretical debates often have little impact on actual archaeological research and interpretation. In a recent interdisciplinary study, archaeologists and philosophers from Kiel University applied the “capability approach” to the large settlements of the Trypylian culture (5050 BC to 2950 BC).
Reconstruction of Trypillia’s house. Image credit: Susanne Beyer, Keele University.
The Trypilian culture emerged in Ukraine in the 5th millennium BC and extended into modern-day Romania, Moldova, and the Dnieper River region.
Known for its large ring-shaped settlements and high-quality pottery, the culture had a matrilineal society where women led households and engaged in various crafts.
Dr. Vesa Arponen from Kiel University noted the link between archaeological categories and the United Nations Human Development Index, allowing connections between the past and present.
The “capability approach,” developed by Amartya Sen, focuses on well-being beyond material possessions and influences the United Nations Human Development Index.
Applying this approach to ancient societies presents unique challenges, as Dr. René Ohrlau emphasized the need to understand the dynamic activities behind material remains.
The researchers used an analytical scheme to relate archaeological categories to the UN Human Development Index, revealing insights into societal development and innovation.
The study highlighted the social equality and opportunities for active participation in Trypilia, challenging previous notions of climate change and population growth as drivers of innovation.
The team’s paper was published in the journal open archeology, shedding light on the role of philosophy in shaping archaeological interpretations.
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V. Alponen others. 2024. Ability approaches and archaeological interpretations of transformation: On the role of philosophy in archaeology. open archeology 10(1): 20240013;doi: 10.1515/opar-2024-0013
I I'm at a stage in my life where my options are limited when it comes to the job I dreamed of as a child. I'm too old to play football for Scotland, and I have no intention of owning a brewery or becoming an astronaut. (In hindsight, it was a bit ambitious to aspire to a job that combined all three.) Also, in this economy, many people are willing to take a job without knowing if the new job will work out. It is dangerous to abandon it. Luckily, video games allow you to try it out before you take the plunge. Besides, you're never too old to be a gangster, right? That's why I started playing Mafia: Definitive Edition.
I played a little bit of the original version from 70 billion years ago. But it didn't last long. Because there were driving sections that were as unintuitive and poorly controlled as the buggy on Mars.
For me, the dream of becoming a gangster was less about murder and extortion, and more about the social aspect of just hanging out with guys and yelling abuse. This is more than fully expressed in this game. Guys tell me “always soft when it comes to broads” as soon as I start taking an interest in the bar owner's daughter. Hey, does that Jabroni really have my number!
The story of the main character Tommy is how I imagine his path into the mafia. I was born on the east coast of Scotland of Polish descent, so I couldn't trace my family back to Sicily and had no blood ties to any of my five families. Like Tommy, I started out as a taxi driver, and one night I picked up some injured people from a rival gang and did a job of such high quality that I was invited to do more work for them. I imagined it would be. This is the mob equivalent of a 5-star review on Uber.
It's not Goodfellas or The Godfather, but it's solid… Mafia: Definitive Edition. Photo: Hangar 13
With the updated version, you don't actually have to do much driving. You can skip between destinations with the press of a button, but this means you'll miss out on the chat throughout the journey that helps explain the story in more detail. And that's a good story. It's not Goodfellas or The Godfather, but I thought it was solid and the voice actors did a pretty good job.
The script is full of clichés, but they remind me of the mafia movies I grew up loving, so they put me at ease. Politicians are always “taking action.” Gangs always want to “legalize” eventually. It's not about saving lives, it's about saving “donkeys.” you don't thing“Do what needs to be done.'' You are not brave, you have a “real set of balls”. That's not all Any It's a set of balls, but it's a set that frequently requires commentary and praise. My boss, Don Salieri, kept saying to his co-workers, “Look at this kid's set of balls.” Isn't it strange that the mafia doesn't have a human resources department? After one meeting, everyone leaves the room, leaving not one but two cigars burning in the ashtray. Therefore, I don't think much about safety and health in this workplace either.
Some things are a little silly. My character is still called “The Kid” even though he's 30 years old. Maybe they're bootlegging an elixir of life with bourbon. To get the weapon, you have to go see a man named Vincenzo. I am often told that he has just what I need. Most often it will be a baseball bat. I could have bought it at Toys R Us.
However, I find this game very comfortable to play in a predictable and undemanding way. Most of the time it's like settling down with a cozy crime thriller or potato-based soup, but there are some very difficult levels. Completely unforgiving races, bike chases with no room for error, and a level where you have to shoot down a plane, not only did you have to dial down the difficulty to make it easier, but you turned down the controller sensitivity so much that the sights It moved like an ocean tanker. (Thanks to Reddit for the last tip. Also, thanks for the comments from other people who suffered at that level. It was like a video game PTSD group.)
But as I feel comfortable in this nice mafia job with prohibitions and big money, one character gets bored and tired of this life. “I get rusty because we sit there and crush balls for six months. Then I'm fighting to stay awake while Don tells me stories.” he says.
I think mafia, like any other job, gets boring after a while.
The human genome consists of approximately 3 billion DNA base pairs. If these base pairs were letters grouped together on a single line, they would fill more than 6,000 novels, too large to fit in a cell. Instead, some proteins organize and reform DNA into a more functional 3D structure called DNA. chromatin. These proteins regulate how different parts of the genome interact, controlling which genes are activated and which remain silent within each cell. One such protein is CCCTC binding factor or CTCF.
For CTCF to work, it must first bind to a specific spot on the DNA called CTCF. binding site. Scientists report that these CTCF binding sites behave differently in each scenario. Some lose their binding ability due to chemical interactions within the DNA, while others remain stable. Scientists call something stable Persistent CTCF binding site.
Scientists have previously reported that mutations in CTCF binding sites are common in cancer cells and disrupt the normal 3D structure of the genome. However, it was unclear whether these mutations were concentrated at persistence sites or what role they played. Australian researchers sought to understand mutations in persistent CTCF binding sites and how they affect different cancers.
To address these questions, the research team developed a computational tool based on machine learning models. CTCF-INSITE. Their tool uses genetic data and the interactions of organic compounds such as methyl in the genome to predict which CTCF binding sites are likely to persist even as CTCF protein levels decline. Researchers will use this tool to determine which persistent CTCF binding sites across the genome may be particularly vulnerable to mutations and whether these mutations are associated with cancer growth. I mapped it.
Using data from several human cell culture samples, including prostate cancer cells, breast cancer cells, and lung cancer cells, researchers developed a tool that allows them to distinguish between stable and unstable CTCF binding sites. trained. They exploited characteristics such as protein binding strength, the relative location of binding sites within the genome, and how distant regions of DNA interact to produce proteins.
The researchers then looked at mutation data from 12 types of cancer. International Cancer Genome Consortium. To avoid imbalance, we filtered out data entries with too few or too many mutations. Next, we applied CTCF-INSITE.A tool to test whether persistent CTCF binding sites are more likely to mutate in cancer cells than other CTCF binding sites.
They found significantly more mutations in persistent CTCF binding sites in all cancer types examined. This means that there were more mutations at these sites than would be expected by random chance. The researchers noted that the mutations were specific to the CTCF binding site, rather than in parts of the DNA close to it. They also reported that these mutations were more prominent in breast and prostate cancer cells than in other types of cancer.
The researchers also sought to understand whether these mutations alter the 3D structure of the genome. Using experimental techniques such as fluorescence imaging, they examined some of these cancer-specific mutations and found that many of them alter the genome structure and reduce the strength and effectiveness of CTCF binding. It turned out that. They explained that this reduction could affect gene expression in a way that promotes cancer growth.
The researchers emphasized that their findings were not limited to one or two types of cancer, as similar results were found for stomach, lung, prostate, breast and skin cancers. Although the exact mutation patterns vary between cancers, persistent CTCF binding sites were reported to have consistently higher mutations overall.
The researchers concluded that their findings may help other cancer researchers understand similarities in the onset and progression of multiple cancer types. They also proposed that their machine learning tools could provide future researchers with CTCF binding site candidates relevant to experiments investigating undocumented causes of cancer.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has resigned, leading to David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus being named interim co-CEOs. Despite an increased demand for semiconductor chips and improved profitability, Intel has struggled to keep up with its competitors.
Mr. Gelsinger, with a career spanning over 40 years, also stepped down from the board of directors. He joined Intel in 1979, serving as the first chief technology officer, and returned as CEO in 2021. Intel announced plans on Monday to search for a new CEO.
Recently, it was revealed that the Biden administration intends to reduce some of Intel’s $8.5 billion federal funding for computer chip factories nationwide. Sources familiar with the situation disclosed this information anonymously.
The reduction is partly due to the $3 billion Intel receives for supplying computer chips to the military. In March, Joe Biden announced a deal to provide Intel with up to $8.5 billion in direct funding and $11 billion in loans.
The changes in Intel’s funding are not linked to its financial performance or milestones, according to sources familiar with the grant. In August, the company announced a workforce reduction of 15%, affecting around 15,000 employees, as part of its efforts to enhance competitiveness against leading competitors like Nvidia and AMD. Unlike some rivals, Intel both designs and manufactures chips.
Mr. Zinsner is Intel’s executive vice president and CFO, while Mr. Holthaus has been assigned the new CEO position overseeing Intel Products, including the Client Computing Group, Data Center and AI Group, and Network and Edge Group.
Frank Yeary, the independent chairman of Intel’s board of directors, will serve as interim executive chairman.
“Pat’s tenure at Intel began crucially and his return in 2021 came at a pivotal time for the company,” Yeary stated. “As a leader, Pat has driven innovation throughout the company, particularly in cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing.”
WWhen contemporary Chinese artist Cao Fei was negotiating a solo show at Nara Badu, the contemporary art department of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, she said it would be a traditional “white rectangular box illuminated.” He firmly insisted that there would be no such attempt.
The Guangzhou-born artist has strong ties to Sydney (the vast Chinese port city’s sister city) and wanted to capture the sass and hustle and bustle of bustling malls and markets in her show.
As a result, in “Cao Fei: My City is Yours”, gallery walls are abandoned for scaffolding, and music and sound effects from her various installations, including theaters, restaurants, and factories, play into each other. They blend together and compete for the viewer’s charm. Note.
Cao Fei’s My City is Yours includes key works from her 20-year career. Photo: Diana Panuccio
“This is not a criticism of European countries.” [style]But usually I watch a lot of video shows. [installed] Inside the white cube…you’ll see the curator turn down the volume. Quieter or cleaner,” Mr Cao told Guardian Australia.
“But I want my exhibition to reflect my personality and experience. There is always a lot of construction, demolition and reconstruction going on in my city. This is my material.”
‘My City is Yours’ is the Beijing-based artist’s first major solo exhibition in Australia, featuring major works from his 20-year career including film, photography, metaverse experiments and large-scale interactive installations at AGNSW and Sydney It is on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Much of Cao’s career has been spent investigating the incredible technological and social transformations that have taken place in China over the past quarter century. She has held solo exhibitions in Beijing, London, Paris, and New York, and last year was in the world’s top 10. ArtReview’s Power 100 listwhere she was described as “a key figure in envisioning our metaverse-colored future.”
“Konatsu Foyer” is a reproduction of the foyer of the currently demolished Hong Summer Theater, which was used by artists as a studio space for six years before it was demolished. Photo: Cao Fei
The rarest whale in the world, known as the Spade whale, has only been seen seven times. Very little is known about this mysterious species. A group of scientists and cultural experts from New Zealand recently gathered around the nearly perfectly preserved Spade whale to unravel its decades-old mystery.
“Words cannot articulate how extraordinary this is,” exclaimed Anton van Heerden, a senior marine science adviser at the New Zealand Conservation Service, who named the whale to distinguish it from others. He added, “For me personally, it’s unbelievable.”
Van Helden has been studying beaked whales for 35 years, and Monday marked his first time participating in a dissection of the whale. This is also the first time in history that this creature, found dead on a New Zealand coast in July, has been carefully examined.
No one has ever witnessed a Spade whale alive at sea.
A rare whale washed ashore on New Zealand’s South Island in July. New Zealand Department of Conservation/AFP – Getty Images File
Researchers at the Agricultural Research Center near Dunedin are studying the 5-meter (16-foot) male whale in hopes of uncovering more information over the next week.
Van Heerden mentioned the possibility of a parasite unknown to science living inside the whale, as well as the mystery surrounding how this species communicates and eats.
Only six other Spade whales have been found, all buried before DNA testing could confirm their identities.
New Zealand has been a hotspot for whale strandings, with the first Spade whale bones discovered in 1872. DNA sequencing confirmed the species in 2002, but its extinction was unclear until two whales washed up dead in 2010.
During the dissection, the researchers worked respectfully alongside the indigenous Maori people, who consider whales as precious treasures. Traditional beliefs and practices were observed throughout the process.
After the dissection, the whale’s jawbone and teeth will be stored by the Maori tribe and replicated using 3D printing technology.
Spade-toothed whales are believed to inhabit the South Pacific Ocean, one of the deepest oceanic regions, making them even more enigmatic.
Anatomist Joy Lydenberg from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York expressed interest in understanding the life of these whales rather than just their cause of death, hoping to find insights applicable to humans.
There is a lot of talk about the word “habit.” Your doctor may advise you to develop the “good habit” of eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Your friend may be concerned about his “bad habit” of checking Twitter before bed. Perhaps you had a music teacher who made you practice scales until it became a habit.
Or maybe you are telling yourself that you want to get into the habit of going to the gym twice a week.
While these situations may make sense colloquially, psychologists are more specific about what constitutes a habit. Not everything you do regularly or desire to do becomes a habit.
Some of the scenarios mentioned are related to goals, intentions, and skills rather than the habit itself.
Routines like going to the gym regularly can become habits, but it is not guaranteed. So, what exactly is a habit? And what does it take to create a “good” habit or break a “bad” one?
What defines a habit?
In psychology, a behavior becoming a habit means that the action, or a series of related actions, is automatically triggered by certain cues in the environment.
Psychologists suggest that a habit is formed when an action, which may have started intentionally, becomes automatic over time. This is seen in behaviors done without conscious thought or will, even if the behavior is no longer pleasurable or desirable.
For instance, reaching for cigarettes after taking a sip of alcohol, even if you want to quit smoking, illustrates the automatic nature of habits.
As a behavior becomes deeply ingrained as a habit, it is controlled by brain networks associated with involuntary behavior, rather than conscious decision-making. This efficient process saves energy and space in the brain.
Researchers have shown that a specific part of the brain, the infralimbic cortex, appears to control habits and can be “switched off” to disrupt habitual behaviors.
Credit: Kyle Smart
Understanding how habits are formed and controlled sheds light on their impact on behavior, both positively and negatively. Healthy or unhealthy habits can significantly influence your lifestyle and long-term goals.
Therefore, learning to break bad habits and establish healthy ones is crucial for personal development.
How to break bad habits
Understanding the psychology behind habit formation can help you break bad habits and cultivate good ones. Start by identifying the triggers that prompt your unwanted behavior and find ways to avoid or minimize them.
For example, if you want to stop checking social media before bed, remove the trigger by keeping your phone away from the bedroom.
Changing routines and contexts associated with bad habits can also aid in breaking them.
Consider the original purpose or reward of the habit you wish to break, and find alternative ways to fulfill that need or desire.
Replace the unwanted behavior with a more desirable one to make breaking the habit easier.
How to develop new healthy habits
To establish new habits, repeat desired actions in response to specific triggers consistently over time. This pairing process creates automatic behavior.
Make the desired behavior as easy as possible to perform by reducing friction between the trigger and the action.
Reward yourself for engaging in the behavior you want to become a habit to strengthen it during the initial stages.
Consistency, dedication, and commitment are essential for forming new habits and making them automatic.
This push for electric cars isn’t about a culture war. It’s a simple choice. Can we prepare British industry to take advantage of the changes that are coming? Or will we leave it alone to let our competitors run laps until we decide whether to change our tires? Or?
The previous government, including the current opposition leader, may have been content to play politics with people’s jobs at stake by delaying the end of sales of new gasoline and diesel cars. But this government is not like that.
Prior to that, we were on track to meet the 2030 deadline and the electric vehicle mandate had wide support from industry. More than two-thirds of UK car manufacturers had already committed to a full transition to electric cars by 2030, and investment was starting to pour into building electric cars here at home.
However, the decision to delay the transition has resulted in significant costs for companies that were already gearing up to meet the 2030 deadline, dealing a major blow to our credibility and putting investment, jobs, and growth at risk.
This Government has clearly recognized the fact that if we want the car industry to survive in the UK, we need to provide certainty and confidence to investors, not change our targets.
Having grown up in Sunderland, home to the Nissan factory, I know first-hand how important the car industry is to local communities in delivering growth, jobs, and wealth creation. The UK car industry employs over 150,000 people, and its continued success plays a major role in our mission to grow the economy.
If we get this transition right and support the growth of the UK electric vehicle market, we have a huge opportunity to tap into a multi-billion pound industry that can create well-paid jobs for decades to come.
That’s why in our manifesto we committed to moving back the transition to electric cars to 2030 and phasing out the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines.
But we want to work with industry and make sure that their voice is heard on how to get there. That’s why we’re fast-tracking a consultation to see how the government can support manufacturers, investors, and the industry as a whole to achieve our goals. To be clear, the content of this consultation is how do not have if We will achieve this ambition.
Working families also benefit from this transition. EVs are becoming more affordable and practical, prices are starting to fall, they are cheaper to run and maintain, range is improving, charging infrastructure is expanding rapidly, and demand in the UK is increasing. It is increasing.
And of course, with road traffic contributing up to 30% of air pollution, a shift to electric vehicles means cleaner, healthier air for our children and future generations.
Delaying the transition will only make it harder and more expensive for the industry and families in the long run. That’s why we want to do everything possible to ensure that the next generation of zero-emissions vehicles are designed and manufactured here in the UK, are affordable and accessible to workers, and encourage the uptake of electric vehicles. That’s what I think.
That’s why the Chancellor announced more than £2 billion will be spent on producing zero-emission cars. This funding will support the latest research and development of these technologies, accelerate commercial scale-up, and enable capital investment.
On the demand side, people involved in promoting electric vehicles are concerned about the availability of charging points. That’s why we’re investing over £200m to accelerate the rollout of charging points, building on the 71,000 public charging points already available.
We are currently taking proactive steps to foster stability in this sector, but we are also developing long-term plans to ensure UK motor manufacturing can grow and thrive.
We are already seeing manufacturers embrace zero-emission vehicles and the transition to a greener economy, with governments fully supporting manufacturers. Jaguar Land Rover will move to a 100% fully electric vehicle range over the next five years, investing billions of dollars into the UK economy. At the same time, we can see Toyota investing heavily to make its UK manufacturing operations 100% carbon neutral by 2030.
When governments say decarbonization must not mean deindustrialization, we mean it. There is no path to net zero without the support of British industry and workers.
With Ford recently announcing job cuts across Europe and Stellantis proposing to close Vauxhall’s Luton factory, we’ve learned more about the global challenges facing the industry and how we’re working to help. We have no doubts about the need to play a role.
That’s exactly why I’ve been sitting around the table talking directly with industry leaders about how best to make this transition happen, and my message has always been loud and clear. The Government is listening and we will work closely with you to deliver our plans.
The bottom line is: Either we look ahead and leverage the clean energy transition to deliver growth, creating new jobs and a greener future, or we fall behind. is. This government will not make the same mistakes as the past and will not tolerate it.
A recent flurry of solar storms suggests the Sun is at its peak as part of an 11-year cycle.
The active period is likely to continue into next year, and more auroras may appear.
Next month, NASA will take an up-close look at solar activity as the Parker Solar Probe makes its closest approach to the sun ever.
The sun is awake.
Earth’s star has become more active in recent months, with giant flares erupting from the surface and streams of plasma and charged particles spewing into space. Several solar storms have been directed towards our planet, causing intense magnetic storms and the dazzling glow of the aurora borealis.
Experts say a storm of solar explosions after years of relative calm and calm is a sure sign that the star has entered a busy phase of its natural cycle, or solar maximum.
The active period is likely to continue into next year, with the potential for more solar storms and spectacular aurora borealis.
“This is definitely the season for major solar storms,” said Kelly Kolek, a program scientist in NASA’s Heliophysics Division. “I think we’ll see the sky lit up again by the northern lights.”
Aurora photographed over Kiruna, Sweden on March 7th. Leon Neal/Getty Images File
Later this month, NASA will get a close-up look at intense solar activity when the agency’s Parker Solar Probe makes its closest approach ever to the sun on December 24th.
The spacecraft is on an orbit that swoops to within 3.86 million miles of the Sun’s surface. This is closer than any other artifact in history. It is predicted that it could fly through the sun’s plasma plumes and fly into the star’s active regions.
“If you think of an American football field, if the Earth is on one side and the sun is on the other side, this is like going to the sun’s 4-yard line,” Kolek said.
Parker Solar Probe after heat shield installation in a clean room in Titusville, Florida, 2018. Johns Hopkins APL / Ed Whitman / NASA
The Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018 with a mission to study the sun’s atmosphere, an extremely hot region known as the corona. Last month, the car-sized spacecraft flew nearby in a maneuver that helped slingshot Venus closer to the sun.
Kolek said the spacecraft’s close encounters could provide valuable insights, especially if there are active sunspot regions (temporary features that appear as dark scratches on the sun’s surface) along its path. He said there is. Such observations could help researchers better understand how the sun’s activity rises and falls.
Solar cycles typically last about 11 years, as the Sun’s magnetic activity moves from periods of low to high magnetic activity. When a star emerges from its calm phase, or solar minimum, and reaches the peak of its solar cycle, its magnetic poles reverse and it enters solar maximum, increasing activity and erupting more frequently and violently.
The main way scientists know when the Sun has reached its maximum is by monitoring the formation of sunspots. As the sun spins, its magnetic field undulates, becoming distorted and tighter in some areas, Kolek said. This creates sunspots, which appear as dark specks in telescope images.
A huge, bright coronal loop traces magnetic field lines over the Sun’s active region in 2018. Solar Dynamics Observatory / NASA
“The sun is a magnetic sphere, but it’s not a solid solid body, so as it rotates, its magnetic field gets twisted,” Kolek said.
the number of sunspots It increases steadily as the star moves towards its solar maximum. Once a significant decline is observed, researchers can define the beginning and end of a period of activity.
In some sunspot regions, the magnetic field can be about 2,500 times stronger than Earth’s magnetic field. According to NASA. Over time, sunspots can release vast amounts of stored magnetic energy in the form of solar storms.
This year, two major solar storms (one in May and one in early October) painted the night sky in bright pinks, greens, and purples as far south as Texas and Alabama. It surprised sky watchers. NASA said the May event was the strongest geomagnetic storm to hit Earth in the past 20 years.
On May 10th, a solar storm hit the Scottish National Monument in Edinburgh. Jacob Anderson/AFP – Getty Images File On October 10, the Northern Lights illuminate the desert sky of the Tonto National Forest northeast of Phoenix. Michael Chou / USA Today Network
Auroras occur when clouds of charged particles ejected from the Sun during solar storms collide with Earth’s magnetic field and interact with atoms and molecules in Earth’s upper atmosphere. The colorful display is a beautiful byproduct of that process and is usually only seen at high latitudes. But during periods of high solar activity, the light can wander farther south than usual.
However, there may also be negative consequences. Strong magnetic storms can cause problems for astronauts in space and for GPS systems and satellites in orbit.
Self-sabotage (also called “self-handicapping” by psychologists) is intentionally doing something that can harm your chances of success. academic ability testperformance at work, sportsor relationships.
For example, let’s say you intentionally don’t rehearse your work presentation. Or let’s say you have a running race coming up and you decide not to train for it. In a relationship, you might start ignoring your partner’s texts, even if you’re happy with the relationship.
In all these cases, behaving this way may sound strange and self-defeating. However, research suggests that there is a logic to self-destruction. It’s something people often do as a way to protect their self-esteem and reduce their fear of failure or abandonment.
For example, let’s say you deliberately fail to prepare for a presentation at work, and as a result, your presentation goes very poorly. The reason for your failure may be that you didn’t prepare, rather than the presentation saying something fundamental about you as a person or your skills. Similarly, if you come in last in a running race, you can ignore your misfortune and attribute it to not training at all.
If you ignore your partner’s messages, and they decide to break up with you, you can take that rejection not as a sign that they don’t like you anymore, but as a sign that you’ve been ignoring them. You can blame the facts. Or choose to go out with someone else.
In other words, self-sabotage is a way to protect your ego by having the perfect excuse in case of failure or rejection.
People who fear failure or have low self-esteem are more likely to engage in this type of self-sabotage. In the short term, it may make you feel better about yourself, and it’s a way to protect your image in the eyes of others. However, this is not a recommended strategy. Because in the long run, of course, it’s going to be something like this. increase the likelihood of failure or rejection.
How to stop self-sabotage
If you really want to give a good presentation, you better prepare. I should have trained to win the race. And if you really want to be with your partner, you shouldn’t make them angry by ignoring their messages.
If you’re stuck in a habit of self-sabotage, it will take time to break it, but a healthier approach is within reach. One useful strategy is the so-called “Master Mindset”This includes viewing challenges as opportunities to learn and improve, rather than as deep judgments about your unique skills and worth. If you give your best at a work presentation or a running race and it doesn’t go perfectly, think about how you can do it better next time.
Another helpful strategy is to practice. self-pityThis includes treating yourself with the same kindness you would treat a close friend or relative, and recognizing that your worth does not depend on any particular opinion or outcome of a relationship.
If you feel close to a romantic partner, get used to that feeling of vulnerability and know that even if the relationship ends someday, it doesn’t mean you are inherently broken or unlovable. Remind yourself.
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23andMe is currently in crisis. The once-promising genetic testing company has experienced a significant downfall, with a 98% loss in its $6 billion value, the departure of all independent directors, a reduction in nearly half of its employees, and a decline in its customer base from 15 million. is urgently working to delete DNA data from its records. I am one of the affected individuals.
My journey with 23andMe began hesitantly in 2016 when I ordered their kit by mail. After some delay, I finally submitted my genetic sample for analysis. As a tech journalist, I am cautious about sharing data with companies, especially genetic information, which is immutable unlike passwords or credit card details.
The results revealed that I am 63% British and Irish, and 17% Danish, confirming my extensive northwestern European heritage. However, the absence of my supposed Czech lineage was surprising. With 23andMe’s uncertain future and concerns about the fate of user data, I reflect on the exchange of genetic privacy for such information.
Timothy Caulfield, a University of Alberta professor, notes that many individuals, like myself, experience ambivalence upon receiving genetic test results.
The concept of genetic testing to uncover ancestral roots and its implications on personal identity has always troubled me. Caulfield, who faced similar concerns with his own ancestry, argues that the notion of genetic influence on individual identity perpetuates racism.
Marketing strategies played a significant role in the success of companies like 23andMe. However, the impact of genetic testing results on one’s sense of identity can vary drastically, from affirming to challenging deeply held beliefs.
As 23andMe’s future remains uncertain, questions arise regarding the handling of existing user data. The ethical implications of genetic information extend beyond personal privacy to potentially compromising the privacy of relatives.
To safeguard my data, I opted to delete my account and requested a copy of my genetic information. However, concerns persist about the retention of such data by the company, especially in case of bankruptcy or ownership changes.
23andMe’s commitment to customer data protection is emphasized, with assurances of maintaining privacy standards even amidst financial instability.
Receiving my genetic data opened up new insights into my heritage, but the challenge lies in interpreting the vast amount of genomic information provided. Despite this, I have not taken any actions based on this data, as the complexity of genetic identity remains a source of ambivalence and uncertainty.
MArietje Schake is a former member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands. She currently serves as the Director of International Policy at the Stanford University Cyber Policy Center and an International Policy Fellow at Stanford University. Human Centered Artificial Intelligence Research Institute. The title of her new book is High-tech coup: How to save democracy from Silicon Valley.
What are the key differences between big technology companies and traditional big companies in terms of power and political influence?
The difference is the role these technology companies play in various aspects of people’s lives, including nation-states, economies, and geopolitics. Thus, although former monopolies had accumulated a lot of capital and important positions, they were usually in one sector, such as oil or automobile production. These technology companies are like octopuses with tentacles pointing in different directions. They have so much data, location data, search, communications, critical infrastructure that they can now combine all that power to build AI that we’ve never seen before. It’s very different from what we’ve seen.
Peter Kyle, UK Technology Secretary recently proposed The government is “Feeling humble”
with major technology companies treat them like a nation-state
. What do you think about that?
I think this is a baffling misunderstanding of the role of democratically elected and responsible leaders. Yes, these companies have become incredibly powerful. The comparison with the role of the state is therefore understandable. Because these companies are increasingly making decisions that were once the exclusive domain of states. But the answer, especially from governments on the rise, should be less about showing humility and more about reinforcing the primacy of democratic governance and oversight. What is needed is confidence on the part of democratic governments to ensure that these companies and services are playing their proper role within, and not overtaking, a system based on the rule of law.
What impact do you think the inauguration of President Donald Trump will have?
The election of Donald Trump changes everything. Because he has brought certain technology interests closer together than any previous political leader, especially in the United States, a powerful geopolitical and technological hub. There are many cryptocurrencies that support Trump. There are many VCs [venture capitalists] And, of course, he promoted Elon Musk and announced an agenda of deregulation. Every step his administration takes will be influenced by these factors, whether it’s the personal interests of Elon Musk and his companies or the personal preferences of the president and his supporters. On the other hand, Musk is actually critical of some of the dynamics surrounding AI, namely the existential risks. We’ll have to wait and see how long the honeymoon between him and Trump lasts, and how other big tech companies react. Because they’re not happy that Mr. Musk dictates technology policy more than his competitors. I think there will be difficult times ahead.
Why have politicians taken such a casual approach in the face of the digital technology revolution?
All of the most powerful companies we see today are based on this kind of progressive, liberal trend of the California counterculture, a few guys in shorts writing code in their basements and garages, and superpowers. It was rooted in a romantic story about challenging the world. Publishers of media companies, hotel branches, taxi companies, financial services, etc. had a pretty bad reputation from the beginning. There was certainly room for chaos, but this kind of underdog spirit was incredibly powerful. Both companies have done a really smart job of framing what they’re doing as decentralization, much like the Internet itself. Companies like Google and Facebook have consistently argued that any regulatory action would harm the internet. So it’s a combination of wanting to believe in promises and not understanding how very narrow corporate interests were won at the expense of the public interest.
Are any major politicians prepared to stand up to big tech interests? well someone likes [US senator] Elizabeth Warren has the clearest vision of excessive power and abuse by corporations, including the technology industry. She has consistently tried to address this issue. But broadly speaking, I worry that political leaders are not taking this the way they should. There is not much vision in the European Commission. I’ve seen elections, including in my own country, where technology was not a topic at all. We also see comments like this from the UK government, and it may seem logical to have democratic guardrails around overly powerful companies.
Are politicians held back by technological ignorance?
Yes, I think they are threatened. But I also believe that the framework for government agencies is intentional by technology companies. It’s important to understand that how we are taught to think about technology is shaped by the technology companies themselves. And you get the whole narrative that the government is so stupid, so outdated, so poor in service delivery that it’s basically unqualified to deal with technology. The message is, if you can’t even process your taxes on time, what are you going to do with AI? This is a caricature of the government, and the government should not accept that caricature.
Do you think the UK’s position with big tech companies has weakened as a result of Brexit?
Yes and no. Australia and Canada have technology policies, but their numbers are smaller than the population of the UK. I don’t know if that’s the case. I think it’s actually a much more deliberate choice to want to attract investment. So maybe it’s just self-interest that goes beyond the Conservative and Labor governments. Because I expected changes, but I don’t see much change in technology policy. I was clearly too optimistic.
We are talking about the restoration of sovereignty. Do you think most people are aware? Does this mean that sovereignty has been lost?
One of the reasons I wrote this book was to reach the average news reader, not technology experts. It’s a tough job to explain that this is an issue that concerns people. It will be interesting to see how the impact of the Trump administration invites reactions not only from European leaders but also from other countries around the world who believe they cannot afford to rely on American tech companies. . That’s not what you want. Because, essentially, we’re sending euros and pounds to Silicon Valley, and what do we get in return? Even more dependence. As incredibly difficult as it is, things won’t get better if you do nothing.
Observing people around your local park, office, or city center, you will likely see many individuals using reusable water bottles. This trend has become a fashion statement and a social connector, in addition to being an environmentally conscious choice. According to NHS health guidelines, drinking 6-8 glasses of water per day from reusable bottles can reduce environmental impact by cutting down on single-use plastic consumption.
However, while using a water bottle is seen as a positive and healthy choice for the planet, there are hidden risks associated with not cleaning them properly. A study by WaterFilterGuru revealed that if water bottles are not cleaned regularly, they can harbor bacteria and mold on their surfaces, leading to potential health issues if consumed.
What is living in your water bottle?
Water, even from a kitchen faucet, is not sterile and can promote bacterial growth within a few days of filling a bottle. Storing water at room temperature can increase microbial growth, while refrigeration can help reduce the proliferation of microorganisms. Microorganisms in water bottles can come from the water itself, but most are transferred from the consumer’s body or surrounding environment.
Various microorganisms found in water bottles include skin and oral bacteria such as Staphylococcus and Streptococcus, which are normally harmless but can cause infections if ingested. Additionally, water bottles can harbor gut bacteria like Escherichia Coli, which can lead to gastrointestinal issues if consumed. Pregnant women, children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to illnesses caused by contaminated water.
The type of liquid used in water bottles also influences microbial growth, with sugary or nutrient-rich drinks creating an optimal environment for bacteria and mold. Even carbonated water, while having antibacterial properties, requires regular cleaning to prevent the accumulation of harmful pathogens.
How to clean a water bottle
Regular cleaning of reusable water bottles is essential to prevent the buildup of bacteria and mold. Washing the bottle with hot water and detergent, letting it soak, and ensuring complete drying can help maintain hygiene. For heavily soiled bottles, a vinegar-water solution can be used for deeper cleaning. It is recommended to clean bottles and accessories like lids and straws after each use or at least several times a week to avoid contamination.
While proper hygiene practices are important to prevent illness, our immune systems are resilient and have evolved to protect us from various pathogens. By maintaining cleanliness and regular cleaning routines, we can continue to enjoy the benefits of using reusable water bottles while staying healthy.
The Atlantic hurricane season officially ends Saturday.
The pattern of activity surprised forecasters. The season was busy early on, with strong storms occurring later in the season, but quiet during what is normally considered the peak period.
Climate change has most likely caused the observed storms to become more intense.
A bizarre and devastating hurricane season officially came to an end Saturday, and forecasters are looking into its many surprises.
Philip Klotzbach, a Colorado State University meteorologist who specializes in Atlantic hurricane forecasting, said, “Every year there are one or two things that bother me, but this year there were more than usual.” he said.
Most forecasters are predicting a very active hurricane season as early as April, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released its best forecast ever.
In the end, there were 18 named storms, 11 hurricanes, and 5 major hurricanes. Although this was at the low end of the range most forecasters expected, it was still above normal and a “very active” season.
What surprised researchers was how strange the season unfolded. It got off to a roaring start in June when Hurricane Beryl became the first Category 5 storm to be observed in the Atlantic Ocean. But from mid-August to early September, everything went quiet. The season typically reaches its peak around September 10th. But it was the first time since 1968 that no named storm formed during those weeks.
Just when researchers thought their predictions were wrong, storm activity picked up again and Hurricanes Helen and Milton struck, causing billions of dollars in damage.
Hurricane Milton made landfall in the Gulf of Mexico on October 8th. NOAA/NESDIS/Star
“The normal seasonal cycle has been reversed,” Klotzbach said. “What was striking to me was that it was like a switch was flipped, completely off, then completely on. For Helen, nothing happened, and for East Atlantic and Milton, The storm continued.”
Researchers are studying what causes this strange pattern to better understand the factors that cause hurricanes and improve future predictions.
Researchers predicted this spring's hurricane season would be busy and dangerous because of record-high ocean temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and the possibility that La Niña, a pattern of natural fluctuations, could take hold. Ta. Ocean heat provides fuel for hurricanes and can intensify them faster. La Niña is associated with hurricanes because it often reduces atmospheric stability.
“Early on, we thought it was going to be our busiest season on record,” Klotzbach said.
Although ocean temperatures remained at or near record highs in the North Atlantic, La Niña events did not develop as strongly, said Matthew Rosen, chief hurricane forecaster at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service. Krans said.
A combination of other factors most likely contributed to the alarming stagnation in activity.
Approximately 60% of hurricanes occur as a result of Africa's tropical monsoon season. draws moisture into an area called the Sahel. However, this year's monsoon developed elsewhere.
“The monsoon reached so far north and was so strong that it reached areas that hadn't had rain in 45 years,” Rosencrans said, adding that this change had weakened the development of tropical cyclones. Ta.
Rosencrans said another climate pattern, called the Madden-Julian Oscillation, a group of storms that pass near the equator, also likely contributed, with storm development slowing in early September and then later in the month. It is said that hurricanes are starting to occur.
Researchers will spend the winter examining which factors had the most influence through climate and weather models.
“This is an opportunity to learn, to observe systems and let the Earth teach us something new,” he said.
Despite a mid-season interruption due to a tropical storm, 2024 set several records. According to a review published by Klotzbach, five hurricanes have made landfall in the continental United States, tied for the second-highest number in history.
Destroyed and damaged buildings in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen's flooding in Batcave, North Carolina, on October 8. Tama Mario/Getty Images File On September 28, heavy rains from Hurricane Helen caused record flooding and damage in Asheville, North Carolina. Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images File
Helen was the most powerful hurricane to hit Big Bend, Florida. Since September 25th, seven hurricanes have formed in the Atlantic Ocean, the most on record.
Hurricane Milton set a record for tornado warnings in Florida, spawning dozens of tornadoes.
Research suggests climate change has worsened Helen and Milton's symptoms. Both hurricanes underwent a rapid intensification process, with their sustained wind speeds increasing by at least 35 miles per hour over a 24-hour period. This trend is becoming more common as global temperatures rise.
Rosenkrans said research generally does not suggest that the number of named storms (winds of 39 miles per hour or more) will change with climate change. However, a larger proportion of named storms are expected to become hurricanes, with the majority of those hurricanes reaching Category 4 or 5. That was the case this year as well.
A dog chased a ball past me at full speed across the open fields of Seascale Beach, Cumbria. The beach is surrounded by a small park, rows of shops, and houses, with tall chimneys and large rectangular buildings visible on a vast industrial site as you walk north.
Close to Seascale Beach is the Sellafield complex, a 2 square mile nuclear facility located 5 km away. Sellafield is home to most of the UK’s radioactive nuclear waste and the world’s largest store of plutonium.
I visited Sellafield earlier this year to learn about the management of Britain’s nuclear waste. It was an eye-opening and expensive lesson in dealing with hazardous material with no clear plan.
Sellafield played a crucial role in producing plutonium during the Cold War. The current cleanup operation involves processing and storing spent nuclear fuel, cooling and stabilizing it, then storing it in silos covered with steel and concrete.
Initially, safe long-term storage was not a priority, leading to waste being disposed of from decades ago. The process of moving waste from dilapidated silos to more modern stores is ongoing.
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Where next for nuclear energy?
Why do nuclear fission and fusion both release energy?
A recent report by the National Board of Audit highlighted that Sellafield is still in the early stages of the cleanup mission, expected to last until 2125 with an estimated cost of £136bn, showcasing uncertainty about the exact tasks and timeline.
The plan for the most dangerous nuclear waste is to bury it deep underground in a geological disposal facility (GDF). Finding a suitable location involves not just solid rock but also a willing community.
Three communities are currently in discussion about building a GDF facility, with experts believing it to be the best option. Several countries are also working on similar facilities.
The complexity of site selection may delay the facility’s opening until the 2040s or 2050s, amidst a push for new nuclear power to reduce emissions and reach net zero.
As we navigate through the challenges of nuclear waste management, experts like Professor Claire Corkhill from the University of Bristol play a crucial role in advancing our understanding of radioactive waste.
About our expert Professor Claire Corkhill
Claire is Professor of Mineralogy and Radioactive Waste Management in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol.
Her work has been published in magazines material, nature, and ceramics.
Read More:
Nuclear fusion: Inside the construction of the world’s largest tokamak
Instant Genius Podcast: The race to bury nuclear waste in hidden bunkers
Sticky atoms and devastating iron: The strange science behind nuclear fusion
MIles, a 37-year-old NHS doctor from London, has been trying to convince friends to buy cryptocurrencies for years. In recent weeks, the “Trump pump” on crypto prices has made them envious. “They watched in frustration as my gamble paid off,” he says.
Despite cashing out around £600,000 to buy a house earlier this year, Miles’ crypto portfolio is now worth £2.3 million. Miles, who invested £4,000 in Bitcoin in 2012, said: ‘It’s defined my life. My pot fluctuates by hundreds of thousands every day and I’ve been through periods of volatility over the years.” he says.
A number of Miles told the Guardian why they became private investors in cryptocurrencies (regular people who buy digital blockchain currencies) and how their investments have paid off over time. I was one of ten people.
Investors see Donald Trump’s return to the White House as a harbinger of a crypto-friendly climate. Photo: Mark Humphrey/AP
Bitcoin’s price has fallen to $97,000 (76,500 sterling) and hit a new all-time high. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has revealed that 12% of UK adults own cryptocurrencies.
The majority of respondents said they entered the crypto market within the past four years, with some using the extra funds they saved during the coronavirus lockdown to jumpstart their previous blockchain currency acquisition process. Some people also purchased coins via user-friendly apps and platforms.
A large number of middle-class respondents lost faith in the existing system and turned to cryptocurrencies in the hope that it would help them achieve life goals such as having children, buying a home, and traveling. He said that he aimed at
Julian, a 57-year-old draftsman, homeowner, and father of four from Nottingham, was one of several respondents who said they bought Bitcoin in anticipation of a spike in inflation.
During midwinter, under the right conditions, the polar sky can be transformed into a colorful spectacle by shimmering clouds.
These rainbow clouds, also known as “nacre clouds” due to their resemblance to iridescent shells, are an incredibly rare atmospheric phenomenon.
Scientifically referred to as “polar stratospheric clouds,” they exist at much higher altitudes in the atmosphere compared to typical clouds. While most clouds are found below 10 km above the Earth’s surface, rainbow clouds form in the lower stratosphere, between 15 and 25 km in altitude.
In the usually dry stratosphere, temperatures dropping below -80°C can cause sparse water molecules to form small ice crystals that eventually gather to create a cloud. These tiny ice crystals scatter sunlight, producing a dazzling rainbow effect and a pearlescent appearance.
Due to their high altitudes, the curvature of the Earth allows sunlight from below the horizon to hit and reflect off the underside of these clouds, illuminating them at dawn and dusk.
Rainbow clouds formed from pure water crystals are the thickest and most vivid, while those formed from air pollutants like nitric acid can result in thin, less impressive clouds. The latter type of cloud is associated with the degradation of the Antarctic ozone layer.
To witness rainbow clouds, consider visiting Antarctica during winter or look up at the sky around sunrise or sunset in parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Alaska, or even Scotland. These breathtaking phenomena are a result of unique atmospheric conditions.
This article addresses the question posed by Ollie Peterson via email: “What causes rainbow clouds?”
If you have any inquiries, please contact us at:questions@sciencefocus.comor reach out to us onFacebook,TwitterorInstagram(please include your name and location).
A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Reading and the University of Durham has revealed that the increase in relative brain size, known as encephalization, during the seven million years of human evolution was a result of incremental changes within individual species.
Modern humans, Neanderthals, and other recent relatives on the human family tree evolved large brains much more rapidly than earlier species. Image credit: SINC / Jose Antonio Peñas.
“One of the most striking evolutionary changes in human evolution, closely linked to the unique cognitive and behavioral characteristics of humans, is the increase in brain size,” explained lead author Thomas Puschel and his colleagues.
“The question of encephalization in human evolution has been a topic of debate, with various studies comparing the brain capacities of different hominin species and exploring adaptive mechanisms that might have influenced differences in brain size among hominins. Our research proposes
“Some argue for a gradual growth pattern over time, while others suggest a pattern of rapid increases followed by periods of stagnation.”
“Certain studies support a combination of both models, while others claim that they are indistinguishable.”
In their recent study, the authors compiled the largest dataset of ancient human fossils spanning seven million years and utilized advanced computational and statistical methods to identify gaps in the fossil record.
These innovative approaches have provided the most comprehensive understanding to date of the evolution of brain size over time.
“This study has completely altered our perception of how the human brain evolved,” noted study co-author Professor Chris Venditti.
“Previously, it was believed that brain size varied significantly between species, like upgrading to newer computer models.”
“However, our study reveals a pattern of steady, incremental ‘software updates’ occurring within each species over millions of years.”
This study challenges the traditional notion that certain species, such as Neanderthals, remained unchanged and were unable to adapt, suggesting instead that the increase in brain size was a gradual and continuous driving force in evolution. It underscores the significance of changes.
“Major evolutionary shifts do not always require dramatic events,” Pushel stated.
“They can result from making small incremental improvements over time, akin to the learning and adaptation processes observed today.”
The researchers also identified a notable pattern: larger-bodied species tend to have larger brains, but the variation observed within individual species does not consistently correlate with body size.
Hence, the evolution of brain size over long evolutionary timescales spanning millions of years has been influenced by factors distinct from those observed within individual species, underscoring the complexities of evolutionary pressures on brain size. It’s remarkable.
“The reasons behind the evolution of large brains in humans are a key aspect of human evolution,” added study co-author Dr. Joanna Baker.
“Through analyzing the brain and body sizes of various species over millions of years, we have demonstrated that the characteristic large brains of humans primarily emerged through gradual changes within individual species. This became evident.”of study On November 26, 2024, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Thomas A. Puschel others. 2024. The increase in human brain size was revealed by intraspecific encephalization. PNAS 121 (49): e2409542121;doi: 10.1073/pnas.2409542121
There are no signs of population stratification in the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK) communities that first spread agriculture across much of Europe, according to a new study led by scientists at the University of Vienna and Harvard University. He said he couldn’t see it.
The manual labor of prehistoric central European women was more demanding than the rowing of today’s boat crews.
“The expansion of agriculture in Central Europe occurred in the 6th millennium BC,” said Dr. Pere Gelabert of the University of Vienna and colleagues.
“Within a few generations, Balkan farmers expanded down the Danube Valley into what is now France and eastward into what is now Hungary and Ukraine.”
“The cultural footprint of peasants is homogeneous across this region, which spans thousands of kilometers, but the lack of genetic data from multiple families makes it difficult to understand whether these communities lived on social equality. It has become difficult to assess which individuals have migrated and migrated across continents. “
In the study, Dr. Gelabert and co-authors sequenced and analyzed the genomes of 250 LBK individuals and other extensive datasets.
“The LBK people expanded over hundreds of kilometers in just a few generations,” Dr. Gelabert said.
“We found distant relatives in Slovakia and others in western Germany, more than 500 miles away.”
“In this study, we report for the first time that families in the study sites of Nitra in Slovakia and Polgar Ferencí Hat in Hungary do not differ in terms of the food they consume,” said Dr. Ron Pignasi, a researcher at the institute. said. University of Vienna.
“This suggests that the people living at these Neolithic sites were not stratified based on family or biological sex, understood as differences in access to resources and space. No signs of inequality are detected.”
The LBK culture came to an end around 5000 BC, and various theories have been proposed for its demise.
Some say this period was a period of social and economic crisis, often associated with widespread incidents of violence.
“One of the most famous incidents was the Asparn Schretz massacre in Lower Austria, where more than 100 people were recovered from a ditch,” the researchers said.
“This site, along with Herxheim in Germany, is one of the largest known assemblages of people who were violently murdered during the early Neolithic period, and the skeletons show signs of violence and multiple fractures.”
“Our in-depth genetic studies of the Asparn Schretz people show that fewer than 10 people are genetically related, making it unlikely that this genocide represents a single population. This casts doubt on the hypothesis that there is a
“Previous anthropological studies have noted an underrepresentation of young women, but the new data further support the complete absence of relatives.”
“The large number of children among the victims opens the door to different interpretations of this remarkable event of Neolithic violence.”
of findings Published in a magazine nature human behavior.
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P. Gelabert others. Social and genetic diversity among the first farmers of central Europe. Nat Hum Behavepublished online on November 29, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41562-024-02034-z
JJust by clicking on the “shiny babe” filter, the teenager’s face was subtly elongated, her nose was streamlined, and her cheeks were sprinkled with freckles. Then, she used the Glow Makeup filter to remove blemishes from her skin, make her lips look like rosebuds, and extend her eyelashes in a way that makeup can’t. On the third click, her face returned to reality.
Today, hundreds of millions of people use beauty filters to change the way they look on apps like Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok. This week TikTok announced new global restrictions on children’s access to products that mimic the effects of cosmetic surgery.
The publication researched the feelings of around 200 teens and their parents in the UK, US, and several other countries and found that girls reported “feelings of low self-esteem” as a result of their online experiences. The announcement was made after it was discovered that the patient was sensitive to
There are growing concerns about the impact of rapidly advancing technology on health, with generative artificial intelligence enabling what has been called a new generation of “micropersonality cults.” This is no small thing. TikTok has around 1 billion users.
Upcoming research by Professor Sonia Livingstone, Professor of Social Psychology at the London School of Economics, will show that the pressures and social comparisons that result from the use of increasingly image-manipulated social media are more psychologically traumatic than viewing violence. They would argue that it can have major health implications. .
TikTok effect filters (left to right): Original image without filter, Bold Glamor, BW x Drama Rush by jrm, and Roblox Face Makeup. Synthesis: Tiktok
Hundreds of millions of people use alternate reality filters on social media every day, from cartoon dog ears to beauty filters that change the shape of your nose, whiten your teeth, and enlarge your eyes.
Dr Claire Pescot, an educationist at the University of South Wales who has studied children aged 10 and 11, agreed that the impact of online social comparisons is being underestimated. In one study, children who were dissatisfied with their appearance said, “I wish I had put on a filter right now.”
“There is a lot of education going on about internet safety, about protecting yourself from pedophiles and catfish. [using a fake online persona to enable romance or fraud]” she said. “But in reality, the dangers are mutual. Comparing yourself to others has more of an emotional impact.”
But some people resist restrictions on the influence they feel is a fundamental part of their online identity. Olga Isupova, a Russian digital artist living in Greece who designs beauty filters, called such a move “ridiculous.” She added that having an adapted face is a necessary part of being “multiple people” in the digital age.
“People live normal lives, but it’s not the same as their online lives,” she said. “That’s why you need a straightened face for your social media life. For many people, [online] It’s a very competitive field and it’s about Darwinism. Many people use social media not just for fun, but also as a place to make money and improve their lives and futures. ”
In any case, age restrictions on some of TikTok’s filters are unlikely to solve the problem anytime soon. 1 in 5 8 to 16-year-olds lie about being over 18 on a social media app. the study Rules tightening age verification will not come into force until next year, Britain’s communications regulator Ofcom has found.
A growing body of research shows that some beauty filters are dangerous for teenagers. Last month, a small survey was conducted among female students in Delhi who use Snapchat. Found Most people report “lower self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy when juxtaposing their natural appearance with filtered images.” A study conducted in 2022 found that the opinions of more than 300 Belgian adolescents who were found to use face filters were associated with the likelihood of accepting the idea of cosmetic surgery.
“Kids who are more resilient look at these images and say, oh, this is a filter, but kids who are more vulnerable tend to feel bad when they see it,” Livingstone said. “There is growing evidence that teenage girls feel vulnerable about their appearance.”
When TikTok’s research partner Internet Matters asked a 17-year-old in Sweden about beauty filters, she replied: The effect should be more similar. ”
Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Laboratory, said more experimental research is needed into the social and psychological effects of the most extreme beauty filters.
In 2007, he helped coin the term “Proteus Effect.” This is a term that describes how people’s behavior changes to match their online avatar. People wearing more attractive virtual selves disclosed more about themselves than those wearing less attractive virtual selves.
“We need to strike a careful balance between regulation and welfare concerns,” he said. “Small changes to our virtual selves can quickly become tools we rely on, such as the ‘touch-up’ feature in Zoom and other video conferencing platforms. ”
In response, Snapchat said it doesn’t typically receive feedback about the negative impact its “beauty lenses” have on self-esteem.
Meta, the company behind Instagram, said it walks a fine line between safety and expression through augmented reality effects. The company said it consulted with mental health experts and banned filters that directly encourage cosmetic surgery, such as mapping surgical lines on a user’s face or promoting the procedure.
TikTok has made a clear distinction between effects such as animal ear filters and effects designed to change one’s physical appearance, with teens and parents voicing concerns about “appearance” effects. said. In addition to the restrictions, it said it would raise awareness among those making filters about “some of the unintended consequences that certain effects can cause.”
aElon Musk has aligned himself with Donald Trump and various far-right conspiracy theories, causing concern among a group of Tesla owners who are now feeling uneasy about their association with Musk. Many of these owners have publicly expressed their disappointment with Musk and his recent actions.
Seeking to distance themselves from Musk, the owner of Tesla, the world’s richest man, publicly voiced his support for Trump, contributing to his victory in the US presidential election. Consequently, sales of anti-Musk stickers have surged significantly.
Matt Hiller, a Hawaii-based aquarium employee who sells various stickers online, shared that their sales skyrocketed following the election. The stickers, targeting Musk, feature phrases like “Anti-Elon Tesla Club” and “I bought this before Elon went crazy.” These stickers have been in high demand, with hundreds being sold daily.
Hiller, who opted out of buying a Tesla, criticized Musk for his controversial behavior and is now predominantly targeting Tesla owners with his stickers. The demand for these stickers has been on the rise, with slogans like “Space Clown” gaining popularity.
Tesla, once hailed as an environmental hero, has seen its reputation among liberal consumers tarnished by Musk’s rhetoric and actions. Despite these challenges, Tesla remains a dominant player in the electric car market.
Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Photo: Brandon Bell/Reuters
Despite the backlash, it remains unclear how Musk’s actions will impact Tesla’s sales. Concerns linger over Trump’s policies, including his opposition to electric cars and incentives for buyers. Sellers of anti-Musk merchandise have seen a surge in demand, reflecting public discontent with Musk’s recent behavior.
Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration, particularly regarding government efficiency and layoffs, has raised alarm among some Tesla owners, prompting some to reconsider their support for the brand and its founder.
As Tesla navigates these challenges, its future sales trajectory and consumer appeal remain uncertain in the face of evolving market dynamics and public perception of Musk.
We now know that dinosaurs were large reptiles that ruled the Earth, but scientists have always been curious about why it took them 30 million years to reach their peak. New research on fossilized poop and vomit may have found the answer – food.
According to the study, carnivorous dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus may owe their massive size to their plant-eating ancestors. If these herbivores hadn’t consumed so many plants, researchers suggest that dinosaurs might not have evolved into the colossal creatures we know today.
The fossilized poop and vomit, dated back to about 230 to 200 million years ago, provide insights into the ancient food web. By studying over 500 fossils, scientists identified various prey items from beetles to bones, shedding light on the evolving food chains during the Triassic period.
By combining this information with climate data and other fossils, researchers gained valuable knowledge about the prehistoric environment and the species that coexisted with dinosaurs on Earth.
“Sometimes seemingly ordinary fossils hold extraordinary information that is invaluable,” said study co-author Dr. Martin Kvarnström from Uppsala University in Sweden, as reported by BBC Science Focus.
Co-author Dr. Grzegorz Niedzwicki added, “Understanding the dietary habits of early dinosaurs can offer insights into their success as a group and the importance of predator-prey relationships in shaping Earth’s evolutionary history.”
The study, featured in Nature magazine, analyzed digestive samples from south-central Poland, providing clues about the Late Triassic period and the changes in vegetation during that time.
By employing advanced scanning techniques, researchers were able to visualize intricate details of the fossils, unveiling significant discoveries about the size and distribution of vertebrate populations before the dominance of dinosaurs.
Scientists scanned more than 500 fossils for the study. – Illustration: Qvarnström et al., Nature, 2024
This research model opens up opportunities to explore ancient species in different regions worldwide, emphasizing the importance of analyzing fossilized remains beyond just skeletal findings.
“We aim to highlight the significance of saprolites in reconstructing ancient ecosystems, moving beyond their conventional perception as mere curiosities,” noted Kvarnström.
“While everyone focuses on fossilized skeletons, it is the organic remains that provide crucial insights into the ancient ecological dynamics,” added Niedzwicki.
About our experts:
Dr. Martin Kvarnström, a researcher at Uppsala University, specializes in using fossils to study reptilian diets, particularly dinosaurs.
Dr. Grzegorz Niedzwicki, also a researcher at Uppsala University, focuses on the early evolution of dinosaurs and quadrupeds.
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