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Caves are often dark, damp, and remote. While they lack the nutrients and energy sources that sustain life in other ecosystems, they still host a diverse array of bacteria and archaea. But how do these microorganisms acquire enough energy to thrive? A team of researchers from Australia and Europe investigated this intriguing question by examining Australian caves.
Previous studies identified that microorganisms in nutrient-poor soils can harness energy from the atmosphere through trace gases, including hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane. These gases are present in minute quantities, classified as trace gases. Microbes possess specific proteins that can accept electrons from these gas molecules, enabling them to utilize these gases as energy sources, such as hydrogenase, dehydrogenase, or monooxygenase, fueling their metabolic processes.
The Australian research team hypothesized that cave-dwelling microbes may be using trace gases for survival. To test this, they studied four ventilated caves in southeastern Australia. The researchers collected sediment samples at four points along a horizontal line that extended from the cave entrance to 25 meters (approximately 80 feet) deep inside the cave, resulting in a total of 94 sediment samples.
The team treated the sediment samples with specific chemicals to extract microbial DNA, using it to identify both the abundance and diversity of microorganisms present. They found multiple groups of microorganisms throughout the cave, including Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Chloroflexota, and Thermoproteota. Notably, the density and diversity of microbes were significantly higher near the cave entrance, with three times more microorganisms in those regions compared to further inside.
The team utilized gene sequencing to analyze the microbial DNA for genes linked to trace gas consumption. Results revealed that 54% of cave microorganisms carried genes coding for proteins involved in utilizing trace gases like hydrogenases, dehydrogenases, and monooxygenases.
To assess the generality of their findings, the researchers searched existing data on microbial populations from 12 other ventilated caves worldwide. They discovered that genes for trace gas consumption were similarly prevalent among other cave microorganisms, concluding that trace gases might significantly support microbial life and activity in caves.
Next, the researchers measured gas concentrations within the caves. They deployed static magnetic flux chambers to collect atmospheric gas samples at four points along the sampling line, capturing 25 milliliters (about 1 ounce) of gas each time. Using a gas chromatograph, they analyzed the samples and found that the concentrations of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane were approximately four times higher near the cave entrance compared to deeper areas. This suggests that microorganisms might be metabolizing these trace gases for energy.
To validate their findings further, they constructed a static magnetic flux chamber in the lab, incubating cave sediment with hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane at natural concentration levels. They confirmed that microbes also consumed trace gases in controlled conditions.
Finally, the researchers explored how these cave microbes obtained organic carbon. They conducted carbon isotope analysis, focusing on carbon-12 and carbon-13 ratios, which can vary based on microbial metabolic processes. Using an isotope ratio mass spectrometer, they determined that cave bacteria had a lower percentage of carbon-13, indicating their reliance on trace gases to generate carbon within the cave ecosystem.
The researchers concluded that atmospheric trace gases serve as a crucial energy source for microbial communities in caves, fostering a diverse array of microorganisms. They recommended that future studies examine how climatic changes, such as fluctuations in temperature and precipitation, might influence the use of atmospheric trace gases by cave-dwelling microorganisms.
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Coffee trees can be propagated by grafting the shoots onto the rootstock of another plant
Sirichai Asawarapsakul/Getty Images
The time-honored method of grafting plants may hold contemporary relevance. This technique allows genetic modifications in species that are typically challenging or unfeasible to alter.
“Though it’s still in its formative stages, this technology shows immense promise,” says Hugo Logo from the University of Pisa, Italy.
Enhancing the yield and nutritional content of crops is vital to address the significant damages caused by farming practices and curbing skyrocketing food prices amid a rising global population and climate change’s impact on production. Utilizing CRISPR gene editing for precise enhancements is the most efficient approach.
However, plants present unique challenges due to their rigid cell walls, necessitating a cautious approach to gene editing. Traditional methods of plant genetic engineering involve techniques like biolistics, which shoot DNA-coated particles into plant cells, alongside employing naturally occurring genetically altered microorganisms like Agrobacterium.
These techniques typically require generating entire plants from modified cells, which is often impractical for various species, including trees such as cocoa, coffee, sunflower, cassava, avocado, etc.
Even if this method functions well, there lies another significant hurdle. When gene editing induces subtle mutations analogous to those that frequently occur in nature, regulatory bodies in certain regions may classify these plants as standard varieties, allowing them to proceed without the extensive and costly examinations required for conventional genetically modified crops. In contrast, biolistic and Agrobacterium-mediated methods often incorporate extra DNA into the plant’s genome, thus necessitating full regulatory scrutiny.
Researchers are exploring ways to refine plants without introducing superfluous DNA segments into the genome. One possibility involves utilizing viruses to deliver RNA carrying parts of the CRISPR toolkit to plant cells. However, a challenge arises since the Cas9 protein, widely used in gene editing, is substantial, making it difficult for most viruses to accommodate RNA that encodes it.
In 2023, Friedrich Kragler at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology, Germany, unveiled an innovative approach. He discovered that plant roots generate a specific type of RNA capable of moving throughout the plant and infiltrating cells in the shoots and leaves.
His team modified plants to produce RNA encoding two essential components of CRISPR: a Cas protein for editing and a guide RNA that directs the editing process. They then grafted shoots from unaltered plants onto the roots of the engineered plants, demonstrating that some of the shoots and seeds underwent gene editing.
Rogo and his team regard this technique as so promising that they published a paper advocating for its further development. “Grafting enables us to harness the CRISPR system in species like trees and sunflowers,” Rogo states.
A notable advantage of grafting is its ability to unite relatively distantly related plants. For example, a tomato bud can be grafted onto a potato root. Therefore, while genetically engineering sunflower rootstocks for gene editing might not be feasible, it is plausible to engineer closely related plants to form compatible rootstocks.
Once you develop a rootstock that produces the required RNA, it can facilitate gene editing across various plants. “We can utilize the roots to supply Cas9 and editing guides to numerous elite varieties,” asserts Julian Hibbard at Cambridge University.
“Creating genetically modified rootstocks is not overly laborious since they only need to be developed once and can serve multiple species indefinitely,” he notes. Ralph Bock, also affiliated with the Max Planck Institute but not part of Kragler’s team, adds that this efficient method has wide applications.
For instance, only a limited number of grape varieties, such as Chardonnay, can be regenerated from an individual cell, making modification feasible. However, once a gene-edited rootstock is established that offers disease resistance, it will benefit all grape varieties and potentially more.
Rogo also foresees the possibility of integrating the transplant and viral techniques, where the rhizome can deliver the large mRNA of Cas9 while the virus provides the guide RNA. This way, he claims, the same rootstock could carry out various gene edits.
Different individuals may respond better to certain antidepressants based on their side effects.
Maria Vekulenko/Getty Images
The side effects of antidepressants can differ significantly, ranging from weight fluctuations to alterations in blood pressure. Medical professionals need to consider these factors when selecting the most appropriate medication among the numerous options available.
About 10% of individuals in Europe and the US utilize antidepressants to address symptoms including depression and anxiety. Withdrawal symptoms may not be as prevalent as assumed, yet some studies indicate physical side effects associated with these medications. The specific side effects linked to each drug, however, remain unclear.
Diving deeper into the research, Toby Pillinger and his team from King’s College London examined data from 151 randomized controlled trials and 17 reports from the US Food and Drug Administration. These studies encompassed 30 different antidepressants, assessing their efficacy and side effects relative to a placebo over roughly eight weeks for various mental health conditions.
“The strength of these studies lies in their placebo-controlled and randomized design, allowing us to confidently attribute the observed differences to the medications,” Pillinger states.
The analysis revealed that certain medications were linked to weight loss, while others caused weight gain. For instance, maprotiline was associated with an average weight gain of approximately 1.8 kg, whereas agomelatine was linked to an average weight loss of about 2.4 kg.
The research additionally indicated that fluvoxamine led to an average decrease in heart rate of 8 beats per minute (bpm), while nortriptyline raised it by 13 bpm. Notably, nortriptyline also lowered systolic blood pressure (the pressure during heart contractions) by 3 to 7 millimeters of mercury (mmHg), whereas doxepin elevated blood pressure by nearly 5 mmHg, which may have wider health implications. “For every 1 mmHg increase in blood pressure, the risk of stroke rises by 1%,” remarks Oliver Howes, also from King’s College London.
Other medications like paroxetine, duloxetine, desvenlafaxine, and venlafaxine have been linked to increased cholesterol levels. It remains uncertain if these side effects intensify, diminish, or stabilize after the initial eight-week period.
Although observational studies have raised concerns regarding the potential impact of antidepressants on electrolyte levels, particularly sodium—as it may influence heart rhythms—”our study indicates that sodium isn’t an issue at all,” Pillinger comments.
“This information is immensely useful for both physicians and patients,” remarks Mahyar Etminan from Epilytics, an epidemiological consulting firm in Vancouver. “This data can be integrated into an application, enabling doctors to identify which medications to avoid for individuals with high cholesterol or cardiovascular issues. It provides physicians with greater flexibility in selecting the most suitable antidepressant for their patients.”
Pillinger mentions that his team is developing a digital tool that features a drop-down list of common side effects associated with antidepressants, assisting healthcare providers in determining which medications to avoid or whether reducing dosage could be advantageous. “The essential goal is to find the most appropriate drug for each individual and tailor prescriptions accordingly,” Pillinger explains.
However, John Ioannidis, a researcher at Stanford University, cautions that their findings could be skewed if only studies demonstrating side effects were included. Some research may not have reported any adverse effects, thus excluding pertinent data from the meta-analysis.
He also points out that patients typically remain on antidepressants for at least eight weeks, often for several years. “If such an impact exists over a more extended period, it necessitates different long-term studies to validate its relevance,” Ioannidis asserts.
Pillinger acknowledges the possibility of bias but believes they have compiled the majority of relevant data. He recognizes the need for long-term study analysis and is in the process of conducting it, mentioning that around 75% of trial participants have been white. Nonetheless, he believes the trends identified will likely become clearer over extended studies and may extend to other demographics.
Prior research has indicated that some antidepressants, such as venlafaxine, are associated with long-term blood pressure increases. He also notes that rapid weight gain might persist. “Once weight is gained, it becomes challenging to lose it again,” he states.
However, due to the effectiveness of antidepressants, those worried about side effects should not discontinue their medication, according to Howes. “This is a nuanced issue and an individual decision that considers your unique risk factors and benefits. If concerned, consulting with your physician is advisable.”
“It had an unusual expression, reminiscent of an alien, but it wasn’t hostile. It remained motionless on the branch throughout,” said Kim Hui Yu, the photographer of the long-eared longhorn beetle during a family visit to Gunung Jerai on Malaysia’s west coast.
A light bulb inside the mosquito net drew invertebrates during the night. In the morning, she selected the most vibrant ones for photographs. “I want to raise awareness that every creature, even the tiniest, has its place. So we must protect our forests.”
The image titled alien is one of eight featured in the Natural History Museum’s 2025 Biodiversity Exhibit. Visit the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, opening in London on October 17th. The collection includes images from past contests.
The exhibit also showcases a large map illustrating biodiversity levels based on the Biodiversity Intact Index developed by museum researchers.
4 month old black rhino calf
Hilary O’Leary
Hannah McCartney, who oversees the contest, emphasizes the significant influence of images. The aim is to motivate viewers to notice and act. A prime example includes Innocent Betrayed by Hilary O’Leary, showcasing a four-month-old black rhino calf interacting with an anti-poaching scout, captured while the calf was lost in the brush.
Berchtesgaden National Park in the German Alps
marc graff
high and wild, captured by Mark Graf, presents a different perspective on the potential losses of nature. This shot shows trees and rocks emerging from sunlit clouds within Berchtesgaden’s national park.
Intimate moments between harlequin toads
Jaime Culeblas
Jaime Culebras’ happy couple captures mating harlequin toads in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Natural Park, home to numerous endangered species.
Caitlin Woods, marine ranger off Lord Howe Island
Justin Gilligan
rich reflections by Justin Gilligan captures marine ranger Caitlin Woods snorkeling among the vibrant seaweed off Lord Howe Island, located between Australia and New Zealand.
Interspecies showdown
Morgan Heim
A close encounter between a pygmy rabbit and a stink bug, both found in rabbit burrows, was captured in burrow mate by Morgan Heim in the Columbia Basin, Washington.
Red kite takes off in the UK
owen hearn
flight path: Owen Hearn’s image juxtaposes the close-up of a red kite with a distant airplane silhouette. This pivotal photo was taken at a Bedfordshire site once selected as London’s third major airport, a project halted due to public opposition. Currently, this location offers a unique vantage point for wildlife photography. While the red kite population has dramatically recovered following its near extinction due to historical persecution, Britain remains one of the most depleted nations in terms of wildlife.
Life beneath the ice off the coast of Antarctica
Laurent Ballesta
Laurent Ballesta’s pyramid of life illustrates the biodiversity thriving beneath East Antarctica’s ice, featuring giant ribbon worms and starfish.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is celebrating its 61st year, with judges evaluating a record 60,000 entries, compared to just 341 in 1965. Winners will be revealed on October 14th.
Australopithecus sediba – This small human species, which existed around 2 million years ago, displayed a blend of ape-like and human-like traits. Homona Lady – A recent study led by Dr. Samar Syeda from the American Museum of Natural History reveals that this newly identified species, dating back approximately 335,000 to 236,000 years, shows a distinct pattern of bone thickness, indicating diverse load applications and potential grip types.
A reconstruction depicting the life of Australopithecus sediba commissioned by the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History. Image credit: Elisabeth Daynes/S. Entressangle.
Dr. Syeda and her team explored variations in phalanx morphology, discovering that South African hominins might exhibit different dexterities along with varied climbing abilities.
They focused on two nearly complete fossil hand skeletons discovered in South Africa: the hands from Australopithecus sediba, dated at 2 million years old, and hand skeletons from the newly identified star cave system from 250,000 years ago.
While no direct associations with stone tools have been established for either species, certain aspects of their hand and wrist morphology imply a level of dexterity that aligns more closely with human hands than with those of chimpanzees and gorillas.
“Stone tools have been found in South Africa dating back at least 2.2 million years (and potentially as far back as 3.3 million years),” stated Dr. Tracy Kivell, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and Witwatersrand University. “Many primates are adept stone tool users, as are Australopithecus sediba and Homona Lady.
“However, the exact nature of their tool usage and interaction remains unclear.”
Furthermore, both Australopithecus sediba and Homona Lady exhibit ape-like characteristics, especially within their upper limb bones, which could be advantageous for climbing.
The ongoing debate in paleontology considers whether these traits indicate actual climbing behaviors or if they are simply evolutionary remnants from climbing ancestors.
Reconstruction of Homona Lady‘s head by artist John Gurche, who spent around 700 hours recreating it from a bone scan, published in collaboration with the University of Witwatersrand, the National Geographic Society, and the South African National Research Foundation in the journal Elife. Image credits: John Gurche / Mark Thiessen / National Geographic.
To explore these inquiries, researchers examined variations in the internal composition of the fingers (cortical bone) in both Australopithecus sediba and Homona Lady.
Bones are dynamic tissues that can modify their structure based on usage and loading throughout life, thickening in high load areas while thinning in regions subjected to lesser loads.
As such, variations in internal cortical thickness can shed light on how these two hominin fossils utilized their hands during their lifetimes.
“Our findings indicate that both Australopithecus sediba and Homona Lady exhibit a range of functional signals within the cortical bone structure of their fingers,” remarked Dr. Syeda.
In Australopithecus sediba, the distribution of cortical bones within the proximal and intermediate phalanges of most fingers closely resembles that of apes. However, the thumb and pinky bones are more akin to human bones.
“These two digits appear to represent potential functional signals because they experience less frequent or lower loads during climbing or suspension,” noted Dr. Syeda.
“Combining these findings with a human-like thumb suggests that Australopithecus sediba employed its hands not just for climbing, but also for tool use and other dexterous activities.”
Homona Lady, in contrast, displays an unusual pattern where the proximal phalanx (the bone supported by the palm) shows human-like traits, while the intermediate phalanx (the bone in the middle of the finger) reflects ape-like characteristics.
Fossil hands of Australopithecus sediba and Homona Lady indicating that these South African hominins may have exhibited varying degrees of dexterity and climbing proficiency. Image credit: Tracy Kivell.
“This distinct pattern was unexpected and suggests that Homona Lady may have engaged different parts of its fingers for varied loading,” Dr. Syeda noted.
This unique loading pattern resembles certain grip types observed today, such as crimp grips used by rock climbers, where the surface is primarily grasped by the tips of the fingers.
Homona Lady also features unusually curved phalanges, particularly notable since this species coexisted with early members of our own species, Homo sapiens, indicating potential usage of hands for climbing.
Further research is necessary to ascertain whether Homona Lady utilized crimp-like grips for climbing; however, it is evident that throughout human evolution, there has been an ongoing requirement for using tools with enhanced dexterity for food processing on trees and rocks within the ancient South African landscape.
“This research offers greater evidence that human evolution is characterized by various ‘experiments’ balancing the demands of manipulation and movement within these historical environments, rather than a straightforward transition from upright walking to increasingly advanced tool use,” Dr. Kivell stated.
Survey results will be published this week in the journal Advances in Science.
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Samar M. Syeda et al. 2025. Bone distribution in the Faranjour cortex reveals variations in dexterity and climbing behaviors in Australopithecus sediba and Homona Lady. Advances in Science 11 (20); doi:10.1126/sciadv.adt1201
The regulations aimed to ensure that the largest data centers in the world were constructed by the United States and its allies, rather than by nations in the Middle East or elsewhere. Officials in the Biden administration expressed concerns about the authoritarian inclinations of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, as well as their connections with China. They contended that these rules might restrict access to AI chips and data centers in other countries, subsequently bolstering Beijing’s strategic and military capabilities.
Set to take effect on May 15, the regulations permitted unlimited sales of AI chips to 18 allied nations, including the UK, Germany, and Japan, while prohibiting sales to China, Iran, and other adversaries. Nations such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, India, Israel, and Poland would face limitations on their chip purchases, leading to widespread dissatisfaction.
Jim Secre, the former vice-chief of staff at the Commerce Department, remarked that the regulations are designed to safeguard national security and influence the future of critical technologies. In the absence of these regulations, the combination of inexpensive energy and capital abroad could result in more data centers being established outside the US than within its borders.
“Controlling AI is the geopolitical challenge of our time,” he stated.
Companies like Nvidia and Oracle have raised objections to the regulations, arguing that they hinder the leadership of US technology. Officials from the Trump administration appeared to share this sentiment. On Wednesday, the current administration announced plans to introduce new regulations to replace the existing framework, though no timeline for these changes was specified.
“The Biden AI regulations are excessively complicated and bureaucratic, potentially stifling American innovation,” stated Ben Kass, a spokesperson for the Department of Commerce, which oversees technology policy. “We are focused on advancing US leadership and replacing it with a more straightforward and transparent framework that maximizes the potential of American AI innovation.”
This week, US attorneys for the District of Columbia will be reaching out to the editors of a scientific journal for chest doctors. They are implying that the journal may have a partisan bias and are asking a series of questions regarding how publications protect against misinformation, potential influences from competing perspectives, and funders and advertisers.
In a letter from US lawyer Ed Martin, it is stated, “It has come to my attention that magazines and publications like the Chest Journal may declare themselves as partisans in various scientific debates. You have a certain responsibility.”
This letter has sparked concern among revision groups and some scientists who worry about potential threats to academic and scientific freedom.
JT Morris, a senior supervising lawyer at the Foundation for Personal Rights and Expression (Fire), remarked, “It is highly unusual to see a US attorney from Columbia sending letters to publications in Illinois inquiring about editorial practices, especially those of medical journals. It appears to be an act of government officials targeting a publication due to disagreements with its content.”
Fire, a non-profit civil liberty group, criticized Martin for allegedly threatening speakers critical of the government’s efficiency department.
Scientific journals play a crucial role in the advancement of scientific knowledge and provide a platform for researchers to share new discoveries with their peers. Trusted scientific journals undergo a peer review process where submissions are scrutinized by external researchers to ensure accuracy and validity of the content.
The Trump administration has made significant cuts in funding and staffing for federal science and healthcare institutions, raising concerns that research topics may be targeted based on political considerations. These actions have raised suspicion among scientists regarding potential government influence in independent journals.
The District of Columbia’s US Attorney’s Office did not respond to requests from NBC News for comments or additional information regarding the letters they are sending.
The letter was originally shared online by Dr. Eric Reinhart, a Chicago-based clinician, political anthropologist, and social psychiatrist, who described the letter as “blackmail” and labeled it as “fascist tactics.”
Laura Dimasi, a communications specialist at the American College of Chest Physicians, publishers of Chest Journal, confirmed that they have received the letter shared by Reinhart.
Dimasi stated, “The content was posted online without our knowledge. Lawyers are currently reviewing the letter for further action.”
The American College of Chest Physicians is an organization of experts with around 22,000 members specializing in lung, critical care, and sleep medicine. Their website provides more information about the organization.
According to a Publication Website Statement, Chest Journal upholds strict peer review criteria to ensure scientific rigor.
Reinhart explained that he shared the letter online to bring together editors of science journals and the broader scientific community to resist government pressures on publishers.
NBC News reached out to former editors of science journals to inquire if they had ever received similar letters from the Department of Justice regarding their publishing practices, but none reported receiving such letters.
Jeremy Berg, a former editor of the Science Family of Journals, interpreted the letter as a signal of scrutiny.
Michael Eisen, a former editor of the biomedical journal Elife, viewed the letter as part of a broader attack by the Trump administration on academia, universities, and science.
Berg and Eisen expressed uncertainties about the intentions behind the letter, with Eisen highlighting that the Department of Justice’s involvement in editorial matters is unprecedented and raises concerns about undue influence.
There is uncertainty among scientists about the implications of the letter and whether it signifies a broader investigation into scientific journals. NBC News reached out to other scientific publications, and representatives from PLOS, the US Academy of Sciences, and the New England Journal of Medicine reported no similar investigations had taken place.
Representatives of Science, Nature, and Jama, the medical journals of the American Medical Association, did not respond to requests for comments.
Latin America has been a source of inspiration for various aspects, including a popular literary and musical genre and staple foods like potatoes. A famous Happy meal is now an indication of this inspiration. There is potential for Latin America to also become a cradle for AI.
A coalition of research institutes is collaborating on a project called latamgpt, which aims to create a tool that considers regional language differences, cultural experiences, and “specificity.” This tool is intended to provide more accurate representations for users in Latin America and the Caribbean compared to existing Large Language Models (LLM) primarily trained by US or Chinese companies in English.
The project lead, Rodrigo Duran Rojas, expressed the importance of developing local AI solutions to better serve Latin America. The goal is to offer a representative outlook tailored for the region, with initial tests showing promising results in areas like South American history.
Over 30 institutions are involved in the development of Latamgpt from countries across the hemisphere, including collaborations with Latinos in the US like Freddy Vilci Meneseth, an associate professor of Hispanic Studies at Lewis & Clark College, Oregon.
Latamgpt’s launch is planned for around June, following a significant commitment from various regions for improved AI governance. Projects like monitoring deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest and preserving historical documents from past dictatorships are contributing to the dataset used for training Latamgpt.
With a dataset of over 8 terabytes, Latamgpt aims to provide a nuanced and localized model for various applications. The project faces challenges in incorporating diverse dialects and complex grammatical structures, but emphasizes the importance of collaboration for continued development.
Diversified dialects and complex grammar challenges
Efforts like Latamgpt, CHATGPT, and Google’s Gemini are working towards incorporating a wider range of data and improving localization for non-English languages. Challenges in training models for languages with complex grammar and dialects persist.
Despite these challenges, Latamgpt aims to address these issues through collaboration with institutions, libraries, and archives across the region. The project continues to receive data and feedback to enhance its capabilities and explore applications in public policy and regulation.
The long-term goal of Latamgpt is to create an interconnected network for developing AI solutions with a Latinx touch, emphasizing the impact of collaboration in shaping the future of technology in Latin America and beyond.
eYou need to switch between fantasy realms. Who am I again? What do I do here? Who are all these people? It’s been a golden age for fantasy recently, and inhaling Dragon’s Dogma 2, Metaphor: Rifantagiothe seasons of Dragon House and all seasons of Rebecca Jaros are beginning to blur the details of one kingdom with another, less than a year later.
Avowed’s Fantasy Universe is ready-made from other Eternity Games pillars of developer Obsidian. The lore is dense, the in-game text is rich and the characters are redundant, but thankfully the land between them is fascinating to see the territory of Eora, full of political tensions and cool monsters. I remember valuable names and historical details, but I remember some of my experiences with this game – big enough for a crazy priest to build as a huge automaton inside The view from the rattle road hugging the walls of an underground cave and the secrets of the skin crawling I discovered in the basement of my fellow family homes. The appearance is annihilation and obliv with fungal and floral details that embroidery the structures and people you encounter, embroidering the ever-present tension between organic and rot.
The land in between is destroyed by a disturbing plague that angers people before it is consumed by mushroom-like growth. You, an envoy from the distant centre of the Empire, have been sent to investigate. You are like God, touched immortal, through this strange place, by the sacred voice in your head and the various native companions I felt truly enlightened. You will be guided. Avowed has many choices and self-direction, and it is a game that always respects your intelligence. The characters are interestingly written (densely) and there are many ways to respond to them. That’s far less than the Whedon-esque man/bad guy/joker reaction, as the cries echoes other games force you out of you.
I was hoping for a lively adventure of Obsidian sci-fi comedy The Outer Worlds for 20 hours, but readers, this is it’s not. This game is immeasurable. We spent some time in the opening area of Dawnshore and spent some old time familiarizing ourselves with spider-equipped caves (there are a lot of these, but this is not an Arachnophovictic game). Booty. (This is because I’m stagnant in the main quest, and I forgot about the important information that was displayed once in the text tutorial for about 5 seconds.) Only after 15 hours on this comfortable coastal land, I’d say I met one of my central antagonists. A memorable and terrifying warrior dressed in intricate armor and a mask with smoldering eyes. Then I found myself in a densely rotten jungle swamp filled with amazingly cheerful necromancers, and it big From Dawn Shore. When I arrived at my third new location about 30 hours later, I realized that there was no measure of this world at all.
Unfortunately, AVOWED is better It was 20 hours long. I’ve always been lost on strike from town and have come across something interesting like Skyrim and Fallout. However, there are two stickiness issues that suck fun over time. The first is common to many open world games. Once you arrive at a new location, all the quests and battles are a little difficult. After hours of quests, exploring weapons and armor, and upgrading, it hits a short sweet spot that all feels challenging but conquering. Then you start to feel like everything is too easy and empowering yourself, and it’s like a box-chic movement. This pattern repeatedly eroded my patience in the game.
The second problem is that the combat in Avowed is not as fun as it thinks. A lot of it. There are an impressive number of weapons and techniques, including Grimoire and Staff for spells, giant two-handed axes, bows and pistols, maces, shields, and more. But no matter what you choose, it feels inaccurate and boring, and the likelihood of success is determined by invisible numbers rather than skills. Make sure to take on enemies above your level, and how well you dodge the Great Sword path, or how cleverly you combine your magical effects to freeze undead skeletons. It hardly matters whether to grind it. The key is the quality of the gear. This should be continuously and painstakingly upgraded with random materials from warehouses that are found in every chest or lockbox. I was extremely tired of destroying R2 and firing magic projectiles, hacking tree monsters with my sword, and being so determined that I was missing from hit points. My companions either didn’t feel particularly useful in the fight.
All the diversity and textures in the fiction here are lacking in combat and loot. The end of the most interesting quests is home to unique swords and trinkets, but the fun of exploration is rarely found outside the scenery or characters. If you come across a powerful enemy, you may be losing your strength for the fight. If you find an appetizing, glowing breast in a cave, it can be filled with pennies, chunks of iron, and some fur.
Avowed began as Obsidian’s answer to Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls series, reminding me of many oblivion and Skyrim in an exciting moment when I tripped over something unexpected in the wild. But it also shares a tendency to repeat those games and a sense of weightlessness in their fight. My first 15 or so hours on the land felt potentially rich, but I was tired of it long before the end.
“I have to show you this – it’s going to change your life!” is the very Imogen Heap way of greeting.
She smiled at me and showed off a mysterious black device. The musician and technologist is an evocative and eccentric presence even on video calls, speaking with passion and changing his mind like a rally driver turning a corner. She swivels me from the kitchen floor to the living room of her parents’ home in Havering, near London. It’s familiar to the thousands of fans (aka Heapsters) who tune in to watch her improvise on the grand piano on livestreams. “By the way, that’s the tent I’ve been sleeping in,” she laughed, enjoying the surprise, pointing to an attractive white tent at the edge of the manicured lawn.
Her fans use the term “Imogeneration” to describe someone who changed the course of pop music. Heap’s theatrically layered vocals and expressive production on the albums Speak for Yourself (2005) and Ellipse (2009) have inspired the likes of Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, and Casey. It influenced chart giants such as Musgraves and popularized the use of the vocoder (later heard in the works of Kanye West and Bon Iver). She has been widely sampled, especially by hip-hop and ambient musicians, and in 2010 became the first woman to win a Grammy Award in the engineering category.
Since then, Heap has dedicated his career to shaping music through technology, and shaping technology through music. Her fast-paced projects include The Creative Passport, which envisions a more accessible way for musicians to store and share personal data, and a pioneering project that lets you record loops of sound and add details like vibrato and reverb. These include the MiMU glove, a wearable instrument. In real time just by moving your wrist.
But she didn’t create the black device she’s brandishing at me. Plaud Note is a voice recorder that uses ChatGPT. She laughed and explained that this converts our conversations into text and generates a summary of our thoughts. Recording interviews is typically the job of journalists, but for the past two years, Heap has been collecting data about herself for a new project: a comprehensive AI assistant called Mogen (pronounced like Imogen). Our interviews become training data. The text prepares Morgen to answer questions about Heep’s life and work, and the audio trains Morgen to reproduce her voice. “Everything I’ve ever said or done, I want Morgen to have access to,” Heap says.
Heap performance in 2010. Photo: Samir Hussain/Getty Images
Mogen was born as a premium feature of Heap’s fan app, theoretically giving Heapsters a way to access Heap’s sentiments and opinions on certain topics. Anything Mogen can’t answer is forwarded to Heap’s (human) assistant. “I don’t want to repeat myself. I want to make sure people have the information they need, when they need it,” Heap says. “In a way, I have been working on [her] For the rest of my life.”
But Heep’s ambitions for Morgen are rapidly expanding. Beyond its role as a kind of living autobiography, Heap hopes to become a point of “omniscient connection” that can streamline workflow and deepen the creative process in the studio and on stage. Future versions of Mogen will explore how Heap can improvise live, become a live collaborator, process fan musical suggestions in real time, and feed biometric and atmospheric data to create You’ll be able to create performances that feel “realistic.”
“I want to [be able to] “Right now, we can create broad orchestral pieces and angular drums with a variety, richness, and tenderness that you just can’t get in real time with off-the-shelf equipment,” says Heap.
All of this data collection was inspired by a series of life-changing experiences that convinced Heap of his current power. Heap, who discovered she had ADHD during the pandemic and shortly after her sister’s death, said: “We’re using our most precious resource, our time, to do these mundane things.” He explains what he noticed. She hired a studio assistant to reduce distractions and improve focus, and to understand the sense of presence, or what she poetically calls “an immaterial bubble without time and space.” I concentrated.
The journey included an introduction to Wim Hof breathing techniques by fellow music experimenter John Hopkins and a visceral response to music by noise artist Pullian, which left her shocked on her kitchen floor. Ta. She likens the latter to childbirth. “That was the only time in my life that I felt like I wasn’t in control of my body.”
The result of this new focus, which she will discuss in more detail this week at London’s Southbank Center, is a worldview that sees technology as both a problem and a solution. On the other hand, the capitalist system and attention economy make us “greedy.” “We have become desensitized,” she says, but in the meantime, we might be able to invent new tools that foster creativity and connection over profit. “I want to dedicate my life to it,” she says seriously.
Her vision isn’t exactly utopian. She speculates that we “will go through this period of running away” from dangerous AI. But she firmly believes there is a bright future on the other side of this potential disaster. Even so, Heap remains perplexingly sour about the possible risks. “You can’t stop progress,” she shrugs, dismissing widespread concerns about the ethics of scraping other people’s data to build profitable AI systems and the environmental costs of all that processing power as “very simple.” “I scoff. It’s based on fear.”
The most direct result of her recent soul-searching will be a 14-minute track released in three parts via a new site called The Living Song. The first part, “What Have You Done to Me,” will be available at the end of October and will allow users to chat with Mogen and remix or sample the song. The idea is to demonstrate that ethical and compensatory collaboration between artists, AI, and fans is possible, with one-third of all profits going to Brian Eno’s climate change foundation Earth%. Masu. “This song gives you the tools to collaborate and love with different people,” she emphasizes. “I don’t want to be kept in a basement. I’ve never felt protective or possessive. [my music]”
The new song, which tells the story of Heap and her relationship with herself and Morgen, also reimagines the melody of “Hide and Seek,” her first big hit and a song that has had a remarkable life in its own right. After being used as the soundtrack for The O.C.’s dramatic second season finale in 2005, the scene was parodied in a Saturday Night Live sketch that looped her “Um, what are you talking about?” It went viral. lyrics. Two years later, Jason Derulo sampled the same elements in his debut single “Whatcha Say,” which topped the US charts. Heap himself included the song in his score for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and Palestinian singer Nemasis used the opening bars of a video about the devastation in Gaza.
AI optimists see similarities between this sampling (using parts of someone else’s work to create something new) and generative AI, which processes vast amounts of existing material to create music. I claim that there is. But major labels Sony, Universal and Warner are suing two AI startups for processing their copyrighted music without their permission.
Ms Heap said her project was trying to move on from the days when “people were always trying something and not evaluating it”. For example, an unreleased demo called “A New Kind of Love” cut from her band Frou Frou’s 2002 album somehow ended up on the desk of Australian drum and bass musician Veerre Cloud. His loose remix, released in 2019, has since been streamed over 400 million times on Spotify. After researching, Heap’s team discovered that there are more than 60 other tracks that use the song without credit. “We had to say: Hello, we’re glad you put it out there, but could we have some?”
This is why The Living Song project is so important, she says. Treating each song as a separate entity allows Heap to set and work around its own rules for interaction and collaboration, as it has throughout its career. It’s like labels and artists fighting over AI services.
Previously, I asked what happens if I don’t want my data (my words in the conversation) to be part of Mogen’s training set. Heap said that for data protection reasons, Morgen would only incorporate her answers, not my questions, and the same would be true for fan submissions. She hypothesizes that in the future, my own AI assistant will negotiate with Morgen and inform me of my preferences in advance. She then added with a wry smile that if we didn’t like the data, “I’d probably leave it alone.” [the interview] short”.
But certainly, conversation is also a type of collaboration. What is the answer to a question without context? As I was thinking about this, Heap sent me a summary of the call that Plaud had generated. One line reads: “Katie Hawthorn shares feelings of paranoia, while Imogen Heap expresses excitement.”
This mission to form her own archive through a cleverly automated digital twin, rooted in the past but designed to extend and even predict Heap’s present, is a battle with the music industry over ownership. It makes sense in the context of a career spent in . But it also raises bigger, more difficult questions about heritage, voice, creativity, and control, and Heap aims to fundamentally reshape music, and perhaps life, as we know it. Given her outpouring of persuasion and deep cultural influence, it’s hard to resist her. “I’m not a guru,” she jokes. “still!”
A new study by palaeontologists from the Universities of Leicester, Birmingham, and Liverpool John Moores University shows that pterosaur limbs had an unexpectedly high degree of variation, comparable to that observed in living birds. The discovery demonstrates that pterosaurs were not limited to a life in the air but were also adapted to a wide range of terrestrial lives, from tree-climbing in early species to more terrestrial lives in later species.
Pterosaurs have adapted to a surprisingly wide range of non-aerial locomotion ecologies. Early small, long-tailed pterosaurs (not pterosaurs) showed extreme changes in hand and foot proportions, indicating a climbing lifestyle. In contrast, the hands and feet of later short-tailed pterosaurs (Pterosaurians) typically exhibit morphologies consistent with a more ground-based locomotor ecology. (A) Non-pterosaur antiquities restoration Scaphognathus crassirostris (Late Jurassic) in scansorial mode, with autosufficiency characterized by short proximal elements and elongated distal elements. (B) Restoration of Pterodactylis-type antiquities Balaenognathus maeuseri (Late Jurassic) In the terrestrial mode, the autopodia are characterized by an elongated proximal element and a shortened distal element. (C) Reconstruction of Scaphognathus (left) and Baleonognathus (Right) Rear view showing major flight surfaces. (D) Simplified pterosaur phylogeny showing the major taxa used in the study. Image credit: Smith others., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.09.014.
Pterosaurs, the first true flying vertebrates, played an important role in Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystems.
However, our current understanding of their terrestrial locomotion abilities, and more broadly their terrestrial paleoecology, is limited.
Robert Smith, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Leicester, said: “Early pterosaurs were highly specialized for climbing and had extreme modifications to their limbs, similar to those seen in today’s climbing lizards and birds such as woodpeckers. It’s the same,” he said.
“Holding on to a vertical surface with your fingertips for long periods of time is a difficult task, but it’s much easier for smaller, lighter animals.”
“These early pterosaurs were likely restricted to arboreal habitats, and as a result, their body size was small.”
“However, during the mid-Jurassic period, a major evolutionary change occurred, and pterosaurs’ hands and feet changed to more closely resemble those of land-dwelling animals.”
“These adaptations to terrestrial locomotion have opened up new ecological opportunities and given rise to a wide variety of feeding strategies.”
Freed from the size constraints imposed by vertical living, some pterosaurs were able to evolve to gigantic sizes with wingspans of up to 10 meters.
Dr David Unwin, a researcher at the University of Leicester, said: “In early pterosaurs, the hind limbs were connected by a flight membrane, which severely hindered walking and running.”
“In later, more advanced pterosaurs, this membrane separated along the midline, allowing each hindlimb to move independently.”
“This was an important innovation, and together with the changes in the hands and feet, it greatly increased the maneuverability of pterosaurs on land.”
“These later pterosaurs were freed from the constraints of climbing and were able to grow to enormous sizes, making some species the true giants of the Mesozoic Era.”
In early pterosaurs, the bones at the base of the fingers and toes were relatively short, and the parts farther from the body were very long, terminating in large, curved claws. These improvements created a strong grip, making it ideal for climbing trees.
In contrast, later, more evolved pterosaurs showed the opposite pattern. That is, the bones at the base of the fingers and toes were much longer, and those closer to the tips were shorter.
Their claws are also flatter and less curved, suggesting they are better suited for walking than climbing.
“These discoveries highlight the need to examine all aspects of pterosaur locomotion, not just flight, to fully understand pterosaur evolution. It’s just part of our history,” Smith said.
“By studying how they lived in trees and on the ground, we can begin to understand the role they played in ancient ecosystems.”
“When pterosaurs arrived on Earth, it was already inhabited by a wide range of animals, including dinosaurs and many other reptiles.”
“Pterosaurs cleverly avoided competition with these established groups by exploiting ecological niches that required both the ability to fly and walk.”
“This resulted in some strange feeding strategies, including the evolution of hundreds of thin, needle-like teeth used for filter feeding.”
“This surprising feature is similar to the feeding method of modern flamingos and appeared at least 120 million years before the first flamingos evolved.”
Robert S.H. Smith others. Morphology of limbs showing the invasion of terrestrial environments by pterosaurs in the mid-Mesozoic era. current biologypublished online on October 4, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.09.014
A team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has developed a new statistical method, BridgePRS, to improve predictions of disease in non-European populations, particularly people of African descent. This method addresses the limitations of current polygenic risk scores, which are less accurate for non-European ancestry, and represents an important step toward personalized medicine and reducing healthcare disparities. Credit: SciTechDaily.com
Statistical methods enhance prediction of genetic diseases in non-European populations and address health care equity.
A team of scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has developed BridgePRS, a groundbreaking statistical method to better predict disease in people of non-European descent, particularly people of African descent. This development represents an important step towards reducing healthcare disparities and a future of more personalized and precise medical interventions based on genetic information. Details of their research can be found today (December 20, 2023). natural genetics.
Addressing healthcare inequalities with enhanced polygenic risk scores
Current polygenic risk scores (PRS) are essential tools for predicting disease risk; DNA, based on genetic data from individuals of primarily European descent. This bias makes statistics less accurate for people of African and Asian descent and exacerbates health care inequalities between different ethnic groups.
The researchers undertook this study to improve disease prediction from genetics in non-European populations. Although the main goal of personalized medicine is disease prevention, the current PRS is a weak predictor, especially in non-European populations.
BridgePRS improves prediction for individuals of African descent in the New York BioMe cohort.Credit: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Closing the gap in genetic disease prediction
“More genetic data from diverse ancestry is needed, but our method can help combine existing data to maximize disease prediction for all people,” says Genetics and Genome Sciences. Dr. Clive Hoggart, assistant professor and lead author of the paper, explained. “This progress is possible because the biology that causes disease is strikingly similar across ancestry.”
“We hope our method opens the door to scientific investigation of disease risk in diverse populations around the world,” said lead author Dr. Paul O’Reilly, associate professor of genetics and genomic sciences. “The prevalence of diseases and the importance of different biological pathways vary globally. Understanding these differences is critical to advancing disease prediction and treatment.”
The field of optimizing disease prediction using PRS is highly competitive and is driving rapid progress. Dr O’Reilly said: “Our BridgePRS method is particularly promising for predicting disease in people of African descent, a population with rich genetic diversity that can provide new insights into human disease. ” states.
While recognizing the potential of genetics and DNA in predicting future disease and the role of PRS in precision medicine, it is important to understand that the biology that causes disease does not differ significantly by ancestry group or race. It is important.
Reference: “BridgePRS exploits shared genetic effects between ancestors to improve portability of polygenic risk scores,” December 20, 2023, Nature Genetics. DOI: 10.1038/s41588-023-01583-9
All remaining authors are Icahn Mount Sinai and Dr. Shing Wan Choi, except where noted. (Regeneron Genetics Center), Judit García-González, Ph.D., Tade Souaiaia, Ph.D. (Suny Downstate Health Sciences), and Michael Prouss, Ph.D.
This research was funded by grant number R01MH122866 from the National Institute of Mental Health and grant number R01HG012773 from the National Human Genome Research Institute.
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