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 S44Weather v climate: how to make sense of an unusual cold snap while the world is hotter than ever   Earlier this year, the UK’s weather and climate service, the Met Office, announced average global temperatures in 2023 were 1.46°C above pre-industrial levels. This made it the hottest year on record, 0.17°C higher than the previous record in 2016. However, shortly after that announcement, the Met Office also forecast a multi-day blast of cold Arctic air bringing sub-zero temperatures, snow and ice to many parts of the UK. When the cold snap arrived, temperatures dropped to -14°C in the Scottish Highlands and -11°C even in England.
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S6140 Years Ago, NASA Astronauts Captured This Iconic Space Photo  Wednesday marked the 40th anniversary of a remarkable space photo: a free-floating astronaut sailing above Earth, seemingly alone.The Sun was striking directly onto NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless at the time of the photo, prompting him to pull down his helmet visor. That gave the astronaut armor a universal appeal: With no apparent face, anyone could pretend they were in the suit, McCandless once said. “My anonymity means people can imagine themselves doing the same thing.”
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S6Glitzy, gaudy and glamorous: Why Gen Z are dressing like Mob Wives  Things move fast in fashion. This time last year trend reports and style pages were all about the stealth wealth aesthetic. The look – which was helped to prominence thanks to the fashion choices on TV show Succession – was all about understated style and "quiet" luxury. White T-shirts, beige sweaters, navy blazers. Clothes that look ordinary but which come with extraordinary price tags.But no sooner had the Roy family and their $500 Loro Piana baseball caps departed our screens than the stealth wealth trend – much like the clothes it championed – started to fade quietly into the background. Fast forward to early 2024, and things look quite different. Specifically, a lot more sparkly, gaudy and all-out glamourous.
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S37Israel-Gaza war: why did the ceasefire negotiations collapse - and can they be revived?  US Secretary of State Antony Blinken looked exhausted at his media conference in Israel this week as he tried to remain optimistic about prospects for a truce in the Gaza war.Despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comprehensively rejecting Hamas’s ceasefire counter-proposal, Blinken said it “creates space for an agreement to be reached”. He pledged the US would continue to “work relentlessly” to achieve a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
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S7Books: folklore and fantasy combine in Langabi, a supernatural historical epic from Zimbabwe  Gibson Ncube: My first question is about categories. Into which literary genre would you place Langabi? I’m asking because it’s the first novel to be published by Mother, a new imprint of Jacana Media that’s dedicated to fantasy, science-fiction, Afrofuturism and horror.Christopher Mlalazi: Categorisation can be challenging for a writer. When I first started writing the story, I told myself I wanted to write something that sounded like folklore. I wanted to write the kinds of stories our grandparents used to tell us when we were children in the village, inganekwane as they are called in the Ndebele language. I could say it is inganekwane, it has all the elements of one – supernatural creatures, a young protagonist with a quest, magic, song… From a western perspective, the novel can be categorised as fantasy, or mythology. I would like to place the story at the intersection of folklore, fantasy and mythology.
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S38Higher, faster: what influences the aerodynamics of a football?  With 113 million viewers in the United States and 40 million more around the world, the Super Bowl is the most popular sports event in North America. This year’s event on Sunday – with the added attraction of a romance in the spotlight – promises to attract as many fans.In Canada, the most recent Grey Cup final, last November, reached a record audience of 3.7 million viewers who tuned in to watch the Montréal Alouettes’ victory.
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S58'Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth': 4 Key Plot Points from 'Remake' and 'Intergrade' to Remember  Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is almost upon us, and a recent trailer suggests the way it shakes up the original game’s story will be even more significant than the changes in Remake. Playing both the original Final Fantasy 7 and Remake would be ideal before playing Rebirth, since the way the narrative is altered will only fully land if you know what’s being changed. If you don’t have time for that, you should at least keep a few key Remake details in mind, as they’re very likely to pay off in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.Final Fantasy 7 Remake essentially establishes a new timeline, not in place of the original game’s story, but in addition to it. We see that most clearly through Aerith, who appears to have memories of things that happened in Final Fantasy 7 before the point when they would occur in Remake. That includes seemingly recognizing Cloud the first time she meets him in Remake and convincing the party that Sephiroth is their real enemy, not Shinra.
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S1Big Tech jobs have lost their glamour  Michael says he joined his Big Tech company in spring 2021 to test himself against the best software engineers in the world. "They do some very complicated projects: when you join them, you're supposedly joining the best. You feel you're working somewhere that raises your brand value as a person."
Initially, the move went well. Michael says he got to work on high-impact features, testing his mettle against senior developers. The perks also helped. "It was a typical Big Tech company in that it offered huge benefits, with a great work-life balance," he says. "Compared to my past employers, it was a breeze: there was free food, wellness expenses and health insurance. And the people were amazing – it was a nice working environment, if at times a little cult-ish."
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S5The Traitors: Why people are obsessed with this deceit-filled reality TV hit  In an era in which our TV viewing habits are so fractured, genuine watercooler moments feel increasingly rare. So it's always pleasing when a show comes along and unites people – even when that unification involves screaming at our TV sets or sending a string of shocked face emojis to our group chats. Such is the case with The Traitors, the murder-mystery game-meets-reality show hybrid that has become the most compulsive show on TV.More like this: - The greatest reality TV show never made - What Swedish reality TV can teach us - Why reality TV deserves more credit
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S13Why the teenagers who murdered Brianna Ghey should have remained anonymous  The two teenagers convicted of the horrific murder of Brianna Ghey have received life sentences. The judge, Justice Yip, also made the decision to lift their anonymity, which is automatically applied to all children (defined as those under 18) involved in criminal proceedings.The public might well have a short-term interest in the identities of Brianna Ghey’s murderers. But “public interest” rather refers to what is in the best interests of society. As experts in criminology and youth justice, we argue that it is not in the long-term public good or the best interests of society for their identities to be revealed.
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S15Do one in six Indians over 59 really have a mild brain disorder, as a new study suggests?  India is often perceived as a country with a young population, while European and North American populations are regarded as ageing. Although this is true, the country’s demographics are rapidly shifting, according to a UN study. And people aged 60 and over are expected to constitute 20% of the population by 2050.Given this trend, there have been numerous attempts – using different methods – to determine the prevalence of dementia on the subcontinent. A new study, published in PLOS One, suggests that the prevalence of dementia in India is higher than previously thought.
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S19AI in the developing world: how 'tiny machine learning' can have a big impact  Coordinator, Science, Technology and Innovation Unit, Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) The landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) applications has traditionally been dominated by the use of resource-intensive servers centralised in industrialised nations. However, recent years have witnessed the emergence of small, energy-efficient devices for AI applications, a concept known as tiny machine learning (TinyML).
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S20Why international students are taking the 'back door' route into England's top universities  Chris Millward is employed by the University of Birmingham, which is a member of the Russell Group. For four years prior to his appointment to the University of Birmingham in 2022, Chris was the Director for Fair Access and Participation on the executive and board of England's higher education regulator, the Office for Students. He has, therefore, been directly involved in the issues addressed by this article. In January, England’s university leaders had their weekend breakfasts disturbed by an undercover investigation in the Sunday Times.
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S23Gaza update: Netanyahu knocks back Hamas peace plan while the prospect of mass famine looms ever larger  The Israeli military is poised to enter what its defence minister, Yoav Gallant, has referred to as the “last centre of gravity that remains in Hamas’s hands: Rafah”. Unfortunately for many of the 1.7 million people reportedly displaced by Israel’s four-month onslaught in Gaza, this is where more than a million of them have taken refuge, according to the latest estimates.As the Gaza death toll compiled by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) surpassed 26,750 people, with a further 65,000-plus people wounded, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, rejected a peace deal proposed by Hamas and relayed by Egyptian and Qatari negotiators as “deluded”.
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S43Whoever wins the presidential election, Indonesia will remain close to China  The world’s third-largest democracy, Indonesia, eagerly awaits the outcome of the presidential election on Feb. 14. Speculations are rife that former general Prabowo Subianto and his running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the son of the current President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, will secure the largest number of votes, despite the possibility of a runoff later this year.
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S45Why you might start to hate the influencers you once loved  Tattle Life, an anonymous gossip forum, has been described as “the most toxic place on the internet”. “Fake boobs, fake teeth, fake nose, fake life”, “Career is down the drain; she’s still so vain!” and “Always the wedding guest but never the bride” are just a selection of the thread titles on the site. People are increasingly turning to gossip forums like Tattle Life, Guru Gossip, GOMI (“Get Off My Internets”) and the Blogsnark subreddit to critique the influencers they follow. On these forums, users pick apart everything from the influencer’s social media content to their appearance. Even their relationships with their friends, partners and children come under scrutiny. Yet a surprising phrase is repeated across the forums – “I used to love her”.
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S47It may be too late to stop the great election disinformation campaigns of 2024 but we have to at least try  Global liberal democracy faces a near unprecedented list of digital threats in 2024 as the increasing exploitation of AI and the rampant spread of disinformation threaten the integrity of elections in more than 60 countries. And we are woefully unprepared.Votes are scheduled in India, Pakistan, Mexico and South Africa, to name but a few. A hotly contested election will be held for the European parliament in June and the US presidential elections are on the horizon in November. A general election is also due in the UK at some stage in the coming year.
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S63This Prized Persona Entry Deserves a Remake  Persona 3 Reload is officially the fastest-selling title in Atlus’ history, wracking up one million copies in just seven days. It’s a strong sign of the growing popularity of Persona, but also likely an indicator that more remakes could be on the way. While Persona 4 could benefit from an upgrade, no other entry demands a remake more than Persona 2, which is still one of the best stories Atlus has ever told. That being said, the first two games differ dramatically from the rest of the series, as the calendar and social systems weren’t introduced until Persona 3. While some might argue those elements could be introduced to Persona 2, a remake would be much better off retaining the original vision and refining it. Persona 2 is actually a duology, with the experience split into two different games, Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment. The first game, Innocent Sin, follows a high-schooler named Tatsuya Suou, who discovers the power of Persona. Eternal Punishment is a direct follow-up that follows a reporter named Maya Amano, a key character from the first game.’
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S5425 Years Ago, Nintendo's Beloved Plumber Had A Rocky Start in One of The Most Iconic Games  We always assume a longstanding franchise was a success from the start. How could they not be? After all, if a TV show or movie or video game is good enough to go beyond the trilogy into a fifth or sixth installment then clearly it must’ve been white hot from the jump. Sure, later entries always pale in comparison but the first entry must’ve had a lot of momentum to merit so many sequels, right? Wrong. The truth is a franchise isn’t always born on day one and even the most iconic names can have troubled starts. Twenty-five years ago, Nintendo learned this lesson when it launched Mario Party for N64.What? Mario Party wasn’t a success? Yes, the game went on to sell around 2.5 million copies, putting it at #15 on the all-time N64 bestseller list. But sales and reception are very different things. And not every release comes with a lawsuit that could cause $80 million in damages, either.
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S25Erections: what we learned from mice could help with sexual health in men  Have you ever wondered how penile erection works but never dared to ask? Well, imagine a dry sponge in a condom. Now pour water on the sponge (that’s the blood flowing in). There you have it.This penis “sponge” is scientifically termed corpora cavernosa. Erections depend on the influx and trapping of blood. Smooth muscle cells regulate the blood flow into the sponge and its subsequent firmness. In a recent study, my colleague and I delved into the role of penile fibroblasts, the most abundant cells in the human penis, about which little was previously known.
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S26S28Harry Potter and the Disenchanted Wildlife: how light and sound shows can harm nocturnal animals  Jaana Dielenberg works for the Biodiversity Council. The Biodiversity Council was founded by 11 universities and receives support from The Ian Potter Foundation, The Ross Trust, Trawalla Foundation, The Rendere Trust, Isaacson Davis Foundation, Coniston Charitable Trust and Angela Whitbread. Jaana is employed by the University of Melbourne and is a Charles Darwin University Fellow.Light and sound shows in parks can enthral crowds with their colour, music and storytelling. Lasting for weeks to months, the shows provide entertainment and can boost local economies. But unless they are well-located, the shows can also harm wildlife.
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S32S34Secrets of soil-enriching pulses could transform future of sustainable agriculture  From lentils to chickpeas, and even the humble baked bean, pulses are perhaps best known as an alternative, plant-based source of protein. These plants are environmental heroes: they work together with soil microbes to “fix” nitrogen from the air, enriching the soil with nutrients to allow them to thrive.As their nitrogen-fixing capacity is becoming better understood, scientists are hoping to find ways to increase productivity, and eventually apply some of these effective soil-enriching characteristics to other crops such as cereals. With the ability to fix nitrogen, crops would need less nitrogen fertiliser and soil health would simultaneously improve.
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S62Magic Bullets, Wild West Tactics, and Creepy Theme Parks Shine In Steam Next Fest  If you’re still searching for which PC games are going to occupy your time for the rest of 2024 and beyond, you’re in luck. Now through February 12, the Steam Next Fest is on, playing host to countless demos for upcoming releases. The downside of this fire hose of free gaming is that it can be hard to pick out which games are worth adding to your wishlist with so many options. While there are more good choices than we can possibly list here, we’ve picked out a few of the very best to get you started.You may have seen the incredibly stylish trailer for Children of the Sun making the rounds on social media last week. The first look at the game from developer René Rother is as gorgeous as it is disturbing, featuring a masked sniper hunting their prey in a world of neon pink and yellow.
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S6650 Weird But Extremely Clever Things on Amazon You'll Wish You Knew About Sooner  When it comes to fun and functional gadgets for your home, it’s better late than never, right? While you’ll wish you knew about these weird but extremely clever products sooner, now you’ve been enlightened so you can fill your cart accordingly and enjoy the subtle yet awesome changes to your life. Plus, if there’s someone in your life who’s notoriously hard to shop for, there’s almost sure to be something here for them (a pickle-shaped wine stopper? Who wouldn’t delight in receiving that?).Seriously though, this list of gadgets and gizmos aplenty can transform some of the most mundane household tasks. You’ll never look at your shredder, or night light, or nail clippers the same way again now that you know there’s another a delightfully weirder way. So get your “add to cart” finger ready because the future is here.
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S10The rise of African prophets: the unchecked power of the leaders of Pentecostal churches  Over the last 20 years there’s been an unprecedented increase in charismatic Pentecostal prophets – or men of God as they’re called in Pentecostal parlance. Across Africa their unchecked influence has spread into social, economic and political institutions. Pentecostalism is one of the fastest-growing strands of Christianity on the continent. In Zimbabwe, for example, the Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministry claims its membership rose from 45 to over a million in just five years. This is a significant number in a country with a population of 16 million. Zimbabwe’s United Family International Church boasts that over 70,000 attend its Sunday services.
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S12Cybercriminals are creating their own AI chatbots to support hacking and scam users  Artificial intelligence (AI) tools aimed at the general public, such as ChatGPT, Bard, CoPilot and Dall-E have incredible potential to be used for good. The benefits range from an enhanced ability by doctors to diagnose disease, to expanding access to professional and academic expertise. But those with criminal intentions could also exploit and subvert these technologies, posing a threat to ordinary citizens.
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S48Gut microbiome: meet Asaccharobacter celatus - the brain health bug  There’s a great deal of interest from scientists and the public alike in how we can keep our minds sharp and our brains healthy as we get older.While some factors that increase the risk of dementia cannot be modified, including genetics, there are several factors we do have control over that evidence has shown can offer some protection against cognitive decline.
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S595 Years Later, Star Wars is Already Undoing the Franchise's Best Work  Star Wars’ favorite duo is gearing up for their next adventure. After three successful seasons on Disney+, The Mandalorian’s Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu are headed to the big screen. The aptly-titled Mandalorian and Grogu is set to go into production sometime in 2024, with director Jon Favreau and producer Dave Filoni attached. Lucasfilm have put a whole lot of faith in the film: it will will be the first on Star Wars’ new slate of movie projects, taking precedent over a slew of stories still languishing in development. Per The Hollywood Reporter’s Borys Kit, the studio is fast-tracking production on its latest brainchild. Disney CEO Bob Iger is aiming for a 2026 release date, making The Mandalorian and Grogu Star Wars’ first theatrical release in over five years. Before Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Rey-focused sequel, Taika Waititi’s yet-untitled standalone film, or even Dave Filoni’s Mando-verse movie, Star Wars fans will return to theaters for The Mandalorian and Grogu. It’s an interesting choice, given all the projects that Lucasfilm had previously announced. But is it the right choice for a franchise that’s been breaking new ground elsewhere?
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S3How a 12-year-old boy made vanilla a global spice  The story of vanilla, as with most truly international crops, criss-crosses a world atlas. But vanilla did not originate in Madagascar, despite the country's current global dominance of its trade. Instead, it started in the jungles of Mexico and Central America, where a long, windy vine evolved to develop that distinctive, penetrating aroma that we all know so well.What is perhaps most compelling about vanilla is the fact that its multi-billion dollar industry exists because of a 12-year-old enslaved boy who lived 180 years ago on a remote Indian Ocean Island. But the orchid, whose pod-shaped fruits contain the sweet vanilla essence, would take a wild journey to get there from Mexico, where the Totonac Indigenous people, who settled around 600 CE on Mexico's Atlantic coast, first noticed the scent.
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S8S11Ukraine war: what the US public thinks about giving military and other aid  The issue of military aid to Ukraine is still gridlocked in the US Congress, with Republicans refusing to support additional spending on arms for Ukraine, despite extensive lobbying by President Joe Biden. The Senate’s Democrat majority leader, Chuck Schumer, has said: “The survival of Ukraine is on the line” – something reinforced by reports thatthe Ukrainian army is running low on ammunition.
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S17Have Conservative councils started placing more children in care each year than Labour councils? New analysis  In England, over 80,000 children are now in care, an increase of nearly one third since 2010. We’ve discovered that local party politics is a factor in this. Our analysis shows that, between 2015 and 2021, six or seven more children each year were taken into care in an average sized Conservative council than in an equivalent Labour council.There have been big inequalities between local authorities in the rise in the numbers of children in care since the start of the Cameron-Clegg, Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in 2010. In the north-east of England they have increased by over 60%, while in inner London they’re down almost 20%.
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S18In Chile, huge wildfires have killed at least 131 people - but one village was almost untouched  Chile has experienced one of the worst fire-related disasters in its history. A series of huge forest fires burned from February 1 to 5, leaving at least 131 people dead – and this number will probably increase as charred bodies are collected and severely injured people die.But even this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are people with burns, post-traumatic stress and other mental health disorders. Existing diseases have been exacerbated by service interruptions, and people have lost their homes and livelihoods. Also, the long-term effects from smoke inhalation are yet to be seen.
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S67'True Detective' Episode 5 Will Stream Two Days Earlier  True Detective: Night Country has been breaking new ground. It’s the first season to not involve original creator Nic Pizzolatto, to fully lean into the franchise’s supernatural themes, and to center female detectives. Now, with Episode 5, True Detective Season 4 is adopting a new and unusual release schedule, meaning Max streamers can watch the episode sooner than anticipated. While the fifth episode of True Detective: Night Country will air on HBO on Sunday, February 11, the Super Bowl is going to absolutely dominate prime-time television. The episode will therefore be available to stream on Max on Friday, February 9, two days before the usual release. It’s not an unprecedented move; When The Last of Us premiered in early 2023, its fifth episode followed the same release structure for the same reason.
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S69Look! NASA Snapped A Rare Closeup of the Solar System's Most Terrifying Moon  Last weekend, NASA’s Juno spacecraft flew over the southern hemisphere of Jupiter’s moon Io. The close flyby brought Juno within 930 miles of the sulfur-shrouded hellscape of volcanoes and lava lakes that make up Io’s surface. In December 2023, the spacecraft flew over Io’s northern hemisphere and sent home striking photos. This time, Juno captured images of lava flows, volcanic eruptions, mountains, and roiling lakes of lava with islands in the middle.One of the coolest images from the February 3 flyby shows two towering volcanic plumes rising over Io’s horizon — about 2,400 miles away from the spacecraft. The pair were “emitted either by two vents from one giant volcano, or two volcanoes near each other,” writes the Southwest Research Institute on its website.
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