By Florence Ion Published March 20, 2025 | Comments (3) | Get ready, because the heyday of easily sharing your Plex media library is soon to be over. Plex Plex, the self-serve streaming service that has been powering up millennial nerd home libraries for what seems like ages, announced upcoming price changes for later next month in an astonishingly bashful fashion. The company laid out its plans in a remorseful blog post about what would soon befall longtime users. Plex is increasing the price of everything, including now charging for what will soon be its former best free feature: remote playback. This price increase will ensure that we can keep investing dedicated resources in developing new features, while supporting and growing your favorites, swears Plex. Beginning April 29, the monthly Plex pass will increase from $5 to $7, while the annual cost will be set to $70/year. Lifetime subscriptions are also going up in price to more than double, from $120 to $250. If you want that lifetime Plex subscription, you had better buy now. Plex is letting new users lock into that fee before the deadline. The company laid out a roadmap to show that all this change is for growth. Plex plans to bring more parent-focused content through the pipeline as part of its cooperation with Common Sense Media. (Im sure Plex noticed most millennial parents libraries turning into living shrines dedicated to Disney, PBS, and Nickelodeons cast of characters.) Plex also plans to introduce a new app for desktop and mobile users, and its working on an open API that pulls in more metadata about what youre watching. But while the new stuff sounds nice I cant escape the sting of losing free remote playback. Plex doesnt even mention the upcoming changes to remote playback until it gets through all thisabout two complete scrolls through the webpage on a computer monitor. Soon if youre not at home and want to play your Plex library and dont already pay for a subscription youll have to pay for remote playback. Youll also have to pay if you want features like the ability to skip an intro song or the ending credits. This is perhaps the most significant blow to a community thats relied on Plexs software because streaming is already so expensive. If you want to watch you library away from home youll have to pay. It also affects anyone you share your home library with. They will have to pay if they are not Plex Pass subscribers themselves. Plex will offer a Remote Watch Pass tier for $2/month or $20/year. Apparently Plex isnt immune to the price increases happening industry-wide. The company cites the need for more resources to make these changes. Other streaming services have also raised subscription prices, which is only easier to swallow because theres a big corporation gatekeeping all that content. Plex libraries are personally curated by the people who put them together.This change with Plex comes at a less than convenient time in my life. I recently canceled YouTube TV after the big price hike to $83/ month for the basic package. I switched to ad-supported plans for a few networks where I watch TV and have already saved a lot of money. Id planned to revert to my Plex library for most of my TV consumption, where I have dozens of shows I promised myself Id watch and all my comforts, including the three summers worth of YouTube scrapes of the original Real World series. If youd like me to share those seasons, youll have to pony up $2/month first. Or well all need to switch to Jellyfin.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Florence Ion Published March 5, 2025 By Germain Lussier Published March 3, 2025 By Thomas Maxwell Published February 25, 2025 By Thomas Maxwell Published February 11, 2025 By Matthew Gault Published February 5, 2025 By Thomas Maxwell Published February 5, 2025

By Cheryl Eddy Published March 20, 2025 | Comments (1) | Elisabeth Moss and Alexis Bledel both won Emmys for their season one performances. Hulu The sixth season of Hulus The Handmaids Tale arrives in April, bringing its run to an end while also presumably setting up sequel series The Testaments, itself coming to Hulu soon. For all the shows initial acclaim, many fans had sort of forgotten about it; not entirely surprising, since season five wrapped up all the way back in 2022. With its final installment on the way, we decided to look back at that fiery first seasonand realized just how chillingly believable its bleak alt-reality has become. When The Handmaids Tale first arrived on Hulu in April 2017, at least half of America was primed and ready for a dystopian series depicting a worst-case-scenario for the country. President Donald Trump had been inaugurated into his first term a few months prior, and everyone whod voted for Hillary Clinton (or worse, apathetically sat out the election) had already started to contort into the cringe-ball posture theyd frequently find themselves in over the next four years. The Handmaids Tale, with its themes of feminist rage in the face of extreme oppression, tapped into frustrations that many politically progressive people felt that spring. The show provided a shiver-inducing but often cathartic viewing experience; week to week, Juneor Offred, as Elisabeth Moss character is first introduced, having been forced to take the name of the man who has enslaved her as a breeding vesseladapted to her grim new normal while silently plotting revenge or psyching herself up to survive. June and her family try to escape. Hulu In the world of The Handmaids Tale, the United States is now called Gilead. Its a society ruled by far-right Christian conservatives, where paranoia and suspicion guide every conversation, and men with machine guns and black vans roam the streets looking for dissidents or really, anyone who dares to stick a toe out of line. Violence is the knee-jerk reaction to any infraction, with cruelty layered in to make sure anyone with rebellious ideas becomes too frightened to act on them. The linguistic tics of GileadUnder his eye, Praise be, May the Lord open, and so onand the red dresses and white caps worn by June and her fellow handmaids immediately took their place in pop culture, with the distinctive costumes popping up at womens rights protests, particularly when reproductive rights were involved, but also in more lighthearted contexts, including among cosplayers at San Diego Comic-Con.The Handmaids Tale, in other words, was an immediate hit; at the 2017 Emmys, it became the first streaming release to be named Outstanding Drama Series, alongside wins for Moss and her co-stars Ann Dowd and Alexis Bledel, as well as for the shows writing, directing, cinematography, and production design. That was 2017. Eight years later, the culture has again shiftedmuch farther to the right than it perhaps ever has been, and that includes Ronald Reagans 1980s, when Margaret Atwoods source-material novel was first published. In 2022, Roe vs. Wade was overruled by a Supreme Court that had scuttled far-right during Trumps first presidency; just a few months ago, Trump took office for his second term and the mood out of Washington, D.C. has rarely felt so extreme as it does now at least outside of dystopian fiction, that is.The opening scene of The Handmaids Tales first episode, Offred, follows June, her husband, and their young daughter as theyre frantically trying to escape the gun-toting men who are chasing them. What did they do? is the natural audience reaction, until it becomes clear that theyre being hunted because in a world where fertility rates have nearly bottomed out, children are seen as rare prizes, and women whove given birth to healthy kids are imprisoned as handmaidens, raped over and over until they conceive again. Once this initial horror sinks in, viewers realize The Handmaids Tale is in fact a parade of horrors, with rights ripped away from everyone who doesnt conform to Gileads strict moral standards. June may not be able to express herself outwardly, but her voice-overs let us know her true feelings, and we get valuable context from the frequent flashbacks to her life before everything around her was jammed into a twisted embrace of traditional values. Just another day in Gilead. Hulu Some of these memories are happytime spent with her family and friends, including Moira (Samira Wiley), who loses her own partner in the dyke purges and ends up in handmaid training camp alongside June. We learn that some people, including the wife and child of another lesbian handmaid, Alexis Bledels Emily, managed to escape to Canada when things started getting bad, and Canada emerges as an important second location through the series.Theres an organized resistance that starts off slowly in this first season, as well as an intriguing character in Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski), the wife in the home where June is made to serve. We learn she was a powerful conservative leader and author in the before, but was swiftly shunted into a subservient role in the culture she helped create. Shes both poignant and repulsive, and therefore consistently fascinating. The center of The Handmaids Tale, however, is always June, and through her we learn how Gilead forced its way into existence. First the government was dismantled through an attack blamed on terroristsits implied this was a liethat led to the suspension of the constitution. Martial law was enacted, including in what was once Boston, where June lives. Gradually, things that felt like well-entrenched parts of everyday life began to change. One day, Junes debit card was declined at the local coffee shop, and she learned women were no longer allowed to have bank accounts or own property. Armed men barged into her office and forced her boss to let all the female employees go.They cant just do this, June says to Moira, but indeed They can, and They do. Now Im awake to the world, Gilead-era June narrates from the nightmare of her new reality. I was asleep before. Thats how we let it happen. Doesnt feel quite as fantastical as it once did, does it? Still it could never really happen, right? Right? Aunt Lydia (at right) with Janine (Madeline Brewer), who loses an eye for being too outspoken. Hulu You can watch seasons 1-5 of The Handmaids Tale on Hulu and on Hulu on Disney+. Season six arrives April 8. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.the handmaid's tale Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Cheryl Eddy Published March 19, 2025 By Cheryl Eddy Published March 3, 2025 James Whitbrook and Gordon Jackson Published February 18, 2025 By Cheryl Eddy Published February 12, 2025 By Gordon Jackson Published November 13, 2024 By Matt Novak Published August 4, 2024

Cit Griset Apartment / Mesnil ArchitecturesSave this picture! Mesnil StudioArchitects: Mesnil ArchitecturesAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:157 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:Mesnil StudioMore SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. In the heart of Cit Griset, a former 19th-century foundry, lies an apartment made up of numerous rooms and whose layout may be considered somewhat cluttered and eclectic manner.Save this picture!Save this picture!The renovation aims to simplify the existing layout by consolidating the support functions into a technical zone on the second level, thereby freeing up the living spaces and opening up cross views. The first step involves removing the walls of the old freight elevator, which are replaced by a double steel column frame left exposed, echoing the metalwork of the former factory.Save this picture!Save this picture!The newly opened space benefits the kitchen, which extends into the pantry, now accessible through the former elevator opening. A work surface appears to float, suspended from the columns, emphasizing the horizontal lines of the design and cleverly concealing the fridge, the only vertical element. The dining area and double living room now fully take advantage of the large windows that overlook the courtyard and its brick columns. In the sleeping area, the corridor connecting the suite to the dining room is marked by a generous glass partition, allowing natural light to flood the space.Save this picture!Save this picture!Opposite, in response to the geometry of the room, a full-length mirrored dressing room has been installed.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Paris, FranceLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officeMesnil ArchitecturesOfficePublished on March 20, 2025Cite: "Cit Griset Apartment / Mesnil Architectures" 20 Mar 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1028099/cite-griset-apartment-mesnil-architectures&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

As temperatures continue to rise, so too will cases of Lyme disease and other tick-born illnesses. Therefore a search to stop its spread and treat its symptoms has picked up some urgency and now offers a glimmer of hope.Warmer weather give nasty little vectors like the deer ticks that carry the disease a longer time period to spread it. The ticks carry the disease from their "reservoir" of small woodland mammals into human hosts by biting them. Although it is most prevalent in wooded areas, the deer tick also can live in long grassy areas.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded 89,000 Lyme disease cases in 2023 based on reports from state health departments. Other methods that track treatment for the diseases symptoms put the number of cases at 476,000. The actual number of Lymes disease cases is likely somewhere in between.Identifying and Treating Lyme DiseaseInfected humans sometimes discover circular rashes on their bodies. They also often develop headaches, fever and fatigue. If the disease remains untreated, it can spread to the heart, nervous system and joints sometimes resulting in arthritis-like pain.Treatment for the disease usually a course of antibiotics has proven less than ideal. Antibiotics are more effected when the disease is identified early which isnt often the case. Also, some long-term effects of the infection can linger for years.As the disease gains more traction and more people are struggling with its long-term effects, more researchers are searching for better treatments. Researchers reported in mBio, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology, that theyve found a tantalizing target lactate dehydrogenase (BbLDH). That enzyme plays a key role in the metabolism of Borrelia burgdorferi, the pathogen responsible for the disease.Shutting Down the PathogenIn the new study, the researchers first explored the enzymes structure to understand where they might target a drug. Then they turned off parts of the enzyme, to determine which parts were necessary for its growth. Once they identified them, they modified those elements. Those tweaks effectively stopped the pathogen in its tracks. It was unable to grow in a petri dish and couldnt infect animal models. Once they confirmed that the enzyme was, indeed a good target, they found several molecular candidates that could effectively shut BbLDH down.We discovered that BbLDH has a unique biochemical and structural feature and it is essential for B. burgdorferi growth and infectivity, Chunhao (Chris) Lia researcher at Virginia Commonwealth University and an author of the paper, said in a press release. BbLDH can serve as an ideal target for developing genus-specific inhibitors that can be potentially used to treat and prevent Lyme disease. While an actual medicine will likely take years to be developed and then tested, a potential prevention and treatment for the disease should be welcome news for anyone spending time outside, particularly in woodsy settings.This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lyme Disease Surveillance and DataBefore joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

When athletes line up at the start of a race, the crowd often hushes in anticipation until the quiet is broken by the crack of a starter pistol. The discharge sounds like a real gunshot, yet most people arent filled with fear. Instead, the race begins, the fans cheer, and the blast is forgotten.To not react negatively to a starter pistol, the brain has to recognize the blast as harmless and then shut down any fearful reactions. But how does the brain know when to ignore a starter pistol but then react to a real gunshot?A 2025 study in Science revealed the brain mechanism in which animals are able to overcome such fears. The research could help scientists better understand how to help people with anxiety, phobias, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).The Brain and FearPeople are born with innate fears, like reacting to loud noises. These fears can be helpful if there is an actual threat. Otherwise, the brain has to learn when typically scary stimuli are harmless and can be ignored.One example is how humans respond to fireworks, says Sara Mederos, the lead author of the study and a research fellow in the Hofer Lab at Sainsbury Wellcome Centre at University College London.Babies and little kids often cry on the Fourth of July when they hear fireworks because they are loud, unpredictable, and possibly dangerous.However, through repeated exposure and learning, they typically come to understand that these are not harmful and can enjoy them, Mederos says.Read More: The Science of a Good ScareHow the Brain Recognizes FearSo, how does the brain learn to recognize potentially scary stimuli as not a big deal? Mederos and her research team set out to map the neural pathways that allow animals brains to turn off a fear response.In their study, the team worked with mice because their brain structures have similarities with human brains.And mice dont have poker faces, which makes it easy for scientists to analyze their behavior.Mice are an excellent model for studying instinctive fear because they exhibit well-characterized defensive behaviors in response to visual threats, such as freezing or fleeing, Mederos says.One situation in which mice might freeze or flee is when the shadow of an aerial predator appears. In their laboratory, Mederos and her team used an overhead projector to simulate the shadow of a raptor.At first, the mice responded as expected and ran for cover. However, through repeated exposures, they learned that the stimulus did not represent a real threat and adapted their responses accordingly, and stopped escaping, Mederos says.The researchers then analyzed what happened in the mice's brains when they learned to suppress their fear of the shadows. The results were surprising visual information plays a role in the learning process, but only to a point.How to Tame FearThe researchers found that the higher visual areas of the cerebral cortex were responsible for the learning process that taught the mouse it was okay to not flee from the raptor shadow. But, once the lesson was learned, these visual areas were no longer needed.The researchers also had another surprise finding when they learned the related memory was stored in the subcortical circuit in the ventrolateral geniculate nucleus (vLGN).This was unexpected because plasticity is typically studied in cortical areas like the hippocampus rather than in subcortical regions, Mederos says. The findings will help scientists better understand how animals process fear, store memories, and learn from past events. The research may also extend to humans one day.While the instinctive fear responses we studied are more relevant to animals in the wild, the brain pathway we identified also exists in humans. This suggests that similar mechanisms could be involved in regulating fear and anxiety in people, Mederos says.For most people, regulating fear and anxiety simply means getting exposed to the threat multiple times until the brain realizes its not worth getting worked up. But for people with anxiety, phobias, or PTSD, Mederos says the process becomes impaired, and they continue to have a reaction to non-threatening stimuli.Instead of adapting to non-threatening stimuli, their brain circuits continue to respond as if the stimulus is dangerous, Mederos says. For example, in PTSD, a person who has experienced trauma may develop an exaggerated fear response to everyday cues associated with that event. The fear response becomes overgeneralized, even when the stimulus is no longer a threat.Therapies that target the vLGN could involve deep brain stimulation, focused ultrasound, or pharmacological treatments aimed at modulating endocannabinoid signaling to treat anxiety, phobias, or PTSD, Mederos says.By restoring the brains ability to regulate fear, these approaches could help individuals with anxiety disorders gradually learn to suppress excessive fear responses and improve their quality of life, Mederos says.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Emilie Lucchesi has written for some of the country's largest newspapers, including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and an MA from DePaul University. She also holds a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Illinois-Chicago with an emphasis on media framing, message construction and stigma communication. Emilie has authored three nonfiction books. Her third, A Light in the Dark: Surviving More Than Ted Bundy, releases October 3, 2023, from Chicago Review Press and is co-authored with survivor Kathy Kleiner Rubin.

Teslas bulky, beleaguered Cybertruck has received another recall alert from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This time, its not something a simple over-the-air software update can fix. According to the March 18 regulatory notice, a large strip of stainless steel exterior trim can potentially delaminate and detach from the vehicle while on the road. A total of 46,096 Cybertrucks now qualify for the free in-shop repair. Thats nearly every Cybertruck manufactured for the public since its December 2023 debut. The NHTSA expects all Cybertruck owner notification letters to be mailed by May 19.Rumors of a recall related to the cant railsa pair of lengthy, boomerang-shaped metal sections that stretch over the vehicles driver and passenger windowsbegan circulating in recent weeks. Multiple people waiting on the delivery of their Tesla trucks reported a delayed delivery due to inspection on the popular Cybertruck Owners Forum, while the automotive website Road & Track published photos on February 21 of the EV with missing cant rails. A video posted last month by YouTuber and Cybertruck owner Reid Tomasko also relayed similar concerns.The faulty cant rails appear to stem from inadequate glue used to adhere the components to the vehicle frame, which allegedly weakens after exposure to freezing temperatures. As Tomasko and others pointed out, these arent the only sections that appear to rely on the manufacturing adhesive. Multiple locations on the trucks two quarter panels allegedly can display similar issues.This is not the first recall notice for the Cybertruck. Less than five months after its release, nearly all vehicle owners received an alert citing a faulty accelerator pedal resulting from misapplied soap instead of lubricant. In October 2024, the vehicles required an over-the-air software update after regulators determined the rearview camera feed display was so delayed that it was illegal. The NHTSA in total has cited the Cybertruck in nine recalls, three investigations, while receiving 42 consumer complaints in less than 16 months. Its not just the Cybertruck thats faced a number of issues.In one of the most recent complaints filed to the NHTSA, a Cybertruck owner in New York City reported the driver side cant rail suddenly start[ed] falling off while traveling along a highway at around 55 mph.This is the first winter for cybertruck [sic], they wrote. [T]he stainless panel is hard and sharp enough to hit other cars.Another incident report from Illinois detailed a similar experience with the passenger side section, and the owner also included the results of the subsequent visit to a Tesla service center. Although mechanics replaced the detached cant rail free-of-charge, they told the owner they couldnt do the same for the driver side portion until it falls off.The post Most Cybertrucks recalled to ensure steel panels dont fall off appeared first on Popular Science.

Nature, Published online: 19 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00837-2Physicists had long assumed that the elusive force has constant strength. But the latest results from a project to map the Universes expansion challenge this idea.

Nature, Published online: 19 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08732-6VDAC2 deficiency elicits uncontrolled IFN-induced BAK activation and mitochondrial damage for improved cancer therapy.

Scientists have made the record-breaking detection of oxygen in an ancient galaxy that existed just 300 million years after the Big Bang. The detection is prompting astronomers to rethink how quickly stars and galaxies formed in the young universe.

The left hip and leg bones from a young female Paranthropus robustus discovered in South Africa show she was extremely short and ended up as a leopard's lunch.