Nathan Eddy, Freelance WriterMarch 24, 20255 Min ReadWavebreakmedia Ltd FUS1407 via Alamy StockCloud storage was once hailed as a cost-effective solution for businesses, but hidden fees and unpredictable costs are causing widespread financial strain.More than half of businesses globally have experienced IT or business delays due to unexpected cloud storage expenses, and 62% of organizations exceeded their cloud budgets last year, according to a report from Wasabia.As chief information officers and IT leaders reassess cloud spending, many are looking for new strategies to prevent waste, improve forecasting, and better manage their data storage policies.Soumya Gangopadhyay, technology strategist at EY, points to a lack of financial transparency and poor forecasting as key reasons why cloud costs spiral out of control. Certain issues arise when organizations dont track IT costs in a way that enables breaking out expenses to support analysis or forecasts, he says. Data egress fees, complex storage tiering, and sudden spikes in data processing all contribute to budget overruns.He cautions that without clear visibility into usage and cost structures, companies would struggle to predict expenses, leading to unforeseen financial burdens.Egress Fees, Over-Provisioning Drive Up CostsOne of the biggest financial pitfalls in cloud storage is egress fees, the costs incurred when transferring data out of a cloud providers ecosystem.Related:These fees, often overlooked in budgeting, can add up quickly and disrupt IT operations.Will Milewski, senior vice president of cloud infrastructure and operations at Hyland, notes businesses frequently underestimate the impact of egress fees. With regulatory shifts like the European Data Act prompting major providers to adjust these fees, organizations are still challenged by unanticipated usage that drives up costs, he says via email.He explains IT leaders can mitigate these impacts by consolidating data within a single ecosystem, employing intelligent tiering strategies, and utilizing data compression or deduplication techniques.Beyond egress fees, companies are also over-provisioning cloud resources, paying for storage they dont fully utilize.Many organizations, eager to embrace cloud agility, end up spending more than necessary due to a lack of integrated visibility across their data assets.Cost overruns often stem from over-provisioning, unpredictable data growth, and the complexity of managing diverse data workloads, Milewski says. By leveraging unified platforms, companies can streamline workflows, improve forecasting, and right-size storage needs.Related:The Challenge of Cloud Cost TransparencyWhile cloud providers offer cost management tools, many organizations find pricing models too complex to navigate effectively.Gangopadhyay explains some cloud providers obscure costs through complicated pricing structures, making it difficult for IT teams to plan accordingly. Not all providers offer robust tools for forecasting costs based on usage patterns, which is another factor organizations should consider when working with a cloud provider, he says.Milewski echoes this concern, pointing out that cloud providers are offering more AI-driven cost management tools, but expertise is required to use them effectively. Were seeing cloud providers introduce reserved pricing models, savings plans, and AI-driven cost dashboards, he says. However, many pricing structures remain complex, requiring organizations to build in-house expertise or partner with specialized vendors.Without dedicated cost management teams or external partners, businesses often struggle to fully optimize cloud spending.IT Leaders Take Control of Cloud CostsCIOs and IT leaders can execute several proactive measures as they look to regain control of their cloud budgets.Related:Gangopadhyay suggests implementing real-time monitoring tools, resource tagging taxonomies, and predictive analytics to improve cost forecasting. Organizations need to have a clear understanding or adherence to existing capabilities and performance -- without it, engineering workload performance can be a challenge, he says.By leveraging historical data and automating governance policies, businesses can eliminate waste and prevent unexpected cost spikes.Milewski advises companies to audit their storage policies and shift to a more strategic, tiered approach. Optimizing storage begins with aligning data policies to actual usage, he says. Prioritizing high-performance tiers for critical content while shifting less-accessed data to real solutions ensures cost efficiency without compromising performance or compliance.He also highlights automation and AI-driven insights as key tools for identifying redundancies and reducing expenses.Another crucial step is building a chargeback model that aligns IT costs with business strategy.Gangopadhyay says he believes organizations should implement chargeback mechanisms that assign storage costs to individual business units, making cloud expenses more transparent.Developing an enterprise chargeback strategy ensures that cloud spending is directly tied to business objectives, he says.By making business units accountable for their storage usage, companies can drive more responsible cloud consumption.The Future of Cloud Cost ManagementAs cloud storage pricing evolves, IT leaders must stay ahead of emerging trends to keep costs under control.Gangopadhyay says he expects increased competition among cloud providers, which could lead to more dynamic pricing models. We can expect to see more providers adopting real-time usage-based pricing and offering incentives for eco-friendly storage options, he says.Companies that embrace flexible budgeting practices and sustainable cloud solutions will be better positioned to navigate shifting cost structures.Milewski predicts that AI and automation will play a bigger role in optimizing cloud spending.The cloud storage landscape is evolving toward more dynamic, consumption-based pricing models, he says. Businesses will need to embrace FinOps practices, leveraging advanced analytics and automated tools, to adapt to these trends.FinOps, or cloud financial management, is becoming increasingly critical for organizations aiming to turn unpredictable expenses into predictable, manageable investments.Gangopadhyay stresses the key to reducing waste is aligning cloud costs with business goals.Reducing cloud expenses comes down to aligning business goals with business costs, he says. Organizations can better identify and eliminate unnecessary or redundant data by implementing automated policies, conducting regular audits, and establishing clear retention guidelines.Milewski underscores the importance of staying ahead of pricing trends and investing in cost optimization strategies.By leveraging automation, real-time monitoring, and AI-driven insights, companies can ensure that their cloud investments remain both strategic and cost-efficient.Businesses that combine modern infrastructure with intelligent cost management can empower themselves to navigate future challenges effectively, he says.About the AuthorNathan EddyFreelance WriterNathan Eddy is a freelance writer for InformationWeek. He has written for Popular Mechanics, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine, FierceMarkets, and CRN, among others. In 2012 he made his first documentary film, The Absent Column. He currently lives in Berlin.See more from Nathan EddyReportsMore ReportsNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also Like

Love working with LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude? Were building an AI-powered support system to enhance customer service and streamline operations. Youll lead development integrating APIs, fine-tuning prompts, and collaborating with other teams. If you enjoy solving real-world problems with persistence and impact, we want to hear from you.What Youll DoWe believe AI can handle a significant share of our technical support without sacrificing accuracy. Your job is to integrate AI into our human support system, ensuring it smartly distinguishes between cases AI can solve and those needing human expertise. Youll refine the AIs capabilities over time, expanding its role in support. This is a long-term, evolving project, not a one-off build.What Youll Need5+ years of software development (we use PHP, Node, and Python).Experience with APIs, distributed systems, and automated testing.Familiarity with LLMs and prompt engineering.A results-driven, problem-solving mindset.Excellent English for written support interactions.Strong communication skills for working closely with the support and documentation teams.How We WorkWere a fully remote team with minimal meetings just enough to stay aligned and focused. Expect weekly planning calls, daily check-ins, and plenty of deep work time.What We Offer100% remote position,Body And Mind Movement (BAMM) program to support your physical activities and other hobbies,A computer budget to make your workplace better,A Kindle device with an access to our company Amazon account,We respect national holidays in each country and want you to have a rest these days,Being part of a team of smart, self-driven individuals,Great opportunity to progress and advance,Collaborating with team members across the globe.Ready to build something meaningful? Were excited to hear from you and see what we can achieve together at OTGS!

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Why handing over total control to AI agents would be a huge mistake Margaret Mitchell, Avijit Ghosh, Sasha Luccioni, Giada Pistilli all work for Hugging Face, an open source AI company. AI agents have set the tech industry abuzz. Unlike chatbots, these groundbreaking new systems can navigate multiple applications to execute complex tasks, like scheduling meetings or shopping online, in response to simple user commands. As agents become more capable, a crucial question emerges: How much control are we willing to surrender, and at what cost? The promise is compelling. Who doesnt want assistance with cumbersome work or tasks theres no time for? But this vision for AI agents brings significant risks that might be overlooked in the rush toward greater autonomy. In fact, our research suggests that agent development could be on the cusp of a very serious misstep. Read the full story.OpenAI has released its first research into how using ChatGPT affects peoples emotional wellbeing OpenAI says over 400 million people use ChatGPT every week. But how does interacting with it affect us? Does it make us more or less lonely? These are some of the questions OpenAI set out to investigate, in partnership with the MIT Media Lab, in a pair of new studies. They found that while only a small subset of users engage emotionally with ChatGPT, there are some intriguing differences between how men and women respond to using the chatbot. They also found that participants who trusted and bonded with ChatGPT more were likelier than others to be lonely, and to rely on it more.Chatbots powered by large language models are still a nascent technology, and difficult to study. Thats why this kind of research is an important first step toward greater insight into ChatGPTs impact on us, which could help AI platforms enable safer and healthier interactions. Read the full story. Rhiannon Williams The must-reads Ive combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Genetic testing firm 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy protection Following months of uncertainty over its future. (CNN)+ Tens of millions of peoples genetic data could soon belong to a new owner. (WSJ $)+ How to delete your 23andMe data. (MIT Technology Review)2 Europe wants to lessen its reliance of US cloud giants But thats easier said than done. (Wired $)3 Anduril is considering opening a drone factory in the UK Europe is poised to invest heavily in defenseand Anduril wants in. (Bloomberg $)+ The company recently signed a major drone contract with the UK government. (Insider $)+ We saw a demo of the new AI system powering Andurils vision for war. (MIT Technology Review)4 Bird flu has been detected in a sheep in the UK Its the first known instance of the virus infecting a sheep. (FT $)+ But the UK is yet to report any transmission to humans. (Reuters)+ How the US is preparing for a potential bird flu pandemic. (MIT Technology Review)5 A tiny town in the Alps has emerged as an ALS hotspotSuggesting that its causes may be more environmental than genetic. (The Atlantic $) + Motor neuron diseases took their voices. AI is bringing them back. (MIT Technology Review)6 Firefly Aerospaces Blue Ghost lunar lander has completed its missionAnd captured some pretty incredible footage along the way. (NYT $) + Europe is finally getting serious about commercial rockets. (MIT Technology Review) 7 How the US could save billions of dollars in wasted energy WSJ $) 8 We need new ways to measure painResearchers are searching for objective biological indicators to get rid of the guesswork. (WP $) + Brain waves can tell us how much pain someone is in. (MIT Technology Review)9 What falling in love with an AI could look like Its unclear whether loving machines could be training grounds for future relationships, or the future of relationships themselves. (New Yorker $)+ The AI relationship revolution is already here. (MIT Technology Review)10 Could you walk in a straight line for hundreds of miles? YouTubes favorite new challenge isnt so much arduous as it is inconvenient. (The Guardian)Quote of the day Blockbuster has collapsed. Its time for Netflix to rise. Kian Sadeghi pitches the company they founded, DNA testing firm Nucleus Genomics, as a replacement for 23andMe in a post on X. The big story This towns mining battle reveals the contentious path to a cleaner future January 2024 In June last year, Talon, an exploratory mining company, submitted a proposal to Minnesota state regulators to begin digging up as much as 725,000 metric tons of raw ore per year, mainly to unlock the rich and lucrative reserves of high-grade nickel in the bedrock. Talon is striving to distance itself from the mining industrys dirty past, portraying its plan as a clean, friendly model of modern mineral extraction. It proclaims the site will help to power a greener future for the US by producing the nickel needed to manufacture batteries for electric cars and trucks, but with low emissions and light environmental impacts. But as the company has quickly discovered, a lot of locals arent eager for major mining operations near their towns. Read the full story. James Temple We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet 'em at me.) + Who are fandoms for, and who gets to escape into them? + A long-lost Klimt painting of Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona has gone on display in the Netherlands.+ Feeling down? These feel-good movies will pick you right up.+ Why Gen Z are dedicated followers of Old Money fashion.

Decision on scale of Hawkins Brown and Acmes scheme to be taken within weeksThe bus station outside the front entrance of Victoria Station could be redeveloped under plans being looked at by Network Rail and Places for LondonTeams working on Hawkins Brown and Acmes 2.5bn mixed-use redevelopment of Londons Victoria station are set to make a decision in the coming weeks on the potential scale of the scheme.The property arms of Network Rail and Transport for London (TfL), Network Rail Property and Places for London, are looking at options for moving the bus station which currently occupies an island site outside the front entrance of Victoria station.A decision on whether the bus station, on Terminus Place, can be relocated is understood to be pivotal to shaping the planned redevelopment of Victoria station.Places for London chief executive Graeme Craig told Building that the project team was working with TfLs bus services on the potential for building a new bus station or dispersing bus services to a new location.Craig said: Were looking at feasibility. At the moment, on any project like this, the first task is looking at where we are from an operational point of view.Until we know the best location for the buses to be, that then tells us what the front of Victoria [station] looks like, which then tells us what the rest of the development might be.>> See also:Hawkins Brown and Acme working on major redevelopment of Victoria stationThe redevelopment of the station, currently Londons sixth largest, is aiming to enable infrastructure improvements encompassing all transport modes at the site including National Rail, London Underground and buses.It is expected to contain up to two million sq ft of commercial space, 300,000 sq ft of retail and an as yet undecided number of homes, including affordable homes.Victoria Coach Station is also being looked at for potential redevelopmentHowever, Craig said operational aspects of the project would need to be worked through before we know if there is a deliverable scheme at Victoria, and what the nature of that scheme will be.Network Rail is understood to be looking at several sites in its ownership for development, including the Terminus Place site and the main station building itself for a potential over-station development.Two other sites to the south could also be included, the Grosvenor Sidings rail yard on the western side of the approaches to Victoria Station and the grade II-listed Victoria Coach Station on Buckingham Palace Road, Londons largest coach station. Construction of the scheme is expected to be split into five phases.Craig added: Those sites are where there is the potential development once we know where we are from a transport point of view, but we are much too early to say either what the scale might be or what the uses might be.Places for London and Network Rail, which are working with Westminster council on the scheme, are aiming to launch a first round of consultation later this year with a planning application expected either by the end of this year or in 2026.Network Rail Property chief executive Robin Dobsonsaid the redevelopment of Victoria station had the ability to be utterly transformational, wiring together all property and transport sectors as a sustainable growth story.Victoria Station is Londons sixth busiest train stationA Places for London spokesperson said: Since early 2023, Places for London and Network Rail have hada strategic collaboration, aimed at accelerating development activity across London.This work will see both bodies combine efforts to deliver more homes on adjoining land, with a focus on affordable housing, alongside investment in transport infrastructure. Victoria station is one of a number of sites that is being assessed.The station is a key strategic location for both parties and the safe and effective running of the public transport network will always be paramount.The proposals for Victoria station follow a masterplan for the grade II-listed site drawn up by Allies & Morrison and WW&P, which were appointed in 2019 to identify opportunities for development and potential public realm improvements.Victoria is one of three major station redevelopment projects in the capital which Network Rail is currently working up alongside Liverpool Street and the Grimshaw-designed overhaul of Waterloo, both of which will include substantial overstation office elements.

Speaking at The Lighterman in Londons Kings Cross last Thursday (20 March), the University of Brighton academic and alumnus Misbah Mahmood Asim one of two Studio Bark architects to have studied at Brightons School of Architecture shared their experiences of testing and applying circular economy principles inside and outside the classroom.Baker-Brown explained how the Brighton Waste House, a teaching facility constructed of 85 per cent waste materials, which is now over a decade old, was the result of the architecture schools emphasis on material reuse and relationships with manufacturers.He said of the end result: The objective was to get [the Brighton Waste House] looking like a proper building on the outside but the inside [is waste material].AdvertisementBaker-Brown explained how the ethos behind the Brighton Waste House is increasingly being applied on projects such as Carmody Groarkes Ghent Design Museum, which has used elements including a low-carbon brick made from the citys recycled municipal waste.Baker-Brown himself has used materials such as carpet tiles, burnt brick repurposed as flooring, bicycle inner tubes used as sound insulation, oyster shells used as tiles, and 25,000 used toothbrushes from Gatwick Airport, which were turned into new materials for the Waste House.Calling for less carbon-intense materials in construction, he added: Were not saying build with toothbrushes. Were saying dont design that stuff. Weve still got most of the plastic thats ever been made.Baker-Brown also made the case for architect to use ash tree dieback, which is commonly felled, chipped, and burnt instead of being used for construction, and sweet chestnut coppicing, an ancient and renewable form of forestry often practised in East Sussex and Kent.Taking up the theme, Mahmood Asim explained Studio Barks extensive use of wood in her studios projects for buildings, art installations and furniture.AdvertisementShe told the lunch: We were focused on parts of the wood that were usually discarded or considered useless or waste timber[...]and worked with structural engineers to come up with ways that we could transform the waste to turn into structural elements.On the importance of education, she added: One of our founders also studied and worked with Duncan. So I think that kind of ethos of sustainability environment design has run through our practice and originated from our experiences in Brighton.Asked during a question and answer session whether or not circular economy principles were becoming mainstream, Mahmood Asim acknowledged there was still a bit of a way to go on circular economy education.She continued: In terms of schools pushing that as an initiative, I dont think its that many. It comes down to individual studios or individual tutors and individual students and what their interests are. I think there is definitely interest across the board.The event at The Lighterman was hosted by AJ managing editor Will Hurst.The 2024-2025 AJ100 Club events are sponsored by MSA Safety and Ceramica SantAgostino.

The winning team will carry out RIBA Stages 0-to-3 looking at the potential to demolish and rebuild the former church hall to create a new multi-functional community centre.The Pinxton Community Hub project aims to deliver a new space for local youth groups and charities while also creating office space and accommodating a community food bank and kitchen for vulnerable people in the area.Proposals to refurbish the existing St Helens Church Hall complex have already been developed to RIBA Stage 2 however the latest commission will explore demolition and rebuild due to best value considerations and local demand.AdvertisementAccording to the brief: Bolsover District Council has been awarded 15million of Regeneration Funding, from which 700,000 has been allocated to refurbish the existing church hall in Pinxton.However, to ensure best value considerations, work is required to explore a demolition and rebuild of the site to meet the ambition locally for a new build facility to meet the service and space demands of the community.The requirements of the building will be to provide a space for a wide variety of community groups including scouts, guides and young infants support groups. There is an ambition to have permanent office space for the South Normanton and Pinxton Development Project which supports children and young people in the area.It is envisaged that a food bank/community kitchen and caf could be accommodated within the building which allows community support groups to provide food for vulnerable people and provide cooking classes.Pinxton is a small village of around 5,500 residents located in Derbyshire close to the Nottinghamshire boundary.AdvertisementThe latest 700,000 project backed by the local authoritys regeneration arm Dragonfly focusses on regenerating the disused St Helens Church Hall complex on Church Street East in the centre of the settlement.Bids for the latest commission will be evaluated 70 per cent on quality and 30 per cent on price.Competition detailsProject title Provision of Architects for RIBA Stages 0-3 for a New Build Community Centre and RICS Quantity SurveyorsClientContract value TbcFirst round deadline Midday, 2 April 2025Restrictions TbcMore information https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009632-2025

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March 23, 2025NASA Astronauts Finally Return, Seals Hold Their Breath, and Penguin Poop Stresses Out KrillIn this weeks news roundup, two NASA astronauts finally return to Earth after nine unexpected months in space, gray seals hold their breath for more than an hour, and penguin poop panics krill. Anaissa Ruiz Tejada/Scientific AmericanSUBSCRIBE TO Science QuicklyRachel Feltman: Happy Monday, listeners! For Scientific Americans Science Quickly, Im Rachel Feltman. Lets kick off the week by catching up on some science news you may have missed.Well start out with a space update that weve all been waiting about nine months for[CLIP: NASAs SpaceX Crew-9 Re-Entry and Splashdown: And splashdown Crew-9 is back on earth [cheering]]On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Feltman: Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally back on Earth. The two NASA astronauts, who were meant to spend about a week on the International Space Station but have been there since June, splashed down in a SpaceX capsule last Tuesday evening. Welcome home, Butch and Suni!If youre wondering why it took so long to bring them back after their arrival vehicles initial technical difficulties, the answer isnt very excitingit basically came down to scheduling issues. First, NASA had to bump two other astronauts off an upcoming mission so that their return vehicle would have room for Butch and Suni. Once that mission made it to the station, it had to stay put until the next mission came up to relieve the prior crew of their duties. Space is hard, as folks so often say, and multiple ISS missions are bound to mean multiple delays.In other space news, last week scientists unveiled images of a planetary system 130 light-years away snapped by the James Webb Space Telescope. In an exciting first, the JWST was able to directly capture images of carbon dioxide gas on an exoplanet. That means JWST lives up to its promise of sussing out the chemistry of planetary atmospheres from a distance. These observations suggest that the four planets of the system, known as HR 8799, were likely formed through a process called core accretion. That process starts with the gradual formation of solid cores, which go on to attract gas from inside a protoplanetary disk. Its the same way Saturn and Jupiter formed. At 30 million years old or so, HR 8799 is a baby compared to our roughly 4.6-billion-year-old solar system, so studying these alien worlds could give us a glimpse into what our own gas giants looked like in their early days. And speaking of early days, when it comes to JWST the best is still yet to come. The space telescope was designed to last for at least five years, but the hope is that it can make it more than 20.Now lets catch up with the Environmental Protection Agency. In last weeks news roundup, I outlined EPA head Lee Zeldins plans to undo heaps of environmental legislation. I also mentioned his purported plan to cut 65 percent of the agencys costs. Last week, thanks to documents reviewed by Democrats on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, we got a clearer picture of those prospective cost-cutting measures.The New York Times reported last Monday that the EPAs plan calls for firing up to 1,155 scientists, as well as getting rid of the Office of Research and Development. This is the EPAs main science arm, which conducts research on environmental issues such as pollutants and their effects on humans. Zeldin said in a Fox Business appearance on Tuesday that the EPA was still working through cost-cutting decisions. Also on Tuesday, Representatives Valerie Foushee, Deborah Ross and Zoe Lofgren, who are all members of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, put out a joint statement condemning the supposed plans. They argued that, considering the EPAs obligation to use the best-available science in making its decisions, eliminating its main science branch would be illegal. If you like having clean air and water, you might consider calling up your own congressional reps to ask them to take a stand too.Meanwhile last week President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, a platform he owns, that he was authorizing his administration to immediately begin producing energy with BEAUTIFUL, CLEAN COAL.Clean coal is a nebulous term referring to technologies that make coal less polluting than it would be without those technologies. But theres no way of handling coal that makes it a clean form of energy. There are a few facilities that now use carbon capture technology to mitigate coals impact on the environment, but this technology is expensive and lemme be very clear about this it doesnt turn coal into a zero-carbon energy option. Coal is the most polluting source of energy. It releases heaps of carbon dioxide, contributes to environmental issues like acid rain and smog, and can cause lung disease.On Truth Social, President Trump claimed that Environmental Extremists and Thugs had allowed other countries, particularly China, to gain economic advantages over the U.S. by opening new coal plants. While its true that China has opened new coal plants in recent years, its worth noting that the countrys percentage of electricity generated from coal is actually on the decline.Its also worth noting that last Wednesday the World Meteorological Organization reported that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are at an 800,000-year high. So yeah, consider calling your reps!For no particular reason, I could use a little bit of a breather. Lets just talk about animals for the rest of the episode.First, have you ever wondered how seals avoid drowning? You totally should wonder that cause gray seals, for instance, can hold their breath for more than an hour at a time. A study published last Thursday in Science could help explain how. It turns out that gray seals can seemingly sense how much oxygen is in their blood at any given moment.Like most mammals, humans dont necessarily react to a lack of oxygen in the air. Were much more sensitive to an uptick in our carbon dioxide levels, which prompts us to breathe more. If a gray seal started to get that panicky air-hunger feeling as soon as the saturation of CO2 in their blood started going up while they were holding their breath, theyd never get anything done. But it seems theyve got a trick for that: just cutting out the middleman and sensing oxygen directly.Scientists tested this by giving seals air with different levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide before the animals went for their dives. The researchers found that seals would dive for longer after inhaling more oxygen-rich air and would cut their dives short after getting less oxygen. When the seals inhaled air with high levels of carbon dioxide, it didnt really change their dive length.While this study looked at gray seals, theyre not even the most accomplished divers in the seal world. The northern elephant seal can dive for up to two hours at a time. Its even possible that this oxygen-sensing trait came from a fairly distant ancestor that is applies to more than just mammals. After all, the emperor penguin can stay underwater for up to 27 minutes.And speaking of penguins it turns out their poop causes a big ruckus among zooplankton world. In a study published last Thursday in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, researchers zoomed in on the behavior of Antarctic krill. These tiny, shrimplike creatures are crucial members of the food chain, so they spend a lot of their time trying not to get eaten. Scientists already knew that krill used their sense of smell to react to things like food and pollution, so naturally they thought, Why not try penguin poo? Sure enough, when exposed to seawater containing guano in a tank, the little critters swam faster, pivoted direction more, and ate less algae. You might be asking yourself why scientists are interested in this crap. Like literally specifically this crap. But between krills spot on the food chain and their ability to sequester carbon by eating algae, these little guys can have a big impact on the ocean. Krill are already changing their behaviors due to climate change, sea ice loss and ocean acidification by moving further south.And if you need a pick-me-up this week, just take a moment to be grateful you arent on penguin doody duty: researchers had to collect a couple ounces of the stuff for the study, and apparently it smells like rotten shellfish.Thats all for this weeks news roundup. Well be back on Wednesday to talk about the changing science of invasive plants. And stay tuned for a very special video episode on Friday. Were giving you a tour of the cutting-edge lab where MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] scientists study and fabricate stuff at the nanoscale.Science Quickly is produced by me, Rachel Feltman, along with Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Naeem Amarsy and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check our show. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Subscribe to Scientific American for more up-to-date and in-depth science news.For Scientific Americans Science Quickly, this is Rachel Feltman. Have a great week!

Assassin's Creed Shadows team thanks fans for "heartwarming" response as game launches to Very Positive Steam rating"This is just the beginning for Shadows."Image credit: Ubisoft News by Tom Phillips Editor-in-Chief Published on March 24, 2025 A message posted by the Assassin's Creed Shadows development team has thanked fans of the franchise for "the sheer amount of love and positivity" received since the game's long-awaited launch last week, which, the team said, had been "incredibly heartwarming".Assassin's Creed Shadows had a particularly rocky road to release, beset by delays and numerous online controversies, and an uncertain future for publisher Ubisoft in general. But, four days and two million players later - the end result appears to be a game the Assassin's Creed fanbase has taken to warmly, with numerous positive threads on the Assassin's Creed reddit, and a Very Positive user rating on Steam from those who have played.Eurogamer's Assassin's Creed Shadows review in video form.Watch on YouTube"This weekend, many of us on the Dev Team spent time reading your reactions across the Assassin's Creed subreddit - and we just want to say thank you," a message from the Ubisoft Quebec development team stated. "The sheer amount of love and positivity we've received has been incredibly heartwarming."The team's message comes in response to a popular thread on the Assassin's Creed subreddit over the weekend with over 2.3k upvotes, sending thanks to the Shadows team for a job well done, with particular praise for the game's visuals, combat and exploration mechanics."We came across this post in particular," the team continued, referencing that fan thread, "and it really moved us. Seeing your excitement, your thoughtful reactions, and your joy has meant the world to us. After years of hard work, there's nothing more rewarding than watching the community connect with what we've created."While we don't reply directly, please know we're listening. The entire Dev Team has been reading your posts - the celebrations, the feedback, the theories - and it's been inspiring. It fuels us. And it helps us keep improving."The Assassin's Creed Shadows team closed with a nod to the future, and the game continuing to change and grow over the coming months through future patches and expansions - the first of which comes free to anyone who pre-ordered the game."Thank you for being part of this journey with us. This is just the beginning for Shadows, and we're thrilled to see the game evolve with you by our side."'Where other men blindly follow the truth, remember... nothing is true.'""Majestic in scope, impressive in detail, Ubisoft's epic adventure honours the beauty of feudal Japan, even if its strongest moments are saved for the personal stories of its two protagonists," I wrote in Eurogamer's Assassin's Creed Shadows review.