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March 24, 20258 min readThe U.S. Governments Top UFO Scientist Has an Open Mind about Alien VisitationHave you seen something inexplicable in the sky? Jon Koslowski, director of the U.S. Department of Defenses All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, wants to hear from youBy Leonard David edited by Lee BillingsVideo footage of an Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon (UAP) event, captured by an infrared sensor onboard a U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft over the Rafael Hernandez Airport near Aguadilla, Puerto Rico on April 26, 2013. In the full footage, the UAP seems to move at high speed, split into two objects, and fly into and out of the ocean. A subsequent assessment by the U.S. Department of Defenses (DOD) All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) found that the event can be explained as a trick of perspective, in which two slow-moving objects traveling linearly near to each other only appear to be a single object splitting in two, and do not enter the sea at any point. The appearance of U.S. DOD visual information does not imply or constitute DOD endorsement. U.S. Department of DefenseWhether captured in declassified military footage or in smartphone videos uploaded to social media, UFOs are swarming Earths skies and demonstrating capabilities so astonishing that they must represent technologies that are advanced beyond any available on Earth. Clearly, these sightings point to the involvement of space aliensor perhaps just a global cabal of nefarious humans with ultraspiffy, above-top-secret flying machines that routinely break the known laws of physics.At least, thats what modern-day folklore would have you believe, no matter how many times skeptics convincingly debunk sensational UFO sightings as mere misidentifications of conventional aircraft, sensor artifacts or natural phenomena.Regardless of what one personally believes about all this, whats certain is that claims of mysterious trespassers in American airspace are taken very seriously by the U.S. government for reasons of national security. Thats why, at Congresss behest, the U.S. Department of Defense established its All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) in July 2022. This office investigates reports of UFOs under the more generic rebranding of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs).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.AAROs work, however, isnt really about chasing down extraterrestrial invaders so much as it involves standardizing reporting methods, curating and analyzing datasets and assessing possible threats posed by UAPs. Think less Men in Black and more Pentagon desk jockeys with advanced degrees and highly classified rsums.The offices current director Jon Kosloski, who took over in August 2024, after the departure of his predecessor Sean Kirkpatrick in December 2023, is a good example of the archetype. His professional past is punctuated by National Security Agency research in networking and computing, optical light communications and cryptography, as well as his invention of an advanced language-agnostic search engine for the DOD.Dr. Jon Kosloski serves as the director of the U.S. Department of Defenses All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).U.S. Department of DefenseKosloski spoke with Scientific American about his vision and agenda for AAROand, of course, his thoughts on the extraterrestrial hypothesis for unexplained UAPs.[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]What milestones and directions do you and AARO foresee as you assess the UAP situation?We have quite a lot going on in the office. Were working diligently to make our AARO website available to the public so they can report an incident. We want to have a semiautomated processing chain to quickly bring those cases in and then look for correlations with other cases from government sources.Were also working on machine-learning and artificial intelligence tools so that we can look for correlations at a larger scale. AARO is also looking at better utilization of the whole fabric of U.S. government sensors that are available. That will help our case resolutions, but it also poses the potential challenge of looking at an awful lot of data.A last big push is for increased transparencyto find more efficient ways to share information with the public and the scientific community to help us in some of our investigations. Standardizing the UAP data is an initiativeto make it better suited for data science. As we do that, wed like having both the raw data as well as postprocessing data available to as wide of an audience as possible. But we need to respect the sensitivities of the sources and methods used to gather those data.Last November you testified before the Senate Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities. One point you raised was the importance of removing the stigma of reporting a UAP event. How much of a problem is that?It seems to have diminished quite a bit, thankfully, through a variety of public endeavors. I think it does persist, for example, with local law enforcement and some military members, however. They have experienced some pushback themselves from discussing events that theyve been a part of but have come forward and shared that information with AARO. So maybe the stigma is reduced but not completely gone. Good progress is being made, but probably theres a little ways to go.AARO has reportedly deployed the Gremlin Systema multisensor networked system for detecting, tracking and characterizing UAPsin an undisclosed location. What is the status of this project?Gremlin is envisioned to be a test bed for sensor evaluations and sensor fusion. We expect it to be a living system, always evolving. We will be swapping in and out new sensors and algorithms for various approaches. We want to document what we learn and share that with the public and other organizations inside the government. The hope is they can take what we have learned and replicate that.Gremlin itself is going quite well and is very robust. It has been running out in the wild for several months now, gathering data using radar, electro-optical and infrared cameras and some electromagnetic sensors. Gremlin is pulling all that in and detecting events in real time. We havent found anything particularly interesting yet.... But there are a few interesting sightings that are worth investigation.What does a few interesting sightings mean, exactly?Interesting from our perspective. It is not obvious what the object is. It is unidentified. It has some anomalous characteristics. And in these cases, the object appears to be [moving] rather quickly. But it doesnt appear to [be using] standard aircraft beacons. There could be multiple explanations for that, so were not jumping to any conclusions. But they are worthy of further investigation.UFO groups continually demand full disclosure, by which they mean more than transparent data sharingnamely, the full disclosure of putative secret evidence that Earth has been visited by some form of alien intelligence. For AARO, if you come up with a head-scratcher of an unknown phenomenon, how would you disclose that fact?There are two things we have to consider. One is the owner of the data. We would need to work with the data owner to make sure that we are not revealing sensitive information about sources and methods.But putting that aside, there is nothing inherently classified about an anomalous event or phenomenon. So we would work with our leadership to document that well, study it and then produce a product that can be shared widely with the community. There is no inherent reason why we would sit on these anomalies, if we did come across something truly perplexing.Given that many full-disclosure advocates would insist that the absence of evidence for alien visitation just further confirmed a government cover-up, it seems like any push you could make for transparency as leader of AARO would, in some respects, be doomed to failure. So why take on the assignment in the first place?I love difficult scientific challenges. In general, I enjoy the chase of trying to understand the mystery and solving puzzles. UAPs, by their very nature, are rare events. [That means] data acquisition is difficult, and theres a sensor design challenge. I think getting the data we need has been somewhat neglected.There are groups, such as Avi Loebs Galileo Project, that are working on better data acquisitionwhich is fantastic. But we in the U.S. government could do better. As a mathematician and data scientist, I enjoy poring through the data, looking for the subtle correlations and teasing out the threads to identify hypotheses and get the scientific method started.Doing that with a well-qualified groupwith experts from inside AARO, as well as from across the U.S. government, and hopefully partnering with academia, toowas just too good of an opportunity to pass up.How does AARO engage academia?Right now we are primarily focused on a few key partnerships with University Affiliated Research Centers [UARCs]. [Editors Note: UARCs are DOD-supported research organizations that are affiliated with a university and offer specialized expertise.] For example, AARO worked with the Georgia Tech Research Institute [a nonprofit applied research organization at the Georgia Institute of Technology] to develop the Gremlin System. As a UARC, the Georgia Tech Research Institute partnered with AARO. Because of the nature of the contractual relationships, we can share the data that we have. In broader engagements with academia, there is the key step of downgrading classification to ensure we can release the information. We are working on that. Also, an important partnership is with the National LaboratoriesOak Ridge National Laboratory, for instance, has assisted AARO with some of its material analysis. But right now the focus has been on those few key UARCs.Is it really accurate to say youre being transparent while also dealing with sensitive, classified data?Its a challenge. AARO should be as transparent as possible, and we are working in that direction. At the same time, we need to respect the sensitivities of the sources and methods used to gather the information that is relevant to UAPs. Ultimately, we are also working with our partners to release as much information as possible about the full context in which that data was gathered.It is a time-consuming process. But there are reasons why the U.S. government needs to protect those sources and methods so that we dont put them at risk.Recent reports of mysterious drones over New Jersey and elsewhere sparked a lot of public interest and discussionand Im sure you and your AARO colleagues were paying close attention, too. Whats your take on that situation?Misidentification does account for a number of UAP sightings. AARO has been working on educational materials about common misunderstandings, such as Starlink flaring, as we call it, or [confusing visual] phenomena such as parallax. Were sharing that with the public so that they understand what they are looking at.Specifically, with the New Jersey incidents, none of those were reported to AARO as being anomalous. Certainly, many of them were unidentified, whether they were drones or airplanes or other objects. They werent behaving in a way that was identified by the people at the time as being anomalous, so we didnt take the lead on any of those investigations. But we were in contact with a number of federal organizations, offering our support.Do you have any advice for true believers who are convinced that aliens are visiting Earths skies?I dont have advice per se. I dont want to be the thought police. I think everyone is welcome to approach this topic however they like. As I came into this subject, however, I tried to approach it without bias in either direction. Im open to any possibility. Sometimes an unusual event is just a sensor artifact, sometimes just a balloon.We do have some events in our holdings that are really peculiar, and I dont know yet whats behind those. But because we dont know whats behind them, we also cant attribute them to anything in particular. And that includes extraterrestrial sources.Any closing thoughts on your primary objectives for AARO? And how do you feel about the big, daunting question Are we alone?Im impatient and, being a data scientist, I am also a data hog. I want more data, and I want it quicker so that we can get to the heart of these problems. It boils down to asking ourselves, What type of data is it going to take to prove to the scientific community, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this anomalous phenomenon was not a sensor artifact and is, indeed, something truly peculiar?And I feel thats going to require multiple sensors gathering the same event from different perspectives at the same time.My goal is for AARO to be able to enhance our national security by increasing domain awareness, ensuring that we understand everything that is operating in space, in the air and maritime environments, as well as those trans-medium objects [UAPs that seemingly slip between, say, the sky and the sea].I think its plausible that theres life out there. I havent yet seen the substantial evidence I need to convince me that extraterrestrial life has found its way to Earth as yet, but I am open to anything.

March 25, 20254 min readCould a Blood Test One Day Predict Postpartum Depression?Too few people get diagnosed and treated for postpartum depression. But a blood test could change thatBy Sara Novak edited by Tanya Lewis Elena Medvedeva/Getty ImagesPostpartum depression (PPD) affects 10 to 20 percent of birthing parents globally with debilitating effects, including depression, severe mood swings, withdrawal from family and friends, and an inability to bond with their baby. Although a previous major depression diagnosis is a risk factor, many people with PPD have never had any depression symptoms. But new research could help us better understand who is most likely to experience the condition and potentially predict it so that pregnant people can seek treatment before the onset of symptoms.In the study, published in January in Neuropsychopharmacology, researchers confirmed through a blood draw taken from 136 people between 34 and 36 weeks of pregnancy that women who were later diagnosed with PPD metabolized the sex hormone progesterone differently in their third trimester of pregnancy. Progesterone is derived from cholesterol and has many roles, including influencing gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter that affects the nervous system and enhances a feeling of well-being. When progesterone is broken down into metabolites, the ratio of these chemicals, known as neurosteroids, can either block or aid GABAs ability to deliver calming effects.When GABA receptors are activated, they allow negative ions to flow into the neuron. This makes it more negatively charged, which blocks neuronal activity and has a soothing effect. But when these receptors shunt GABA, they cannot send negative ions through the neuron and dampen the stress response. Study participants who went on to develop PPD tended to have more progesterone in their blood because it wasnt broken down at all or had a higher proportion of the metabolites that shunt GABA receptors.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.Predicting symptoms of PPD is crucial for a condition that is notoriously underdiagnosed in the U.S. Only around 3 percent of people with PPD are diagnosed, treated and reach remission, says Lauren M. Osborne, the new studys lead author and the vice chair of clinical research in the department of obstetrics and gynecology and psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine. If we had a blood test that could predict postpartum depression, it would alert clinicians and patients so they could start treatment immediately postpartum in the hospital to prevent the onset of postpartum depression, she says. The next step will be to replicate the study in a larger and more diverse population to see if the findings hold up. Osborne notes that researchers are still many steps away from producing a cost-effective blood test that could be used as a regular part of prenatal care.This is important, as [postpartum] depression is often only recognized at a relatively late stage, and then the long-term consequences for both mother and child are generally more severe, says Elseline Hoekzema, a neuroscientist who runs the Pregnancy and the Brain Lab at Amsterdam University Medical Center and was not involved in the study. If the condition goes undiagnosed, it can become dire. Suicide is currently a leading cause of maternal mortality in the U.S. It accounts for about 20 percent of postpartum deaths.Osborne says that the blood test could also be used in conjunction with a relatively new, already-available treatment that uses a similar mechanism to quell symptoms. The medication, called zuranolone, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2023. Its a synthetic version of allopregnanolone, a progesterone metabolite thats been found to enhance GABA functioning in the brain. If a lower progesterone level or higher ratio of allopregnanolone to pregnanolone inhibits GABA and causes postpartum depression, researchers may already have an effective tool for treating those at high risk.The oral medication hasnt been tested on pregnant people, so we dont know if its safe for the pregnant person or fetus. But it has been shown to effectively reduce postpartum depression symptoms almost immediately for some people, and it achieves full effectiveness within a two-week course of treatment. This is in contrast with traditional antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which can take months to start working.But there are caveats. The medication could be problematic for new parents who dont have help with childcare because the most prominent side effect when the drug is being taken is intense drowsiness and fatigue. New parents taking the drug would benefit from having someone else around who can respond to the babys needs during the two-week course of treatment.Jamie Maguire, a professor of neuroscience at Tufts University School of Medicine, says that the research also points to clues about what could be going wrong in those with PPD. It not only tells us a potential biomarker that we can use but it also tells us something about the underlying neurobiology of postpartum depression, says Maguire, who was not involved in the study. She adds that it confirms something that researchers have suggested for years: that the cause of PPD is different from that of major depression, which has been associated with an imbalance of other neurotransmitters in the brain, such as serotonin and dopamine.The new studys findings come none too soon for a condition that has long been understudied, lacks treatments and tools, affects half a million people in the U.S. annually and continues to carry undue stigma because so many people suffer silently. This could be really impactful for patient care, Maguire says.IF YOU NEED HELPIf you or someone you know is struggling or having thoughts of suicide, help is available. Call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or use the online Lifeline Chat.

Fortnite adding The Walking Dead assets, including Negan's baseball bat, so you can make your own skull-cracking mini-gamesWhile in-game files reveal Sabrina Carpenter.Image credit: Fox / Island Records News by Tom Phillips Editor-in-Chief Published on March 25, 2025 Fortnite will return to the world of The Walking Dead by offering up a cache of assets for players and developers to go build themed mini-games with.Characters from The Walking Dead TV show such as Rick, Michonne and Daryl previously popped up in Fortnite as player skins. This latest crossover with Robert Kirkman's zombie franchise will add antihero Negan - responsible for perhaps the series' most grisly moment - as a skin next. Negan's baseball bat Lucille is among the items from the franchise being added as props to Fortnite. A selection of comic book-inspired walkers (zombies) will also be included. Additionally, you'll be able to switch on a post-processing effect to make in-game experiences have more of a comic book-style effect.Watch on YouTubeIn a press release, Epic Games said it hoped the assets would inspire The Walking Dead "role-playing survival RPGs, prison escape roguelikes, and chaotic freefor-all shoot 'em ups" to be made in Fortnite.As with previous licenses, such as Lego, creators of user-made experiences agree to share 12 percent of Fortnite's engagement payout with the owner of the property - in this case, Skybound.In other Fortnite news, today's latest update to the game has included files relating to Sabrina Carpenter (as spotted by prolific Fortnite leaker ShiinaBR), all but confirming the Espresso-loving popstar as the next icon set to take centre stage in the game's Guitar Hero-esque Fortnite Festival mode. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Previous stars such as Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and Snoop Dogg have become available as skins in-game alongside their arrival as the next Fortnite Festival headliner, with a season pass for the mode that includes a selection of digital instrument cosmetics and music tracks by the artist. And finally, today brings the launch of Fortnite OG Season 3. This takes the classic version of Fortnite into the era of the meteor - now, incredibly, seven years ago.

Phantom Blade Zero aims to beat Black Myth: Wukong and revive the "golden age" of kung fu cinema"Everyone now realises there is potential for a Chinese-made game to make 30m copies in half a year."Image credit: S-Game Preview by Ed Nightingale Deputy News Editor Published on March 25, 2025 When Chinese action game Phantom Blade Zero was first revealed to the world, it drew countless comparisons to FromSoftware's Souls games, to the point its director (the appropriately-nicknamed "Soulframe" Liang) had to repeatedly downplay the influence. More recently, as more of Phantom Blade Zero has been shown, it's been compared favourably to the Ninja Gaiden series for its combo-led combat. So where exactly does it sit on this spectrum?According to the people making it, it's both. I spoke with Liang and the S-Game team at this year's Game Developers Conference (GDC), where I was taken through Phantom Blade Zero's three key influences. Firstly, the game has the combo-driven combat of Devil May Cry, though it's more approachable with less complex inputs. Secondly, it has the level design of Dark Souls with its interconnected maps, though it omits the high cost of death. Thirdly, it takes the creepy, thick atmosphere of Resident Evil 4 or Alan Wake, but with a new aesthetic the team describes as kung fu punk."I don't think that is a frustration, it's just something to help the players to understand the game better," said Liang, when I asked if the frequent Souslike comparison was frustrating. "Although there was a misunderstanding and now there are more people comparing us to Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry, which is the other way around. But maybe this is a way to help another group of players to understand or anticipate the game. There's something for both sides."But for us, it's hard to label our game as a pure Souls game, nor hack and slash. It's just something in between. It's a way to tell a story."Phantom Blade Zero - Year of the Snake Gameplay Trailer | PS5 GamesWatch on YouTubeLiang admitted simply borrowing from other games would make the game too generic; instead he wants to create a coherent game as a "whole piece of art", based on two philosophies.The first is the idea of a playable kung fu film. "We want to call back the golden age of Hong Kong kung fu movies from the 1970s, starting from Bruce Lee and then Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Donnie Yen," he said. "The trend has faded out since the early 2000s so we want to go back to that and try to bring the trend back." And as a Chinese studio, S-Game aims to fulfill this mission authentically, from its motion capture to film inspiration. Liang cites kung fu action game Sifu from French studio Sloclap as a comparison: "If a French studio can do something like that, why couldn't we do something even more authentic from Chinese culture?". Just as Sifu has a side-scrolling combat sequence inspired by 2011 Indonesian film The Raid, Phantom Blade Zero will also feature special combat scenarios with its own "alley of death".The second philosophy is taking inspiration from 90s game development to ensure the scope is manageable. "We want to get back to the PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 era," said Liang, "when the games were not so big, the budgets not sky high, the team manageable, and all the developers were passionate and creative and with experience. It's like a bigger indie game, but with budget and with experience and with a stable hand, and everything feels so integrated from the starting point when you press down the Start button to the finish point of the staff list."That said, there's the small matter of last year's phenomenally successful Black Myth Wukong. Liang admitted the Phantom Blade Zero development team has received both more resources and more pressure from Wukong's success - both games have received investment from Tencent. "Everyone now realises there is potential for a Chinese-made game to make 30m copies in half a year," he said.Expectations are high, then, but the results already speak for themselves. The S-Game team showed me a presentation detailing reactions to Phantom Blade Zero on social media since its reveal. And while Wukong's trailers are the most viewed within China, it's outperformed by Phantom Blade Zero in the rest of the world. For a quick comparison, the launch trailer for Wukong received 2.8m views on the game's YouTube channel and 3m views on the PlayStation channel. Meanwhile, Phantom Blade Zero's announcement trailer on the PlayStation channel has 5.3m views. Here's the puppet master... | Image credit: S-GameSo far, Phantom Blade Zero appears to be living up to those expectations. I previously played the game at last year's Gamescom, where I was impressed with its speedy and stylish combat that marries quick combos with snappy parry and dodge mechanics as the protagonist - with good timing - spins behind enemies in slow-motion to retaliate.At GDC, I was able to take on a new boss, the Chief Disciple of the Seven Stars - a sort of puppet master whose minions must be defeated to prevent healing - as well as test some new weapons, all seen in the game's latest Year of the Snake trailer (above). While the first phase of the fight was manageable, the second phase has the boss dangling on strings with some bizarre animations. Unlike Souls games, the second phase acts as a checkpoint to ensure the battle is approachable, but that doesn't mean it's easy. Still, once the parry and dodge buttons clicked into place in my head and hands, the combat felt sublime. ...and the minions. | Image credit: S-GameA big part of that is the fluid animations - S-Game has created a library of animations to ensure smooth transitions between combat moves and dynamic responses during battles. And those animations were all motion captured using real martial artists for that authentic kung fu feel - yes, even the puppet master dangling on a wire. The final game will also include 30 primary weapons and 20 secondary weapons to utilise, all based on historically accurate weapons but with punk modifications. S-Game has additionally revealed an Extreme difficulty mode where attack patterns have been wiped in favour of intelligent AI that replicates a PvP feel, a feature added after feedback from players wanting a higher challenge.Beyond these features, what's particularly notable is the studio has shown little of the narrative its combat is focused on. Indeed, Liang told me all combat shown so far - including the puppet master boss - is from optional side content. So while what we've seen has been impressive enough to rival one of the biggest success stories of the past couple of years, there's still far more to come. No wonder the game remains frustratingly without a release date.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereThere are a lot of dream collaborations fans have for Dead By Daylight. One is actually happening very soon with Five Nights At Freddys, meanwhile, Tokyo Ghoul is fully releasing soon, too. While these are two huge crossovers for DBD, a famous horror movie director has approached Dead By Daylight devs for a dream collaboration.Horror movie director approaches Dead By Daylight devs for collaborationDon Coscarelli is a famous horror movie director with a passionate fanbase. He has done more than just horror with fantasy movies such as The Beastmaster, but arguably their most iconic and beloved film is the horror movie, Phantasm.Phantasm is a horror series that features an iconic character called the Tall Man. There have been requests before for the Tall Man to be added to Dead By Daylight, and such requests have been repeated again.Dead By Daylight YouTuber, Paulie Esther, posted on X, can we get a Tall Man legendary skin from Phantasm for the Skull Merchant and sentinal spheres for the drones if this Skull Merchant rework goes through? You gotta admit they have the same walk.Surprisingly responding to Esther, Don Coscarelli said, My DMs are open, while tagging the official Dead By Daylight account, as well as game director and BeHaviour Interactives head of partnerships, Mathieu Cote.Image credit: @DonCascarelli on XDon Coscarelli approaching BeHaviour Interactive is fantastic, but hes by no means the only famous person to publicly want a crossover with DBD. The Terrifier creator has previously said they want Art in DBD, Red Barrells have said theyre open to an Outlast Chapter, and Nine Ice Kills have said theyre totally down for a collaboration, too.A Tall Man legendary skin would be fantastic or getting him as a solo paragraph killer would be even better. Sadly, nothing is officially happening right now, and we currently dont know any crossovers coming to DBD beyond Five Nights At Freddys.For more Dead By Daylight content, check out ourranking of the top 10 DLC expansions to buyalong with a ranking of thebest killer perksandbest survivor perks.Dead by DaylightPlatform(s):Google Stadia, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Action, Survival Horror7VideoGamerSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereArrowhead has just released the patch notes for Helldivers 2 update 01.002.201. The best part of this update is that it has fixed weapon-ruining bugs from the patch released prior to the HD2 Borderline Justice Warbond. However, as discovered by the community, the new Helldivers 2 update has also delivered a secret massive buff for one of the coolest support weapons.New Helldivers 2 delivers secret massive buffFollowing the release of the new Helldivers 2 update, players on Reddit have shared a massive buff not mentioned in the patch notes. This buff is for the Quasar Cannon, and, as shared by OP Scarlet_Knowledge, After first shot, Quasar Cannon will be charging no matter what.Gameplay of the buff can be seen in the embedded Reddit post below:Theres no mention of this in the patch notes, so it is presumably a bug. As of writing, no one from Arrowhead has responded to this secret buff on the games official Discord.Unfortunately, because of how significant and unintended the buff is, its more than likely going to get reverted very soon. The Quasar Cannon is already deadly enough, and not having to charge the cannon will definitely make it too OP.Right now, wed encourage exploiting the bug as much as possible before it gets fixed. We dont know when it will get fixed as no one from Arrowhead has mentioned it yet, but a hotfix could be delivered very soon.As for how the bug has occurred, fans are assuming Arrowhead accidentally applied the chargeup thing from the new laser revolver to the quasar.For more Helldivers 2, check out our guide to thebest warbonds ranked, along with thebest stratagemsandbest throwables. We have also a guide to thebest weapons, and, if youre coming back to HD2 for the first time in a long while, we have a bunch oftips and tricksto help you get reaccustomed to the battlefield.Helldivers 2Platform(s):PC, PlayStation 5Genre(s):Action, Shooter, Third Person8VideoGamerSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

Its a gray, rainy day in February in Munich. You can hear the hum of a commuter train in the distance. Not far from the citys Perlacher Forst, a forested park near a residential area with a cluster of prefab buildings and apartment blocks in soft pastel shades. This is where creative director Alexander Freudenberger and his partner, artist Hannes Heinrich, found their new home. High up on the fifth floor, the couple turned a monotonous 764-square-foot apartment into something that undeniably reflects their individual styles. It is a remarkable example of how a rigid and utilitarian apartment can be transformed into a home that is light and stylish, which still being functional. In its renovated state, it has little in common with other apartments in the neighborhood. Together with architect Sebastian Kofink, they completely rethought the floor plan and installed smart and discreet custom furniture.Artist Hannes Heinrich (left) and creative director Alexander Freudenberger, sitting on a classic armchair by Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand. Painting by Andreas Breunig.Art: Constantin Mirbach; Le Corbusier, Sessel F.L.C. / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025; Charlotte Perriand & Pierre Jeanneret, Sessel VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025AD: Alexander, Hannes, you moved from the center of Munich to the outskirts of the city. Were now on the fifth floor of a concrete building from 1969 near Perlacher Forst. What connection do you have to this place?Freudenberger: I actually spent the first year of my life in this part of Munich, and my grandparents had a small house here. Im also half American, and when my father came to Germany, he initially worked in the McGraw Barracks, which are just around the corner. This means that although I grew up in the center of Munich, Ive always had a very deep connection to this place. I would describe myself as primarily an urban person, and that I had moved away from this area and into the heart of the city. Its very quiet here, a bit stuffy and not really urban. But now I appreciate it again. Deep down, I realize that this is where I come from.Alexander, you inherited this apartment and then you lived in London for a while. When did you decide to take on this project and, as your working name for the project so beautifully put it, to approach it as a tabula rasa?Freudenberger: It was a kind of new beginning for me. I didnt really feel like a Munich resident when I returned. So the name fit the attitude I was adopting, to interpret this place in a completely new way.That sounds like a big challenge ...Freudenberger: Of course it was, but sometimes youre also driven a little by naivety. When you take on such a big project for the first time, you dont really know how long it will take or how much youll have to invest. You learn as you go and youre smarter when its done.How big did you originally think the project would be?Freudenberger: At first, we thought wed just renovate the apartment a touch, because nothing had been done to it for a long time. Wed simply bring everything up to date.Heinrich: We didnt have any time frame. We thought wed do everything in phases. But we quickly realized that we actually had to do everything all at once. Its not what we wanted to do. Instead it was forced on us. We quickly realized that when you make one decision, its linked to many others. When you decide where you want to place the kitchen, that impacts the bathroom, the electrical, and other parts of the apartment. Everything is connected.Optical illusion? The entrance area is lined on the right and left by practical built-in cupboards from Holzlwe in Munich, with mirrored doors set at a slight angle.Did you work with anyone to help you design and execute the project?Freudenberger: We realized early on that our interest in architecture and interiors wouldnt be enough. Then we called our friend and architect Sebastian Kofink. Initially we turned to him as another set of eyes, an unbiased consultant, and then his role evolved in a positive way. He found the space and its context as part of the larger housing development, which is somewhat unusual, very interesting.Heinrich: We quickly realized that we didnt want to make any compromises, and thats where working with an architect helped us a lot. He was even more radical in his thinking and he knew exactly what we could do.Freudenberger: Once Sebastian was involved, we decided that we would design the apartment specifically for us. It would be completely tailored around how we live.What specific requirements did you have?Freudenberger: We knew that we like to spend time in the bathroomin the spirit of prioritizing self-careand we wanted it to feel like a hotel bathroom. We also have a lot of clothes, so sufficient closet space was an essential.Heinrich: We wanted to create a sense of clarity without having to throw away everything we own. We also wanted to break up the apartments very conventional organization to allow natural light to reach every corner of the unit.Freudenberger: When you live together in the same apartment, you truly are together. We wanted a sense of spaciousness, but we also wanted to be connected. So apart from the bedroom, we didnt want any of the space to feel closed off and behind doors.Surprise! The bedroom is hidden behind a mirrored door.When it comes to budgets, most people approach properties they own differently from rentals. What limits did you set for yourself for this project?Freudenberger: We learned that as soon as you have set a budget, you can quickly forget about it. Its absolutely true that when youre doing a project for yourself, you tend to push yourself to your financial limit, which can be a bit painful on your savings sometimes. But in return, you get exactly what you want. But of course, you do ask yourself at time whether its worth investing so much time and money.Heinrich: Even if you exceed your limits, you still need to start with ones in order to create a working budget. Sometimes there will be individual items where spending more than you originally anticipated feels justified, but in the end you have to look at everything in the context and consider the final sum. We handled it similarly in terms of time. We set ourselves a very broad time frame, but here too we realized that we would have to give notice on our apartment at some point and that would make the schedule tighter. Otherwise, there are always tasks that you can choose to put off. There are also the production times to consider and those can make everything stretch out even longer.The ceramic stool next to the bed is by Anne Seiler.The couple bought the bed from ReFramed years ago.What challenges did the project present?Freudenberger: Its a luxury when you get to work with people who know their stuff and bring in people they trust, so you dont have to figure out everything yourself. Our architect managed the project very closely with us.Heinrich: There are always lots of challenges, but when everything turns out well in the end, you quickly forget about them.Freudenberger: There were some cracks in the wall, for example, so a structural engineer had to come in to assess them. The apartment building was constructed in 1969, using different methods than we would use today. We were often faced with hard questions where we needed help.Its good that you had an expert at your side. Why did you decide to have custom cabinets made for the kitchen and not just buy pre-made ones?Hannes: Yes, all the cabinets were made by a single source, the millworkers at Holzlwe in Munich. First there was the cube in the entrance area with a bathroom. It really does look like a small machine for living. The closet and washing machine are on one side, and the bathroom with additional cupboards is located at the back. Perhaps we were inspired here by British interiors. We wanted everything to be an integral part of the architecture. It shouldnt just be a matter of filling rooms, and instead everything should be interlinked and work together. We didnt accept any compromises. We knew we wanted a mirrored wall on the opposite side of the space, so we tried to find a solution working with the craftsmen.Freudenberger: I dont know if its because were both creatives, but when I have an idea, its really difficult for me to find a compromise. It may sound a bit cliched, but we dont compromise. There was no option except to have everything custom-made for us. Even though I love going into furniture stores and looking at everything, I would never find exactly what we wanted.Heinrich: The complexity of the plan also created the hope that when we were done, living here would be easier for us and that everything would be neat and tidy.An Aspide lamp from Gubi is placed on a red side table by Sebastian Herkner for Rolf Benz. The framed piece is by Laure Prouvost.Art: Laure Prouvost, Gemlde VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025Side table by Sebastian Herkner for Rolf Benz, Aspide lamp by Gubi.How do you design an apartment that works for you? What steps do you go through when thinking about the design?Freudenberger: You know what your preferences are and where you spend most of your time during the day. So we knew, for example, that we like eat-in kitchens. Living and cooking should take place in the same room. It helped us to imagine a typical day and how we moved around the home from hour to hour. For us, the day starts at the dining table, then well sit briefly on the couch, then we go to the bathroom and get dressed. Our day follows a certain choreography and we worked with that.You are both creative people, did that help you with designing the interiors?Freudenberger: I once read that for creative people, surrounding yourself with beauty prolongs your life. Thats why I believe that you have to choose very carefully which things you really want to live with. I dont want to have anything around me that I dont like or find visually appealing.Heinrich: I think our approach is a little different. Many people try to realize their visions very precisely and they look for an object that they can already see in their minds eye, whereas I tend to find something that I like and then think about what I can do with it.Thanks to the built-in units, you can count the number of separate pieces of furniture on two hands. How did you choose them?Heinrich: We found a lot on eBay. We searched, searched, and searched on the website. On the one hand, its cheaper than other options, but it also narrows down the number of options. Although I tend to use eBay more than Alexander does.Freudenberger: I prefer to go into a store and look at objects. But our approach resulted in a good mix.The glass lamp by Peill+Putzler complements the work Loneliness of the Night by Kaye Donachie.Did you want the style of the apartment building to be reflected in the interiors for the unit or did you want to consciously distance yourselves from it?Freudenberger: We didnt want to distance ourselves from it. We saw it as a challenge to work with what we had.Heinrich: We thought it was important not to compete with the existing architecture. Thats why we didnt opt for herringbone parquet flooring, for example, and its why we chose MDF for the built-in wardrobes. Theres something very subtle and modest about the materialalthough the built-in wardrobe is, of course, very high quality.Freudenberger: Id say that we celebrate what exists from the original unit. Were not creating an imitation old apartment here. We dont want to hide where we are and instead we celebrate it for what it is. At the same time were sitting here in a space thats completely different from what you might expect when you stand in front of the building.What is your favorite piece of furniture in the apartment?Heinrich: The couch.Freudenberger: The coffee machine [laughs]. No, I also like the mirrored wall. I love the fact that when you come in, youre slightly confused and dont immediately understand the room.This 764-square-foot apartment was originally published in AD Germany.In the living area, the Sumo sofa by Fatboy faces the shelving unit by Dieter Rams. The side table was also made by Holzlwe.Are you still missing something?Freudenberger: To be fully transparent: yes, an extractor hood.Would you like any additional room or space?Freudenberger: So far, everyone likes the fact that the apartment is exactly what we need, no more and no less. We think its very much of this moment not to take up more space than you need.Heinrich: I dont need more space either. It was precisely the challenge of using the things that were already here and exploiting the full potential of the space that was the most fun for me.A model of the apartment in front of art by Hannes Heinrich.Floor lamp by Joe Colombo for Sem Luci.Art: Le Corbusier, Sessel F.L.C. / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025; Charlotte Perriand & Pierre Jeanneret, Sessel VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025A detail of the apartment.A lamp from Peill+Putzler atop a vintage acrylic table.The artist Hannes Heinrich.Art: Jonah Gebka, Zeichnung VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025A work by Anne Seiler winds along the floor. On the wall above it, a work by Jonah Gebka.Art: Jonah Gebka, Zeichnung VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025The couple bought Lukas Hoffmanns work especially for the apartment.Alexander Freudenberger.The vintage IKEA table by Niels Gammelgaard is surrounded by three cantilevered chairs by Gastone Rinaldi that the couple bought at the liquidation of a law firm. The La Fonda armchair is by Vitra.Andreas Breunigs work perfectly matches the color scheme of the kitchen cabinets from Holzlwe.The Ribbon lamp is by Claire Norcross for Habitat.The kitchen was also made by Holzlwe in Munich.Rondel by Oskar Zieta.Art by Hannes Heinrich.The abundance of storage space and built-in cupboards allows the couple to put all their belongings neatly away.There are no conventional doors in the apartment; the bathroom has sliding ones.A view of the apartment.The bathroom is located directly behind the built-in cupboard in the entrance area.The design of hotel bathrooms provided inspiration for the couples bathroom. The fixtures are also from Holzlwe in Munich.New Masculinity by Harley Weir.The bathroom is accessible from two sides and the toilet and bath area can be separated by a sliding door.Reality calls: The light color of the poured concrete floor means that it needs to be vacuumed often.

While roses of many colors ramble all along the journey from the house through the orchard to the walled garden, the palette for the roses within the walls is mostly white, with a slight flush of pink. The only exception is Rosa Veilchenblau, a once-blooming hardy rambler grown over a rustic tripod in one of the large perennial beds. Its generous clusters of magenta-purple flowers, fading to a grayish lilac, tangle with the nodding lilac-colored blooms of Clematis Betty Corning. On the back wall, pale pink New Dawn blooms above Viburnum plicatum Mary Milton, whose blushing flowers accompany its rose companions. Nearby, the delicate gray-plum foliage of Rosa glauca is contrasted with the bold velvety chartreuse of Hydrangea aspera. The rambler Rural England sends its masses of flowers cascading down the rock face, to be joined later by Rosa setigera, a late bloomer planted by the gardener Tony Bielaczyc.