The Wabi Apartment in Riyadh, designed by Nshan Manougian, is where the Japandi design comes to life. We see soft neutrals, honest materials, and a deep sense of calm. Together, these elements blend together Scandinavian and Japanese charm—and intentionally. Let’s walk through the Wabi Apartment and see how every detail celebrates stillness. The living area invites you in with its low-profile sectional, upholstered in soft, natural fabric and perched on a minimal wooden base. This is paired with a sculptural lounge chair and a sleek, square coffee table. Simultaneously, the space is bathed in light from sheer floor-to-ceiling curtains. A cluster of pendant lights hangs above like paper lanterns, creating a soft rhythm. Moving into the kitchen, the warmth continues through flat-panel cabinetry in walnut tones. This is then accented by smooth white marble counters and backsplash. The island is both functional and sculptural—anchored by a unique, lantern-like pendant that adds softness. Subtle black fixtures provide contrast. The dining area is beautifully integrated, sitting beneath a pair of tiered pendant lights. A solid wood table is flanked by minimalist chairs and a bench with soft bolsters. Behind it, delicate Japanese-style wall panels with hand-painted plum blossoms offer a poetic backdrop. This bedroom features a low-slung bed, framed by integrated nightstands and softly glowing amber lamps that cast a gentle, golden hue. A feature wall of woven-style panels adds both texture and depth. To the side, a built-in desk and open shelving create a seamless flow between rest and quiet productivity. Finally, Shoji-style wardrobe doors bring a distinct Japanese influence to the room. The second bedroom in the Wabi Apartment is a quiet celebration of contrast. A low platform bed anchors the room with a sense of purpose and stillness, while the vertical stone panel behind it introduces an organic texture. To one side, a sculptural vanity setup with an undulating mirror offers personality. The light fixture above—woven and glowing—adds a subtle nod to traditional Japanese craft. Opposite the bed, a beautifully crafted storage wall brings in rhythm and order. Perforated cane panels slide open to reveal shelving. In true Japandi fashion, the kids’ room in The Wabi Apartment is a space that honors childhood curiosity without compromising on calm and cohesive design. The room features a built-in climbing gym with ropes, rings, and a mini climbing wall—encouraging movement and imagination. Just beside it, a custom bunk bed setup encourages a restful sleep. Storage is cleverly concealed behind cane-paneled cabinetry, while a cozy reading bench by the window offers the perfect pause for quiet moments. Finally, a compact, sculptural desk invites creativity without clutter. The bathroom in The Wabi Apartment is clad in warm stone-toned tiles with subtle texture. A floating concrete vanity, paired with matte black fixtures and an illuminated mirror, adds sculptural depth. The walk-in shower, framed by minimalist black grid glass, continues the Japandi language of clean lines and timeless materials.

Fans were quick to spot this cheeky design tweak.

PowerA’s premium Xbox controller has excellent party tricks.

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. How the federal government is tracking changes in the supply of street drugs In 2021, the Maryland Department of Health and the state police were confronting a crisis: Fatal drug overdoses in the state were at an all-time high, and authorities didn’t know why.Seeking answers, Maryland officials turned to scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the national metrology institute for the United States, which defines and maintains standards of measurement essential to a wide range of industrial sectors and health and security applications.There, a research chemist named Ed Sisco and his team had developed methods for detecting trace amounts of drugs, explosives, and other dangerous materials—techniques that could protect law enforcement officials and others who had to collect these samples. And a pilot uncovered new, critical information almost immediately. Read the full story. —Adam Bluestein This story is from the next edition of our print magazine. Subscribe now to read it and get a copy of the magazine when it lands! Phase two of military AI has arrived —James O’Donnell Last week, I spoke with two US Marines who spent much of last year deployed in the Pacific, conducting training exercises from South Korea to the Philippines. Both were responsible for analyzing surveillance to warn their superiors about possible threats to the unit. But this deployment was unique: For the first time, they were using generative AI to scour intelligence, through a chatbot interface similar to ChatGPT.  As I wrote in my new story, this experiment is the latest evidence of the Pentagon’s push to use generative AI—tools that can engage in humanlike conversation—throughout its ranks, for tasks including surveillance. This push raises alarms from some AI safety experts about whether large language models are fit to analyze subtle pieces of intelligence in situations with high geopolitical stakes. Here are three open questions to keep your eye on as the US military, and others around the world, bring generative AI to more parts of the so-called “kill chain.” Read the full story. This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 The FCC wants Europe to choose between US and Chinese technologyTrump official Brendan Carr has urged Western allies to pick Elon Musk’s Starlink over rival Chinese satellite firms. (FT $)+ China may look like a less erratic choice right now. (NY Mag $) 2 Nvidia wants to build its AI supercomputers entirely in the USIt’s a decision the Trump administration has claimed credit for. (WP $)+ That said, Nvidia hasn’t said how much gear it plans to make in America. (WSJ $)+ Production of its latest chip has already begun in Arizona. (Bloomberg $) 3 Mark Zuckerberg defended Meta in the first day of its antitrust trialHe downplayed the company’s decision to purchase Instagram and WhatsApp. (Politico)+ The government claims he bought the firms to stifle competition. (The Verge)+ Zuckerberg has previously denied that his purchases had hurt competition. (NYT $) 4 OpenAI’s new models are designed to excel at codingThe three models have been optimized to follow complex instructions. (Wired $)+ We’re still waiting for confirmation of GPT-5. (The Verge)+ The second wave of AI coding is here. (MIT Technology Review) 5 Apple has increased its iPhone shipments by 10%It’s part of a pre-emptive plan to mitigate tariff disruptions. (Bloomberg $)+ The tariff chaos has played havoc with Apple stocks. (Insider $) 6 We’re learning more about the link between long covid and cognitive impairmentStudies suggest that a patient’s age when they contracted covid may be a key factor. (WSJ $) 7 Can’t be bothered to call your elderly parents? Get AI to do it How thoroughly depressing. (404 Media) 8 This video app hopes to capitalize on TikTok’s uncertain futureBut unlike TikTok, Neptune allows creators to hide their likes. (TechCrunch) 9 Meet the tech bros who want to live underwaterColonizing the sea is one of the final frontiers. (NYT $)+ Meet the divers trying to figure out how deep humans can go. (MIT Technology Review) 10 Google’s new AI model can decipher dolphin soundsIf they’re squawking, back away. (Ars Technica)+ The way whales communicate is closer to human language than we realized. (MIT Technology Review) Quote of the day “If you don’t like an ad, you scroll past it. It takes about a second.” —Mark Hansen, Meta’s lead lawyer, makes light of the Federal Trade Commission’s assertion that users of its platforms are inundated with ads during the first day of Meta’s monopoly trial, Ars Technica reports. The big story Recapturing early internet whimsy with HTML Websites weren’t always slick digital experiences.There was a time when surfing the web involved opening tabs that played music against your will and sifting through walls of text on a colored background. In the 2000s, before Squarespace and social media, websites were manifestations of individuality—built from scratch using HTML, by users who had some knowledge of code. Scattered across the web are communities of programmers working to revive this seemingly outdated approach. And the movement is anything but a superficial appeal to retro aesthetics—it’s about celebrating the human touch in digital experiences. Read the full story.  —Tiffany Ng 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 doesn’t love a good stroll?+ All hail Shenmue, the recently-crowned most influential game of all time.+ This Wikipedia-powered museum is really quite something (thanks Amy!)+ This spring’s hottest accessory is a conical princess crown. No, really.

Beats Cables have launched, with the premium cables from the Apple subsidiary including braided sleeves and a choice of colors wider than Apple's standard options.Beats Cables - Image Credit: Beats/AppleApple and Beats often include cables with their products, with Apple also offering extra cables in its online store. Now, consumers can pick up a Beats version for a bit of variety.Introduced on Tuesday, Beats Cables are a selection of reinforced charging cables. They use a tangle-free woven design for durability and minimal fraying, as well as giving it a more premium appearance than a typical plastic-coated cable. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

For the latest edition in the  How To Get A Job At ____ series, Alexander Walter chatted with Christiana Moss from Studio Ma. Donna Sink commented "This is such a great series." Photo by Bill Timmerman.Plus Archinect spoke with Jessica Orlando, about the AIA Pasadena & Foothill Chapter’s 'Ask an Architect' program aimed at helping homeowners impacted by the devastating Los Angeles Fires. News Nonprofits The Pew Charitable Trusts and Center for Building in North America released the "findings of the first-ever analysis of fire death rates in modern single-stairway buildings". Their report also "examines their potential benefits and risks, and provides relevant international comparisons." Thayer-D was excited "Legalizing these will be a boon to add much needed missing middle housing as well as getting smaller developers into the game, but best of all (from a pedestrian point of view), they make for much nicer streetscapes." Though, Edward Singer had doubts "Perhaps a 5 story type 3A b...

Developer Far From Home has announced that its survival game, Forever Skies, is now out of Early Access. The game, just got its 1.0 update, which brought with it a host of new content along with getting the game out of its Early Access period. Along with its official PC launch, Forever Skies is now also available on PS5. Check out the launch trailer below. Among the content that got added to Forever Skies thanks to its 1.0 update are new biomies, a host of new locations, and several new points of interest to explore. The new biomes are dubbed Silent City and Overgrown Ruins. Each biome will have its own unique vibe, and will have different things that players can scavenge for. Check out the full patch notes of the update below. Back when it had announced the 1.0 update release date for Forever Skies, Far From Home had also revealed a loose roadmap of future content for the game. Summer 2025, for instance, will be getting the Airship Expansion update. There is also a major content update planned for Fall 2025, and December will see a seasonal event. Forever Skies 1.0 Patch Notes: New content: World The world has been split into 3 different Biomes, with unique visuals – Silent City – Overgrown Ruins – New Nature Different gates surround different biomes – The Wall – Charged Blockade New locations – Cosmodrome – Workshop – AI-Tree Surface Lift – AI-Tree Roots New small locations / POIs – Loot Containers – Luciferin POIs – Three unique Colossal Life Form POIs Murals – 20+ unique world murals Story / Progression The story finale has been added with more than one possible ending New Research: Computers with blueprints for Airship parts Discoveries tab in the Studies menu showing all the collectibles (replacing Scanner tab) Lore tablets in the Ark Capsule Drop random event Tools & Devices Cutting Tool Extractor module: Organic Mural Frame New Balloons – Bulky – Flat – Tech Three Colossal Life Form Eggs for airship decoration Resources Luciferin Machine Scrap Technology Token Basic Research Part Advanced Research Part Unique Research Part Settings & UI Ingredients Auto Crafting added – you can now craft items in printers for which you don’t have all the necessary components, but you have resources to craft them. Scalable UI (up to 120%) HUD elements highlights (Select Item, Flashlight, Helm’s Lock Speed) for better visibility of useful key shortcuts HUD discoveries count while exploring locations All action bar slots are possible to bind A UI widget that shows when the game is being saved Difficulty settings description added to the main menu when starting a game Building mode description added to the main menu when starting a game Database button to mark all entries as read Option to leave the game to the desktop from the Pause Menu Gamepad input settings to Settings DLSS Frame Generator Changed: World / Locations The Lower Greenhouse platform changed into a small early standalone location Locations and their surroundings changed their height/altitude to adjust them to the relevant biomes Dust color presets have been assigned to each biome to make them look more visually distinct from one another Rains less often (every 15 minutes, more or less) Clients’ weather, especially rain, should now be better synchronised with the host’s session (small issues may still appear, though) Locations general level art and level design pass Sewer lid under Sleeping Lilies moved to its correct position on Underdust: Suburbs Moth Swarms spawn time reduced World generation minor changes to prevent spawning locations on other locations Collisions on some locations adjusted Story / Progression First Immunity drop moved from Greenhouse Tower to Underdust: Tunnels Second Immunity drop moved from Underdust: Tunnels to Overgrown Lift Researching Encrypted Data no longer needs Evolved Flora Hologram as its crafting component Food and Water tutorial quests made as optional Item economy balance to progress the main quest path has changed Extracting Biomass grants a blueprint for Biomass Fuel Organic Printer removed from the Blueprints menu Tools / Devices All special rewards from the Kickstarter campaign, the Holiday event and the WDC charity DLC have been moved from Device Fabricator into Furniture Fabricator Airship decoration items moved from Device Fabricator into Furniture Fabricator Boosters research recipes moved from Device Fabricator to Suit Printer tab Crossbow research recipe moved from Device Fabricator to Suit Printer tab Medium Backpack research moved from Device Fabricator to Upgrade Fabricator Bolt’s research moved from Device Fabricator to Suit Printer Radar visual changed to highlight surrounding biomes better – Biomes representation on the outer ring – The biome you’re currently exploring is represented by the background colour – Murals icons added – Container icons added – World events icons added Filtering Deck Extractor now allows you to select Biomass for extraction Basic Turbine and Advanced Turbine now give not only an altitude bonus but also a maximum weight bonus (+50 / +100 respectively) Altitude bonus for Advanced Turbine is now +30 (instead of +20) Airship ascends/descends faster now – it’s permanent, not related to Turbines Repair Thrower and Airship Builder now has a longer-lasting battery Both Automatic Extractors need Crystal Batteries Small Backpack moved from New Nature Territory to Greenhouse Tower Medium Backpack moved from Underdust: Suburbs to New Nature Territory Plant Oil and Organic Fertilizer are the default Distiller recipes now Low stamina animation with Knife plays its animation faster Wrecked versions of Repair Thrower and Paint Tool added so they match all the other Wrecked tools research process Crossbow bolts tweaked for a better lifespan, especially on long distances, e.g. for destroying the 3rd Biome gates Automatic Deck Extractor size reduced Automatic Deck Extractor crafting recipe changed (Fiberglass added) Metal Collector cannot be moved when there are some Metals gathered already Better detection range of Garden Pots placed under Sprinklers, less probability of those not being watered down with Sprinklers Sprinklers watering time reduced Sprinklers work when Garden Pots are out of water only Garden Pots collisions reduced so they can be placed closer together Paint Tool now contains 4 basic paints after acquiring this tool Airship The Ladder Room module now has a proper ladder matching climbing animation Landing the airship at high speed will no longer cause damage Resources / Balance Changes to flying debris: – Silicon is found in the Silent City biome – Biomass is found in the Overgrown Ruins biome – Glass is found in the New Nature biome Repair Patch stacks improved from 5 to 10 Biomass stacks changed from 50 to 100 Solid State Battery and Upgrade Fabricator crafting cost reduced Paint Tool moved from Furniture Fabricator to Suit Printer Energy Crystals are now craftable Fiberglass is now craftable All Keycards no longer need Access Modules as crafting ingredients Costs for crafting Polymer changed from 3 to 5 Plant Oil stacks Picking up a Firecracker plant now rewards with its fruits (with a random chance on getting its seed) Artifacts can’t be recycled anymore – they can only be sold in Artifacts Printers on the Dust Territories only Plants from the Overgrown Ruins biome need Organic Fertilizer for their growth process aboard your airship Plants that are pickable in Underdust locations only need Dust Fertilizer for their growth process aboard Radio Towers artifacts pool raised (from initial 2 to 6), so players can find a bigger variety of items Glowweed Seeds added as a loot on Infected Gardens Glowweed Seeds added and Petit Bruiseflower removed from Overgrown Lift Some plant spoiling timers were prolonged Rebalancing research and craft recipes Stacks Balance – Energy Crystal: 10->50 – Polymer: 20->50 – Epoxy: 20->50 – Transformer: 10->25 – Machine Parts: 25->50 – Synthetic Compound: 25->50 – Luciferin: 20->50 – Solid State Battery: 10->25 – Upgraded Battery: 10->25 – Copper Element: 25->50 – Virus samples 1->10 Energy Crystals can now be found on both Wild Habitat and New Nature Territory Energy Crystals can now be found in the Colossal Life Form cave in the New Nature biome Stamina Booster is now a reward from extracting Photophobia Virus Sample (previously assigned to Pyrexia) Biomass Fuel crafting recipe changed (Clean Water >> Dirty Water) Lobster Pepper plants added to Greenhouse towers again All Plants should have their boiled versions (instead of an Overcooked Meal) Synchronize the growing times with the water quantity in the soil Settings / UI Blueprint menu adjusted to uniform UI look Database entries stripped of any irrelevant data (like edible and nutrients sections) Suit Printer tab moved to the leftmost space in the Research Station Cooldowns to many repeatable VOs and message log lines Distiller message log informs about finishing the whole process instead of every stack of distilled liquid Hold time on an Insect Catcher device reduced Hold time on picking up placeable objects has been reduced Removed greyed out layer from locked slots, color change and paddle shake added instead Slight change in a selected inventory slot for better visibility Removed color coding from object health indicator, outline added instead Minor changes in UI for localization purposes Inventory gamepad bindings – “Move” is on Facebutton Bottom (X/A) and “Use” is on Facebutton Left (Square/X) Posters were rescaled Database icons and backgrounds adjusted Simplified controller’s Adaptive Triggers conditions for some tools Other Clients can’t join the session while the host is operating lift to or from Underdust locations to prevent further session problems Elevator ride “interactive loading screen” changed not to generate so many frame drops Scrapwing Hatchery no longer spawns when all players are sleeping at the same time Insect Catcher sound tweaked Player breathing sounds tweaked Player coughing sounds for Dust tweaked (oxygen threshold for coughing lowered) Ladder climbing sounds tweaked The virus, which the player is infected with, is named Grey Plague and updated in the Database entries Only the first intake of the Cure plays its animation Viewing Corner dimensions adjusted Stair Rooms dimensions adjusted Inverted Cockpit model adjusted General texts polish Many optimization works to boost the performance of the game – Further optimization of airship flight physics – Elevator rides should be less choppy – The intro movie should play more smoothly – Hosting a co-op game should now be less taxing on the host’s CPU – Other CPU-side optimization – Draw call reductions – Lighting optimization – Reduction of memory consumption of models and textures Fixes: Fixed a bug where Thunderstorms were looping indefinitely, which resulted in lowering performance Corner View room tops do not overlap with floors anymore, and its glass material has been corrected to standard airship modules’ glass Hanging Cabinet pivot lined with the center of the cabinet Fixed collisions on Infected Garden, blocking entry to one of the location branches Large Bloom Two-Deck Cockpit icon changed to a proper one Fixed a bug where the player could pick up Thorn Bee Hive, resulting in bees staying in the world forever Fixed a bug where players could rescue two Friendly Insect pets Fixed a bug where players couldn’t join a co-op session if their Steam names included some special characters Fixed a bug where clients in co-op sessions didn’t see plants growing Fixed a bug where non-picked-up items in buildings containing Wrecked Objects needed for main quest progression (e.g. Wrecked Basic Turbine) appeared again floating mid-air on the next visited locations Fixed a rare bug where the Sleeping screen (when a player got exhausted) didn’t fill the whole screen Fixed a bug where the Friendly Insect animation breaks when more than one player tries to pet it at the same time Fixed a bug where eating Green Colander raw treated the Pyrexia disease Fixed a bug where players caught anything other than Dust Moths during the tutorial Fixed a bug where clients in a co-op session didn’t see the dust on the Underdust: Suburbs Airship shouldn’t get stuck in a location’s geometry Fixed a bug where Charged Blockade sound wasn’t playing properly Fixed a bug where both biome gates weren’t playing sounds Underdust: Suburbs level design tweaked so Mantis enemies do not get stuck in the floor Fixed a bug where clients in a co-op session saw incorrect Docking Plank movement Fixed a bug where the Blueprints screen showed placeholder items on the first opening Fixed some bugs with levitating items Fixed bugs with the wrong interactive material setup for some objects Fixed a rare bug where the healing sound from a Medical Station didn’t end after healing was completed Fixed a bug where trigger for running a lift was present on the whole lift Fixed a bug where new Room frames were weirdly rotated in ghost mode Fixed a bug where player was stuttering while snapped to Helm during flight Fixed a bug where Filtering Bottle was showing durability 0/0 after crafting Fixed a bug where player could block themselves when building Balloon Core Fixed a bug when player is using a gamepad and is in the splitting menu, pressing anything on the mouse causes them to lose focus Fixed a bug with Dust shader visible on entering both combat locations Fixed a bug where Copper Elements on the Lower Wind Farm could be picked up again after saving and loading a game Fixed a bug where Alternator switch doors weren’t working on Underdust: Suburbs Fixed a bug with the wrong message being played and shown in the log when Engines were being placed Fixed a bug where items dropped on the airship were detached from it after save / load Fixed a bug where Moth Swarms were blocking players from interacting with world objects (no triggers were shown) Fixed a bug where some objects in a Greenhouse Tower weren’t visible for clients in a co-op session Fixed a bug where players couldn’t use the Artifact Trade Station properly with a controller Fixed a bug where clients in a co-op session saw some strange items in the middle of Underdust: Suburbs Fixed a bug where clients in a co-op session stopped seeing the Dust after they returned to the same location for the second time Fixed a bug where the crosshair disappeared after opening and closing the pause Menu Fixed a bug where clients, after joining a co-op session, saw an empty Radar (and it got refreshed only after moving the airship) Fixed a bug where some in-game screens lost their focus and couldn’t be interacted with when using a controller Fixed a bug where resources on a Standard Wind Farm lower landing pad were visible & floating midair after scanning the Wrecked Basic Turbine and then visiting a different Standard Wind Farm Fixed a bug where consuming items from dropped stacks removed the whole stack but gave a boost from a single item only Fixed a bug where clients, after joining a co-op session, couldn’t see the quest log on their HUD Fixed a bug where the Garden Pots preview stayed visible after the player moved the Sprinklers Fixed a bug where the ghost previews for Garden Pots, flickered while the airship was moving Fixed a bug where the Select Item menu was opening when the player wanted to pick up an object from the ground with a controller Fixed a rare bug where a client in a co-op session saw the Extractor ray pointed in a weird direction instead of towards the extracted object Fixed a bug with the player changing their look direction after using the Select Item menu with a controller Fixed a bug where Descent to the Underdust “!” mark stayed on the Radar after leaving this location Fixed a bug where Radar was placed upside down after loading a game or moving it Fixed a bug where player could lock their movement after using Cure from any container other than the inventory Fixed a bug where Friendly Insect Pet stayed in its cage after being rescued by a client in a co-op session Fixed a bug where Medical Station collisions prevented placement of other devices on the floor down below it Fixed a bug where a player standing from a chair could’ve been flying and falling off an airship Fixed a bug where a player using a controller had an additional, invisible row between Inventory and Backpack Fixed a bug where Friendly Insect Pet could get lost forever after player death Fixed a bug where Soft Cushion could be lost when placed on Catwalks and taken by a Scrapwing Hatchery Fixed a bug where blueprints in Artifact Trade Station and Technology Printer could be bought more than once Fixed a bug where the player couldn’t switch filters on an empty container of a Filtering Deck Extractor A set of vines, which could spawn on Wild Habitat arenas removed Level design and level art improved in some locations for a better exploration Several of the most common sources of a crashing game have been removed Final texture added to the recharge strap of the Extractor tool Known Issues: There’s a rare bug where the radial menu (C key bind) stops working and requires a save and reload to start working again There is a bug where the player’s position while using the Medical Station change when an airship is flying

Page-designed Indeed Tower in Austin, Texas (photo credit: Albert Vecerka/Esto). Canadian firm Stantec has signed a purchase agreement to acquire Page, a 1,400-person architecture and engineering firm headquartered in Washington, DC. The acquisition aims to deepen Stantec’s growth in areas such as advanced manufacturing, data centers, and healthcare, while strengthening Stantec’s U.S. offering in mission critical, academic, civic, cultural, aviation, science and technology, and commercial. “Page is a respected architecture and engineering firm with shared values and a commitment to design excellence and innovation,” said Gord Johnston, president and chief executive officer of Stantec. “This acquisition will greatly support our strategic market growth in our Buildings business while enabling us to leverage our expanded platform to better serve our North American clients and grow our worldwide market presence.” With the addition of Page, Stantec’s U.S. Buildings practice will grow by approximately 35 per cent and the company’s overall U.S. employee headcount will expand to approximately 13,500 people. The purchase will make Stantec the second-largest architecture firm in the U.S. Stantec intends to fund the acquisition through existing funds and credit facilities. Founded in 1898 in Austin, Texas, Page has offices in 20 cities across the U.S. and Mexico. “Together, we will support our clients with expanded reach, greater expertise, and deeper resources. Our strategic plans were to achieve domestic primacy and global influence for our team, joining Stantec positions us to accelerate these plans,” said Thomas McCarthy, Washington, DC-based chief executive officer of Page. “We are delighted to be joining Stantec and elevating the capabilities of our talented team.” The post Stantec to acquire design, architecture, and engineering firm Page appeared first on Canadian Architect.

Glowing ‘Milky Seas’ Have Baffled Sailors for Centuries—New Research Brings Scientists One Step Closer to Solving the Mystery Historical accounts of vast ocean waters glowing in the dark go back hundreds of years, and researchers are still trying to determine exactly what triggers the phenomenon Glowing "milky seas," seen here from satellites, have confused and captivated sailors for centuries. Colorado State University, CIRA and NOAA From the deck of the American clipper ship Shooting Star, sailors watched a mysterious and unsettling scene. Describing the incident in 1854, off the coast of Java, Indonesia, the captain wrote: “The whole appearance of the ocean was like a plain covered with snow. There was scarce a cloud in the heavens, yet the sky… appeared as black as if a storm was raging. The scene was one of awful grandeur—the sea having turned to phosphorus, and the heavens being hung in blackness, and the stars going out, seemed to indicate that all nature was preparing for that last grand conflagration, which we are taught to believe is to annihilate this material world.” This dramatic testimony is just one of many witness accounts documenting a rare, bioluminescent display aptly dubbed “milky seas.” The nighttime phenomenon, which makes vast stretches of ocean glow bright green or blue for up to months at a time, has confused sailors for centuries. Researchers have a tentative explanation for the event: “We strongly suspect—based on the characteristics of the light and how long it lasts—that it is bacteria,” Justin Hudson, an atmospheric scientist at Colorado State University, says in a statement. But that doesn’t clarify much. “It’s a question of, how do you take some of the smallest organisms on Earth and have them engage in some behavior that’s half the size of the state of Colorado?” Milky seas are currently unpredictable, making them all the more difficult to study. In fact, scientists are aware of only one photograph of the glow from sea level, captured in 2019. Now, however, researchers have taken a crucial step in solving the milky seas mystery. Hudson and his colleague Steven Miller, also a Colorado State University atmospheric scientist, have compiled records of milky seas sightings from the last 400 years into a database. By assembling eyewitness reports, testimonies submitted to the Marine Observer journal and satellite data, the pair of researchers identified 415 occurrences of the strange phenomenon throughout history. They hope the database will help scientists learn to predict the rare phenomenon in order to better study it. Not all testimonies come from scientists, and individuals without science backgrounds “capture the information completely differently,” Abigail McQuatters-Gollop, a plankton ecologist at University of Plymouth in England who wasn’t involved in the study, tells National Geographic’s Melissa Hobson. “They never thought it would be used for any ecological study.” Nonetheless, “I think they [Hudson and Miller] did the best job they could do with the kind of data they had available.” Milky seas captured in 2019—it's the only photograph of the phenomenon from sea level known to scientists. Steven D. Miller, PNAS 2022 As detailed last week in the journal Earth and Space Science, the compiled data revealed that most milky seas sightings take place in the Arabian Sea in the northwest Indian Ocean, as well as south of Java and in Indonesia’s Banda Sea. It also links the event to two large weather patterns: the Indian Ocean Dipole and the El Niño Southern Oscillation. In 1985, a research vessel was able to collect a water sample during a milky seas event, which revealed the presence of a luminous kind of bacteria called Vibrio harveyi. This offers “potential proof” that milky seas are caused by a biological process linked to the bacteria, per the study. Accordingly, the regions where milky seas are most commonly spotted experience upwelling, when strong winds churn cold, nutrient-rich water toward the surface of the ocean. “They are spots that are primed for lots of biological activity to happen,” Hudson tells CNN’s Taylor Nicioli. Upwelling can also take place during the Indian Ocean Dipole. “But there’s lots of places on Earth that are like that,” adds Hudson to CNN. “So, what actually makes (these regions) special is a huge, open question.” Another huge, open question that remains is how milky seas fit into their ecosystems. For example, are the glowing patches of water a symptom of a healthy or distressed marine habitat? Ultimately, the new database “allows us to begin answering questions about milky seas beyond hoping and praying a ship runs into one accidentally,” Hudson says in a statement. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

Devoted Holding, the parent of co-development firm Devoted Studios, is launching the Devoted Fusion freelancer hub to find game talent.Read More