Just because Homo sapiens hadn’t yet developed the SPF rating system 41,000 years ago didn’t mean that they were unaware that solar radiation could prove hazardous.H. sapiens applied some form of sunscreen, shielded themselves from UV rays with clothes, and avoided the ravages of the sun by hiding in caves, according to an article in the journal Science Advances. In fact, those strategies may have helped their populations expand throughout Europe and Asia during a time when Neanderthals, who didn’t appear to make these adaptations, were declining."What some of the differences are between these species, between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans, that might account for that disappearance has been a major anthropological question for decades," Raven Garvey, a University of Michigan anthropologist and an author of the study, said in a press release.Homo sapiens Sun-Fighting StrategiesResearchers found that these sun-fighting strategies roughly coincided with a period when the North Pole moved closer to Europe as the Earth’s magnetic field’s poles started to move — a process that has happened an estimated 180 times during the Earth’s existence. That process weakened the magnetic field, caused auroras to occur throughout most of the globe, and allowed more UV light through the atmosphere. Meanwhile, archaeological evidence shows that, during this time period, H. sapiens started sewing clothing and rubbing ochre, a sun-blocking mineral, on their skin. Living in caves then also provided some protection."In the study, we combined all of the regions where the magnetic field would not have been connected, allowing cosmic radiation, or any kind of energetic particles from the sun, to seep all the way in to the ground," Agnit Mukhopadhyayan, an author of the paper, and a University of Michigan researcher, said in a press release. "We found that many of those regions actually match pretty closely with early human activity from 41,000 years ago, specifically an increase in the use of caves and an increase in the use of prehistoric sunscreen."Earth's Magnetic FieldMukhopadhyay tapped into existing models and constructed his own to reach this conclusion. He first built a simulation of how the Earth's magnetic field, created by its rotation, extends a protective halo around the globe. That halo shields Earth from cosmic radiation — which thins the planet’s ozone layer, thereby allowing more UV light in. Next, he examined how the hot gases and charged particles the sun throws at the Earth, act as a plasma system. Mukhopadhyay then developed a model that predicts how this system interacts with Earth's magnetic field.This magnetic field drives aurora formation, which is why we typically only see auroras near the North and South poles, because that’s where the magnetic pull is strongest. However, sometimes the poles wander — with the most recent such event occurring about 41,000 years ago.Atmospheric Impact on H. sapiensMukhopadhyay, working with Sanja Panovska, a researcher at Germany's GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences essentially folded three models from that time period into one: Earth’s geomagnetic field, the space plasma field surrounding it, and aurora activity. This combination produced a 3D picture that illustrated where charged particles could most easily sneak through the planet’s geomagnetic field.The model showed that, when the poles were shifting 41,000 years ago, Earth’s magnetic field shrunk to about 10 percent of its current strength. The poles sagged toward the equator, the magnetic field expanded, and auroras would have been visible throughout Europe and Northern Africa.The researchers then superimposed this combination 3D map of Earth's atmospheric and electromagnetic systems upon the globe and noted where both H. sapiens and Neanderthals had lived. The two groups of early and modern humans co-existed in Europe starting about 56,000 years ago. About 16,000 years later, Neanderthals were no longer dominant in Europe.Prehistoric Sunscreen and ClothingTailored clothing may have helped. Archaeologists have found needles and awls — tools associated with sewing — at H. sapiens sites, but not among Neanderthal digs. Tailored clothing not only kept people warm when they ventured from their caves, which allowed them to hunt for longer times and greater distances from their homes. It also protected them from UV rays. Whether or not this was intentional may be a moot point, because "tailored clothing could have also provided another unintended benefit — protection from sun damage," said Garvey in the release. "Having protection against solar radiation would also have conferred significant advantage to anyone who possessed it." There is also evidence that H. sapiens used ochre, a pigment made up of iron oxide, clay, not just to paint objects, but to protect their bodies from UV radiation."There have been some experimental tests that show it has sunscreen-like properties. It's a pretty effective sunscreen, and there are also ethnographic populations that have used it primarily for that purpose," Garvey said.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Science Advances. Wandering of the Auroral Oval 41,000 Years AgoBefore joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

An illustration of what the aurora might have looked like during a polar reversal about 41,000 years ago. CREDIT: Maximilian Schanner (GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany) Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Despite the sunscreen misinformation you might see online, ancient humans did face problems from the sun’s harmful rays. Ancient Homo sapiens about 40,000 years ago may have even benefited from some of the same technologies that we use to avoid sunburns today–mineral sunscreen, tailored clothes, and using caves for shade and shelter. These advances may have been particularly advantageous when Earth’s magnetic poles switched a bit, according to a study published April 16 in the journal Science Advances. Earth’s history of polar reversals Earth’s magnetic field is created by its rotation, as well as the rotation of our planet’s core. The core, which is made up of molten iron, generates electrical currents. These currents extend a sort of halo around the globe that helps protect Earth from cosmic radiation. This radiation thins Earth’s ozone layer and lets in more ultra violet (UV) and the  interaction of these particles with the Earth’s magnetic field also results in aurora. Currently, this magnetic field has a north and south orientation in the form of Earth’s North and South poles. This is why you typically see auroras in regions close to the poles, where magnetic fields are the strongest. An artistic impression of what the aurora might have looked like on Earth about 41,000 years ago. CREDIT: Maximilian Schanner (GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany) Occasionally, these poles wander from their traditional geographic positions. These are called geomagnetic excursions. This natural process has occurred roughly 180 times over our planet’s 4.5 billion-year geological history. Scientists believe that it is caused by some instability in the processes that generate Earth’s magnetic field.   The most recent geomagnetic excursion is called the Laschamps excursion and occurred about 41 to 42,000 years ago, when the magnetic North Pole began to shift over Europe. During this reversal, the magnetic field weakened, causing aurora over most of the globe and allowed more harmful UV light to come in from space.  [ Related: A geomagnetic curveball 42,000 years ago changed our planet forever. ] Around this same time, archeological evidence shows that Homo sapiens were likely making tailored clothing for themselves and using a pigment called ochre with greater frequency. Ochre itself has some sun-protective properties when applied to the skin and may have helped ancient humans spread throughout present-day Europe and Asia as the Neanderthal population was declining. “In the study, we combined all of the regions where the magnetic field would not have been connected, allowing cosmic radiation, or any kind of energetic particles from the sun, to seep all the way in to the ground,” study co-author Agnit Mukhopadhyay, a space physicist at the University of Michigan, said in a statement. “We found that many of those regions actually match pretty closely with early human activity from 41,000 years ago, specifically an increase in the use of caves and an increase in the use of prehistoric sunscreen.” Clues from space weather The team built models of the interaction of space particles and Earth’s magnetic field using the Space Weather Modeling Framework. Mukhopadhyay developed a model that predicts how this plasma system will interact with Earth’s magnetic field–ultmately forming an aurora.  Working with Sanja Panovska from Germany’s GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Mukhopadhyay created a 3D reconstruction of Earth’s geospace system. They combined three separate models: a global model that reconstructs the geomagnetic field during the Laschamps excursion, one model of the space plasma environment around Earth, and another model that predicted what Earth’s aurora looked like at the time. The resulting 3D model showed where charged particles were able to slip through Earth’s geomagnetic field. An illustration of what an aurora across more southern parts of Europe may have looked like. CREDIT: Maximilian Schanner (GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany). During the Laschamps excursion, Earth’s magnetic field reduced in size to about 10 percent of its current strength. As a result, Earth’s magnetic poles drooped down near the equator and the  magnetic field lines expanded. This expansion meant the aurora could have been visible all over Europe and into northern Africa. When the team laid their 3D map of Earth’s space system over the world, they found that the time period of the Laschamps excursion coincided with periods of change for groups of humans living on the planet The clothes make the (hu)man Homo sapiens and Neanderthals coexisted in Europe beginning roughly 56,000 years ago. However, Neanderthals were no longer identified as a species in Europe by about 40,000 years ago. “What some of the differences are between these species, between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans, that might account for that disappearance has been a major anthropological question for decades,” study co-author and University of Michigan anthropologist Raven Garvey, said in a statement. Garvey suggests that clothing itself might have been a major difference between the species. The technological means of making clothing that fitted to the body have been discovered at archaeological sites associated with anatomically modern humans, but not necessarily sites where Neanderthals lived.  Archaeologists have found scrapers used in hide production, as well as needles and awls needed for sewing at sites associated with anatomically modern humans. According to Garvey, tailored clothing like this was significantly warmer. This added warmth meant that people could travel farther to find food and provided protection from sun damage, she said. Because there are multiple detrimental effects of solar radiation, including potentially increased infant mortality, “having protection against solar radiation would also have conferred significant advantage to anyone who possessed it,” Garvey said.  Additionally, ancient humans may have ramped up their use of ochre. This  naturally occurring pigment is composed of iron oxide, clay, and silica and has been used by several species of hominins for thousands of years. People used it to paint objects, on cave walls and even to decorate their bodies.   “There have been some experimental tests that show it has sunscreen-like properties. It’s a pretty effective sunscreen, and there are also ethnographic populations that have used it primarily for that purpose,” Garvey said. “Its increased production and its association primarily with anatomically modern humans (during the Laschamps) is also suggestive of people’s having used it for this purpose as well.” Living with a different atmosphere According to the team, while these findings are not definitive, they offer a new way to look at already existing data. “I think it’s important to note that these findings are correlational and (ours is a) meta analysis, if you will,” Garvey said. “But I think it is a fresh perspective on these data in light of the Laschamps excursion.” The 3D model offers us a way to predict how future excursions might affect us. If a reversal like this were to occur today, we could see complete blackouts with communication satellites not working, telecommunications in disarray. These types of events have already happened, even during smaller space weather events.  This work also highlights that humans were still able to survive on a planet whose atmosphere looked a lot different than ours does today. “Many people say that a planet cannot sustain life without a strong magnetic field,” Mukhopadhyay said. “Looking at prehistoric Earth, and especially at events like this, helps us study exoplanetary physics from a very different vantage point. Life did exist back then. But it was a little bit different than it is today.”

Nature, Published online: 16 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08916-0A near-complete survey of transcription factor activities in Saccharomyces cerevisiae reveals that most transcription factors have both activator and repressor activities and limited overlap between their binding sites on DNA and regulation of nearby genes.

SSRN The Latest Research on the Science, Business, & Regulation of Prescription Drugs & Vaccines This list includes the latest research on the science, business, & regulation of prescription drugs & vaccines posted to SSRN in 2025. Legal Underpinnings of the Great Vaccine Debate of 2025 by James G. Hodge (Arizona State University) The Paradox between Vaccination Rate and COVID-19 Mortality: Numerous Socioeconomic and Environmental Elements that Promote Spread by Mario Coccia (National Research Council of Italy) From Human Rights to the Pandemic Agreement and Beyond: Reframing Vaccines Access Through a Framework of ‘States Capabilities’ by Pramiti Parwani (University of Amsterdam) COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness against Medically Attended Symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection among Target Groups in Europe, October 2024-January 2025, VEBIS Primary Care Network by Charlotte Lanièce Delaunay (Epiconcept), Nuno Verdasca (National Health Institute Doutor Ricardo Jorge), Susana Monge (Carlos III Institute of Health), Lisa Domegan (Health Protection Surveillance Centre), Noémie Sève (Sorbonne University), Silke Buda (Robert Koch Institute), Adam Meijer (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment), Héloïse Lucaccioni (Epiconcept), Miriam López Torrijos (Subdirección General de Epidemiología y Vigilancia de la Salud), Adele McKenna (Health Service Executive), Vincent Enouf (University of Paris-Saclay), Ralf Dürrwald (Robert Koch Institute), Eline In‘t Velt (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment), Mª Ángel Valcárcel de Laiglesia (Murcia Regional Health Council), Charlene Bennett (University College Dublin), Shirley Masse (University of Corsica), Annika Erdwiens (Robert Koch Institute), Mariëtte Hooiveld (Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research), Ivan Mlinarić (Croatian Institute of Public Health), Gergő Túri (Semmelweis University), Ana Paula Rodrigues (National Health Institute Doutor Ricardo Jorge), Iván Martínez-Baz (Universidad Pública de Navarra), Mihaela Lazar (Cantacuzino National Military Medical Institute for Research and Development), Neus Latorre-Margalef (Public Health Agency of Sweden), Vítor Borges (National Health Institute Doutor Ricardo Jorge), Marlena Kaczmarek (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control), Sabrina Bacci (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control), & Esther Kissling (Epiconcept) Cervical Cancer in the HPV-Vaccination Cohort in the Netherlands by Luc van Lonkhuijzen (University of Amsterdam), Constantijne Mom (University of Amsterdam), & Maaike van der Aa (Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organisation) Policy Strategies for Inclusion of Pregnant and Lactating People in Vaccine Research by Danielle Serota (Washington University in St-Louis), Chelsea Crooks (Cornell University), Emma McGinty (Cornell University), Sallie Permar (Cornell University), & Laura Riley (Cornell University) A New Framework for Drug Pricing Law and Policy by Rachel Sachs (Washington University in Saint Louis) Pharmaceutical Drug Regulation and Mortality: Evidence from E-cigarettes by Michael Pesko (University of Missouri), Christian Saenz (Georgia State University) Reframing Drug Price Regulation in the U.S.: Using Tools that Work Date by Deborah Williams (Health Policy Insights LLC), Steven Zima (CIGNA), & Brian Miller (Johns Hopkins University) Procurement Institutions and Essential Drug Supply in Low and Middle-Income Countries by Lucy Xiaolu Wang (University of Massachusetts Amherst) & Nahim Bin Zahur (Queen’s University) Towards FDA-USPTO Cooperation by John (Jay) R. Thomas (Georgetown University Law Center) To read more research on the science, business, & regulation of prescription drugs & vaccines, subscribe to SSRN’s Pharmaceutical Business & Regulatory Environment eJournal or view other papers here.

Human skeletons from a large stone tomb may help archaeologists understand a mysterious pre-Inca population in Peru.

I tried rendering this at 1440p for animation but my laptop started hitting 90c temps in both GPU and CPU and so I rendered this at 1080p which is this looks a bit lower quality compared to my original 1440p rendered image. I love winters when it comes to using my pc XD. It get too hot because of summer heat. Oh also for anyone wondering what my laptop is, it is an MSI GF63 with RTX 4060 8gb (45w only most of the time works at 35w T_T) and i7 12th along with 24 GB of RAM. submitted by /u/Kind_Resource_296 [link] [comments]

Cloud Chamber is a video game studio owned by 2K Games, primarily known for the successful BioShock series. In order to increase employee engagement and be attractive to industry talent, Cloud Chamber wanted to reevaluate its employer brand. The developed visual identity reflects the studio's values of inclusivity and diversity, among others, thanks to its modular grid. 27 different typographies are used and mixed to allow the studio name and its various messages to be written in numerous ways. The visual sources used are also varied: textures, 2D and 8-bit illustrations, flat colors, and photography. This eclectic and diverse grid is balanced by a stable logo and a more understated accompanying font, allowing for a lively, fun, precise, and rigorous brand. All these mechanics were developed to expand application possibilities and create an expressive, engaging and enduring brand.

Appy Pie, an Indian artificial intelligence (AI) no-code platform, launched two new AI models on Tuesday. Dubbed PixelForge and Vibeo, these are multimodal large language models that can generate images. and videos. The former is a text-to-image model, whereas the latter can generate videos from a text or image input. The company is pitching the new products to both individuals as well as businesses via its Appy Pie Design platform. Notably, the company also offers AI tools to users to let them develop mobile apps, websites, and AI chatbots.Appy Pie Launches Two New AI ModelsThe company says PixelForge and Vibeo are proprietary models that were built and trained in-house from scratch. The new large language models (LLMs) arrive as the successor to the Flawless Text AI model, which was focused on text generation. The company said the new models would be useful for creators, marketing professionals, and businesses.PixelForge is a text-to-image generation model. The company claims it can generate high-resolution, photorealistic, and artistic visuals from text prompts. It is said to be optimised for versatility and supports a wide range of styles, compositions, and use cases. While Appy Pie says that the model's capabilities are similar to OpenAI's DALL-E and Stability AI's Stable Diffusion models, it did not share any benchmark scores that confirm these claims.The company also did not share information about the output image's resolution, rate limits, or credits offered. The AI model's architecture, training processes, and source of procured data are also currently known.Coming to Vibeo, it is a video generation model that supports both text and images as input. This means users can generate a video with a natural language text prompt or by sharing a reference image. The company claims that the AI model is focused on realism and can contextually understand the prompt to capture the mood and motion of the desired video.However, technical details such as video duration, resolution, and any daily or monthly rate limits are currently unknown.To access these AI models, users and businesses must visit the Appy Pie Design platform. Accessing the website requires a monthly subscription of Rs. 80, which is charged on an annual basis. Gadgets 360 staff members were not able to access the website, and could not confirm if the platform charges any add-ons for the services.

Understanding Large Language Models (LLMs): The Complete Beginner’s Guide4 min read·Just now--Introduction: The Magic of Talking ComputersHave you ever wondered how chatbots like ChatGPT can have conversations that feel almost human? Or how your phone can predict what you’re about to type before you finish? The secret lies in something called Large Language Models (LLMs) — incredibly smart computer programs that understand and generate human-like text.In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore:What LLMs really are and how they workThe fascinating technology behind themWhat they can (and can’t) do wellHow they’re changing our worldThe challenges and future of this technologyWhether you’re completely new to AI or just want to understand LLMs better, this article will explain everything in simple terms with real-world examples.Chapter 1: What Exactly Are Large Language Models?The Basic IdeaImagine you’re playing a game where you have to guess the next word in a sentence. If I say “The cat sat on the…”, you’d probably guess “mat” or “couch.” LLMs play this guessing game, but at an enormous scale with incredible accuracy.Key Characteristics of LLMsMassive Size: They’re trained on billions of words from books, websites, and other textsPattern Recognition: They learn how words connect to form meaningful sentencesGenerative Ability: They can create new text that sounds human-writtenAdaptability: They can answer questions, write stories, translate languages, and moreHow They Differ From Regular SoftwareTraditional computer programs follow strict rules written by programmers. LLMs are different because:They learn from examples rather than being explicitly programmedThey can handle tasks they weren’t specifically trained forTheir responses aren’t always perfectly predictableChapter 2: How Do LLMs Actually Work?The Training Process

News Cronos: The New Dawn Channels Dead Space in Harrowing New Gameplay Various weapons from the sci-fi survival horror are showcased while Bloober Team warns to not let the monstrosities merge. Posted By Ravi Sinha | On 16th, Apr. 2025 As promised, Bloober Team has debuted some new gameplay for Cronos: The New Dawn, its upcoming sci-fi survival horror shooter with more than a few nods to Dead Space and Resident Evil. It highlights the various monstrosities encountered in the post-apocalyptic future and the weaponry used to dispose of them. As a Traveler serving the Collective, your job is to discover time rifts and venture back to the 1980s Poland to extract key individuals with the Harvester. However, you’ll need to trudge through the ruins of the future, with the catastrophic Change turning humanity into living nightmares. They can merge, including with corpses, so it’s key to take them out beforehand. The handgun’s ability to build a bridge from floating rubble aside, the trailer showcases a micro-missile launcher, shotgun, and more. There’s also a perspective-twisting switch during traversal. Cronos: The New Dawn launches later this year for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Check out some more gameplay snippets here. Tagged With: Atomfall Publisher:Rebellion Developments Developer:Rebellion Developments Platforms:PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, PCView More Monster Hunter Wilds Publisher:Capcom Developer:Capcom Platforms:PS5, Xbox Series X, PCView More South of Midnight Publisher:Microsoft Developer:Compulsion Games Platforms:Xbox Series X, PCView More Amazing Articles You Might Want To Check Out! 15 Best Weapons in the Entire DOOM Franchise With Doom: The Dark Ages quickly approaching, we take a look back at 15 of the best weapons the series had to... Cronos: The New Dawn Channels Dead Space in Harrowing New Gameplay Various weapons from the sci-fi survival horror are showcased while Bloober Team warns to not let the monstros... Assassin’s Creed Shadows Hotfix 1.0.3 Features PS5 Pro and Gameplay Fixes The hotfix resolves crash issues on the PS5 and a graphical issue that occurred when enabling HDR and PSSR on ... MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Introduces Sci-Fi Weapons in New Gameplay Trailer The latest trailer introduces a corrosive Turpentine Gun, a Freeze Ray that immobilizes targets, and a mind-co... Marathon’s Closed Alpha Minimum PC Requirements Revealed On the lower end, Bungie's extraction shooter needs an Intel Core i56600, a GTX 1050 Ti, 8 GB of RAM and only ... Mario Kart World Direct is Approximately 15 Minutes Long The presentation will provide new details about the kart racer before its worldwide launch on June 5th for the... View More