Millions will be sold but pre-orders are still scarce (Nintendo) Analysts estimate that between 6 and 8 million Nintendo Switch 2 consoles will be available at launch, the most there’s ever been. On Wednesday, Nintendo had to apologise to fans, because it wasn’t able to make enough Switch 2 consoles to fulfil pre-order demands. 2.2 million people applied for a pre-order, which is a staggering number when you consider the launch record in Japan is less than 1 million for the PlayStation 2 – which is currently the most successful video game console of all time. It’s not clear how many consoles Nintendo will have available at launch in Japan but analysts suggest that there will be around six to eight million worldwide, for the June 5 launch. That will make it the biggest console launch in history. Nintendo has neither confirmed nor delayed the figures, but the current worldwide record is held jointly by the PlayStation 4 and 5, which both sold 4.5 million units in their first two months. The Bloomberg report featuring the figures comes as Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders are belatedly opened in the US and Canada, following uncertainty over Donald Trump’s constantly changing tariffs. Nintendo was trying to avoid the worst of the tariffs by having around a third of its consoles made in Vietnam, and others in Cambodia. The Vietnamese tariff was announced as 46% on the day of the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct but has since been lowered to 10%, for at least 90 days. Reports suggest Nintendo already imported large volumes of consoles before any tariffs came into effect and is now sending only Vietnamese consoles to the US, which results in a much lower tariff than if they had been made in China. More Trending As a result, Nintendo has not raised the price of pre-orders in the US, where the console will cost $450 (£338 before tax). Nintendo Switch 2 accessories, in the camera and optional controllers, have seen price a price increase though. How to pre-order Nintendo Switch 2 in the UK The situation in the UK hasn’t changed much since the Direct, as while Nintendo has opened pre-orders on their own site, it works similarly to Japan in that it’s invite only, to people that can prove they’re long-time fans (by having had Nintendo Switch Online for several months and other criteria). Other retailers do get stock occasionally, but it never lasts for very long; although we’ll try and keep you updated when they get new deliveries. At time of writing nobody in the UK has stock but one option is Currys, who are not taking pre-orders online but are in-store, although that may very depending on the shop’s size and location. New stock sells out almost instantly (Nintendo) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

By Ed Cara Published April 25, 2025 | Comments (0) | A blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus). These sharks have only rarely been documented to bite people unprovoked. © Diego Grandi via Shutterstock Sharks might not be as responsible for rare human bites as we assumed. In a study released today, scientists argue that at least some shark bites should be considered a form of self-defense. Marine biologists from France led the research, published in Frontiers in Conservation Science. After analyzing shark bite data from throughout the world, they estimated that about 5% of shark-on-human bites are wholly defensive, rather than sharks trying to catch their next meal. The findings should help inform shark bite prevention efforts, the researchers say. “The results of this study show that sharks have as much right as any animal or human to defend themselves when their survival is at stake.” Lead researcher Eric Clua, a shark specialist at PSL University, was inspired to look into the topic by observations he had made during his field studies in French Polynesia. He often heard about fishermen who systematically slaughtered sharks that had unwittingly become trapped in fish pens. These sharks would sometimes bite the fishermen if they were initially unsuccessful in killing the animal. He also heard reports of accidental shark bites on underwater spearfishermen where the sharks appeared to only attack because they wanted the fisherman to stay away from their prey. “On closer examination, the opportunity arose to model this self-defense mechanism described in the study, which insists on human and not shark responsibility in this type of accident,” Clua told Gizmodo in an email. The researchers first analyzed data from recorded shark bites in French Polynesia—specifically, incidents that contained at least some information on the possible motivation behind the bites. Between 2009 and 2023, 74 such shark bites were documented in the area. Four of these bites, 5% of the total, were likely motivated by self-defense, the researchers found. Clua and his team then scoured through data from the Global Shark Attack Files, which has documented nearly 7,000 shark bites since 1863. They examined bites classified as provoked, involving people placed in close proximity to sharks. Once again, about 5% of the bites they studied—322 bites overall—seemed to meet the criteria for self-defense. These criteria include the sharks biting immediately after a human action that is, or could be perceived as, aggressive, and the bites being repeated but leaving superficial, non-lethal wounds. Paradoxically, a defensive shark bite might also be disproportionately violent compared to the human action that preceded it, such as a stranded shark aggressively biting a human trying to return it to the water. But this disproportionality might simply be a sign of the shark’s desperation to survive at any cost, according to Clua. “The results of this study show that sharks have as much right as any animal or human to defend themselves when their survival is at stake,” he said. “They also show that, counter-intuitively, it is advisable not to come to the aid of a shark in danger, as it will not necessarily perceive this human action positively and may react aggressively.” By uncovering the many motivations behind shark bites, the team hopes to prevent them from happening in the first place. People shouldn’t interact with or approach sharks, for instance, even if they seem harmless or appear to be in danger. And in general, you should be in groups of at least two people when swimming in places where sharks live, which can reduce the risk of a sustained predatory attack. Unlike some land predators, Clua adds, staying still will not dissuade a predatory shark from attacking, so you should always try to defend yourself if the worst-case scenario happens. At the same time, the researchers note that sharks are typically afraid of humans. As a result, shark bites are very uncommon, and even more rarely are they fatal compared to other animal-human interactions. There were only 88 shark bites recorded worldwide in 2024 and seven related deaths, for instance. By contrast, hippos are estimated to fatally attack at least 500 people a year, and the fatality numbers get even more skewed when you consider the diseases spread by certain animals (mosquito-borne malaria alone kills over a half million people each year). So while it’s important to practice good safety in waters that could contain sharks, people (reporters included) also shouldn’t over-inflate the risk of being bitten by them in the first place. “In addition to reducing the number of such bites in the field, we hope that one of the major effects of our study will be to modify the vision and attitude of journalists, by suggesting that they take a closer look at the conditions in which bites occur, without systematically blaming the animals, but rather making humans more responsible,” Clua said. The team plans to continue studying other types of shark bites, such as “exploration”-driven bites where the sharks might bite humans to test whether they’re suitable prey. Daily Newsletter You May Also Like By Ed Cara Published March 20, 2025 By Margherita Bassi Published March 9, 2025 By Ed Cara Published February 28, 2025 By Ed Cara Published January 21, 2025 By Isaac Schultz Published January 7, 2025 By Ed Cara Published January 3, 2025

Anji Creative & Design Center / Atelier DeshausSave this picture!© Fangfang Tian Architects: Atelier Deshaus Area Area of this architecture project Area:  7000 m² Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2025 Photographs Photographs:Fangfang TianMore SpecsLess Specs Save this picture! Text description provided by the architects. Situated in Xilong Township of Anji County, Zhejiang Province—an area renowned as one of China's premier white tea-producing regions—the project occupies a previously unused plot on the edge of the tea fields near the town center. Originally, the site was designated for the construction of a White Tea Museum, as well as a museum for the nearby Paleolithic archaeological site of Shangmakan. In response, the building was conceived as two courtyard-based clusters extending between tea fields and a natural pond, with green roofs designed to merge the architecture seamlessly into the surrounding agricultural landscape.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!After its completion, the building underwent a shift in program—or rather, the idea of a rural agricultural product museum evolved into a new model that emphasizes engagement and participation. White tea remains the central theme of the project, but its role has been redefined—from passive exhibition to active promotion and creative reinterpretation. At the same time, the operating entity envisioned the site as a new type of creative hub, one that would attract young people away from the congested city and into the countryside. The aim was to offer a new model of remote work and rural living for travelers, digital nomads, and other contemporary users.Save this picture!Save this picture!The layout of ACDC benefits from the original architectural strategy of flexible spatial distribution. Exhibition halls of various sizes are dispersed across the undulating terrain and connected by covered walkways. This approach allows the scattered-yet-connected clusters of exhibition halls, workspace, educational space, retail spaces, and tea rooms to serve multiple purposes: accommodating diverse forms of creative work, addressing different user groups, and supporting a range of thematic cultural events through both independent and shared programs.Save this picture!The undulating tea fields of Anji represent a human-made abstraction of natural topography—a unique kind of cultivated landscape shaped by the rhythm of tea planting. The architecture adopts a similar strategy. On plan, it follows an orthogonal grid reminiscent of an urban extension; yet in section, it mirrors and amplifies the site's natural undulations. This dual gesture not only serves the building's functional needs but also resonates with the hidden order of the original terrain, becoming a re-formation of the landscape itself. Together with the meandering tea fields, the architecture helps generate a new hybrid landscape on this land.Save this picture!This landscape is not merely visual. While the design employs a traditional courtyard-and-corridor typology, it also renders the courtyards as walkable topographies. Whether the center is open or closed, visitors can roam freely along the upper surfaces of the courtyards and corridors, experiencing the architecture as if moving through the fields themselves.Save this picture! Project gallerySee allShow less About this office MaterialsMaterials and TagsPublished on April 25, 2025Cite: "Anji Creative & Design Center / Atelier Deshaus" 25 Apr 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1029409/anji-creative-and-design-center-atelier-deshaus&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save世界上最受欢迎的建筑网站现已推出你的母语版本!想浏览ArchDaily中国吗?是否 You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

In this clip, we dive into the process of adjusting sphere size and spawn rates for magic orbs using Niagara in Unreal Engine 5. Watch as we explore particle movement and attractor settings to enhance your game development skills!#UnrealEngine #Niagara #GameDevelopment #Tutorial #MagicOrbs

Meteorites carry clues that are pivotal in exploring the history of our Solar System, yet they don’t all look the same after impact. Colliding with a planetary surface sends shockwaves through meteorites, changing their configuration in various ways. Scientists noticed, though, that meteorites containing carbon often appear as if they experienced less intense impacts and look less “shocked” than meteorites without carbon. A new study has discovered that this is because evidence from these meteorites blasts back into space after impact. The study, published in Nature Communications, solves a long-standing mystery that changes how meteorites are viewed. This improved understanding could even prove useful for future space missions to obtain samples from other planetary bodies like Ceres, a dwarf planet that may have supported life in the past.Evaluating Meteorite Shock Effects Stony meteorites called chondrites, formed over 4 billion years ago, have given scientists a glimpse of the early Solar System. They are separated into multiple classes based on their chemical composition and mineral makeup; Carbonaceous chondrites (C chondrites), for example, tend to contain carbon compounds and water.The appearance of chondrites that crash into a larger planetary body like Earth is measured through a shock classification system, with stages ranging from S1 (unshocked) to S6 (very strongly shocked). The shock effects become increasingly glaring with each successive stage, seen in the condition of minerals within the chondrites: lower stages usually have minor fracturing, while higher stages start to display more evidence of melting.Blasting Meteorites into SpaceThe researchers involved with the new study aimed to find out why carbonaceous chondrites don’t show significant shock effects, making it seem like they collided at lower speeds. A previous theory suggested that an impact would create degassed vapor from water-containing minerals in the meteorite, sending evidence of shock flying into space. However, this process was never tested to see if it could produce enough water vapor to trigger such an effect. In addition, there are some chondrites without water-containing minerals that still appear less shocked.The researchers suspected there was a different explanation behind this meteorite mystery. To find answers, they used a two-stage light gas gun connected to a sample chamber. This allowed them to launch small pellets that would hit samples modeled after meteorites with and without carbon. The gases produced by the impact were then collected and analyzed. This experiment revealed that impacts on carbon-containing meteorites cause chemical reactions that “produce extremely hot carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide gases,” according to a statement on the study. This chemical reaction would be able to expel a meteorite's shock evidence into space.“We found that the momentum of the ensuing explosion is enough to eject the surrounding highly-shocked rock material into space. Such explosions occur on carbon-rich meteorites, but not on carbon-poor ones,” said author Kosuke Kurosawa, an astrophysicist at Kobe University in Japan, in a press release. Chondrites Beyond EarthCarbonaceous chondrites are rare on Earth (only making up 4 percent of all meteorite finds), but they reach other planetary bodies in the inner Solar System as well. One such location is Ceres, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The researchers say that Ceres’ gravity may be strong enough to pull material ejected from chondrite impacts back to its surface. As a result, the dwarf planet likely has an abundance of highly shocked material, which could be an important target for future sampling missions there. Since carbonaceous chondrites represent remnants of the early Solar System and possess various organic compounds, they may provide key information about life in space.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:Nature Communications. Impact-driven oxidation of organics explains chondrite shock metamorphism dichotomyMeteoritics & Planetary Science. Revising the shock classification of meteoritesScience Direct. Carbonaceous ChondriteJack Knudson is an assistant editor at Discover with a strong interest in environmental science and history. Before joining Discover in 2023, he studied journalism at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University and previously interned at Recycling Today magazine.

Browse Facebook Marketplace and you’ll encounter an assortment of odd finds: vintage lamps, used socks, a car engulfed in flames. Dom Robinson found a 3,300-ton, 330ft long cargo ship that sank off the Cornish coast during World War I. And it was a bargain: only £300 ($400 USD). Robinson purchased the wreck of the SS Almond Branch from someone who bought the wreckage from the British government in the 1970s. He told BBC Radio Cornwall that the original owner hoped to uncover something of value, but found it to just be a “big pile of rusting iron.” That didn’t bother Robinson, who is an hobbyist diver and had already done a dive visit to the site before acquiring the sunken pile of rusty iron. The SS Almond Branch. Screenshot: Dom Robinson/YouTube The SS Almond Branch was a British defense-armed merchant ship built in 1896 that a German submarine torpedo took down on November 27, 1917. The ship came to a rest in the waters near Dodman Point off South Cornwall. In the UK, private individuals can purchase shipwrecks. Thousands of wrecks sit in the waters around the UK, and owners need to follow a set of guidelines set by the government to ensure safety and historical preservation. Robinson took cameras along for his first dive of the wreck since finalizing his purchase. You can watch his dive, which took place in January 2025, in the video above. Happy exploring, Dom. Screenshot: Dom Robinson/YouTube The post Man buys WWI shipwreck for $400 on Facebook Marketplace appeared first on Popular Science.

Nature, Published online: 24 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01289-4Scientists have little information as the US government freezes and cancels their funding.

Ingrida Domarkienė, a geneticist at Vilnius University in Lithuania, discusses the exciting developments made possible by studying ancient and modern DNA.

I tried particles but my pc couldn't handle even a fraction of what I needed, so I just used botaniq grass 4-5x on the same mesh (I know, that's probably not the right way of doing it), but this still didn't give me enough grass. I thought about repeating it like 15 more times, but yeah, my pc wouldn't handle it. I tried using procedural materials, but couldn't make it realistic enough. For a reference of what I wanted: the same amount of grass you see on the roundabout. Also, if you guys can tell me how much this is worth charging, I'd appreciate it. Since I'm starting now and really don't have any idea if I'm charging more or less than it's worth. submitted by /u/mytinywhoopfcbrakes [link] [comments]

Game Preservation Is Super Important, But It's Not Well-Treated, Says Fallout CreatorTim Cain, the co-creator of Fallout, talked about the status and importance of game preservation in the latest video on his YouTube channel. He recalled that when he left Fallout, he was asked to destroy everything related to the game, including codes, prototypes, notes, art assets, etc., and he did. But years later, he was told that all those were lost, which saddened him. Tim Cain believes that many games from the 1970s to the 1990s have lost their original code and art assets. Even though some final versions can be retrieved from databases, the original source material is often gone. Learn more: https://80.lv/articles/game-preservation-is-super-important-but-it-s-not-well-treated-says-fallout-creator/