News Archaeology A Pueblo tribe recruited scientists to reclaim its ancient American history Picuris Pueblo oral histories talk of long-ago ties to Chaco Canyon. DNA now backs that up A member of New Mexico’s Picuris Pueblo Tribal Nation stands in front of a Round House used for rituals and meetings. A DNA study initiated and directed by Picuris officials now supports their oral histories describing more than 1,000-year-old ancestral ties to ancient Chaco Canyon society. Oliver Gerhard/imageBROKER.com/Alamy Stock Photo By Bruce Bower 1 hour ago Members of New Mexico’s Picuris Pueblo Tribal Nation have long told stories about having descended from ancient North American ancestors. Genetic evidence now backs up what Picuris people — but not archaeologists — knew all along and fleshes out lost pieces of the tribe’s past. The new results, published April 30 in Nature, came out of a collaborative study between Picuris Pueblo representatives and scientists. Traditional knowledge keepers at Picuris Pueblo­ describe ancestral and cultural connections to ancient pueblo sites in northwestern New Mexico. Oral histories emphasize ties to Chaco Canyon society, a regional network of over 200 Great House communities that flourished from about 850 to 1150. Chaco Canyon lies 275 kilometers west of Picuris Pueblo. Sign up for our newsletter We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

Nature, Published online: 30 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01254-1Greater insights into what makes people happy, secure and hopeful will make for a better world.

We may have gotten the evolutionary origins of the echidna backward, as new research suggests its ancestors probably lived in the water, not on land.

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Global smartphone shipments recorded a slight year-on-year (YoY) growth of 0.2 percent for the January-March period (Q1) in 2025, according to a new report by market research firm Canalys. Markets including India, Latin America, saw notable declines in Q1 2025, while China and the US recorded growth. Samsung secured top spot in the first quarter by grabbing 20 percent market share. Following past trends, Apple was in second place, followed by Chinese smartphone brands Xiaomi and Oppo in the top four positions.As per thelatest Canalys research, the global smartphone shipments touched 296.9 million units in Q1 this year, recording just 0.2 percent YoY growth from the same period last year. The growth slowed for the third consecutive quarter as vendors prioritised healthier inventory levels.Samsung Retains Lead With 20 Percent Market ShareSamsung maintained its lead over rival phone makers in Q1 2025, shipping 60.5 million units and capturing 20 percent market share. The South Korean tech brand's growth was driven by the release of the latest Samsung Galaxy S25 series and new Galaxy A series smartphones.Apple secured second position with 55.0 million units shipped and a 19 percent market share. The Cupertino-based company benefited from the growth in emerging Asia Pacific markets and the United States.Canalys Smartphone Market Pulse: Q1 2025Photo Credit: CanalysXiaomi was in third place with 41.8 million units shipped and a 14 percent market share. Vivo and Oppo were fourth and fifth, shipping 22.9 million and 22.7 million units, respectively. Both Chinese smartphone brands had a market share of 8 percent.Canalys' report shows that markets like Mainland China, the US, and Africa saw a healthy increase, while India, Europe, and the Middle East approached the market cautiously. Government subsidy programmes are said to have stimulated China's growth, while Africa benefited from retail activities and proactive market expansion efforts.The US smartphone market surged 12 per cent year on year in Q1, primarily driven by Apple. "Apple proactively built up inventory ahead of anticipated tariff policies. While iPhones produced in Mainland China still account for the majority of US shipments, production in India ramped up toward the end of the quarter, covering standard models of the iPhone 15 and 16 series, alongside accelerating production of the 16 Pro series. With ongoing fluctuations in reciprocal tariff policies, Apple is likely to further shift US-bound production to India to reduce exposure to future risks," said Le Xuan Chiew, Research Manager at Canalys.Xuan Chiew said he expects the US market to experience considerable volatility over the next two to three quarters, impacted by inventory corrections and weakening consumer confidence.“Major smartphone brands have not yet adjusted their full-year shipment targets, despite the lacklustre performance in Q1,” said Toby Zhu, Principal Analyst at Canalys. He states that they are hopeful for a rebound starting Q2, with early signs of recovery in Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Duolingo is restructuring parts of its workforce as it shifts toward becoming an “AI-first” company, according to an internal memo from CEO and co-founder Luis von Ahn that was later shared publicly on the company’s LinkedIn page. The memo outlines a series of planned changes to how the company operates, with a particular focus on how artificial intelligence will be used to streamline processes, reduce manual tasks, and scale content development. Duolingo will gradually stop using contractors for work that AI can take over. The company will also begin evaluating job candidates and employee performance partly based on how they use AI tools. Von Ahn said that headcount increases will only be considered when a team can no longer automate parts of its work effectively. “Being AI-first means we will need to rethink much of how we work. Making minor tweaks to systems designed for humans won’t get us there,” von Ahn wrote. “AI helps us get closer to our mission. To teach well, we need to create a massive amount of content, and doing that manually doesn’t scale.” One of the main drivers behind the shift is the need to produce content more quickly, and Von Ahn says that producing new content manually would take decades. By integrating AI into its workflow, Duolingo has replaced processes he described as slow and manual those that are more efficient and automated. The company has also used AI to develop features that weren’t previously feasible such as an AI-powered video call feature, which aims to provide tutoring to the level of human instructors. According to von Ahn, tools like this move the Duolingo platform closer to its mission – to deliver language instruction globally. The internal shift is not limited to content creation or product development. Von Ahn said most business functions will be expected to rethink how they operate and identify opportunities to embed AI into daily work. Teams will be encouraged to adopt what he called “constructive constraints” – policies that push them to prioritise automation before requesting additional resources. The move echoes a broader trend in the tech industry. Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke recently gave a similar directive to employees, urging them to demonstrate why tasks couldn’t be completed with AI before requesting new headcount. Both companies appear to be setting new expectations for how teams manage growth in an AI-dominated environment. Duolingo’s leadership maintains the changes are not intended to reduce its focus on employee well-being, and the company will continue to support staff with training, mentorship, and tools designed to help employees adapt to new workflows. The goal, he wrote, is not to replace staff with AI, but to eliminate bottlenecks and allow employees to concentrate on complex or creative work. “AI isn’t just a productivity boost,” von Ahn wrote. “It helps us get closer to our mission.” The company’s move toward more automation reflects a belief that waiting too long to embrace AI could be a missed opportunity. Von Ahn pointed to Duolingo’s early investment in mobile-first design in 2012 as a model. That shift helped the company gain visibility and user adoption, including being named Apple’s iPhone App of the Year in 2013. The decision to go “AI-first” is framed as a similarly forward-looking step. The transition is expected to take some time. Von Ahn acknowledged that not all systems are ready for full automation and that integrating AI into certain areas, like codebase analysis, could take longer. Nevertheless, he said moving quickly – even if it means accepting occasional setbacks – is more important than waiting for the technology to be fully mature. By placing AI at the centre of its operations, Duolingo is aiming to deliver more scalable learning experiences and manage internal resources more efficiently. The company plans to provide additional updates as the implementation progresses. (Photo by Unsplash) See also: AI in education: Balancing promises and pitfalls Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo. Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

Following up on rumours from earlier today about layoffs at EA, the company has since confirmed that employees are being let go. According to IGN, these layoffs have largely impacted the Experiences team at EA. This includes the Fan Care team, as well as customer support and marketing teams. In a statement, an EA spokesperson referred to the layoffs as being made to “align teams and allocate resources in service of driving future growth.” The move is meant to continue the company’s focus on “long-term strategic priorities.” “We are treating our people with care and respect throughout this process, working to minimize impacts by helping affected employees explore new opportunities within the company when possible and providing support during the transition,” continued the statement. Respawn had confirmed that some of its employees across the development teams for Apex Legends and the Star Wars Jedi franchise were being moved around. In its statement, Respawn also mentioned that it had cancelled two of its “early-stage” incubation projects. While not too many details about these cancelled titles have been confirmed so far, one of them was rumoured to be a multiplayer extraction shooter set in the Titanfall universe. The game was codenamed R7 during its development. The statement was followed by reports, courtesy of Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, that between 300 and 400 employees at EA were being laid off. Of these, around 100 are said to be employees at Respawn Entertainment. A former employee of Respawn had revealed back in March that another incubation project at the studio had been cancelled. While not too many details were revealed at the time, the employee – former executive assistant and production coordinator at the studio, Emilee Evans – had said that it was a multiplayer shooter. In the meantime, EA and Respawn are currently working on a major update to Apex Legends, referred to as a version 2.0 of the game. During EA’s quarterly earnings call back in February, EA CEO Andrew Wilson spoke about the trajectory of Apex Legends, and how future development will be focused on improving things for the game across three “core vectors”: community support, gameplay improvements, and a more comprehensive upgrade down the line. “Sometime on a longer-term time horizon, there will be an even bigger, more meaningful update to that broader game experience,” Wilson said. “An Apex 2.0, if you will. This will not be the final incarnation of Apex. Over the longer term, Wilson said that the company wants to continue supporting Apex Legends by making sure to hang on to the game’s core community while also forming new communities that might want to try out the game. “And then longer-term, our expectation is that we’ll continue to expand what this franchise is and how we support a core community of highly competitive players and new communities that want to come and experience all the greatness that Apex has to offer,” he said. Apex Legends is a free-to-play battle royale game available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.

Jaredus Member Jan 19, 2025 185 I always thought that was just a joke. But it turns out some races are actually disliked, which makes interactions with NPCs way harder. Orcs and Dark Elves get the worst of it, and to a lesser extent, High Elves and Redguards too. Meanwhile, Imperials, Bretons, and Nords don't seem to have any issues. What do you think about that mechanic? I feel like I've never seen anything quite like it in another game. If TES VI were to bring it back and take it even further, how would you feel about that?  Kiyamet Member Apr 21, 2024 3,384 It was pretty obvious if youve interracted with NPCs with multiple characters.   Figgy Member Nov 1, 2024 1,535 It's the most realistic thing about the game. They have their prejudices towards each other and hold grudges over past transgressions.   platypotamus Member Oct 25, 2017 9,817 Honestly surprised the Argonians and Khajitt don't get it worse than they do.   OP OP Jaredus Member Jan 19, 2025 185 Kiyamet said: It was pretty obvious if youve interracted with NPCs with multiple characters. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Yes. I've always played Imperial or Nord, but in the remaster, I decided to go with an Orc. And that's what tipped me off, something felt off from the very beginning, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Then I got to this quest where I had to ask various NPCs in town for information. And almost no one would even talk to me, even for a rumor. I had to rely on bribery or persuasion just to get a word out of them. But since I didn't have any gold, it ended up being an Orc NPC who finally gave me the info I needed. I can't tell if it's messed up or brilliant.  Turnabout Sisters The Fallen Oct 25, 2017 2,646 Hm, I played an Argonian in the original and I could have sworn people made a lot of derogatory comments. Maybe the lines are in there but it doesn't affect disposition. Or I'm misremembering   JSRF FFMPEG Master Member Aug 23, 2023 3,289 Yeah I played my first character as a dark elf and it was pretty clear that a lot people were racist against me   MrTharne Member May 26, 2023 626 Damn Orcs are the least racist. Orcs stay winning.   LayZboy Member Dec 17, 2024 421 They should make it more extreme.   DanteSparda504 Member Nov 2, 2017 4,815 Birmingham, AL It's one of the more realistic things in the game, and I low key love it. It'd be weird having a world with different races where there were not some discrimination going on.   jonjonaug Member Oct 25, 2017 6,178 Morrowind kind of had this too where being the same race would give you a disposition boost, although I don't think there were negative modifiers.   Ant_17 Member Oct 28, 2017 2,828 Greece This is great mechanic. I love when my Drow character in BG3 is just seen as evil and i deliver on their stereo type.   Niosai One Winged Slayer Member Oct 28, 2017 5,202 I've been playing every numbered Elder Scrolls game lately and while I historically have gone for Nords in these games, I decided to shake it up and use Dark Elf. I quickly learned that basically every game is consistent in how much the NPCs dislike the Dark Elves... The NPCs in Arena outright will refuse to talk to you at times.  Z-Brownie Member Nov 6, 2017 4,314 This was pretty great at the time, i wish more games had this kind of system.   MF DOOMbot Member Jun 5, 2023 3,915 Considering that this is how people work in real life I'm not surprised. I feel like you can tell when people have experienced racism and prejudice daily, however subtle, and those that do not.