The US finalizes CHIPS Act funding for Samsung and Texas InstrumentsThe US finalizes CHIPS Act funding for Samsung and Texas Instruments / Samsung and Texas Instruments will receive over $6 billion combined for US chip manufacturing.By Wes Davis, a weekend editor who covers the latest in tech and entertainment. He has written news, reviews, and more as a tech journalist since 2020. Dec 21, 2024, 5:48 PM UTCShare this story Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeThe US Commerce Department has awarded Samsung and Texas Instruments with a combined over $6 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS Incentives Programs Funding Opportunity for Commercial Fabrication, according to a pair of announcements published on Friday.Samsung will get the larger of the two awards at $4.745 billion. The Commerce Department says the company will use this as part of its planned $37 billion investment in Texas chip facilities that include two new leading-edge logic fabs and an R&D fab in Taylor, Texas, and the expansion of its plant in Austin. The company was originally slated to receive $6.4 billion. In a statement reported by Bloomberg, the company said that its mid-to-long-term investment plan has been partially revised to optimize overall investment efficiency, which suggests the company has dialed back its plans, according to the outlet. Texas Instruments will receive $1.61 billion to bolster the $18 billion it plans to spend on projects like constructing two wafer fabs in Texas and a third in Utah. The Commerce Department announced smaller awards this week too, including $407 million in funding for Amkor Technology, a US-based company that tests and packages chips for companies like Apple.All three awards were announced earlier this year, with Samsung first in April, and they join other CHIPS Act funding grants given to companies like Micron, Intel, and TSMC. And their finalizations come with just under a month to go before Donald Trump, who has criticized the CHIPS Act, assumes the US Presidency on January 20th.Most PopularMost Popular

Asus has announced the Asus NUC 14 Pro AI, the first Copilot Plus-capable AI mini PC that crams an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor into a form factor resembling a black M4 Mac Mini. First introduced at IFA in September, Asus is providing a little more detail about the mini PCs specs than it did before, but still isnt saying it will become available or how much it will cost.The NUC 14 Pro AI will come in five CPU configurations, from the Core Ultra 5 226V processor with 16GB of integrated RAM to a Core Ultra 9 288V processor with 32GB of RAM. The company says it has up to 67 TOPS of GPU performance and 48 NPU TOPS, and that its M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4 x 4 slot supports 256GB to 2TB NVMe SSDs. All of that is packed into a PC that measures 130mm deep and wide and just 34mm tall; comparatively, the Mac Mini is 127mm deep and wide and 50mm tall. Here are some pictures from Asus website:1/5 Image: Intel1/5 Image: IntelThe Asus NUC 14 Pro AI features a fingerprint sensor on top and a Copilot button on the front for speaking voice commands to Microsofts AI assistant. Also on the front are two USB-A ports, a Thunderbolt 4 port, a headphone jack, and a power button. Around the back, youll find a 2.5Gbps ethernet jack, another Thunderbolt 4 port, two more USB-A ports, and an HDMI port. For connectivity, it features Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.Asus still hasnt said when the NUC 14 Pro AI will be available, nor how much it will cost.

The new year is nearly here, which means a wealth of exciting new games is on the horizon. Below, we look ahead at the biggest PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch (Switch 2, too?), and PC games announced with 2025 release dates. January has some cool stuff, but February is going to be way busier than usual with major game releases. Below, you'll find release dates for all the biggest games and expansions that have been announced for the rest of the year and beyond. Here's what's worth playing in January 2025.PlayIf you're someone who likes to preorder your games, you can click the links on the platform of your choice to make sure it arrives on launch day.January 2025 - Video Game Release DatesIf you're interested in remasters and remakes, January is the month for you. We've got new versions of the Wii game Donkey Kong Country Returns, the PS Vita game Freedom Wars, and more, plus a handful of other releases for good fun.Freedom Wars Remastered - January 10 - (PS5, Switch, PC)Donkey Kong Country Returns HD - January 16 - (Switch)Dynasty Warrior: Origins - January 17 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Tales of Graces f Remastered - January 17 - (PS5, Switch, Xbox, PC)Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - January 23 - (PC)Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles - January 23 - (PS5, Switch, Xbox, PC)Cuisineer - January 28 - (Switch)The Biggest Game Releases of January 2025January is looking pretty light for new games but there's still some cool stuff to be excited for!See AllFebruary 2025 - Video Game Release DatesKingdom Come: Deliverance 2 - February 4 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Civilization VII - February 11 - (PS5, Switch, Xbox, PC)Assassin's Creed Shadows - February 14 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Avowed - February 18 - (Xbox, PC)Lost Records: Bloom and Rage Tape 1 - February 18 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Monster Hunter Wilds - February 28 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Morsels - February 2025 - (Switch)March 2025 - Video Game Release DatesSplit Fiction - March 6 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Suikoden I & II HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars - March 6 - (PS5, Switch, Xbox, PC)Lost Records: Bloom and Rage Tape 2 - March 18 - (PS5)Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition - March 20 - (Switch)The First Berzerker: Khazan - March 27 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Football Manager 25 - March 2025 (PS5, Xbox, PC)Split Fiction - First ScreenshotsApril 2025 - Video Game Release DatesThe Last of Us Part II Remastered - April 3 - (PC)Fatal Fury: City Of The Wolves - April 24 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)October 2025 - Video Game Release DatesDouble Dragon Revive - October 23 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Upcoming Video Games - Release Date TBA33 Immortals - 2025 - (Xbox, PC)The Alters - 2025 - (Xbox, PC)Anno 117: Pax Romana - 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Arc Raiders - 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)ArcheAge Chronicles - 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Ark 2 - TBA - (PC)Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian - 2025 - (PS5, Switch, PC)Atomfall - 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Ballad of Antara - 2025 - (PS5)Blackfrost: The Long Dark II - TBABlade Runner 2033: Labyrinth - TBA - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Borderlands 4 - 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Capcom Fighting Collection 2 - 2025 - (PS4, Switch, Xbox, PC)Clockwork Revolution - TBA - (Xbox, PC)Coffee Talk Tokyo - 2025 - (Switch)Contraband - TBA - (Xbox, PC)Crimson Desert - 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Death Stranding 2: On the Beach - 2025 - (PS5)Directive 8020: A Dark Pictures Game - 2025 - (PS5)Doom: The Dark Ages - 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Dune: Awakening - 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Dying Light: The Beast - Summer 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Elden Ring: Nightreign - 2025Everwild - TBA - (Xbox, PC)Expedition 33 - 2025 - (Xbox, PC)Fable - 2025 - (Xbox, PC)Fantasy Life i: the Girl Who Steals Time - 2025 - (Switch)Fantasy Life: The Girl Who Steals TimeFragpunk - 2025 - (Xbox, PC)Front Mission 3 Remake - TBA - (Switch)Game of Thrones: Kingsroad - 2025Gears of War: E-Day - TBA - (Xbox, PC)Ghost of Yotei - 2025 - (PS5)Grand Theft Auto 6 - 2025 (PS5, Xbox)Hell Is Us - 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Hello Kitty: Island Adventure - 2025 - (Switch)Hollow Knight: Silksong - TBA - (PS5, Switch, Xbox, PC)The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy - Early 2025 - (Switch)Hyper Light Breaker - Early Access Early 2025 - (PC)Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - Early 2025 - (PS5)Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet - TBA - (PS5)John Carpenter's Toxic Commando - TBA - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Judas - TBA - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Jurassic Park: Survival - TBA - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Killing Floor 3 - 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 1st - 2025 - (Switch)Little Devil Inside - TBA - (PS5, Switch, Xbox)Little Nightmares 3 - 2025 - (PS5, Switch, Xbox, PC)Lunar Remastered Collection - Spring 2025 (PS5, Switch, Xbox, PC)Mafia: The Old Country - Summer 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Marathon - TBA - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Marvel's Blade - TBA - (Xbox, PC)Mecha Break - 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Metal Gear Solid : Snake Eater - 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Metroid Prime 4: Beyond - 2025 - (Switch)The Midnight Walk - TBA - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Mio: Memories in Orbit - 2025 - (Switch)Mixtape - 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Moth Kubit - Spring 2025 - (Switch)OD - TBA - (Xbox)Okami 2 - TBAOnimusha: Way of the Sword - 2026 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)The Outer Worlds 2 - 2025 - (Xbox, PC)Perfect Dark - TBA - (Xbox, PC)Phantom Blade 0 - TBA - (PS5)Phantom Hellcat - TBA - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero - 2025 - (Switch)The Precinct - 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake - 2026 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Prison Architect 2 - TBA (Xbox, PC)Professor Layton and the New World of Steam - 2025 - (Switch)Replaced - 2025 - (Xbox, PC)Rift of the Necrodancer - 2025 - (Switch)Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma - Spring 2025 - (Switch)Screamer - 2026 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope DX - 2025 - (Switch)The Sinking City 2 - 2025 - (Xbox, PC)Slay the Spire 2 - early access in 2025 - (PC)Sleight of Hand - 2025 - (Xbox, PC)Sniper Elite: Resistance - 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Sonic Racing CrossWorlds - TBA - (PS5, Switch, Xbox, PC)South of Midnight - 2025 - (Xbox, PC)Star Overdrive - 2025 - (Switch)Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake - TBA - (PS5)State of Decay 3 - TBA (Xbox, PC)Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game - Early 2025 - (PS5, Switch, Xbox, PC)Terminator: Survivors - TBA - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Turok Origins - TBA - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 - H1 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Venus Vacation Prism - early 2025 - (PS5, PC)Winter Burrow - Early 2025 - (Xbox, PC)The Witcher 4 - TBAThe Wolf Among Us 2 - TBA - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Wolverine - TBA - (PS5)Wuchang: Fallen Feathers - 2025 - (PS5, Xbox, PC)Yes, Your Grace: Snowfall - Q1 2025 - (Switch, Xbox, PC)Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana - Early 2025 - (PS5, Switch)For more release date fun, check out our ongoing list of 4K UHD and Blu-ray release dates.Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on (long inhale) Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, and the social network formerly known as Twitter.

Ill admit it, I would probably watch an entire TV series that was just about James Bonds housekeeper. Did you not know he has one? Oh, well, let me tell you about May, this funny lady who looks after Bonds apartment in the original novels. Shes Scottish. Shes old. She knows how to cook an egg. Arent you riveted? Dont you want an entire show just about May? Heres the thing, as a Bond nerd I do want a show about May, Miss Moneypenny, or Ms random friends. I also love Kim Sherwoods Double-O books, all about agents in the world of Bond who arent Bond. If there was a Marvel-like build-out of the world Bond (which arguably, in print, there has been for decades) Id be all in.But, I, a Bond nerd, should not be calling the shots. And based on a new explosive report in the Wall Street Journal, the person who should be calling those Bond shots is the same woman who has been running things since the 1990s. To put it succinctly, if you think Amazon is right and Barbara Broccoli is wrong, you know nothing about how art is made or why good things are good.According to the aforementioned WSJ expos, with excellent and incisive reporting from Erich Schwartzel and Jessica Toonkel, Amazon brass wants to expand the James Bond brand into a sprawling franchise, complete with spinoffs about Miss Moneypenny, TV series, and perhaps, alternate Bonds, including a female James Bond. Additionally, apparently, Broccoli was offended when one Amazon boss, reportedly Jennifer Salke, referred to Bond as content, and bristled when a staff member said, I have to be honest, I dont think James Bonds a hero.First of all, whether you think James Bond is a hero, or progressive, or not, is hardly relevant to the art of the films. Critics often like to suggest that retro-Bonds sexist behaviors were acceptable in a bygone era, but this is a fallacy that misunderstands the phenomenon more broadly. Ian Flemings books (which are sometimes tamer than the films in terms of sexism) were often attacked in the 1950s for being provocative and vulgar. Even in his supposed heyday, James Bond was controversial because, on some level, James Bond should be a kind of lightning rod for culture. Hes not supposed to be squeaky clean; the character Fleming created on the page and that Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli refined for the cinema, is a study in extremes, a specific examination of masculinity that is neither heroic nor evil. As Fleming said in one of the last interviews before the end of his life in 1964: Bond is detached, hes disengaged But hes a believable manaround whom I try to weave a great web of excitement and fantasy.The idea that Bond is a cipher for the audienceregardless of their gender or sexual orientationis one of the most important ingredients for the success of the franchise. His extreme and outsider status makes him a character that many types of people can relate to. In the 21st century, there have been new, radical re-readings of Bond, including ones in which scholars like David Lowbridge-Ellis unpack LGBTQ+ themes in the books and films.Anthony Horowitzs more recent novels have touched on these themes too, featuring overtly gay characters in a 1950s version of Bond. And of course, the entire history of the film franchise is an exploration of shifting mores about what it means to be James Bond. In 1995s GoldenEye, Judi Denchs M called Bond (Pierce Brosnan) a sexist, misogynist dinosaur and a relic of the Cold War. Any disparaging or politically undesirable things you can say about James Bond, have probably been uttered, explored, or exposed by the Bond franchise itself.And thats because Bond has always been an ongoing cultural conversation. Flemings first novel, Casino Royale begins with 007 being more closed off and sexist. By the end, hes ready to give up everything for love, and questions his place as a pawn in an ongoing cold war. The brilliant 2006 film version of that book does much the same, and for many viewers who had never read the books, this film shook up their notion of who and what James Bond meant to them.Arguably, the movie franchise has several inflection points like this; On Her Majestys Secret ServiceLicence to KillNo Time to Die imagined Bond as a tragic father figure. He may not be a hero but who cares? Should we stop loving The Maltese Falcon because Sam Spade was sleeping with his partners wife?The second major point of contention, it seems, between Bond franchise leader Barbara Broccoli and Amazon is connected less to philosophy and more to the way the Bond films are made. Broccoli and her stepbrother Michael G. Wilson largely took over the family business of Eon Productions during the Pierce Brosnan era. When her father, Albert R. Broccoli, died in 1996, Barbara became the guiding light for the franchise and continues various family traditions to this day.One of those traditions is that Bond movies arent made by committee. Eon doesnt do focus groups, they dont care about optics, and theyve always made the Bond filmsrelative to other franchisesin a crucible. Partners Saltzman and Broccoli were pressured by outside forces not to cast Sean Connery back in the early 1960s but they pushed ahead anyway, knowing that his everyman vibe would appeal to huge audiences. If Saltzman and Broccoli had listened to the Amazon-like execs of their day, they would have agreed that Sean Connery seemed like an average truck driver and that regular audiences wouldnt have loved him. Instead even though American distributors initially stuck Dr. No in drive-in cinemas in Oklahoma and Texas, the film overperformed and the rest is history.Barbara Broccoli has also stuck to her guns. She was the primary champion for hiring Daniel Craig as James Bond in Casino Royale, a move that was obviously visionary. In fact, you could argue that had Casino Royale starred anyone other than Craig, Bond would have died right there in 2006. Broccolis eye for raw talent, and a mix of action and artistry is a massive part of what makes the Bond franchise so arresting and relevant in the 21st century. If you thought Skyfall was a masterpiece, thank Sam Mendes, of course. But also thank Barbara Broccoli for hiring him.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Why wouldnt Amazon trust this woman to make similar artistically informed decisions? More than any other era of Bond, the best Craig films (Casino Royale, Skyfall) have aged better than perhaps any of the other entries in the franchise. And Broccolis instincts are a big part of that.Finally, if this report is accurate, and that Broccoli is resisting the Marvel-izing of Bond, preferring instead to still focus on one film at a time, then she is probably right. As a Bond nerd, I may want the various spinoff shows, but perhaps those specific ideas need to stay in books and comics. The 2017 Moneypenny comic book series is great, and the upcoming Q Mysteries books sound cool. But do we need two Amazon streaming shows about these things? The answer is probably not. The movie franchise has worked for over six decades by being a movie franchise about one character. Maybe it should stay that way.Read more James Bond didnt become one of the best film franchises in history through todays standards of franchise maximalism. The true brilliance and staying power of the character are 100 percent connected to his elusiveness and scarcity. Bond endures because we can never get enough of him, and each film leaves us wanting more. The Bond franchise is mocked for this excessiveness, but if youve seen any of the films, you know that the best thing about them is their deliberateness and restraint. Theres actually not a lot of action in Casino Royale, and From Russia With Love is one of the slowest-burn spy movies youll ever see.In terms of action, Bond films are not like Mission: Impossible or John Wick. Theyre also films about an undeniably compelling character and his place in the world. If Amazon doesnt understand that, were better off getting zero new James Bond movies than a half-baked version of 007, engineered by algorithms. In 1995, the first round of trailers for GoldeneEye reminded audiences that there is no substitute for James Bond. And thats still true today.

Image by Getty / FuturismDevelopmentsRemember that huge panic around black spatulas? It turns out that the whole thing may have just been a crock of crap.A study published in October contended that kitchenware made of black plastics, and especially utensils like spatulas, contained alarmingly high amounts of toxic flame retardants due to the recycled materials they were sourced from.It almost immediately caused a major scare, and articles published everywhere from The New York Times to CNN recommended throwing these ubiquitous plastic items out in favor of safer alternatives.But after some scientists questioned the research, the editors of the journal that the study was published in, Chemosphere, issued a correction over the weekend clarifying that the toxic levels indicated by the work were, in a nutshell, wrong; a simple math error was behind the startling, but now seemingly debunked, claim.The work, conducted by researchers at the advocacy group Toxic-Free Future, examined over two hundred black plastic household products, roughly half of which were utensils, to see if they contained brominated flame retardants that are commonly used in electronics.Such chemicals, and in particular a variety known as BDE-209, have been linked with a number of worrying health outcomes, such as endocrine disruption, damage to the reproductive systems, and even cancer. Because the provenance of recycled materials can be tricky to determine, the researchers' suspicion was that plastics containing the flame retardants were negligently being reused where they could pose the most harm: in the very stuff we cook our food with.Their hunch was somewhat vindicated. Nine kitchen utensils were found to contain possibly worrying levels of flame retardants.Some hilariously bungled arithmetic, however, led them to vastly overstate the degree of risk. The authors estimated that regularly using one of these contaminated kitchen utensils could result in an intake of 34,700 nanograms of BDE-209 per day. For reference, the Environmental Protection Agency says that it's safe to intake 7,000 nanograms of the chemical per kilogram of body weight.By applying this figure to a hypothetical adult weight of 60 kilograms, you would get a daily limit of 420,000 nanograms per day, which is well over ten times the estimated exposure levels to the flame retardant. But evidently, someone forgot to punch in a zero somewhere, and the researchers mistakenly reported this as 42,000 nanograms. What initially appeared to be hitting the ceiling of what was deemed safe turned out to barely approach that limit.But in response, the authors of the paper say that while their math may have been off, their conclusions weren't."However, it is important to note that this does not impact our results," study lead author Megan Liu, science and policy manager at Toxic-Free Future, told the National Post. "The levels of flame retardants that we found in black plastic household items are still of high concern, and our recommendations remain the same."And perhaps Liu and her team are correct. It may be the dose that makes the poison, but why take the risk with a dose at all?It's certainly possible that we're being exposed to these flame retardants from other sources besides kitchenware, accumulating to dangerous levels in our bodies over time. So if you're worried, there's no harm in ditching these black spatulas that do appear to contain the chemicals. But the alarmist response, it's safe to say, was overblown.More on chemicals: Scientists Identify Strange Chemical in Drinking Water Across the USShare This Article

"Bunkers are, in fact, not a tool to survive a nuclear war."Truth BombAs more and more rich people rush to buy and build bomb shelters, experts suggest they're little more than a psychological defense mechanism for wealthy people who want to feel a shred of control in an unpredictable world.As theAssociated Press reports, the bunker business was worth $137 million last year and is slated to grow to$175 million by the end of the decade, per analysis from BlueWeave Consulting.According to experts who spoke to the outlet, however, these shelters do more to address atomic anxieties than nuclear realities.After all, you're eventually going to need to crawl out of your bunker and face the horrific situation back on the surface."Bunkers are, in fact, not a tool to survive a nuclear war, but a tool to allow a population to psychologically endure the possibility of a nuclear war," explained Alicia Sanders-Zakre of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.Radiation after a nuclear bomb detonation, as Sanders Zakre described it, is a "uniquely horrific aspect of nuclear weapons." Even those who survive the fallout, which involves radioactive particles raining down on the area surrounding the blast, will be unable to escape its long-lasting, intergenerational health effects like those seen in Chernobylafter its reactor meltdown nearly 40 years ago.And that's without getting into starvation, thirst, and the breakdown of social order."Ultimately," she said, "the only solution to protect populations from nuclear war is to eliminate nuclear weapons."Shelter SkelterDespite the promises made by companies catering to so-called "doomsday preppers," nonproliferation expert Sam Lair told the APthat such efforts are likely futile."Even if a nuclear exchange is perhaps more survivable than many people think, I think the aftermath will be uglier than many people think as well," Lair, a researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said. "The fundamental wrenching that it would do to our way of life would be profound."As Lair pointed out, politicians used to urge the citizenry to build their own bomb shelters half a century ago. Now, the "political costs incurred by causing people to think about shelters again is not worth it" though that sort of concern clearly doesn't extend to the big business of bunkers.While doomsday prepping is now as American as apple pie, the revival of bunker culture isn't limited to our shores: over in Switzerland, where each resident is guaranteed a spot in a bomb shelter in the case of nuclear war, the government is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to update its vast array of Cold War-era bunkers.More on nuclear anxiety: US Military Alarmed by Russian Nuclear Weapon Platform in OrbitShare This Article

Organic ArchitectureScientists Suggest Harvesting Blood From Mars Colonists to Construct Future CitybyVictor TangermannOne crew member collecting blood for 72 weeks could be enough to "construct a small habitat for another crew member."Dec 21, 10:30 AM ESTGetty ImagesOne crew member collecting blood for 72 weeks could be enough to "construct a small habitat for another crew member."Blood DriveFuture space travelers will have to get creative to build structures on the surface of Mars. Sending all the necessary construction materials across over 140 million miles of space wouldn't just be a gargantuan undertaking, but it would be prohibitively expensive as well.Instead, scientists have long proposed making use of the existing Martian soil to construct permanent structures.In a paper accepted for publication in the journal Acta Astronautica, a team of researchers from Kharazmi University in Tehran, Iran, investigated eleven different types of Martian concrete or cement "based on available resources and technologies."And one of them stands out, to say the least: AstroCrete, a previously proposed substrate made from Martian regolith mixed with the bodily fluids the literal blood, sweat, and tears of future Mars inhabitants.Construction IVThe idea of using blood to reinforce mortar dates back to the ancient Romans."Although it is a bit strange, blood can be utilized to create strong concrete or bricks for onsite construction on Mars," the researchers wrote in the paper. "After the arrival of the first Martian inhabitants and their placement in primary structures, which can include inflatable structures, the combination of tears, blood, and sweat from the inhabitants, along with Martian regolith, can be used to produce a concrete known as AstroCrete."The unusual material was first proposed by researchers at the University of Manchester in 2021."Scientists have been trying to develop viable technologies to produce concrete-like materials on the surface of Mars, but we never stopped to think that the answer might be inside us all along," said Aled Roberts, from the University of Manchester, ina statement at the time.A special protein in human blood called human serum albumin (HAS) serves as a "vivo binder" to create a form of concrete. Meanwhile, urea, a nitrogenous product extracted from urine, could make the material even stronger.According to the Iranian team of scientists, a single crew member could produce sufficient HAS to "construct a small habitat for another crew member" in just 72 weeks.Best of all, the University of Manchester scientists claim that AstroCrete could be 3D printed in place, making construction even simpler.Apart from relying on the blood, sweat, and tears of astronauts, the Iranian scientists also proposed combing the Martian landscape for calcium carbonate to create a lime mortar. Alternatively, the abundant sulfur deposits on the planet's surface could also be used to craft "sulfur concrete," a corrosion-resistant material that "can be used in salty and acid environments."More on AstroCrete: Scientists Suggest Mixing "Astronaut Blood" With Mars Dust to Create Horrific SheltersShare This Article

Federal officials have spent years establishing and improving presidential transition processes, including making key resources available to incoming presidents and their teams. For example, as Donald Trump prepares to return the White House, he and his transition operation have been offered official government communications accounts including .gov email addresses to conduct official business.Politico reported, however, that the Republican president-elect and his team are overseeing a fully privatized operation, which is relying on private servers, laptops and cell phones instead of government-issued devices.Federal officials say theyre worried about sharing documents via email with Donald Trumps transition team because the incoming officials are eschewing government devices, email addresses and cybersecurity support, raising fears that they could potentially expose sensitive government data. The private emails have agency employees considering insisting on in-person meetings and document exchanges that they otherwise would have conducted electronically, according to two federal officials granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive situation. Their anxiety is particularly high in light of recent hacking attempts from China and Iran that targeted Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and other top officials.The Trump transition confirmed its use of private emails, with spokesperson Brian Hughes telling Politico that all transition business is conducted on a transition-managed email server. The outlet reported:We have implemented plans to communicate information securely as necessary, [Hughes] added, but declined to say what those plans entail. In a statement in late November, transition co-chair Susie Wiles similarly cited unspecified security and information protections the team has in place, arguing that they replace the need for additional government and bureaucratic oversight.Michael Daniel, a former White House cyber coordinator who now leads the nonprofit online security organization Cyber Threat Alliance, told Politico, I can assure you that the transition teams are targets for foreign intelligence collection. There are a lot of countries out there that want to know: What are the policy plans for the incoming administration?You probably know what Im going to write next. Im going to write it anyway.Younger readers might not fully appreciate the degree to which the 2016 presidential election focused on former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons email protocols. Voters were told in no uncertain terms that this was one of the defining political issues of our time.As Election Day 2016 approached, and the United States faced the prospect of having a television personality elected to the nations highest office, email was the one thing voters heard most about the more capable and more qualified candidate.The fact that Clinton did not rely entirely on her state.gov address, the electorate was told, was evidence of her recklessness. She put the United States at risk, the argument went, by mishandling classified materials. For some, it might even have been literally criminal culminating in Lock her up chants at Trump rallies.During the presidential campaign, then-House Speaker Paul Ryan went so far as to formally request that Clinton be denied intelligence briefings insisting that her email practices were proof that she mishandled classified information and therefore couldnt be trusted.When various observers including me said this was an outrageously foolish controversy, we received pushback from those who argued with great sincerity that this deserved to be an issue that dictated the outcome of one of the most important national elections in modern history.Clinton, of course, narrowly lost to Trump, who was later credibly accused by federal prosecutors of improperly taking classified materials to his glorified country club in Florida, before relying on the kind of private email servers that sparked anti-Clinton hysteria eight years ago.My point is not that Republicans have flip-flopped on the issue. Rather, the Trump-related developments serve as an example of insincerity.Its not that Trump and his party have changed their minds about the importance of email security and the hazards associated with eschewing official government accounts. The truth is simpler: They never actually cared about Clintons tech practices in the first place.It was simply a convenient line of attack, which has since outlived its usefulness.This post updates our related earlier coverage.

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Ultimate FishermanThe most underrated game of 2024 reminds me of Animal Crossing, but it's all about fishing - and nothing elseFish, gamble, and parkour. What more could you want?Image credit: lamedeveloper Article by Kelsey Raynor Guides Writer Published on Dec. 21, 2024 When your game(s) of the year largely consist of psychological horror and back-to-back, brutal boss fights as mine did youll almost definitely need something mindlessly relaxing to kick back with. Sure enough, as I wrapped up my time wandering around the streets of Silent Hill 2, an adorable, unsuspecting game began doing the rounds on social media: Webfishing.Webfishing is simple. You fish. Thats it. After hours of deciphering Silent Hill 2s ending conditions, fishing is all I wanted to do.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Sure, Webfishing does have a little more to it than just fishing. Theres a chat function, and ultimately, the idea is that you make friends or hang with your existing friends and chat while waiting for a fish to bite. Theres cosmetics, upgrades, and even gambling, but not the predatory type; Webfishing, fortunately, doesnt require you to spend a penny beyond the 4.29 that the game actually costs.Sure enough, myself and a close friend got to work catching fish and quickly spent most of our profits on scratchcards. Our newfound profits, which werent really profits at all, were quickly spent on cosmetics and better bait. Better bait means bigger fish, and the fish in Webfishing get really bigAnd what happens when you catch those big fish? More often than not, youll find other folk who all look like Animal Crossing characters, by the way cheering for you in chat. Ive had some of my nicest, most innocent of online interactions all year in Webfishing. Cast off! | Image credit: lamedeveloperAn incredibly simple premise with, for the most part, a lovely playerbase and community. In one random lobby that I joined, hoping to quietly fish while watching YouTube, I joined a group of people fishing from a toilet. One of the many things you can do in Webfishing that I didnt know existed at the time. Another player brought out a guitar and began taking requests from others, while we all continued to fish from the same, small toilet.On another occasion, myself and my friend decided to spend our Saturday evening having some in-game (and real!) beers while playing Webfishing and catching up on each others lives. Our server quickly went from just the two of us to multiple pixelated cats and dogs gathering on the pier to chat about anything and everything, get drunk on in-game wine, and of course, fish.There were a few casualties to the wine, but all in all, logging into a game to fish with your friend and then finding yourself chatting to a whole array of like-minded, LGBTQIA+ people while doing so isnt something I necessarily expected from Webfishing when I first installed it. I was pleasantly surprised, and its what keeps me coming back. That, and fishing, of course. Theres a real kick from catching a fish so big that it clips through the map. Though, not so much of a kick from then spending all of your profits from it on scratchcards, and losing most of them. That's bait. | Image credit: lamedeveloperWebfishing is bizarre and surreal at the best of times, especially when you witness your friend parkour from one side of the map to the other meowing frantically the entire time, because thats a thing you can do but theres something just so lovely about it all. Webfishing is a small corner of the internet where when hackers arent trying to ruin the fun you can truly switch off and relax for a while. Fish, gamble, parkour. Push people into the ocean. Get wine drunk on the pier. Webfishing is an underrated gem and a rare place of respite for gamers who need a break from it all.