Earth and Mars in comparison. Mars has only about 10.7 percent of earth's mass but is roughly half ... [+] its radius.WikipediaMars remains a true puzzle, but not for the reasons most people would think. Sure, there's debate over whether it ever had surface water, oceans and life. But Mars small mass relative to earth and Venus have been a major conundrum that has plagued planetary scientists for decades.Because the red planets mass is roughly only a tenth that of earth, it prompted Carnegie Institution planetary scientist George Wetherill to dub it the small Mars problem. There have been several hypotheses to try and explain why Mars ended up so much smaller than earth and Venus. But when hard pressed, few planetary scientists are willing to go to the mat for any of them.If there is enough material in the disk to grow something the size of earth and Venus, its not clear why there also wasnt the same amount of material near Mars so that it might grow to be the same size, Matthew Clement, a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins Universitys Applied Physics Lab in Maryland, told me via email.Is Mars small mass the key to why the red planet could never hold on to its water and ultimately never remain habitable?Mass is the single most fundamental property of a planet, Sean Raymond, an astrophysicist at the Bordeaux Astrophysical Laboratory in France, told me via email.Mars' geological history and loss of water both stem in large part from its mass, he said.Mass MattersMORE FOR YOUIt certainly is a primary factor, along with its distance from the Sun, Stephen Kane, a planetary geophysicist at the University of California in Riverside, told me via email. Mars small size severely limited both the longevity of its geological and volcanic activity that replenished the atmosphere, he said. Its small mass also made it susceptible to being stripped of its atmosphere by the solar wind, said Kane.Mars reached half its mass very early on in the history of our solar system.Basically, whatever the source of the size difference between the two planets had to be in place very early on in the solar systems history, probably within just a few million years, said Clement.Why is Mars so different in mass than earth?There are three leading hypotheses as to why.The so-called Grand Tack Model features our very early Jupiter migrating inward toward the Sun before - somewhat akin to the movement of a sailboat - tacking back outward in the opposite direction. In the process, our young Jupiter disrupted the planetary building blocks that would have allowed Mars to form a larger mass planet.Without Jupiter (and its migration), Mars may well have been the size of Venus and earth, or even bigger, Kane said.The low-mass Main Asteroid Belt model in which Mars had very little material in its vicinity from which to grow larger in mass.The early instability model in which the early inner solar system was basically such a chaotic, orbital mess that the building blocks for rocky planets beyond the orbit of earth and Venus were too perturbed to coalesce into any larger than Mars.In truth, each of these hypotheses likely played a role in keeping Mars small. But it will likely take much more sampling of our solar systems Main Asteroid Belt to pinpoint which, if any, of these ideas holds the most promise.Why is solving this conundrum important?The inner solar system contains four vastly different planets, and we still dont really understand why, said Clement. Is it that something went wrong for Mars, he asked, or did something just fortuitously go right for the Earth?Forming Planets Out Of DustMars' small mass is just a byproduct of how the Solar System transformed dust into planets, said Raymond. Learning more about this process through both theoretical modeling and continued observations of dust around young stars, where planetesimals are forming right now is the future, he said.The Bottom Line?Our solar systems architecture is rather unusual, particularly as only about 10% of solar type stars have a cold Jupiter, Kane said. It's therefore possible that most systems do allow the formation of numerous Venus and Earth-size planets beyond that which we see in the solar system, he said. This is potentially good for astrobiology since giant planets are relatively rare, said Kane.

Big Tech is investing in nuclear power to meet AI data center energy demands.Nuclear is seen as a clean energy source, but investors are skeptical about scalability and returns.While VC interest in nuclear startups is growing, startups face key bottlenecks.The generative AI boom has made nuclear power a major new obsession for Big Tech.This year, companies at the forefront of AI development have been in a frenzy over nuclear power as they've searched for clean sources of electricity to run the energy-hungry data centers being built to serve their prized AI models.Microsoft made a stunning move in September as it struck a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy to awaken one of two dormant nuclear plants on Three Mile Island the site of one of the most high-profile nuclear accidents in US history.In October, Amazon took a stake in X-energy, a developer of small modular reactors (SMRs) that promise greater efficiency than large nuclear reactors. That same month, Google announced a clean energy agreement with Kairos Power, a company developing SMRs.These deals have emerged at speed for a simple reason. An arms race in the tech sector between companies vying for control of the most powerful AI models is set to drive data center power demand through the roof, with Goldman Sachs estimating a 160% jump by 2030.However, while Big Tech's ambitions to build the world's most potent AI models have invigorated their interest in nuclear power, investors, energy experts, and analysts are feeling split about whether it will help startups scale at pace and deliver fruitful returns.Why nuclear might not be a quick-fix solutionOne issue that skeptics point to is that nuclear reactors won't come online quickly enough or with the scale needed to meet the demands of energy-hungry data centers.Jill McArdle, a campaigner at European nonprofit Beyond Fossil Fuels, told Business Insider that nuclear power is "completely off topic" as a current solution for powering data centers, particularly if tech companies are serious about the looming deadlines they've set to meet emissions targets.Google aims to achieve net-zero emissions across all of its operations by 2030. Microsoft, meanwhile, has committed to being carbon-negative by 2030. "What we are talking about, especially now, is the next five years of how are we going to power this massive boom in data centers," McArdle said.She added that more compact SMRs adopted by Big Tech also remain largely untested. Google's corporate agreement with Kairos Power, for instance, is expected to see the startup's first SMR come online by 2030, with others being added through to 2035.One concern around large nuclear solutions is expense, with the likes of Microsoft's Three Mile Island deal unlikely to be replicated elsewhere. As McArdle put it: "Traditional nuclear just isn't going to be coming online at the scale and in the budget that we need to get it done." Three Mile Island is a nuclear power plant that Microsoft has signed a deal to revive. Wally McNamee/Corbis via Getty Images Venture capitalists have echoed this concern."The length of the investment is not compatible with private equity funds maybe it's one for evergreen funds," said Guillaume Sarlat, partner at France-headquartered VC firm Axeleo Capital, which has deliberately excluded nuclear from its investment policy. "The other problem is, what are the economic conditions going to be when nuclear startups are ready to sell their product? What is going to be the cost of the electricity that they're going to produce in 20 years?"He speculated that funds backing nuclear could aim for an internal rate of return of 15%, but the two main parameters that determine this would be productivity gains and the competitiveness of the nuclear solution. These factors could be affected by the price of gas and photovoltaic materials, making it a risky bet, he said. Startups face key bottlenecksOn the technical side, nuclear startups will have to work hard to differentiate against existing fission technologies and "persuade investors that that marginal improvement is worth waiting another 10 years," said Matthew Blain, principal at climate tech fund Voyager Ventures.While Blain noted an aligned "excitement" for nuclear fusion technology, he added that these startups would first need to demonstrate a believable pathway down the cost curve. "Your first dollars per megawatt of your first fusion plant will be astronomically expensive, and that will be competing on a 20 to 30-year timeframe with the cost of energy and battery storage," he told BI.It's part of the reason investment in nuclear energy startups has fluctuated over the past five years. The industry had a banner year in 2021, with startups raking in $3.57 billion in VC funding, per PitchBook data. Figures subsequently dipped in 2022 and 2023, with VCs pouring $2.67 billion and $1.17 billion into startups, respectively."Nuclear energy requires a centralized infrastructure that is harder to scale incrementally," said Nicolas Heuz, cofounder and CEO of osmotic energy startup Sweetch Energy. "And investors and governments often favor proven solutions, even though they are not perfect, over novel ones associated with emerging technology."The case for being bullish on nuclearDespite the concerns, certain quarters of the tech sector remain convinced that nuclear is the way forward to support the AI data center boom.A16z, the venture capital firm led by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, named "the resurgence of nuclear" as one of its big ideas for driving its "American dynamism" investment theme in 2025."A perfect storm of regulatory reform, public enthusiasm, capital infusions, and insatiable energy needs particularly from AI data centers will accelerate orders for new reactors for the first time in decades," is how David Ulevitch, a general partner at A16z, put it. X Energy's XE-100 nuclear reactor plants. X Energy A few things still need to be figured out. Blain notes that VCs will need to see if there is profit to be made on a technology that may offer "more of an infrastructure return" typically made through debt investments than the kind of outsized return a VC typically seeks from a bet on a software business. Nuclear startups may also opt to "take the trajectory of companies like SpaceX by staying private for a long period of time," he said.That said, it's clear that money is flowing into the industry again, as VCs have deployed $2.62 billion into nuclear startups this year. Notable raises included X Energy's $500 million round and the $151 million raised by Paris-headquartered Newcleo, which is building SMRs using repurposed radioactive waste.Newcleo's COO, Elisabeth Rizzotti, told BI that a Big Tech-fueled boom in demand for clean energy had made it an "attractive" option for investors. She added that the startup was potentially eyeing an IPO once it met two key milestones: building its first prototype in 2026 and getting pre-authorization to build its first reactor in France by early 2027.Companies trying to sell the world on nuclear power will have to accept a hard reality, however: the clock's ticking on their opportunity to prove their solutions can meet the extraordinary energy demands of the AI industry. The data centers will keep on coming.

Germany's foreign minister urged new European Union sanctions on Russia's dark fleet.As part of a probe into a cut cable, Finland said last week it detained a ship that may be from the dark fleet.The case is being investigated as "aggravated criminal mischief," Finnish police said.Germany's foreign minister has called for further sanctions against Russia's dark fleet of oil tankers following damage to an underwater cable linking Finland and Estonia last week."Ships are damaging major undersea cables in the Baltic Sea almost every month," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told the Funke media group."Crews are leaving anchors in the water, dragging them for kilometers along the seafloor for no apparent reason, and then losing them when pulling them up," Baerbock said, per an AFP translation."It's more than difficult to still believe in coincidences. This is an urgent wake-up call for all of us," she added.Baerbock urged new European Union sanctions against Russia's dark or shadow fleet of oil tankers that transport sanctioned Russian oil and energy products.The EU has also sanctioned 79 vessels from Russia's shadow fleet. These ships are banned from accessing EU ports and services.Many of these vessels are aging, operating under opaque ownership, and sailing without adequate insurance coverage. They pose environmental and financial risks to coastal countries. A heavy storm earlier this month caused two tankers to spill thousands of tons of low-grade fuel oil into the Kerch Strait, between the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula and Russia.Baerbock's comments came after Finnish authorities detained the Eagle S oil tanker on Thursday as part of an investigation into the cutting of an undersea cable in the Baltic Sea. The cable transmits electricity from Finland to Estonia.The case is being investigated as "aggravated criminal mischief," Finnish police said in a press release.Finnish customs authorities and the European Union's executive commission said the tanker might be part of Russia's dark fleet of tankers.The Kremlin declined to comment on Finland's seizure of the oil tanker on Friday."I cannot say anything for sure, for this is a highly specialized issue that the presidential administration is hardly in a position to comment on," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in response to a question on the Finnish move.On Friday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on X that he had spoken to the Finnish president about the investigation into the "possible sabotage of undersea cables.""#NATO will enhance its military presence in the Baltic Sea," Rutte added.

Former President Jimmy Carter, remembered for his humanitarian work, died at 100.Carter founded The Carter Center, won a Nobel Peace Prize, and promoted global peace.His leadership successes include mediating fairly and being ahead of his generation.Jimmy Carter's Sunday death has reignited conversations about the former president's leadership.Carter's term, from 1977 to 1981, was marked by an energy crisis in 1979, the Iranian hostage situation in the same year, and double-digit inflation in 1980. He is widely praised for his work after his presidency, including humanitarian work and conflict mediation.During his presidency, Carter was best known for his foreign relations work. He facilitated the Camp David Accords the first peace treaty between Israel and Egypt and established full diplomatic relations between the US and China.In 1982, the former president founded The Carter Center to focus on such issues, and he was active in Habitat for Humanity projects until the end of his life.Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts to secure peaceful solutions to international conflicts."God gives us a capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes, and we must," Carter said in his acceptance speech.Cater was a former, governor, and Naval officer, among other jobs. He said in a 1998 interview with Harvard Business Review, that in all roles, he tried to master his specific duties and delegate as much as possible.His death has led to an outpouring of reflections on his leadership and management successes from business and political leaders worldwide. Here are five leadership lessons Carter lived by during his lifetime:1. Understand the other side The triple handshake between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Carter, and Israeli Prime Minister Menahem Begin sealed the signing of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treat in 1979. Photo by Tel Or Beni/GPO/Getty Images During his time brokering the Camp David Accords in 1978, Carter mediated between seemingly intractable sides Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. Carter remained patient through the grueling 13-day negotiations, letting both leaders feel heard and respected. Carter helped shift the priority of the negotiations from short-term political gains to the long-term goal of peace in the region.In the 1998 interview with HBR, Carter said that the same principles apply to business leaders."All negotiations, whether in government or business, require certain things," he said. "One is a proper respect for the people across from you whose opinions differ from yours. You can't be arrogant. You've got to give the people with whom you're contending your understandingnot your agreement but your understanding."He carried on his mediation work after his presidency.In 1999, he helped broker the Nairobi Agreement, which led to the restoration of diplomatic ties between Sudan and Uganda and the return of about 300 child soldiers.2. Don't fear being ahead of your timeCarter was one of the earliest advocates for fighting a series of neglected diseases, including river blindness"Starting on the day he was inaugurated in January 1977, President Carter has unapologetically advocated for human rights, a stance that wasn't always popular in Washington, D.C., or in foreign capitals," Craig Withers, an executive at The Carter Center, who worked with the former President for 36 years, wrote in Fast Company article in October.He was also one of the first politicians to fight for energy efficiency in the transport industry, despite pushback from American carmakers."There was a tremendous improvement in the efficient use of energy while I was there. The laws that we finally passed after four full years of tedious negotiation are still on the books," Carter told HBR in 1998.3. Pay attention and then take action Carter's humanitarian work stemmed from his ability to notice the needs of others around him and take action. Archive Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images; Scott Olson/Getty Images The 39th President was a devout Christian and taught at a Sunday school in his hometown in Georgia until he entered hospice in 2022.Carter's humanitarian work stemmed from his keenness to notice the needs of others around him and take action. A longtime letter writer on behalf of political prisoners at home and around the world, Carter was also seen as a reliable neighbor and worked on several reforestation and conservation projects, starting withtree farming on his family's landin Georgia."As a businessman, a church leader, and a political leader, I became intensely aware of the needs of others in the deep South during segregation, although I wasn't always as courageous as I should have been in trying to alleviate these problems," Carter wrote in 1998. "But understanding the needs and suffering of others is a vital element for successful leadership."4. Build strong constituenciesAmong the many criticisms during his presidency, such as his handling of the Iranian hostage crisis and the recession that came toward the end of his term, critics say his biggest weakness was a people management mistake."Jimmy Carter found that all the political skill and savvy in the world did not compensate for lacking strong constituencies," Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, wrote in an HBR column in 2008.His inability to garner long-term support from various factions divided the Democratic Party. In 1980, Ronald Reagan won the election and the vote of many Democrats during the presidential election.5. Be careful with the truthCarter built his presidential campaign in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal that brought down Richard Nixon. He called for"High moral and ethical standards are essential, and they don't change from one job to another, or from one level of authority to another," Carter said in 1998. "Whenever a leader violates these basic principles, through arrogance or through ignorance, there's a derogation of duty."Carter criticized President-elect Donald Trump for "exacerbating" racial tensions and being "careless with the truth" in a 2018 CBS News interview."I think I went through my campaign and my presidency without ever lying to the people or making a deliberately false statement, and I think that would be a very worthwhile thing to reinsert into politics these days," he said.In 2022, he reflected on the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol in a New York Times Opinion essay.He wrote: "I now fear that what we have fought so hard to achieve globally the right to free, fair elections, unhindered by strongman politicians who seek nothing more than to grow their own power has become dangerously fragile at home.""For American democracy to endure, we must demand that our leaders and candidates uphold the ideals of freedom and adhere to high standards of conduct."

Relmpago House / h3o architectsSave this picture! Jos HeviaHouses, RenovationBarcelona, SpainArchitects: h3o architectsAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:55 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2023 PhotographsPhotographs:Jos HeviaManufacturersBrands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers: ECLISSE, Casa Protea, Curated By, Domstico Shop, Fabresa, Mons i Benet, Ralpe, RocaMore SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. The house, with a gable roof, is characterized by the materialization of lightning as a central element that defines and separates the interior spaces. The lightning, when transformed into a wall and luminaire, clearly and immediately structures and shapes the functioning of the different rooms.Save this picture!Save this picture!"La Casa Relmpago is a project that speaks of one of our great concerns in space exploration: morphology and color approached from fantasy. We took advantage of the incredible history of a lightning bolt that struck the house years ago as a starting point for our inspiration," highlights Adri Orriols, Joan Gener, and Miquel Ruiz from h3o Architects.Save this picture!Save this picture!With this renovation, the studio's main intention is to generate a unique architectural experience that departs from the usual bland interiors. By combining transgressive architecture with an idea full of identity, a proposal is created that fuses geometries, materials, and colors, giving life and shape to a stimulating interior where the fluidity between spaces becomes the indisputable protagonist.Save this picture!From a morphological perspective, this challenge is approached with a zigzag distribution that shapes and divides the different areas of the house. Composed of angular lines and geometries that flow and link to each other, the project creates a visual and spatial effect that surprises the user.Save this picture!In addition, the wide range of vibrant colors strategically applied to the different masses and planes of the house allows for highlighting the shapes and volumes as well as distinguishing and unifying spaces. This chromatic choice creates an atmosphere that challenges the usual spatiality of the user and, in combination with a series of seemingly contextualized small stone elements, paves the way for sensations and memories that transform the space.Save this picture!La Casa Relmpago transcends the conventional notion of home. By celebrating the passion for the arts through an authentic narrative, its goal is to awaken a different perspective towards everyday life, one where creativity and originality are the essence of each day.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officeh3o architectsOfficePublished on December 30, 2024Cite: "Relmpago House / h3o architects" [Casa Relmpago / h3o architects] 30 Dec 2024. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1010715/relampago-house-h3o-architects&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?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

Shruthi and Sunith's House / Biome Environmental SolutionsSave this picture! Suryan // DangHouses, RenovationHyderabad, IndiaArchitects: Biome Environmental SolutionsAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:4550 ftYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2022 PhotographsPhotographs:Suryan // Dang Lead Architects: Sharath Nayak, Siddharath Achaya More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. The site is located in a residential area of central Hyderabad, surrounded by other houses. Two existing structures - a two-story house and a small clinic, both built in the 80s - were separated by a large garden, shaded by old mango trees. The brief was to build a home for the client's family that would reflect their new space requirements and contemporary taste. In addition, a small office + production space and staff quarters were to be accommodated.Save this picture!As the original buildings were frame structures in good condition, it was agreed to renovate and extend the existing house, rather than demolish it completely. This would be both economically and ecologically beneficial, minimizing the generation of construction waste.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!While the functional arrangement of the ground and first floors were largely retained, the excess circulation areas were trimmed and openings were enlarged, to add new rooms or enhance existing spaces. A small hall on the first floor was demolished to create a double-height space for the dining on the lower level. A larger semi-circular concrete staircase made way for more compact stairs in metal and wood, which connect all floors through an open triple-height volume while making space for additional toilets. An elevator shaft was carved out of the existing foyer.Save this picture!The second floor was an almost completely new addition, meeting the current needs of the clients - a children's bedroom, a home theatre-cum-den with a pantry for entertaining guests, and a yoga space - apart from the existing master bedroom, which was remodeled and expanded.Save this picture!The double and triple-height spaces, as well as the open-to-sky yoga space, are screened from neighboring buildings, using fluted glass windows or glass bricks for the sides, and a pergola salvaged from the original house for the top. The building primarily opens outward on the east towards the garden, where the only additions to the lower floors were made in the form of cantilevered balconies and terraces.Save this picture!New walls were built in compressed stabilized earth blocks, with external walls constructed in alternating courses of 9" and 6" masonry - a creative resolution of material shortages encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting striated pattern is both aesthetically novel and thermally beneficial, self-shading the facade from solar radiation.Save this picture!The junction between old and new was emphasized, with the white plastered walls on the first floor separated from the exposed earth block walls above by a jigsaw pattern strip of ribbon windows. This strip was also continued in the louvered screen concealing the toilet windows and plumbing lines on the south, with the angle of louvers modified to allow more light where windows were present behind.Save this picture!The clinic building was renovated to house the production space and staff quarters, with the addition of a parking space covered by a weatherproof clay tile paneled roof. The old-style moldings were removed, to continue the natural clean aesthetic of the main house, and internal divisions were made with drywall, to minimize changes to the existing marble flooring.Save this picture!Beyond material choices and improvement of natural light and ventilation, it was ensured that the new buildings were more water-secure. All rainwater falling on the terraces is harvested, and greywater from the bath and wash areas is recycled through a reed bed system on the terrace, for reuse in flushing and gardening. The old structure thus serves as the base for accommodating new requirements, without sacrificing the ecological concerns that are a critical part of urban modernity.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officePublished on December 30, 2024Cite: "Shruthi and Sunith's House / Biome Environmental Solutions" 30 Dec 2024. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1025054/shruthi-and-suniths-house-biome-environmental-solutions&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?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

Photographer Paolo Della RoccaNature Photographer of the Year 2024 awards.Games Between Siblings by Paolo Della RoccaWinner, Mammals In northern India lies a region called Spiti Valley,home to one of the most elusive wild animals on Earththe snow leopard. Sincechildhood, this journey has been a dream of mine, and the snow leopard has always beenmy favorite wild animal.This year, during my search for this mysterious feline, I was lucky enough to encounter a pair of sub-adult siblings and to capture them at different moments in their lives. Themost incredible day of this experience was February 1st. This image was anything but easy to obtain. I waited over six hours at the edge of a canyon as the two siblings restedin a cave. The coldreaching -25 degrees and intensified by a snowstormseeped into my bones.When calm finally returned, the snow leopards began to move, chasing each other up the snowy slopes, playing in front of my astonished eyes. I remember thinking, This isnt happening; it cant be real! And then, I captured this frame. Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine photographing such a moment. Im so glad and grateful that the jury of NPOTY 2024 appreciated this photograph!Credit: Paolo Della Rocca / NPOTY 2024 In this extraordinary photograph, the photographer has captured what many consider the holy grail of wildlife photographynot just one, but two snowleopards in a dramatic confrontation NPOTY Chairman Tin Man Lee explains. The image freezes a breathtaking moment as these elusive cats rear up on their hind legs, their powerful forms perfectly separated against the snowy landscape, creating a scene of raw power and natural drama. What elevatesthis image beyond a mere sighting is the technical excellence in capturing such explosivebehavior in challenging mountain conditions, combined with the artistic merit of a composition that places these mysterious cats in their ethereal, high-altitude habitat.(Click to expand images to full-size.) Puff(in) Daddy by Brian Matthews Highly Commended, Animal Portraits Credit: Brian Matthews / NPOTY 2024 Sanderling Siesta by Mathijs Frenken Runner Up Credit: Mathijs Frenken / NPOTY 2024 Curious Guanaco by Charles Janson Highly Commended, Mammals Credit: Charles Janson / NPOTY 2024 Gone Fishing by Hannes Lochner Highly Commended, MammalsCredit: Hannes Lochner / NPOTY 2024 HANNES LOCHNER Taking Care of the Male by Antonio Liebana Navarro Highly Commended, Animal Portraits Credit: Antonio Liebana Navarro / NPOTY 2024 Giant Octopus Dolfeini by Andrey Shpatak Winner, UnderwaterJudge Tin Man Lee shares his insights:This photograph masterfully captures the raw energy and fluid grace of an octopus inmotion, creating a mesmerizing composition that immediately draws the viewer into the underwater world. The vibrant colors of the octopus contrast stunningly against the emerald backdrop, while its dynamic pose and sweeping tentacles create natural leading lines that guide the eye through every detail of this extraordinary moment. The photographers technical skill in freezing such a fleeting underwater scene, while maintaining perfect clarity and composition, transforms an already fascinating marine creature into a spellbinding work of art that embodies both the power and elegance of marine life.Credit: Andrey Shpatak / NPOTY 2024 AShpatakAngel or Demon by Francesco GuffantiHighly Commended, BirdsCredit: Francesco Guffanti / NPOTY 2024 Milky Way by Ismael DomnguezRunner Up, YouthCredit: Ismael Domnguez / NPOTY 2024 Ismael Domiinguez Gutierrez Surfing on the other side by Levi Fitze Highly Commended, BirdsCredit: Levi Fitze / NPOTY 2024 Bed Time by Gerard Carbonell Highly Commended, Humans and NatureCredit: Gerard Carbonell / NPOTY 2024 My Pet Tiger by Aaron Gekoski Winner, Humans and NatureJury member Joan de la Malla comments on the winning image in the Human and Naturecategory: This striking photograph features the king of the jungle reclining on aluxurious sofa. The opulent surroundings and the eccentricity of the pet tiger serve as astark reminder of our societys anthropocentrism, which subjects even the most powerfuland dignified animals, like the tiger, to human designs. Without a doubt, this memorable image invites us to reflect on our role as a species on this planet and encourages a criticalexamination of our societys way of living.Credit: Aaron Gekoski / NPOTY 2024 Taken by a Ghost by Pandora Maund Highly Commended, Other AnimalsCredit: Pandora Maund / NPOTY 2024 Pandora MaundEmerald Gem by Louis Guillot Highly Commended, Animal PortraitsCredit: Louis Guillot / NPOTY 2024

Making your everyday life better every day.Image: Popular Science composite. Oura/Proclaim/Olaplex/Eight Sleep/Dyson ShareWe may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more Plenty of personal care productsthe treatments and gadgets that fill our medicine cabinets, home gyms, and vanitiespromise innovation. Yet few actually deliver. Companies that craft cosmetics, supplements, fitness tools, and other wellness aids tend to go hard on buzzwords without putting in the research to make something truly new. That doesnt mean there arent worthwhile, forward-thinking personal care products available, though, and this year brought some notable offerings. From high-tech sleep and activity trackers that make peak performance possible to cutting-edge hair dryers that give your scalp a break from burns, these five beauty and wellness products actually back up their big promises.(Editors Note: This is a section from Popular Sciences 37th annual Best of Whats New awards. Be sure to read the full list of the 50 greatest innovations of 2024.)Grand Award WinnerOura Ring 4 by Oura: A wellness tracker with a slimmer profile and beefier featuresIt takes a lot for an activity tracker to win a Best of Whats New Award and even more for the same brand to win twice. In 2021, we gave the Oura 3 fitness tracker a nod for its forward-thinking approach to incorporating period tracking into its smart ring app. The Oura Ring 4, which launched on October 3, is more than just a refresh. This model is notably more comfortable thanks to flatter sensors within the band. But Ouras new Smart Sensing algorithm ensures the slimmer band is more capable than ever. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.The rings sensorsred and infrared LEDs for measuring blood oxygen levels, green and infrared LEDs to track heart rate and respiration, a digital thermometer, and an accelerometerturn on and off based on your activity and your unique physiology. The result is a ring that can run for up to eight days on a single charge while improving accuracy over Oura 3. The Oura App redesign is nothing to sneeze at, either. It offers a uniquely customizable platform for turning the Oura Ring 4s ample data into useful insights on sleep quality, recovery, stress, fitness, and fertility. With a full range of ring sizes and luxe-looking finishes, the Oura 4 ring might be the most wearable wearable weve ever tried.Custom-Jet Oral Health System by Proclaim: Finally, a true alternative to flossingIt is a truth universally acknowledged that flossing is a pain in the butt. But while using a water flosser might be better than simply brushing and calling it a night, some dentists wont take kindly to you replacing your floss with a gadget. The Proclaim Custom-Jet Oral Health System might be the one exception. After all, Proclaim might look like another water flosser at first glance, but its in a league of its own. The device features a custom-molded mouthpiece3D scanned at a dentists office and then manufactured by Proclaimthat places up to 60 water jets at just the right spots to clean between your teeth and beneath your gum line. The 360-degree power wash takes just seconds. You can even swap out multiple mouthpieces on a single device, so one unit can clean a whole households teeth.Bond Shaper Curl Rebuilding Treatment by Olaplex: A quick fix for damaged curlsIn the last few years, Olaplex has become synonymous with bond repair treatmentsproducts that promise to reform the broken links between keratin proteins that make hair frizzy, dry, and brittle. The brands new Bond Shaper Curl Rebuilding Treatment uses a proprietary peptide to give curls a targeted boost. The same damage that can make straight hair look rough can actually change the shape of a curl and even make it less curly. The Bond Shaper penetrates hair to rebuild curl-shaping disulfide bonds. This quick and painless salon treatment leaves curls looking bouncier and healthier, making it the first salon-strength bond repair treatment weve seen that doesnt focus on making hair as smooth and sleek as possible.Pod 4 by Eight Sleep: Personalized bed temperatures that feel just rightThe sleep aid market is booming, but this smart mattress topper stands out. With a form factor not much thicker than a fitted sheet, the Pod 4 silently circulates water as you sleep to cool or heat you by as much as 10 degrees. Its more efficient than blasting the heat or the AC, but thats not all it has going for it. The topper is split into two independent zones, allowing co-sleepers to set precise microclimates for each side. The Autopilot algorithm uses data from the toppers 36 biometric sensors to recalibrate the temperature throughout the night to maximize sleep quality. Users can also tap inconspicuous buttons on either side of the topper to adjust the temperature without opening the Eight Sleep app.Supersonic Nural by Dyson: An incredibly smart dryer that protects your scalpThese days, Dyson is arguably even better known for its game-changing haircare tools than its vacuums. Now, the company has turned its attention to an oft-neglected aspect of hair styling: the scalp. The Dyson Supersonic Nural offers all the power people have come to expect from the brands flagship hair dryer but with one high-tech upgrade. The device is packed with sensors to keep you from overheating your hair and scalp. It measures the distance between the dryer and your head with a Time of Flight (ToF) sensora piece of tech more often found in autonomous cars and robots that bounces light off objects and clocks how quickly the wave returns. As the dryer moves closer to hair and skin, it automatically lowers its temperature to optimize hair and scalp health without compromising drying speed.

Get off to the best possible start with your online documents. Image: DepositPhotosShareA brand new, blank page in Google Docsor Google Sheets or Google Slidescan be daunting. Where to begin? What to say? One way of getting your next project moving is to load up one of the dozens of file templates provided in Docs, Sheets, and Slides.Not only do they give you a solid start with whatever youre working on, they also give you a better idea of the capabilities of these online office tools. You might come across document types or layout features that youd never known about.Templates are available across Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides (and a bunch of new ones just got added), but well focus on Google Docs herethe approach for finding and setting up templates is very similar in the other web apps too.Getting started with templatesTemplates are split up into sections for easy reference. Screenshot: Google In the words of Google, templates help users save time since they dont have to build documents from scratch, create more uniform, high-quality, visually appealing documents, and enable them to be more productive with the latest Docs features in their daily processes. And getting started is simple.There are a few different ways to create a template. If youre in Google Drive on the web, you can click New > Google Docs > From a template, which will bring up the template picker. You can also head to the dedicated Google Docs portal page, where the templates are listed above your recent documents (click Template gallery to see more).Templates are split up into sections such as letters, resumes, and newsletters, so make it easier to find something suitablethough of course theres nothing to stop you opening a template created for one purpose and then using it for something else. Every part of a template can be edited, just like a normal document.Beyond the thumbnails and descriptions of each template, theres no way to preview what a template looks like other than by opening it up and having a look (you can always delete the document later). Note that certain templates include a variety of page designs within them, so scroll down to see everything thats on offer.When youve found something you think you like the look of, click on the template document to create the document thumbnail. Youll get a new document based on the template in your Google Drive, with a generic title attached to it. Any subsequent changes you now make are saved to the new documentyou wont overwrite the template.Making changes to templatesYou can change anything you like on a template. Screenshot: Google Every part of a template can be edited, so youre free to keep as much or as little of it as you want: You can adjust font styles and sizes, picture placement, paragraph spacing, and everything else that can be changed in a normal document. You wont find anything locked or fixed just because youre using a template.If theres an image in the template, for example, click on it to bring up some alignment and text wrapping options underneath. On the same small toolbar that pops up, click the three dots then All image options to see every property of the image, and to make changes where needed. You can rotate or recolor it, for example.You can replace template text anywhere in the document just by selecting it, and then typing out new textif youve got the selection parameters right, the formatting should be retained. If you make a mistake, you can always use the undo reverse arrow button on the toolbar (or hit Ctrl+Z on Windows or Cmd+Z on macOS). Another option is to open up the same template again and restart from scratch, of course.Templates can be thought of as giving you a solid foundation for the rest of your document, and saving you some time when it comes to formatting and layoutthough theyre not going to do everything for you. You still get plenty of opportunity to stamp your own style on the various document properties, and adapt it to your needs.You can actually use any of your documents as a template, though theyre not officially labeled as suchit means you can use something youve made as a base for creating new files (you could create a custom company sales report template, for instance). Open the existing document you want to build on, then choose File > Make a copy.