• WWW.MARKTECHPOST.COM
    FineWeb-C: A Community-Built Dataset For Improving Language Models In ALL Languages
    FineWeb2 significantly advances multilingual pretraining datasets, covering over 1000 languages with high-quality data. The dataset uses approximately 8 terabytes of compressed text data and contains nearly 3 trillion words, sourced from 96 CommonCrawl snapshots between 2013 and 2024. Processed using the datatrove library, FineWeb2 demonstrates superior performance compared to established datasets like CC-100, mC4, CulturaX, and HPLT across nine diverse languages. The ablation and evaluation setup is present in this github repo.Huggingface community researchers introduced FineWeb-C, a collaborative, community-driven project that expands upon FineWeb2 to create high-quality educational content annotations across hundreds of languages. The project enables community members to rate web contents educational value and identify problematic elements through the Argilla platform. Languages achieving 1,000 annotations qualify for dataset inclusion. This annotation process serves dual purposes: identifying high-quality educational content and improving LLM development across all languages.318 Hugging Face community members have submitted 32,863 annotations, contributing to developing high-quality LLMs across underrepresented languages. FineWeb-Edu is a dataset built upon the original FineWeb dataset and employs an educational quality classifier trained on LLama3-70B-Instruct annotations to identify and retain the most educational content. This approach has proven successful, outperforming FineWeb on popular benchmarks while reducing the data volume needed for training effective LLMs. The project aims to extend FineWeb-Edus capabilities to all world languages by collecting community annotations to train language-specific educational quality classifiers.The project prioritizes human-generated annotations over LLM-based ones, particularly for low-resource languages where LLM performance cannot be reliably validated. This community-driven approach parallels Wikipedias collaborative model, emphasizing open access and democratization of AI technology. Contributors join a broader movement to break language barriers in AI development, as commercial companies typically focus on profitable languages. The datasets open nature enables anyone to build AI systems tailored to specific community needs while facilitating learning about effective approaches across different languages.The FineWeb-Edu uses multiple annotations per page for some languages, allowing flexible calculation of annotator agreement. Quality control measures include plans to increase annotation overlap in heavily annotated languages. The data contains a boolean column problematic_content_label_present to identify pages with problematic content flags, often resulting from incorrect language detection. Users can filter content based on either individual problematic labels or annotator agreement through the problematic_content_label_agreement column. The dataset operates under the ODC-By v1.0 license and CommonCrawls Terms of Use.In conclusion, FineWeb2s community-driven extension, FineWeb-C, has gathered 32,863 annotations from 318 contributors, focusing on educational content labeling. The project demonstrates superior performance compared to existing datasets with less training data through FineWeb-Edus specialized educational content classifier. Unlike commercial approaches, this open-source initiative prioritizes human annotations over LLM-based ones, particularly for low-resource languages. The dataset features robust quality control measures, including multiple annotation layers and problematic content filtering, while operating under the ODC-By v1.0 license.Check out the details. All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,dont forget to follow us onTwitter and join ourTelegram Channel andLinkedIn Group. Dont Forget to join our60k+ ML SubReddit. Sajjad Ansari+ postsSajjad Ansari is a final year undergraduate from IIT Kharagpur. As a Tech enthusiast, he delves into the practical applications of AI with a focus on understanding the impact of AI technologies and their real-world implications. He aims to articulate complex AI concepts in a clear and accessible manner. [Download] Evaluation of Large Language Model Vulnerabilities Report (Promoted)
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    Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Episode 5 Review
    This review contains full spoilers for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Season 1, Episode 5.A funny thing happens in this episode of Skeleton Crew, and that's not counting the surprising number of good jokes (Whats a concubine? being a standout): A character expresses fond memories for a thing from their past, only to discover that it has changed and isnt as great as it used to be. It ponders if nostalgia is a trap and asks whether youre doomed to disappointment if you put too much stock in it. Doesn't this seem explicitly heretical to the basic concept of the Star Wars crossed with Goonies mash-up that is Skeleton Crew?Skeleton Crew doesnt quite pull a Last Jedi and ask the audience to question whether or not theyve wasted their lives, but SM-33s realization that his old boss pirate lair, Skull Ridge Mountain, has been turned into a luxury spa is immediately followed by the most explicit Goonies riff that the show has done yet. A character literally walks around talking about how the thing he used to love has been ruined, and then the kids find themselves in a series of underground tunnels filled with old pirate traps (though, yes, the first one is definitely the Penitent Man from Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade).Short of Captain Fern forcing Jude Laws Jod Na Nawood (who gets evenWim is concerned at the beginning of the episode that this adventure hasnt been as fun as he thought it would be, and if that wasnt true then, its absolutely true by the time Jod orders 33 to reactivate the acid pool trap they had evaded earlierwhich violently kills the Crews pirate pursuers offscreen. Nobody shouldve been too surprised once Jod started holding Fern at knifepoint, demanding that she surrender her captainship to him so he could force 33 to fly him to At Attin without needing the kids, as this whole adventure was already off the rails by that point.Also, is it any wonder that Jods advice to a crying Wim was to simply forget about his family and live without any attachments? Hes fun to have around, and the mystery of his Force powers (which gets readdressed in this episode thanks to the appearance of a lightsaber) is so damn compelling, but hes not a nice guy.While the Jedi question remains unanswered, there are a few other curious developments in You Have A Lot To Learn About Pirates. For one, At Attin is apparently home to the last Old Republic mint, meaning thatif Jod can get access to ithe can get a limitless supply of a currency so valuable that people freak out when they see it. But we also have the ongoing mystery of At Attins Supervisor, a person(?) who the adults of the planet are pretty scared of. Also, the lair the kids are exploring was home to a legendary pirate named Tak Rennod, who appears briefly in a video message that is suspiciously garbled, meaning nobody (us included) can see what he looks like. They were lying to you. Adventures are terrible and adults are mean.How likely is it that Tak Rennod is At Attins enigmatic Supervisor? 100 percent? He ditched the ship that the Skeleton Crew has since commandeered (we now know its called the Onyx Cinder) and is now living out every pirates dream of owning a whole planet that exists just to print money for him? Jods got to be picturing something like that when he double-crosses the Crew at the end.The next episode might immediately walk that back, as this one did with SM-33s heel turn, but heres how it stands now: All of those beloved kids adventure movies where young people have a life-changing experience, all come home safe, and maybe they learn about growing up from a seemingly salty adult? The ones that Skeleton Crew has been trying very hard to remind you of from the first moment we saw the space-suburbs of At Attin? They were lying to you. Adventures are terrible and adults are mean.
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  • WWW.DENOFGEEK.COM
    What Christmas Gift Would You Steal From the Movies?
    Gift-giving scenes are often the most emotional in a festive movie or TV special. Theyre usually a quiet moment among the madness, when one character shows another how cherished they are, and why they neednt have obsessed about the turkey or the decorations or their missing Christmas bonus, because what truly matters at Christmas is love, as shown via the medium of a present. Handmade, sentimental or extravagant, screen gifts are a highlightwhich is why we want to steal them. Below are the movie and TV gifts our writers want to reach into the screen to grab for themselves. From Gremlins to Harry Potter to The Snowman, Lord of the Rings, Batman and more, heres what we covet. Merry Christmas!A Mogwai from GremlinsI want a Mogwai. I am aware that Gremlins is something of a cautionary tale which does not go entirely in the favour of Zach Galligans mogwai recipient Billy but consider me cautioned! Dont get him wet, dont feed after midnight, dont expose to bright light, especially sunlight, unless you have monumentally failed to follow the first two rules. Got it!I had a dog and there were rules dont give him chocolate, dont let him run into traffic, dont leave your dinner on the coffee table. I can follow rules.I am aware that there is some ambiguity over the whole feed after midnight rule since technically ALL time is both after and before A midnight but Im going to restrict feeding times to pms up to 11pm. My mogwai will be named Gremlin as a constant reminder to all what not to do. And hey presto, a loyal, super-cute, intelligent, singing fluff ball, who can form his own murderous army in a heartbeat. Whats not to love? Rosie FletcherAn Invisibility Cloak from Harry PotterDespite taking place over the entirety of seven school years, the Harry Potter books and movies are inarguably Christmas-coded. Part of that is because the eight films lend themselves to easy marathon-scheduling for cable channels come the holiday season. But an even bigger part is that Christmas at Hogwarts absolutely slaps. Perhaps no fictional character has ever received a more impressive roster of Christmas gifts than young Harry Potter. From homemade emerald green jumpers from Molly Weasley to mountains of candy from his friends to a freaking FIREBOLT broom from his godfather, Harry always makes up for lost time with the Dursleys come Christmas at Hogwarts.If I had a chance to nick any of Harrys gifts, the choice is obvious: the Invisibility Cloak. Handed by his father via Albus Dumbledore, Harrys invisibility cloak isnt just a cheap Diagon Alley knockoff made from Demiguise hair, its an ancient, priceless magical artifact that will keep its wearer truly hidden. Fitting my large frame under the cloak will be a bit of a challenge but itll be worth it. What do I need an Invisibility Cloak for? Dont worry about it. Thats my business. Invisible business. Alec BojaladDavid Bowies Scarf from The SnowmanMy first instinct says the Catalogue House from the 1994 Miracle on 34th Street remake. That five-bed, six-bath, double-fronted delight within a NYC cab ride of Manhattan was listed for $3.4 million a decade ago imagine what its worth now. Pedantry, though, reminds me that because little Susan Walkers mother and new stepfather have to buy the place after Susan asks Chris Cringle to get it for her, its not technically a gift. Therefore I choose David Bowies scarf from The Snowman. I call it David Bowies scarf because he recorded this special intro for the UK VHS release of the Raymond Briggs animation in which he identifies himself as the little boy from the movie. Why do I want it? Because Id love to own anything touched by ZZZavid Bowie (up to and including Lulu), I bet it still smells of Father Christmas, and most importantly of all, it would go with my coat. Louisa MellorLook, I know that the lesson of Its a Wonderful Life is that no man is a failure who has friends. George Bailey is the richest guy in Bedford Falls even before the good people of the town start emptying their pockets for him, precisely because he has so many people who would empty their pockets for him. But, like George, Ive got bills to pay that are stressing me out this holiday, and it sure would be nice if a bunch of pals came by to give me money and sing some songs.I say this in jest, but the fact that I (and probably you) can understand Georges plight is part of what makes Its a Wonderful Life so enduring and powerful. Frank Capra and his team of writers didnt just capture a lovely fantasy about God stopping the world to help out one good guy. They also showed how oligarchs shore up everything for themselves, a force that only a strong communal spirit could stop. I guess what Im saying is Id like my bills to be paid, but really all I want for Christmas this year is class consciousness. Joe GeorgeThe Scavenger Hunt from Dash & LilyThe Netflix series Dash & Lily revolves around two teens, the titular Dash (Austin Abrams) and Lily (Midori Francis), as a red notebook and a series of clues found in The Strand bookstore in New York City sets them off on a journey across the city during the holidays. Even though they dont meet in person until the end of the show, Dash and Lily share their favorite parts of New York with each other through a scavenger hunt of sorts. They each take turns writing in the notebook, leaving locations and tasks for the other to complete before leaving the book in a neutral location for the other to find. New York at Christmas time is already pretty magical, but getting to experience it through someone elses eyes is something else entirely. The universe has yet to fully squash the hopeless romantic within me, and getting to experience something similar to what Dash and Lily do for each other would certainly make my heart grow at least two sizes, if not more. Sharing the things we love with the people we love is part of what makes this season so great, and what better way to do that than through a cute little scavenger hunt? Brynna ArensJoin our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Natalie Wood and Maureen OHaras New House from Miracle on 34th StreetYou know the one that wee little Natalie Wood asks kindly Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwynn as the best Santa Claus) to get her and her single mother so they can have a home in the suburbs? Yeah, that one. You may ask why Id ruin that idyllic happy ending from an all-time Christmas classic, to which I say have you seen the cost of New York City, and NYC-adjacent, real estate? In this economy?!?!?! Please, Mr. Santa, also take care of that brokers fee while youre at it. David Crow
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    Best Internet Providers in Pensacola, Florida
    CNET experts have scoured through Pensacolas best internet providers, offering a variety of high-speed options to suit different needs. Heres how the top choices stack up.
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  • WWW.CNET.COM
    Today's NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Dec. 25
    Looking forthe most recentMini Crossword answer?Click here for today's Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands and Connections puzzles.Merry Christmas! The New York TimesMini Crossworddove right into the holiday with two major Christmas words for 1 and 6 Across. But if you're stuck on any of the clues today, we've got a holiday gift for you -- the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times' games collection. If you're looking for today's Wordle, Connections and Strands answers, you can visitCNET's NYT puzzle hints page.Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini CrosswordLet's get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers. The completed NYT Mini Crossword puzzle for Dec. 25, 2024. NYT/Screenshot by CNETMini across clues and answers1A clue: With 6-Across, annual visitor dressed in redAnswer: SANTA6A clue: See 1-AcrossAnswer: CLAUS7A clue: Tale that might you get you off the hookAnswer: ALIBI8A clue: Harry Potter a.k.a. The Boy Who ___Answer: LIVED9A clue: Farm equipment brandAnswer: DEEREMini down clues and answers1A clue: Spill hot cocoa on, sayAnswer: SCALD2A clue: Sports reporter LaForceAnswer: ALLIE3A clue: Easily dupedAnswer: NAIVE4A clue: Crop that grows undergroundAnswer: TUBER5A clue: "All kidding ___ "Answer: ASIDEHow to play more Mini CrosswordsThe New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day's Mini Crossword for free, but you'll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.
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  • WWW.CNET.COM
    Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 25, #1285
    Looking for the most recent Wordle answer?Click here for today's Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections and Strands puzzles.Merry Christmas! While today's New York TimesWordleanswer isn't strictly Christmas-themed, the word does have a meaning that we tend to associate with the holiday. It's a feel-good answer. It doesn't seem too hard to guess, either, but if you need hints and answers, read on. Today's Wordle hints Before we show you today'sWordleanswer, we'll give you some hints. If you don't want a spoiler, look away now.Wordle hint No. 1: RepeatsToday's Wordle answer has no repeated letters.Wordle hint No. 2: VowelsThere are two vowels in today's Wordle answer.Wordle hint No. 3: Start letterToday's Wordle answer starts with the letter S.Wordle hint No. 4: Take stockToday's Wordle answer can refer to a word relating to investments.Wordle hint No. 5: MeaningToday's Wordle answer can refer to dividing something among other people.TODAY'S WORDLE ANSWERToday's Wordle answer is SHARE.Yesterday's Wordle answerYesterday's Wordle answer, Dec. 24, No. 1,284, was EAGLE.Recent Wordle answersDec. 20, No. 1,280: FLASHDec. 21, No. 1,281: BLADEDec. 22, No. 1,282: BRAWNDec. 23, No. 1,283: SAUNA
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  • WWW.EUROGAMER.NET
    What we've been unwrapping - Christmas Day edition
    What we've been unwrapping - Christmas Day editionA few of our favourite memories of video games at Christmas.Image credit: Niantic Feature by Tom Orry Editorial Director, Gamer Network Published on Dec. 25, 2024 25th DecemberHello! Welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we've been playing over the past few days. This week it's all about Christmas presents and video game memories we associate with the festive season - what we've unwrapped, gifted, or otherwise been somehow involved with at Christmas time over the years.Catch up with the older editions of this column in our What We've Been Playing archive.A pop star and Need For Speed: Underground 2, PS2NFS: Underground 2 has been modded to look nothing like the original game.Watch on YouTubeI don't think I have any amazing Christmas memories that are tied to video games I received. Most of my video game gifts as a child were on my birthday, just a couple of months earlier, but I do have a couple of lovely memories of giving the gift of video games.My son, cursed to be obsessed with video games like his father (me), was surprised with a Switch and a bunch of games five years ago. In classic video game tradition we did the whole "And one more thing" reveal, and he was obviously over the moon. Lucky so and so.Of more interest to you, reader, though, is likely the time I gave a copy of Need for Speed: Underground 2 on PS2 to a cousin who would go on to be a UK chart-topping pop star in the early 2010s. I say cousin the family relationship is a little more complicated than that, but I'm going with it.Happy Christmas, everyone! Let me know if you have given a present to someone famous.-Tom OCan you beat the joy of Zelda at Christmas? I haven't asked for any games this year - the curse of being a games journalist is that there's usually precious few gaps in your library by year-end - but I will likely be playing varying degrees of NYT Sudoku this holiday, as well as finally tackling Star Wars Outlaws. For reasons even I'm not wholly sure about, that's the big blockbuster from this year that's calling out to me the most at the moment. Not Dragon Age. Not Silent Hill 2. It's Star Wars, of all things. Though with a lot of travelling between families this week, I will likely load up my Steam Deck with a bunch of great indie games I've missed this year as well. Top of the pile? UFO 50.I haven't even given many games as presents this year - just Unicorn Overlord for my younger brother, as he's already decked out with most of this year's major RPG fare, which is his go-to genre these days. If there was a new Zelda or Xenoblade just out, those might have been good presents for my two older brothers - and yes, Echoes of Wisdom was in contention at one point. Then I discovered my younger brother already has it, so there's a very good chance they'll have just borrowed his copy instead due to our ancient family law of never ever double-buying anything (which I willfully ignore all the damn time, mostly because I just live much further away from all of them).I do love getting a big Nintendo game for Christmas, though, and Zelda games at Christmas has always a bit of a personal treat for me - apart from the time I got Twilight Princess for the Wii for Christmas, but no actual Wii to play it on because I didn't ask my parents to pre-order one in time and so had to wait three more months before I finally had a Wii to call my own and play the damn thing. The less said about that, the better, really. But I still can't forget the sheer joy and excitement I felt unwrapping Majora's Mask in the Christmas of 2000. It wasn't just that it had a special gold cartridge. It was because it was all mine - a present for me, and not something I had to borrow from my brothers. Most of our other console games up until that point were all shared between us, but Majora's Mask was finally something I could call my own - something they had to borrow from me this time, if they wanted to play it (which they didn't really, in the end, as my older brothers were off to university at that point). But cor, I really did love that little gold cartridge. Steam credit just doesn't have quite the same ring to it, does it?-KatharineA Christmas Dream(cast) The first time I saw Sonic in full 3D on a Dreamcast I was astounded. Though I grew up on the original Sonic Mega Drive games, I shifted to Nintendo for the N64 and fell in love with Zelda instead. But once the Dreamcast was released my heart was all a flutter as my beloved blue blur was chased by an orca whale, running around vibrant, rollercoaster-like levels in proper realistic graphics, not just a side-scrolling pixel.I never actually owned a Dreamcast, though. I had friends who did and I distinctly remember Soul Calibur sessions after school, taking turns on Crazy Taxi, and one particular all-nighter at a house party playing Sonic Adventure from start to finish. Yet once the GameCube was announced - and subsequently swept up a load of previously Dreamcast-exclusive games (Sonic Adventure 2 and Skies of Arcadia specifically) - the dream was cast aside.That's why my partner and I have decided to gift ourselves a Dreamcast this year - the one console neither of us have owned. And then we're going to scour second hand shops for all those iconic titles. I can finally play the likes of Shenmue and Jet Set Radio. I can kick his arse at Power Stone. I'll have an excuse to play Skies of Arcadia again. And, no doubt, I'll play Sonic Adventure once more and remember how it's a bit crap actually but I still love it regardless. Christmas is all about nostalgia, after all. Which games should I catch up on?-EdA flaming hot Christmas (Spyro 2: Season of Flame - Game Boy Advance SP) Unwrapping the Spyro 2: Season of Flame cartridge for my shiny pink Game Boy Advance SP is a vivid memory I have of a christmas in the early 2000s. My sibling and I sat on the floor underneath the tree unwrapping presents to christmas music while my very tired mum (that we got up at the crack of dawn) sat on the sofa excitedly watching our reactions to each gift we were fortunate enough to get. Then, it happened, I had Spyro 2: Season of Flame in my little hands - one of my first Game Boy games. I still remember ripping the paper off and seeing the iconic purple dragon adorning the case.To this day, if Im in need of a comfort game thats not Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing, Ill always hop back to Season of Flame. The gist was to hop across realms through portals to get back the missing Fireflies and having to navigate different themed areas. Candy Lane in Celestial Plains was themed around sweet treats, Moon Fondue in Starry Planes felt like you were on another world with the green sponge-like rocks around you, and (my personal favourite) Tiki Tropics in Sunny Plains where you feel like youre battling your foes in paradise.It was a pivotal game in my childhood as it was also one of the first ones I finished. I vividly remember the moment I clocked you could use different breath types to stop enemies: Ice Breath to freeze Rhynocs to make it easier to charge them, Lightning breath to bring machinery to life, and it wouldnt be Spyro without flames! My little mind was blown that Spyro could now do all these things.Also, this could have easily been my first experience with playing different characters in a games universe. There were levels where you could play as a Kangaroo called Sheila, Captain Bird, and Agent 9 (whose levels were ones that really tested my patience - and still do.) At this time, being able to play as anyone other than the main character blew my little mind and was the coolest thing on the planet.But, the above are just the minor reasons this game has stuck in my memories since getting it all those Christmases ago.The reason this Season of Flame is such a fond christmas memory is that, as I was only young, I did find some of the levels tricky and I just remember sitting beside my sibling after christmas dinner while they taught me what to do. From using Spyros glide and hover ability to get to platforms far away or how to outsmart the Rhynoc playing ice hockey, these are just a few of multiple moments my older sibling helped me get through. Learning to beat the game was, indeed, awesome but having that time just sitting together and being shown what to do to someone who was, frankly, the coolest person ever, has played a huge part in my video game journey and taste has been one of my favourite gaming christmas memories to date - and Im playing it again this year!-MarieThat's us done of the year, but we've got plenty of Game of the Year articles to come. Please do share your video games at Christmas stories in the comments, and we hope you've had a great holiday.
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    2024 couldnt have turned out any weirder for these two ISS astronauts
    When NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in June, they expected to stay for just eight days before returning to Earth. But theyre still there.The pair were testing out Boeings new Starliner spacecraft and were the first crew to fly aboard the vehicle. But their mission took an unexpected turn when technical issues emerged with the spaceships thrusters, and helium leaks were detected. The problems prompted NASA officials to extend Wilmore and Williams stay aboard the space station while engineers tried to determine if the Starliner was safe enough to bring them home.Recommended VideosAs the investigations continued, days turned into weeks. In August, NASA announced that the two astronauts would not be coming home on the Starliner and would instead have to hitch a ride on a returning SpaceX Crew Dragon, carrying the Crew-9 astronauts, in February 2025 at the earliest. The Starliner, meanwhile, was brought back to Earth uncrewed in September, with NASAs commercial crew program manager Steve Stich describing the homecoming as darn near flawless.Please enable Javascript to view this contentStich added: From a human perspective, all of us feel happy about the successful landing, but then theres a piece of us that [wishes] it would have been the way we had planned it with Butch and Suni on board.In a further twist, NASA said just last week that Crew-9 would not be returning to Earth until March at the earliest. The decision to delay the return of Crew-9 with Wilmore and Williams on board makes possible a handover period with the incoming Crew-10 astronauts, during which the existing crew can help the new arrivals ease into their stay aboard the orbital outpost.Wilmore and Williams appear to have stayed positive about the unexpected situation, with the eight-day mission now having lasted more than six months. You have to turn the page and look at the next opportunity, Williams said in September. Were actually excited to fly in two different spacecraft Were testersCommenting in the same interview, Wilmore said he and Williams were very fortunate to be able to safely stay on the ISS for an extended period and to be able to return to Earth using a back-up option, adding: Theres many cases in the past where there have not been other options.So, rather than spending the holidays with their families and friends as theyd originally expected, Wilmore and Williams remain 250 miles above Earth, in microgravity conditions, perhaps dreaming about when they might actually get back to terra firma.Editors RecommendationsAstronauts on the ISS will have an out of this world view of the Super Bowl
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    A doctor who says he's reversed his age by 20 years shares the 6 bare minimum things you can do to live longer
    Dr. Michael Roizen is a longevity expert who claims to have reversed his age by 20 years.There are a few bare minimum things you can do to live longer, he said.These include getting vaccinated, playing brain-training games, and eating salmon.It can be tough to find the time to take care of our health. But a doctor who claims to have reversed his age by 20 years said that focusing on six basics could help us stay healthy for longer.Dr. Michael Roizen, 78, the chief wellness officer at Cleveland Clinic, told Business Insider his "biological age" is 57.6, based on the health of his organs and his risk of chronic disease. (There's no agreed definition of biological age or how it can be measured).Roizen is all about finding lifestyle changes that can help people live healthily for as long as possible. But he said "there are small things and easy things to do that make a big difference" to longevity, even if people can't overhaul their lifestyles.Below are the six things he thinks everyone should do to live longer.Walk moreRoizen tries to do 10,000 steps a day as part of his weekly workout routine, and thinks that everyone should "try to walk a little more."To add movement to his commute, for instance, he parks his car as far away from his work as possible and walks the rest of the way.Walking fewer than 10,000 steps a somewhat arbitrary number with its origins in marketing still has benefits. One 2023 study by researchers at the University of Cambridge, UK, found that people who walked 75 minutes or less a week had a lower risk of dying from any cause or developing cardiovascular diseases and cancer.Eat avocado, salmon, and olive oilBI previously reported on the seven foods Roizen eats for longevity. But just eating three of these avocado, salmon, and olive oil will still merit health benefits, he said. Studies have linkedHave strong relationshipsNurturing friendships is a "fun" way to boost your health and longevity, Roizen said. Plus, "it's always better to do things with other people," he said.Rose Anne Kenny, professor of aging and lead researcher on The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing at Trinity College Dublin, said that having strong social connections is just as important for longevity as a healthy diet and getting enough exercise, BI previously reported.Play speed of processing games Playing speed-of-processing games could benefit brain health, according to Dr. Michael Roizen. Witthaya Prasongsin/Getty Images Roizen recommended playing speed of processing games, which are brain-training games that research suggests might help improve how quickly your brain works. Roizen recommended two: Double Decision and Freeze Frame.Referencing a 2017 study published in Alzheimer's & Dementia, Roizen said that practicing these games could reduce the risk of dementia. The study found that older adults who played 10 sessions of these games over an initial six-week period, and then did top-up sessions 11 and 35 months later,Roizen recommended playing these games for two hours a week for five weeks to try to replicate the study results.Take a multivitaminResearch is mixed on whether taking multivitamins is beneficial for longevity.Roizen cited studies that found that the risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and dementia were reduced in people who took multivitamins for years.But, recent research has suggested that these findings aren't necessarily indicative that multivitamins are as effective outside study conditions. For example, a large study on over 390,000 people published in JAMA Network Open earlier this year concluded that taking a multivitamin wasn't linked to longevity. And the US Preventive Services Task Force doesn't recommend the general public take multivitamins because there's not enough evidence to show that it has any benefit.Roizen said that he takes a multivitamin anyway to keep the overall levels of vitamins in his body stable.Get your flu shotThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone aged six months and above should get a flu vaccine every season.But Roizen also takes it for the potential healthy aging benefits. A 2022 review of studies published in Ageing Research Reviews suggested that vaccinating older people against the flu could also help prevent dementia,
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    Guaranteed basic income isn't a silver bullet, says the lead researcher behind Sam Altman's major study
    The top researcher for a major study on guaranteed basic income says the findings are "nuanced."The study, backed by Sam Altman, gave $1,000 a month to 1,000 low-income participants.Elizabeth Rhodes says while the study showed benefits, it's not a quick fix for economic insecurity.The lead researcher for Sam Altman's basic-income study says guaranteed no-strings payments are not a silver bullet for issues facing lower-income Americans.Elizabeth Rhodes, the research director for the Basic Income Project at Open Research, told Business Insider that while basic-income payments are "beneficial in many ways," the programs also have "clear limitations."Universal basic income, or UBI, typically refers to making recurring cash payments to all adults in a population, regardless of their wealth or employment status, and with no restrictions on how they spend the money.Rhodes headed up one of the largest studies in the space, which focused specifically on those on low incomes rather than making universal payments to adults across all economic demographics. The three-year experiment, backed by OpenAI boss Altman, provided 1,000 low-income participants with $1,000 a month without any stipulations for how they could spend it. The study aimed to explore how unconditional cash payments influence various aspects of recipients' lives.The initial findings, released in July, found that recipients put the bulk of their extra spending toward basic needs such as rent, transportation, and food. They also worked less on average but remained engaged in the workforce and were more deliberate in their job searches compared with a control group.But Rhodes says the research reinforced how difficult it is to solve complex issues such as poverty or economic insecurity, and that there is "a lot more work to do."The Altman-backed study is still reporting results. New findings released in December showed recipients valued work more after receiving the recurring monthly payments a result that may challenge one of the main arguments against basic income payments. Participants also reported significant reductions in stress, mental distress, and food insecurity during the first year, though those effects faded by the second and third years of the program."Poverty and economic insecurity are incredibly difficult problems to solve," Rhodes said. "The findings that we've had thus far are quite nuanced."She added: "There's not a clear through line in terms of, this helps everyone, or this does that. It reinforced to me the idea that these are really difficult problems that, maybe, there isn't a singular solution."UBI and Silcion ValleyUniversal basic income has garnered significant support within Silicon Valley.The programs have long been a passion project for high-profile tech leaders, including Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Tesla chief Elon Musk. Some argue advancements in AI, which could pose a threat to some worker's job security, have made the conversion more urgent.Like many of his tech contemporaries, Altman has long supported UBI and even suggested an idea that involves sharing compute of a future iteration of an OpenAI GPT model, something he referred to as "universal basic compute."Rhodes first applied for the lead researcher job in 2016 after seeing a blog post from Altman, then the president of Y Combinator, in which he announced his plan to support a study of universal basic income. At the time, she was just finishing up her Ph.D. and had never heard of Altman or Y Combinator."I started working on this with Sam in 2016 and at that time, so I was finishing up graduate school in social work and political science, and very outside the California Bay Area community," she said. "There was not much going on in this space, in the US. Basic income or cash transfers were still somewhat of a fringe idea."The global interest in the study's results was somewhat surprising, Rhodes said, as the team never saw the experiment as a policy suggestion."It was never designed to be a policy referendum on UBI or any specific policy. It was an opportunity to really ask the sort of big, open-ended questions, you know, what happens when you give people unconditional cash to better understand the lived experiences of lower-income Americans and the challenges they were facing," she said.
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