Here's Live Science's 2024 quiz for archaeology fans. Do you know this year's coolest archaeology stories?

From fungi brewing alcohol in a person's gut to parasitic brain infections, here are some of the oddest medical case reports we covered in 2024.

Role playing games have always put character creation and customization at the forefront of the player experience. However, some titles feel like the classes don't really have much of an impact and don't offer all too much in terms of varied gameplay. If that's something that grinds your gears, then take a look at our list of RPGs where your class ACTUALLY matters.

The concept of the "cycle of hatred" is one of the most compelling philosophical dilemmas in Naruto. Pain (Nagato) introduced this theme as he confronted Naruto, challenging him to find a way to break the cycle that causes repeated violence, vengeance, and suffering across generations.

Early 2025 is looking pretty stacked for big new video game releases, with it bringing a few long-awaited sequels to the table, sequels like Civilization 7. It's been eight years since the last mainline Civilization entry released, and while there have been plenty of expansions and DLCs that have added new content to Civ 6 over the years, fans have been champing at the bit for an all-new Civilization experience.

By TREVOR HOGGImages courtesy of Warner Bros. PicturesNo doubt, the entire success of Dune: Part Two was riding on the shoulders of Paul Atreides as he takes his maiden journey on top of a massive desert creature. This was something that filmmaker Denis Villeneuve was strongly aware of, so he had a separate unit working on the sequence over a period of three months. Given the sandworm does not actually exist, this iconic moment could not be accomplished without the expertise of Visual Effects Supervisor Paul Lambert, who won an Oscar for the first installment. The first discussion we had with HODs was about the worm ride. Denis gave this incredible pitch that was a completely original idea, which was: For a Freman to get onto a worm he had to climb a dune, the worm would burst through the dune, the Freman would go down with the sand and land on the worm. We never went into how you get off a worm! That could be for later. It was like, Oh, my god, what an absolutely incredible idea! How the heck do we do that?The worm doesnt exist without sand. Youre talking about incredible simulations which have to be created to get that scale. We saw it briefly in Dune: Part One, and that was in darkness. But for this one, Paul was actually going to get onto the worm in broad daylight. There wasnt going to be hiding anything whatsoever. We started down a path of some early development with DNEG as to how we have a worm crash through a dune.Paul Lambert, Visual Effects SupervisorAn example of a lighting panel utilized by Cinematographer Greig Fraser.Co-existing with the sand is the sandworm. The worm doesnt exist without sand, Lambert notes. Youre talking about incredible simulations which have to be created to get that scale. We saw it briefly in Dune: Part One, and that was in darkness. But for this one, Paul [Timothe Chalamet] was actually going to get onto the worm in broad daylight. There wasnt going to be hiding anything whatsoever. We started down a path of some early development with DNEG as to how we have a worm crash through a dune. They went through trying to get the speed of the worm to be correct. DNEG used what is called a ball pit render and would start the simulations with those size particles of sand because they could do fast iterations. We would stay in low-res until it felt right, and thats when DNEG would up-res. If you imagine DNEG working in an area that was 80,000 balls in a pit, once they up-res it there were 800 million! They got smaller and smaller and far more complicated. DNEG found that every time the tube [the worm] was rammed through a dune, the dune would explode. They went around and around in circles until somebody had the idea of, Why dont we open its mouth as its coming out? That solved it. We wanted to keep the simulation as believable as possible without cheating and cutting corners because the moment you do that youll get to these amazing renders, but something wont look right and you cant put your finger on it.Greig Fraser prepares to shoot a scene inside of a practically-built ornithopter cockpit.A badass moment occurs during the Harkonnen harvester attack when Chani defends herself by firing a rocket launcher at a Harkonnen soldier. Denis was worried that it might look too comical, Lambert reveals. We shot a stuntie being pulled on a rig, but after that we realized it required a lot of re-timing and obviously a digital double to take over. It took a lot of time to get that to feel right and to make sure it didnt feel comedic. Chani also uses the rocket launcher to shoot down an Harkonnen ornithopter defending the harvester. Every explosion that you see is digital. We did shoot some reference of explosions out in the desert. I actually got to film explosions out in the desert this time. It wasnt allowed on Dune [Part One] because where we were shooting, it wasnt the best idea to be setting off explosions. All of those explosions were mainly for reference, such as what a big explosion would be like in the hot desert. The guys and girls at DNEG did a fantastic job creating the simulation. When Chani takes out the Harkonnen ornithopter, we did shoot reference, but not for when the Harkonnen soldier gets shot up into the spice crawler.DNEG found that every time the tube [the worm] was rammed through a dune, the dune would explode. They went around and around in circles until somebody had the idea of, Why dont we open its mouth as its coming out? That solved it. We wanted to keep the simulation as believable as possible without cheating and cutting corners because the moment you do that youll get to these amazing renders, but something wont look right and you cant put your finger on it.Paul Lambert, Visual Effects SupervisorMaking use of LiDAR scans from his iPhone and Unreal Engine, Greig Fraser was able to meticulously plan to ensure that every shot was backlit.Oppenheimer had ramifications beyond the box office as it influenced how the atomic missile strike is portrayed in Dune: Part Two. It was cool, Lambert remarks. We tried to keep it as much as plate-based as possible. That sequence obviously has a huge digital effect in the background and Greig Fraser [Cinematographer] did some additional lighting on the characters, which had to be extended onto the background. We started off with a conventional nuclear bomb, but this was also the year of Oppenheimers release, and we were using the same references from the 1940s. We then veered to something different. Denis wanted a manga look to it. The idea was this isnt a nuclear bomb, but more like a super high explosive. It was a big, old TNT explosion, which meant that you had dust, sand and rocks flying everywhere. We shot some practical elements of people running, but there is a substantial amount of digital crowd running, simulated and motion captured for that purpose.We started off with a conventional nuclear bomb, but this was also the year of Oppenheimers release, and we were using the same references from the 1940s. We then veered to something different. Denis wanted a manga look to it. The idea was this isnt a nuclear bomb, but more like a super high explosive. It was a big, old TNT explosion, which meant that you had dust, sand and rocks flying everywhere. We shot some practical elements of people running, but there is a substantial amount of digital crowd running, simulated and motion captured for that purpose.Paul Lambert, Visual Effects SupervisorHaving a clear vision is important to Denis Villeneuve, who has a on-set conversation with Rebecca Ferguson.Giedi Prime, which is the home world of House Harkonnen, orbits around a black sun, and has a monochromatic palette for the daylight exterior shots. Greig did some intriguing camera tests. You had two crew members both with black T-shirts, and one would stay black and the other would go white. You didnt know why. It could be because of the weave or material or temperature. You could never tell what would change to a different tone. One thing it did do was give this subsurface look to the skin and make your light look super sci-fi. Denis fell in love with that particular look, but if we go down this path you cant undo it. These are modified cameras from ARRI. Youre capturing the full spectrum, infrared and real light. Then youre desaturating it to get that particular look. But we also wanted to be able to transition from real to that world. Rather than try to rely on a full-on digital effect to try to recreate the infrared, we built a stereo camera rig. One of the cameras is vertical and the other is a horizontal that shoots through a mirror or across the mirror. One camera is infrared and the other is RGB, which means we get the exact same image with one in infrared and the other is RGB. Then I can do a collage roto where you can transition from one to the other. That worked out well for when the Bene Gesserit come in or when the Baron is coming from the inside of his stadium to the outside light. The idea being that the outside is a different atmosphere where you have this infrared light.Some crowd replication was required and rubber blades had to be digitally fixed for the fight between Paul Atreides (Timothe Chalamet) and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Austin Butler).A black oil aesthetic emphasizes that House Harkonnen is resembles a virus rather than a bastion of humanity.Machine learning assisted in producing 1,000 blue-eye shots found in the sequel.Accompanying the Emperor to Arrakis is the Imperial Tent, which is attached to his ship. You could have a simple shot where you put this great big battle occurring behind you, and have a shot where youre not looking at the battle but looking at the Imperial Tent, which was then attached to the chrome ball, Lambert states. That chrome ball saw the whole world 360. The idea behind the Imperial Tent was that it started flat, and the Emperors ship, the chrome ball, would pull that up so the actual structure would appear in this almost pyramid shape. You dont actually get to see how it got made. What we were able to do was a technique we developed on the first one and used extensively again on Dune: Part Two, which was proxy shooting. Rather than building out this interior tent to its final in-camera texture, we would build this proxy version of it. You would get the overall tone and shape. I would then go in in post, because I didnt have to shoot up against bluescreen or greenscreen, and add additional texture to it. Its a far more believable process than just having bluescreen or greenscreen.To avoid the need for additional sand simulations, a rule was made to not go over previous footprints in the sand when shooting.DNEG, Wylie Co. and Territory Studio provided 2,156 visual effects shots, while Rodeo FX contributed concept art and MPC did some of the previs. [The extensive crowd work] was potentially one of the harder things to wrangle and get right, Lambert remarks. We did a lot of 2D and 3D replication. Tiling was done for a couple of shots which was then augmented with thousands of others. A returning visual effects element that was refined further for the sequel were the blue eyes of the Freman because by their consumption of spice. On the first movie, Wylie Co. had to roto 300 shots. We knew on the second movie there would be a hell of a lot more blue eyes. Nuke has a new feature called CopyCat where you can say, If this image is doing that, try to replicate doing this. I did some initial tests, and we found that if I could feed it images of our actors faces from the first one along with the mattes, it could be trained to figure out whenever it saw an eye it could make this matte. The ones that didnt work, we rotod and put them back into it. It was a five-month process. By the end of it, we had trained the models on 77,000 pairs of eyes; 400 of the 1,000 shots were done completely with machine learning.Dunes are treated as characters in their own right.Infrared cameras were deployed for the exterior daylight fight scenes on Giedi Prime, which orbits a black sun.An overriding element that had to be kept in mind when dealing with the mammoth creature that lives beneath the surface is the sandworm would not exist without sand.For when Chani turns to see the Imperial Tent explode, Greig Fraser captured the shot in the United Arab Emirates while the rest of the oner involved stitching various motion capture performances together.A significant challenge for the visual effects team was all of the crowd work.All of the explosions were digitally created.Industrial tracks held black screens that to get the proper shadows for when Paul Atreides and Chani attack the Harkonnen harvester.Unlike the first movie, Paul Lambert was able shoot practical explosions as reference for Dune: Part Two.Finding a dune for Paul Atriedes to run across that was backlit and had the right wind direction was not easy given the time of year.Every explosion that you see is digital. We did shoot some reference of explosions out in the desert. I actually got to film explosions out in the desert this time. It wasnt allowed on Dune [Part One] because where we were shooting, it wasnt the best idea to be setting off explosions. All of those explosions were mainly for reference, such as what a big explosion would be like in the hot desert.Paul Lambert, Visual Effects SupervisorChani watching the Imperial Tent explode was a huge shot to execute. In [the first] Dune, we did something called the Paul oner where hes in his dream state and is fighting all of these characters. In Dune: Part Two, we had Chani doing something similar. Chani gets up, runs, fights, and she turns her head seeing the explosion of the Imperial Tent in the distance. That is a 35-second all-digital shot apart from the end shot of Chani. We shot Chanis turn out in the desert. Greig lensed it in the correct light, and we then had to back in the entire shot so it finished on that particular moment. That shot went through some interesting stages. All of the characters fighting are motion capture. We motion captured that out in Hungary using tens of stunties fighting. We actually motion captured Zendaya. We stitched her performance and all of the fighters together. We then took that to the studio at Digital Domain and brought Greig back in to compose with Denis. Greig had a virtual camera and was able to follow Zendaya through the move. We then re-lensed it based on all of the animation in there, and what you see is actually Greigs camera move going all of the way up to the point where he shot her in the Unite Arab Emirates. That shot took months and months to do. But again, we had a plan, so it was just going through it. It was a slow burn. It was a step-by-step progressive of giving notes. Thats how Ive always worked with Denis.A separate worm unit was created that spent three months to capture Paul Atreides riding the sandworm.Wind machines were used to blow the sand to the point where the stunt performer would turn orange by the end of shooting.When the sun was not cooperating, the worm unit had another assignment to complete, which was photographing the fetus of Paul Atreides sister Alia. In the corner of the studio in a tank was a prosthetic baby, which we shot that through the glass, Lambert reveals. This was a project in itself trying to get some beautiful textures around it. The idea was from that plate photography; I would add CG blood flow to give it some life. Every time you see it blink, its only CG around the eyes, but the rest of it is a prosthetic. Dune: Part Two is a film that tries to use the best technique it can for the particular visual. In that case, having a real prosthetic was the key.

I realized recently that its rare I watch something on YouTube unless theres a unique hook or challenge attached. When it comes to games, its usually speedrunning attempts, Nuzlocke runs, catching a shiny of every Pokmon before moving on that sort of thing and this probably explains why Ive found GeoWizard, a channel that introduces self-imposed restrictions to exploring the real world, so entertaining.His headline series has a simple premise: attempting to cross an entire country in as straight a line as possible. As you can imagine, the obstacles when walking coast to coast across European countries are many and varied; there are fast-moving rivers, felled forests, acres of farmland patrolled by diligent farmers, and fencing of both the thorny and manmade, barbed varieties. Even with some wiggle room of a few meters either side of the imaginary path to help skirt around the worst dangers or most serious trespassing, GeoWizard real name Tom Davies does his utmost to stick to the route, and tackles whatever is thrown his way with gusto and a camera in hand.While each attempt naturally lends itself to drama at regular intervals, theyre also a serious test of stamina, with early starts and long days walking over fields, valleys, and rolling hills. It helps that Davies is an effective storyteller and snappy editor to make these lengthy expeditions pacy and exciting, compressing hourslong treks through the countryside into tidy sped-up montages, before deftly teeing up the next spot of trouble to keep you watching.In early missions, insurmountable problems eventually arise and things are called off. But with more attempts under his belt and lessons learned, preparation improves, largely in the form of a small support crew who bring with them vital equipment such as kayaks to help cross lakes, or offer a brief respite from the elements with a snack-loaded van. Eventually, the adventures expand from just Davies to a wider cast that, like any good series, youre delighted to see continue popping up.Thankfully, even as attempts begin to succeed and countries are ticked off the list, the channel keeps its low-budget charm. Everything continues to be recorded on a rain-splattered GoPro, and recaps are annotated with Microsoft Paint-style scribbles over Google Earth footage, giving it a homemade feel a million subscribers in.If youre interested, Id recommend starting with Wales attempt two or Norway, then progressing to more Wales adventures, Scotland, and eventually England and once youve had your fill, branching out to GeoWizards other challenge videos, from exploring cities without using roads to seeing how far he can go with just pocket change. And, if you prefer your adventures more sedentary, as the channel name suggests hes also a proficient Geoguessr player though a recent video hints that the two worlds may soon combine, and if so, it could make for his most interesting set of challenges yet.

Downsizing means different things to different people. For some folks its about retirement and moving to a smaller, more manageable home. For others its about taking control over their lives. And for some its just a cleansing ritual that strips away the accumulated cruft of a busy life.Whatever your reasons for downsizing, one thing is universal: Its not easy. People have adopted many different strategies to streamline their lives and clear out their crowded homes, but for everyone who emerges from a downsizing movement with a crisp, newly minimalist life, theres someone else who gets overwhelmed and gives up. If thats you, theres one more move you should consider: Hire a downsizing consultant.A downsizing consultant is a professional organizer who helps you organize and implement a plan to declutter and reclaim your space or transition to a smaller home (consultants who specialize in helping seniors move into smaller homes or even assisted-living facilities are called "move managers"). The process is pretty straightforward, and typically involves:An initial consultation and walkthrough, separating stuff into what can be trashed, what can be donated, and what needs to be keptCoordinating with vendors to haul away stuff for donation or disposalCleaning and organizing, either at your current home or your new, smaller placeAside from the logistical support that a downsizing consultant brings to your efforts to shrink your life, they also offer emotional support by taking away the burden of decision-making. By letting an objective professional make decisions about a tightly packed garage or bursting closets, you can spare yourself a lot of stress. Here's how to know if you need a professional to help you with downsizing. A professional can help if you're overwhelmed Moving into a smaller home is often pitched in financial termsyou pull equity from your larger house, and youll have lower taxes and maintenance costs. But this doesnt take into account the fact that youve lived a certain lifestyle for years or even decades, and a smaller space means mastering a whole new way of organizing your life. Every aspect of your lifestyle, from the location of appliances to the way you navigate your kitchen, will be different in some way.If youre immediately overwhelmed by the long list of tasksif the sheer number of decisions makes you panic, or you dont even know what your first move ought to bea downsizing consultant can help you make a plan.You might need a professional if tensions are highIf youre fighting with family and friends over what to get rid of and who gets what, a downsizing consultant can be an impartial judge who isnt burdened with the same emotional baggage. They can act as a buffer between all the involved parties, keeping lines of communication open and offering some much-needed perspective that can lower the emotional temperature around distributing stuff.Consider professional help if time is a factorSometimes downsizing has to happen immediately. A new job that starts right away in a different city, a house sale that closed much faster than expected, a sudden change in health that necessitates a shift into a more manageable homesometimes you need to declutter and reorganize right away. In situations like this, handing a downsizing consultant the keys to the house and letting them manage the experience on your behalf can mean getting it all done as quickly and efficiently as possible.Contact a professional if you've tried to downsize beforeIf youve tried to downsize and declutter your life before and never got very far, a professional might be the extra resource you need to make it happen. Thats because they will treat the project like their jobbecause it is their jobinstead of a vague goal. Plus, they wont be sidetracked by busy days or tempted to postpone closet excavations, so the project will proceed according to schedule even if you get busy and distracted.How to find professional helpYou can find move managers to help with older folks trying to downsize by contacting the National Association of Senior & Specialty Move Managers (NASMM). If you just need help decluttering and downsizing, your best bet is to look for a professional organizer in your area who offers downsizing services.

For years, gardeners and farmers have relied on one of the world's most abundant resources to make fertilizer: animal poop. Animal manure is generally free and easy to obtain, either from your own animals or someone elses. Harvesting animal waste for fertilizer has generally been considered a safe practicemost manure is composted before being applied to the ground, which means it has gone through a period of heat treatment that reduces the risk of contamination. However, a number of current health considerations and warnings are worth considering when using manure at home, including two deaths attributed to the home harvesting of bat guano. Coupled with ongoing outbreaks of H5N1 avian flu, It's definitely a time to proceed with caution when feeding your plants.Manure is usually a great source of free fertilizerWhile the idea of harvesting poop may sound weird to non-gardeners, manure is an almost perfect fertilizer, provided it has been treated correctly. It is full of nutrients consumed by the animals that produced it, and if theyre your animals, you'll know what that diet included. Manure is also organic as heck, and in most cases can be obtained for free. Some manure is considered cold, meaning that it can be used immediately without harm to your plants (this includes poop from rabbits, ducks, goats).Some manure, including that from chickens, cows, and horses, can burn your plants if not treated correctly, so it is considered hot. Simply piling the manure up, ensuring there is a good ratio of carbon to nitrogen, and allowing the sun (and the composting process) to heat the pile will result in processed manure compost, perfect to use as fertilizer. Many types of commercially-produced fertilizers will make note of animal manure they contains.Animal manure can carry diseasesThe problem is that manure can also carry disease, fungus, and other pathogens. Some of these cells can be destroyed by the composting process, but not all of them. While the risk from these diseases transferring to your fruits and vegetables is low, the risk is to the person handling the manure is real. If youre treating your plants, fruits or vegetables topically with manure and dont wash it off well, it can remain on the surface.Even some commercial fertilizers may be a health riskRecently, two men died in unrelated incidents after inhaling spores from bat guano, which is thought to be particularly beneficial in the production of cannabis. In one case, the infected person hand harvested guano from wild bats, while in the second, the patient applied purchased commercial guano to cannabis he grew and smoked.In most cases, fertilizer that is sold commercially is regulated and should be considered safe. However, in the U.S., fertilizers are regulated at a state level, which means enforcement and regulations may vary depending on where the fertilizer was produced or sold. In the study of these deaths linked above, two of the scientists, Dr. Sudnik and Dr. Ted Louie, note that commercially sold bat guano fertilizer products do not mention the health risk of histoplasmosis, which both men died of, and that great care should be taken when using them. The use of masks or respirators can generally protect gardeners from exposing themselves when using animal waste products.Avian flu (H5N1) is persistent in chicken manureFar more ubiquitous than bat manure, manure sourced from the waste of chickens and other backyard fowl is an incredibly common fertilizer, but this can be a concern at a time when much of the world is facing a highly pathogenic form of avian flu (H5N1).The virus has now been found in cows, pigs, and domestic and large cats, and has infected people as well. When H5N1 is detected in birds, cows, or pigs on farms, those animals must be destroyed to help halt the spread.The main form of transmission for avian flu is bird manure. Infected birds drop manure around other animals, which eat it and become infected, and thereby infect other animals nearby.While large commercial farms are the greatest concern, backyard flocks are susceptible too. Handling bird manure can thus be dangerous for humansand because this avian flu is highly pathogenic, it can remain in manure even after composting if it does not reach sufficient temperature for long enough.Handling any manure without protection is a riskso maybe avoid it altogetherI wouldnt be handling animal manure unless I was wearing appropriate personal protective equipment, given the current situation, said Dan Teich, DVM, a vet and owner of District Veterinary in Washington, D.C. Thats an N95 mask or respirator [and] goggles and gloves, and Id be very careful washing up afterwards.Or, go cold turkey (no pun intended). It's a good idea to consider not repurposing backyard or farm manure in your garden while these threats are ongoing. While commercial fertilizers should mostly be safe, it is worthwhile to check labels for instructions for safe use, and consider only using fertilizers that have been through a treatment process and are labeled as such. Consult with your local garden center to find fertilizers that are appropriate for your use and have been vetted as safe.

While problems with the power grid arent new, electric whole-home backup systems are. Having emergency power on hand is a great idea, but power banks are also expensive, hard to move, and get in the way. Biolite, a new backup power brand on the market, has created a less expensive, easier, renter friendly solution that they'll be demoing at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Jan. 7-10th. Traditional backup generators are big and heavyIn the past few years weve seen releases of giant power generators from Anker Solix, Ecoflow, and others called Whole Home Backups. These hefty, barely portable devices dont require solar input (although theyre compatible); they can charge by plugging into your wall. When you need them, you haul them out to the most advantageous spot in your home or office, and they act as a battery backup for multiple appliances in your home, from your fridge to your microwave. They have terrific power capacity and output, but they are chonkers, weighing around 80 pounds, and they take up a lot of space. If youve ever used a backup generator, youll know it also means extension cords snaking all over your house.One solution has been to tie these backup generators directly into your circuit breaker box, so that if the power goes off, the whole house automatically flips over to your backup generator, acting like a giant UPS (uninterruptible power supply). While this is ideal since it doesnt require you to move things around or plug and unplug them, you cant actually directly plug into your breaker boxyou need a subpanel to do so. That installation is expensive, so now youve spent money on the backup generator, the hardware for the subpanel, and the installation of all of it.Biolite batteries have more flexibilityBiolite removes the middleman entirely. Although their generators carry the same power output as traditional whole-home generators, theyre flattened (under three inches thick) and lighter. Instead of being stored away in a closet, you mount them where youll use them, and the installation is DIY. The flat profile allows you to stow them in all sorts of places, and Biolite can be stored or installed in almost any orientation, so theyre going to fit most spaces. The battery is encased in such a waywith a corrugated aluminum heat sinkthat it maintains temperature and keeps dust out without much airflow.You're meant to keep Biolite plugged into the wall, and your appliances plugged into the Biolite. As soon as theres a power interruption, Biolite acts like a UPS, shifting power so quickly, representatives insist that most devices wont go offline or lose power. Its not simply for your fridge, either the base Biolite unit has a power strip that you can stick to your any magnetized surface, and plug in other appliances.A good backup solution for rentersWhat Biolite has in common with other backup generators is that you can daisy-chain the batteries together for more kilowatt hours. Each Biolite has about 1.5kW, but you string them together for up to 10kW. You dont have to keep them in the kitchen, either: You can add Biolites around the house, tucking them into small spaces near the items you need powered, waiting for when they need to spring into action. An app helps you manage all your Biolites, and informs you when theyre being used or not, so even if youre not home, you know if theres been a power interruption. Because there's no permanent installation, this is a way for renters to obtain backup power throughout the house that they can then take with them when they move.How backup power can help you save money An additional benefit of backup power is that you can use them to game the grid. Many people have time of use plans with their power company, so power is more expensive during parts of the day or specific weather events. During those times, you can elect to switch to your Biolite backup, subverting the power grid and using your battery backup instead, which should save you money.Biolite batteries will be released this summer. The core battery alone will run $2100, and the core battery plus an extra Biolite will run $3000, but because they count as an installed solution they qualify for a 30% tax credit.