Its only early January, but last years baby pygmy hippo mania is staying strong. Thailands feisty Moo Deng became a social media sensation in 2024, taking the world by storm with her knee-biting and hose playing antics. Now, pygmy hippo enthusiasts in the United States dont have to visit Thailand or even hop across the pond to Scotland and visit Haggis to see a new baby pachyderm.On December 9, 2024, the Metro Richmond Zoo in Mosely, Virginia welcomed a 15-pound female baby pygmy hippo of its own. Whether this new baby will be as big of a ham as Moo Deng, is still too early to call.After over 116,000 votes from 165 countries, this new bundle of joys name was announced live on the TODAY show this morning. Poppy is the winner, with 52.8 percent of the vote.Poppy was born to parents Iris and Corwan after a 7-month gestation. The baby girl is Iris and Corwins third calf in 4.5 years. This birth was also the first time that Iris gave birth underwater. Common hippos typically give birth underwater, but their smaller relatives the pygmy hippo are born on land or in water.Poppy arrived on December 9 at 4:50 p.m., with several zookeepers and even a few zoo guests present. The babys natural instincts kicked in and she started moving around in the water immediately, according to zoo officials.Poppy splashing in her habitat. CREDIT: Metro Richmond Zoo.Poppy splashing in her habitat. CREDIT: Metro Richmond Zoo.At birth Poppy weighed 15 pounds, but fully grown pygmy hippos can reach up to 600 pounds. They are roughly 10 times smaller than a standard-size hippo, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Despite their stocky size, these large mammals can move fairly quickly. They can run about 18 miles per hour on average, comparable to lizards and humans.On December 30, Iris and Poppy returned to the indoor pool area and were seen by the general public for the first time. This was the babys first time submerged in water since she was born in that very same pool three weeks earlier.Poppy is mom Iris third calf in over four years. CREDIT: Metro Richmond Zoo. On the first day, we lowered the water level so the baby could become comfortable with her new surroundings. We have gradually increased the level each day, the zoo wrote in a statement. Like a human baby, our little hippo spends her days nursing, sleeping, and pooping, but with one glaring differenceshe loves to swim!Throughout this winter, Poppy and Iris will stay in the indoor pool area during the day for public viewing. During the evening, they will return to a room full of hay to rest. The zoo plans to move them to their outdoor habitat once the weather is warmer and Poppy has grown a bit more.[ Related: Humans likely wiped out Cyprus tiny hippos and elephants in record time. ]Pygmy hippos can also be spotted at a few other zoos, including ZooTampa in Florida and the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, Massachusetts. In the wild, they are native to the forests and swamps of West Africa, primarily in Liberia. They are listed as Endangered, with only an estimated 2,500 remaining in the wild due to habitat loss from logging, minding, and other human activities.This birthlike all of Iris birthsplays an important role in helping protect this rare and elusive species, the zoo said.The post Newest pygmy hippo born on US soil gets a name appeared first on Popular Science.

Heather Huson shares time with a sled dog at the Baker Institute in 2019.John Munson/Cornell University. ShareFor Cornell University geneticist Heather Huson, soccer and softball games werent on the family calendar growing up. Her family raced sled dogs instead. What started slowly as a casual hobby evolved into her mother, step-father, and sister all competing in races. The family competed during the winter months in their home state of Pennsylvania, owned upwards of 50 dogs, and found community. 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.We had kind of like a whole extra family that were sled dog mushers that we would see every weekend in the winter, Huson tells Popular Science. Huson continued to race, eventually competed in the International Federation of Sleddog Sports World Championships, and won the Tok Race of Champions in 2004. This six-dog race, still held in Tok, Alaska remains Husons favorite event.Now retired from racing, Huson has her eyes on a physically smaller prize with a greater impactunderstanding sled dog genetics.A young Huson with one of her early teams and their trophies during the mid-1980s. CREDIT: Heather Huson. What makes a sled dog?Huson is studying the genetic differences between Siberian huskies that are bred for sledding, showing, or as a pet, in addition to the varied genetic lineages in sled dogs, and what makes them such incredible canine athletes.When we say sled dogs, most of the public think of Siberian huskies or Alaskan malamutes, explains Huson. And yes, these are sled dogs. They were created for that, but theyve also been molded into kind of these purebred dogs as well. Theyre faster and theyre just more competitive.Surprisingly, almost any type of dog breed can technically become a sled dog. Even standard poodles have successfully completed the Iditarod. There is also no true definition of what an Alaskan sled dog is, other than can it perform in a race. Sled dogs are primarily still mixed breeds and that genetic mixing helps give them the traits that they need to make it through racing.Musher Ken Chezik and his team race along the Alaska Sled Dog Racing Association in Anchorage, with his lead dogs Beech and Fog. CREDIT: Britt Coon. According to Huson, sled dogs generally have an amazing worth ethic and they almost always want to run. Thousands of years of breeding have led to these animal athletes that can withstand cold temperatures and run over various distances.Huson experienced this canine athleticism when she first took to the trail as a musher at only seven-years-old. Taking these athletic dogs outside and exercising with themto her, the ultimate way to feel that human-dog bondwas exhilarating.It was a real sense of accomplishment to train them and then see how well they did, says Huson. For better or worse, it taught me those responsibilities of how these are animals, you darn well, better take care of them. It was really just that human-dog bond on steroids.The breed for speed. Or not?Racing dogs are similar to humans, in that there is a difference between a three mile run and a 26.2 mile marathon. The shortest races that a dog will compete in is three miles and these short distances offer mushers and breeders more flexibility.Theres a significant difference between dogs that have been selected for distance racing or sprint racing, says Huson. Especially in the sprint racing, theres a lot more crosses with pointers, German short hair pointers, English pointers, salukis, greyhounds. This is where you really want more speed and you have more flexibility on something like their hair coat.For dogs racing thousands of miles like those that run the Iditarod, mushers cant be as flexible since they need dog breeds with good hair and durability in their feet to make it over the snow and harsh terrain.According to Huson, the attempts to breed for speed is particularly interesting from a genetics perspective. There have been some attempts at breeding greyhoundswho can run over 40 miles per hourinto sled dogs.It makes sense why you would do that. But when I did the genetics of it, I never found traces of greyhounds in the general sled dog population.Huson racing in an Alaska Dog Mushers Association Challenge Series race in 2005. The race was held at the Jeff Studdard Sled Dog Race Track in Fairbanks, Alaska. CREDIT: Heather Huson. Traits from these sleek race dogs would completely disappear over time. By comparison, if pointers are bred in, those traits will stay.With both my perspective as a dog musher as well as the geneticist, I think the real reason is that the greyhounds just dont have any endurance, where the pointers do, says Huson. The greyhounds have got nothing to get them on the three miles.Talking dogsHuson is now continuing her research at Cornell University, where she hopes to learn more about how genes are related to the biology and evolution of dogs and other animals. Her work has particularly strong applications in understanding aging, and it can be applied to better testing, breeding, and health management in dogs. Huson also feels like she has the perfect pedigree for helping both the four and two-legged members of the sled dog community.Musher Kourosh Partow competing in the Eagle River Classic in Chugiak, Alaska with his lead dogs Boost and Leah. CREDIT: Britt Coon. I believe sled dog mushers are more accepting and trusting of my research because I do know sled dogs. I can talk dogs with them and totally understand what they are saying and they understand what Im saying, says Huson. They see I am genuine and want to understand and help. Hence, they also come to me when they have a genetic question. I miss racing a lot but stay in touch with the sport and people through my research.

NeuroscienceThe unique neural wiring of the human hippocampus may maximize memoryThe memory center contains sparse but robust nerve cell connections Pyramidal cells (shown) are the main type of nerve cell in the hippocampus, the brains memory center.Jake WatsonBy McKenzie Prillaman1 minute agoOur brains memory center bears a sleek design.A peek into living tissue from human hippocampi, a brain region crucial for memory and learning, revealed relatively few cell-to-cell connections for the vast number of nerve cells. But signals sent via those sparse connections proved extremely reliable and precise, researchers report December 11 in Cell.One seahorse-shaped hippocampus sits deep within each hemisphere of the mammalian brain. In each hippocampuss CA3 area, humans have about 1.7 million nerve cells called pyramidal cells. This subregion is thought to be the most internally connected part of the brain in mammals.

Nature, Published online: 06 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-024-04218-zThose recovering from drug or alcohol misuse speak up and say they wish more researchers could do so freely at work.

Nature, Published online: 06 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-024-04219-ySen Ronaynes quest is to record all common bird species in Ireland, sharing both happy and sad stories about wildlife.

Thank you for exploring the MegaLights Art Blast! MegaLights is an exciting experimental feature in Unreal Engine 5.5 that empowers artists to use an unprecedented number of lights in their projects. With the ability to create over a thousand movable, dynamic lights that cast realistic area shadows and illuminate volumetric fog, were breaking new ground in real-time rendering on current-gen hardware.This advancement has been a game-changer for our environment artists, allowing them to work more freely and creatively without the usual constraints and limitations of local light sources. With Megalights in our toolkit, the team was able to build a captivating world for Echo to explore. By leveraging Quixel MegaScans and KitBash3D assets, and a little handcrafted salt thrown in for good measure, we rapidly experimented with different environments until we found a look we loved.What did this all mean for the art in practical terms? The team was able to work fast within a tight deadline. It was a pretty crazy day to day experience discovering just how much we could throw at the environment and were free to experiment with different ideas. We obviously still needed to keep best practices for environment creation and performance at the forefront of our thinking, but the liberties MegaLights afforded made building a unique environment a fun, creatively rewarding exercise.We hope the world weve lovingly built inspires you as much as it has inspired us. We encourage you to dive into MegaLights, MegaScans, and KitBash3D to discover how they can enhance your own creative workflow. Dan Woje Art Director Saga Alayyoubi Senior Environment Artist Wiktor hman Principle Environment Artist Jakob Keudel Senior Environment Artist Isac Crafoord Senior Lighting and Environment Artist The post Unreal Engine MegaLights Art Blast appeared first on ArtStation Magazine.

Fab is a one-stop destination where you can discover, buy, sell, and share digital assets, and its now live!Fab is the successor to the Unreal Engine Marketplace and Sketchfab Store, and the new home for Quixel Megascans. This new open marketplace supports all types of creators with content for use across Unreal Engine, Unity 3D, Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) and other digital content creation tools. Unreal Engine developers can access Fab directly in the Unreal Engine 5 Editor, and Fornite creators can discover Fortnite ready assets through Fab in UEFN. The Fab integration in UEFN is undergoing maintenance and will be back online shortly, and the Fab integration in the Unreal Engine 5 Editor is coming soon.Head over to Fab.com today to discover an enormous offering of high quality, real-time-ready game assets, environments, VFX, audio, animations, characters, plug-ins, and more.Read on to learn more about what youll find on Fab today and to hear whats coming to Fab in the future.Find it on FabFab offers content compatible with multiple game engines, a wide variety of asset types, various licensing options, and more. Today on Fab you can:Browse our extensive content library that includes top-quality 3D assets, VFX, environments and more from amazing creators and studios like KitBash3D, Dekogon Studios and Leartes Studios.Use Channels to find content compatible with Unreal Engine, UEFN and Unity.Choose the license that meets your needs. Fab offers a Creative Commons license and the Personal or Professional tier of a Standard License. The Fab Standard License enables you to use the assets, including Megascans, in any game engine or tool you want.Acquire the Quixel Megascans library for free through the end of 2024 free for use with ALL engines and digital content creation tools. With one click on this new page, you can claim over 17,000 Megascans, including 10 packs with brand new scene files from Quixel. And be on the lookout for free sponsored content from Quixel and other creators on Fab.Make informed decisions about what you want to download or purchase. Inspect 3D assets with Fabs next-generation real-time 3D viewer to know what youre buying before you make a purchase. You can also see on each product details page if a product was created with the help of generative AI, and you can use filters to include or exclude generative AI products from your searches.Find assets that are right for your audience. Mature content is allowed on Fab.com but individuals whose parents have enabled age rating restrictions using Epics Parental Controls will not be able to access Mature content. You have the option to show, blur or hide Mature content on Fab. As a reminder, Mature content cannot be used in UEFN since these assets exceed Fortnites maximum age rating.Redeem a free 6-month subscription for Adobe Substance Painter and Modeler. Find out if youre eligible here.Whats nextWe have ambitious goals for Fab and todays launch is just the beginning. Over the coming months well continue improving the user experience, adding new content and shipping new features. We plan to introduce new file formats including Roblox and Minecraft assets, access to MetaHumans, a new listing review system, product specific FAQs, a pipeline to make it easy for creators to publish content directly from UEFN to Fab, and new analytics to enhance the seller experience.In 2025, were making a cross-section of the Megascans library free to all users regardless of which engine or platform they are using. This starter pack will contain more than 1,500 hand-picked assets, including a variety of popular 3D assets, plants, trees, surfaces, decals, imperfections and the 10 packs Quixel released on Fabs launch day.Were aware of a few things that arent working as expected at launch. Weve documented a list of known issues here and were currently working through each of these items.For more information, check out the ArtStation Help Center FAQs. The post Fab.com is now live! appeared first on ArtStation Magazine.

When the team at Massive Entertainment started the journey of creating Star Wars Outlaws, our aim was to create an immersive experience, inspired by the immense impact the original trilogy had on our team. We used those memories and feelings- with an added modern twist, to bring Star Wars Outlaws to life- a game with a unique visual presentation that pays homage to the movies we love so much.We spent countless hours re-watching the movies and shows, reading the books and comic series, playing the games and even building model kits, exploring every corner of the galaxy that we could. Everyone has a different memory of and relationship with Star Wars and a different view of what it means to them and we worked to incorporate those elements into our game. Diving deep into this rich history gave us a renewed appreciation for what makes the visual identity of Star Wars so unique, regardless of the era.Our goal was to create something that was both enjoyable for seasoned fans of the franchise, with references and details from the world they know so well, while creating a world that would be understandable and relatable to players diving into the Star Wars galaxy for the first time through Kay Vess and Nix.As the art and world director, it is a huge privilege to present the work of our amazingly talented team, who poured their hearts and souls into creating an immersive open world Star Wars experience that has never been seen before. Their passion and love for Star Wars was the core of making this game and at the heart of every decision. From small props to the most glorious vistas, every detail was crafted by a team that loves Star Wars and wanted to bring their love and passion for it into the game world for players to explore and enjoy.This is just a small glimpse behind the scenes of the games creation. We hope you enjoy looking at the concepts, characters, props, environments and much more that helped bring Star Wars Outlaws to life.Please note, If you havent finished the game yet, there may be spoilers ahead.Benedikt PodlesniggArt and World Director Michael Hansen Senior Character Artist Massive Entertainment Jakub Mrwczyski Senior Character Artist Massive Entertainment Laurent Boucher Senior Character Artist Ubisoft Annecy Achielias Debecker Senior Character Artist Ubisoft Annecy Magnum Mak Lam Chau Senior Character Ubisoft Shanghai Livio Ambrosini Senior Environment Artist Massive Entertainment Wouter Gillioen Environment Artist Massive Entertainment Jens Peppler Environment Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Horia Mocanu Environment Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Joel Westman Senior Level Artist Massive Entertainment Melodie Delamourd Senior Level Artist Massive Entertainment Catherine Jonsson Senior Environment Artist Massive Entertainment Raphael Tavares Senior Environment Artist Massive Entertainment Keyla Meijer Senior Environment Artist Massive Entertainment Peter Kostov Environment Artist Massive Entertainment Clotilde Moussier Senior Environment Artist Massive Entertainment Rodrigo Lloret Expert Environment Artist Massive Entertainment Claudio Quatela Environment Artist Ubisoft Milan Claudia-Ioana Avram Environment Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Claudia-Diana Gutu Environment Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Charly Carrelet Senior Environment Artist Ubisoft Annecy Constantin Bodescu Lead Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Audrey Trekker Level Artist Ubisoft Paris Calin Stefan Senior Environment Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Boris Kolimaga Senior Level Artist Ubisoft Paris Alberto Viapiano Level Artist Ubisoft Milan Anthony Lemetayer Senior Environment Artist Massive Entertainment Dan-Eugen Stanescu Senior Environment Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Andreea Simona Firan Senior Environment Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Denisa Husman Environment Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Marcela Rogut Environment Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Laura-Emanuela Zaharia Environment Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Tommaso Brambilla Environment Artist Ubisoft Milan Cornelia Grozavu (Popovici) Senior Environment Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Valentina Calciu Environment Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Stefan Stinga Senior Level Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Diana Scarlatescu Senior Environment Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Dusan Bogdanovic Level Artist Ubisoft Paris Julien Payen Senior Level Artist Ubisoft Paris Lucie Allaire Senior Level Artist Ubisoft Paris Roberto Libralato Senior Lighting Artist Massive Entertainment Ecaterina-Carmen Stefan Senior Environment Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Marco Refrigerato Senior Environment Artist Ubisoft Milan Arthur Belin Lighting Artist Ubisoft Annecy Jean-Christian Sauvaget Lighting Artist Ubisoft Annecy Hugo Lafont Lighting Artist Ubisoft Montpellier Rmy Escales Junior Cinematic Lighting Artist Ubisoft Montpellier Oscar Mata Laca Senior Cinematic Lighting Artist Ubisoft Montpellier Justine JUBIN Junior Cinematic Lighting Artist Ubisoft Montpellier Marthe Jonkers Associate Art Director Massive Entertainment Tony Tran Senior Concept Artist Massive Entertainment Iuliia Misiul Senior Concept Artist Massive Entertainment Arnaud Kleindienst Senior Concept Artist Massive Entertainement Amanda Westergren Concept Artist Massive Entertainment Tatiana Vetrova Senior Concept Artist Massive Entertainment Phillip Park Concept Artist Ubisoft Paris Caroline Hirbec Senior Concept artist Ubisoft Paris Victor Rathsmann Senior Concept Artist Massive Entertainment Diana Sima Senior Concept Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Adrien Girod Lead Concept Artist Ubisoft Paris Sverine Mastroleonardo Lead UI Designer Ubisoft Paris Kamil Haddad Concept Artist Massive Entertainment Diego Peres Senior Concept Artist Massive Entertainment Robin Tran Senior Concept Artist Massive Entertainment David Alvarez Senior Concept Artist Ubisoft Annecy Remy Vanmeenen Senior Concept Artist Ubisoft Annecy Cosmin Genete Senior Concept Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Cosmin Andrei Ispas Mid UI Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Guy Perez Expert Storyboard Artist Massive Entertainment Samuel De Vos Lead Concept Artist Ubisoft Massive Gabriel Kuklinski Dias Video Artist Massive Entertainment Ingrid Sarvik Lead Video Artist Massive Entertainment James Rinere Senior Concept Artist Massive Entertainment Fredrik Andersson Vehicle Artist Massive Entertainment Pablo Gallego Vehicle Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Sabrina Rodrigues Maia Props Artist Massive Entertainment Harry Biggs Outsourcing Props Artist Massive Entertainment Pierre Afoumado Senior Props Artist Massive Entertainment Etienne Bednarz Senior Material Artist Massive Entertainment Marie Najean Junior Props Artist Ubisoft Annecy Quinn Bogaerts Props Artist Ubisoft Annecy Maxime Dehon Dumon Props Artist Ubisoft Annecy Blandine Leray Props Artist Ubisoft Annecy Frederico Andolfo Props Artist Ubisoft Milan Jonas Armellini Senior Texture Artist Ubisoft Annecy Salvatore Ditrani 3D Artist Vehicles Ubisoft Milan Michele Garzia Props Artist Ubisoft Milan Paolo Miki Cagnetta Props Artist Ubisoft Milan Massimiliano Lai Prop Artist Ubisoft Milan Elias Rivet Props Artist Ubisoft Montpellier Baptiste Erades Senior VFX Artist Massive Entertainment John Behrens Senior VFX Artist Massive Entertainment Ioana Anastasia Tolea Junior VFX Artist Ubisoft Bucharest Pablo Chauvineau Junior Cinematic VFX Artist Ubisoft Montpellier Shannon Lyman Senior Technical Animator Massive Entertainment Margherita Stawski 3D Animator Ubisoft Milan Ioan-Andrei Nistor Senior Technical Artist Massive Entertainment Jonny Heinonen Technical Animator Massive Entertainment The post Ubisoft Star Wars Outlaws appeared first on ArtStation Magazine.

Anyone looking to cap off a kill with a colorful move in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 can do just that with the Brightmare Bundle, as this allows you to summon a unicorn to help you out. It appears that there are two distinct finishers: a lethal booty belch from the unicorn and a gorier finisher that wouldn't look out of place in a Mortal Kombat game. According to Activision, the rainbow-colored rectal turbulence is the right one, as there is currently a bug with the preview that shows off the incorrect finishing move.As spotted by Charlie Intel, the preview execution mistakenly shows a player throwing their opponent onto the horn of a unicorn and impaling them. There's still some sparkly back-end blowout involved, but the proper finisher is the one that revolves around fatal fecal fumes.Activision may have changed the Unicorn bundle finishing move in today's Black Ops 6 update.A comparison of the old one (fart move) and the new preview move. As of now, it's still doing the fart move in-game, but the preview is a different move.Vid: @BobNetworkUK_ pic.twitter.com/M4ZCaxVlVM CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) January 4, 2025 Unicorn cheek-squeaks are just the tip of the iceberg in the landscape of modern-day Call of Duty. The franchise has become a hub for crossovers, and the collaboration has seen the launch of new Squid Game-themed multiplayer modes and skins. In terms of overall silliness, the Brightmare Bundle is tame when compared to Call of Duty's marijuana-themed events, including the recent launch of stoner-lizard DLC and even a Cheech and Chong crossover in the past.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Wordle has exploded in popularity since The New York Times purchased the word game from its creator, Josh Wardle, in early 2022. The 1,000th Wordle game was played in early 2024, and it still retains a large audience. Now, the New York Times has revealed which word tripped up millions of Wordle players in 2024.According to Today, 5.6 million Wordle streaks ended on October 15, 2024. The word chosen for that day was "corer," which can refer to either a knife that's used for coring fruits or a large hollow cylindrical drill/tube that's primarily made for extracting samples of rocks or dirt from the ground or the ocean floor. The outcome of that puzzle doesn't seem to have had an adverse affect on Wordle's numbers. The New York Times even debuted a math version of Wordle last year, which is called Digits. That game invites players to use six numbers or digits to reach a single set number as the final result. Players can choose whether to add, subtract, multiply, or divide their numbers as needed as long as the correct result is reached. Continue Reading at GameSpot