Motherhood is entirely possible at the age 74for some birds at least. A Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) named Wisdom recently became the worlds oldest known breeding wild bird.According to the Pacific Region of the US Fish & Wildlife Service,, she returned to the Midway Atollor Kuaihelani in Hawaiianin December 2024 and began to interact with a new male partner. Wildlife officials then spotted what could be Wiscoms 60th egg. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.The egg should hatch sometime in February and is a good sign for birds that have been hit hard by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or bird flu.Especially in the landscape of highly pathogenic avian influenza, its exciting to have a species that is still propagating this long when theyre facing some pretty incredible odds, Jennifer M. Mullinax, a research ecologist from the University of Maryland tells Popular Science.Wisdom is also not alone in her longer reproductive window, which is shared by other species of wild birds. Humans are really more of the outliers as far as living longer than we can successfully reproduce, and there are several species that have a much longer runway for having their young.Who reproduces for 1,000 years? Deep-sea spongesThey may look like an alien organism or some kind of giant plant, but sea sponges are part of the animal kingdom. While scientists are still learning more about their life spans, these deep-sea dwelling creatures can live incredibly long.A view of different species (sponges, crinoids, etc.) representing a deep ecosystem at 110m depth on September 24, 2019 off the French Guyana. CREDIT: Alexis Rosenfeld/Getty Images. Theyre colonial animals and some sponges are thought to have a lifespan as a colonial unit, in the order of thousands of years, Anne Clark, an evolutionary biologist and behavioral psychologist from Binghamton University in New York, tells Popular Science. And nobody says that theyre not reproducing in that time period.Sponges reproduce sexually to add to the colony and keep it going. Some deep-sea sponges can grow up to 12 feet long, all of it showing signs of life. With their biological drive in mind, Clark says it is entirely possible that some deep-sea sponges are reproducing for thousands of years.An elusive old sharkLike deep-sea sponges, greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus) live in very cold and dark waters and can live upwards of 200 years.Because theyre living in really cold water most of these species grow very slowly, says Mullinax. So theyre not really reaching sexual maturity for a very, very long time.Like some other shark species, they mate via internal fertilization and give live birth. However, unlike many other species that give live birth, their young is not attached to a placenta. Instead, their embryos survive off of a yolk sac. After reaching maturity, they potentially grow less than half an inch per year.Delaying implantationin bearsA young Grizzly bear cub watches the commotion in the valley below as its mother forages for food on June 14, 2024. in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. CREDIT: Jonathan Newton/Getty Images. For carnivorous land mammals, bears have a fairly long reproductive window. Depending on the species, a female will have a little about every three or four years after turning between four and six years old. During breeding, their bodies also have a mechanism to encourage the offsprings survival. They have a delayed implantation of the egg, where it is fertilized sometime during the summer months and will wait months to implant.A bear can be sexually mature, breed, and get pregnant. But then, if the conditions arent right, they can reabsorb the implanted embryo, because they dont have enough nutrients to bring them to term, explains Mullinax.The grandmother hypothesis: whales, elephants, primates, and moreWhile more rare, some animals other than humans can live long after their reproductive lives. These are often whales, elephants, or other matriarchal species where important knowledge is passed down to generations by females.The grandmother hypothesis is that somehow aged but non-reproductive animals are positively affecting the reproduction of a species just by their presence, explains Clark.A new born baby elephant is closely surrounded by its mother and aunts and uncles in the herd as they travel along the plains of the Kaudulla National Park. CREDIT: Dinouk Colombage/Moment via Getty Images. Older members of a group could share information critical to the animals survival. Studies have shown that older elephants and baboons can help younger members find water during times of drought.This is only open to certain kinds of animals that have long social lives, where their offspring are around and where dispersal doesnt break up families completely, says Clark.The R-Selectwhere every second countsOn the other end of the spectrum are the various species that live by a classic R-Select.In R-select species, theyre alive for maybe five days or five hours or five minutes, says Mullinax. They come into sexual maturity, they mate, they lay eggs, and they die.While mayflies in the larval stage can live for about a year, adult mayflies may only live for one day. Jellyfish and some rodents are also animals that have these short, reproductive driving lifecycles.This story is part of Popular Sciences Ask Us Anything series, where we answer your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the ordinary to the off-the-wall. Have something youve always wanted to know? Ask us.

NewsAnimalsForever chemicals are causing health problems in some wildlifeThe effects of PFAS on human health is well studied. Impacts on turtles have now been documented Some freshwater turtles in Australia exposed to PFAS, aka forever chemicals, exhibit a range of health concerns, as do their hatchlings.Malcolm Tattersall/iNaturalist Australia (CC BY-NC 4.0)By Danielle Beurteaux27 seconds agoForever chemicals are pervasive, and researchers have in recent years been ringing the alarms about the negative impacts on human health. But humans arent the only animals to be concerned about.Freshwater turtles in Australia exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, experienced changes to their metabolic functions, environmental biochemist David Beale and colleagues report in the Dec. 15 Science of the Total Environment. We found a whole range of biomarkers that are indicative of cancer and other health problems within reptiles, says Beale, of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Dutton Park, Australia.

Nature, Published online: 06 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00025-2We see evidence in mice of why new memories dont overwrite existing ones and explore how AI tools are helping decipher previously unreadable ancient texts

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Big video games take a lot of money to make, but the industry is very secretive in exactly how much is spent developing them. However, it looks like we might have some insight on how much money it takes to make and market a Call of Duty game.In a court filing reviewed by Game File, Activision's head Call of Duty creative Patrick Kelly reportedly revealed the total budgets and copies sold for three Call of Duty games. 2015's Black Ops III reportedly took developer Treyarch over three years to make and cost $450 million, with the total number of copies sold being 43 million.For 2019's Modern Warfare, developed by Infinity Ward, the total cost of development was reportedly $640 million with 41 million copies sold. The last one is Black Ops Cold War from 2020. Treyarch and Raven Software's joint project reportedly took $700 million to develop and sold 30 million copies.Continue Reading at GameSpot

It's time to goAs it does at least one per month, Microsoft is dumping more games from the Xbox Game Pass library in January 2025. The first set of removals for the month have now been confirmed, and a total of six titles are getting axed on January 15.These include Escape Academy, Exoprimal, Figment, and more. You can see all the titles set for removal in the gallery. A second wave of removals will be announced later this month.A silver lining here is that Game Pass subscribers can save 20% on purchases, which might help ease the sting of a game leaving the catalog if you want to keep playing.In terms of additions, January 2025 has seven more games coming in the first half of January 2025, including Road 96, Lightyear Frontier, My Time at Sandrock, EA Sports UFC 5, and more. Common'HoodCommon'Hood leaves Game Pass on January 15 for cloud, console, and PC. Escape AcademyEscape Academy leaves Game Pass on January 15 for cloud, console, and PC. Exoprimal Exoprimal leaves Game Pass on January 15 for cloud, console, and PC. Figment Figment leaves Game Pass on January 15 for cloud, console, and PC. Insurgency Sandstorm Insurgency Sandstorm leaves Game Pass on January 15 for cloud, console, and PC. Those Who Remain Those Who Remain leaves Game Pass on January 15 for cloud, console, and PC.

Razer has announced a new dock for mobile gaming devices: the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma. Described as a versatile hub that can transform mobile devices into gaming consoles for your TV, it features a six-in-one I/O design. Preorders are now open for the device ahead of its launch on January 30 at $80.According to Razer, the dock is equipped with a gigabit ethernet port, multiple USB connections, and HDMI out. This will allow you to hook up a handheld gaming PC like the Asus ROG Ally or the Steam Deck and output the signal to your TV or monitor. Additionally, the dock features a 100W power passthrough for quick charging, a rugged aluminum design, and customizable RGB lighting.Razer Handheld Dock ChromaGallery See at Razer The new dock is one of several announcements from Razer today at CES 2025. Other highlights include the Razer Blade 16 laptop--an ultra-thin gaming device equipped with a 240Hz OLED display and an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor. Other interesting reveals include the new PC Remote Play feature coming to the Razer Nexus mobile app--this will let users stream PC gameplay directly to their iOS and Android mobile devices--and Project Arielle, a gaming chair that features integrated heating and cooling technology.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Who is the other half of Ranma 1/2? The literal answer is Ranma's girl form, which gives Ranma Saotome a dual-gendered identity. However, Ranma 1/2's story would feel incomplete without Ranma's reluctant fiance and eventual friend Akane Tendo.

This week on Gamers Said, we asked you what's a game you need to play in your lifetime. From critically-acclaimed RPGs such as The Witcher 3, to iconic staples in the video game industry such as Super Mario Bros, you all gave a diverse list of answers!