Colias croceus, also known as the clouded yellow, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, the yellows and whites. Its breeding range is North Africa and southern Europe and eastwards through Turkey into the Middle East, but it occurs throughout much of Europe as a summer migrant, sometimes as far north as Scandinavia. In Asia, its range extends into central Siberia in the north and barely into India in the south, although it is not found in Central Asia. The species can live in any open area in the countryside, including downland, coastal cliffs and fields containing the caterpillar's host plants, at an elevation up to 1,600 metres (5,200ft) above sea level. Colias croceus has a wingspan of 4654 millimetres (1.82.1in), with the upperside of its wing being golden to orange yellow with a broad black margin on all four wings and a black spot near the centre forewing. This mating pair was photographed in Pirin National Park, Bulgaria.Photograph credit: Charles J. SharpRecently featured: Michael William BalfeLimeGolden-fronted woodpeckerArchiveMore featured pictures

January 10New Orleans236 Pope Fabian, said to have been chosen by the Holy Spirit when a dove landed on his head, began his papacy.1812 New Orleans (pictured), the first steamship on the Mississippi River, arrived at New Orleans to complete its maiden voyage.1929 Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, the first volume of The Adventures of Tintin by the Belgian cartoonist Herg, began serialisation.1993 The Braer Storm, the strongest extratropical cyclone ever recorded in the North Atlantic, reached peak intensity.Georg Forster (d.1794)Hrithik Roshan (b.1974)Yip Pin Xiu (b.1992)ConstantineII of Greece (d.2023)More anniversaries: January 9January 10January 11ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

A map of bathymetryor underwater topographyof Axial Seamount, an active volcano some 300 miles off the coast of Oregon. NOAAOregons most active underwater volcano could erupt this year, according to a prediction recently shared by scientists. The Axial Seamount, located 300 miles from the states coast and one mile beneath the Pacific Oceans surface, has been swelling at a steady rate for the past six months, with seismic activity totaling hundreds of earthquakes per day, according to an Oregon State University blog that chronicles eruption predictions of the sea volcano.In November, scientists were tipped off about the possibility of an imminent explosion when Axials surface swelled to nearly the same height it had risen to in 2015just before it last erupted. When this so-called ballooning happens, it usually means magma is pooling underground and pressure in the surrounding area is increasing, reports Rachel Berkowitz of Science News.Researchers presented the latest seismic and inflation results on the volcano last month at the American Geophysical Union conference in Washington, D.C.The scientists prediction shouldnt be taken as a sign to panicthe volcano doesnt pose a threat to people. But from a research perspective, this offers an ideal scenario to experiment with prediction techniques.Peoples lives arent in the equation, Bill Chadwick, a volcanologist at Oregon State University who is leading the research, tells Gosia Wozniacka of the Oregonian. On land, you cant do this forecasting without worrying about false alarms and freaking people out and having economic impacts. You dont want to evacuate towns and all that without knowing for sure that you need to.As a result, he adds, the Axial Seamount is a great natural laboratory for studying undersea eruptions and volcanic forecasting. For the time being, reliable predictions about volcanic eruptions are rarely possible more than a few days in advance, according to the Smithsonians Global Volcanism Program.Studying Submarine VolcanoesWatch on The Axial Seamounts current bloating comes as no surprise. The area is considered the most active underwater volcano in the Pacific Northwest, having erupted in 1998, 2011 and 2015. It sits on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, an underwater mountain range wedged between two separating tectonic plates: the Juan de Fuca Plate and the Pacific Plate. Such areas teem with marine life, including octopuses, bacteria, mussels, deep-sea crabs and tubeworms.Axial is also the worlds most monitored submarine volcano. Because of its frequent activity, the seamount is home to the worlds first underwater observatory, called the New Millennium Observatory, or NeMO, per Oregon State University. Every shake, hiccup or tremor is recorded and sent to scientists in real time with a fiber-optic cable along the seafloor via a web of instruments called the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), reports Marley Parker for the National Deep Submergence Facility. Scientists have monitored the volcanos rumbling and shaking through this cable for the last ten years.Chadwick and his team also often travel to the seamount on expeditions to gather more data. Most recently, the 2024 expedition to the Axial Seamount repeated pressure measurements and continued documenting the inflation rates since 2015.Todays predictions of volcanic eruptions rely on recognizing patterns that occurred before the mountains last blew their tops. In 2015, swelling around the seamount happened a few months after experts began monitoring the site. The current level of inflation has reached about 95 percent of the amount seen before 2015s eruption, according to the presented research, and seismic activity is elevated like before. Other researchers have been using artificial intelligence to analyze the earthquakes from the 2015 eruption to better predict when the next explosion might happen, per Science News.If you can develop a model for how this works at Axial, it gives us a starting point that we can apply elsewhere, and with a few tweaks, we can begin working on forecasts of other volcanoes, Michael Poland, a research geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Surveys Cascades Volcano Observatory who was not involved in the research, tells the Oregonian.Still, forecasting volcanic activity is not always easy, and eruptions can be unpredictable, even with data. Theres always the risk that a volcano will follow a pattern that we havent seen before and do something unexpected, Poland says to Science News.When the Axial Seamount does erupt, it wont be showy. The structure is considered a shield volcano, meaning it wont explode in fiery glory. Instead, it will ooze lava once enough pressure cracks the surface open, as Jes Burns wrote for Oregon Public Broadcasting last year. Regardless of when Axial erupts, it will provide researchers with more knowledge about how volcanoes behave, what clues exist before an eruption and the aftermath.We learn the most from volcanoes by catching them in the act, Chadwick tells the National Deep Submergence Facility. A big part of our work here is to ensure everything is in place for the next eruption.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Earth's Crust, Earth's Mantle, Geology, New Research, Oceans, Pacific Ocean, Scientists, Volcanoes

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn MorePopular AI orchestration framework LlamaIndex has introduced Agent Document Workflow (ADW) a new architecture that the company says goes beyond retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) processes and increases agent productivity.As orchestration frameworks continue to improve, this method could offer organizations an option for enhancing agents decision-making capabilities.LlamaIndex says ADW can help agents manage complex workflows beyond simple extraction or matching.Some agentic frameworks are based on RAG systems, which provide agents the information they need to complete tasks. However, this method does not allow agents to make decisions based on this information.LlamaIndex gave some real-world examples of how ADW would work well. For instance, in contract reviews, human analysts must extract key information, cross-reference regulatory requirements, identify potential risks and generate recommendations. When deployed in that workflow, AI agents would ideally follow the same pattern and make decisions based on the documents they read for contract review and knowledge from other documents.ADW addresses these challenges by treating documents as part of broader business processes, LlamaIndex said in a blog post. An ADW system can maintain state across steps, apply business rules, coordinate different components and take actions based on document content not just analyze it. LlamaIndex has previously said that RAG, while an important technique, remains primitive, particularly for enterprises seeking more robust decision-making capabilities using AI.Understanding context for decision makingLlamaIndex has developed reference architectures combining its LlamaCloud parsing capabilities with agents. It builds systems that can understand context, maintain state and drive multi-step processes.To do this, each workflow has a document that acts as an orchestrator. It can direct agents to tap LlamaParse to extract information from data, maintain the state of the document context and process, then retrieve reference material from another knowledge base. From here, the agents can start generating recommendations for the contract review use case or other actionable decisions for different use cases.By maintaining state throughout the process, agents can handle complex multi-step workflows that go beyond simple extraction or matching, the company said. This approach allows them to build deep context about the documents theyre processing while coordinating between different system components. Differing agent frameworksAgentic orchestration is an emerging space, and many organizations are still exploring how agents or multiple agents work for them. Orchestrating AI agents and applications may become a bigger conversation this year as agents go from single systems to multi-agent ecosystems.AI agents aree an extension of what RAG offers, that is, the ability to find information grounded on enterprise knowledge.But as more enterprises begin deploying AI agents, they also want them to do many of the tasks human employees do. And, for these more complicated use cases, vanilla RAG isnt enough. One of the advanced approaches enterprises have considered is agentic RAG, which expands agents knowledge base. Models can decide if they needs to find more information, which tool to use to get that information and if the context it just fetched is relevant, before coming up with a result.Daily insights on business use cases with VB DailyIf you want to impress your boss, VB Daily has you covered. We give you the inside scoop on what companies are doing with generative AI, from regulatory shifts to practical deployments, so you can share insights for maximum ROI.Read our Privacy PolicyThanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here.An error occured.

Sometimes everyone already knows what happened to a project, we just need someone to confirm it.In 2017 it was announced that there would be a live-action adaptation of the open-world crime game, Sleeping Dogs, starring Donnie Yen, who was riding high on the success of movies like Ip Man and Rogue One. Director Timo Tjahjanto was also approached to direct, giving this project a real pedigree for anyone who loves hardcore Asian action films.Unfortunately, since about 2018 almost any mention of this movie disappeared. And now Polygon confirmed with Yen that this movie is no longer in the works."I spent a lot of time and did a lot of work with these producers, and I even invested some of my own money into obtaining the drafts and some of the rights," Yen tells Polygon. "I waited for years. years. And I really wanted to do it... And unfortunately... I don't know, you know how Hollywood goes, right?"Yen calls it an "unfortunate thing," but says he's ready to move "on to better things."PlaySleeping Dogs was released back in 2012 and was developed by the now defunct United Front Games and published by Square Enix. The open world action game was effectively Grand Theft Auto in Hong Kong, with plenty of influences from Hong Kong crime cinema like Infernal Affairs and Hard Boiled. Starring undercover cop Wei Shen as he infiltrated the local Triad, Sleeping Dogs became something of a cult hit thanks to its mix of action, world design, and star-studded voice cast (including Emma Stone and Lucy Liu). The Definitive Edition received an 8.5 in our review.Unfortunately a sequel and planned spinoff, Triad Wars, never entered into production before United Front shut down, and now the movie adaptation joins the dormant game series.Luckily for fans of Yen, he's been keeping himself quite busy both at home and abroad. Alongside the action movie The Prosecutor, Yen was last seen stateside as the blind assassin Caine in John Wick: Chapter 4, and according to Collider, is in talks to star and direct a Caine spinoff movie.Matt Kim is IGN's Senior Features Editor.

Ubisoft just delayed Assassin's Creed: Shadows by another month, amid a time of troubled financials, continued cost cuts, and ongoing rumors the company was preparing for a sale to gaming giant Tencent. In an emergency conference call today, investors grilled CEO Yves Guillemot and CFO Frederick Duguet for answers on all of the above - but their responses didn't provide much reassurance.Ubisoft's call today came alongside not just the delay announcement, but a seeming confirmation of sorts that Ubisoft is preparing to sell, or at least strongly considering it. Per the press release, the company has "appointed leading advisors to review and pursue various transformational strategic and capitalistic options to extract the best value for stakeholders. This process will be overseen by the independent members of the Board of Directors. Ubisoft will inform the market in accordance with applicable regulations if and once a transaction materializes."PlayIGN's Twenty Questions - Guess the game!IGN's Twenty Questions - Guess the game!To start:...try asking a question that can be answered with a "Yes" or "No".000/250Back in October, Bloomberg reported that Ubisoft's founding Guillemot family and shareholder Tencent were in discussions to take the company private following a number of high-profile flops, game cancellations, and the collapse of the company's share price. At the time, the talks were merely exploratory, and Ubisoft told IGN it would "inform the market if and when appropriate." Today's update seems to suggest that such talks, either with Tencent or in some other capacity, have moved forward in some way.But it's unclear exactly how, and Ubisoft's shareholders understandably wanted more details during the conference call today. But Guillemot and Duguet weren't biting. First, they were asked directly by a Morgan Stanley representative: "On the various transformation strategic and capitalistic options, it's a bit of a vague phrase if you don't mind me saying. Could you perhaps elaborate on the kind of things you're talking about? And perhaps particularly, there were press reports of detailed discussions with Tencent that were reported on in December. Should we read that there is now some sort of proposal which the independent board members are going to review against other options? Or is that not what you mean by that?"Duguet replied:The objective of this process is to unlock the best value potential of our assets to the benefit of our stakeholders, and to foster the best conditions to create great games in the fast-evolving market. That's the overall objective, so that's why we mentioned that we appointed leading advisors. So we are currently actively exploring different options. And we can't say more. Of course we won't comment on specific rumors we have seen in the market, but we are convinced there are several potential paths to generate value from Ubisoft assets and franchises. We will inform the market if and when a transaction materializes.That...doesn't really clarify anything! And the Morgan Stanley guy seemed to feel the same, because he followed up by acknowledging Ubisoft didn't want to say what the different options were, but asked if they could say "whether there are any concrete courses of action or scenarios that are being considered, or is this more of an exploratory kind of process?" elaborating that he wanted to know what was different about this announcement as opposed to past statements by Ubisoft about such exploration.Duguet's response was short. "We are limited with what we can say today, but we've started a process." Then, seemingly realizing this could be interpreted as a too-specific confirmation, added, "with advisors."The other shareholders didn't let Ubisoft off the hook here. A Barclays representative pointed out to Guillemot and Duguet that Tencent had recently been designated as a Chinese military company by the U.S., and wanted to know if that would hinder it becoming the majority owner of Ubisoft. Guillemot declined to comment. A representative from HSBC asked "what stage" the advisors were at, and when Guillemot could expect to get some initial findings. Guillemot would only say they "have started working" and that they could expect "good progress" in the coming months.Admittedly, there's only so much Guillemot and Duguet can say about a potential acquisition without throwing it into legal and negotiational jeopardy, but that doesn't mean the skepticism around the board's alleged plans wasn't warranted. A number of other questions went unanswered during the call, such as a question about how many AAA games Ubisoft expected to release in the coming fiscal year ("you'll know more by May") and what specific sort of feedback Ubisoft got that sparked the month-long delay of Assassin's Creed: Shadows (Duguet and Guillemot tag-teamed an answer about positive community sentiment that did not address the investor's actual question at all).Overall, the tone of the discussion was one of significant concern for the health of Ubisoft and the shareholders' investments, and it's no surprise why. For several years now, Ubisoft has seemed to be in a strange, slow downward spiral, with a number of high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, game cancellations, and delay after delay after delay.Meanwhile, rumors continue to spin about what exact proposals the board is considering, with some media outlets floating the idea that Tencent is increasingly reluctant to embrace Ubisoft due to the Guillemot family's insistance on retaining a significant amount of control. Sans Tencent, there are few other companies big enough and rich enough to spend the cash needed to save the albatross Ubisoft has grown into.Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Many streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and even Apple TV+ already provide support for the HDR10+ standard. Soon, Disney+ will also join this list of platforms offering content in this high dynamic range format.HDR10+ video coming to Disney+The announcement was made at CES 2025 by Marc Finer of Communication Research Inc. on behalf of the group that certifies and manages HDR10+ technology. According to Finer, HDR10+ content will soon be available on Disney+, so that owners of compatible devices can benefit from higher dynamic range when watching movies and shows.For those unfamiliar, HDR10+ is a high dynamic range video technology that competes with Dolby Vision. Both technologies include HDR metadata for each frame of video, so that the display settings change in real time to give the image richer contrast and more brightness.HDR10+ dynamic metadata provides a number of benefits, including improved brightness and contrast, robust standardization, ease of implementation, global certification, and no licensing fees, MediaPlayNews explains. The technology was developed in partnership with Samsung and Panasonic, and is now present in more than 13,000 compatible devices such as the latest generation Apple TV 4K.Despite the announcement, there are no details on when exactly the first HDR10+ content will be available on Disney+. Of course, you need HDR10+ compatible devices to take advantage of the technology.Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

After Tim Cook announced that Apple is donating to help those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires, the company has just confirmed that Apple Card users living in the impacted regions will also get some relief. These people can temporarily postpone their Apple Card payments without interest.Apple and Goldman Sachs announce temporary relief for Apple Card owners in LAAs noted by Bloombergs Mark Gurman, the company has been notifying users registered at an address declared a natural disaster zone. Apple says that these users may be eligible for assistance with Apple Card payments. Among the benefits, Apple Card owners in the regions affected by the Los Angeles wildfires can skip the next months payment without worrying about interest.In addition to the interest exemption, users in affected regions who need to skip payments wont have their accounts blocked. Here are all the benefits provided by the Disaster Relief Program:You can skip the payment due in the month you enroll.No interest in the month you enroll. Your standard purchase APR will apply in the following month.If your account is in good standing, it will remain current while enrolled.If your account is past due, it will not go further past due while enrolled. It will remain past due until all past due payments are made.If your spending was restricted, it may continue to be restricted.Affected customers must contact Apple Card Support via Messages. On your iPhone, open the Wallet app and tap Apple Card. Tapthe More button, then tapAccount Details. Tap the Message button, then enter something like, I would like to learn more about payment assistance plan options.The fires in Los Angeles are still raging out of control. A BBC News report reveals that, despite the efforts of firefighters, the situation is still very chaotic and at least five deaths have already been confirmed. Thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes without their belongings.Apple CEO Tim Cooktweetedin response, while announcing a donation to Apple.The devastation caused by the fires in Los Angeles is heartbreaking. Thank you to the incredible firefighters, first responders, and all those assisting for your heroic efforts. Apple will be donating to support the victims and recovery efforts on the ground.Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

They were reassigned to work on the Model Y instead.CyberSlumpTesla is moving workers away from Cybertruck production at its Austin factory to focus on the Model Y instead, with three workers at the plant telling Business Insider that they were being reassigned to work on the best-selling SUV.The Elon Musk-led EV maker has been grappling with dropping overall sales. Earlier this month, Tesla announced the first year-over-year drop in the number of deliveries in over a decade, a notable shift highlighting weakening consumer demand and a likely sign that Trump's anti-EV push could further exacerbate its woes.The Cybertruck in particular has proven highly controversial. Despite becoming a political lightning rod, the truck became the best-selling EV pickup in the US in October, outpacing the Ford F-150 Lightning but read further, because in absolute terms, it's barely moving the needle.While it's unclear how the recent slump in sales affected the number of Cybertrucks sold Tesla doesn't publicize specific sales numbers for the vehicle the most recent worker reassignments could be an early warning sign that the divisive truck's popularity is waning.Reassign of the TimesAccording to BI's sources, some workers on the Cybertruck team were "forced to switch over" to work on the Model Y, despite wanting to stay on. One worker who spoke with the publication suggested the shift could be due to higher profit margins for the SUV.Last month, an internal memo obtained by BI revealed that workers at the company's Austin factory were told to take the next three days off, while still receiving eight hours of pay, likely due to production imbalances and a lack of working batteries.Meanwhile, Tesla is trying to push up demand for the pickup by lowering leasing prices.Besides possibly weakening demand, the Cybertruck has made headlines for repeatedly being recalled, suffering from major structural issues and puzzling design decisions.Whether Tesla will be able to ward off increasing competition in 2025, especially given a slowing demand for EVs overall, remains to be seen.In the grand scheme of things, the Cybertruck will likely remain more of a distraction and a rounding error in the company's overall sales. Tesla sold somewhere north of 27,000 trucks since it started deliveries in late 2023, in comparison to a whopping 1.7 million Model 3 and Model Y vehicles last year.More on the Cybertruck: Cybertruck Bomber Used ChatGPT to Plan His AttackShare This Article

"Nobody had ever thought about using wood for rocket science before."Here We GoThe world's first wooden satellite has officially been deployed.Built by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the timber-clad device was sent to International Space Station last November.Now, NASA says that the tiny satellite, dubbed LignoSat, was finally released into the wild last month, in an experiment that will explore the viability of using wood in space which if fruitful, could offer a more sustainable alternative to traditional metal components."With timber, a material we can produce by ourselves, we will be able to build houses, live and work in space forever," Takao Doi, a former JAXA astronaut who studies human space activities at Kyoto University, toldReuters last year.Lumber WhyLignoSat, named after the Latin word for wood, is a type of CubeSat a small, box shaped satellite that can typically be held in one hand.Compact as it is, it's a meticulously crafted device. It uses no screws, nails, or glue. Instead, using a Japanese woodworking technique called "sashimono," the wooden components are held together by an intricate marrying of complex joints, fashioned and assembled by master carpenters in Kyoto, per The New York Times.The wood's source was also carefully chosen after a nearly year-long experiment aboard the ISS: honoki, a type of magnolia tree whose wood is traditionally used for sword sheaths, according to Reuters."Nobody had ever thought about using wood for rocket science before," Koji Murata, a forest science professor at Kyoto University told the NYT. "Many engineers thought wood was old technology and couldn't be applied to cutting-edge technology."Tree Fallin'The hope is that in space, wood will have several advantages. It won't deteriorate like it does on Earth, because there's no water or oxygen that would rot or inflame the material, Murata explained to Reuters.Moreover, using wood to construct satellites theoretically makes them safer to decommission. Right now, metal satellites are deorbited by re-entering the atmosphere, where they are supposed to burn up completely.But this isn't always the case, with large chunks of spacecraft often surviving and dangerously crashing down to Earth. In the long run, tiny shards and particles of metal, some of which may be toxic, can also pollute the atmosphere. With wood, though, there's no risk of dangerous debris, the scientists argue it burns completely."Metal satellites might be banned in the future," Doi told Reuters. "If we can prove our first wooden satellite works, we want to pitch it to Elon Musk's SpaceX."And perhaps in the distant future, offworld outposts could sustain themselves by planting their own trees, providing an endless supply of construction material.Now that it's been deployed, the plan is for LignoSat to stay in orbit for six months. Onboard sensors will monitor how the wood weathers the conditions of space, including its extremely cold temperatures, and how well the material shields its electronic components from ever present radiation, emitted by the Sun and from deep space.Share This Article