Submitted by WA ContentsFlower-shaped bamboo holiday villa by NOD Studio is encased in a bamboo dome in a Mexican jungleMexico Architecture News - Jan 10, 2025 - 13:42 html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"A fower-shaped bamboo holiday villa, designed by NOD Studio, is encased in a bamboo dome in a Mexican jungle. Named The Trillium Awakening, the 238-square-metre villa is located in El Cuyo, Yucatn, Mexico.The villa grows in clusters and is supported by a central bamboo system, creating rooms in separate floating volumes. Designed with concrete foundations and slabs, the structure is supported by bamboo columns to create a light and airy space.Inside, nature and design continue to interact. A bamboo-domed spiral staircase leads up to the master suite from the main foyer.An essential structural and decorative component, the dome improves the villa's connection to the outside by distributing natural light throughout the interior.Comfort and sustainability are given top priority in the design of the master and secondary bedrooms. Each room features a private bathroom, a central bed, and sweeping views of the surrounding jungle.These areas seamlessly transition into the communal area, which features a swimming pool and jacuzzi with lounge chairs overlooking the lush surroundings.Blending Organic Aesthetics with Sustainable PracticesEvery element of Awakening's design incorporates a dedication to sustainability. In addition to provide structural support, bamboo columns demonstrate the project's commitment to using renewable resources.Concrete slabs are used to create the petal-inspired roofs and floors, while local stone and plaster are used to finish the walls, resulting in long-lasting construction that blends in with the surroundings.The villa uses energy in an environmentally conscious way. Passive lighting techniques ensure a low reliance on artificial systems, while natural cross ventilation lessens the demand for air conditioning.Luxury Redefined in the Heart of NatureLuxury is reimagined by Awakening as a harmonious combination of sustainability and design. Every component of the project has been painstakingly designed to honor nature and provide a profoundly immersive experience.Awakening raises the bar for hospitality in the Yucatn and beyond by balancing modern design with environmental consciousness.Ground floor planFloor plan level 1Floor plan level 2Roof planSectionSectionProject factsProject name: The Trillium AwakeningArchitects:NOD StudioLocation:El Cuyo, Yucatn, Mexico.Client:AWAKENING SANCTUARYDesign team: Jorge Berea, Fernando Artigas, Ricardo HernandezTechnical team: Alejandro de la CruzCivil Engineer: Manuel BagundoAll images Santiago Baravalle.All drawings NOD Studio.> via NOD Studio

Source: Royal Borough of GreenwichThe built-out version of the 23-storey Mast Quay Phase II in Woolwich, compared with the consented versionA 204-home tower scheme in Woolwich which was given a demolition order after it was found to have breached its planning permission can stay but must make some design changes, the Planning Inspectorate has ruled.Comer Homes has been given three years to fix issues on the Mast Quay Phase II development, which was handed an enforcement notice by Greenwich council in September 2023 following the discovery of 26 main deviations from consented plans.The developer will also have to pay 4.4m towards affordable housing elsewhere as it was found to not have included enough in the completed scheme, and 2.3m in community infrastructure levy payments.The scheme, designed by Southwark-based Upchurch Associates, consists of three blocks including a 26-storey tower and is already occupied by residents, who have called for the buildings to be saved.Comer Homes, which completed the scheme in 2022 after its original developer went into administration, appealed the demolition order in October 2023 with the Planning Inspectorate launching an inquiry last summer.The inspector, John Braithwaite, has now told the firm to replace visually intrusive orange cladding on the scheme with a colour approved by Greenwich and install grey panelling beneath windows.Accessibility features which were supposed to have been incorporated into supposed accessible apartments will also need to be built, along with some fire safety work and improvements to public realm at the base of the buildings.The councils list of 26 planning deviations was reduced to 11 by the ruling, although Braithwaite did not overturn the demolition order, saying it should still apply if Comer did not make the changes within the three-year timeframe.The inspector said there were compelling substantial benefits to keeping the scheme despite its planning breaches, including the provision of 204 homes in a borough where there is a woeful undersupply of housing and the payment of an affordable housing contribution.A spokesperson from Comer Homes said: Were happy with the decision made by the independent inquiry and pleased that a satisfactory outcome has been reached for the good of the residents of Mast Quay Phase II.We look forward to now working closely with Greenwich Council to move forward and bring this situation to a positive end.The developer, which does not dispute the scheme breached its planning consent, has previously blamed post-Grenfell fire safety regulations as its motivation to change elements of the scheme during construction.Lawyers for the firm said in their opening statement at the inquiry that it had informed the council of plans to change the schemes cladding in 2021, arguing Comer Homes was convinced it needed to build differently to the pre-Grenfell permission.However, Greenwich argued the changes to the facade were just one element of the scheme which breached its planning permission.

Twin towers the practices fourth major project in the PhilippinesCGI showing how the towers will look when complete1/5show captionFoster & Partners has broken ground on a twin tower bank headquarters scheme in the Philippines.The BDO Unibank Inc Campus in the capital Manila will consist of two stepped towers with a series of adaptations designed to cope with the citys humid climate.Each tower will be supported by an exoskeleton infilled with woven metal mesh screens in parts of the facade which receive the most sunlight.The exterior grid of steelwork is also intended as an efficient method of protecting the structure of the building from earthquakes, which are relatively common in Manila.The towers will be linked at ground level by an open triple height public space sheltered from rainfall and direct sunlight, and filled with greenery.This leads up to an elevated reception area connecting to a business centre, public museum and a 3,000sq m event space.Foster & Partners head of studio Luke Fox said: The new BDO campus offers a new model for the next generation of highly flexible and climatically responsive workplaces in the Philippines.Our holistic approach encompasses every element of the design from the structural and environmental engineering to the landscaping and interiors allowing us to create something completely bespoke and driven by extensive environmental analysis.The headquarters is the firms fourth major project in Manila, following two residential schemes, the BWDC tower and Estate Makati, and a 24-storey office building for local clothing brand Bench.

Source: HS2HS2 announced plans to refine the Grimshaw-designed scheme last yearHS2 has submitted a planning application to Birmingham City Council for an amended design for Grimshaws new Curzon Street station.Consent for an outline scheme was secured from the council in 2020, but HS2 announced intended refinements to the scheme in September last year.The amended scheme has now been submitted for consideration, with a total of 14 changes proposed.Source: HS2 LtdWork has already begun on the Curzon Street siteThe roof cassette and roof edge, previously meant to be made from timber and concrete respectively, will now be aluminium.Five concourse areas will be reconfigured to improve accessibility and passenger experience.Curzon Street is already under construction by a joint venture of Mace and Dragados.Elsewhere on the scheme, the giant HS2 box structure under the A46 in Warwickshire is approaching the final phase of construction.Balfour Beatty Vinci has installed 120 gigantic concrete beams using three giant cranes to form a major part of the top of the structure.The box structure near Kenilworth is due for completion later this year.

Housework is such a hassle. The time spent cleaning up can always be better put to use elsewhere. That's why more and more people are opting for a robot vacuum with the technology coming a long way over the past few years. Take this Yeedi Cube robot vacuum cleaner for $300 for instance. Amazon has dropped the all-in-one vacuum and mop down to its cheapest-ever price, thanks to a $260 discount.See at AmazonA 13% discount that equates to a $70 saving has already been applied but a further $190 price drop can be gained by ticking the on-page coupon. This equates to the $260 saving, which again is a record new low for the product. What's useful about the Yeedi Cube is its auto-emptying ability that lasts for 60 days alongside its self-washing and self-drying capabilities, so you don't even need to touch it for months.Hey, did you know?CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money. Built with a 5,200-mAh high-capacity battery, the "super suction power" means that any tough stains or major messes can be cleaned in no time. This is particularly great for those who have pets or kids. A dual-edge brush makes sure everything is swept while the carpet suction auto-boost feature will automatically boost its suction power for deep carpet cleaning.The device learns and navigates around a living room, thanks to its last fusion navigation system. You can then customize how you want the vac to operate by using Yeedi's app to merge or divide rooms as you please. Top deals available today, according to CNET's shopping experts Curated discounts worth shopping while they last Apple AirTag, 4-pack: $70 (save $29)Costco 1-year Gold Star membership + $20 gift card: $65 (save $20)Anker 20-watt USB-C charger, 2-pack: $12 (save $7)Levoit LVAC-200 cordless vacuum: $160 (save $40)Peloton Bike: $1,145 (save $300) Why this deal mattersIt's easy to recommend the Yeedi Cube robot vacuum cleaner with the price now dropping to its lowest ever since it launched in the latter stages of 2023. It's a huge $260 in savings and having the added perks of auto-clean and auto-empty cannot be overlooked on products like this. The end result is that you get to spend more time doing what you want instead of wasting all of your free time cleaning the house from top to bottom.Want to check out the competition? We've rounded up the best vacuum deals on the market including Roomba, Dyson, LG and more top brands.

Whether 2025 is the year you block out all the noise or that you upgrade your audio experience for your workout regime, a great pair of wireless earbuds is just the ticket. They don't come much better thanApple's AirPods Pro 2and it just so happens that these premium wireless earbuds are now available for their lowest price of the year so far. That means that you can pick these ANC-capable earbuds up for just $180 at Amazon while Best Buy is also offering the same $69 discount. You're going to need to act soon, though -- Best Buy says this deal is a one-day affair and we suspect that Amazon's price match won't last much longer.See at AmazonSee at Best BuyThe AirPods Pro 2 comes with a MagSafe Charging Case (USB-C), four silicone ear tips ranging from extra-small to large as well as a USB-C cable. Powered by Apple's H2 chip, the earbuds deliver immersive sound and active noise cancellation that removes up to two times background noise. With this enabled, the battery can last up to 6 hours by itself or 30 hours with the charging case.Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.It's also worth noting that the earbuds are IP54 dust-, sweat- and water-resistant. They also have Siri controls built in and improved call quality, thanks to the voice isolation feature.Already missed out on this bargain? There is sure to be something for everyone in our list of the verybest headphone dealsthat are still available right now. Top deals available today, according to CNET's shopping experts Curated discounts worth shopping while they last Apple AirTag, 4-pack: $70 (save $29)Costco 1-year Gold Star membership + $20 gift card: $65 (save $20)Anker 20-watt USB-C charger, 2-pack: $12 (save $7)Levoit LVAC-200 cordless vacuum: $160 (save $40)Peloton Bike: $1,145 (save $300) Why this deal mattersCNET audio expert David Carnoy gave a hugely positive review of the Apple AirPods Pro 2 complimenting the "excellent sound" and "well-designed controls". Summarizing his thoughts, Carnoy said: "The AirPods Pro 2 may not be the best at everything, but they do everything very well and are also lightweight and fit most people's ears comfortably and securely. And that's why they remain one of our CNET Editors' Choice award winners in the headphones category."The AirPods Pro 2 are worth full price to a lot of folks, though snagging them with close to $70 off is a huge win if you're in for a set.

7.5/ 10 SCORE OnePlus 13R Pros Big screen Loud speakers Long-lasting battery Fast wired charging Cons No wireless charging Mixed photography Table of Contents The $600 OnePlus 13R is one of the most useful phones I've tested, even if it's playing second fiddle to the $900 OnePlus 13. Over my three-week testing period, I've consistently got two full days of use from its 6,000mAh battery. The phone's big 6.78-inch screen and loud speakers are a joy to use when paired to my Xbox controller while gaming. Even though it runs on Qualcomm's year-old premium processor used in 2024'sOnePlus 12 and the Galaxy S24, it's still a very capable chip ready for intensive tasks and AI features. All in all, the OnePlus 13R packs a lot for its lower price.There's support for 55W fast wired charging (or even more with a proprietary charger sold separately) that juices your phone up 60% in just half an hour. The phone has an IP65 rating for dust and water, which means it can handle some light rain drizzle or a beverage accidentally being spilled near it but might not survive being dropped in a pool or otherwise submerged. And its screen has a neat feature that still lets you operate the phone even when your hands are wet or it's raining, instead of the software going all haywire from too much conductivity. These are all features that might not be the most advanced technology available in a phone right now, but they are all valuable for quality of life. OnePlus 13R: Closer Look at the $600 Flagship Phone See all photos But the OnePlus 13R's lack of wireless charging caught me by surprise. It's a strange omission considering that even cheaper phones in the $300 range support Qi wireless charging. OnePlus somewhat makes up for that with the 13R's fast wired charging and even includes a fast charging power adapter in the box. Charging with more universal USB-PD chargers -- used for fast charging by many other major phone makers -- works but at slower speeds.If you don't need wireless charging, the OnePlus 13R could be a great option for anyone looking for a media-heavy Android phone -- especially those upgrading from 2020's OnePlus 8 or earlier. The OnePlus 13R playing the Android version of Fall Guys. Mike Sorrentino/CNETOnePlus 13R: Display, CPU, ChargingThe OnePlus 13R's display is the standout reason to consider this phone, especially for casual mobile gaming and watching media. The screen has an 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate which can ramp down to conserve battery life. That refresh rate couple with a 2,780 by 1,264 resolution helps make details in videos or games pop. The screen also stands up to all kinds of weather (literally), including bright sunlight to dim and rainy environments.On the subject of rain, OnePlus brings its Aqua Touch 2.0 display technology to the 13R, that makes the screen easier to use even when covered in rain droplets. This was helpful when I was waiting for the subway on a rainy day, since I didn't experience any "ghost" taps that can sometimes happen when water droplets hit the display on other phones. However, using a phone's screen in the rain -- regardless of the phone itself -- remains awkward because a wet screen leads to a tacky feeling while scrolling. The 13R's ability to account for that while remaining usable is quite convenient.But the display's features don't stop there, as you can use the phone while wearing light gloves, something that came in handy as the temperature in New York dropped to freezing this early in the year. The OnePlus 13R remains easy to use in rainy conditions through the phone's Aqua Touch 2.0 technology. Mike Sorrentino/CNETIn real world use, I put the OnePlus 13R through my typical regiment of gaming tests. This includes playing a few Fortnite matches on its highest "Epic" graphics setting and running the game at 90 frames per second. The phone capably ran the match but heated up to the point where I had to stop playing -- I received a notification saying the phone needed to cool down before I could continue playing. Turning the graphics down to a slower 60fps frame rate helped keep the phone cool enough for uninterrupted gaming sessions.The OnePlus 13R also did well in performance benchmark testing. The phone's GeekBench 6 CPU scores are unsurprisingly similar to last year's OnePlus 12 and the Samsung Galaxy S24 series. It fared especially well in the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme graphics test, with scores that rivaled all of 2024's best phones. That's an impressive feat for a cheaper phone, although it's worth noting that many of last year's top phones, including the Galaxy S24 series, also run on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.Performance testing: OnePlus 13R vs. OnePlus 13, Google Pixel 8A, Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Geekbench 6.0 3DMark Wild Life Extreme OnePlus 13R Single: 2,215; Multi: 6,4984,978; 29.42fpsOnePlus 13 Single: 3,091 Multi: 9,3626,762; 40.5 fpsGoogle Pixel 8A Single: 1,675; Multi: 4,0762,435; 14.6 fpsSamsung Galaxy S24 FE Single: 2,065 ; Multi: 6,1093,823; 22.89fps The OnePlus 13R's 6,000mAh battery is well optimized for most tasks. After a full day of use that included gaming, taking photos and texting, that battery still had 50% of its charge remaining. In my YouTube streaming test for example, in which I play a three-hour long video at maximum brightness, the 13R's battery dropped from 100% to 85%, which is largely the same as our tests with the Galaxy S24. However it is more intensive than last year's OnePlus 12, which degraded only 5% in the same test. In his OnePlus 13 review, my colleague Andrew Lanxon found that phone to deplete all the way to 78% in the same test, which may have to do with the more power-intensive Snapdragon 8 Elite processor.Battery testing: OnePlus 13R vs. OnePlus 13, Google Pixel 8A, Samsung Galaxy S24 FE 45 min battery enduranceYouTube streaming drain test starting at 100% OnePlus 13R 100% to 97%1 hr: 97%; 2 hr: 91%; 3hr: 85% (1-120Hz)OnePlus 13 50% to 35% 1 hr: 93%; 2 hr: 84%; 3 hr 78% (1-120Hz)Google Pixel 8A 100% to 95%1 hr: 96%; 2 hr: 89%; 3 hr: 83% (60Hz-120Hz)Samsung Galaxy S24 FE 100% to 92% 1 hr: 96%; 2 hr: 90%; 3 hr: 83% (120Hz) When the phone did run out of battery, the included 55-watt power adapter recharged the OnePlus13R from zero to 60% in 30 minutes, which is noticeably faster than the 18-watt to 25-watt speeds I normally see on other phones at this price. The phone also supports 80-watt fast charging in the US (and 100 watts outside the US) but I wasn't able to test because you need to use OnePlus' SuperVooc charger which is sold separately.It turns out that without a SuperVooc charger, the OnePlus 13R only supports charging speeds up to 18 watts, the same as the $500 Pixel 8A and slower than the $650 Galaxy S24 FE's 25-watt charging. When I tried using a more universal charger that supports USB-PD, the OnePlus 13R's battery gained 32% over 30 minutes. I recommend sticking to the included charger as you'll likely only be charging up the phone a few times a week. Plus, it's nice that OnePlus even includes a power adapter at all considering many phone companies only provide a cable. Mike Sorrentino/CNETI'm still bummed that the OnePlus 13R lacks wireless charging, especially the newer Qi2 standard since there are lower priced phones, like the HMD's Skyline phone, that support 15 wattQi2 magnetic accessories.To its credit, OnePlus gave the 13R the same four years of software and six years of security update commitment as the more expensive OnePlus 13. While I'd like to see OnePlus fully match Samsung and Google's seven-year commitment for both, having at least the security update policy stretch through 2031 will be useful for anyone that likes to use their phone until it's truly broken. The OnePlus 13R's camera system includes a 50-megapixel wide camera, a 50-megapixel telephoto camera and an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera. Mike Sorrentino/CNETOnePlus 13R camerasWhile the OnePlus 13R's powerful processor helps the phone feel just as powerful as last year's flagship phones, for whatever reason, the cameras do not produce finished photos that live up to that elite tier. The 13R's triple camera system includes a 50-megapixel wide camera, a 50-megapixel telephoto camera and an 8-megapixel ultrawide. These are accompanied by a 16-megapixel selfie camera on the front.On paper this should put the phone into a similar field as the $650 Samsung Galaxy S24 FE and the $499 Google Pixel 8A, but in my testing I found many photos to have a lot of overprocessing, especially in lower-light situations.Starting with the good though, most of my outdoor photography taken by the OnePlus 13R comes out decently, including the capturing of colorful watery reflections in this photo of the pier in St. Petersburg Florida. Taken on the OnePlus 13R. Mike Sorrentino/CNETAnd I tested all three cameras when capturing this bacon, egg and cheese croissant I got at a Queens, New York bakery. You can see the texture of the bacon and the glistening of oil in both the wide and telephoto pictures, while the ultrawide brings in the wider table setting. The colors are bright but almost too warm, details look muddled and inconsistently processed between each lens -- check the difference in the plate and bacon colors in the three shots below. Taken on the OnePlus 13R's wide camera. Mike Sorrentino/CNET Taken on the OnePlus 13R's ultrawide camera. Mike Sorrentino/CNET Taken on the OnePlus 13R's telephoto camera. Mike Sorrentino/CNETBut photography takes a turn when I bring the phone to a Manhattan nightclub, where overprocessing becomes quite obvious including image noise on the dance floor. Taken on the OnePlus 13R's wide camera. Mike Sorrentino/CNETI found the front-facing camera's selfies also suffered from processing issues, which include oversharpening the details in my face in both bright and dark settings. At times I felt like it was making me look like a character from "Toy Story," due to that computation. Self-taken photo in a medium lighting setting. Mike Sorrentino/CNET Self-taken photo on the OnePlus 13R in a darker setting. Mike Sorrentino/CNETPhotography is the main area where the OnePlus 13R includes AI features, but I wasn't very impressed by them. The AI Detail Boost seemed to add definition to my hair by highlighting individual strands of it, which only makes the photo look more fake. OnePlus also offers unblurring and reflection eraser effects that I largely found to be more subtle. OnePlus also has an AI Eraser feature, which is similar to Google's Magic Eraser, for removing unwanted people or objects from photos. Outside of photography, OnePlus provides an AI-generated notes assistant along with access to Google's Circle to Search and Gemini assistant. The AI Enhance feature on the OnePlus 13R. Mike Sorrentino/CNETThe OnePlus 13R's video quality is decent, maxing out at 4K resolution at 60 frames per second. A beach clip that I took in St. Petersburg has some image noise but depicts the scene well otherwise. I wouldn't consider this to be a professional level camera like some flagship phones are purporting to be capable of, but fun vacation videos will come out fine. The OnePlus 13R and its included 55W SuperVooc wired charger. Mike Sorrentino/CNETOnePlus 13R: Bottom lineThe OnePlus 13R could be a great pick for someone who wants a phone for gaming, watching movies and scrolling social media. The large screen, loud speakers and powerful processor are capable of handling all kinds of entertainment without requiring you to spend $300 more on the more flagship OnePlus 13. Combine that with its fast 55-watt wired charging and long battery life and you'll find that this phone can be a long-lasting daily driver.But the lack of wireless charging will be quite noticeable in the years to come. The Qi2 standard is technically in its infancy, but its compatibility with Apple's MagSafe charging accessories means that there is already a wealth of fun docks, pads and stations that won't work with the OnePlus 13R.Yet if wireless charging is not important to you but you want a long battery and a great media experience, then the OnePlus 13R's tradeoffs are probably worth it.OnePlus 13, OnePlus 13R, Samsung Galaxy S24 and Samsung Galaxy S24 FE specs OnePlus 13OnePlus 13RSamsung Galaxy S24Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Display size, resolution 6.82-inch AMOLED; 3,168x1,440 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate6.78-inch AMOLED; 2,780x1,264 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate6.2-inch AMOLED; 2,340x1,080 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate6.7-inch AMOLED; 2,340x1,080 pixels, 120Hz adaptive refresh ratePixel density 510ppi450ppi416 ppi385 ppiDimensions (inches) 6.41x3.01x0.33 in. (arctic dawn/black eclipse); 6.41x3.01x0.35 in. (midnight ocean)6.36x2.98x0.32 in.5.79 x 2.78 x 0.3 in.6.4 x 3 x 0.3 inchesDimensions (millimeters) 162.9x76.5x8.5mm (arctic dawn/black eclipse); 162.9x76.5x8.9mm (midnight ocean)161.72x75.77x8.02mm147 x 71 x 7.6 mm162 x 77.3 x 8 mmWeight (ounces, grams) 213g (7.51 oz.) -- arctic dawn/black eclipse; 210g (7.4 oz.) -- midnight ocean206g (7.26 oz.)168g (5.93 oz.)213g (7.51 oz.)Mobile software Android 15Android 15Android 14Android 14Camera 50 megapixel (wide), 50 megapixel (3x telephoto), 50 megapixel (ultrawide)50 megapixel (wide), 8 megapixel (ultrawide), 50 megapixel (telephoto)50-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto)50-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 8-megapixel (3x telephoto)Front-facing camera 32 megapixel16 megapixel12-megapixel 10-megapixelVideo capture 8K at 30fps; 4K at 60fps 4K at 60fps8K8KProcessor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 EliteQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3Samsung Exynos 2400eRAM/Storage 12GB + 256GB; 16GB + 512GB12GB + 256GB8GB RAM + 128GB, 256GB8GB + 128GB, 256GB, 512GBExpandable storage NoNoNoneNoneBattery/Charger 6,000 mAh6,000 mAh4,000 mAh4,700mAhFingerprint sensor Under displayUnder displayUnder displayUnder displayConnector USB-CUSB-CUSB-CUSB-CHeadphone jack NoneNoneNoneNoneSpecial features 80W SuperVooc wired charging, 50W AirVooc wireless charging, alert slider, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, IP68 and IP69 certified, Ceramic Guard, Aqua Touch 2.0, 4 years software updates, 6 years security updates, LTPO 4.1 display55W SuperVOOC wired charging with included power adapter, alert slider, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, IP65 certified, Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, Aqua Touch 2.0, 4 years software updates, 6 years security updates, LTPO 4.1 display2,600-nit peak brightness; 7 years of OS and security updates; 5G (mmWave); IP68 water and dust resistance; wireless PowerShare to charge other devices; 25W wired charging (charger not included); Galaxy AI; Wi-Fi 6E7 years of OS and security updates; 5G; IP68 water and dust resistance; wireless PowerShare to charge other devices; 25W wired charging (charger not included); Galaxy AI; Wi-Fi 6EPrice off-contract (USD) $900 (12GB + 256GB); $1,000 (16GB + 512GB)$600 (12GB + 256GB)$800 (128GB)$650 (128GB), $719 (256GB) How we test phonesEvery phone tested by CNET's reviews teamwas actually used in the real world. We test a phone's features, play games and take photos. We examine the display to see if it's bright, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and build to see how it is to hold and whether it has an IP-rating for water resistance. We push the processor's performance to the extremes using standardized benchmark tools like GeekBench and 3DMark, along with our own anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution videos and playing graphically intense games at high refresh rates.All the cameras are tested in a variety of conditions from bright sunlight to dark indoor scenes. We try out special features like night mode and portrait mode and compare our findings against similarly priced competing phones. We also check out the battery life by using it daily as well as running a series of battery drain tests.We take into account additional features like support for 5G, satellite connectivity, fingerprint and face sensors, stylus support, fast charging speeds and foldable displays, among others that can be useful. We balance all of this against the price to give you the verdict on whether that phone, whatever price it is, actually represents good value. While these tests may not always be reflected in CNET's initial review, we conduct follow-up and long-term testing in most circumstances.

January 10, 20254 min readCan You Get Bird Flu from Eggs? Your Egg Safety Questions AnsweredEggs can carry nasty viruses and bacteria. Heres how to store and eat them safelyBy Tanya Lewis edited by Jeanna Bryner Vronique Duplain/Alamy Stock PhotoEggs can be eaten in many different forms: scrambled, poached, fried, boiled or in omelets, souffls, custards or meringues. But one way that food safety experts say they shouldnt be consumed is raw.Thats because eggs can harbor dangerous bacteria or viruses that can make us sick. The most familiar culprit is Salmonella, a bacterium that can result in a severe bout of food poisoning, causing diarrhea, stomach cramps and vomiting. The overall incidence of Salmonella in eggs is low: about one in 20,000. Nevertheless, one of safest things to do is just cook food, says Michael Persia, John W. Hancock Professor of Animal Sciences at Virginia Tech.How to Store and Cook Eggs SafelyOn supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.To minimize Salmonella risk, commercial eggs in the U.S. are washed to remove bacteria and then kept refrigerated until they are sold. Consumers in the U.S. must refrigerate store-bought eggs because their outer antimicrobial coating, called the cuticle or bloom, gets removed in the washing process, Persia says. In Europe eggs can be stored at room temperature because they arent washed, leaving their bloom intact. Farmers market eggs in the U.S. may be washed or unwashed; even if theyre unwashed, its still a good idea to keep them in the fridge because they last longer.Then there is pasteurization, a heating process that kills bacteria. Most whole-shell eggs you buy at the store are not pasteurized, so cooking them until they reach a temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71.1 degrees Celsius) is essential. A good rule of thumb is to cook eggs until the yolks are firm. In the U.S. all commercial egg productssuch as liquid egg yolks and egg whitesare required to be pasteurized, however. Nursing homes, day cares and other places that serve people who may have weakened immune systems often use egg products for this reason.Foods containing eggs should not be left out for more than two hoursor more than one hour if the ambient temperature is above 90 degrees F (32.2 degrees C). That said, plenty of baking recipes call for using room-temperature eggs, but you can just take them out of the fridge half an hour to an hour before baking.Can You Get Bird Flu from Chicken Eggs?In recent years, another nasty bug has been afflicting poultry and, in turn, egg production. A type of highly pathogenic avian influenza known as H5N1 has been circulating in wild birds and poultry, causing hundreds of outbreaks in U.S. birds since January 2022 and triggering egg shortages. But humans are unlikely to contract the virus from eating commercial chicken eggs, says Persia, who does biosecurity audits of poultry farms. The risk is very, very, very low to nonexistent, he adds. Thats because commercial farms have strict biosecurity measures to keep the domestic birds separate from wild ones, and H5N1 is so deadly to poultry that farmers must quickly cull an entire flock before the virus can contaminate any eggs, he says. One of the biosecurity points that we actually look at from an audit standpoint is If the bird is housed inside, is there any access that outdoor birds have to that? Persia says. [Farmers] actually will put up different types of guards on the air inlet to make sure that birds dont have access to that flock.Thats easier to do with indoor birds than outdoor ones. Backyard poultry pose a potential risk because they may have contact with wild birds or contaminants, Persia notes. He recommends feeding backyard birds inside, even if they have outdoor access, to avoid attracting wild birds. Another tip: use dedicated shoes when walking inside a chicken coop so you dont tramp in pathogens from outside.Dairy cows pose a different risk. When infected with H5N1, they dont get as sick as chickens do, so these cows arent necessarily removed from the milking herd. Raw milk from infected cows contains high levels of H5N1, and cats have died from drinking it. But pasteurization kills the virus, so pasteurized milk is safe to consume.More than 65 people in the U.S. have been infected with H5N1 since the beginning of 2024; most of them have been dairy and poultry workers. Infections in dairy workers have generally been mild, causing conjunctivitis and mild respiratory symptoms. But at least two people have become seriously ill from a strain of H5N1 related to the D1.1 genotype that is currently circulating in poultry and wild birds. Those two cases included one person in Louisiana who died from their infection. The Louisiana patient had had contact with both wild birds and backyard poultry.The longer H5N1 is allowed to circulate in cows and poultry, the higher the likelihood it could adapt to spread among humans. But at least for now, you can rest easy in the knowledge that your eggs will be safeso long as you cook them.

January 10, 20255 min readHunters Disagree on the Threat of Chronic Wasting Disease in DeerThe prion disease that causes deer, elk and other cervids to waste away could someday jump to humans, but many hunters are not convinced they should worryBy Sophie Hartley Tony Demin/Getty ImagesAaron Skarlupka, a hunter in northeast Wisconsin, was recently thrilled when he got his first harvest of the season: an eight-point white-tailed buck. Skarlupkas son, who was along for the chilly morning hunt in the woods, convinced his dad to have the prominent head mounted so he could put it on his bedroom wall.Taking care to avoid any glands that might contain traces of chronic wasting disease (CWD)a 100 percent fatal illness in deer, elk and moose that has been in detected in 35 U.S. states and five Canadian provincesSkarlupka put on a pair of nitrile gloves and carefully beheaded the carcass. A few nearby hunters gave him grief about the gloves: I definitely got some pushback and ridicule, he says, and some looks like, What are you doing?The science behind how or if CWD could spread to humans is murky. So far there hasnt been a documented case in a human, but scientists say that people who eat infected game meat such as venison could still be at risk. Some hunters like Skarlupka arent keen on taking chances, especially when they depend on deer meat to feed their family. Other hunters dont care.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Ongoing research continues to reveal new aspects of the disease, helping scientists understand more about cross-species infection and the potential of vaccines. Yet skepticism and disinformation about the legitimacy of CWDs threat abound in Wisconsin and elsewhere. Potential management policies mostly sit on shelves. All Wisconsin can do for now is monitor the disease as it spreads across the state, county by county. Wisconsins Department of Natural Resources (DNR) relies on tissue submissions from hunters, but only about 10 percent of the states hunters submit their deer for testing. And even when they do, a DNR survey found that about a quarter of infected meat is taken home and eaten anyway.CWD is not created by a typical virus or bacterium. Its caused by a priona misfolded protein that causes other proteins to fold abnormally, killing cells in what can become an expanding network of cell destruction that leads to a slow and undignified death. Prion diseases such as CWD, mad cow disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are typically spread by ingestion, inhalation or by mouth. When a deer licks the saliva, feces or blood from of an already infected animal, a prion might slip into the body and begin its slow, fatal campaign.As misfolded prions encounter healthy cells with functioning prions inside, they convert the prions into misfolded, infectious agents, and that just keeps happening, says Jason Bartz, a microbiologist at Creighton University. The wave of prions slowly accumulates, spreading through the spleen and the lymph nodes and through the peripheral nervous system into the central nervous system. Misfolded proteins inside some cells dont cause problems, Bartz says. But in other cells, especially some neurons in the brain, a misfolded prion is a death sentence. As CWD prions accumulate throughout the hosts brain and spinal cord, the widening destruction of tissue and cell function eventuallyand alwaysleads to death.Deer can survive with CWD for years without showing noticeable symptoms. In the later stages of the disease, deer become starved, weak and less fearful of humans. Often they die from predators, cars or guns before fully wasting away to the disease. Some researchers fear that CWD could permanently debilitate deer herds across the U.S.Thus far, humans have been spared. Theres no evidence of any transmission of chronic wasting disease to humans, says Ermias Belay, a medical epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But no evidence now doesnt mean no evidence ever. Because prion diseases can have long incubation periods, from years to decades, during which the misfolding can widen without any noticeable symptoms, its very important to monitor the potential transmission of the disease in humans for a very long time, Belay adds. Continued vigilance in monitoring is critical.CWD was first identified in northern Colorado in the 1960s, and Wisconsin found its first case in 2002. Almost immediately, the state sent in sharpshooters and hunters who killed thousands of deer throughout the states southern grasslands, where CWD was most prevalent. The DNR cracked down on transporting carcasses, and on some regions, it imposed the Earn-a-Buck program, which required hunters to harvest a doe before they could earn the right to a buck. Killing female deer weakens a herds ability to grow, and officials thought that thinning out deer herds was the key to eradicating the disease and preserving wild herd health.Some hunters think Earn-a-Buck was one of the DNRs greatest tools to combat the disease. Others saw it as a major infringement on their hunting traditions, says Kim Zuhlke, president of the Coulee Country Branch of the National Deer Association, who has been hunting in southwestern Wisconsin for more than 60 years.A similar method of aggressive deer management worked in New York State, the only state to have successfully eradicated the disease in the wild. But hunters in Wisconsin refused to fully buy into the crisis that CWD seemed to be threatening. Hunting, after all, is almost sacred here. To many hunters, thinning herds without a justifiable causeas they saw itcreated a hassle, Zuhlke says. Harvesting more deer, submitting samples and abiding by restrictions felt to them like a huge inconvenience, he says, and it was hard to create a sense of urgency.Over time, a lot of hunters perceived the cure to be worse than the disease, says Ben Beardmore, a social scientist at the Wisconsin DNR, who has studied hunter attitudes toward CWD management. And every year that goes by that somebody doesnt get infected with CWD after eating infected meat, the perception of risk goes down.Eventually the state closed down programs like Earn-a-Buck and switched its stance on CWD from controlling the spread of disease to monitoring it. Different regions, different zip codes and even different family members still maintain opposing views on CWDs threat to the health of humans and Wisconsins wild deer. Its hard to rally a community against a disease that kills slowly, almost invisibly, without much fanfare.I can see from a hunters perspective: You go in, you see a herd, and they look beautiful. Nobody looks sick. And so youre thinking, Well, theres nothing wrong with this herd, says Candace Mathiason, a pathobiologist specializing in CWD at Colorado State University, who is conducting CWD vaccine research in deer. The disease might not be present in a given herd, but if theres CWD there, theyre passing it amongst one another, says Mathiason, who has stopped hunting, in part because of the threat of CWD.Mathiasons work has shown that CWD prions can spread between cervids such as deer, elk, moose andreindeerthrough saliva, feces and blood. The prions can pass from pregnant deer to unborn offspring and have even been shown to bind to soil, suggesting that deer can become infected through their environment.Still, some research suggests that CWD could evolve to infect new species or jump to people through other animals. If the disease were to make a leap from deer to swine, for example, it might then jump from swine to humans. I think thats an important consideration, especially as CWD is moving into areas in the southern United States where there are large, feral swine populations, Bartz says.Although the risk of transmission is low for now, some people see the stakes as high. Personally, Ive tested every deer that Ive shot, says Lauren Bradshaw, a social scientist at the DNR, who has studied how Wisconsin hunters think about the disease. The Wisconsin DNR recommends that hunters test their meat before consuming it. Even if the risk was 0.005 percent, Bradshaw says, I dont want to be patient zero.

OpinionJanuary 10, 20255 min readWhy Were So Preoccupied by the PastPeople talk more about past events than future onesand memories hold clues for navigating the presentBy Jeremy R. Manning edited by Daisy Yuhas Jorm Sangsorn/Getty ImagesThe arrival of a new year often brings up a mix of emotions. For some of us, a change in the calendar serves as a chance to reflect on the good and bad things that happened over the previous 12 months. For others, its a chance to start fresh with an eye toward the future. As a scientist, I have long been fascinated by the incredible ability people have to go beyond the present moment. Our physical selves seem forever chained to each moment as it occurs, but our mind revisits past experiences and imagines future experiences at will.Much of what scientists know about how people remember past events and guess about future ones comes from studies that focus on a given persons own experiences. The fundamental idea is simple: what you do, or what you plan to do, somehow gets written into the complex networks of your memory systems. Researchers can study what your brain does when you form new memories, retrieve those recollections, guess about the future, make plans, and so on.In recent research, one of my graduate students at Dartmouth College, Xinming Xu, came up with a brilliant twist on these phenomena. He wondered how we mentally visit the past and future of other peoples lives. Suppose youre meeting a total stranger for the first time. Guessing about that persons past and future is central to how you interact with them. Those conjectures help us to decide whether we like or dislike someone, whether we see them as a potential romantic partner or a threat and so on. But what clues might we draw on? Our teams investigation into that question led to some surprising insights about how we consider time and how that affects our interactions.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Our team began by thinking through some basic properties of what a snapshot in time can tell people about the preceding and proceeding moments. In the branch of physics called classical mechanics, what is happening now tells us equally about the past and future: if someone knows the current position and velocity of a ball flying through the air, they can guess where it was a moment ago and where it will be in the future. Might these same principles apply to subjective experiences such as social interactions and mental processes? If so, we should be equally good at making inferences about a strangers past as we are at doing so about their future.Our team put this idea to the test by asking 36 participants to watch snippets selected from a TV show and then make guesses about what occurred before or after each scene. We found that our participants were nearly always better at guessing about events that came before the snippet than events that came after. But how could this be?When we dug further, we found a simple explanationtied to a remarkable pattern. Peoples guesses about TV characters pasts and futures seem to be guided, in large part, by the content of characters conversations. Because the characters in that TV show talked about the past 1.7 times more than the future, participants tended to learn more about events from earlier on in the story.That finding could simply reflect the TV program people had watched, so we repeated our study using a different show. We were surprised to find that these new characters also tended to talk about the past more often than the future. But perhaps that was just a coincidence? We then ran a large-scale analysis of tens of millions of real and fictional conversations, selected from books, movies, TV shows, and spoken and written real-world interactions. Incredibly, we found that both fictional and real people, on average, showed that same tendency. From what we can tell, this asymmetry appears to be a fundamental aspect of how humans communicate.Why dwell more on the past than the future in conversation? People certainly know more about their past than the unknown future, so perhaps we humans tend to stick with what we know. One consequence is that biases in what people know and think show up in communication with others, and as a result, the information people take away from the conversations they observe and participate in is inherently biased in favor of the past.Ultimately, people are far better at inferring past events than predicting future ones. Our findings also fit into a much larger body of research that explores how and why people mentally visit the past and future. For example, a central tenet of mindfulness training is to attempt to focus on the present moment, which can help people feel grounded and appreciate where they are, who they are with and what they have. But the mind sometimes seems to pull people away, unmooring them in time. That can be a distractioncausing someone to pay less attention to, say, an ongoing conversationor part of a harmful pattern, such as rumination, which is linked to depression.But these acts of mentally pulling away from the present can serve a practical purpose. When something people are experiencing in the present shares some aspect of their past, it can cause them to spontaneously relive those earlier moments. For example, the smell wafting through the door of a bakery as you pass by on the street might evoke a childhood memory of your grandmothers cooking. You might then seek out those baked goods in the hopes of recapturing some of those warm, cozy feelings. These reminders of times past influence behaviors, helping people to navigate complex situations or environments using cues that were useful in the past. The reason we have memories in the first place is because they help us to predicthowever imperfectlywhat is likely to happen in the future.Even if our conversations tend to favor the past, I fall into the camp of seeing the new year as an opportunity for a fresh, exciting start. If something in the past year didnt go quite as planned, our memories give us an opportunity to learn and grow from our mistakes and to avoid making the same errors in the future. And for the things that did go well over the past year, we can draw on our memories to make us happier in the present.Are you a scientist who specializes in neuroscience, cognitive science or psychology? And have you read a recent peer-reviewed paper that you would like to write about for Mind Matters? Please send suggestions to Scientific Americans Mind Matters editor Daisy Yuhas at dyuhas@sciam.com. This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.