The practices Temple Island scheme has been seven years in the making. Site owner Legal & General (L&G) first unveiled initial concepts for site a former rail depot near Bristols Temple Meads Station in summer 2018 . A deal was struck between the local authority and L&G to develop the plot three years later.The practice's recently submitted proposals for the Temple Island Bristol regeneration scheme includes 520 homes 40 per cent of which are earmarked as social or affordable across four residential buildings.The scheme also features two office buildings, retail space, flexible workspace and a new hotel. LDA Design is leading on landscaping, including a riverside walk.AdvertisementThe hybrid application was lodged in November and validated by Bristol City Council at the beginning of this month. It seeks approval for an outline masterplan and detailed planning for the first phase: one office block plus ground floor commercial uses, landscaping and associated infrastructure works.ZHA says in planning documents that the appearance of its Temple Islands scheme takes its cues from Bristols industrial heritage, with a very specific materiality and colour palette reflecting mud, pennant sandstone and galvanised corrugated steel.Bristol City Council, which has carried out enabling works on the site, confirmed in May 2023 it finally had agreed a way forward for the Temple Island development with L&G.Temple Island is part of the wider Temple Quarter regeneration masterplan which includes 10,000 new homes and is led by Prior + Partners with a team including AHMM .Weston Williamson + Partners (WW+P) previously won a contest to create the areas development framework, focusing on required infrastructure, potential land uses and a set of guiding principles.AdvertisementTemple Meads railway station is due to be refurbished under the wider masterplan, while work is underway on a new University of Bristol Enterprise Campus designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (FCBS).Current site view

If you struggle to keep New Year's resolutions, especially regarding food and dieting, you're not alone. A 2020 study reported that less than half of people who set avoidance-related goals (eliminate sugar, cut carbs, etc.) are successful. It doesn't help that there are so many diet myths swirling on social media, which can cause misinformation, undesired results and disordered eating.Instead of trying a viral dieting trend that is almost certainly doomed to fail, why not listen to the people who know their stuff? To find out which diet mistakes nutritional experts are tired of seeing, we spoke with them to learn more about what you should be doing instead.1. Fearing carbs Upgrade your inbox Get cnet insider From talking fridges to iPhones, our experts are here to help make the world a little less complicated. Registered dietitian Amy Davis says carbs are often made to be the enemy. She points to the keto and carnivore diets as just some of the plans that focus on cutting carbs. Davis says fearing carbs is a mistake, however, explaining, "We need carbs! They're our bodies' main source of fuel, and they don't inherently make you gain weight like so many believe."Instead of cutting out carbs as a diet plan, Davis says people can "opt for high-fiber, whole-food carbs."Francesca Alfano, a certified dietitian-nutritionist, agrees. She adds, "Complex carbs like sweet potatoes, quinoa and whole grains provide the energy and nutrients your body needs especially fiber and B vitamins. These are essential when you're focusing on your health, especially for women."If you need more reason to stop fearing carbs, consider what the Mayo Clinic has to say. The healthcare giant notes that low-carb diets may result in more short-term weight loss but that after about 12-24 months, the results may not stick. The medical center also notes that while refined carbs like table sugar may spike your blood sugar, more complex carbs found in vegetables and beans aren't likely to do this.2. Eliminating all sweets Andrey Popov/Getty ImagesYou don't have to skip every sweet treat to maintain a healthy eating lifestyle. Davis says, "It's well-documented that too much added sugar has negative health effects, but all-or-nothing mindsets typically backfire." Not only are avoidant-based goals harder to keep, but going through sugar withdrawal could initially lead to binge-eating behaviors.The American Heart Association recommends that men consume no more than 36 grams of sugar daily, while women should consume no more than 25 grams per day. For reference, one piece of famed Junior's cheesecake in New York is estimated to have 22g of sugar per serving. While you'd be wise to avoid having a rich dessert with every dinner, you don't have to feel guilty for the occasional indulgence.Davis also points out that you can find "unrefined, natural sweeteners to satisfy your sweet tooth." She recommends Medjool dates because "they offer both a sweet, caramel flavor and nutrients such as fiber, magnesium and potassium." If you're baking at home, you can also try swapping out traditional refined sugar with alternatives like turbinado or muscovado sugar.3. Becoming obsessed with intermittent fastingIntermittent fasting is a style of eating that involves cycling through periods of eating and fasting. The Cleveland Clinic says that this way of eating may have several benefits. It could decrease inflammation, improve blood sugar and improve sleep quality. That being said, there are reasons to be cautious before you begin this type of regimen.The Cleveland Clinic says that some of the potential side effects of intermittent fasting include irritability, low energy and temperature sensitivity.Alfano also warns, "Intermittent fasting is everywhere right now, but it's not always the best option especially for women trying to conceive or balance their hormones." She says that skipping meals for long stretches of time can "raise stress hormones like cortisol, mess with ovulation and disrupt your menstrual cycles."If you are using intermittent fasting as a weight loss tool, Alfano recommends that you focus on getting balanced meals and prioritizing both sleep and stress management. Don't fast for longer than your healthcare provider recommends. If you start to feel tired or stressed, this type of eating may not be for you. In this case, Alfano recommends that you "try eating regular, balanced meals to keep your blood sugar steady and help your hormones stay on track."4. Relying on protein shakes and supplements Djavan Rodriguez/Getty ImagesA lot of protein shakes are advertised as a meal replacement. While a recovery shake can help you get a much-needed energy boost after a workout, they're not so helpful when it comes to getting your vitamins and minerals.Alfano notes, "Protein shakes can be helpful in a pinch, but overusing them can mean you're missing out on real, nutrient-packed foods." Unless you do a close reading of every label, there are probably ingredients lurking in your protein shakes that you're not aware of. According to Alfano, "Many store-bought shakes are full of artificial sweeteners and fillers that might upset your gut or disrupt your hormones."It's also worth noting that the FDA doesn't analyze or test the contents of supplements before they go to market. As a result, determining the actual efficacy of everything from supplemental vitamin tablets to protein powders and shakes can be challenging.A better approach? Alfano says she recommends that people "focus on whole food protein sources like eggs, lentils, nuts, seeds and high-quality meat or fish to get what your body really needs. Eating foods in their whole forms allows your body to maximize nutrient absorption."5. Adhering to a super strict eating planAccording to Davis, any inflexible eating regimen will not likely yield long-term results. She explains, "Even though a strict diet may give you short-term results, they typically aren't sustainable in the long run and lead to regaining weight and negatively impacting your relationship with food."If your eating plan is too strict, it could even be classified as disordered. The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) describes disordered eating as a "spectrum of problematic eating behaviors and distorted attitudes towards food, weight, shape and appearance." NEDA says behaviors that indicate disordered eating may include dieting, skipping meals, fasting, restricting food intake or eliminating specific foods or food groups.Rather than adhering to a strict idea about what you can and can't eat, Davis advises, "Focus on creating healthy, sustainable habits such as eating 4-5 servings of fruits and veggies daily, regular movement you enjoy and getting enough protein at meals."The bottom lineOver and over, the experts we spoke to said the best way to eat better is by focusing on simple habits like eating more whole foods. Be wary of any over-the-counter product that promises miracle results. And don't become so worried about what qualifies as a "good" or "bad" food that you lose sight of maintaining a balanced diet. Any all-or-nothing diet is unlikely to be sustainable or help you achieve long-term results. When in doubt, always consult with your healthcare provider about the right changes to your diet.

January 14, 2025Mishandled Response to the Bird Flu Leaves U.S. Vulnerable to OutbreakThe U.S. government lost control of the bird flu because of a sluggish response and deference to industry. Anaissa Ruiz Tejada/Scientific AmericanSUBSCRIBE TO Science QuicklyApple | Spotify | RSSRachel Feltman: For Scientific Americans Science Quickly, Im Rachel Feltman. On January 6, the Louisiana Department of Health reported the first human death from H5N1 in the United States. While the general risk to human health is still considered low, according to the CDC, bird flu now looms large in headlines that identify it as a potential future pandemic. Here to tell us more about where we standand what we can do to prevent the worst-case scenariois Amy Maxmen, a public health reporter at KFF Health News.Amy, thanks so much for coming on to talk with us today.Amy Maxmen: Thanks, its my pleasure.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.Feltman: So lets start with a quick overview of the current bird flu outbreak. When and how did it start?Maxmen: So, around February of last year, farmers in the Texas Panhandle started to notice that their cows were acting abnormally. Like, they werent producing as much milk, they had runny noses, things like that. And in about a couple of months researchers realized that the bird flu had actually spilled over into cattle for the first time ever and was actually spreading between cattle. Thats completely unprecedented.So thats how it began. And since then its now in, you know, nearly 1,000 herds in 16 states, and its infected around 66 people.Feltman: Yeah, and how are things looking currently?Maxmen: Currently its not good, I mean, in terms of this outbreak just sort of being across the U.S. And a bit of disconcerting news is we had the first person die of the bird flu on January 6. That person was in Louisiana, and they got the bird flu from a bird. This wasnt, like, the exact variant thats been circulating in cattle, but it still is the H5N1 bird flu virus.Feltman: And you recently wrote an article outlining how the U.S. lost control of bird flu. Could you walk us through some of the major ways that this has been mishandled so far?Maxmen: Yeah, you know, I think kind of one outstanding problem was the pace. Theres just been a really slow pace of response. And with an outbreak thats a big problem; just kind of like a fire, its much easier to put it out when its small than when its big.And so, you know, early on, in March, when researchers realized, Oh, this is the bird flu in cattle, a lot of veterinarians who work really closely with farmers, they told me that they really had been pushing to study this to see how is it spreading between cows and to answer other questions about the virus. So they asked the [U.S. Department of Agriculture] and, and other government agencies for both funds for studies, but also farmers really wanted and needed assurances and policies that would protect them and protect their businesses. For example, they, you know, they wanted real assurances that their data would be kept private. They wanted, you know, kind of policies that nobody was gonna cut off their milk sales. Somebody from the dairy industry told me when the bird flu is infecting a herd, it might cut milk production by 20 percent, but thats still better than losing 100 percent of sales.So there was a real push for, like, What can we do to make sure that we can get these studies done? But that didnt really happen for quite a while. The USDA was sort of saying they wanted to take charge of studies, same with state ag departments. And so at least what veterinarians told me is that they had wanted this to move quicker and move through them, partly because, you know, they already have a relationship with dairies. So it was slow on sort of the study side, which would have helped us answer questions like, How is this spreading?And there was also a lot of deference to industry. So farmers didnt wanna test; they were already afraid of losing their milk market. And the USDA took about a month to say that lactating cattle should be tested before they are moved across state lines. But that was really it in terms of testing orders up until just this past December. That was the first time when there was a national rule about testing bulk-milk samplesso not the farms, but the, you know, big bulk-milk processors. But that just took a long time to get up and running.And then there was also a lot of deference to farmers in terms of monitoring. If they decided to test their herds and they reported them, then it was really up to them to decide: Do they want to tell health departments if any workers on the farms are sick? And theres a lot of disincentives to that happening. Ive heard its really hard to have a bird flu outbreak on your farm. This is not great. When a lot of cows are sick they need urgent hydration around the clock, requires a ton of labor. Same thing when a poultry farm is infected by the bird flu: to cull chickens you need a, a ton of workers and they need to work very hard.So if you have people being educated about the bird flu, going to get testing and perhaps being told to stay home from work, they lose their labor. I sent public record requests to a lot of health departments, and something else that was mentioned in one of the emails between health officials: you know, farmers were concerned about workers making workers comp claims.And farmworkers are also in really precarious positions. Theyre looking at a loss of income, and theyre even afraid about losing their jobs. There wasnt a lot of outreach going to farmworkers themselves and the places where they live to teach them about the bird flu, you know, why its a risk, how they could protect themselves, how they can get tested, you know, if theyll be reimbursed. The first grant specifically for outreach didnt really go through until October 1; that was a grant specifically to do outreach on the bird flu. So this iswere talking, you know, a six-month lag time or more in getting some really good outreach out there.Feltman: Hmm. More broadly, you know, I think a lot of folks see this in the news and they worry about it becoming a human pandemic. How worried are experts about that, and how bad does it have the potential to be?Maxmen: Theyre very worried. So the bird flus been on a list of potential pandemic viruses, you know, since it emerged, really, and its because we might have no immunity to such a thing. There might be some crossover with the regular fluwe really dont knowbut it has the potential to be a terrible outbreak.You know, remember that COVID, you know, really only very roughly killed about one in 100 people, but it completely brought the world to its knees. So a bird flu outbreak would be terrible. I think thats undeniable. The question is: How likely is that to happen? And, you know, chances are maybe greater than not that the bird flu will not evolve this critical potential to spread efficiently between people, you know, like the seasonal flu, like COVID. This would require some mutations, some evolution of its genome.You know, even if its less likely for that to happen than for it to not happen, since the result is catastrophic, you wanna defend against it. So its hard to put numbers on these sort of things; I talked to one avian influenza researcher named Tom Peacock. So he said, even if theres only a 5 percent chance of this becoming a pandemic, it could be on the order of COVID or worse.Feltman: Yeah, I saw one public health expert, I think, in an article by Tanya Lewis at SciAm say, compared to walking on a path next to a ravine, like, its reasonably safe to walk on a path thats designed for walking on, but you would be very foolish to ignore the fact that there is a ravine right next to you, and I thought that felt like a, a very powerful image to me for this kind of risk management.Maxmen: Yeah.Feltman: So is there still time for the, the U.S. to make that even less likely, and how?Maxmen: Yeah, I mean, yes, it is possible, but it would take really coordinated, united political will and coordination, a willingness to put funding towards this and to move really quickly. So for example, the USDA in December said that it would put in place an executive order for bulk-milk testing nationwide. So wed have to really make moves to ensure that that happens. What that would do is at least allow us to see when cattle are infected on a farm and try and stop the infections on that farm from spreading to other farms.Similarly, for the first time in December, groups outside of the CDC, diagnostic labs like Quest, can now test for the bird flu. Thats great. Took a long time to get that up and running, but we could have more testing of people being done. I mean, there should be a lot of testing, particularly of people at high risk; Im talking about farmworkers. Really strong outreach to farmworkers to really ensure that theyre protected and that they have access to tests and also assurances that theyre not gonna lose their job.So it would take a lot of work, but its something that could be done.Feltman: And getting back to those farmworkers, you mentioned in your article: President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to enact mass deportations when he returns to office, and that could have real public health implications. Can you explain that a little bit for us?Maxmen: Yeah, so this actually was a problem during COVID that I saw when I was reporting in the Central Valley [of California], where theres a lot of farmworkers and there was a huge COVID outbreak. The problem with threats of mass deportation is, you know, whether or not they happen, it spreads a lot of fear among people ...Feltman: Mm.Maxmen: So for example, it might deter farmworkers from going to the hospital if theyre very sick if theres a fear that they might be reported as not being documented. They might also be deterred from complaining about unsafe working conditions. If theyre not given proper protection, if theyre really, you know, forced to work while sick, theyre really gonna be deterred from complaining about their employer, either if theyre undocumented or a lot of people are on these temporary work visas.Feltman: Mm.Maxmen: So in general these sort of threats drive diseases underground, and thats a huge problem.You know, other things: theres been talk about cutting CDC funding, and that would trickle down to local health departments. You know, Im critical of the governments response to the bird flu, but you can really see in these small local health departments that serve multiple rural counties, theyre stretched thinyou know, theres 10 people who are trying to get a handle on the bird flu while also promoting childhood vaccines and making sure that theres not lead in the pipes and doing so many tasks. So if they have less money to do their job, thats gonna be a big problem.Feltman: Absolutely. So even if were able to avoid the worst-case scenario, what other kinds of fallout might we see from the bird flu? You know, how much worse could things get for the cattle and the poultry industry?Maxmen: So without a doubt this is going to be extremely expensive for the agriculture industry. And to the extent that the government reimburses dairy and poultry farmers for lost milk, lost chickens when they need to be culled, its also expensive for the government, i.e., taxpayers. So at this point already the U.S. has already put more than $1.7 billion into tamping down the bird flu virus on poultry farms since 2022. And its already put more than $430 million into combating the bird flu on dairy farms. So its expensive no matter how you slice it.The bird flu has also cost a lot of lives of other animals off of farms. And theres been infections among black bears and otters and coyotes. A lot of big cats have died of this from zoos and from animal sanctuaries. Weve seen deaths from tigers, other big cats, and a lot of domestic cats have died as well. So its, its not good.And then its also, of course, bad for farmworkers. Theres been studies showing that more farmworkers have been infected than what we know about. Thats not a surprise once you start realizing how were monitoring. Like I said, when I see these emails, itll be something like: Twenty-five farms arent reporting about their farmworkers. So we know were missing cases. Theres been studies that found antibodies against the bird flu in farmworkers where they had not been tested. So were missing cases.And the word mild, definitely, you know, it indicates that farmworkers havent been hospitalized yet, but that doesnt mean this has been a breeze. I mean, people have fevers. Theyve had respiratory symptoms. The conjunctivitis can actually be quite bad; thats, like, these red, swollen eyes. It can be pretty severe. And so thats a burden on farmworkers, just adding to the burdens they already face.Feltman: Yeah, so what efforts are being made to protect farmworkers and their families right now?Maxmen: So since I started reporting, things are getting better than they were. So I can start seeing that there was a $4 million grant to a national farmworker group that was doled out in October, and so now theyre working with farmworker outreach groups in the states with outbreaks where therell be educating farmworkers about this, helping to hand out protective gear, trying to see if people will like the seasonal flu vaccine cause that will just help prevent the possibility of the seasonal flu and the bird flu mixing up together within a person and creating something more dangerous. So thats being stepped up.Feltman: And what advice do you have for folks who are really concerned about this fatality and, and wondering how bird flu might impact them?Maxmen: Yeah, so I think the short answer is: if you are not working directly with poultry or dairy and if you dont drink raw milk, chances are youre okay. And so theres not much you can really do.As far as the death in Louisiana what that really shows is that this virus does have the potential to be deadly. So the person in Louisiana, the virus that they had had some mutations that are linked with disease severity, and those mutations are not widespread. So most of the viruses circulating dont have those. But this can happen, so its just a reminder to take this seriously.Feltman: That was Amy Maxmen, a public health reporter at KFF Health News, in partnership with Healthbeat. You can sign up for the Healthbeat newsletters at Healthbeat.org/Newsletters. Youll find a link in our show notes.Thats all for todays episode, but well be back on Friday to talk about the universal language of getting a boo-boo. Why do so many cultures say ow almost exactly the same way, and what can that reveal about humankind? Tune in Friday to find out.Science Quickly is produced by me, Rachel Feltman, along with Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check our show. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Subscribe to Scientific American for more up-to-date and in-depth science news.For Scientific American, this is Rachel Feltman. See you next time!

Nintendo attorney explains why it's strengthening measures against illegal emulation"This is a point often debated."Image credit: Nintendo News by Ed Nightingale Deputy News Editor Published on Jan. 15, 2025 An attorney for Nintendo has discussed the company's stance on emulation and what it considers to be illegal, according to Japanese law.Koji Nishiura, patent attorney and deputy general manager of Nintendo's intellectual property department, spoke on behalf of the company at a joint lecture on "The Importance of Intellectual Property Rights in the Game Industry", which was hosted by Japan's Association of Copyright for Computer Software at the Tokyo eSports Festa 2025 (Denfaminicogamer, via Automaton)."To begin with, are emulators illegal or not?" posed Nishiura. "This is a point often debated. While you can't immediately claim that an emulator is illegal in itself, it can become illegal depending on how it's used."To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Everything we learned this week about Switch 2Watch on YouTubeOne example of illegal use is if an emulator copies a programme belonging to the game device it's imitating, which would be copyright infringement.Another is if an emulator can disable security mechanisms like encryption (or "technical protection measures", as they're legally known), which would violate Japan's Unfair Competition Prevention Act. Nishiura added that outside of Japan this would be stipulated in copyright law.Nishiura specified this point is why Nintendo has filed lawsuits and issued warnings over several Switch emulators, due to disabling Nintendo's "technical protection measures".A further violation would be if an emulator contains links to sources to download pirated games, what's known as a "reach app" in Japanese law and is considered a copyright infringement.Nishiura also emphasised the use of emulators is a problem for all developers making software for Nintendo devices, which is why the company is strengthening measures against such illegal tools.Just last year, Nintendo sued the creators of Switch emulator Yuzu as it claimed over a million copies of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom were pirated ahead of release. Yuzu was then shut down by its developers Tropical Haze and agreed to pay Nintendo $2.4m.Also last year, the Game Boy emulator Pizza Emulators was pulled from the Google Play store, though there was no mention of a Nintendo settlement. A month later, another Nintendo emulator - the Delta app - was the top free download on the iPhone App Store and it remains available today.In further Nintendo news, the company has also requested players not use "unauthorised services" to access online services. Posted the Japanese Nintendo account: "We have confirmed the existence of unauthorised services that replace functions such as online play for the Wii U, which ended service on April 9, 2024. Please refrain from using such services as they may pose unexpected security risks."After Nintendo shut down Wii U and 3DS online servers last April, players brought the functionality back online just a day later thanks to fan collective Pretendo.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereWe are reaching the midpoint of The Finals Season 5. So far, the chapter has largely been decent, but updates have been inconsistent thanks to the season releasing just before the holidays. With the holidays now firmly in the past, normal services should resume. Embark has just shared The Finals update 5.5.0 patch notes, and they list additional fixes.The Finals update 5.5.0 patch notesBelow are the update 5.5.0 patch notes:Store UpdateBe the life of the party with this weeks store update!Content and Bug FixesContractsWe have implemented additional fixes for the following contracts as they have not been working correctly:Hit opponents [x] times with arena carriables, cash boxes or the decryption keyEarn 20,000 cash in one round, 4 times in Cashout ModesPlay 3 matches of World Tour or Bank ItFor more The Finals, check out our guide to thebest weapons in the game ranked, and we also have a guide to thebest gadgets. In addition, we have a guide to thebest FPS settingsto help you win matchesalong witharanking of the best classesin the game.The FinalsPlatform(s):PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Action, First-Person Shooter, ShooterSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

Blender Conference 2025: Sept 17-19 By Bart on January 15, 2025 Conferences BCON will fall a little earlier this year - in September instead of October. Ticket sales start in March!From the announcement page:Save the date! BCON25 will happen 17-19 Sep. 2025 at Felix Meritis in Amsterdam. Moving the event a bit earlier than usual aligns with IBC, helps with the overall scheduling and hopefully provides us with late summer weather in Amsterdam :) Tickets sale starts in March. Meanwhile, enjoy the proceedings of the past edition!

Ring RingMarvel's Vision series is apparently bringing back an MCU villain that's so old you probably completely forgot about himI'm talking you're going to have to look back 17 years old.Image credit: Marvel Studios News by Oisin Kuhnke Contributor Published on Jan. 15, 2025 WandaVision spinoff Vision Quest just got a new cast member, and it's an MCU character you won't have seen in a very long time.Last year, it was reported that we'd be getting a TV series all about Vision, or specifically White Vision, the remade version of the synthezoid character that flew off somewhere at the end of WandaVision. Paul Bettany is obviously returning to play the character, and James Spader has apparently been tapped to return as Ultron, but he's not the only old MCU character that's coming back seemingly. As reported by Deadline, Faran Tahir is supposedly set to rejoin the MCU as Raza. "Who?" you might be asking right now, and for that answer you'll need to look way back to the very first Iron Man film, where he played the commander of the Ten Rings cell that kidnapped Tony Stark, leading him to become the titular suited superhero.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. What his character's involvement in the series is hasn't been confirmed just yet, especially considering he's meant to be dead, so we'll just have to wait and see. Currently it's believed that the plot will focus on Vision as he tries to get his memory and humanity back - the original incarnation of the character was killed off by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, and the version of him in WandaVision was a creation of the titular Wanda Maximoff. Spader's inclusion in the series as Ultron is also a bit of a mystery right now, and Star Trek: Picard's Todd Stashwick is also set to appear in an as of yet undisclosed role (his presence is probably thanks to the fact that Picard's showrunner is leading Vision Quest).There's also no word on when we can expect the series to arrive, but considering how little is actually known about it, and that casting is still taking place, we can probably assume it'll be 2026 at the earliest. That'd put it five years after the release of WandaVision, quite the lengthy gap. I'm sure Marvel is hoping it can keep audiences interested with that Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom gambit in the meantime.

Image: Nintendo LifeArtist and author Phillip Summers is back with another 'Hand-Drawn Game Guide', this time looking at the classic hard-as-nails action title Mega Man.Soaring past its Kickstarter funding goal in just 12 hours, the Capcom-licensed book is aiming to launch in August 2025 for backers and will boast over 200 pages of stunning hand-drawn images looking at the original Mega Man for the NES and the Game Boy. Character illustrations will be included along with full level maps, tips, tricks, and gorgeous two-page spreads.What's especially neat (and in a better world, this really needn't be said) is that no AI whatsoever has been utilised in the creation of the book. Everything found within its pages has been crafted with real-life art tools, with the only digital step in the process being the scanning required to arrange the images via page layout software.There's still plenty of time to submit your pledge if you'd like to support Summers' project, with digital versions of the book available at 16/$19 and physical copies at 24/$29. The Kickstarter also states that if the project is successful, Capcom may be keen for more guides based on the sequels and spin-offs. For now, let's take a peek at a few pages from the book to give us a flavour of what to expect.Images: Phillip Summers / NF PublishingImage: Phillip Summers / NF PublishingAs for the Mega Man franchise itself, the series has remained dormant since the release of 2018's Mega Man 11, though Capcom has recently gone on record to say that it is "considering how to create games for it on an ongoing basis". Fingers crossed we'll get news on a new entry in 2025. More Mega?"Mega Man is one of our highly-valued IPs"What do you make of this latest 'Hand-Drawn Game Guide' product? Will you be looking to pick one up? Let us know witha. comment.[source kickstarter.com]Related GamesSee AlsoShare:01 Nintendo Lifes resident horror fanatic, when hes not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesAnniversary: Resident Evil 4, One Of The Greatest Games Ever Made, Turns 20"2005... I'll never forget it"Okami Sequel Studio Looking Forward To Sharing "More Exciting News" ASAPHideki Kamiya chimes in with a New Year messageFeature: Why Play Final Fantasy VII Remake When You Could Play FFVII 'Demake'?"more than just pirate versions"

In the summer of 2020, as pandemic-driven volatility gripped markets, SoftBank Group shocked Wall Street with a series of massive options bets on U.S. technology stocks. Behind those trades which earned SoftBank the Nasdaq whale moniker was Akshay Naheta, an executive whose career has been marked by bold wagers on disruption.Now, after orchestrating multi-billion-dollar deals, including an attempt to merge Nvidia and ARM, Naheta is making perhaps his most ambitious bet yet: That the worlds payment infrastructure is ripe for reinvention.His Zug, Switzerland-based startup, Distributed Technologies Research (DTR), is attempting to bridge the gap between traditional banking and blockchain technology, joining an army of companies trying to modernize the global payments infrastructure.The startup claims its technology can eliminate various payment inefficiencies, from transfer costs and interchange fees to foreign exchange conversion charges and settlement delays.Current payment networks suffer from inefficiencies transfer costs, interchange fees, FX conversion charges, settlement delays and other opaque fees, Naheta told TechCrunch in an interview.DTRs core technology, AmalgamOS, essentially connects banks with blockchain networks. Through APIs, it allows businesses to integrate payment capabilities while maintaining compliance with local regulations. The system can handle everything from merchant payments to treasury management, supporting both traditional currencies and major stablecoins across 48 countries.The startup has built what Naheta describes as an international orchestration network that automatically routes transactions through either traditional banking or blockchain rails, depending on which path offers the optimal combination of speed and cost. Were connected to 12,000 banks in Europe, he said in an interview. A business integrating DTRs APIs can let its customers initiate transfers directly through banking apps.DTRs push into payments infrastructure comes at a seemingly opportune time. Visa and Mastercard both of which charge 2-3% swipe fees, typically the second highest cost for merchants after payroll are facing mounting scrutiny over their duopoly, and the U.S. proposed Credit Card Competition Act could require banks to offer merchants alternatives to the dominant networks.DTRs early customers say its infrastructure fills a significant gap. Philip Lord of Oobit, a crypto wallet startup, said the system allowed his company to move money from his crypto wallet to a U.K. bank account on Christmas Day in under 30 seconds a transfer that would have taken days through traditional channels.Akshay Naheta Image: DTRNahetas interest in payment infrastructure stems from an unlikely source: SoftBanks acquisition of Fortress Investment Group in 2017. The deal put about $20 million worth of Bitcoin on SoftBanks balance sheet.As he studied the underlying blockchain technology, Naheta says he saw an opportunity to apply his background in wireless communications to payment networks. While still at SoftBank, Naheta had begun assembling what he hoped would be DTRs founding team. He reached out to his undergraduate thesis advisor, Pramod Viswanath, an expert in wireless communications who now leads Princetons blockchain center and Sreeram Kannan, who would later start Eigen Layer.The team saw blockchain as a peer-to-peer communications network at heart, one that could apply decades of research in wireless systems to revolutionize payments. Naheta said he nearly resigned from SoftBank in summer 2018 to focus on DTR and crypto venture Bakkt, but was persuaded to stay by senior executives, including Rajeev Misra and Masayoshi Son.Nahetas previous forays into the payments sector also included SoftBanks investment in Wirecard, which later collapsed. SoftBank still made profits on its investment in Wirecard. Ive had lots of missteps, he acknowledged. I looked at it from a perspective of, heres a company that has all of these regulated licenses around the world, clearly has the payments technology.Those experiences appear to have influenced DTRs emphasis on compliance and institutional credibility. This measured approach extends to the companys growth strategy. Even if I increase my headcount to 60 people by the second quarter, well be free-cash-flow positive, he said.Stablecoins growth surged 55% in 2024 and Bernstein expects it to hit $500 billion in market cap this year. Image: BernsteinThe startup faces competition on multiple fronts. Wise has built a successful business matching currency flows between countries, Ripple offers blockchain-based settlement despite its legal troubles, while traditional banks also say they are upgrading their systems through initiatives like SWIFT. Last, but not least, Stripes recent $1 billion acquisition of Bridge stands to help the worlds most valuable fintech startup make deeper inroads into payments.Yet Naheta sees an opening in serving businesses caught between these worlds particularly digital nomads, creator economy platforms, and companies operating across emerging markets.Banks are not equipped to run KYC/AML at that small level, where youre paying out $200 to 10,000 people per month, he argued. The fragmented nature of national payment systems creates particular challenges for businesses operating globally, as each jurisdiction maintains its own rails and regulations.The payments industrys high margins and network effects make it notoriously difficult to disrupt. PayPal commands a $70 billion market cap even after recent declines, while Visa and Mastercard together are worth over $1 tillion.I really think that the retail customer is getting screwed on payments, he says. And its not the fault of the banks. They are plugged into legacy systems and its very hard to turn a Titanic.Lord of Oobit said in an interview that the space remains wide open. He pointed out that until just a year ago, the only option for businesses needing to move between crypto and traditional banking systems was to go to like an OTC shop and pay probably like 1 to 3% to get it transferred.Its crazy that for so many years, we have had so many startups come up, we have had so many coins show up, and whenever I wanted to do an on-ramp or off-ramp, there was no other formalized legal idea system around, he said. DTRs solution is a block faster than alternatives.

Hey guys,Im currently trying out NDCs for hit impacts following the various tutorials out there.Ive managed to get it working, but here is what Im trying to do :My goal is to have one system that would have all of the emitters for all the surface types (ie. dirt, sparks, water) and based on the write of the surface from the BP, spawn or not certain emitters.The problem is that at the moment it reads the surface type at particle spawn level (because Get NDCSpawn Data which is used for the index has to be in particle level) which happens too late to do the logic at emitter update.Maybe something has to be done at system level, but I cannot wrap my head around it If anyone has a solution, I would really appreciate, thanks