By Passant Rabie Published January 15, 2025 | Comments (1) | Firefly's Blue Ghost spacecraft shortly after reaching Earth orbit. Image: SpaceX Update: Wednesday, January 15, 9:10 a.m. ET: SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket, carrying Firefly Aerospaces Blue Ghost lander and ispaces Resilience lander, successfully blasted off earlier this morning at 1:11 a.m. ET from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Firefly says it managed to acquire signal and complete on-orbit commissioning, so the mission appears to be off to a good start. Original article follows. The Moon is about to get busy. A pair of landers are riding on board a SpaceX rocket this week, aiming to touchdown on the lunar surface and unpack a host of science instruments. The two missions are part of a commercial push to explore the Moon, marking the start of a new era for private spaceflight. Firefly Aerospaces Blue Ghost lander and ispaces Resilience lander are set for launch on Wednesday, January 15 at 1:11 a.m. ET. The missions will liftoff from Launch Complex-39B at NASAs Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, riding aboard SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket. NASA will livestream the launch on its website and NASA+, with the broadcast beginning at 12:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday. You can also tune in to the live feed below.Journey to the Moon Although both landers will launch together, they will each follow a different trajectory toward the Moon. Fireflys mission, named Ghost Riders in the Sky, will take 45 days to reach the Moon. For the first 25 days following launch, the Blue Ghost lander will orbit Earth before performing an engine burn to place it on a trajectory toward the Moon. Blue Ghost will spend four days en route to the Moon, and another 16 orbiting Earths satellite before attempting a soft touchdown on its dusty surface. The Resilience lander, on the other hand, will follow a much slower route to the Moon.After operating in an elliptical transfer orbit, the lander will conduct a lunar flyby, shifting into a low-energy trajectory for a planned soft landing on the Moon.The Japanese startups first mission to the Moon, launched in April 2023, took about four and a half months to reach lunar orbit, but the lander ultimately failed to stick its landing on the surface; the Hakuto-R Mission 1 (M1) Lunar Lander, as it was named, plummeted towards the Moon and crashed on its surface. Hakuto-R M1 had been carrying both commercial and government-owned payloads, including a tiny, two-wheeled transformable robot from the Japanese space agency.Clear for landing Following their journey to the Moon, both landers will be targeting lunar maresflat, dark plains formed by ancient impacts that were later flooded with lava and other material. More specifically, Blue Ghost is targeting Mare Crisium, the site of an ancient asteroid impact site once filled with basaltic lava. The basalts in Mare Crisium are between 2.5 and 3.3 billion years old, according to NASA.As for ispaces Resilience, the lander is set to explore Mare Frigoris, located in the Moons far northern regions. The location name translates to sea of cold, as it stretches along the northern part of the Moons disc for nearly 900 miles (1,400 kilometers). Whats inside the Blue Ghost lander? Texas-based Fireflys first mission to the Moon is a collaboration with NASA as part of the space agencys Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, which aims to develop commercial delivery services to the Moon. NASA works with its partners in the industry to build landers that can pack its science and technology payloads and deliver them to the lunar surface.Blue Ghost is carrying 10 scientific instruments to study the lunar surface and gather data to support future human missions to the Moon, according to NASA. The instruments include: LEXI (or Lunar Environment heliospheric X-ray Imager), which will capture a series of X-ray images to study the interaction of solar wind and Earths magnetic field; the Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder, designed to measure electric and magnetic fields to characterize the structure and composition of the Moons mantle; and the Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies, which will capture how the landers plume disturbs lunar regolith as Blue Ghost touches down on the Moons surface. The mission is set to operate for a full lunar daythe equivalent of 14 days on Earth. During this time, Blue Ghost will also capture images of a lunar sunset, and collect data on how regolith on the Moon reacts to solar influences during lunar dusk. What did ispace pack into its Moon mission? Tokyo-based ispace is transporting privately owned customer payloads to the Moon aboard its lander, including a food production experiment, a deep space radiation probe, and a commemorative alloy plate.The Resilience lander is also carrying a small rover, named Tenacious, to explore the landing site, collect lunar regolith, and relay data back to the lander, according to ispace. Tenacious is equipped with a high-definition camera and a shovel. A model house by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg will be mounted on the rover, which were assuming is for decorative purposes. This launch is just the tip of the iceberg, with more landers scheduled to follow in the coming months and years. Intuitive Machines, which became the first private company to land on the Moon in February 2024, is gearing up to launch its second lunar lander toward the Moon. Its second mission is scheduled for launch sometime in February and will target the Moons south polar region. Astrobotic, which failed in its first attempt to land on the Moon in January 2024, is hoping for better luck this year. The Pittsburgh-based company is planning to launch its Griffin Mission One lunar lander sometime in 2025 under NASAs CLPS initiative. As the private space industry continues to grow, lunar drop-offs will likely become a regular occurrence as companies work to develop their delivery services to the Moon. What were about to witness this week is only just the beginning.Additional reporting by George Dvorsky.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Margherita Bassi Published January 14, 2025 By Isaac Schultz Published January 13, 2025 By Passant Rabie Published January 9, 2025 By Isaac Schultz Published January 8, 2025 By Passant Rabie Published January 7, 2025 By Passant Rabie Published January 6, 2025

The preservation of the environment and the harmonious integration of the built and natural elements are fundamental principles in contemporary architecture. Various design strategies are employed to achieve this balance, ranging from the revival of vernacular techniques to the use of advanced technologies. However, this concern goes beyond the choice of specific construction systems or innovative materials; it also manifests in the design approach that ensures the preservation of the site's natural elements. In this context, we present 15 homes designed to protect local trees, showcasing how architectural decisions can adapt to nature rather than impose on it.

Favorable Refresh Cycle, Windows 10 End Drove 2024 PC Shipment GrowthBy John P. Mello Jr.January 15, 2025 5:00 AM PT ADVERTISEMENTQuality Leads That Turn Into DealsFull-service marketing programs from TechNewsWorld deliver sales-ready leads. Segment by geography, industry, company size, job title, and more. Get Started Now. Shipments of personal computers grew in 2024, fueled by businesses replacing old hardware and Microsofts looming end of support for its Windows 10 operating system.According to market research firm Canalys, PC shipments climbed 3.8% in 2024 to 255.5 million units from 246.3 million in 2023. IDC, another research firm, pegged 2024 shipments higher 262.7 million but it also had higher 2023 shipments 260.2 million, for a year-over-year increase of 1%.2024 was a year of modest recovery and a return to traditional seasonality for the PC market as full-year shipments grew 3.8%, Canalys Analyst Kieren Jessop said in a statement.Growth increased slightly in Q4, with shipments rising by 4.6% year on year, signaling a positive trend as we moved to within a year of the Windows 10 end-of-support date, he continued.Holiday season demand was supported by strong discounting by vendors and retailers, enticing consumers who have become increasingly price-sensitive, he stated.Jessop noted that the use of buy now, pay later services supported that trend, with increasing examples of those offerings being leveraged to drive spending on big-ticket items, such as PCs.Meanwhile, he added that in China, government stimulus in the form of consumer subsidies helped to promote spending on notebooks amid a weakening demand environment.Strong Seasonal SalesThough the market has been experiencing a slower return to growth, there was some room for optimism in Q4 as government subsidies in China led to better than expected performance within the consumer segment, IDCs Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers Research Manager Jitesh Ubrani said in a statement.Beyond that, he continued, the U.S. and some European countries also showed strong performance due to end-of-year sale promotions, as well as enterprises continuing on the path of upgrading hardware before the end of support for Windows 10, which is scheduled for October 2025.Year-end sales were a little bit more aggressive than weve seen in recent years, added IDC Program Vice President for Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers Ryan Reith.Much of the promotional activity in the PC space throughout 2024 was aimed at moving inventory, he noted. PC makers wanted to keep things moving, even if it meant smaller margins because getting people on new hardware means other opportunities like selling them new software, he told TechNewsWorld.Commercial shipments, representing about 50% of the global PC market, were also an important part of the growth story. Companies refresh their PCs at a pretty stingy cadence, Reith said. Usually, its between three and four years in most of the developed markets. It can go a little bit longer in developing markets. But the reason they do that is not because the hardware isnt good. Its usually because of the software.Businesses can only go so long before they refresh. Youre not gonna keep a PC for 10 years in a business, added Jack E. Gold, founder and principal analyst with J.Gold Associates, an IT advisory company in Northborough, Mass.Covid brought in a ton of new machines three, three and a half, years ago, he told TechNewsWorld. Most companies refresh on a three-year basis. So were gonna see an uptick in business buying of PCs.End of Days for Win10Jessop added that a significant factor contributing to PC shipment growth in 2024, which will continue in 2025, is the size and age of the installed hardware base. Its never been larger or older than now, he told TechNewsWorld.Thats why Canalys forecasts that commercial PC shipments will continue to outgrow consumer shipments. Consumer price sensitivity and budget prioritization mean many people are delaying their next purchase, Jessop explained. Another factor stoking PC shipments is Microsofts announcement that it will stop supporting Windows 10 in October 2025. Hundreds of millions of those old PCs are ineligible to update to Windows 11, so businesses will be nudged toward refreshing their devices, Jessop said.Microsoft is getting increasingly aggressive in letting customers know that support is going to be ending, and they really need to upgrade to Windows 11, added Ross Rubin, the principal analyst with Reticle Research, a consumer technology advisory firm in New York City.Given the relatively stringent requirements for that, the only way to do so is to purchase a new computer, he told TechNewsWorld.AI PCs Puzzle ConsumersJessop cited the introduction of AI PCs into the market as an influencer of growth. Theyre being positioned as a halo category and are being used to open the door to conversations around a wider fleet refresh, he said.Paul Schell, an industry analyst with global technology intelligence firm ABI Research, sees AI PCs as having a significant impact on growth. We continue to see the introduction of AI PCs, and in particular notebooks/laptops, as being the driving force behind a shortening of refresh cycles, he told TechNewsWorld.In the AI PC segment, challenger Qualcomm has expanded its portfolio to include fewer premium chipsets including an SKU targeting the $600 laptop range which has a democratizing effect, as the first releases from all vendors, including Apple, Intel and AMD, were more premium, he said. Jessop, though, noted that despite the hype around the PCs at CES last week, the computers have failed to generate much excitement among buyers. Many channel partners we surveyed indicated that their customers are either unaware of Copilot+ PCs or are unwilling to pay a premium price for them, even if they are aware, he noted.This dual challenge limits the ability of the category to create a strong aspirational pull or halo effect, he continued. Customers are prioritizing pricing over perceived innovation, suggesting the value proposition for Copilot+ PCs needs stronger articulation or refining.AI PCs will be a big deal in 2025, contended Mark N. Vena, president and principal analyst with SmartTech Research in Las Vegas. With special chips called NPUs [Neural Processing Units], theyre great for tasks like AI, language processing, and predicting things, he told TechNewsWorld. Businesses and people will want PCs that can use AI to make their work easier, more creative, and more automated.Im not convinced yet that AI will be a dominating factor, but as AI usage models become more compelling, AI PCs will become more attractive to the average mainstream user, he said.Eric Compton, director of technology equity research at Morningstar Research Services in Chicago, maintained that 2025 will be the same as 2024 in terms of fueling growth in PC shipments.The continued PC refresh cycle and the need to replace machines purchased during the boom years of 2020 and 2021 will be the primary factors, he told TechNewsWorld. If AI PCs can improve their functionality and generate some more unique demand, this could be a wildcard for additional demand.John P. Mello Jr. has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, IT issues, privacy, e-commerce, social media, artificial intelligence, big data and consumer electronics. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including the Boston Business Journal, the Boston Phoenix, Megapixel.Net and Government Security News. Email John.Leave a CommentClick here to cancel reply. Please sign in to post or reply to a comment. New users create a free account.Related StoriesMore by John P. Mello Jr.view allMore in Personal Computers

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When Homo neanderthalensis first came in contact with Homo sapiens around 50,000 years ago, in whats now the Middle East, they encountered a host of diseases for which humans had no immunity for because they had never experienced them before.But, interbreeding would change the human genome, which likely continued until Neanderthals went extinct around 40,000 years ago. And even today humans are left with some Neanderthal genes, many of which pertain to the immune system.Interbreeding and Human ImmunityInterbreeding between modern humans and Neanderthals allowed for genetic segments in the genome many of which were deleterious to humans, but some of which were helpful to spread amongst the population, says Dmitri Petrov, an evolutionary biologist at Stanford University. The segments that were adaptive and spread tended to be proteins that interacted specifically with RNA viruses, he says.Other research has shown that these viruses had an impact on the modern immune system. They likely gave humans an immunity boost and provided resistance to diseases that they had not come in contact with previously. RNA viruses can include things like Hepatitis A, dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and West Nile virus, amongst many others, although Petrov and his team did not identify particular types of RNA viruses in their research.This new immunity might also have had a downside in the form of allergies that come with a hypersensitive immune system. The inheritance of some genetic segments as a result of interbreeding left many humans with seasonal allergies, an overreaction to a perceived challenge to the immune system.Did Neanderthal Viruses Lead to Their Extinction?Persistent infections, meaning diseases that dont immediately kill you but instead slowly chip away at your body, have been thought by some experts to be one of the potential causes of the extinction of Neanderthals, according to a study published in the May 2024 edition of Viruses.These diseases, which included adenovirus, herpesvirus, and papillomavirus, were preserved in the bones of Neanderthals. Life-long infections like these would have made it hard for archaic humans living in already difficult conditions to do things like hunt, gather, reproduce, or just get by, thereby shortening their lifespans.If you have ebola, you die in a day or so, but these viruses have a different type of strategy, says study author Marcelo R. S. Briones, a geneticist and professor at the Medical School of the Federal University of So Paulo. Although their mortality is not that high, their morbidity (health problems that they cause) is high.His research has shown that we can go back to the time of Neanderthals and still detect the viruses that were present. Briones downloaded the entire Neanderthal genome from samples found in the Chagyrskaya cave in Russia.These samples were collected with great care to avoid contamination with modern DNA as opposed to earlier Neanderthal genomes, says Briones. Leaving Their MarkEarlier samples were collected and sequenced from museum specimens where people had handled the bones, which causes contamination. While persistent infections are still hypothetical as a cause of Neanderthal extinction, Briones did uncover them in the genome, so we know they were present.Neanderthal viruses had an impact on these early humans before they went extinct. They likely affected their ability to survive and compete with other early humans and may have eventually caused or at least contributed to their extinction.And they also left their mark on humans, who would adopt the diseases that they had never been exposed to before leaving Africa and eventually garner at least some immunity. Today, 40,000 years later, long after the Neanderthal extinction, we still have them locked away in our genomes.Article Sources:Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:The Journal of Biological Research. Hominin interbreeding and the evolution of human variationDmitri Petrov, an evolutionary biologist at Stanford UniversityInstitut Pasteur. Neanderthal genes gave modern humans an immunity boost, allergiesMarcelo R. S. Briones, a geneticist and professor at the Medical School of Federal University of So PauloSara Novak is a science journalist based in South Carolina. In addition to writing for Discover, her work appears in Scientific American, Popular Science, New Scientist, Sierra Magazine, Astronomy Magazine, and many more. She graduated with a bachelors degree in Journalism from the Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia. She's also a candidate for a masters degree in science writing from Johns Hopkins University, (expected graduation 2023).

Stack CommerceShareWe may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more Theres nothing like the panic of realizing your wallet isnt where you thought it was. Your stomach falls to your butt as you hope its just stuck between the couch cushions and not gone forever. But, when its not there either, you feel defeated. Prevent all that chaos with one of these wallet tracker cards.Not only will your phone notify you before leaving it behind, but you can also see your wallets real-time location on a map. Theyre basically Apple AirTags, except theyre in the shape of a credit card, so they fit perfectly in your wallet. Theyre also cheaper at $26.99 with free shipping compared to $29.Lets go back to that missing-wallet scene. Its nowhere to be found, but this time, you know you have this credit card-sized tracker tucked inside. Heres what to do:Open Apples Find My app on your phone.See its location on a map. Okay, good, its in the house somewhere.Tap play sound to narrow down its exact location.You hear it coming from the fridgeYou might not have found your wallet until it was time to cook dinner because you left it in there somehow. At least now you know where it is.Use the wallet tracker for up to five months before it needs to be recharged. You can see its current battery life on the Find My app, and throw it on any Qi-wireless charging pad for a quick power boost.Order one of these slim trackers for wallets for $26.99 with free shipping (reg. $42.99) and save 37 percent.StackSocial prices subject to change.MagTag Ultra Slim Tracker Card Works with Apple Find My App $26.99See Deal

NewsLifeToxin-gobbling bacteria may live on poison dart frog skinToxic alkaloids are often antimicrobial, but some bacteria seem to be using them as food Alkaloid chemicals bathe the skins of poison dart frogs (such as the diablito (Oophaga sylvatica) of Ecuador, shown). Some microbes seem to thrive in and even feed off the powerful toxins. Stephanie CatyBy Jake Buehler9 seconds agoPoison? What poison? Some bacteria may treat the powerful toxins bathing poison dart frog skin like a buffet.The alkaloid chemicals that poison dart frogs wield on their skin increase the variety of microbial species living there, researchers report December 4 in Current Biology. Some of those microbes even seem to dine on the potent alkaloids.Poison dart frogs (Dendrobatidae) gather and concentrate toxic alkaloids in their bodies from certain poisonous insects and other arthropods in their diet. The chemicals seep out onto the skin and are a potentially lethal deterrent against predators. The alkaloids are also antimicrobial, and biologist Stephanie Caty wondered how they might shape the microbiome on the frogs skin.

Nature, Published online: 15 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00050-1The US federal government can harness science to secure the health, prosperity and safety of Americans and the world.

Excavation of a Roman-era cemetery in France yielded nearly two dozen lead tablets inscribed in Latin and Gaulish.

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