To the Stone Age agriculturalists on Bornholm, a Danish island off the coast of Sweden, the best way to deal with bad weather was to sacrifice stones. Thats according to recent research in Antiquity, which reimagines the islands sun stone artifacts as summons for the sun.The stones appeared at the Neolithic, or New Stone Age, site of Vasagrd approximately 4,900 years ago, at around the same time as a devastating volcanic winter in Northern Europe. The objects may have been sacrificial donations or offerings, deposited in ditches in an attempt to bring back warm weather and sunshine.One type of find that is completely unique to Bornholm is the so-called sun stones, which are flat shale pieces with engraved patterns and sun motifs, said Rune Iversen, one of the authors of the recent research and an archaeologist at the University of Copenhagen, in a press release. They symbolized fertility and were probably sacrificed to ensure sun and growth.Securing Sun in the New Stone AgeResearchers recently sampled and analyzed ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica, and found that the world was dragged into a dark volcanic winter sometime around 2,900 B.C.E. This was after a destructive volcanic eruption spewed volcanic ash and gas into the atmosphere.Trapped in the air, this ash and gas dimmed the sun and dropped the temperatures across Northern Europe, likely devastating the crops and the communities that cultivated them.We have known for a long time that the sun was the focal point for the early agricultural cultures we know of in Northern Europe. They farmed the land and depended on the sun to bring home the harvest, said Iversen, according to the release. If the sun almost disappeared due to mist in the stratosphere for longer periods of time, it would have been extremely frightening for them. The team then started to rethink the artifacts on Bornholm. The discovery of the volcanic eruption and resulting volcanic winter may suggest that the sun stones at Vasagrd were a response to climate crisis, meant to drive away the darkness of the sun. Buried deliberately in an enclosure of banks and ditches called a causewayed enclosure, the sun stones were deposited with animal remains and pottery remnants. It is reasonable to believe that the Neolithic people on Bornholm wanted to protect themselves from further deterioration of the climate by sacrificing sun stones, said Iversen, in the release. Or perhaps they wanted to show their gratitude that the sun had returned again.An Ancient Climate CrisisWhether these sun stones were deposited during the crisis or after, studies suggest that the crisis itself was severe. Lake varves the annual layers of sediments that sit at the bottom of some lakes reveal reduced solar radiation around 2900 B.C.E., indicating a decrease in sunshine and warmth. And tree ring analyses suggest that the spring and summer months around that time were tormented with frost. According to the team, Bornholm changed in the aftermath of the volcanic eruption and winter. Though the Funnel Beaker culture, thus dubbed for its distinctive funnel- and beaker-shaped pottery, had defined the island previously, the culture began to fade away around 2900 B.C.E. Afterwards, it disappeared along with its characteristic ceramics and burial enclosures.At the causewayed enclosure we have excavated on Bornholm, we can also see that, after the sacrifice of the sun stones, the residents changed the structure of the site, said Iversen in the release. We do not know why, but it is reasonable to believe that the dramatic climatic changes they had been exposed to would have played a role in some way.While many mysteries remain about the agricultural communities on Bornholm, the teams reinterpretation sheds light on their most mystifying artifacts, made in what may have been the communities darkest times. With the sun stones, there is in my mind no doubt, said Lasse Vilien Srensen, another author and an archaeologist at the National Museum of Denmark, in the release. It is quite simply an incredible discovery, which demonstrates that depositions honoring the sun [are] an ancient phenomenon.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:Sam Walters is a journalist covering archaeology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution for Discover, along with an assortment of other topics. Before joining the Discover team as an assistant editor in 2022, Sam studied journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

ShareResearchers from the University of California, San Diego have designed an AI-enabled robot that can perform a Waltz simply by mirroring the moves of its human partner. As far as we can tell, the robot was even able to pull off the ballroom dance without stepping on its partners toes.To make their dancing robot, the team first designed an AI model trained on human motion capture videos and then integrated it into two bipedal Unitree G1 robots. Using another model, those robots were then able to analyze the motions of humans in front of them and mimic those movements themselves. The result was a humanoid robot able to seamlessly walk, dodge, squat, and dance by copying a human.Robotics researchers arent shy about having their machines perform over-the-top stunts. From intricate dance dance routines to impressive parkour moves, the internet is awash with robots behaving bizarrely. But most of those examples typically involve pre-programmed, highly choreographed scripts. In this case, researchers wanted to see if they could teach a robot to learn movements more organically.To do that, they first needed a powerful brain with a good baseline of knowledge. The researchers obtained a database of human motion capture data and used it to build out an AI model they called ExBody2. They trained the model in a simulation environment using reinforcement learning until it had a broad understanding of how to articulate and move many parts of a robot body. They then implemented ExBody2 into a pair of robots that were equipped with another model that sucked in real-world physical data captured by the robots cameras. The robot was able to quickly compare the movements it was seeing in front of it against its baseline training.Videos of the robot in action show it pacing outdoors, sidestepping like an athlete (or attempting a foxtrot?), drawing circles with its arms, squatting, and throwing punches. Some of the demonstrations show one of the researchers besides the robot performing the initial movements. After just around a second delay, the robot dutifully repeats the motion. Researchers say this approach is useful because it means the robot is more adaptable than others that require new training sets every time it needs to perform a new movement.Mirroring robots could speed up training and drive down costsThis isnt the first example of a copycat robot. Last year, researchers from Stanford used a similar AI model to teach a 59 humanoid robot how to box and play rudimentary tennis all by shadowing human movements. Like ExBody2, the robot also utilizes an AI trained on motion capture data.[ Related: Researchers tortured robots to test the limits of human empathy ]By mimicking humans, humanoids can potentially tap into the rich repertoire of skills and motion exhibited by humans, offering a promising avenue towards achieving general robot intelligence, the authors wrote in a paper detailing their results.This approach to robot movement isnt just about novelty. Researchers believe mirroring or shadowing could cut down on the need to repeatedly train robots, which could help speed up their development and drive down costs. At the very least, the technology shows a rudimentary robot dance partner is within the realm of possibility.

Nature, Published online: 16 January 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08634-7Brain-wide neuronal circuit connectome of human glioblastoma

Experts lay bare the health effects of breathing in wildfire smoke and the steps that can be taken to reduce one's risk.

Link to the release trailer : https://youtu.be/itpcsQQvgAQ This is around 20 seconds into the video How are they making these mesh edits? I only know of doing this via shape keys (but this is not possible with them afaik, please correct me if I am wrong) or doing this with volume and then vdb to mesh/alembic sequence (but how are the textures working then?) I am not that knowledgeable in this area, and would really appreciate some insights Thanks! submitted by /u/meowdogpewpew [link] [comments]

Baldur's Gate 3 is getting one last big update in Patch 8, which will introduce cross-play between all consoles, PC, and even Mac. But before Larian puts the latest patch through a stress test with players, the developer has shared more details about what to expect.Photo mode and 12 new subclasses are among the new features that stand out in Patch 8. There are also a number of bug fixes and in-game mod improvements. Larian's latest update notes that there have been 100 million mod downloads to date. The company also promised that more mods are being approved for console players.Mac players also have new minimum specs for Baldur's Gate 3. Larian now suggests that Mac users update their system to macOS 14 (version 14.7.1) or later. Older Macs that can't be updated to that level can still play Baldur's Gate 3 through Patch 6.Continue Reading at GameSpot

The Netflix series Squid Game has reached global audiences not only with the deadly games but also with the powerful dialogue. From the Oh Il-nam quotes on friendships to the quotes about human nature from the Salesman, all characters, old and new, left a mark.

Folks,I know how to make normals from terrain in flat form. However, I want to learn how to make normals in spherical form from terrain. I tried to make normals but it resulted so funny. Shadows looks shining from south instead of from sun.dy = radius * pi/(nlat*grid);dz = radius * pi2*cos(lat) / (nlng * grid);dydz = dy*dz;nml = glm::dvec3(2.0*dydz, dz*escale*(elev[en-ELEV_STRIDE]-elev[en+ELEV_STRIDE]), dy*escale*(elev[en-1]-

As daily life gets increasingly chaotic, sometimes you just want to sit down with a game that slows it all down. Grandpas Farm by Possible Worlds Games, a letter-writing tabletop role-playing game, is directly inspired by slow-paced games like Harvest Moon, Animal Crossing, and Stardew Valley.From Tyler Crumrine of Possible Worlds Games, Grandpas Farm players take on the role of a person who has just inherited their grandfathers long-neglected farm. The game takes place over the course of four years as you track your progress rebuilding the farm and connecting with your local community, all while writing letters back home to the people you love.Each season in Grandpas Farm is represented by a turn that has players draw from a deck of playing cards. The values of each card randomly determine how much development has occurred, with face cards ending a given season. The cards respective suit determines the type of progress being made: social, financial, agricultural, or infrastructural. At the end of each season, you write a letter to a love one recounting your progress, though that part of the game straddles the lines of fiction and reality. Grandpas Farm can be played alone, or with other people with the potential to send physical letters back and forth to friends playing their own farm somewhere else in the world.Built into the game is the same type of interpersonal community building you get from games like Stardew Valley, as relationships with your neighbors developing year over year. Each year can also be punctuated by an optional festival mechanic, where the small town community comes to life and players have the ability to gain mechanical advantages that allow play to last longer with better progress for their farmstead.One of the strongest elements of Grandpas Farm is its worldbuilding phase. Prompted by questions like What are you leaving behind to live on the farm? or What will be easier/harder about living on the farm? players develop a fully realized sense of who they are before the game properly begins. Similar questions are posed about the community youll be moving into, developing a sense that this world existed before your character inherited this farm, and it will exist long after you are gone.Like other games in the Possible Worlds catalogue, this book is small both in length and size. A 4.5 by 5.5 pocket sized paper back book, Grandpas Farm caps out at 30 pages in length, meaning the rules are digestible while still being comprehensive enough for a fleshed out experience. This physical minimalism is a signature style of many tabletop RPGs by Possible Worlds, such as its My Hero Academia-inspired Single Unique Powe or Wishless, a game about a world in which everyone received three wishes, and now youre living in the consequences.Physical copies of Grandpas Farm are available for $15 on the Possible Worlds Games website.

Mophie is making its travel charger even better. The foldable 3-in-1 Travel Charging Station has long been a favorite for those who want a 3-in-1 wireless charging station on the go, but the latest version of the charger the 3-in-1 Travel Charging Station Global Edition steps up its design and build quality, making it an even better option for frequent flyers.The newest version of the charger is built to put your phone and Apple Watch on display. For this model, the charger can actually fold up to put your iPhone in standby mode, while the Apple Watch charger can flip up as well, so that you can see the time on it, as well as its charging status. The third charger, for your AirPods, can be found behind the iPhone charger when its flipped up.Its a pretty smart way to pack three chargers into a small and portable device. Speaking of portable, when youre not charging, flip down the iPhone and Apple Watch charger and simply fold the whole thing in half. Its magnetic, so the two halves will attach automatically into a small, easily pocketable device.Not only that, the device offers relatively fast charging capabilities. Its Qi2 charger supports speeds of up to 15W, while the Apple Watch charger enables charging at the watchs maximum speed. Additionally, the secondary Qi charger for AirPods delivers 5W plenty for wireless earbuds.Because the charger supports Qi2, itll work with any phone that also supports the magnetic Qi2 wireless charging standard. That said, because it has an Apple Watch charger built into it, its clearly targeted at Apple users. Any MagSafe compatible iPhone can attach to the Qi2 charger since Qi2 is actually based on MagSafe.As a Global Edition, the device is designed with travel in mind and comes equipped with several handy accessories. It includes a carry bag, a power adapter, and a USB cable for powering the device. The power adapter is compatible with multiple international plug types, all included in the box. These plugs cover regions such as the Unites States, United Kingdom, European Union, and Australia.The new Mophie 3-in-1 Travel Charging Station Global Edition is available for $150 via mophie.com.