What just happened? Canon has announced a 410-megapixel CMOS image sensor, setting a new record for the most number of pixels on a 35mm full-frame sensor. Before getting too excited, you should know that the sensor is destined for applications like surveillance, industrial imaging, and medicine that demand extreme resolution rather can consumer-grade cameras. The 410-megapixel (24,592 x 16,704 pixels) sensor boasts a resolution that is 198 times greater than Full HD, and 12 times higher than 8K. With it, users should be able to crop any part of an image without a significant drop in quality.Canon said the new sensor utilizes a back-illuminated stacked formation in which the signal processing element and pixel segment are interlayered. The imaging specialist also had to redesign the circuitry pattern, which enabled a super fast readout speed of 3,280 megapixels per second.Super-high pixel count sensors already exist in medium- or larger formats, but fitting this level of resolution into a 35mm sensor is unprecedented and will help contribute to the miniaturization of shooting equipment, Canon said.Full-color and monochrome versions of the sensor will be available. The latter will additionally feature a four-pixel binning function that effectively treats four pixels as one a trick we've seen smartphone image sensors use to boost performance, especially in low light situations. Canon said that when this feature is in use, the sensor can capture 100-megapixel video at 24 frames per second. Otherwise, video is limited to eight frames per second.Canon has been pushing the bounds of what's possible with imaging tech for a while now. Late last year, the company showed off a 250-megapixel APS-H CMOS sensor intended for industrial inspection applications. On the consumer side, we got a new EOS R series camera aimed at entry-level photographers wanting to step up from a smartphone. // Related StoriesCanon will showcase its new sensor at the SPIE Photonics West conference for optics and photonics. The show starts on January 28 and runs through the 30th in San Francisco.

What just happened? Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science have introduced a breakthrough technology that could transform the way wearable devices are powered. Called "Power-Over-Skin," this innovation allows electricity to travel through the human body, potentially eliminating the need for traditional batteries in a wide range of wearable tech. The technology addresses a longstanding challenge in the wearable device industry. From continuous glucose monitors for diabetes management to pacemakers and fitness trackers, these devices rely on batteries that require regular charging and maintenance.Andy Kong, a leading member of the research team, explains that Power-Over-Skin aims to remove this obstacle by enabling devices to operate seamlessly and discreetly an essential factor for effective health monitoring.Still in its early stages, the technology employs a single battery-powered transmitter worn on the body to deliver power to various receivers. During testing, the researchers successfully powered small objects, including LED lights, a Bluetooth joystick embedded in a ring, and a light-up earring. They found that the power received by these devices was directly proportional to their distance from the transmitter, with closer devices receiving more power.Kong compares the process to how a radio uses air as a medium to transmit signals between a broadcasting station and a car stereo, with the key difference being that Power-Over-Skin uses body tissue as the transmitting medium. The researchers focused on maximizing power transmission efficiency through the body, discovering that square waves delivered significantly more power than the sine waves used in earlier experiments.The technology operates through capacitive coupling at 40 MHz RF energy, enabling safe and efficient power transfer through the skin. This approach allows continuous power delivery directly from a source on the body to multiple wearable devices. // Related StoriesWhile the current demonstrations focus on low-power electronics, the researchers envision future applications powering more energy-intensive devices like smart glasses and advanced wearables. To achieve this, the team is working to increase the power output by a factor of 10, with the ultimate goal of powering devices such as earbuds.

A great gaming laptop has a lot on its shoulders to contend with, especially when you look at how demanding some of the most demanding online games of 2025 are slated to be. Fortunately, brands like Asus know a thing or two about developing hardware that covers your gaming needs, both in the present day and in the future. And, as luck would have it, one of the brands top gaming PCs is on sale today:Right now, when you purchase the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 Gaming Laptop at Best Buy, youll only pay $1,100. The full MSRP on this model is $1,600.When it comes to power and performance, this Asus G16 configuration doesnt disappoint in any way. Running a 10-core Intel Core i7 CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage, you can expect fast, reliable multitasking from the G16. Its a solid choice for a Windows 11 workplace laptop and a great pick for graphic designers and video editors, too. But were betting most folks are going to grab this bad boy for gaming, which is precisely what its engineered to handle most effectively!RelatedWith its 1920 x 1080p resolution and 165Hz native refresh rate, the Asus G16 is also 100% DCI-P3 certified and delivers up to 3m response times. Rich colors, excellent contrast levels, and top-notch motion handling can be yours, along with ROG Intelligent Cooling, a customizable RGB keyboard, and HDMI 2.1 connectivity, should you be interested in one of the best monitor deals we found this week.Its hard to say how long this discount is going to stick around, so today might be the last day to save big on this incredible gaming laptop. Take $500 off the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 Gaming Laptop when you purchase at Best Buy. We also suggest taking a look at our roundups of the best Asus laptop deals, Best Buy deals, and best laptop deals.Editors Recommendations

Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese are getting the band back together.Per Deadline, DiCaprio and Scorsese are eyeing a reunion for the film adaptation of The Devil in the White City. 20th Century Studios has boarded the project, with DiCaprio in talks to star and Scorsese in talks to direct. The movie is based on Erik Larsons bestselling non-fiction book The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America.Recommended VideosThere is no script attached to the project. DiCaprio and Scorsese would produce alongside Stacey Sher, Rick Yorn, and Jennifer Davisson.Please enable Javascript to view this contentThe Devil in the White City explores the Worlds Columbian Exposition in 1893 Chicago. The two central characters are Daniel Burnham, a Worlds Fair architect, and H.H. Holmes, a con man considered the first serial killer in the U.S.DiCaprio first purchased rights to Larsons book in 2010. Since then, the project has been in development hell, with several setbacks and delays. DiCaprio was eyeing the role of Holmes with Scorsese attached to direct.Apple TV+In 2019, Hulu began developing the book as a TV series, with Keanu Reeves attached as the star and Todd Field on board to direct the first two episodes. DiCaprio and Scorsese were producers. However, Hulu moved on from the project in 2023.DiCaprio and Scorseses partnership dates back. DiCaprio has appeared in six Scorsese films, including Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Killers of the Flower Moon. DiCaprio also starred in Scorseses 2015 short film The Audition.DiCaprio can next be seen in Paul Thomas Andersons untitled film, which is rumored to be The Battle of Baktan Cross, in theaters on August 8, 2025.Editors Recommendations

The more things change... Doom: The Dark Ages wants to be more like the original Doom Preview: A more grounded game than Doom Eternal in more ways than one. Kyle Orland Jan 23, 2025 2:00 pm | 29 Who's ready top rip and tear? Credit: Bethesda Softworks Who's ready top rip and tear? Credit: Bethesda Softworks Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreThe modern Doom games have been a master class in reviving a beloved retro gaming series. Both 2016's Doom and 2020's Doom Eternal paid homage to both the look and feel of the original Doom titles without being slavishly devoted to older gameplay conventions that can feel dated decades later.Yet by the end of Doom Eternal, you could feel the modernized gameplay system threatening to burst at the seams a bit. Managing your limited ammo, health, and armor resources in Eternal meant expertly juggling a bewildering array of chainsaws, flamethrowers, grenades, and melee-based staggers into powerful, pre-animated "glory kills." That was all on top of the frequent weapon-switching needed to take advantage of the weaknesses of the varied enemies surrounding you and the double-jump-and-dash movement system that required expert use of all three dimensions.Something had to give. So for Doom: The Dark Ages, the team at id Software has committed to a more streamlined, back-to-basics system that limits complexity while maintaining the same overall difficulty level. That means a "fewer strings on the guitar" approach to controls that narrows almost every action down to just three context-sensitive buttons, as the developers discussed in a hands-off virtual preview session attended by Ars Technica.Simpler, not easierIn figuring out how to re-simplify the modern Doom formula, id Software Creative Designer Hugo Martin said he found himself going back to the '90s Doom games for inspiration more than any others. "The original Doom, and why it has stood the test of timeis it's one of the most accessible FPS single-player campaigns ever made," he said. "When it comes to combat, it's really incredibly streamlined, and that's why it's fun to this day."Flattening the controls was key to that return to old-school Doom accessibility, the developers said. In The Dark Ages, that starts with the standard weapon trigger and melee buttons, though now you can pre-select which of three different melee weapons will be activated by that single input. That shieldsaw in your left hand can do a lot with just a single button press. Credit: Bethesda Softworks That shieldsaw in your left hand can do a lot with just a single button press. Credit: Bethesda Softworks Then there's the shieldsaw, a round buckler with a revved-up chainsaw edge that's ever-present on your left forearm. The shieldsaw is controlled with a single context-sensitive button that changes functions depending on your specific situation. That means pressing the same button will block and parry melee attacks, deflect enemy projectiles (stunning them in the process), throw the saw for a ranged attack, activate a "shield bash" for a grappling-hook style lunge towards the thrown shield, and more.The idea, Martin said, is for the controls to feel intuitive enough that "when we pressure the player, they're not reaching for buttons they're not familiar with." But making the controls simpler doesn't make the game easier overall, he said. On the contrary, Martin argued that "when you streamline your control scheme, you can actually make things harder.""Some people said Doom Eternal was too hard," Martin continued. "I think it was too complex. The complexity of the control scheme led to unnecessary difficulties. You want to be fighting the demons, not the controls."The developers said they want The Dark Ages to recapture the feeling from the original Doom of being "an easy game to get into, harder to master... really accessible but very challenging." Narrowing the control options helps lead to a game that "feels more like classic Doom than any game we've made up to this point," Martin said. Demons come in many sizes. Credit: Bethesda Softworks Demons come in many sizes. Credit: Bethesda Softworks And when it comes to managing that difficulty, The Dark Ages also promises an array of sliders for more precise and flexible tuning of specific elements like enemy speed, weapon damage, and the timing window for parries. These can be adjusted down for players who are new to shooters or cranked way up for an experience that goes beyond the usual "Ultra Nightmare" ceiling.This kind of difficulty tuning was previously limited to arcane console commands, id Studio Director Marty Stratton told us, but is now being given to all players for the first time. "When you can dial up game speed and then dial up difficulty for the parry windows, change the damage done to you... you can create a very challenging experience," he said.Feet on the groundAnother big part of recapturing that OG Doom simplicity is returning to "a more grounded slayer" compared to the aerial focus of Eternal. "There weren't a lot of places to go after Eternal," Stratton said, referring to the high-flying gameplay focus in the last Doom game. "We couldn't go more vertical. [It was] about as intense as you could get... [and] we don't want to repeat ourselves."In place of Doom Eternal's "jump and shoot" gameplay loop, The Dark Ages focuses on more of a "stand and fight" mentality, the developers said. If Doom Eternal was like flying a fighter jet, then The Dark Ages is more like controlling a tank, they added by way of analogy. Less fighter jet, more tank Credit: Bethesda Softworks Less fighter jet, more tank Credit: Bethesda Softworks That means a "flatter" game space, where the old-fashioned "strafe-to-aim" strategies work more effectively than in recent Doom games, with less need to be constantly floating through the air. The developers say they're returning to the slower projectile speeds of the original Doom games, too, allowing players to more easily weave between them in a sort of first-person take on a shmup pattern. At the same time, your own projectile weapons tend toward the medium to short range, the developers said, encouraging you to take the fight close to the enemies.While staggering enemies to set up instant Glory Kills is still a core part of The Dark Ages, the developers said the system has been redesigned to avoid taking control away from the player for extended, repetitive canned animations. The new Glory Kill system allows for instant, physics-based attacks that can be activated from any angle without interrupting the gameplay flow.The more things changeThe Dark Ages developers also promised a more open design, where the usual more linear corridors are interspersed with larger playspaces that let you decide which direction to go and which objective to pursue in what order. And the standard shooting action will be broken up into specific sections where you control a 30-story mech or fly a powerful dragon. *Fleetwood Mac voice* You can go your own way... Credit: Bethesda Softworks *Fleetwood Mac voice* You can go your own way... Credit: Bethesda Softworks But the core game will still include the requisite raft of secret areas and hidden nooks to discover, the developers promised. This time around, though, those secrets are more directly tied to your power progression rather than just being collectible in-game trinkets, the developers said.It's all in service of pushing toward a game that feels "new but familiar," Martin said. The Dark Ages is still about the same sense of exploration and power that all good Doom games capture. But Martin said the development team is comfortable experimenting with what that specific sense of power is, "especially if the change you make brings it closer to classic Doom."But "I want to play a Doom game," he added. "We don't [want to] change so much that it's not a Doom game.Doom: The Dark Ages is scheduled to hit Windows, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on May 15.Kyle OrlandSenior Gaming EditorKyle OrlandSenior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland has been the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica since 2012, writing primarily about the business, tech, and culture behind video games. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He once wrote a whole book about Minesweeper. 29 Comments

South American megafauna, from giant sloths to camel-like creatures, survived thousands of years longer than we thought, challenging the idea that they were hunted to extinction by humans

Life would have been particularly hot and dry if dinosaurs really did emerge near the equatorMark Witton/The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, LondonDinosaurs may have first evolved close to the equator, not in the far south of the southern hemisphere as previously thought. A modelling study suggests they originated in a region that covers what is now the Amazon rainforest, Congo basin and Sahara desert.When you consider the gaps in the fossil record and the evolutionary tree of dinosaurs, it could very likely be a centre point for where dinosaurs originated, says Joel Heath at University College London. AdvertisementDinosaurs evolved some time during the Triassic Period, which ran from 252 to 201 million years ago, but Heath says there is pretty huge uncertainty about where and when. The oldest known fossils of these animals are about 230 million years old, but they are distinct enough to suggest that dinosaurs had already existed for a few million years. There must have been a lot going on in terms of dinosaur evolution, but we just dont have the fossils, he says.At this time, Earth looked very different. All the continents were joined into a single supercontinent called Pangaea, which was shaped like a C with its middle straddling the equator. South America and Africa were in the southern hemisphere segment of this, where they fitted together like jigsaw pieces. The earliest known dinosaurs are from southern parts of those two continents, in places such as modern Argentina and Zimbabwe so this was thought to be their point of origin.To learn more, Heath and his colleagues built computer models to work backwards in time from the oldest known dinosaurs to the origin of the group. They created several dozen versions, to take into account uncertainties such as gaps in the fossil record, possible geographic barriers and ongoing doubts over how the earliest dinosaurs were related to each other. The latest science news delivered to your inbox, every day.Sign up to newsletterMost of these simulations concluded that dinosaurs first appeared near the equator, with just a minority supporting the southerly origin.Palaeontologists have tended to assume that dinosaurs couldnt have originated near the equator, says Heath, partly because there are no early dinosaur fossils from that region. Whats more, it was a challenging place to live. It was very, very dry and very hot, he says. The dinosaurs were thought to have not been able to survive in those sorts of conditions.However, most of the models say otherwise. Its suggesting things that we didnt actually think were possible in the past, says Heath.Instead, the lack of early dinosaur fossils from near the equator may have a more prosaic explanation. Palaeontologists have tended to dig in North America and Europe, and more latterly China. There are lots of areas in the globe that are quite neglected, says Heath. He adds that geologists havent found many rocks of the right age in the regions relevant to the studys findings that they can excavate. They might not be exposed in a way that we can easily study them.However, a piece of evidence in support of Heaths idea has recently emerged. On 8 January, researchers led by David Lovelace at the University of Wisconsin-Madison reported that they had found the oldest known dinosaur from the northern part of Pangaea. They discovered a species that is new to science called Ahvaytum bahndooiveche, a sauropodomorph related to long-necked dinosaurs like Diplodocus that evolved later. The team found it in the rocks of the Popo Agie Formation in Wyoming, dated to 230 million years ago.If dinosaurs were already in the north and south of Pangaea that long ago, the equatorial middle cant have been closed off to them, says Heath. They have to have been crossing that region.Journal reference:Current Biology DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.12.053Topics:dinosaurs

A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's order ending birthright citizenship.The order was challenged by multiple lawsuits, claiming it violated the 14th Amendment.In temporarily halting the order, the Seattle judge called it "blatantly unconstitutional."A federal judge in Seattle temporarily halted President Donald Trump's controversial executive order denying automatic citizenship for anyone born on US soil, calling the move to end birthright citizenship "blatantly unconstitutional.""I have difficulty understanding how a member of the bar could state unequivocally that is a constitutional order," US District Judge John Coughenour told the Trump administration's attorneys after hearing arguments Thursday morning, according to multiple news outlets in the courtroom. "It boggles my mind.""I've been on the bench for over four decades, I can't remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one is," the judge added.The ruling was made in a case brought by four states Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon. The case is among at least five lawsuits filed this week challenging Trump's birthright citizenship order on the grounds that it violates the 14th Amendment.The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Business Insider.In the judge's ruling granting a 14-day temporary restraining order, Coughenour wrote, "There is a strong likelihood that Plaintiffs will succeed on the merits of their claims that the Executive Order violates the Fourteenth Amendment and Immigration and Nationality Act."On Tuesday, attorneys general from a total of 22 states and two cities across the country filed two separate lawsuits in a bid to block the order. A hearing has not yet been held in the first suit, which 18 states and the top law enforcement officers of Washington, DC, and San Francisco had joined.The lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon argued that the president "has no authority to amend the Constitution or supersede the Citizenship Clause's grant of citizenship to individuals born in the United States. Nor is he empowered by any other constitutional provision or law to determine who shall or shall not be granted United States citizenship at birth.""United States citizens are entitled to a broad array of rights and benefits as a result of their citizenship," the lawsuit said. "Withholding citizenship or stripping individuals of their citizenship will result in an immediate and irreparable harm to those individuals and to the Plaintiff States."Trump's order targeting birthright citizenship, titled "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship," was signed shortly after Trump was sworn into office for a second presidential term on Monday. It was scheduled to take effect 30 days after its signing.Birthright citizenship is a policy that automatically gives citizenship to anyone born in the US or US territories. Under Trump's executive order, federal agencies would be barred from issuing any documents granting citizenship to US-born children whose parents live in the country illegally, or cases in which the mother was lawfully in the country temporarily such as a student or tourist but the father is neither a US citizen or lawful permanent resident.The ACLU also brought a lawsuit on Monday that said at least 150,000 children would be affected.Other immigration executive orders Trump signed after he was sworn in included declaring a national emergency, sending the military to the US-Mexico border, shutting down the CBP One app from which immigrants seeking asylum could submit information, and restricting federal funding to sanctuary cities which have limited cooperation with agents working to deport immigrants in the US illegally.

OpenAI unveiled Operator, its first AI agent, for ChatGPT Pro subscribers in the US.It can complete tasks autonomously, like booking reservations or buying groceries.The agent is powered by a new model built in GPT-4o called CUA.Experts predicted that 2025 would be the year AI agents go mainstream, and OpenAI is delivering on that forecast.On Thursday, OpenAI unveiled Operator, a system that can use a web browser to do everything from booking travel reservations to buying products.While chatbots like OpenAI's popular ChatGPT use generative AI to respond to queries, Operator is an agent that performs tasks autonomously.Operator will be available Thursday in the United States for ChatGPT Pro users, a $200 monthly plan that gives users access to its latest models, including o1. In the coming months, it will also be made available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, OpenAI's $20 monthly subscription tier, and users in other countries.During a livestream announcing Operator on Thursday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called the release an "early research preview," adding that it will be refined over the coming months. He said OpenAI will also have more agents to launch in the months ahead.The interface is similar to ChatGPT, in which users simply prompt Operator with a request, like "book a dinner reservation at 7 p.m." Users can select a specific website through which they want to process the request, like OpenTable in the case of a restaurant reservation, or simply sending the request through a search engine like Google. Operator summarizes its reasoning process in a sidebar so users can quickly identify any step where it might make a mistake, which OpenAI says it's still prone to do.Operator is powered by CUA, a new model built on GPT-4o, Reiichiro Nakano, a member of the company's technical staff, said in the live stream. "It's trained to use and control a computer in the same way humans can, by just looking at the screen and using a mouse and keyboard to control it," he said. The model bypasses the need for APIs, mechanisms that allow software components to communicate with each other, and "unlocks a whole new range of software we can use that was previously inaccessible," Nakano said.He added that the model removes "one more bottleneck in our path towards AGI."In a benchmark comparing how AI agents navigate common operating systems, Operator scored 38.1% compared to 72.4% for humans. In another benchmark comparing how AI agents navigate common websites, Operator scored 58.1% compared to 78.2% for humans.

Ninja Gaiden 4 by makers of Bayonetta out in 2025 Ninja Gaiden 2 Black out nowGameCentralPublished January 23, 2025 7:48pmUpdated January 23, 2025 7:48pm Why have one new Ninja Gaiden game when you can have three? (Xbox Game Studios)The mystery game in the Xbox Developer Direct was not quite such a mystery after all, as its revealed to be Ninja Gaiden 4 for Xbox and PS5.Despite Microsoft making a promise of a surprise new game reveal, during its Developer Direct on Thursday evening, the rumours quickly narrowed down what it was to either an Ecco The Dolphin reboot or a new Ninja Gaiden.Perhaps unsurprisingly, its the latter which turned out to be right, although the annoucement that Ninja Gaiden 4 will be a collaboration between series creator Team Ninja and Bayonetta and NieR:Automata developer PlatinumGames was a bit of a shock.The game will be published by Xbox Game Studios, not Team Ninja and franchise owner Koei Tecmo, but it will be released on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC (and, were willing to bet, Nintendo Switch 2) this autumn.Although the third person action is very much within Platinums area of expertise they had previously vowed to stop working on games where they dont own the IP. Considering the trouble the developer seems to be in at the moment, with no new games in some time and a number of high profile staff exits, its not hard to imagine why they backtracked on that.The brain drain has left Platinum a little short on big name directors though and Ninja Gaiden 4 producer and director Yuji Nakao has never directed a game of this size before, with his most significant credit so far being one of four producers on Bayonetta 3.Nevertheless, Ninja Gaiden 4 does look like vintage Platinum, with the developers emphasising the speed of the action and what looks like a complex combat and parry system.Theres also lots of platform-like traversal going on, with wall-running, swinging on a grappling hook, and grinding along rails.Although series regular Ryu Hayabusa is in the game, and is implied to be playable at some point, the protagonist is new character Yakumo from the rival Raven clan, who can use one of two different styles of combat.Ever since the reboot in 2004, Ninja Gaiden became one of the few Japanese-made franchises to be closely associated with Xbox, so its not hard to see why Microsoft signed up to publish this new entry. Although Tomonobu Itagaki, who was responsible for the reboot, is not involved, as he left Team Ninja some time ago to set up his own studio.More TrendingItagaki was producer and director on the 2008 reboot sequel though and a remaster of that, made in Unreal Engine 5 and called Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, was also announced during the Developer Direct. Surprisingly, its out now for 39.99 on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.The problem with that is that the remaster looks arguably better than Ninja Gaiden 4, whose visuals seem more abstract, with a more distant camera. The latter probably means it plays better but its a bit awkward seeing the two next to each other.This year is the 30th anniversary of Team Ninja and theyre really going all out to engineer a comeback for Ninja Gaiden, which hasnt had a new game in over a decade now.In fact, theres also a third game thats already been announced: a 2D title called Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, which is by the developers of indie title Blasphemous. Its good to have Ninja Gaiden back (Xbox Game Studios)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy