Computer modeling shows that Nyasasaurus could be the earliest known dinosaur, or else a close relative of early dinosaurs. (Credit: Mark Witton/The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London)NewsletterSign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsJust because we havent found dinosaur bones near the equator doesnt mean they dont exist just that we havent looked in the right places.A study modeling the extinct beasts evolution, published in Current Biology, points to the earliest dinosaurs establishing themselves near the Earths center, then spreading out to other parts of the globe. So far, the oldest known dinosaur fossils dating back about 230 million years hail from farther south, including Brazil, Argentina, and Zimbabwe.Rethinking Dinosaur OriginsBut, because fossils from each area differ so much from each other, that suggests the creatures were already evolving. Following that line of logic meant that earlier versions of the creatures must have lived elsewhere. Experts hadn't yet established where that where was and the ambiguity inspired the research team.Dinosaurs are well studied but we still dont really know where they came from, Joel Heath, a University College London graduate student and an author of the study, said in a news release. The fossil record has such large gaps that it cant be taken at face value.To point out possible dinosaur origin locations, the team built a computer model based on known fossil sites, evolutionary trees of dinosaurs and their reptile relatives, and geography. Perhaps most importantly, it treated areas that have not yet yielded dinosaur bones as areas where no fossils have been found not where no fossils exist.After putting all that information together, the team came up with a likely location an equatorial supercontinent known as Gondwana. This area, which encompasses todays Amazon, Congo basin, and Sahara Desert, was likely a hot, dry environment.So far, no dinosaur fossils have been found in the regions of Africa and South America that once formed this part of Gondwana, said Heath. However, this might be because researchers havent stumbled across the right rocks yet, due to a mix of inaccessibility and a relative lack of research efforts in these areas.Pinpointing Dinosaur Ground ZeroFrom that location, the creatures moved as they evolved, some south, into the areas where the oldest known fossils have been found. Others travelled north into Laurasia, the supercontinent that eventually split into Europe, Asia, and North America.The fossil record supports the equatorial area as a sort of Dino Ground Zero, because it is literally a midpoint. Evidence of the earliest dinosaurs have been found in southern Gondwana, while other fossils of close relatives have been identified Laurasia.The researchers suspect that if and when any dinosaur fossils are found there, they will be much smaller than fearsome beasts like Tyrannosaurus rex more dog-sized than Godzilla-sized. Those bones will also likely be outnumbered by other small reptiles.But first, paleontologists will need to start digging closer to the equator.Article SourcesOur 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:Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.1 free article leftWant More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/monthSubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In1 free articleSubscribeWant more?Keep reading for as low as $1.99!SubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In

Nature, Published online: 23 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00231-yIn an unprecedented move, research-grant reviews have been suspended indefinitely at the worlds largest public funder of biomedical research.

Nature, Published online: 22 January 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08457-yThe maternal X chromosome in female mice impairs cognition through the silencing of certain genes and accelerates ageing of the hippocampus.

A solar explosion called a coronal mass ejection is poised to graze Earth on Friday or Saturday (Jan. 24 or Jan. 25), potentially triggering colorful auroras over the northern U.S.

UPD: Starbreeze has confirmed to 80 Level that the layoffs did take place, affecting no more than 10 people who, according to the studio, were not assigned to any specific projects, suggesting that the layoffs are unlikely to affect the games the company currently has in the works.We can confirm that we did a number of reductions in December involving fewer than 10 roles in total, as part of our regular efforts of aligning resources with all of our projects current and future needs, a Starbreeze representative told us. As such, they were not tied to any specific project.Original article: It seems like the consequences of Payday 3, the ill-fated 2023 installment of the iconic crime simulator franchise, continue to haunt its developer Starbreeze Studios to this day, with the company quietly firing a number of developers in December 2024 a move that has only recently come to public attention.StarbreezeAccording to a LinkedIn post shared by Starbreezes former Creative Director, Tancred Dyke-Wells, several employees, including Dyke-Wells himself, were laid off last December. The post mentioned that the cuts affected the companys UK and Sweden offices, leaving the fate of the Barcelona and Paris branches up in the air.In November 2024, Starbreeze had reported having around 200 developers, and with that number still listed on their website and no public announcements about the layoffs on their social media or the websites News section, its unclear how many of the studios employees had their Christmas ruined last year. It is also unknown how the layoffs might affect Project Baxter, a cooperative multiplayer adventure game based on the Dungeons & Dragons franchise that Starbreeze is developing in collaboration with Wizards of the Coast.Although Dyke-Wells didnt explicitly state the reason for the terminations, its reasonable to assume that the failure of Payday 3 played a significant role. Since its launch, the game has been plagued with problems, earning it the label of disastrous from Starbreezes Lead Producer Andreas Penniger and even resulting in the dismissal of the studios CEO, Tobias Sjgren.In November, it was reported that Starbreeze had reduced the size of the team working on Payday 3, with no mention of layoffs, however, as we now see, the cuts did indeed come just a month later. As it stands, Payday 3 is among the AAA titles that have failed both commercially and critically, bringing in far less revenue than its creators expected and earning a less-than-stellar 3.2/10 rating, with daily player counts hovering around a mere thousand or fewer.For comparison, Payday 2 continues to attract tens of thousands of players daily, sitting at an impressive 31,000 at the time of writing despite turning 12 years old this year.80 Level has reached out to Starbreeze for confirmation and will provide an update if a response is received.Dont forget to join our80 Level Talent platformand ournew Discord server, follow us onInstagram,Twitter,LinkedIn,Telegram,TikTok, andThreads,where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.Source link The post Payday Developer Starbreeze Quietly Fired a Number of Developers in December appeared first on CG SHARES.

As the latest installment in one of the best shooter franchises of all time, Doom: The Dark Ages seemed like a good candidate for multiplayer options. But as part of today's Xbox Developer Direct, Bethesda and id Software have revealed that there will be no multiplayer in The Dark Ages. Regardless, it sounds like Doom fans are getting the best possible game in return for that tradeoff.As reported by Eurogamer, Doom: The Dark Ages executive producer Marty Stratton confirmed that the new game is laser-focused on creating an "epic campaign.""We made that decision early so we could really just go all-in on the campaign," said Stratton. "It's our largest, most expansive, most epic campaign ever, and we're just really happy with the decision."Continue Reading at GameSpot

Doom: The Dark Ages Standard Edition $70 Preorder at Best Buy Preorder at Target Get deal at Fanatical (PC) Doom: The Dark Ages Premium Edition $100 Preorder at Best Buy Preorder at Target Get deal at Fanatical (PC) Doom: The Dark Ages Collector's Bundle $200 Preorder at PlayStation Direct (PS5) Preorder at Microsoft (Xbox) Preorder at Bethesda (All) Doom: The Dark Ages is nearly here. The follow-up to Doom Eternal launches on Xbox Series X|S, Game Pass, PS5, and PC on May 15. Preorders for the game are now available, including a massive Collector's Bundle that includes physical collectibles, extra in-game content, and more. Preorders also include bonus in-game skins and even early access to the game. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 3-Month Code $30.59 (was $50) with promo code SAVETEN (Jan. 23) See at Woot See at Amazon Doom: The Dark Ages Preorder BonusDoom: The Dark Ages preorder bonusesPreordering any version of Doom: The Dark Ages gets you the Void Slayer in-game skin as a free bonus.Additionally, preordering the Premium or Collector's Editions also gets you up to 2-day early access to the full single-player campaign starting May 13.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Diablo 4 players have been eagerly awaiting the start of Season 7 due to a number of features being added to the game, including the Armory. The Armory allows players to easily switch between loadouts, enabling playstyles that have "bossing builds" and "farming builds" on the same character. However, as with all new systems, a small learning curve is to be expected.

Grenades find their mark and more accidental wins in Rainbow Six Siege.

Hot on the heels of yesterdays news that Nosferatu director Robert Eggers will follow his vampire movie with a 13-century werewolf thriller called Werwulf, and todays news that Nosferatu is in the running for four Academy Awards, the Eggers news drops keeps landing: Deadline reports that Eggers has signed a deal to direct a sequel to Jim Hensons 1986 fantasy Labyrinth. To anyone who saw Nosferatu (or the earlier news that Eggers was in talks on a Labyrinth project), that maybe isnt the biggest possible surprise all the blood, perverse monster-sex, and full-frontal male nudity in Nosferatu aside, there are elements in the script that feel surprisingly Labyrinth-esque, like the revelation that Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) maybe summoned up her personal destructive monster Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgrd) out of unformed adolescent desire, and gave him power over her that she has to take back in order to survive. The conversation between Orlok and Ellen, where he insists that she summoned him, and theyre now fated for each other, so she needs to surrender to him, feels like a darker mirror of the conversation the Goblin King Jareth (David Bowie) and his teenage summoner/victim Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) have at the end of Labyrinth, where he demands her fear and love, and offers himself as her slave in return.A darker, more adult take on Labyrinth might be a natural fit for audiences that grew up with the movie.The film has a surprisingly strong strain of lust and psychosexual tension for a Jim Henson project. And a sequel, with Connelly reprising her role and facing Jareth in adulthood, could be an interesting thread to pull on. (Or not, given how Beetlejuice Beetlejuice tossed away its similarly intriguing reunion between a supernatural stalker and the adult woman he chased around when she was a teenager.)What exactly the sequel would entail is unclear. The Deadline report says theres no plot summary or cast information, though it lists Jim Hensons children Brian Henson (puppeteer coordinator and the voice of Hoggle in the original Labyrinth) and Lisa Henson (CEO of The Jim Henson Company) as producers, and says Eggers and his writing partner Sjn (The Northman) will co-write the script.The real problem with a direct sequel, though, is who could possibly replace David Bowie as Jareth? As much as the movie revolves around the Henson workshops puppets and Brian Frouds creature designs, Bowie was the movies breakout star. Fans memories of and conversations about the film (and their fan art, cosplay, and even annual masquerade ball) have centered on him for decades, and even the spin-off comic series Labyrinth: Coronation focused on his backstory. The 1986 Labyrinth is also built around Bowie performing original songs he wrote for the film.Its hard to imagine any modern rock star nailing the odd, slippery mixture of sexual menace, jovial humor, casual physicality, and sheer alien weirdness that Bowie brought to the role. Billy Porter might come closest in terms of persona and cultural positioning; Tilda Swinton might come closest in terms of otherworldly looks. But who has the star power to walk onto a set and replace David Bowie? If youve got any suggestions, spit them out while you can Eggers and the Hensons are probably having the same conversation right now.