Sony appoints new PlayStation boss but what difference will it make?Adam StarkeyPublished January 29, 2025 2:10pmUpdated January 29, 2025 2:11pm Nishino is the new top dog (Sony Interactive Entertainment)Theres been a shake-up in leadership at Sony Interactive Entertainment, but what could it mean for the future of PlayStation?Sonys PlayStation 5 might be easily outselling the Xbox Series X/S but theres still a lot of uneasiness around how Sony has been handling its business for the last couple of years and where things are going in the future.The company cancelled a number of projects this month, after the dramatic failure of Concord, although it is still seemingly pursuing the risky gamble of more live service games. There have also been several notable staff exits, along with layoffs and a number of studio shutdowns.Following the departure of Jim Ryan in March last year, PlayStation has been led by joint-CEOs Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino. Now, one of those has been promoted to the take on the job all by himself.As announced in a press release, Nishino has been appointed to the role of President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, effective from April 1, 2025. His previous job title was CEO of the Platform Business Group, so this is essentially a promotion.Hulst will continue to serve as CEO of the Studio Business Group, the same job he was previously appointed to in May last year, only now hell report into Nishino rather than being his equal.In a statement about the new job, Nishino said: I am truly honoured to be take the helm at Sony Interactive Entertainment. Technology and creativity are two of our biggest strengths as we continue to focus on developing experiences that deliver entertainment for everyone.We will continue to grow the PlayStation community in new ways, such as IP expansion, while also delivering the best in technology innovation. I want to thank Hermen for his expertise and leadership as he continues his role as CEO, Studio Business Group. I am deeply grateful for the PlayStation community and their continued support and I am very excited for what the future holds.As CEO of the Studio Business Group, Hulst leads the development, publishing, and business operations of Sony Interactive Entertainments first party content. In other words, hes in charge of internally developed games like God Of War and Horizon.Nishino was previously responsible for managing the technology and business side of PlayStation, along with overseeing third party publisher and developer relations and sales and marketing of PlayStation hardware.He joined Sony back in 2000, and before his prior role, he served as senior vice president of of the Platform Experience Group.While its not made explicitly clear, it sounds like hell continue to oversee these same areas, albeit with singular authority overall on PlayStations future. Will the failure of Concord change Sonys future? (Sony Interactive Entertainment)Beyond these changes, there are several other key shifts at Sony. Hiroki Totoki, president and chief financial officer of Sony Group Corporation, will step down from his role as chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment to become president and CEO of Sony at large.Lin Tao, senior vice president of finance and development at Sony Interactive Entertainment, will also step down to become chief financial officer at Sony as a whole. Her successor in the PlayStation division is set to be announced at a later date.It has been a pleasure working more closely with Hermen and Nishino-san and gaining insight into the ever-changing, fast-paced world of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Totoki said. As we hand the baton to Nishino and his exceptional leadership team, I am confident that Sony Interactive Entertainment will reach new heights in the days ahead.Totoki goes onto describe these leadership shifts as an exciting new chapter for Sony Interactive Entertainment, although its unclear what, if any change, this will bring about.Its still unclear whether Hermen Hulst or Jim Ryan was in favour of the push for live service games, or if one or the other tried to argue against it, but the disastrous launch of Concord took place under Hulsts reign.More TrendingThere are now several single-player first party games in the pipeline, including Ghost of Ytei, Marvels Wolverine, and Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, but with so many scrapped studios and projects over the past year, it might be a while before Sonys slate is back at full strength. Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is still a ways off (Sony Interactive Entertainment)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

If youve been shopping for a portable power station with the option of solar recharging, youre probably pretty tired of the words sold separately by now. That solar panel you need to provide your portable power station with the juice to keep your appliances and tech items running often costs hundreds of dollars more on top of the price of the generator.See at AmazonThe EF Ecoflow River 3 solar generator, however, comes with its compact 45W charging panel. And this useful and abundantly portable power duo of generator and solar panel is at its all-time lowest price at Amazon right now, just $199 in a limited-time deal.Lightweight PowerTalk about being able to punch above your weight class The Ecoflow River 3 weighs less than 8 pounds 30% smaller than the industry average and its solar panel folds down to the size of a laptop computer while weighing only 3.1 pounds itself. Combined, this combo weighs just under 11 pounds, making it an incredibly easy take-with for camping trips, RV rides, and more.But from that conveniently small package comes up to 600 watts of backup power when in X-Boost mode, enough juice to power a Wi-Fi router for over 30 hours, a laptop computer for 3.4 hours, and a CPAP machine for 4.6 hours. When its time to recharge the Ecoflow River 3, the 45W solar panel can take the power station from 0% to a full 100% charge in 6.3 hours. For more conventional recharging, plug the Ecoflow River 3 into an AC outlet and it fully recharges in just 1 hour.Up to 10 Years of LifeThe Ecoflow River 3 comes with an upgraded lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery thats capable of over 3,000 charging cycles six times more than its competitors and with X-Guard technology protecting the battery from overload and other harm, the Ecoflow River 3 can last up to 10 years.The N-Type solar panel converts up to 25% of the sunlight it receives into power that it feeds directly to the Ecoflow River 3, making it one of the more efficient solar panels available for recharging portable power stations. Having such an efficient source of infinitely renewable power comes in incredibly handy when youre out camping or having to endure a lengthy power outage at home.Amazons 41% discount is the deepest price cut ever on the Ecoflow River 3 and its solar panel, which normally sell for $338. This limited-time $199 deal is the perfect opportunity to add a reliable and remarkably compact portable power source to your home for backup power, or to your RV for power on the go.See at Amazon

2025If the $2,000 Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 is the undisputed king of 4K gaming, is the RTX 5080 the prince? Or is it the hidden court vizier, the figure controlling the graphics kingdom behind the scenes? Due to its $1,000 price tag, more gamers can afford the 5080, but its still a luxury GPU. If the two cards are in the same weight class, theres no question that the Nvidia RTX 5090 will knock out the 5080 with a single punch. Similarly, theres no question that if I were putting money down on GPUs, the 5080 is the safer bet for most PC gamers.The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition is more like the RTX 5090s goatee-sporting evil twin with something to prove. In most ways, its a less-capable graphics card, so you get what you pay for. Heres where things get complicated, however. Our tests running like-for-like 5080 didnt see vast improvements over the 4080 Super, last years big GPU upgrade. In some games, the FPS increase was within 10 to 15 frames.See RTX 5080 at Best BuyThe difference was even more negligible in some demanding titles, likeCyberpunk 2077. In other benchmarks, the difference between an RTX 4080 Super from 2024 and 5080 was far more stark than in-game performance. This means that games may still need to catch up to the Blackwell architecture, and it may take time to eliminate bottlenecks with new games and hardware. Developments in Blackwell architecture over Ada Lovelace are evident, but the 5080 also requires more wattage from your PSU at peak compared to the RTX 4080s 320 W TGP.The dark horse amid all this discussion is the Multi Frame gen capabilities. Its the headline feature for all 50-series cards, and it pulls up gaming framerates less dramatically than the 5090 in all cases, but it makes more sense on this card than on a $2,000 GPU. The upgrade path for anybody with a 3080 or even a 4070 Ti is more sensible when you choose the 5080, even though it costs $300 more for the same level of GPU than it did five years ago. Things are more complicated for those with a 4080 orespeciallythe 4080 Super. I would consider the upgrade jumping from a 30-series GPU to a 50-series, but the main reason you would source the new $1,000 RTX 5090 is Multi Frame Gen.The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 is set to launch on Jan. 30 for $1,000.Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition Looks Nearly Identical to the RTX 5090, But Not in PerformanceThe Nvidia RTX 5080, left, and the RTX 5090, right. Photo: Adriano Contreras / GizmodoThe RTX 5080 Founders Edition is exactly the same shell as the RTX 5090 with a color sheen closer to the 40-series Founders edition cards. The 2-slot GPU is as long and wide as Nvidias $2,000 flagship, and it even weighs as much as a brick as the 5090. Its enough that if you dont have support when slotting it into the PCIe slot, you may watch it start to dip while you desperately try to screw it to the tower.Although they look so similar, if you were to judge merely by specs, the RTX 5080 is half the card of the 5090. Its running on 10,752 CUDA cores compared to the 5090s 21,760. The flagship is supposed to support 3352 TOPS of AI processing with the 5th-gen Tensor cores compared to 1801 on the 5080. It packs 16 GB of VRAM compared to 32 GB.But a card is more than just core counts. The base clock speed on the RTX 5080 is 2.3 GHz, and it goes up to 2.62 GHz with a boost clock. The 5090 has a 2.01 GHz base clock and up to 2.41 GHz at max boost. The 5080 also has the added benefit of requiring far, far less power draw. The card demands 360W and claims a required 850W of total PC power compared to the RTX 4080s 750W PSU. The RTX 5090, at peak, will demand 575W from your PSU, which already puts the cards in stark contrast. Thats before you get to performance, where the differences in the same generation are truly striking.See RTX 5080 at Best BuyHow Does the GeForce RTX 5080 Compare to the 5090 and 4080 Super? Photo: Adriano Contreras / GizmodoThe 5090 is not a massive step above the 4080 Super in gameplay, but its significantly less capable of raw graphics processing than the 5090. This isnt a generation-to-generation test but an attempt to see the better buy for most gamers or those needing a high-level GPU without dropping the equivalent of a strong desktop or laptop PC on a single component.Specifically, we compared the RTX 5080 Founders Edition to a $1,130 PNY Nvidia RTX 4080 Super Verto OC GPU and its 2.565 GHz clock speed. In 3D Mark benchmarks, the difference between the three cards is striking. The RTX 4080 Super claims a score of 7,600 in Speed Way and 18,282 in Port Royal for ray tracing benchmarks, but the 5080 will hit 8,692 in Speed Way easily. The RTX 5080 scored close to 1,500 points more in the Steel Nomad benchmark and Time Spy Extreme.If all that sounds like a true generational leap from the one-year-old 4080 Super, then just know that gameplay tells a much different story. My tests were conducted on an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K system with an iCUE H150i Elite liquid cooler, 32 GB of DDR4 5400 MT/s RAM, and a 1,000 W Corsair RM1000e Plus Gold power supply. The RTX 4080 Super and 5080, the extra headroom on the PSU is a bonus, but for the RTX 5090, 1,000 W is necessary. Everything we tested was on a 4K monitor, as if youre buying a $1,000 GPU you want to play it at its peak.In 3D Mark, the 5080 trailed the 5090, equivalent to each cards number of cores and price tags. The RTX 5090 hit 5,667 more points in 3D Mark Speed Way and 6,077 more in Steel Nomad over the 5080. Theres no middle ground between the two GPUs, not when you practically double the number of transistors from one card to the next.For in-game benchmarks in Cyberpunk 2077, the 4080 Super could do a little over 63 FPS with max settings, DLSS balanced settings, and no path tracing. That was without 2x frame gen, but with it, the game maxed out close to 100 FPS. The RTX 5080 edged up to 54 FPS with the same settings and no frame gen. With the 2x frame gen, the game hit 112 FPS in benchmarks. The RTX 4080 Super may only hit 42 FPS in benchmarks with path tracing enabled, but the RTX 5080 may only get close to 45 FPS.Reviewers noted the RTX 5090 could suffer from CPU bottlenecks in some games, though the RTX 5090 still blasted the 5080 with or without frame gen and path tracing enabled. The game made it to 100 FPS without frame gen. These were all the latest drivers provided by Nvidia for reviewers. When planning your upgrade path, I suggest you still look for a next-gen CPU sometime down the road when games can catch up.Playing Hogwarts Legacy, the 5080 without frame gen would hit 40 to 55 FPS outdoors or 60 to 75 FPS indoors. That was with all the ray tracing settings enabled and excluding framegen. While playing Dragon Age: The Veilguard, all settings are maxed without framegen, and the PC with the RTX 5080 would hit around 78 to 90 FPS in outdoor environments. Thats better than the 4080 Super that averaged 77 FPS in the same area. The RTX 5090 would do 100 to 130 FPS outdoors.Theres a Space for Nvidias RTX 5080, and Its Not About Being Second Best Photo: Adriano Contreras / GizmodoThe difference between the RTX 4080 Super and RTX 5080 is simply less striking than the RTX 5080 to 5090, and the cost of each card reflects that. Theres no question that the 5090 is the best consumer GPU you can buy. Its able to hit the fabled 100+ FPS without relying on frame generation, and thats enough for most 4K gaming monitors, the most affordable of which normally hit 120 Hz refresh rates.But let me turn the tables. What if you really demand 160 FPS or above 200 FPS with all the hyped ray tracing settings enabled? What if you want to get a prettyand pretty expensive240 Hz 4K monitor that can make use of the extra frames? The 4x frame gen on the 5080 makes more sense than on the 5090.Cyberpunk 2077, with path tracing and 4x frame gen, was doing 150 FPS.Thats far less than the 5090s 260 FPS with the same settings and same game, but the difference in gameplay is entirely moot.Frame Gen works to such a surprising degree that your average gamer wont be able to tell the difference. If youre looking for issues, you may find the occasional instance of a texture flicker or UI elements that fizzle. The instances are rare, but those with discerning eyes might spot them easier than others. I didnt spot too many issues in my gameplay. I know I would feel perfectly comfortable playing with Frame Gen turned on.Those considering the RTX 5080 should know its not all gravy. Nvidias Multi Frame Gen may not support your favorite game at launch. Some gamers will inevitably get more out of these cards than others. But for a $2,000 RTX 5090 Founders Edition, you could grab the equivalent of $1,000 RTX 5080 and save that money for a high-end 4K monitor with all the fixings.See RTX 5080 at Best Buy

Shanghai, as one of China's most representative global cities, features an architectural vocabulary that seamlessly blends its distinctive "Haipai" (Shanghai style) urban character with an international perspective. The city boasts a rich spatial hierarchy, ranging from the micro-level of alleyways and neighborhoods to the macro-scale of urban planning. From the Suzhou Creek to the Huangpu River, every architectural landmark embodies Shanghai's unique history, culture, and vision for the future.

On Weaving Pavilion, AlMusalla / East Architecture StudioSave this picture!Courtesy of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation. Image Marco CappellettiJeddah, Saudi ArabiaArchitects: East Architecture StudioAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:350 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2025 PhotographsPhotographs:Marco Cappelletti, Mansour Alsofi More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. On Weaving, winner of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation's inaugural AlMusalla Prize, reconciles the historic and contemporary, giving new life to the ancient architectural traditions of Islamic prayer.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!It brings together the legacy of courtyard typologies in places of worship, the tradition of using date palm trees as a building material in Saudi Arabia, and the art of weaving, referencing ancient textile-making techniques indigenous to the Gulf region.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Set within the Western Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, the gateway for pilgrims to Mecca and Medina, the design of the modular musalla meaning a space for prayer is an exemplary study in materiality, craft, contextuality, and communality.Save this picture!Save this picture!Created for the Islamic Arts Biennale in January 2025, the musalla is designed and engineered by EAST Architecture Studio in collaboration with international engineering firm AKT II, and Beirut and San Francisco-based artist Rayyane TabetSave this picture!Save this picture!Not shy in scale to the vast semi-conical vents of the Hajj Terminal's roof above, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the musalla's grand, modular date palm structure pays homage to Saudi Arabia's culture and climate. Date palm, one of the region's most prevalent natural resources, usually a waste product, is here used in abundance creating a truly carbon-negative structure.Save this picture!Save this picture!Drawing on the regional craft and the tradition of weaving, the structure's open central courtyard and woven-like prayer spaces evoke a loom, while its facades weave together palm fronds and fibers. Gaps in the translucent facades conduct and diffuse the light.Save this picture!Set within a landscape grid inspired by the layout of palm tree plantations, used for shade by local populations for millennia, the musalla is in dialogue with the wider desert environment.Save this picture!Save this picture!Conversations continue back in the generous, communal central courtyard, whilst the prayer spaces more contained create a meditative atmosphere. Modular and multifunctional, the musalla, which can be dismantled and reassembled, will have a future life after the Biennale in Jeddah and beyond.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officePublished on January 29, 2025Cite: "On Weaving Pavilion, AlMusalla / East Architecture Studio" 29 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1026283/on-weaving-pavilion-almusalla-east-architecture-studio&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

DeepSeek Success Could Invite Reprise of TikTok BanBy John P. Mello Jr.January 29, 2025 5:00 AM PT ADVERTISEMENTEnterprise IT Lead Generation ServicesFuel Your Pipeline. Close More Deals. Our full-service marketing programs deliver sales-ready leads. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee! Learn more. The Chinese AI app DeepSeek has created a splash in the artificial intelligence world not seen since OpenAI introduced ChatGPT. All the attention garnered by the AI model, however, could pose a threat to its success in the United States, as other technology companies based in countries Uncle Sam considers adversary states have discovered.Although the app is barely out of the starting gate, questions have been raised about it as a threat to national security. Those are the kinds of questions that have sunk U.S. sales of companies like Kaspersky and Huawei and threaten the popular social media app TikTok.[T]he U.S. cannot allow CCP [Chinese Communist Party] models such as DeepSeek to risk our national security and leverage our technology to advance their AI ambitions. We must work to swiftly place stronger export controls on technologies critical to DeepSeeks AI infrastructure, Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., chairman of the Select Committee on China, told NBC News Monday.DeepSeek exploded on the scene over the weekend when it became the top download at Apples App Store in the United States, vaulting AI stalwart ChatGPT. The Chinese app has also been garnering kudos for its speed, efficiency, and mighty reasoning skills.Whats more, it runs on less powerful chips than its U.S. competitors. According to DeepSeek, those chips allow it to train its model for less than US$6 million a fraction of what Google, OpenAI, and Meta are spending to train their models with top-of-the-line processors.If DeepSeeks claims about its technology pass scrutiny, it could dramatically impact the AI industry. There could be less demand for high-octane chipsets, power requirements could be curtailed, and there would be less need for more large-scale data centers, such as those to be built by the Trump administrations $500 billion Stargate project.DeepSeek does force a question about the costs and investments needed to race to AGI outcomes and innovations, said Jeff Le, a former California deputy cabinet secretary.This race is also focused on time but there are energy and infrastructure consequences, especially if there is validation that would force others to relook the recently-announced Stargate project, he told TechNewsWorld.National Security RisksThen theres that national security thing that has tripped up companies like Huawei, Kaspersky, and, most recently, TikTok.In 2018, Huawei was a high-flying smartphone and telecommunications maker. It temporarily pushed Apple to third place in the global smartphone market. However, Huawei smartphones were banned from being sold in the United States due to national security concerns, and its market share never recovered.In 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerces Bureau of Industry and Security prohibited Kaspersky Lab from directly or indirectly providing antivirus software and cybersecurity products or services in the United States or to U.S. persons. The bureau found that the companys continued operations in the United States presented a national security risk due to the Russian governments offensive cyber capabilities and capacity to influence or direct Kasperskys operations.Then theres TikTok, which Washington wants out of Chinese hands for fear its owner, ByteDance, could potentially collect and share sensitive data from American users with the Chinese government.DeepSeek could pose a greater threat to national security than TikTok, maintained Allie Mellen, a senior analyst with Forrester, a national market research company headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. She pointed out that DeepSeeks privacy policy explicitly states it can collect your text or audio input, prompt, uploaded files, feedback, chat history, or other content and use it for training purposes.It also states it can share this information with law enforcement agencies, public authorities, and so forth at its discretion, and that any information collected is stored in China, she told TechNewsWorld.In addition, she continued, the information being submitted into DeepSeek is more wide-ranging. Some are submitting voice recordings, pictures, personal information, and enterprise data and IP into the tool.Portal for Data LeakageRich Vibert, CEO of Metomic, a data privacy and security software company in London, asserted that the likelihood of the U.S. government banning DeepSeek hinges on whether its capabilities are perceived as a national security threat.If the tool demonstrates a potential for large-scale exploitation of vulnerabilities or potential to leak sensitive data, its plausible that regulatory or security agencies might act to restrict its use, he told TechNewsWorld.Such vulnerabilities were reported Monday by Kela, an Israeli threat intelligence company. Kelas AI Red Team was able to jailbreak the [DeepSeek] model across a wide range of scenarios, enabling it to generate malicious outputs, such as ransomware development, fabrication of sensitive content, and detailed instructions for creating toxins and explosive devices, the company reported in a blog.As AI technologies like DeepSeek become increasingly advanced, the risks of failing to secure sensitive data grow exponentially, Vibert said.He noted that while both DeepSeek and TikTok raise concerns about data security, their risks are distinct. Concerns around TikTok focus on the scale of data collection, with fears around where and how that data is stored, he explained. DeepSeek, however, represents a more targeted risk, as it appears to be designed to identify and exploit vulnerabilities on a massive scale. DeepSeek extends national security concerns beyond the consumer privacy issues of TikTok, contended Gal Ringel, co-founder and CEO of MineOS, a data governance platform based in Tel Aviv, Israel. It expands to the potential exposure of proprietary business information, trade secrets, and strategic corporate information, he told TechNewsWorld.Just as TikTok raised red flags about personal data exposure, DeepSeeks AI tools apply the same rules of risk to sensitive corporate information, he said. Organizations must now urgently audit and track their AI assets to prevent potential data exposure to China.This isnt just about knowing what AI tools are being used, Ringel continued. Its about understanding where company data flows and ensuring robust safeguards are in place so it doesnt inadvertently end up in the wrong hands.The parallels to TikTok are striking, but the stakes may be even higher when considering the potential exposure of business data ending up in adversarial hands, he added.Protectionist CamouflageNational security concerns could also be used to camouflage protectionist policies, the way Apple was protected from Huawei and todays social media outfits are being protected from TikTok.Trump is totally unpredictable, so we dont know whats going to happen in terms of a ban, said Greg Sterling, co-founder of Near Media, a market research firm in San Francisco.I think its somewhat premature to speculate, but DeepSeeks storage of U.S. data on Chinese servers with full access by the Chinese government makes it at least the security risk that TikTok is, he told TechNewsWorld.The same logic being applied here would theoretically apply to any Chinese app, he added. So, the government must decide what the general policy is. The EU wont let EU citizens data go to U.S. servers. The U.S. could take a similar position with Chinese apps and completely ban those that pose the most significant risks.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.More by John P. Mello Jr.view allMore in Cybersecurity

A Great Tit pauses with an insect in its beak to feed its young. Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesShareAfter a forest is logged, that land is often re-planted with new saplings. Within a few decades, those trees will have grown pretty big, and the forest will look much like a forest once again, with birds singing among the shade of the boughs.But a new study finds that, despite this apparent rebirth, younger forests may not offer those birds the same quality of habitat as an old-growth forestwith differences between the two forest types stretching all the way down to a cellular level.Researchers in Latvia compared wild forests more than 100 years old with managed pine forests just 40-50 years old. They studied how many insects were living in each forest type by measuring the amount of frass (insect poop and other droppings) that fell from trees. They also took blood samples from 15 day-old great titsa common European songbirdto measure the birds stress levels.In addition, the team measured the length of the birds telomeres, the DNA that sits on the ends of chromosomes and protects those chromosomes from damage. While scientists are still trying to understand exactly what different telomere lengths might mean for health and fitness, some previous studies in birds have found evidence that shortened telomeres were associated with lower survival.The researchers on this new paper found that younger forests had less frass, indicating fewer insects, than the older forests. The great tit nestlings in the younger forests tended to have higher stress levels than nestlings in the older growth forestsand nestlings from those younger forests had, on average, shorter telomeres than nestlings from the old-growth forests.These results, collectively, may tell a story. Since insect larvae are the preferred food for great tit nestlings, the shortage of food may divert energy resources away from growth, which can show up as physiological stress, the researchers write. And stress, they note, has previously been associated with telomere shortening.Its a very complete paper, Simon Verhulst, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, who was not involved in the new research, told Popular Science. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.Telomere shortening is a natural part of cell biology. Telomeres shrink a little bit every time a cell divides, until those telomeres get too short, and the cell dies. And in many species, telomeres generally get shorter with agebut scientists are still trying to understand how, exactly, shortened telomeres might impact an organisms overall health. In humans, for example, while researchers have linked shortened telomeres with a variety of diseases, theyve also found evidence of health risks in people with extra-long telomeres. And while some scientists have previously suggested telomere length could be used as a sort of biological clock, others have suggested that this outlook doesnt really capture what happens to our bodies as we age.Previous research has also found some nuances in the relationship between telomeres and longevity in birds. A study on Seychelles warblers, for instance, found that survival was linked to both shorter telomeres and faster telomere shortening rates. But a study on jackdaws (co-authored by Verhulst), on the other hand, found that while more telomere loss was associated with lower survival, shorter telomeres themselves did not seem to be related to survival. Its also possible that some of the negative health and fitness effects linked to shorter telomeres arent directly caused by those shorter telomeres, but caused by some other factor that also impacts telomere length.The researchers on this new study in Latvia did not find any survival differences between the nestlings from each habitat, although increased mortality could always show up later in life. They also note that other factors could have led to higher stress levels among the nestlings in the younger forests, such as an increased risk of predation on adult birds that somehow impacts the nestlings. In addition, variations in telomere length can be passed from one generation to another, so its possible the great tit parents living in each forest type had different telomere lengths initially and simply passed those differences onto the chicks. One way to test for that would be a cross-foster experimentswitching eggs from one forest type to another.An important extra step would be to do a cross-foster experiment to show that its really something that happens after hatching, Verhulst said.Another possible complication in this new study was the researchers method of measuring insect abundance. Larger trees may simply have more insects to drop frass, which could impact the results if tree sizes werent standardized between forest types. But that doesnt necessarily mean that the studys conclusions are incorrect. I am fully convinced that there is a difference in food availability between these old and young forestsI dont think, actually, their measurements show that, Verhulst said. (The researchers of the new paper could not be reached for comment.)But this isnt the first study to show that habitat modification can impact telomeres in great titsa 2016 paper (with cross-fostering) found that tits from urban environments had shorter telomeres than those from rural areas. And overall, the differences between the birds in this new study indicates that something seems to be different among the great tits in young and old forests, despite the fact that the species is found in both forest types. This study, through their telomere measurements, are showing that there can be sort of cryptic effects on viability of individuals and thereby, possibly, populations, Verhulst said.Thats notable, as old-growth forests are rare in Europe. According to a 2021 report by the European Commission, primary and old-growth represent just three percent of all forests in the EU. If these venerable trees truly offer better habitat to wildlife like great tits, protecting that three percent could be crucial.

Stack CommerceShareWe may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more Lifes too short to let bad weather ruin your day, so why not take control with Weather Hi-Def Radar Storm Watch Plus? Whether youre planning a hike, a road trip, or just trying to avoid getting soaked on your lunch break, this app has you covered. Its like having a pocket-sized meteorologist for lifeon sale for $39.99 for a limited time.Youll have access to real-time radar images, future forecasts, and interactive map layers that give you the full weather story. Keep tabs on everything from hurricanes and tornadoes to wildfire activity and snowfall reports. Want to stay safe? Enable lightning and precipitation alerts so you know when to seek cover or grab a raincoat.Save multiple locations to track weather conditions anywhere, from your hometown to that dream vacation spot. Plus, advanced map overlays let you dive into air quality, water surface temperatures, wind speeds, and more.With widgets for hourly forecasts, snow depth updates, and storm tracks, youll never be out of the loop. Even if Mother Nature throws a curveball, Weather Hi-Def Radar Storm Watch Plus keeps you one step ahead.Its time to stop guessing and start planning!Get ready to own the forecast with lifetime access to Weather Hi-Def Radar Storm Watch Plus for $39.99 (reg. $199).StackSocial prices subject to change.Weather Hi-Def Radar Storm Watch Plus: Lifetime Subscription $39.99See Deal

Death by heartbreak doesn't just happen in stories. In real life, severe stress can cause the sometimes-fatal takotsubo syndrome.

Nature, Published online: 29 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00225-wKeeping it real.