Body horror is having a moment thanks to The Substance, a movie thats not dissimilar to Sasha Rainbows new Shudder release Grafted. But the New Zealand-set tale also draws on elements that go back to genre king David Cronenbergs foundational works, including The Flyand wraps them in a story that peppers in Mean Girls and even a little Barbie, examining a worst-case scenario in girl world. Grafted begins with a flashback that establishes the unusually strong bond between a girl named Wei and her scientist fatheror make that mad scientist father, since his single-minded pursuit of a cure for the unsightly facial birthmark that both he and his daughter have has pushed him into making some highly questionable choices. In that first scene, he meets a tragic and repulsive end before her frightened young eyes, and though you might think thatd teach her a lesson about being responsible in the lab, it most certainly does not. A few years in the future, Wei (now played by Joyena Sun) leaves China, where she overhears a relative saying shes earned a reputation for being a monster, for Auckland, where a full-ride college scholarship and a free place to live at her aunts house await. A fresh start sounds like just the ticket for the brilliant but socially awkward studentshes agonizingly self-conscious about her appearancebut she immediately has a hard time fitting in, especially since her cousin Angela (3 Body Problems Jess Hong) is constantly rolling her eyes at how lame she is. One of Angelas biggest cruelties is disrespecting the altar Wei uses to pay tribute to her beloved father, a part of their shared Chinese heritage that Angela couldnt be less interested in embracing. Matt Grace/Shudder Before long, the girls sleazy science professor (Jared Turner) zeroes in on Wei, imagining that her fathers old research notebookwhich she clings to like a sacred textcontains the kind of big discovery thatll restore his fading academic reputation. While there is indeed a breakthrough in its pages, as Grafted soon reveals, its nothing thats going to make the world a better place, much less a more beautiful place as Wei fervently hopes. Grafteds first big plot twist presents itself fairly early in the film; we wont spoil any specifics, but its so startling and happens so quickly it might make you wonder where the story can possibly go from there. Things can and do get exponentially worse for Wei, but she also enjoys a few precious moments of surreal joy, testing out new identities for herself when shes briefly freed from the self-perceived ugliness thats entrapped her entire life.While a lot of Grafted is there to make you recoil at its dripping, oozing bad medicine, it also spends time digging into the intricacies of relationships between friends and frenemies, particularly among young women. Sun and Hongas well as Eden Hart as Eve, Angelas Margot Robbie lookalike bestiemake the social tensions feel just as high-stakes as the increasingly gruesome secret Wei is having a harder and harder time hiding. That the young women drift through life mostly unsupervised (Angelas mother is perpetually gone on work trips; her estranged dad is just a voice on the phone) escalates the spiral of chaos that begins to encircle them. Matt Grace/Shudder Thats further enhanced by Grafteds production design, which blends gory crimes in the dark with the neon pink hues of Wei and Angelas housewhere the mood of unease is echoed in the unfinished renovations that clutter its exterior. The film also makes some creative stylistic choices, conveying the anxiety of receiving a bad-news email or text with a quick jigsaw puzzle of editsand hits on the perfect ambient anxiety trigger by giving Angela a small dog that yaps non-stop. It also crescendoes to a finale thats as surprising as it is well-earned, as well as gross as hell.Directed and co-written by New Zealand filmmaker Sasha Rainbow, Grafted begins streaming on Shudder Friday, January 24. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

By AJ Dellinger Published January 23, 2025 | Comments (2) | TikTok logo on a smartphone screen Shutterstock/Sir. David TikTok exists in a sort of limbo at the moment, not technically shut down as it received an extension to find an American buyer under the Trump administration, but not available in the iPhone or Android app stores due to liability concerns. So if youre absolutely fiending for that sweet, sweet infinite scroll of vertical video but didnt remember to install the app on your phone before the soft ban hit, youll have to try your luck on eBay, where people are selling phones pre-loaded with the TikTok app for thousands of dollars. As first spotted by Wired, there are currently about 9,000 eBay item listings for various smartphones that already have TikTok installed. Theres a wide array of devices depending on the preferred make, model, and carrier of your phone. For example, you can grab a TikTok-equipped Samsung Galaxy A54 5G on Consumer Cellular for $250 or a T-Mobile-compatible Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max for $450. But for the most part, if you want one of these TikTok machines, youll have to be ready to fork out much, much more than the MSRP. Most listings have at least three zeros at the end of them, putting the starting price in the thousandslike this iPhone 14 currently listed at $7,500 with, at the time of publication, one person currently holding the item in their cart. There are several listings currently asking in the tens of thousands of dollars, including one that has a list price of $50,000 (or best offer, but either way, youll still have to pay shipping which seems a little petty, frankly). Its worth noting that there is a difference between items being listed at these prices and people actually buying them. While some of the listings for phones with TikTok installed have thousands of views in the last 24 hours, there is a lot more attention than sales. Most of the devices that have sold, as shown by eBays completed sales filter, show that sellers often settled for an offer and not the list price. However, some folks have successfully cashed in on opportunism: There is a listing for an iPhone 16 Pro Max that shows it sold for the $12,999 list price (though the seller has zero history on the platform so its possible its a phony sale). A similar phenomenon like this has happened before. Back when Flappy Bird was all the rage and the creator eventually decided to pull the app for his own personal sanity, phones that had the game installed sold on eBay, too, including one device that produced a bidding war that resulted in a $99,900 winning bid. That sale ultimately got killed by eBay because it requires all phones sold on its platform to be wiped and restored to factory settings before being shipped out.It does appear that eBay still requires factory resets for devices sold through its marketplace, so hopefully, the sellers who have sold a phone with TikTok installed havent spent those earnings quite yet.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Lucas Ropek Published January 22, 2025 By James Whitbrook Published January 21, 2025 By Matt Novak Published January 19, 2025 By Matt Novak Published January 19, 2025 By Justin Carter Published January 19, 2025 By Matthew Gault Published January 17, 2025

Glass Bar | CASACOR Minas 2024 / Balsa ArquiteturaSave this picture! Estdio NYRestaurants & Bars, Restaurant & Bar InteriorsBelo Horizonte, BrazilArchitects: Balsa ArquiteturaAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:185 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:Estdio NY, Henrique QueirogaManufacturersBrands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers: A de arte, Botteh, Cebrace, Classic Mveis, Deca, Elettromec, GALERIA MURILO CASTRO, Home Office Grupo, Infinito Vidros, Lepri Cermicas, Lder Interiores, Mevi Piedras, Pingo Serralheria, TerratileMore SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. Reflecting the concept of CASACOR Minas 2024, the project is based on respect and preservation of the features, pigments, and layers that already existed in the property. On this solid foundation, elements essential for the operation of the bar were added. Functionally, an inviting and comfortable environment was created. The project values the contrast between the old and the new, between textures and materials, and explores opacities, reflections, and transparencies.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The bar counter is made of large stone slabs, and on top of it, another counter made of glass sheets, creating an interesting interplay of layering, transparency, light, and reflections. In the background, the functional bar shelf, entirely made of glass. Glass over glass, in an exercise of exploring a new perspective on this material.Save this picture!The lower lounge was designed to create a more comfortable consumption space. The highlight of the environment is the artwork by artist Vitor Mizael, fixed to the metal structures. The artwork is striking and brings a vibrant color palette to the space. This color palette is reflected in the finishes of the furniture.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Espao 356 - R. Adriano Chaves e Matos, 100 - Olhos D'gua, Belo Horizonte, BrazilLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officeBalsa ArquiteturaOfficeMaterialsMaterials and TagsPublished on January 23, 2025Cite: "Glass Bar | CASACOR Minas 2024 / Balsa Arquitetura" [Bar de Vidro | CASACOR Minas 2024 / Balsa Arquitetura] 23 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1026084/glass-bar-casacor-minas-2024-balsa-arquitetura&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

Each formation is likely hundreds of millions of years old. Credit: Deposit PhotosShareMany seismologists and researchers have long believed the Earth possesses a fast flowing and well-mixed mantle. But that theory may require some revisions according to new findings from researchers at the Netherlands Utrecht University. Their evidence comes from a pair of sunken, continent-sized out of tune geological islands located inside a tectonic plate graveyard 1,800-feet-below the planets surface.Their study, published on January 22nd in the journal Nature, relies on the tones generated during large earthquakes that cause the Earth to vibrate like a giant bell. As an accompanying university announcement explains, seismologists study the planets interior by analyzing these oscillations acoustic signatures. Experts can also then identify anomalies based on whether regions are out of tune, or if their volume is dampened.Over 25 years ago, researchers discovered that some of these deep Earth reverberations pointed to the existence of two underground super-continents hundreds of miles beneath Africa and the Pacific Ocean. At the time, scientists werent sure if these formations near the boundary between Earths mantle and core were a temporary phenomenon, or if they had existed there for millions or billions of years. What they did know, however, was what encased the pair of mysteries.Schematic representation of the process of subduction of tectonic plates and of a mantle plume rising from an LLSVP. In the latter, the mineral grains are larger than those in the subducted plates. Credit: Utrecht University These two large islands are surrounded by a graveyard of tectonic plates which have been transported there by a process called subduction, study co-author and Utrecht University seismologist Arwen Deuss explained in Thursdays announcement. During subduction, a tectonic plate shifts beneath another one, forcing it from the Earths surface down as far as nearly 1,900 feet.The two sub-continents, as well as any other areas causing seismic waves to slow, are known as Large Low Seismic Velocity Provinces, or LLSVPs. One of the principal reasons why acoustic slowdowns occur is due to a LLSVPs hotter temperature compared to its surrounding environment. Duess and collaborators focused on the LLSVPs ability to damp seismic waves, referring to the energy loss that occurs as waves travel through the planet. They paid particular attention to where tones became out of tune, but also how loud or quiet they became during their journeys.Against our expectations, we found little damping in the LLSVP, which made the tones sound very loud there, explained study co-author Sujania Talavera-Soza. But we did find a lot of damping in the cold slab graveyard, where the tones sounded very soft.This contrasted with readings collected from the upper mantle that looked as expecteddamped waves due to hotter temperatures. Talavera-Soza likened the difference to going for a run in hot or cold weather. When its hotter, runners tend to slow down and tire more easily than when temperatures are much cooler.Colleagues suggested moving beyond examining temperatures to investigating an LSVPs mineral composition, particularly the individual grain sizes. According to Duess, grain size proved much more important.Location of the LLSVPs and a schematic representation of the Earths cross-section for speed and damping of the seismic waves. Credit: Utrecht University Deuss explained the slab graveyards LLSVPs are made of small grains that formed after the minerals recrystallize during each formations downward trip into the planet. Smaller grains mean a far greater number of them, as well as a larger number of the tiny gaps between them. Any acoustic waves traveling through these formations lose energy while passing through the many grain boundaries, leading to more damping. But because the two LLSVPs gave off very little damping, their grain sizes must be much larger.Bigger grains also imply these LLSVPs are much more ancient than researchers first hypothesizedat least 500-millionyears-old, but perhaps even reaching past 1 billion years. These mineral grains are also much more rigid, making them capable of resisting the flow of Earths mantle, called mantle convection.After all, the LLSVPs must be able to survive mantle convection one way or another, said Talavera-Soza. 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.The recent discoveries contradict the descriptions of a very fluid and well-mixed mantle found in most geology textbooks. Such a potentially major seismological revision reverberates far beyond LLSVP composition, age, or movement. Understanding how these massive formations grow in size and interact with their surroundings helps better illuminate Earths planetary evolution. It also has implications for the inner workings of volcanoes and mountains.The Earths mantle is the engine that drives all these phenomena, said Duess, who offered mantle plumes as an example. These large pockets of molten material rise through the Earth from deep inside its interior, much like the movement in a lava lamp. Once near the surface, these plumes help to cause volcanic eruptions.[W]e think that those mantle plumes originate at the edges of the LLSVPs, said Duess.

TK Credit: d3sign/Moment via Getty ImagesSharePFAS, more commonly referred to as forever chemicals, are everywhere. Studies have detected the harmful compounds in a plethora of everyday objects, from popular nonstick pans to waterproof clothing and just about anything in between. Now, a new class action lawsuit alleges some of those harmful chemicals are present in several Apple Watch wristbands at worrying levels. The suit was filed in the Northern District of California this week and first spotted by The Register. If true, the complaint only further confirms just how difficult it is to avoid contact with PFAS in everyday life.The suit specifically sets its sights on three Apple Watch band models: The sports band that comes with most devices, the Ocean Band, and the Nike-branded sports band. Each of these, the suit alleges, includes harmful levels of PFAS that are used to make the bands resistant to sweat and skin oil. Lawyers cite a recent study which determined several smartwatch bands had median levels of detectable perfluorohexanoic acid, (773 ng/g,) a PFAS, in much higher levels than found in previous analyzing cosmetics (199 ng/g). Its possible Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) may pass through skin at different levels with wearables than much finer cosmetics. Scientists also have not established clear guidelines on safe levels of PFHxA exposure, though federal agencies do regulate the amount of the compound that can be detected in drinking water. The suit claims Apple could have achieved similar performance with alternative compounds like silicone, but instead opted for PFAS to drive down cost. These choices were made, the suit claims, despite widespread public knowledge of the potential health risks associated with PFAS. 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.[Apple] advertises these Products as designed to support and further human health and wellness, environmentally sustainable, and suitable for everyday use and wear, the suit alleges. However, in truth, they contain excessive levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are toxic to human health and the environment.Apple did not immediately respond to Popular Sciences request for comment.What are forever chemicals?So-called forever chemical refers to a collection of more than 9,000 Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances called PFAS. The substances trace their origin to 1938 with the creation of Teflon. Since then, variations have been used in everything from fertilizer and stain-resistant fabrics to popcorn bags. PFAS are valuable because they bond carbon and fluorine atoms in a way that makes them uniquely resistant to heat, water, and grease. They are also essentially indestructible. That means trace amounts of these chemicals build up in the environment and can take more than a thousand years to fully break down.But PFAS arent just bad for the environment. Small portions of these chemicals seep into soil and drinking water which then inevitably makes its way into human bodies. Their presence has become pervasive. Studies have shown a trace of PFAS detectable in 97% of humans. Studies have also linked PFAS exposure to various health risks including liver and immune system damage, impaired fertility, and low birth weight or birth defects in babies. Other research has associated PFAS with increased rates of prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers.Suit claims Apple engaged in fraudThe lawsuit bases its allegations primarily on a study published in December in the journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters. There, researchers from the University of Notre Dame U conducted an analysis of 22 smartwatch bands from multiple brands and various price points. The team tested samples using particle-induced gamma-ray emission ion beam analysis and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to detect signs of PFAS. Nine of 22 samples were reportedly found to have elevated levels of a PFAS called perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA). Though the study did not specify which brand of strap were implicated, the findings were most prevalent in higher-priced watchbands over $15.The most remarkable thing we found in this study was the very high concentrations of just one PFASthere were some samples above 1,000 parts per billion of PFHxA, which is much higher than most PFAS we have seen in consumer products, study co-author and University of Notre Dame professor Graham Peaslee said in a statement.Peaslee has previously found PFAS in other consumer products like cosmetics, fast food wrappers, contact lenses, and dental floss, among others. Researchers say chemicals in these products can migrate from the material into humans through multiple paths of exposure including inhalation, ingestion, and dermal absorption.In the Apple case, lawyers representing the plaintiffs allege Apple should have known not to include harmful PFAS and taken steps to remove them from their products. The suit suggests possible health risks associated with PFAS might be more pronounced in this case because consumers are encouraged to keep wearable devices on throughout the day, often for long stretches of time. The complaints allege Apple engaged in fraud, fraudulent inducement, concealment, misrepresentation, negligence, and unjust enrichment. It seeks an injunction to halt the sale of the product as well as monetary penalties.PFAS use isnt unique to Apple. Companies across various industries have made efforts to remove PFAS from their products in recent years. Clothing brands like L.L. Bean and Columbia Sportswear have reportedly spent years testing for PFAS and have announced new lines of products free of the substances. Others like The North Face and Vans have pledged to totally eliminate PFAS by 2026. Several states, like New York and California, have enacted laws banning the sale of new clothes found to include so-called forever chemicals. Though there are fewer public examples of consumer tech companies explicitly removing PFAS from wearable products, the lawsuit points to the Google Pixel Watch and FitBit Sport bands, made respectively of recycled yarn and silicone, as examples of competitors using non-PFAS materials.Even if the allegations made in the Apple lawsuit are true, the unfortunate reality is simply removing a smartwatch wont eliminate your risk of interacting with a PFAS. In fact, the most common source of PFAS exposure isnt through tech or clothes; its through the water we drink. A recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) analysis detected PFAS in almost half of the nations tap water. Typical faucet filtration devices arent always effective at removing these chemicals. More sophisticated, under-the-sink reverse osmosis machines are more effective, but studies show they also wont catch all forever chemicals. Luckily, newly enacted EPA rules, at least for now, require local utilities to have PFAS in drinking water down to near-zero levels. But completely avoiding PFAS in a world inundated with cheap, disposable goods is still much easier said than done. Win the Holidays with PopSci's Gift GuidesShopping for, well, anyone? The PopSci teams holiday gift recommendations mean youll never need to buy another last-minute gift card.SEE GIFT GUIDES

Nature, Published online: 23 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00129-9Myostatin, which blocks muscle development, unexpectedly has an effect on ovulation in female mice.

Nature, Published online: 22 January 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08330-yVan der Waals (Cr,Bi)2Te3, synthesized by non-equilibrium molecular beam epitaxy, is characterized by magnetotransport measurements and shown to be a semimetallic Weyl ferromagnet, with Fermi surface composed of two Weyl points and no irrelevant electronic states.

Storm owyn is about to hit the U.K. and Ireland as forecasters warn the explosive "bomb cyclone" will bring snow, rain and potentially deadly superfast winds.

Iceberg A23a is fast approaching the remote British island of South Georgia and the Sandwich islands