At the Information Systems Europe (ISE) 2025 audiovisual showcase in Barcelona today, home theater projector makers Optoma unveiled its latest stunner, the Optoma UHZ68LV, a 4K UHD laser projector that boasts a whopping 5,000 lumens of brightness, but comes with the equally-blinding price of 4,000 (approximately $4,982).The Optoma UHZ68LV 4K is a dual-laser, standard-throw projector, which means it needs a runway of between 1 and 10 metres, depending on the size of the image you want. Speaking of which, this is where things get serious, as the UHZ68LV laser projector can turn your living room or man cave space into an impressive home theater, with the ability to project as small as 30 inches all the way up to a massive 300 inches, which translates to roughly 12 feet tall by 22 feet wide, for those with a parking lot at their disposal for a makeshift drive-in.The Optoma UHZ68LV 4K projector OptomaAs mentioned, the peak brightness of the DLP-driven UHZ68LV is 5,000 lumens, and the projector offers a contrast ratio of 3,200,000:1. Movie lovers will appreciate the projectors support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+ HDR formats and Filmmaker mode for excellent contrast and color accuracy, which achieves 90% of the DCI-P3 gamut. Translation: dark darks, bright brights, and dynamic color that should withstand the challenges of ambient light in your room.Recommended VideosOptoma says that picture quality, detail sharpness, and motion smoothness is handled by its latest and most advanced processor for home cinema, the PureEngine Ultra, and calibration modes from the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) that handles governs standards for the display industry, make sure that the projector adapts to your rooms lighting environment.The Optoma UHZ68LV 4K projector OptomaSetup-wise, the UHZ68Ls lens is flexible for your space, with a 1.6-times zoom, lens shift, vertical and horizontal keystone correction, and 360-degree projection, meaning you can setup the UHZ68LV in front, rear, or ceiling-mounted positions, depending on your needs.Please enable Javascript to view this contentFrom the announcement of the UHZ68LV from the ISE showcase, only the price of 3999.99 was given (U.S. $4,981.62), with no availability dates made public as yet.Editors Recommendations

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The digital identity verification provider will recognize $11 million in restructuring charges during the fourth quarter, which will primarily be paid in the first quarter of fiscal 2026.

no more slipping and sliding Gecko feet inspire anti-slip shoe soles Adding zirconia nanoparticles to the mix enhances slip-resistant hydrophilic effects. Jennifer Ouellette Feb 4, 2025 11:07 am | 1 Close-up of a Tokay gecko's toe pads. Credit: Yi Song Close-up of a Tokay gecko's toe pads. Credit: Yi Song Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreGecko feet have inspired many intriguing applications, including a sticky tape, adhesives, a "stickybot" climbing robot, and even a strapless bra design. Now, scientists have developed a new kind of anti-slip polymer that sticks to ice, inspired by the humble gecko. Incorporating these polymers into shoe soles could reduce the number of human slip-and-fall injuries, according to a paper published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.As previously reported, geckos are known for being expert climbers; they're able to stick to any surface thanks to tiny hair-like structures on the bottoms of their feet. Those microscopic hairs are called setae, each of which splits off into hundreds of even smaller bristles called spatulae. It has long been known that at microscopic size scales, the so-called van der Waals forcesthe attractive and repulsive forces between two dipole moleculesbecome significant.Essentially, the tufts of tiny hairs on gecko feet get so close to the contours in walls and ceilings thatelectrons from the gecko hair molecules and electrons from the wall molecules interact with each other and create an electromagnetic attraction. That's whatenables geckos to climb smooth surfaces like glass effortlessly. Spiders, cockroaches, beetles, bats, tree frogs, and lizards all have varying-sized sticky footpads that use these same forces.Geckos and their unusual feet have long been of great interest to scientists. In 2013, for instance, researchers designed a reusable dry adhesive inspired by the gecko's feet that easily stuck to smooth surfaces, adhering strongly when pushed forward and sliding off when pulled backward. In 2020, Berkeley scientists investigatedwhy soft, hairy gecko toes only "stick" in one direction. And in 2022, scientists found that gecko feet are coated with an ultra-thin layer of lipid molecules in an upright orientation. This might serve to push away any water beneath the spatulae, allowing the spatulae to make closer contact with the surface, thereby helping the geckos maintain their grip on wet surfaces.Just add zirconia nanoparticles... Credit: V. Richhariya et al., 2025 It's the "hydrophilic capillary-enhanced adhesion"of gecko feet that most interested the authors of this latest paper. Per the World Health Organization, 684,000 people die and another 38 million are injured every year in slips and falls, with correspondingly higher health care costs. Most antislip products (crampons, chains, studs, cleats), tread designs, or materials (fiberglass, carbon fiber, rubber) are generally only effective for specific purposes or short periods of time. And they often don't perform as well on wet ice, which has a nanoscale quasi-liquid layer (QLL) that makes it even more slippery.So Vipin Richhariya of the University of Minho in Portugal and co-authors turned to gecko toe pads (as well as those of toads) for a better solution. To get similar properties in their silicone rubber polymers, they added zirconia nanoparticles, which attract water molecules. The polymers were rolled into a thin film and hardened, and then a laser etched groove patterns onto the surfaceessentially creating micro cavities that exposed the zirconia nanoparticles, thus enhancing the material's hydrophilic effects.Infrared spectroscopy and simulated friction tests revealed that the composites containing 3 percent and 5 percent zirconia nanoparticles were the most slip-resistant. "This optimized composite has the potential to change the dynamics of slip-and-fall accidents, providing a nature-inspired solution to prevent one of the most common causes of accidents worldwide," the authors concluded. The material could also be used for electronic skin, artificial skin, or wound healing.DOI: ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2025. 10.1021/acsami.4c14496 (About DOIs).Jennifer OuelletteSenior WriterJennifer OuelletteSenior Writer Jennifer is a senior writer at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. Jennifer lives in Baltimore with her spouse, physicist Sean M. Carroll, and their two cats, Ariel and Caliban. 1 Comments

Ugh Sick right now? Flu is resurging to yet a higher peak this season. Few seasons see two peaks at such high intensity. Beth Mole Feb 4, 2025 10:56 am | 6 HUNTINGTON PARK-CA-AUGUST 28, 2024: Vaccinations are available at CVS in Huntington Park on August 28, 2024. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Credit: Getty | Christina House HUNTINGTON PARK-CA-AUGUST 28, 2024: Vaccinations are available at CVS in Huntington Park on August 28, 2024. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Credit: Getty | Christina House Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreWhile H5N1 bird flu ratchets up anxiety and egg prices, seasonal influenza viruses are rallying to a second high this winter, an uncommon course not seen in most years.Flu cases had previously peaked this season at the very end of December. At week 52ending on December 28the percentage of outpatient visits related to influenza-like illnesses (ILI) hit about 6.76 percent, then ticked down the first week of 2025 (week 1). The percentage of ILI visits is the standard metric for tracking flu activity, which tends to peak at around 7 percent or lower in a given season. The 20092010 flu seasonwhen the novel H1N1 (aka swine flu) emergedstands out for hitting a decades' high of 7.7 very early in the season (week 42). Credit: CDC While ILI visits continued to decline in week 2 of this year, things took a turn in week 3. In the latest data for week 4ending on January 25the ILI visits are back up to about 6.95 percent. Few flu seasons have two peaks, particularly at such high intensities. A notable exception was the 20192020 flu season, which had three peaks: 7 percent at week 52, 6.8 percent at week 6, and 6.4 percent at week 12. After that, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and influenza activity plummeted below baseline levels. The 20202021 flu season was essentially nonexistent, with ILI activity staying well below baseline for the entire season.Currently, flu activity is categorized as "very high" in 29 states, and "high" in 15. States in the South are ablaze with flu. Louisiana, Tennessee, and South Carolina are at the highest "very high" level. But parts of the Northeast corridor are also seeing extremely high activity, including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York City. Credit: CDC As often is the case in flu seasons, the age group hardest hit this year are children ages 0 to 4. The CDC recorded 16 pediatric deaths linked to flu in week 4 of the season, bringing the season's total pediatric deaths to 47.Overall hospitalizations are up. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there have been at least 20 million illnesses, 250,000 hospitalizations, and 11,000 deaths from flu so far this season. About 44 percent of US adults have gotten their flu shot, far below the public health goal of 70 percent.Laboratory surveillance of influenza cases in week 4 indicates that nearly all of the cases are from influenza A viruses, about an even split between H1N1 and H3N2, which has been the case over the course of the season. Around 2 percent of cases were the influenza B Victoria lineage.Beth MoleSenior Health ReporterBeth MoleSenior Health Reporter Beth is Ars Technicas Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes. 6 Comments

Four nuclear startups plan to build power plants at Texas A&M University.Texas officials see nuclear as a way to meet skyrocketing electricity demand from AI data centers.The university is seeking $200 million from state legislators to help finance the nuclear projects.Texas' largest university plans to be a test bed for small nuclear reactors that could help meet the state's skyrocketing electricity demand from data centers, population growth, and extreme weather.The Texas A&M University System on Tuesday said it's leasing land to four nuclear startups that specialize in small modular reactors, or SMRs, which are about one-third of the size of traditional nuclear power plants. The startups aim to build commercial reactors that can provide power for the university and the Texas power grid, officials said.To date, no commercial SMR has been built in the US and only a few exist in Russia and China. Development is picking up speed, especially as tech giants search for low-carbon, around-the-clock electricity for data centers with the computing power for artificial intelligence. But it's unclear when the first SMR might come online in the US, with forecasts ranging from five to 15 years."Hopefully we're the first of many places that have a proving ground for new energy technologies," Joe Labd, vice chancellor for research at Texas A&M, told Business Insider. "Energy demand, not just in the state of Texas, but across the nation and globally, is rising at a very fast pace, particularly as companies construct data centers."Texas' main grid operator forecast that power demand will nearly double by 2030, driven mainly by requests to plug into the grid from data centers and crypto-mining facilities. A similar trend is playing out in states like Virginia, Arizona, and Nebraska.The arrival of the Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek which promised to be a cheaper and more energy-efficient model cast some doubt about AI-driven electricity demand and sent nuclear stocks plunging on January 27. They've since recovered, buoyed by President Donald Trump's formation of Stargate, a joint venture between Oracle, OpenAI, and SoftBank to build AI data centers, including in Texas.Even before the announcement of Stargate, Texas was already dealing with a stressed power grid. Its vulnerabilities were exposed during a 2021 winter storm that froze gas production, power plants, and wind turbines and left millions of people without heat and power for days. At least 200 people died.The promise of small nuclearSince then, Texas officials have been trying to shore up the grid including by making the state a leader in advanced nuclear power. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in November outlined a strategy with seven recommendations, including a new state office and energy fund dedicated to supporting advanced nuclear projects. A rendering of the SMR test site at Texas A&M University campus. The Texas A&M University System Proponents of SMRs argue that they could be a source of 24/7 power without producing greenhouse gas emissions, unlike gas plants that at least in the short term are going to be built to power data centers. Smaller reactors could be deployed faster and cheaper than traditional nuclear power plants, which have been plagued by cost overruns and delays. The country's most recent large nuclear plant, built by Georgia Power, arrived seven years late and $17 billion over budget.However, some academic critics worry that SMRs will have a similar fate and leave taxpayers on the hook. In 2023, the startup Nuscale canceled what was set to be the first commercial SMR project in the US after utility customers backed away due to rising costs and delays. The project was backed by a $1.4 billion cost-share deal with the federal government. Environmental groups are also concerned about the radioactive waste that nuclear power produces and where it will be stored.For its part, Texas A&M is partnering with four other nuclear startups: Kairos Power, Natura Resources, Terrestrial Energy, and Aalo Atomics. The university has asked Texas legislators for $200 million for its new energy proving ground.The proposed site at Texas A&M is large enough to accommodate multiple SMRs with a combined output of more than one gigwatt, university officials said. That is enough to power about 200,000 homes. Until now, there hasn't been a suitable site for building clusters of nuclear reactors that can supply the power needed for AI innovation and other projects, officials said.Mike Laufer, co-founder and CEO of Kairos Power, told Business Insider the company is still evaluating how many reactors it might build at the Texas A&M site. In October, Kairos also struck a deal with Google, which said it plans to buy power from multiple SMRs.Douglass Robison, founder and President of Natura Resources, said the company plans to build one commercial reactor."We need to demonstrate that you can license an advance reactor," Robison said. "That's been one of the big concerns, particularly from the investment community."Both Kairos and Natura have received construction permits from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for demonstration SMRs, but not commercial-scale plants.

The necropolis is located right near the entrance.Tombs and other burial markers can be found along the road through the necropolis. Sarah May Grunwald Located at the park's entrance, just outside the city walls, the necropolis shows how Romans used to celebrate the dead.Elaborate tombs honor the dead, and mosaics depict the underworld.There are also tombs with banquet tables where the living would celebrate the life of the deceased.At the center of the ancient city, you'll find the forum.There are remains of temples and central buildings in the forum. DEA / M. BORCHI / Contributor/Getty Images The main square, known as the forum, was the center of the city's political and social life. The remains of the Capitolium and the Temple of Rome and Augustus can be seen nearby.From the forum, you can also observe how Roman cities were essentially built in a grid.The thermopolium was almost like an ancient fast-food chain.You can still see faint images of the menu on the walls. Sarah May Grunwald The thermopolium, essentially an ancient fast-food restaurant, served hot food and drinks to locals and travelers.The remains of the service counter and frescoes depicting the menu are still visible.Wealthy residents used to live in the House of Diana.There's a mosaic of the goddess Diana on the building. Sarah May Grunwald The House of Diana is a well-preserved residence that belonged to a wealthy merchant in Ostia Antica.It was decorated with fine mosaics and frescoes, and the house takes its name from a mosaic depicting the goddess Diana.Public baths were commonplace in ancient Rome.There were typically public and private bathhouses in a Roman city. Sarah May Grunwald The Roman Empire was known for its public bathhouses, which were equipped with hot and cold pools, saunas, and massage rooms.Public bathing was an art form in ancient Rome. Baths served as a place for socialization, relaxation, and personal hygiene for all classes of society.There are several public and private baths in Ostia Antica.The public Baths of NeptuneIn contrast, the private Baths of the Seven Sages are much smaller and would've been used by residents of nearby buildings. Its circular frigidarium (room for the cold bath) is paved with an incredible mosaic depicting hunting scenes and plants.One of the most social spots in town was the public latrines.The public toilets served as a gathering space. Massimo Salesi/Shutterstock The various public latrines (toilets) are where ancient Roma comes to life.Romans would come in with a stick, and the attendant would give them a clean sponge to attach to the end of it so they could wipe.It was common for people to sit on the latrines while chatting and gossiping using the toilets was a social activity.You can still catch a show at the ancient theater.The stone structure has been in use for thousands of years. Sarah May Grunwald The theater at Ostia Antica is one of the best-preserved in Italy and seats up to 3,000 people.In ancient times, it was primarily used for plays, music performances, and gladiatorial games.Today, it still hosts summer performances of contemporary and classical music, ballet, and more. That means the theater has been in use for about 2,000 years.If you want to dive deeper into the culture, check out the Ostia Antica Museum.Copy of a statue at Ostia Antica the original is in the museum. Sarah May Grunwald The Ostia Antica Museum displays artifacts found during excavations of the ancient port city, including statues, pottery, and jewelry.These smaller, site-specific museums are often full of little-known treasures. It's definitely worth a visit.This story was originally published in February 2024 and most recently updated on February 4, 2025.

One analyst has claimed Nintendo may have "overestimated" the Switch's popularity this late into the life cycle, as fans have been waiting for Switch 2

Looking for a gift for you fitness-focused Valentine? Find something that tells your partner you love them, whether they are a runner, rock climber, or regular gym goer. As part of a limited time deal, you can save 20% on the Fitbit Inspire 3 fitness smartwatch. Normally the watch goes for $100, but after the discount, you can get it for just $80 over at Amazon. Thats a savings of $20.The Fitbit Inspire 3 is your fitness friend and coach, be it running on the road or hitting the gym. There are over 20 different exercise modes to take part in, and exercise tracking starts up automatically when the watch detects a workout. You can see your stats whether youre lifting at the gym, kayaking, you name it. It can connect to your smartphones GPS for use during outdoor workouts to track mileage and running pace.See at AmazonMonitor your heart rate 24/7 to measure the intensity of your workouts. Itll let you know when fat burn, cardio or peak zones so you can adjust your effort to match your goals. Heart rate monitoring can also be used to keep an eye on your health. You can check for signs of irregular heart rhythm which could be caused by atrial fibrillation (AFib). Other health metrics it will take a look at are your blood oxygen levels, skin temperature, and more.Ready to Take on the DayEnjoy more restful nights and feel reenergized when youre woken up in the morning. The watch can be set to vibrate during the optimal sleep stage to leave you refreshed as you open your eyes. Youll be assigned a sleep score and be ale to track your light, deep, and REM sleep along with sleeping heart rate so you can measure how consistent your sleep is.The Fitbit Inspire 3 can motivate you to get active during the day. Been sitting around too long? You wrist will buzz with a notification letting you know its time to get up and go for a walk.Youll also have access to a handful of stress management tools. The Fitbit Inspire 3 can give you a full breakdown of your stress management score based on heart rate and other factors, and provide you with guided breathing sessions which can help foster healthier ways to handle it.Right now,Amazon has the Fitbit Inspire 3 for the low price of just $80. Its currently going for a full 20% off, amounting to $20 in savings. Get it now for yourself or as a gift this Valentines Day.See at Amazon

By Matthew Gault Published February 4, 2025 | Comments (0) | The hole left behind after Treyarch's co-founder crashed a drone into a firefighting plane. FBI photo. Peter T. Akemann, the co-founder of the Treyarch video game studio, has pleaded guilty to recklessly flying a drone during the California wildfire. According to his own admission, the video game exec launched a DJI drone during the fires last month and it crashed into a firefighting plane. Hell pay $65,169 to repair the plane and do 150 hours of community service related to wildfire relief. Akemann is a 56-year-old gaming veteran with a long history in the industry. Treyarch, the studio he co-founded, is responsible for the Tony Hawks Pro Skater franchise and the Black Ops run of Call of Duty games. On January 9, as wildfires raged across California, Akemann drove to the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California. He went to the top floor of a parking lot there and launched a DJI Mini 3 Pro towards the Pacific Palisades with the goal of surveilling the fire. Defendant flew the Drone at least 2500 meters away from its launch point and lost visual sight of the Drone while flying it, according to court records. Then the DJI drone crashed into a Super Scooper firefighting plane that was on hand to dump water onto the fires. The crash tore a 3-inch by 6-inch hole in the left wing and it had to land. According to local news, the crash delayed firefighting efforts by a half-hour. The reaction to the crash was swift. The FBI recovered pieces of the drone and set up a website the same day as the crash to help them find the drones owner. Photos on its Most Wanted website show the hole torn in the left wing as well as the remnants of the DJI drone. People arent supposed to fly drones around during a natural disaster like this, but it happens all the time. The DJI app communicates with ADS-B and FAA systems to alert drone operators of nearby aircraft, flying limits, and other restrictions. But those warnings can be bypassed. At the time, the Federal Aviation Administration had issued Temporary Flight Restrictions that prohibited drone operations near the Southern California wildfires, including the Palisades Fire, court records said.DJI also has the ability to use geo-fencing to restrict drone access to certain areas and those geo-fencing restrictions were in place for some of the fires. Despite that, Californias state fire department reported 168 drone incursions into restricted airspace during the wildfires. DJI also took the odd step of eliminating its geo-fencing policy altogether with a software update on January 13. The drone crash had happened four days before. DJI said that this update was made to comply with European and U.S. regulations. In these zones, in-app alerts will notify operators flying near FAA designated controlled airspace, placing control back in the hands of the drone operators, in line with regulatory principles of the operator bearing final responsibility, it said in a press release about the changes. At the end of the day, the drone operator is responsible for following the rules. We put this in place about 12 years ago. Regulators have had time to catch up, and none of them have chosen to mandate geo-fencing, Adam Welsh, DJIs Global Head for Public Policy told NBC News 7 in California. In effect, geo-fencing wouldnt stop those bad actors in the first place. If youre a person of bad intent, you would have disabled the geo-fencing anyway.Welsh is a corporate head of a major tech manufacturer, but hes also not wrong. Akemann flew his DJI Min 3 Pro into a wildfire. Its possible to bypass geo-fencing on a consumer drone, fly it beyond your line of sight, and break all kinds of other laws. The ultimate responsibility is on the person flying the drone. Akemann, at least, admitted that he screwed up in a court of law and came forward to face the consequences. Public officials were harsh in their ritual scolding of Akemann in the DOJ press release about his guilty plea. Lack of common sense and ignorance of your duty as a drone pilot will not shield you from criminal charges, Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBIs Los Angeles Field Office said. Please respect the law, respect the FAAs rules and respect our firefighters and the residents they are protecting by keeping your drone at home during wildfires.This defendant recklessly flew an aircraft into airspace where first responders were risking their lives in an attempt to protect lives and property, Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally said. This damage caused to the Super Scooper is a stark reminder that flying drones during times of emergency poses an extreme threat to personnel trying to help people and compromises the overall ability of police and fire to conduct operations.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Isaac Schultz Published February 3, 2025 By Isaac Schultz Published January 31, 2025 By Lucas Ropek Published January 28, 2025 By Matt Novak Published January 27, 2025 By Matthew Gault Published January 16, 2025 By Matt Novak Published January 15, 2025