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.

Nature, Published online: 29 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00233-wUnusual detection bolsters evidence that the mysterious signals can be caused by different astrophysical events.

Phoenix LabsDauntless and Fae Farm developer Phoenix Labs announced a round of layoffs tn the majority of the studio.The company shared the news in an official statement: Today is another difficult day at Phoenix Labs. We have made the tough decision to part ways with the majority of the studio as part of unfortunate but necessary changes to our operations. The studio thanked its employees for their contribution to its projects: We recognize and deeply appreciate the contribution of every individual impacted. Their talent, dedication, and creativity have left an indelible mark on our company and our games.Phoenix Labs said it will share updates on how the changes will affect its titles Dauntless and Fae Farm in the coming weeks. For now, our focus is on supporting those affected through this transition.Phoenix LabsTo our industry peers, we encourage you to reach out to these exceptional individuals they are some of the best in the business, the statement concludes.Unfortunately, layoffs are not rare in the video game industry, with plenty of other companies letting go of their workers, such as Starbreeze and Rocksteady, which recently reportedly laid off parts of their teams. Also, there was news that Dont Nod employees voted for a strike following a restructuring and layoffs.Dont forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.Source link The post Dauntless & Fae Farm Dev Phoenix Labs Announced Major Layoffs appeared first on CG SHARES.

Bethesda, Fallout Nuevo Mxico TeamThe massive DLC-sized mod Fallout: Nuevo Mxico has been canceled after several years of development.On the mods Discord channel, the projects Lead Designer announced the end of the work on the mod: I know this isnt the kind of news you were expecting to see today, and trust me, its not easy for me to write this either. After a lot of reflection, Ive made the difficult decision to CANCEL Fallout: Nuevo Mxico.The creator explained that the project takes a lot of time and effort: The team is small (less than 4), the workload enormous, and the costs ahead, both financial and personal, are too great. Continuing forward simply isnt sustainable for me and everyone involved, including Voice Actors.The designer thanked the audience for encouragement and interest: To everyone who supported this project, from the kind words, the feedback, the excitement, to just believing in what we were trying to create, thank you from the bottom of my heart. This message covers everything, so I kindly ask for your understanding.Fallout: Nuevo Mexico was set in the metropolis of Mexico City and presented a dedicated effort to share a unique vision of a post-apocalyptic world in Mexico. At the end of last year, the creation of another Fallout mod, Project Mojave, also stopped. Its production wasnt officially canceled but was put in an indefinite state.Dont forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.Source link The post Fallout: Nuevo Mxico Mod Has Been Canceled appeared first on CG SHARES.

It might be hard to wrap your head around this, but No Man's Sky is getting billions--yes, with an "S"--of new star systems and planets with the Worlds Part 2 update. That's not all, either. Hello Games is also promising the introduction of fresh biomes, flora, and an updated terrain system with deep oceans.On the PlayStation Blog, Hello Games founder Sean Murray detailed what's new with Worlds Part 2, calling it "one of our biggest updates." Murray noted that your home base isn't going anywhere, but now there is more to see and do out in space. For instance, No Man's Sky players can now come across Gas Giants. "These huge worlds can be 10 times bigger than any other planet you have explored previously," Murray wrote. "Gas Giants and deep oceans both require high-level technology to explore. Gas storms, deep-sea pressure, and anomalies bring new hazards and challenges to No Man's Sky."In addition, Murray highlights that Hello Games has reworked the game's lighting system and improved water gameplay for the new deep oceans. Intriguingly, these upgrades are a result from the team's work on Light No Fire, according to Murray. That's the next game from Hello Games, which is an open-world fantasy title featuring dragons.Continue Reading at GameSpot