By Thomas Maxwell Published January 29, 2025 | Comments (0) | NordVPN says its new NordWhisper protocol will help customers evade VPN blockers. NordVPN NordVPN has announced this week a new protocol it says will enable it to bypass VPN blocks in countries like Russia and India. The companys new NordWhisper protocol, as it is called, is said to mimic regular internet traffic so internet service providers and websites do not know the traffic is coming through a masked service. VPNs are a great way to not only keep internet activities obscured for privacy reasons or access geo-restricted media, but they are especially helpful in countries where authoritarian regimes try and tightly manage the flow of information available to citizens. Unfortunately, it is possible to identify traffic coming from VPNs and cut it off. Way back before Spotify was available in the U.S., I would access it through a VPN; the company would periodically identify that traffic and cut it off. VPNs like NordVPN work by routing internet requests first to one of their own servers, and then passing the request along to the destination. This allows internet users to hide their originan individual may be in India and unable to access content on the U.S. version of YouTube. By sending the request first to a VPN server in the Americas, YouTube does not realize it is actually coming from another country entirely. All it sees is a request for YouTube.com coming from another computer in the U.S. VPNs also ensure all requests are encrypted so they cannot be intercepted on their way to the destination, which is particularly helpful for those in countries less amenable to open expression. Unfortunately, because VPNs will have many requests being sent from one server, website hosts can recognize when a VPN is being used. A constant stream of requests coming from one computers IP address is, of course, unusual behavior. NordVPN claims to have found a way to make traffic from its service look normal, though admits that it may not always work perfectly. It also says the NordWhisper protocol may introduce more latency. The protocol is rolling out first to users on Windows, Linux, and Android. Support for other platforms will come in the future.China and Russia in particular have cracked down on VPN use, forcing Apple to remove related apps from their respective app stores and using other means to block the traffic from passing through internet service providers. Russia has been testing severing its domestic internet connection to the global web altogether. But for now, VPNs still appear to work there. Some VPNs have been criticized for questionable data security practicesusers are sharing all their internet activity with a third-party company, after all, which could be subject to government warrants or other intrusions.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Todd Feathers Published January 14, 2025 By Matthew Gault Published January 13, 2025 By Todd Feathers Published December 26, 2024 By Lucas Ropek Published November 17, 2024 By Matthew Gault Published September 10, 2024 By Matt Novak Published September 5, 2024

Palco House / Cecchi MillanSave this picture! Pedro IngberHousesMara, BrazilArchitects: Cecchi MillanAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:70 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2021 PhotographsPhotographs:Pedro Ingber, Oka FotografiaManufacturersBrands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers: Electrolux, Arteso local, Brastemp, Coral, Deca, Futon Company, La Fonte, Loja Simultnea, Lorenzetti, Marcenaria Armrios e Cia, Mekal, Schneider Eletric, Wandepoxi, reka iluminacaoMore SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. Palco house, designed for a young artist, is located on Algodes Beach, Mara BA. The 70m2 pavilion is a functional architectural solution that houses two suites and a living room with an integrated kitchen. The linear layout of the spaces allows for an opening to the surrounding view and vegetation, with the integration of nature.Save this picture!The landscape is reinforced by large openings, which also allow for natural cross-ventilation and lighting. The deck perpendicular to the main volume extends the usable area of the spaces.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The pavilion's structure is combined with the simplicity of the chosen materials, which harmoniously integrate with the environment. The elevated house adds lightness and permeability to the construction.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officeCecchi MillanOfficePublished on January 29, 2025Cite: "Palco House / Cecchi Millan" [Casa Palco / Cecchi Millan] 29 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1000693/palco-house-cecchi-millan&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

Tropical lowlands that flood during the rainy season and scorch during the sunny season dont exactly sound ideal for agriculture. But the people who lived in what is now Bolivia between 500 A.D. and 1400 A.D. turned those conditions to their advantage by engineering a system of canals to divert excess water and ponds to save it for later. By building a sophisticated irrigation network, the pre-Hispanic Casarabe society of the Llanos de Moxos produced maize year-round ushering in a Neolithic Revolution based on a single grain, according to a report in Nature. This finding contradicts earlier theories that a monoculture was not part of that areas lifestyle.Watering an Agricultural RevolutionAlthough archeological evidence supports maize farming at least 6,800 years ago in Amazonia and 4,000 years back in Mesoamerica, investigation of the Bolivian site provides the first solid evidence of one society relying primarily on a single crop. The societys ability to both divert and store excess water allowed them to harvest at least two maize crops a year. That meant a reliable year-round food source that could support a relatively large society."This intensive agricultural strategy indicates that maize was not only cultivated but was likely the staple crop of the Casarabe culture," Umberto Lombardo, an archaeologist at the Universitat Autnoma de Barcelona and an author of the paper, said in a press release.Early Signs of SustainabilityAlso unusual for the time, archeologists investigating the site found no evidence of slash and burn techniques that other societies used to first clear forests, then fertilize the new fields with ashes. Instead, the Casarabe people likely tapped into the preserved forests for firewood and medicinal plants.The team conducted extensive analysis of the site to reconstruct the complex system of canals and storage ponds. They analyzed 178 plant microfossils to confirm that maize indeed dominated farming there. "The data shows the absence of other types of crops," according to Lombardo.Neolithic Food StabilityLombardo asserts that this innovative piece of engineering allowed for the transformation of a challenging environment into a productive system that ensured food stability and supported the development of a growing population."We can document that this is the first grain-based agrarian economy in the Amazon, where until now it was believed that agriculture was based on agroforestry polyculture and not on large-scale monocultures. Now we know that this was not the case in Llanos de Moxos," says Lombardo.A reliable food source likely allowed the region to both grow and prosper. Collectively, our findings show how the Casarabe culture managed the savannah landscape for intensive year-round maize monoculture that probably sustained its relatively large population, according to the paper. Our results have implications for how we conceive agricultural systems in Amazonia, and show an example of a Neolithic-like, grain-based agrarian economy in the Amazon.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

Researchers say taking steps to prevent battery fires may be more effective than relying on possibly dangerous flame retardants. Credit: Swen Pfrtner/picture alliance via Getty ImagesShareAs wildfires devastated communities in southern California over the past three weeks, an unknown number of highly combustible lithium-ion batteries found in everything from Apple AirPods to Tesla Cybertrucks were engulfed in flames and released dangerous chemical pollutants into the air. Many batteries, particularly in E-Bikes and other products with plastic recharge battery enclosures, have flame retardants added to their outer coatings in an effort to limit their flammability. But researchers writing this week in the journal Environmental Science & Technology say those flame retardants dont seem to be doing much to quell a fires spread and may actually be releasing more health-endangering toxins into the air.Historically, flame retardant use to meet flammability standards has resulted in documented health risks without demonstrated fire-safety benefits for products such as childrens products, furniture, and electronics, scientists from the Green Science Policy Institute wrote in the article.We question requirements that lead to the addition of flame retardants in plastic battery enclosures, they added.Why lithium-ion battery fires are so dangerousBatteries present unique challenges due to the strength and duration at which they burn. When damaged or exposed to high temperatures, like during a fire, a chain reaction called thermal runaway occurs causing the battery to heat up uncontrollably until it finally combusts. These fires are notoriously difficult to quell because they burn at extremely high temperatures and have the ability to reignite. Thats especially true in large electric vehicle batteries which contain far more stored energy than ones found in smaller consumer electronic devices. A single Tesla Model S electric vehicle, for context, reportedly has as much lithium to make as roughly ten thousand iPhones. Battery fires are also dangerously unpredictable. Damage caused to a battery might not lead to a fireball for days or even months later. That means clean-up crews tasked with removing these batteries from areas following fires have to assume they are dealing with invisible, ticking time bombs.In response to those threats, some lithium-ion battery manufacturers have begun using a plastic coating that includes fire retardants in order to meet state flammability standards. Green Science Policy Institute Senior Scientist Lydia Jahl says this practice might be doing more harm than good. As of now, Jahl and her colleagues say there is a lack of clear research proving these chemicals actually do much of anything to slow down battery fires. Jahl says it is unclear what percentage of lithium-ion batteries on the market today are using these chemicals, but they tested several E-bike brands which showed multiple markers of flame retardants in their plastic enclosures.The concern, she noted, is that companies trying to abide by state flame ratings and safety standards may opt to turn to cheap plastics that are coated with flame retardants. Jahl noted these same retardant chemicals have also been added into the electrolyte solution of EV batteries. Once a battery gets damaged or exposed to high temperatures and the chemical reaction begins, the ensuing fire is simply too powerful for these retardants to efficiently mitigate.Trying to stop thermal runaway fires by adding flame retardants to plastic is like adding a screen door to a submarine, Ignition Handbook author and fire scientist Vyto Babrauskas said in a statement. Its a futile effort against an overwhelming force.If thermal runaway does occur, flame retardants might help for a couple of seconds, but they wont be able to contain the fire on their own. Eventually, the fire retardants themselves burn and release additional toxic chemicals into the air. The retardants mentioned by the researchers primarily use the chemicals organohalogens and organophosphates. Past studies have shown these may be linked to increased risks for potential neurological, reproductive, and immune harm when burned and inhaled. They are also linked to increased risks for multiple cancers.When you have a wildfire that goes over an urban area, theres just a whole wide mixture of things that are burning, Jahl said. The battery enclosures and all the plastic in peoples homes, all of that can get mixed into that terrible plume of wildfire smoke.Ubiquitous batteries are making natural disasters even tougher to fightThe sheer amount and growing size of lithium-ion batteries used everyday by consumers are making already deadly natural disaster events more complex. Though these types of batteries date back to the 1970s, their production has rapidly ramped up over the past decade, thanks in no small part to the accelerated adoption of electric vehicles around the world. Nowhere in the US are EVs more plentiful than in the greater Los Angeles area. The California Energy Commission notes residents in LA Country have reportedly registered at least 581,00- plug-in hybrids and EVs over the past 15 years. Nearly 1 in 5 of those vehicles were sold just last year. Even without fire retardant coatings, damaged EV batteries can release several toxic gases including phosphoryl fluoride, hydrogen cyanide, and hydrogen chloride.Local officials say the batteries in those vehicles are already posing challenges to firefighters and clean-up crews sifting through the wreckage. The Californian Office of Emergency Services has reportedly already sent hazmat teams to homes to look for note signs of damaged batteries. These removal teams need to wear fire-resistant clothing and disposable suits as well as special face masks that filter out possible chemicals leaking from the batteries. Extra water is brought onsite to quickly put out new flames that might spark. They have their work cut out for them. The Environmental Protection Agency says it removed over 30 tons of lithium-ion batteries from 94 electric and hybrid vehicles during its clean-up of the Maui fires back in 2023. Battery cleanup for the LA fires will likely make those numbers look small by comparison. 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.This will be from our estimation, probably the largest lithium-ion battery pickup, cleanup, thats ever happened in the history of the world, Environmental Protection Agency incident commander for the Palisades and Eaton fire cleanups Steve Calanog told NBC News earlier this week.Researchers say the best solution to this growing problem might be to focus on making efforts to prevent batteries from combusting in the first place. Jahl and her colleagues at the Green Science Policy Institute say companies and local regulators could enact stricter quality assurances and quality controls to prevent manufacturing defects that might short-circuit and lead to fires. Several US lawmakers have previously called out cheaply made and less regulated Chinese E-bike batteries as being particularly prone to dangerous malfunctions. Jahl says consumer electronic manufacturers can also explore putting in place battery management systems that can continuously monitor the batterys health and temporarily shut the system down if detect the conditions for thermal runaway may be brewing. In some cases, products that have plastic enclosures coated with flame retardants may be able to achieve similar fire ratings by replacing the plastic with less flammable metal.Ultimately, if we can prevent the fires from starting in the first place we dont have to try to solve the problem backward by adding flame retardant, Jahl said.Still, even those efforts may only go so far. In extreme situations like the recent LA wildfires, theres not much that can stop batteries from burning along with everything else in the fires paths. Removing excess fire retardants wont stop that, the researchers say, but at least they wont make an already dangerous situation worse.This doesnt mean we should stop using batteries, Jahl added. In many cases, they directly replace a gasoline engine or huge tanks of natural gas that people use for their homes. Theyre definitely a good thing that is helping us transition to clean energy. We just want to be careful not to add more harmful chemicals than are necessary.

Polar bears need all the help they can get to survive their frosty Arctic environment. One of their biggest survival secrets appears to be greasy hair. The sebumor hair greaseon their fur makes it very difficult for ice to stick. The findings are detailed in a study published January 29 in the journal Science Advances, and could help chemists and engineers develop new anti-ice coatings for more durable fabrics, skis, snowboards, and more.Polar animals as inspirationPolar bears have a thick layer of fat below two layers of fur that help trap their internal body heat. According to Polar Bears International, these layers keep them so warm that adult males can quickly overheat when they run. Ice also does not accumulate on it, despite the bears spending nearly all of their time in and around freezing cold water.Animals living in polar habitats have emerged as a source of inspiration for the development of new anti-icing materials, Richard Hobbs, a study co-author and chemist at Trinity College in Dublin, said in a statement.To learn more about how, the team collected hair from six polar bears in the wild. They measured the adhesion strength of ice to get a sense of how well it can stick to fur. Next, they looked at hydrophobicitythe process that dictates whether water can shed before it freezes. Finally, they analyzed the freezing delay time, or how long it takes for a single drop of water to freeze at certain temperatures on a particular surface. They then compared the performance of polar bear hair with human hair and two human-made ski skins.A polar bears insulating fur shown under infrared heat imaging taken with a FLIR E75 24o (FLIR Systems O, Estonia) Svalbard Archipelago, Norway. CREDIT: Jon Aars, Norsk Polarinstitutt. The sebum quickly jumped out as being the key component giving this anti-icing effect as we discovered the adhesion strength was greatly impacted when the hair was washed, Julian Carolan, a study co-author and doctoral student at Trinity College, said in a statement.Unwashed, greasy hair made it much harder for ice to stick. In contrast, when the polar bear hair was washed and the grease largely removed it performed similarly to human hair, to which ice sticks easily whether it is washed or greasy.A cool concoctionAfter pinpointing the hair grease as the key component for keeping ice off of polar bear fur, they performed a detailed chemical analysis of the sebum. They first identified the key componentscholesterol, diacylglycerols, and fatty acids. This mixture is what makes it difficult for the ice to attach to the fur.However, the team was surprised to see that a fatty metabolite called squalene was missing. Squalene is present in human hair and in aquatic mammals, including sea otterswho dont live in icy conditions, but still need fur that keeps them warm. It is suggested that the absence of the squalene in the polar bear hair was critical from an anti-icing perspective.It also offers insight into some of the ways other animals living in polar environments have adapted to keep ice off of their fur and feathers. For example, the structure of Gentoo penguin feathers repels ice, all without the fatty grease that polar bears use.[ Related: Polar bears adapted to the Arctic just 70,000 years ago. ]Grease as a hunting toolThis grease also helps explain more about the hunting strategies of polar bears and Indigenous Inuit populations. Polar bears deploy still hunting, where they lay motionless next to a breathing hole in the ice. There, they wait for seals to surface.Still hunting frequently develops into an aquatic stalk with the polar bear using its hind paws to slide into the water to pursue its prey, and the lower the ice adhesion, the less noise generated and the faster and quieter the slide, Bodil Holst, a study co-author and experimental physicistat the University of Bergen in Norway, said in a statement.Inuit peoples will also take subtle steps to mimic the polar bears still hunting. Their traditional fur preparation methods also protect the sebum.Inuit hunting stools are sometimes shod with polar bear fur on the feet to avoid noise when moving on the ice, while people also sometimes wear polar bear trousers, ensuring the entire contact area with the ice is covered in low ice-adhesion polar bear fur for optimal noise reduction, said Holst.In addition to learning more about these masters of adaptation, it can help us develop new and safer materials that deflect ice.We expect that these natural lipid coatings produced by the bear will help us to develop new more sustainable anti-icing coatings that may replace problematic forever chemicals like PFAS that have been used as anti-icing coatings, said Hobbs.The post How do polar bears keep ice off their fur? Grease. appeared first on Popular Science.

NewsScience & SocietyTrump orders sow chaos in global public healthIt's basically a declaration of war on public health, says one expert A U.S.-funded public health program called PEPFAR supplies medications to people living with HIV, including this sixteen-year-old girl in Kenya.Brian Inganga/AP PhotoBy Meghan Rosen5 minutes agoU.S. global health programs are in crisis.A recent flurry of executive orders and surprise actions by the Trump administration have roiled the international public health community, leaving healthcare workers scrambling and aid programs in peril.On January 20, President Donald Trump issued anexecutive order pausing U.S. foreign development assistancefor 90 days to assess programmatic efficiencies and consistency. The ripple effects spread immediately. On January 24, the State Department put out astop-work order halting foreign aid work. And on January 27, the Trump administrationplaced dozens of officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave.

Nature, Published online: 29 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00190-4There is indirect evidence that, during the last interglacial period, about 125,000 years ago, parts of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreated. An ice core drilled from the ice sheet near the bordering Ronne Ice Shelf suggests that, contrary to some model reconstructions, the ice shelf survived this period at almost its current extent.

Nature, Published online: 29 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00081-8Bats carry viral pathogens that typically do not lead to severe disease in the bats themselves but can be lethal to humans. Adaptations in certain immune genes might contribute to this resistance.

A miniature gold lock dated to the third to fourth centuries was found by a metal detectorist in Germany.

Alibaba claims that its Qwen2.5-Max artificial intelligence model outperformed its rivals at OpenAI, Meta and DeepSeek.