The centre in Mitchell Lane, which opened in 1999 and is run by Glasgow City Council (GCC), shut its doors during the pandemic and has only been open to the public on a handful of occasions since.Now, a possible operator has emerged to take over the running of the former Glasgow Herald building (1895), designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and refurbished by Page\Park 26 years ago.However, the new plans, which have been put to Glasgow City Councils Contracts and Property Committee, do not include the retention of the National Architecture Centre within the building.AdvertisementUnder the proposals, Scottish start-up Sustainable Ventures would lease the Lighthouse from the local authority to create a Net Zero Innovation Hub to support local SMEs, council papers said. That would see public access restored for education focusing on the renewable energy sector.RIAS president Karen Anderson said that, while she welcomed the plans to give this important historical building [a] long-term future, the loss of the dedicated centre for architecture, urban design, and regeneration would be a tragedy for Scotland.Anderson continued: In these hugely challenging times for Scotlands cities and towns, and in the face of the climate emergency and economic turbulence, such spaces are important in bringing the public and professionals together to address the challenges of regenerating cities and historic buildings.The lessons from the ambitious, but ultimately abandoned, Lighthouse project should be learned by the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council alike, as part of efforts to refresh architecture, planning, and regeneration policy in Scotland. As ever the RIAS stands ready to assist those endeavours.Advertising the Lighthouse on Glasgows Buchanan StreetReports of the potential reopening of the Lighthouse first emerged earlier this month. The council told the AJ at the time that it could not confirm during these confidential discussions whether the architecture centre would be kept.AdvertisementEarlier this month a council spokesperson confirmed that the Lighthouse currently remained closed to the public because the local authoritys budget did not enable the building to be staffed to accommodate members of the public.However, they added that there were still some commercial tenants in the building who had access as part of their lease agreements.Paul Sweeney, Labour Glasgow MSP, argued that the Lighthouses introverted and esoteric curation as a centre for architecture and design, rather than the use itself, had been barrier to its use over time, saying: Often its exhibits only really appealed to a professional audience, so it failed to attract significant visitor numbers.He added: The Lighthouse is one of Glasgows most iconic buildings with unrivalled views of the city centre [but] It has been deeply disappointing that Glasgow City Council hasn't reopened the much-loved building since the pandemic.With the Glasgow School of Art restoration still in limbo and the Martyrs School in Townhead now up for sale [both by Mackintosh], it's hard not to wonder if Glasgow risks squandering its greatest architectural legacy. It would be my preference to see the council seek a long-term lease rather than sell the Lighthouse.Glasgow City Council will vote on the future use of the Lighthouse on 6 February.The council has been contacted for comment.Gareth Hoskins Architects: People and Place exhibition, pictured here at The Lighthouse, Glasgow in 2008Comment:Paul Sweeney, Labour MSPOne of the main problems with the Lighthouse was ultimately its rather introverted and esoteric curation as a centre for architecture and design, rather than the use itself. Often its exhibits only really appealed to a professional audience so it failed to attract significant visitor numbers. Similar centres have been better curated and appealed to a wider audience I think a more popularly curated space focusing on Glasgows architectural history as well as being a public forum to immersively view the city model (The 3D model of Glasgow which can be used to plot major developments, identify flood risk and respond to incidents Glasgow Live) and engage with current planning applications could be a more useful way to maintain the public space, even if part of the building is to be let out for commercial purpose. Glasgows version of the London Centre could be a great success.I also hope that the wonderfully playful signage by Javier Mariscal is maintained: see Light touch for the Lighthouse in Design Week.My ultimate dream for the building is to turn it into Glasgows version of Hamburgs Miniatur Wunderland by inviting all the countrys model rail enthusiasts to build a permanent exhibition space on its floorplates.Malcom Fraser, Fraser/Livingstone ArchitectsScotlands Policy on Architecture has long been to booster a glam, publicly-supported and insulararent we wonderfulexceptionalism while actively undermining the conditions that allow good architecture to flourish PPP and its derivatives, Procurement Hell and affordable housing now led by Mass Housebuilders. Most telling is how the formal adoption of the proudly-proclaimed Worlds First National Policy on Architecture around the turn of the century almost exactly coincided with the near-strangulation of the emergence of vigorous new Scottish practices a few wonderful ones have appeared but they are swimming against the tide.The Lighthouse was, at its worst, a displacement activity: our built environment input is severely curtailed, but heres a nice exhibition to sink all our love and care, time and effort into. Its loss is a simple reflection of the huge disconnect between boosterism and reality. For me, a commercial tech hub is a fine use of this physically introverted site Paul Sweeny is right, what Glasgow needs is a much simpler, public-facing shop window for a big 3d model; and what Scotland needs is policy that allows architects to be at the table, to tackle the carbon, housing and public building crises we face.

The iPhone 16 Prois able to take superb images from its three rear cameras. Its seriously impressed us with its photos in any conditions and that's to say nothing of its impressive 4K slow motion mode. Its multiple crystal-clear lenses and new Photographic Styles offer a lot for even the most demanding of photographers. It even put up a strong fight against the best camera phones around, including the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Pixel 9 Pro and the Xiaomi 14 Ultra.Read more: iPhone 16 Pro takes on Xiaomi 14 UltraBut it's still not the perfect camera. As both an experienced phone reviewer and a professional photographer, I have exceptionally high expectations for top-end phone cameras and having used the iPhone 16 Pro since its launch, I have some thoughts on what needs to change.Here are the main points I want to see improved on the iPhone 17 when it likely launches in September 2025.Larger image sensorThough the 1/1.28-inch sensor found on the iPhone 16 Pro's main camera is already a good size -- and marginally larger than the S24 Ultra's 1/1.33-inch sensor -- I want to see Apple go bigger. A larger image sensor can capture more light and offer better dynamic range. It's why pro cameras tend to have at least "full frame" image sensors, while really high-end cameras, like the amazingHasselblad 907X, have enormous "medium format" sensors for pristine image quality. Even on pro cameras, sensor size is important. Even the full-frame image sensor in the middle is dwarfed by the medium format sensor on the right. Phone camera sensors don't come anywhere near to this size. Andrew Lanxon/CNETXiaomi understands this, equipping its 14 Ultra with a 1-inch type sensor. It's larger than the sensors found on almost any other phone, which allows the 14 Ultra to take stunning photos in a variety of conditions -- including Taylor Swift concerts. I'm keen to see Apple at least match Xiaomi's phone here with a similar 1-inch type sensor. Though if we're talking pie-in-the-sky wishes, maybe the iPhone 17 could be the first smartphone with a full-frame image sensor. I won't hold my breath on that one -- the phone, and the lenses, would need to be immense to accommodate it, so it'd likely be more efficient just to let you make calls with your mirrorless camera.Variable apertureSpeaking of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, one of the other reasons that phone rocks so hard for photography is its variable aperture on the main camera. Its widest aperture is f/1.6 -- significantly wider than the f/1.78 of the iPhone 16 Pro.That wider aperture lets in a lot of light in dim conditions and more authentically achieves out-of-focus bokeh around a subject. The streetlight outside this pub has been turned into an attractive starburst thanks to the variable aperture of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. Andrew Lanxon/CNETBut Xiaomi's aperture can also close down to f/4, and with that narrower aperture, it's able to create starbursts around points of light. I love achieving this effect in nighttime imagery with the phone. It makes the resulting images look much more like they've been taken with a professional camera and lens, while the same points of light on the iPhone just look like roundish blobs.More Photographic StylesThough Apple has had various styles and effects integrated into the iPhone's cameras, the iPhone 16 range took it further, with more control over the effects and more toning options. It's enough that CNET Senior Editor Lisa Eadicicco even declared the new Photographic Styles her "favorite new feature on Apple's latest phone."I think they're great too. Or rather, they're a great start. The different color tones, like the ones you get with the Amber and Gold styles, add some lovely warmth to scenes, and the Quiet effect adds a vintage filmic fade, but there's still not a whole lot to choose from. I'd love to see Apple introduce more Photographic Styles with different color toning options, or even with tones that mimic vintage film stocks from Kodak or Fujifilm. I like the warmer tones produced by the iPhone's Amber style in this image, but I'd definitely like to see more options for getting creative with color tones. Andrew Lanxon/CNETAnd sure, there are plenty of third-party apps like VSCO or Snapseed that let you play around with color filters all you want. But using Apple's styles means you can take your images with the look already applied, and then change it afterward if you don't like it -- nothing is hard-baked into your image.Better ProRaw integration with Photographic StylesI do think Apple has slightly missed an opportunity with its Photographic Styles, though, in that you can use them only when taking images in HEIF (high-efficiency image format). Unfortunately, you can't use them when shooting in ProRaw. I love Apple's use of ProRaw on previous iPhones, as it takes advantage of all of the iPhone's computational photography -- including things like HDR image blending -- but still outputs a DNG raw file for easier editing.The DNG file typically also offers more latitude to brighten dark areas or tone down highlights in an image, making it extremely versatile. Previously, Apple's color presets could be used when shooting in ProRaw, and I loved it. I frequently shot street-style photos using the high contrast black-and-white mode and then edited the raw file further. I do a lot of street photography in black and white, and I'd love more flexibility to take ProRaw shots in monochrome. Andrew Lanxon/CNETNow using that same black-and-white look means only shooting images in HEIF format, eliminating the benefits of using Apple's ProRaw. Oddly, while the older-style "Filters" are no longer available in the camera app when taking a raw image, you can still apply those filters to raw photos in the iPhone's gallery app through the editing menu.LUTs for ProRes videoAnd while we're on the topic of color presets and filters, Apple needs to bring those to video, too. On the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple introduced the ability to shoot video in ProRes, which results in very low-contrast, almost gray-looking footage. The idea is that video editors will take this raw footage and then apply their edits on top, often applying contrast and color presets known as LUTs (look-up tables) that gives footage a particular look -- think dark and blue for horror films or warm and light tones for a romantic drama vibe.But Apple doesn't offer any kind of LUT for editing ProRes video on the iPhone, beyond simply ramping up the contrast, which doesn't really do the job properly. Sure, the point of ProRes is that you would take that footage off the iPhone, put it into software like Davinci Resolve, and then properly color grade the footage so it looks sleek and professional. ProRes footage looks very low contrast and desaturated. Apple needs to introduce ways to help you do more with ProRes files on the iPhone. Andrew Lanxon/CNETBut that still leaves the files on your phone, and I'd love to be able to do more with them. My gallery is littered with ungraded video files that I'll do very little with because they need color grading externally. I'd love to share them to Instagram, or with my family over WhatsApp, after transforming those files from drab and gray to beautifully colorful.With the iPhone 17, or even with the iPhone 16 as a software update, I want to see Apple creating a range of its own LUTs that can be directly applied to ProRes video files on the iPhone.If Apple were able to implement all these changes -- excluding, perhaps, the full-frame sensor which even I can admit is a touch ambitious -- it would have an absolute beast of a camera on its hands.

I'm watching the Jets lose again. Typical Sunday. This time, as I stare at where my TV is, I don't have to bother anyone else with my suffering. My kid is watching Adventure Time on our TV, but I'm floating a larger virtual TV over my own via the Xreal One glasses I'm wearing, which are plugged into my phone and streaming Paramount Plus.I've wanted VR to become something like "headphones for our eyes" for years. Way back when I wore the Avegant Glyph, a headphone-like pair of portable displays, perched over my face, I saw my fantasy of a personal portable movie theater become real.Tech's been improving for face wearables by leaps and bounds. VR headsets are already great, but Apple's Vision Pro reached a high point for visual fidelity. Apple's mixed-reality headset is, first and foremost, a wearable display for my Mac and my work, and for movies. But the Xreal One, a $500 pair of display glasses that anchors monitors and movies in front of me (I can turn my head and what I'm looking at stays put), is the closest I've come to display headphones for my everyday life. I've been wearing a pair with prescription lens inserts for about a month now, and I just love them.I'm not saying glasses like Xreals are for everyone, but they're now a useful portable display in my life for gaming, movie-watching and getting work done. Connected to my MacBook Air, using a curved extended monitor mode, I can extend my workspace surprisingly well -- and then pop them in my backpack. 7.9 Xreal One $499 at Amazon Like Sharp display, vivid color Improved audio Onboard chip pins displays in space, helpful for comfort Works with many USB-C devices Don't like Glasses fit still can be awkward Needs tethering Lenses are bulky, prescription lens inserts jut out Design doesn't eliminate bright daylight or reflections Tethered glasses done wellThe Xreal One isn't a pair of everyday glasses. They're glasses-shaped displays. While there are lenses you can peek around, the top halves of the glasses are angled prisms reflecting displays embedded in the top of the frames into your eyes. They look weird at first glance, and perch a bit more off your nose than everyday glasses. But they fold down like glasses and are stored in an included hardshell case easily.These aren't wireless, either. You tether the Xreal One via a USB-C cable (it's included) to whatever device you'd like: Android phone, iPhone, iPad, laptop, Steam Deck and so on. They all work. While tethering is annoying, it also means these glasses are treated as a plug-in display by all sorts of stuff, just like a monitor would be. They work when tethered to an iPhone 15 Pro. Any USB-C video-out works. You mainly get a mirrored display, but videos and movies play in a larger format. Scott Stein/CNETBefore I could use them, I had to get a pair of prescription lens inserts added. If you've used another pair of Xreal glasses like the Xreal Air 2 Pro (which these are better than, by degrees), these are made similarly, with the same angled "birdbath" display prisms. The lens inserts attach differently, though: Unlike the last model, the thin lenses and their metal bridge snap into small holes under the glasses (you have to pull out little rubber covers with a paper clip or pin). It's awkward and far less simple than the snap-in lenses from VR headset manufacturers.The prescription lenses "float" off the glasses. It's fine when wearing, but looks weird. They push up against the folding glasses' arms a bit when they're tucked away into the hard case. I feel like it's something delicate I need to take care of. Xreal One with prescription insert lenses added: they snap in like a floating pair of mini-glasses. It looks weird, works pretty well, but it's not ideal. Scott Stein/CNETBut the glasses themselves feel solid, rest easily on my face and have three different-sized nose pieces for fit. The arms also click into different angles to fit different heads and ears.A series of buttons on the right arm control glasses features. There's a toggle for screen brightness, and a button next to it swaps between anchored display mode and a free-moving mode that follows your eyes. If you double-click that button, you get deeper glasses settings. On the top of the arm, another button can be programmed as a shortcut for certain modes; I set mine to switch between regular display mode and a wide-screen mode for my laptop when I press and hold. The Xreal One next to Xreal Air 2 Pro glasses. Which is which? It doesn't matter, they're so similar in frame shape and lens design that the feel is nearly the same. (The Xreal Ones have better audio and video features, though.) Scott Stein/CNETThese buttons can feel fiddly, and there's no touchpad on the arm for easier navigation. You need to dig into some settings modes to control the glasses further, which involves a series of double-clicks and button presses to navigate.But the rest is simple: Plug the USB-C cable into the glasses, connect to your device and you're basically good to go. Watch this: Our Smart Glasses Future, According to Xreal 09:16 Video and audio is better than ever for glassesI've been really impressed by the Xreal Ones in nearly every situation I've used them in. The 1080p display is lower-res than I'd prefer (compared to the Apple Vision Pro, at least), but it's good enough to make movies and games seem crisp. And even my laptop screen in normal mode is readable enough to write, work and do everything else I need. I'm actually writing this review while wearing them.The Micro-OLED display's brightness and contrast are generally really good and colors are rich, and that's where I appreciate these glasses the most. They make movies feel nearly as enjoyable as watching on Apple's Vision Pro -- or at least good enough that I'd prefer using them at home over a regular TV. A close look at the Xreal One lenses (without prescription inserts). They're still chunky birdbath-style, angling the micro OLED displays from the top of the frame. The glasses can dim to three levels of transparency, too. Scott Stein/CNETThe downside is the transparency of the glasses, especially in daylight. Much like the previous Xreal Air 2 Pro, these glasses can auto-dim at three levels to turn them into sunglasses, blocking the outside world. Not fully, though: In bright rooms, I can still see things bleed through. My peripheral vision remains open, which is great for awareness but bad for immersion.Because of the angled prism displays, there's also some reflection. I can sometimes see reflections of my shirt up on the glasses if I'm in a well-lit room. Maybe it's also because of the extra layer of prescription lenses I have popped in, but dark rooms are best to appreciate these glasses for movies. (I've been watching David Lynch's Inland Empire at night as I lie in bed, and it looks great.)The audio also sounds good. Bose-powered over-ear speakers ambiently pump in sound, similar to Meta's Ray-Bans, and the audio finally feels good enough to make a movie feel rich. People around me can hear the audio leaking out, though, so it's useless on a plane, but you could always pop in noise-canceling earbuds and use them at the same time as the Xreal One (my preferred solution in public). The audio is, in general, much better than the previous Air 2 Pros. Watch this: Best AR and VR Devices of 2024 04:57 Anchoring displays and widescreen mode make a big differenceThe Xreal One's big advantage over the last Air 2 Pro model, besides audio, is a new X1 chip that can pin displays in place. This means that when you move your head, everything can stay still if you want. This three-degrees-of-freedom head movement support was previously only possible with a separate plug-in device called the Beam. Now, anchoring what you see works with whatever video source you're plugging into.That's huge, to me, for things like working on a computer. If I'm just watching a video, then having the display essentially glued to my face is acceptable. But if I'm floating a laptop monitor, I want to sometimes look at different parts of the screen easily. I move my head when I work.It's also helpful for my phone: I tried floating a display during a VR/AR conference at MIT, and could anchor the mirrored phone screen to the side of the presenter, allowing me to thumb-type notes and watch at the same time. The Xreal One (left) next to Apple Vision Pro (right). The Xreal One is far smaller, and a lot less expensive. They're tethered display glasses, not a sensor-equipped mixed reality standalone computer, but they often serve a similar movie-playing purpose. Scott Stein/CNETA new ultrawide mode also expands the display area up to a simulated 310 inches (according to Xreal), effectively spreading a longer curved monitor around you, similar to how the Vision Pro does with a connected Mac.It's not exactly the same. The viewing area is constricted to a 50-degree field of view -- about one standard laptop monitor's view and it's in 1080p resolution. But if you move your head from side to side, you can see all the rest of the curved display real estate, like other open apps, for instance. In practice, it works a lot better than you might think, and it lets me work on my laptop more efficiently on the go. It's very close to feeling like a private personal large monitor without carrying an expensive and bigger Vision Pro.The Xreal One can also move the projected display distance closer and further away, and expand the display size even larger than the field of view area when not using the ultrawide modes. Connected to a Steam Deck, I found it fun to play in a zoomed-in mode. It made the display seem bigger and more immersive, even when I couldn't see every part of it at once. I want the Vision Pro to evolve into something small like the Xreal One. Different idea entirely, but as a wearable display, a sign of the future. Scott Stein/CNETThere are glitches, thoughDevices don't always work perfectly with connected display glasses. For example, iPhones and MacBooks and most other devices turn the Xreal One into a mirrored display, but some apps break the connection. ESPN, for some reason, wouldn't let me stream an NFL playoff game because of "screen sharing," although I could connect with Disney Plus and stream the same game just fine. Viewing the Max streaming service, I found that my phone screen's timeout would break the streaming of the show, and I had no way of overriding it. Sometimes the display would act oddly, not showing the mirrored monitor, and unplugging and replugging it again would fix the issue. Often my phone or laptop would ask if I was plugging in headphones. Basically, my devices didn't really know what the heck this Xreal One was.These glasses are great most of the time. But it's just a reminder that Xreal is doing behind-the-scenes magic to make them work with all sorts of devices that technically don't recognize them for what they truly are.Android XR, Google's glasses and headset-friendly OS promised this year, could begin to make Android phones work even more seamlessly with glasses like the Xreal One. Xreal is an Android XR partner, but it's unclear what will really happen to evolve these glasses further.A plug-in camera, sold separately, promises to make the Xreal Ones an AI-enabled pair of glasses -- maybe similar to Meta's Ray-Bans, but in a tethered display glasses form. But again, Xreal hasn't made any moves showing how that would work and what it really could do. The Xreal One in its included hard case. It's pretty easy to fold down and take on a trip. Scott Stein/CNETWait for the Xreal One Pros?Xreal has another pair of glasses coming this spring, a Pro model that's $100 more but has a flatter set of display lenses and a wider 57-degree field of view. I've tried them, and the projected displays can seem even bigger. I think I'd want to spend $100 more and get those if I was already spending this much on high-end display glasses, but since I haven't deeply tested them yet, I can't really tell.Still, it's amazing how far this tech has come. The Xreal One glasses aren't perfect, but they're the best set of display glasses I've ever seen. They make me forget about using the Apple Vision Pro more often than I'd ever have expected. I grab whatever's closest to me and easiest to use, and the Xreal Ones are a cheaper, smaller, device-friendly and still high-quality set of displays. They may not enable VR or AR, but they are the sort of headphones for my eyes I've dreamed of for years. They're coming with me when I travel, which the Vision Pro never does. The future is small, and the Xreal One glasses show where things could be heading.

January 29, 20257 min readWorlds Largest Telescope Faces a New Dire Threat: Light Pollution from Renewable EnergyObservatories in Chiles Atacama Desert, including the worlds largest optical telescope, could be blinded by light pollution and other unwanted side effects from the proposed construction of a renewable energy megaprojectBy Katherine Helen Laliotis Europes Extremely Large Telescope, as seen at night in June 2023 while under construction atop the summit of Cerro Armazones in Chiles Atacama Desert. ESO (CC BY 4.0)A high-stakes face-off is brewing in the arid deserts of northern Chile, between astronomers building the worlds largest optical telescope and a proposed green energy megaproject from an international corporation that threatens those plans.For decades, astronomers have prized Chiles Atacama Desert as a premiere location for studying the universe. Sparsely populated, far from sources of terrestrial light pollution and high above most starlight-scattering clouds and atmospheric turbulence, the Atacama has sprouted multiple world-class observatories to take advantage of what are thought to be Earths darkest and clearest night skies. Chief among these is Paranal Observatory, built and operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) consortium. Paranals facilities, however, should soon be outclassed by ESOs under-construction $1.5-billion Extremely Large Telescope, or ELT, which boasts a light-gathering primary mirror nearly 40 meters in diameterunless, that is, disruptions from another nearby construction project spoil the overhead view.Backed by AES Andes, an offshoot of The AES Corporation, an American company, the $10-billion INNA (Integrated Energy Infrastructure Project for the Generation of Hydrogen and Green Ammonia) project includes plans for multiple sites across more than 3,000 hectares (about 7,400 acres). As proposed, parts of the sprawling INNA complex could encroach as close as five kilometers to Paranal and its telescopes, causing effects so devastating that to mitigate them could require relocating the energy project 10 times farther away, ESO officials say.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Dust emissions during construction, increased atmospheric turbulence and especially light pollution will irreparably impact the capabilities for [regional] astronomical observation, said ESO director general Xavier Barcons in a press release calling for INNAs relocation. The proximity of the AES Andes industrial megaproject to Paranal poses a critical risk to the most pristine night skies on the planet.The Best Skies on EarthESO has abundant evidence to back the most pristine night skies claim. As it noted in its press release, a 2023 study led by light pollution researcher Fabio Falchi, then a doctoral student at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, found that of the 28 major observatories across the globe, Paranal was the darkest site of all. The site where the ELT is currently being constructed, Cerro Armazones, is a close second. Importantly, these sites are two of only six shown to possess skies with a less than 1 percent increase in sky brightness from estimated preindustrial levels. Most other major observatoriesnearly two thirds of those considered in the study and all that are within the continental U.S.now face compromised observations because their skies have been made far brighter by light pollution, Falchis study reported.Because of Chiles near-ideal conditions for astronomy, it has become home to almost 40 percent of the worlds ground-based astronomy observing capacity. Including current projects under construction, within the next decade that number will increase to 60 percent. The scientific bounty from this trend has already been revolutionary, and telescopes gazing deep into the Atacamas superlatively dark skies have played a role in numerous major discoveriessuch as what may be the first images of an exoplanet and, separately, of the Milky Ways central supermassive black hole. The ELT and other next-generation telescopes there are poised to deliver even more extraordinary advances, possibly including breakthrough new measurements of dark energy and the first-ever direct images of rocky, Earthlike exoplanets.This makes any threat to the natural celestial purity of this remote region of Chile a threat to the present and future of ground-based astronomy as a whole. If the INNA project proceeds as planned, there will be corners and edges of the exploration of the universe that will not be accessible anymore, Barcons says. And many of these areas are precisely those the ELT and other in-development giant telescopes were designed to probe, he adds.A Megaproject in Micro DetailAES conceived and designed the INNA project in response to Chiles National Green Hydrogen Strategy, a plan of action for making the nation a global front-runner in renewable energy production. That blueprint also declared several Chilean sites as renewable energy hubs; the complex would be located within one of them. Besides the projects main facility, a hydrogen and ammonia production plant, INNAs plan also calls for building thousands of solar and wind power generators, as well as a coastal port and desalination site, all connected to massive energy storage systems via snaking pipelines and transmission wires.In a statement to Scientific American, AES Andes officials noted that our partnership with stakeholders is a top priority, ensuring we are supporting local economic development while maintaining the highest environmental and safety standards. We understand there are concerns raised by ESO regarding the development of renewable energy projects in the area and are committed to collaborating with all stakeholders throughout the environmental permitting process.The project has been designed to comply with recently expanded regulatory requirements from the Chilean Ministry of the Environment on light pollution passed in 2022, which limit artificial light pollution in designated astronomical areas to a 10 percent increase over natural levels and set a 1 percent light pollution limit for individual sites. Notably, although an individual facility may comply with the 1 percent limit, the cumulative amount of light pollution in an astronomical area is permitted to reach a level of 10 percent. And that higher level of light pollution is exactly what ESO officials fear INNA will reach, with catastrophic implications for Paranal and the ELT.Dark DisagreementsAES Andes contests such dire appraisals, noting in its statement that both Paranal and the ELT are outside the significant [light pollution] impact area calculated for the project, at 19.6 and 29 km away from INNA, respectively. The ESO press release, however, stated that at least one of the projects facilities will be between 5 and 11 km from the Paranal telescopes.Additionally, AES Andes said in its statement that the sky brightness at the telescope sites will only increase by 0.09 percent at the ELT and 0.27 percent at the Very Large Telescope, also located in the Atacama Desert. But according to a report from Chiles Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ESO has said that the light pollution data provided by AES are based on Project Terra, an older and much smaller version of INNA. According to the report, the AES Andes team communicated to ESO that the INNA project could produce up to five times more power compared with the older version. Using this estimate in its analysis, ESO found that the majority of the observing region for Paranals telescopes would see a 5 to 10 percent increase in background light from the INNA project, including an at least 3 percent increase in brightness for the darkest observable part of the sky.Although seemingly small, such increases would significantly decrease the capabilities of affected telescopes, both big and small. A small increase in sky brightness makes the sky background noisier, which then requires astronomers to observe a faint object for much longer in order to get a clear signal. This not only gives the telescopes less time to observe more objects but also makes very faint objects such as very early galaxies and potentially habitable exoplanets impossible to see at all; if the object is faint enough, the image will become saturated before the signal becomes clear. Having brighter sky means that your opportunity is shrinking. It is like youre having a smaller telescope, Falchi says, which renders a large project like the ELT a waste of money and resources.Barcons says that ESO privately presented its concerns to AES in December of last year but that the company submitted an unchanged assessment to the Environmental Impact Assessment System (SEIA), run by Chiles Environmental Assessment Service, just a few days later. They already announced to us that they were not going to change it, he says.A Bright Future?Both ESO and the Chilean Astronomical Society (SOCHIAS) emphasize that they do not want the project to be canceled altogether. Instead both groups are asking that INNA be moved at least 50 km away from the observatories. Chiara Mazzucchelli, president of SOCHIAS, believes that both projects can coexist. Chile has the capacity to be a worldwide leader in both green energy and in astronomy, she says. But so far, AES Andess sole response to relocation requests has been to note that INNA is within a designated renewable energy hub as defined by Chile and that it [trusts] in the robustness of Chiles Environmental Impact Assessment System, Mazzucchelli says.Coexistence is the way forward, says Bernardita Ried Guachalla, a Chilean doctoral candidate at Stanford University. Theres much to gain from developing green energy, but that shouldnt come at the cost of Chilean astrophysics, which has benefited immensely from partnerships with global research institutions seeking time on the nations crop of telescopes. From the science perspective, [Chile wins] a lot, she says, noting that the nations astronomers now have access to the best laboratories in the world. Indeed, over the past couple of decades, the number of astronomy Ph.D. students has increased from five in 1990 to 40 in 2005, and Chile has risen to 12th place globally in astronomy paper citations per year, a striking number considering its size and gross domestic product. Outside of astronomy, hosting Earths greatest ground-based telescopes also brings engineering careers, astronomy tourism, and greater international investment and prestige.As part of the SEIA approval process, the INNA project must now undergo a period of review in which public commentary is collected. SOCHIAS, ESO and leading local Chilean astronomers are encouraging members of the community, both in and outside of astronomy, to speak up on behalf of the observatories.The point is that this is no random place for us, for astronomy, Barcons says. Its unique. Theres nothing better on Earth, and were putting the biggest telescope in there. So that will be gone forever if they do this.Organizers and citizens have until the beginning of April to give feedback to SEIA on the project. After that, the projects futureand perhaps with it, the future of global ground-based astronomywill be decided.

January 30, 20256 min readVenomous Caterpillars Are Expanding Their Range Due to WarmingThese caterpillars carry a toxic chemical cocktail and Inquisition-like delivery implements and their geographic range is expandingBy Ivan Amato edited by Gary StixThe puss caterpillar is the venomous larval form of the southern flannel moth (Megalopyge opercularis). Its hairs conceal highly venomous spines. jkntexascc/Alamy Stock Photo.Assasinations in ancient Rome, miscarriages in pregnant horses in Australia, sudden onset of arthritis in rubber tappers in Brazil: Are you ready for the common thread among these incidents? Its venomous caterpillars. And many of these larvae of the insect order Lepidoptera, along with the moths and butterflies they become, are creeping and fluttering your way at the speed of climate change. One estimate counts more than 3,600 venomous Lepidoptera species out there.I am studying venomous caterpillars because they are the most exciting area Ive ever come across, says Andrew Walker of the University of Queensland in Australia, who authored a recent paper in the Annual Review of Entomology that encapsulates much of what he and other venom researchers now know about the evolution, molecular composition and pathological mechanisms of Lepidoptera venom. This is kind of like unearthing an unexpected treasure, he says, noting how little attention caterpillars have received by the venom research community so far and how much new insight there is to unearth.Among the caterpillars Walker has studied are puss, or asp, caterpillars, whose stings can be excruciating. Some have variously described the sensation as the worst pain ... ever experienced and akin to being hit with a baseball bat or walking on hot coals.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.First, lets ease your just-triggered Lepidoptera anxiety a little. The vast majority of human encounters with venomous caterpillars result in mild and transient rashes and skin irritations that go away in a day or a few weeks at most. Such encounters, which can easily go unnoticed because of a delay in the affected persons immunological response, occur with the venomous caterpillars and moths that sport tufts of minuscule whiskers, called setae, on their surface. With a microscope, these setae look like harpoons, and theyre filled with cocktails of venom proteins that are to scientists like Walker what light is to moths. The whiskers shed onto and into your skin if you touch a setae-bearing caterpillar or moth. They can also come into contact with your body when theyre carried on a breeze like windblown pollen grains.Encounters in the more wince-and-yell category generally involve run-ins with caterpillars that wield larger and tougher venom-injecting spines. These, too, generally resolve quickly or might require standard allergy and dermatitis treatments such as antihistamines and cortisone cream. But some species can cause lethal hemorrhagic reactions. This has especially been the case with Lonomia obliqua caterpillars in Brazil. In a 2021 paper in the journal Toxins, caterpillar "accidents" in Brazil attributed to Lonomia obliqua between 2007 and 2017 amounted to 42,264 recorded cases with 248 considered severe, five of which "evolved to deaths."Those numbers help explain why Brazils So Paulobased Butantan Institute, which produces a portfolio of vaccines, antitoxins and antivenom medicines that help the immune system counter various threats characteristic of the region, got into the business of supplying Lonomia antivenom.To Walker, research into any venomous animal group promises a trove of molecular discoveries. Snakes, spiders, scorpions and cone snails have been among the natural celebrities that have garnered the most research attention so far. But it is the neglected venomous examples among the mostly nonvenomous insects that comprise the more than 150,000 species of Lepidoptera that Walker finds most alluring right now.They have never been studied using modern molecular methods, Walker points out. Lepidopteran venoms represent a barely explored opportunity for scientific inquiry and biodiscovery, he wrote in his Annual Review of Entomology article.Among Walkers favorite discoveries are those that relate to structural details of the mini proteins, or peptides, that he and others are identifying in caterpillar venoms. One example is a knotlike molecular motif embodied by many of these toxins that researchers have seen before in spider and scorpion venoms. That makes them supertough because they are resistant to proteases that normally break proteins down, and so this makes these peptide toxins inherently druglike, he says. Theres a chance many of these could become lead compounds toward the development of therapeutics, Walker adds. As an example, he notes a veterinary treatment for barbers pole worm infections, a sometimes-lethal parasitic condition that affects sheep and other ruminants in Australia.This line of research can have an impact on public health. Jan Tytgat, a toxicologist and pharmacologist at KU Leuven in Belgium, has been investigating an emerging Lepidoptera-based public health hazard due to a climate-change-exacerbated expansion of the range of the oak processionary caterpillar (Thaumetopoea processionea). The venomous caterpillars of this species of moth thrive in voracious groups. Using a bevy of techniques to analyze venom genes and proteins, he and his colleagues at KU Leuven recently identified 171 toxin components in 19 molecular categories. Among these components were small peptides, enzymes, enzyme inhibitors and molecules associated with chitin, the hard biomaterial of the caterpillars setae.Our belief is that this dataset will play a key role in paving the way for the development of a targeted medicine to treat envenomation effectively, the researchers recently wrote in the journal Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. Tytgat says he is most excited about progress toward identifying the molecular culprit causing the allergy and inflammation responses. A leading candidate, he notes, is a protein toxin in the caterpillars venom cocktail that targets TRPV1, the same cell-receptor protein that is activated by capsaicin, the spicey chemical in foods like hot peppers. Such findings, Tytgat says, can guide development of new topical medicines for treating caterpillar encounters, among other medical products.Uncovering the detailed molecular narrative of caterpillars, grounded in the creatures venoms and the pathologic responses they elicit, is becoming more pressing as these larvaes range shifts and expands, says Andrea Battisti, a forest entomologist at the University of Padua in Italy. For example, he notes, the installation of electricity and lighting in some buildings in Nepal that lacked those amenities has attracted venomous moths.When they fly inside and against the walls and windows, their setae disperse on the floor and furniture, where people can end up touching [these whiskers] and then their eyes, Battisti says. That has led to eye infections that sometimes have progressed to blindness. In his lab now, he is hosting a student from a medical school in Kathmandu who is investigating this emerging risk from venomous caterpillars with an eye on how to counter it.We think that more and more people are likely to encounter venomous caterpillars, says Battisti, who notes that caterpillar researchers often develop allergies that make their work more challenging. Our take-home message is that we all need to be better informed so that we are primed to be cautious when we see caterpillars and to find better ways of treating caterpillar encounters.Battisti, who collaborates with Walker, says the key questions that drive his research relate to what basic mechanisms allow the caterpillar venom proteins to elicit immune responses and how these processes evolved.If we can understand why and how such a system has evolved, we can move on to finding better solutions for protection of people, pets and other animals, such as horses, which can inadvertently ingest venomous caterpillars when the larvae end up in the hay the ungulates eat, Battisti says. He adds that horse-caterpillar encounters have resulted in a costly condition known as equine amnionitis and fetal loss syndrome.Humans relationship with venomous caterpillars has a history that predates modern science. The natural threat of the caterpillars has shown up in cultural expressions as a symbolic portent of human mortality, Battisti points out. He knows about one of these because of his daughter, who is an art historian. He recounts how she excitedly sent him a photograph of the 1618 painting Et in Arcadia Ego, by the Italian baroque painter Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, better known as Guercino, from the National Gallery of Ancient Art in Rome. The allegorical painting is routinely interpreted as a message that death is always just around the corner. Near the base of a prominent skull in the painting, Battista said that to his eye it appearsThaumetopoea caterpillarthe setae of which were allegedly mixed into lethal drinks by ancient Roman assassins.

We were anticipating the release of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on PC with both anticipation and trepidation. On the one hand, this is a simply stunning game - albeit one that could stand to benefit from a wealth of improvements the PC platform could provide. On the other hand, this port follows in the wake of a truly awful PC rendition of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which Square-Enix has essentially left to rot since the last window. So, what's the score with Rebirth? Well, it is an improved port over Remake, for sure. One of the key problems with the PS5 version is addressed too, but even so, there are problems of various severity across the board. Ultimately, it should be a whole lot better than it is.Let's start by talking about the user experience from a settings and menu perspective. There's huge scope for improvement here, starting with the presentation. This menu offers users no indication whatsoever of what the settings do or what the performance cost for tweaking them may be. Options are inconsistent and cluttered, while basic PC functions are missing. There's no ultra-wide support, there's no fullscreen functionality (the best you'll get is borderless window mode) while unlocked frame-rates are also off the table: 120fps is the limit.Square-Enix's upscaler support is also barebones - so there's DLSS only, in tandem with UE4's TAA and TAAU. Fixed percentage upscale options are in place which are also limited - basically, there is no equivalent option for DLSS balanced or ultra quality modes. That means zero support for FSR and XeSS and no frame generation options either. At this point, it would be remiss of me not to point you towards Nexus Mods because - remarkably - modders have added many of these options where Square-Enix has not. Improved upscaler support, unlocked frame-rates and more - modders have delivered where Square-Enix has not.Alex Battaglia and Oliver Mackenzie share their impressions of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on PC.Watch on YouTubeMoving on to PlayStation 5 comparisons, we've got a mixed bag of results here. There is one crucial improvement to the game that PC users get - one of the key problems with the PS5 and PS5 Pro versions is the egregious pop-in of world detail. The good news is that PC users get the option to enhance level of detail, which pushes out detail and level-of-detail transitions further out to the point where they become far less noticeable. This is great news. We also spotted some slight refinements to lighting, but overall this is much the same as the console build.Image quality is also a plus point for the PC version of the game, simply down to the brute force nature of DLAA - Nvidia's native resolution rendition of DLSS - which provides exceptional anti-aliasing. This allows powerful PCs to improve significantly over PS5 Pro's quality and PSSR-powered versatility modes. There are also signs of some improvement to texture quality - a bugbear we have with the console version. However, the frequency of improved art is minimal and many art assets are left as is - which is not great.There's the sense that Square-Enix could have pushed the boat out further. Even if enhanced textures were completely off the table, the ability to improve shadow map cascade quality would have been welcome. The truth is that shadows don't look particularly impressive in the game, which has led - you guessed it - modders to attempt to improve the situation. The existing version of the game also has some harsh lighting choices and a lack of occlusion and again, it's disappointing that there's no improvement for PC. There are oddities too - some detail is excised from the PC version where everything is present and correct on the PS5 version, while we also spotted problems with water rendering in the new version too. Across the board, we can't help but feel that this port is not everything it should and could have been.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Focusing on PC performance, there are others to address. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth does have a shader compilation step on first boot - but the problem is that it's nowhere near comprehensive enough. The lower the spec of your PC (CPU especially), the more noticeable shader compilation issues are with some lurching stutters. We confirmed that it's definitely a compilation issue by immediately replaying the same area of gameplay, finding that the stutters had gone - because the shaders had been cached. The higher-end your CPU, the less noticeable the stutters will be - especially if you're capping to 60 frames per second, but even so, it's a shame to see this problem manifest.There is some good news, however. Whether it's Unreal Engine 4 or Unreal Engine 5, we've lost count of the amount of games that exhibit traversal stutter - hitching as the player moves through the game world, especially so at speed. On a higher-end processor, the good news is that frame-times are very, very consistent, so in this area at least, you can power through to smoother gameplay - providing you aren't hitting shader compilation stutter, which is unavoidable. It's not such good news on lower-end processors however, where we noticed frame-times that could hit 25ms to 33ms - noticeable even with a 60fps frame-rate cap.It's also worth expressing that the amount of VRAM your graphics card has can be problematic. We tested using an RTX 4060 - an extremely popular GPU that, unfortunately, Nvidia lumbered with just 8GB of framebuffer memory. Stuttering occurs in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth using the high quality texture setting and even the medium quality alternative has issues. Only by dropping back to the low setting did those stutters disappear and this is problematic: while the difference between high and medium quality textures isn't vast, there's a very clear downgrade for low textures - they seem to present almost as if they're decimated down to quarter resolution. We can't help but feel this situation could have been handled better. There are omissions and bugs with the PC version up against PS5. On the top there, noticeable areas of grass or foliage don't render at all. On bottom, it's clear that in some areas, there are problems with water rendering on PC. | Image credit: Digital FoundryWe also spent a little time running Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on Steam Deck as it is Steam Deck Verified, which typically means (as we understand it) that we should be able to play it at a consistent 30 frames per second. So, there's good news and bad news here - again. For the most part, the game can be played at 30fps, but the in-built frame-rate cap is deficient: you'll get 30fps but the frames are inconsistently paced, which is not great. Users can overcome this by using the Deck's system level cap for consistent frame-pacing - but even here, we noted issues, with dropped frames spiking to 66ms when they bottom out at 50ms.This is a challenging game though - it was designed for PS5, after all - and it requires sacrifice to run. We chose to use the lowest settings with TAAU, then used DRS upscaling from a minimum 50 percent. The game is obviously pared back but it is serviceable enough for handheld play for the most part, especially outdoors. Just be prepared for a somewhat choppy experience in cities.In summary then, this is a better PC port than Final Fantasy 7 Remake and the ability to improve image quality and especially ease the egregious LOD transitions is certainly a good thing. However, Square-Enix must improve in so many areas: the developers clearly recognise the need for shader pre-compilation and yet the process is clearly not working correctly, or doesn't pre-compile enough of them. The lack of upscalers and the weird implementation of DLSS factors is also bizarre. There can be CPU-based issues with traversal, so we would be recommending something like a Ryzen 5000 or 12th Gen Intel budget chip to better ensure a 60fps experience.We heard word of further updates to come, so our fingers are crossed that this OK-ish port is improved in the fullness of time.

BioWare veteran writer among those looking for work after post-Dragon Age: The Veilguard downsizingMass Effect 5 looks set to be written by different staff members entirely.Image credit: BioWare News by Tom Phillips Editor-in-Chief Published on Jan. 30, 2025 Dragon Age and Mass Effect veteran Trick Weekes is among a group of BioWare veterans who have announced they are now looking for work, following the news that BioWare is downsizing. Posting on social media, Weekes said they were now seeking a fresh writing position after two decades at BioWare, culminating in work on last year's Dragon Age: The Veilguard.Yesterday, BioWare publicly confirmed what former studio veteran Mark Darrah had previously noted - that Mass Effect 5 was still early in development and that the studio had therefore shifted a large number of its staff onto other projects within publisher EA while a small "core team" continued to build the project up. IGN later reported that a smaller group of BioWare employees had been told their roles had been terminated, and been given time to apply for new positions within EA.This was reflected in half a dozen posts on social media from staff impacted by the redundancies, who had held senior positions on Dragon Age: The Veilguard."I'm now looking for a new writing/narrative position," Weekes wrote. "It's been a privilege to work with so many amazing devs over my 20 years at BioWare, and I will cherish the memories of the wonderful folks in the community I've met along the way. Thank you all."Weekes served as a writer on Mass Effect 1 and 2, before being promoted to a senior writer on Mass Effect 3. Weekes contributed to that game's brilliant genophage story arc, and also wrote for many of the series' best DLCs, including Lair of the Shadow Broker, Leviathan and Citadel.More recently, Weekes served as a writer on Dragon Age: Inquisition, and then as a lead writer on Dragon Age: The Veilguard.Other BioWare staff who have publicly said they are looking for work include editor Karin West-Weekes and narrative designer Ryan Cormier, as well as producer Jen Cheverie and systems designer Michelle Flamm. According to a social media post by former BioWare writer Ann Lemay, who worked at the studio between 2011 and 2016, the studio now no longer employs any writers or editors from that period, following this week's cuts and a number of previous departures.For better or worse, then, it looks like Mass Effect 5 will be written by a completely separate team of people from those who worked on Dragon Age: The Veilguard.BioWare's next big project is being helmed by Mass Effect veteran Mike Gamble, alongside a team of returning staff who worked on the original Mass Effect trilogy such as Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts and Parrish Ley.This group is now set to continue BioWare's early work on Mass Effect 5, which - despite numerous teases of what's in store - is still several years away.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Contents hide The second season of Black Ops 6s Warzone chapter is in full swing. With Activision promising improvements to its crumbling anti-cheat measures along with numerous bug fixes aiming to improve the battle royale, fans dropping into the action had high hopes for what Season 2 had in store.After previous updates saw hackers bring shotguns into ranked mode, it appears hackers are continuing to slip through the net and disrupt the action much to the annoyance of players hoping Ricochet could finally catch them once and for all. Rather than seeing through walls, cheaters are adding some unusual weaponry alongside the ever-expanding arsenal, giving them a huge advantage.Warzone cheaters add Wonder Weapons Instead of roaming Area 99 and Urzikstan with the dominant XM4 causing a stale meta, hackers have managed to integrate the new Staff of Ice Wonder Weapon from the Zombies mode into Warzone.The Staff of Ice is so strong, it downs and eliminates opponents with a single blast. Combined with an aimbot, its an impossible pairing to compete in the heat of battle. This particular exploit joins a long line of new issues that have appeared since Raven Software dished out fixes for other problems impacting players.Alongside the Staff of Ice causing chaos, hackers are still managing to bypass new measures designed to prevent them from sabotaging casual and competitive matches. As expected, players are far from pleased.Wonder Weapons have ruined WarzoneThe sudden appearance of a Wonder Weapon designed to eliminate endless waves of undead opposition in Warzone is far from ideal. Considering hackers are the only ones able to obtain the weapon, matches are ruined once again. Must-Listen: Publishing Manor Lords w/ Joe Robinson VideoGamer Podcast Listen Now Raven Software is typically quick to respond to the concerns of players but with new issues arising less than a week into Season 2, the Staff of Ice could be sticking around for longer than many are hoping for.For more Call of Duty, check out the best controller settings for maximum accuracy along with the best C9 loadout for close-quarters action.Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereAdam Jackson, the Lead Class Designer of Diablo 4, is leaving Blizzard. After 15 years of designing classes for the iconic Blizzard ARPG series, Jackson has decided to hang up his scythe and leave the series behind.Jackson has been a face for the Diablo community for years with the veteran developer joining countless Campfire Chats and community forum posts over the years. However, the game dev is leaving the series behind in favour of new horizons.Diablo 4 class designer departsAnnounced on Twitter, Jackson revealed that he is departing Blizzard after 15 years of service at the company. Since joining on World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the developer rose through the ranks before becoming Lead Class Designer on Diablo 4.What a long, strange trip its been, Jackson told fans on the social media platform. After 15 years at Blizzard Entertainment its finally time to say goodbye.I have so many great memories here. Its incredibly bittersweet to close this door, but Im excited for the future and cant wait to get started on my next adventure.Jacksons work on Diablo 4 has resulted in the release of Spiritborn, bringing one of the best unique classes in the form of Spiritborn. With 60% of players quickly gravitating towards the awesome new class, some people even forgot about the lack of Paladins in the latest action RPG. Not everyone, but some. Must-Listen: Publishing Manor Lords w/ Joe Robinson VideoGamer Podcast Listen Now Despite Jacksons departure, work on D4 is far from done. The current Season of Witchcraft has been very well received and theres no sign of stopping. While theres no confirmation yet, a new expansion appears to be in the works alongside a brand-new class that should be similar to the Paladin heroes that players are still craving.For more Diablo coverage, read about how series lead Rod Fergusson believes players dont actually want classic Diablo back or read about how Elon Musk is actually a cheater if you still care about that grub.Diablo 4Platform(s):PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/XGenre(s):Action, Action RPG, RPGSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

Open floor plans may be all the rage these days, but for Phoebe Sung and Peter Buer, the traditional, closed layout of their 1910s Ridgewood, Queens, town house is perfect. The couple, who founded New Yorkbased textile brand Cold Picnic in 2010, took advantage of the segmented setup to create a distinct vibe in each of the roomsmany of which are defined by their own colorful designs. Weve always liked separate feelings for each space, Sung confirms.The living room is dedicated to the duos Denis Denis rug, an abstract homage to the film Beau Travail that combines pale peach, cream, lavender, and olive hues. Its both laid on the white-painted wood floors and used as durable upholstery for a Hay Mags sectional that they recovered after the original pink tweed was ruined by pets. With the dogs and the kids, its always a matter of trying to make things look nice enough but also have it be completely functional, Sung says.We decided to paint the floors white because, with the porch, the room doesnt get a ton of light and its a railroad home, Buer (right) explains. When it had the brown floors, it could get a little dingy. The white floors really brightened up the whole place.Large paper lanterns appear in multiple rooms throughout the house. I like how much space they take up, Sung says.The living room offers a sight line through the citron playroom and into the dining room, where red accents enliven the white walls and floors.In the adjacent playroom, Sung and Buer embraced the lack of natural light by curating a rich monochromatic look with citron walls and a pear green Audience rug, which references the anthropomorphic quality of homes with an eye motif border. Sung hand-painted a matching eye trim along the ceiling and then hung their daughters artwork in ornate, antique frames. The small area is complete with Moonrise Kingdominspired built-ins by KLN Studio.All of the art in the playroom is done by the children, Sung shares. We got all these really great, big, antique frames and stuck this stuff in there. Its cute. There are certain phases where you just have to make them make a lot of things before they start getting too figurative.Buer crafted built-in bookshelves himself to flank the original marble fireplace in the dining room, giving it an abundant library feel. When we used to live in Boston, we would go to a book sale at a church in a neighboring town every weekend, he remembers. Phoebe laid out all the books and calculated how high each shelf should be to perfectly house them. And then I put that together. Those are just all our books from about 20 years of collecting.The dining room is furnished with a vintage laminate table, four 1970s red tubular chairs from Yugoslavia, and a custom cherry-colored bench. A Pierre Boncompain print hangs above the mantel, while a vintage pendant gifted from the founders of Manhattan design shop Coming Soon illuminates the space. We realized that all of the light fixtures were the basic landlord rental unit ones, so our friends Fabi and Helena gave us our first nice light, Sung notes.Sung is always looking for tubular furniture, so she was thrilled to find the vintage red tubular chairs that now surround her dining table. The pinstripe upholstery is just a bonus.The couple thought marble was too grand and opulent for their style, so they went with a peach Corian countertop in their updated kitchen. We knew it came in a bunch of really great colors, Buer says of the composite material. Its also really easy to clean. You can use an electric buffer or sander and just take off any stains.In the compact kitchen, the couple punched up their flat-front white cabinets with a peach Corian countertop and a mustard yellow Nemo tile backsplash. Theres something about a pretty, light color and then a more challenging, heavy color, Sung says. We do that a lot with our rugs. Its a nice contrast. A royal blue cotton runner adds extra flare.Twin beds swathed in Dusen Dusen Tulip duvets are pushed together so Sung and Buers daughters can sleep near one another (when theyre not in their parents room).Our friend has a Taiwanese pantry store and we saw these cute green mailboxes, Sung says. We put a mailbox in their room and they like to send themselves postcards, letters, and things. The girls have a vintage Belgian convertible high chair-desk and a Chen Chen & Kai Williams paper chair pulled up to a little glass table for all their writing needs.Upstairs, Sung and Buers daughters share a cheerful bedroom with a dusty blue Embrace rug, an oversized lantern that the girls painted themselves, geometric 1980s IKEA sconces, and bold Dusen Dusen Tulip duvets. Our friend, [founder Ellen Van Dusen], is our older daughters godmother and the print was just perfect for their room, Sung says. We just wanted it to be fun and cozy.For nightstands, the couple sourced neon yellow reproductions of IKEAs 1971 coffee table; for decor, they opted to display a portrait of themselves by Camilla Engstrm, a Taiwanese mailbox from Yun Hai, and a vintage Fante Asafo flag from Ghana; and for window treatments, they tied up vintage lace curtains with old scarves. We realized they dont sleep any better in a pitch dark room, so we figured we would let in as much light as possible, Sung explains.Sung reads to one of her daughters in the aviary-inspired dressing room, while her other daughter lounges in bed with two pups at her feet.The dressing room next door is an ode to Cold Picnics grassy green The Aviary Early Spring pattern, which appears on a rug, wallpaper, armchair upholstery, and a paper mache lamp in the space. Its inspired by trips to the Queens Zoo, Sung reveals. It has this beautiful aviary that kind of seems like a 1970s science fiction. It feels like youre in another world. Youre just surrounded by birds.Oh my gosh, I love those cork lampshades, Buer gushes. We got a lot of lamps that didnt have lampshades, so we actually found those lampshades at Lowes for $10. Theyre so great. We should have bought a hundred of them.A vintage oil portrait hangs above the closed-up fireplace in the primary bedroom. We design a lot in landscapes, but more figurative stuff has always appealed to us, Sung says. Maybe its just a balance to all the color, to avoid having too much abstract.A vintage Donald Deskey dressing table with a built-in mirror brings a quirky, midcentury edge to the primary bedroom.In the primary bedroom, the duo experimented with their butter yellow Crabby Flower wallpaper, a nod to Sungs childhood memories of crab feasts in Maryland. They werent convinced the lively print was soothing enough for their sleep quarters until they balanced it out with a white oak Hedge House Furniture bed, two 1980s red tubular nightstands from Belgium, and a fiery orange quilt theyll be releasing soon. At first, you felt like you just couldnt relax in there, but the pops of red and some of the other extras really helped tie it together, Buer explains.The downstairs bathroom riffs on the kitchens color palette, with blush tiles on the wall and macaroni orange tiles in the shower niche.The final Cold Picnic pattern that Sung and Buer chose to employ is their cherry blossom collaboration with the Brooklyn Museum that was created to complement an exhibition of mid-19th-century prints by Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige. Pale pink sakura tree flowers cover the walls, floor, and sofa in their basement for an immersive experience that celebrates the brands playful ethos, a spirit thats evident throughout the entire home.The girls squeeze a stuffed tiger in their cherry-blossom-covered basement.Thats the main room where they play and make forts, so we wanted to have it open, says Sung, who is pictured here with Buer and their two daughters. We didnt want to have a coffee table or anything.