Volvo boss Jim Rowan told BI he doesn't think governments should give incentives to people buying EVs.His comments come as Trump vows to roll back electric vehicle subsidies in the US.Rowan joins Tesla boss Elon Musk in saying subsidies for electric vehicles are a bad idea.Elon Musk isn't the only auto boss who thinks EV subsidies are a bad idea.Jim Rowan, the CEO of Swedish auto giant Volvo Cars, told Business Insider that he disagrees with the idea that governments should subsidize the EV industry, as President Donald Trump unravels federal support for electric vehicles in the US."I don't subscribe to the fact that government should give incentives for people to buy EVs," Rowan said in an interview after Volvo released its 2024 results on Thursday."I think governments have got enough to spend money on, in terms of healthcare and education, that they shouldn't need to subsidize industries.""I would like to see them do more about infrastructure to encourage people to buy EVs, or tax incentives, but I'm not a proponent of actual subsidies themselves," Rowan added.His comments come after Trump signed a series of executive orders signaling his intent to scrap EV subsidy programs and emissions targets in his first weeks in office, with reports suggesting the new administration is planning to ditch the $7,500 tax credit for new electric vehicles in the US.Auto industry experts have warned that cutting the tax credit could make electric vehicles unaffordable for many Americans, but that hasn't stopped Tesla boss and Trump ally Elon Musk from expressing support for its demise."End all government subsidies, including those for EVs, oil and gas," he wrote in a post on X last year.Musk has said that ending the incentive would "devastate" Tesla's competitors but help the company in the long run, despite the fact that many of Tesla's vehicles benefit from the $7,500 credit. Tesla began advertising the Cybertruck with the tax credit this week.The withdrawal of US government support for EVs adds to the storm clouds facing automakers this year, with the trade war sparked by Trump in the last month threatening to severely disrupt the industry.Speaking in an earnings call after Volvo Cars released its Q4 results, Rowan warned that the industry would be "severely tested" in a "challenging" 2025.The Swedish automaker, which last year abandoned plans to sell only EVs by 2030, saw operating income and margins decline in the latest quarter, with shares falling as much as 10% on Thursday.Rowan told BI that Volvo may have to reconsider the economics of producing future vehicles in Europe if Trump follows through on his threat of imposing tariffs on the European Union. He warned that trade levies on the EU could raise car prices in the US."Ultimately it might make it more expensive for the end customer," said Rowan, adding that depending on the level of tariffs automakers may choose to pass the cost onto consumers rather than shifting production."If you're going to move production that's expensive (if the tariffs are) below a certain amount, it doesn't make sense. You've just got to eat those tariffs or try and pass them on to the customer," Rowan said.Volvo, which is owned by Chinese conglomerate Geely, has already faced tariff headaches over its EX30 electric SUV.With a starting price of around 38,000 euros ($39,600), the EX30 has proven popular in Europe, but the EV's debut in the US was delayed as a result of the 100% tariffs on Chinese-built electric vehicles introduced by the Biden administration last year.Some EX30 trims are now available in the US at a $44,900 starting price, and Volvo is set to start producing the EV at its Belgium factory in the first half of this year, but Rowan said the uncertainty around tariffs was making an already-difficult outlook for the auto industry more complicated."When you have a changing landscape of tariffs, it just makes it more complex and costly to navigate through," he said.

I used to think I was good at charging stuff. My phone, for instance, almost never dies because I charge it wirelessly overnight, and then, if its running low in the afternoon, I blast it with juice from a fast charger. But my batterys maximum capacity recently dropped into the 80 percent range, and I know it will only be a matter of time before I have to get a new battery or a new phone if Im feeling gullible. The lithium-ion batteries that power our phones, laptops, and even cars are inherently imperfect and destined to degrade over time. Almost everything we do makes this happen faster. That wireless charger I use overnight creates excess heat, which speeds up battery degradation. Ditto for fast charging. That means charging your phone correctly is practically impossible. While certain tips and tricks can speed up the process and extend your phone batterys life, theres nothing you can do about the limitations of the lithium-ion batteries in your devices. They all eventually stop holding a charge, which means they constantly need replacing. Lithium-ion batteries, especially the cheap ones, can also explode without warning. There is, however, new hope for a breakthrough in battery technology. A Boston-based startup called Pure Lithium recently announced a breakthrough with its lithium metal batteries. While the lithium-ion batteries in your phone start to degrade significantly after a few hundred cycles of charging and discharging, these lithium metal batteries, which use pure lithium rather than a lithium compound, can last over 2,000 cycles without significant damage degradation, an ongoing test shows. Plus, the lithium metal batteries can store twice as much energy and weigh half as much as conventional lithium-ion batteries. Pure Lithium cofounder and CEO Emilie Bodoin calls this combination of features the holy grail of energy storage.We have to have a step change, because there have been many inventions in the battery space over the last 20 years, Bodoin told me. [But] you cannot feel it in your phone or your device.That said, you cannot currently buy an iPhone with a lithium metal battery in it. Lithium metal batteries, along with the rest of the battery technologies that stand to replace lithium-ion, are still in development.And so even though lithium-ion batteries are imperfect, they will continue to be ubiquitous for decades. The supply chain needed to build lithium-ion batteries, especially EV batteries, is highly reliant on China, but it can also scale up in a way that experimental battery technology cannot. Global demand for lithium-ion batteries reached 700 gigawatt hours in 2022 and, largely thanks to EVs, demand is expected to grow 30 percent annually until it reaches 4,300 gigawatt hours in 2030, according to McKinsey. To put that into context, 4,300 kilowatt hours is enough to power more than 400,000 homes for a year or roughly equivalent to the annual output of the Hoover Dam.Lithium-ion batteries are key to the renewable energy transition, and because they are getting incrementally better. You can be bad at charging your phone, for instance, and yet your phone will not explode or stop working immediately. You can also drive an EV about 300 miles before needing to charge it. The ability to cram even more energy into our batteries would be revolutionary, however.If we did have another generation of battery technology that gave you another three to five, ideally 10 times more energy density, said Stuart Lipoff, an IEEE fellow. It could enable a whole new generation of devices.This kind of technological revolution could not only mean your phones battery lasts for days. It could lead to a device that completely replaces your phone, like ultra lightweight augmented reality glasses that never need charging. And revolutionary new batteries wont just give us longer lasting EV batteries. We could have battery-powered planes, trains, and container ships. In the meantime, though, were all stuck with lithium-ion batteries, and their many faults but there are ways we can manage them.The Handycam revolutionLithium-ion battery technology dates back to 1972, when M. Stanley Whittingham first developed it at Exxon, of all places. Exxon predicted that oil production would eventually decline, and its researchers were looking for alternative energy sources. The company even showed off Whittinghams design at the 1977 Chicago Auto Show, decades before lithium-ion batteries helped make EVs mainstream. These batteries upended the consumer technology industry, first appearing in a Sony Handycam model, before they found their way back into EVs. All three scientists Whittingham, Akira Yoshino, and John Goodenough shared the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their contributions to develop lithium-ion technology.How lithium-ion batteries workBatteries are made up of three essential ingredients: an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte. (Youll usually see the anode labeled with a + sign and the cathode a - sign.)When the battery is in use, a series of chemical reactions pushes electrons from the anode, through the electrolyte, and into the cathode. When the chemical energy between the two poles hits an equilibrium, the reaction stops, and the battery is dead, until you recharge it. Adding an electrical current reverses the reaction, sending electrons back to the anode, and the battery is charged once again.Lithium-ion batteries use graphite as the anode and a lithium compound as the cathode, usually lithium cobalt oxide. (China is the worlds largest producer of graphite, and the Democratic Republic of Congo is the largest product of cobalt, which presents potential supply chain problems for the US.)The material used for the cathode also determines a batterys energy density, which is why lithium gets all the credit. There are other battery chemistries, but lithium is widely regarded as the best material for a cathode, in part because of its high energy density. It was after Yoshino and Goodenough pushed lithium-ion battery technology forward in the 1980s that it became commercialized. Sony actually helped popularize the term lithium-ion when it released the first commercial rechargeable lithium-ion battery in 1991.Lithium-ion batteries are really great, but theyre not perfect, said Matthew McDowell, co-director of the Georgia Tech Advanced Battery Center. Theyre not going to be going anywhere anytime soon.The benefits and drawbacks of lithium-ion batteries were clear from the start. They could pack a large amount of energy into a small, lightweight package, making them great for portable consumer gadgets, like camcorders and smartphones, as well as EVs. But while they can technically function for years, lithium-ion batteries can only be charged and discharged so many times before the materials inside them degrade to the point that they stop working. This is still true even today, which is why, at a certain point, tiny devices like AirPods simply have to be thrown away because their batteries no longer hold a charge and cant be replaced.Lithium-ion batteries are just not going to improve anymore, Bodoin said. They just cant. They have a theoretical energy density that they can achieve, and you just cant make that any bigger. Thats the problem.The beauty of battery managementBattery life is getting better, however. The latest iPhone lasts longer than last years iPhone on a single charge, but thats not necessarily due to a breakthrough in lithium-ion battery technology. The software that manages how a devices battery changes and discharges is just as important as the battery chemistry itself these days.Thats why there are so many tips and tricks to charging your phone. Done properly, you can work around your batterys shortcomings and not only hold a charge longer but also extend the entire lifespan of the battery. To optimize battery life and lifespan, youd ideally keep your phone between 20 and 80 percent charged in a room thats about 65 degrees at all times. If the battery is too empty or too full, too hot or too cold, it degrades more quickly. And when you do charge it, you shouldnt overdo it with an adaptor thats too powerful, because that can heat up the battery and, again, cause it to degrade. (The power of a charger is measured in watts, with higher wattages corresponding to faster charging.) Its practically impossible to meet all these conditions and live a normal life. Plus, degradation is inevitable with lithium-ion batteries, so even if you do everything right, youre ultimately fighting a losing battle.Device manufacturers know the shortcomings of lithium-ion batteries all too well, which is why theyre constantly improving battery management software. You actually dont have to worry too much about your battery getting too full, because that software will slow down the charging, also known as trickle charging, as the battery gets closer to 100 percent. Its also hard to completely drain your battery, because the device will shut itself off when there are still a few percentage points left. These battery management features also supposedly protect your battery health when youre using a fast charger.This all adds up to good news and bad news. The good news is, despite the many myths surrounding proper charging techniques, your phone, laptop, and even EV are designed to compensate for the shortcomings of lithium-ion battery technology. You can be bad at charging your phone these days, and your phone will take care of itself. If youre really worried about your battery health, avoid fast charging or charging all night long, and dont leave your phone out baking in the sun. But for the most part, you should just accept that your phones lithium-ion battery will simply stop working after a few hundred cycles.The bad news is that the step change in battery technology that will bring us battery-powered planes is years away. For new battery technologies, breakthroughs like the Pure Lithium experiment I mentioned earlier are just one step on the long road to commercialization. After all, it took 20 years from the invention of the first lithium-ion battery to its introduction in the Handycam. Thats long enough for the Handycam itself to become obsolete for one generation and then trendy again with their nostalgia-obsessed children.To borrow a quote, lithium-ion arent the batteries we deserve, but they are the batteries we need right now.A version of this story was also published in the Vox Technology newsletter. Sign up here so you dont miss the next one!See More:

This story originally appeared in Kids Today, Voxs newsletter about kids, for everyone. Sign up here for future editions.Three weeks in, the second Trump administration has already flooded the zone with an absolutely overwhelming volume of executive orders, tariff threats, and whatever Elon Musk is doing. So Im going to focus this week on two actions that specifically target children in particular, trans kids, whose lives have been at the center of a culture war waged by adults for several years now.First, Donald Trump last week signed an executive order attempting to withdraw federal funding for gender-affirming care for people under 19 care that can include puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and, in rare cases, surgery.The order not only attempts to bar federal insurance programs like Medicaid from covering such care, it also threatens to strip federal funding from hospitals that offer it. Executive orders are not laws, and advocates say Trumps order does not legally require any immediate action by providers. But the move has already had a chilling effect hospitals around the country have stopped treating trans kids, leaving some families unsure where they can turn for treatments that can reduce gender dysphoria and allow young people to live according to their identities.For many, those treatments are urgent. Gender-affirming care has been shown to reduce the risk of suicide, and advocates are worried about what will happen if more kids around the country lose access to the care they need. Its my fear that its going to skyrocket a lot of trans young people making a hasty decision to take their life, Jae Douglas, a 21-year-old activist who works with the nonprofits Capital Tea and Advocates for Youth, told me. Meanwhile, a second executive order signed last week appears to threaten federal funding for schools that allow trans students to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity, and even suggests prosecuting teachers for unlawfully facilitating the social transition of a minor student or unlawfully practicing medicine by offering diagnoses and treatment without the requisite license. The order is broad and vague, and its unclear how (or even if) it will actually be enforced in schools, but its intended to give permission to folks who want to discriminate against trans students, said Elizabeth Gill, a senior counsel with the ACLUs LGBTQ and HIV Project.Lambda Legal, the ACLU, and other advocacy groups have already filed a lawsuit challenging the gender-affirming care order. The Presidents denial-of-care order is morally reprehensible and patently unlawful, Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, senior counsel and health care strategist for Lambda Legal, said in a statement. The federal government particularly, this administration has no right to insert itself into conversations and decision-making that rightly belongs only to patients, their families, and their medical providers. The order affecting trans kids in schools is likely to face legal challenges too. But for now, the administrations actions are causing fear and concern among families and trans youth who, advocates say, never asked to have their medical care and education politicized. Theyre being put through the spotlight, Douglas said. Its inhumane. Trumps executive order on gender-affirming care, explainedTrumps first executive order on trans kids, signed last Tuesday, directs federal agencies to immediately take appropriate steps to ensure that institutions receiving Federal research or education grants end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children. Practically speaking, the goal is to bar hospitals, medical schools, and any other institutions that get federal funding from offering gender-affirming care.Federal funds from research grants and insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid are hugely important to many hospitals. NYU Langone Health in New York City, for example, received $4.4 billion from federal insurance programs in one recent year, according to the New York Times, almost half of the total money the hospital system made on patient care. The executive order also potentially threatens doctors and other staff with prosecution, directing the Justice Department to investigate whether gender-affirming surgeries could be considered illegal under a federal law banning female genital mutilation.Some hospitals have already responded by halting gender-affirming care, at least for now. Childrens National Hospital in Washington, DC, said in a statement last week that it had paused prescriptions of puberty blockers and hormone therapy to comply with the directives while we assess the situation further. NYU Langone Health has not issued a public statement but has canceled the appointments of two 12-year-olds who were scheduled to get puberty-blocking medication, the Times reports.The mother of one of the children told the Times that her family were calling other hospitals looking for treatment, but that I dont think we have a lot of options.Access to puberty-blockers is time-sensitive, trans people and advocates say, because the effects of puberty on the body can be irreversible and highly distressing if they dont match a persons gender identity. The medications are also routinely prescribed to cisgender people for conditions like precocious puberty.Trans youth in many Republican-controlled states have already struggled for years to get care, with 26 states enacting restrictions on gender-affirming treatments for minors (though many of these restrictions have been challenged in court). Some families travel across state lines to be able to get the medications their kids rely on. The new executive order could make that more difficult, by pushing hospitals even in blue states to drop gender-affirming care. Douglas, who lives in Florida, a state with a hostile environment for gender-affirming care, has been unable to access estrogen therapy for some time. As a result, the older I get, the more my body changes and the less control I have over my future, they told me. Its painful for anyone to feel like the control of their life, their fate and [their] power is slipping from their hands and being taken by someone else. I feel robbed of autonomy and of choice.How Trumps order on schools could affect trans kidsAdding to the fear among trans kids and families is the executive order targeting trans kids experiences in schools, which directs agencies to come up with a plan for blocking the use of federal funds to directly or indirectly support or subsidize the social transition of a minor student.According to the order, actions that support a students social transition can include modifying a persons name (e.g., Jane to James) or pronouns (e.g., him to her); calling a child nonbinary; use of intimate facilities and accommodations such as bathrooms or locker rooms specifically designated for persons of the opposite sex; and participating in school athletic competitions or other extracurricular activities specifically designated for persons of the opposite sex.Its not entirely clear what the order means by using federal funds to subsidize transition, nor is it clear that the president has the legal authority to dictate how those funds are distributed to schools. Congress passes the funding measures, Gill, the ACLU counsel, said (though Republicans in Congress seem happy to relinquish their powers to the Trump administration and Musk, at least for now).But the order, which also includes provisions on promoting patriotic education and ending indoctrination around race and racism, is trying to get people to take measures into their own hands, by the breadth of its language, by the extremity of its language, by suggesting that somehow teachers are engaged in the practice of medicine, which theyre not, Gill said.Withdrawing support at school could be catastrophic for many trans kids, advocates say. I was a trans kid socially in high school, Douglas said. Nobody at home knew, but I was very open at school. Having people call me they and them and being supported in school made me feel seen in a way that I had never felt, they said. Trans kids who are not supported, they are actively being gaslit that they are something abhorrent, like they are something just evil, and its not the truth.How schools, hospitals, and advocates are fighting backWhile the executive orders have led to fear and anxiety among trans kids and their families, some institutions and ordinary people are already pushing back. School districts in San Francisco; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Harrisonburg, Virginia, have issued statements committing to continue supporting all students. We stand by our community and school system values, which include learning, relationships, respect, excellence, and equity, Julie Yang, president of the Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland, wrote in a letter to families last week. We intend to use all legal means necessary to uphold them.Despite the high-profile pauses, many hospitals and providers are continuing to offer gender-affirming care to young patients. Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Letitia James has warned hospitals that denying care to kids based on their gender identity violates state anti-discrimination law. Meanwhile, protesters, including parents and kids, assembled outside NYU Langone on Monday after the news about canceled appointments broke. This is the last thing that we need to be worried about, one parent told the Times, a political system attacking our family.Amid the turmoil, trans kids should know that people around the country are fighting for them, Douglas said.Im sorry that youre a political talking point, they said. You should just be allowed to enjoy your childhood. What Im readingThe Kids Online Safety Act, a bill thats supposed to make social media platforms safer for young users, could have unintended consequences for homeschoolers.The Trump administrations attempt to freeze federal grants caused panic and concern at schools, even after it was blocked by a court.A California bill would require AI companies to periodically remind kids that chatbots are not people.My little kid is currently obsessed with Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes, in which a cat arrives at school wearing four sneakers, one on each foot, but apparently removes the front pair for activities like math and playing the guitar. This book raises more questions than it answers.From my inboxThe rise of tradwife content in the Trump era has me thinking about what its like to be a kid in a trad-aligned family. Tradwife ideology is obviously complicated (and the biggest tradwife influencers probably have lives that dont look like most peoples, trad or not). But Id love to hear from readers who grew up homeschooled or who otherwise feel like their upbringings had something in common with todays trad ethos. You can get in touch at anna.north@vox.com.See More:

The long-awaited Take-Two earnings call is tonight, but Rockstar Games' GTA 6 has hit a surprising couple of milestones this week as the wait for Trailer 2 goes onTech10:48, 06 Feb 2025Updated 10:48, 06 Feb 2025It's been 14 long months since we saw this trailer(Image: Rockstar)While fans had predicted we'd get a new GTA 6 trailer, we didn't but we're almost guaranteed to get some kind of update today.That's because Rockstar's parent company Take-Two will hold its first earnings call of 2025, where it's likely to comment on the game's release window, discuss potential delays, and maybe let us know one way or the other if it'll launch in two parts.As one former Rockstar dev claims the game is 'probably' finished, fans are desperate to hear more, especially as we've hit some surprising new milestones.We've had our plane tickets to Vice City purchased for years(Image: Rockstar)Yesterday marked 14 whole months since Rockstar gave us our first look at GTA 6, dropping that legendary trailer that broke the internet while racking up millions of views.It's the kind of gap that only Rockstar Games can afford, with other studios and publishers looking to maximise every marketing beat, but it's not the only anniversary this week.Tuesday, February 4 marked three whole years since the studio confirmed it was working on GTA 6 in a relatively nonchalant post on X (formerly Twitter) that you can see below.Today's earnings call could finally give us an additional peek at what could be the biggest game in the history of the medium. Or it could just tell us it's coming in 2026, but here's hoping.Yesterday, we reported that a former animator at the studio, Mike York, said the game is 'probably' playable from start to finish but that the studio is likely to be fixing bugs for some time.Content cannot be displayed without consent"They're probably still making a few new things here and there or adding to things here and there, of course, but I would assume that the game's probably playable now, and a bunch of people are testing the whole thing all the way through," he suggested."There's probably a ton of bugs and they're fixing all those bugs, and they're trying to find more bugs, and they're trying to find as many bugs as they can before they release because a game like GTA is unlike any other game."For more on GTA 6, be sure to check out why it could be best played on PS5 Pro, and a potential overhaul for the classic 'Wanted Stars' system.Article continues belowFor the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.

New Castlevania game reveal rumoured for this year claim Konami sourcesMichael BeckwithPublished February 6, 2025 2:27pmUpdated February 6, 2025 2:27pm Bring back this art style and well be extra happy (Konami)As Konami enjoys a better fiscal year than it expected, new rumours suggest the first new Castlevania in a decade will be announced before the end of 2025.While Konami hasnt entirely forgotten the Castlevania series, its still weird that there hasnt been a brand new game in over a decade, despite the continued popularity of Netflixs animated shows.Instead, the publisher has limited itself to releasing only the occasional retro compilation. Its also loaned the IP to other studios as crossover material, with games like Dead Cells and Vampire Survivors receiving Castlevania themed DLC.There has been talk of a big budget new Castlevania game for years, but never any proof. But if the newest rumours are to be believed, fans may finally get a glimpse of one later this year.This is according to Portuguese site Geekinout, as well as publishing and gaming consultant Daniel Camilo, both of whom claim to have heard from reliable sources that a new AAA Castlevania game will be announced in 2025.Neither have any idea who is developing this rumoured game, so its unclear if its being handled internally within Konami or if the company has passed it to an external developer.The latter is more than likely. After all, the last batch of Castlevania game from the 2010s the Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow reboot were handled by Spanish studio MercurySteam, makers of Metroid Dread. Plus, Konamis already been relying on outside help with its Silent Hill projects and the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake.Theres no mention of whether its a traditional 2D game or a 3D title but if its AAA that tends to suggest 3D. Theres never been a truly successful 3D Castlevania but many fans over the years have wished that Dark Souls developer FromSoftware would be employed to make one.Thats unlikely but something along the lines of Bloodborne does seem an obvious approach for a modern reboot.If a reveal is happening this year then Konami will want to unveil the game at a showcase that will have as many eyes on it as possible and, given the companys history with Sony (remember that the Silent Hill 2 remake is a PlayStation 5 console exclusive) the rumoured new State of Play is one option.Another alternative would be the Nintendo Switch 2 showcase in April. Itd be surprising if Konami didnt have something planned for Switch 2 and given how much attention that showcase is expected to get, highlighting a new Castlevania there would make a lot of sense.Konamis neglect of Castlevania is particularly strange given theyve already announced plans for the return of Metal Gear and the far less well known Silent Hill which has somehow already had multiple new games.More TrendingHowever, Konamis decision to re-embrace traditional video games, and not just rely on pachinko machines, seems to have paid dividends. The Silent Hill 2 remake has shipped over two million units since its October launch, which had a hand in increasing Konamis profits for the fiscal year by 38%.This contributed to Konamis decision to revise its forecasts. Originally, it aimed to make 380 billion yen (about 2.02 billion) in the 12 months ending March 31, 2025, but now expects to make 412 billion yen (just under 2.2 billion).Although most of Konamis money is made from fitness centres and casinos these forecasts could imply a major new game release, which they expect to do well and yet they have nothing significant currently schedueld.There are at least two more Silent Hill projects planned Silent Hill: Townfall and Silent Hill f but neither has so much as a launch window. Which means fans are free to hope for a new Castlevania with a certain amount of optimism. The recent Dominus Collection brought back the DS Castlevania games (Konami)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

The Dyson Supersonic Nural isnt just another pretty hair dryer its a smart styling tool that thinks for itself. This special edition model, decked out in elegant strawberry bronze and blush pink, packs Dysons latest innovation: intelligent sensors that automatically adjust heat and airflow to protect your hair and scalp. Its basically a beauty tool with a brain, designed to deliver salon-quality results while preventing the damage that traditional dryers can cause.Right now, its on sale for $399, down from $499.99. Thats a solid $100.99 off (20%) on Dysons most advanced hair dryer yet, and it comes with a sleek presentation case.See at AmazonYour new at-home personal stylistThe magic lies in those Nural sensors. Unlike standard dryers that blast the same heat no matter what, this one constantly monitors your hairs moisture levels and temperature. It automatically adjusts its settings in real time, preventing the kind of heat damage that leads to dull, brittle hair.This intelligent approach to drying means youre not just getting your hair dry youre actually improving its health. The system is designed to enhance natural shine while maintaining optimal scalp temperature, something thats crucial for overall hair health but often overlooked.Dysons signature air-multiplier technology is still here, delivering fast drying times without extreme heat. But now its smarter, working in harmony with those sensors to ensure youre never overdoing it on any section of your hair.The special edition colorway isnt just about looks (though it is gorgeous). The strawberry bronze and blush pink finish adds a touch of luxury to your vanity, and the included presentation case keeps everything organized and protected.At $399 (-$101), its still a premium purchase, even with the discount. But consider what youre getting: cutting-edge technology that actively protects your hair, professional-level drying power, and Dysons renowned build quality. For anyone who styles their hair regularly or is tired of fighting frizz and damage from traditional dryers, this deal makes the investment a bit more palatable.Think of it as insurance for your hair an investment in a tool that not only dries effectively but actually helps maintain your hairs health over time. Plus, with Dysons track record for durability, this is likely to be the last hair dryer youll need to buy for quite a while. Just do yourself a favor and snag one while you can at this price. You wont regret it, especially in the middle of winter when youre looking to warm up and have great hair after a shower.See at Amazon

By Passant Rabie Published February 6, 2025 | Comments (1) | White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino watch as President Donald Trump speaks to journalists in the Oval Office on January 20, 2025 Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images A piece of the Moon was packed up and brought to Earth in 1972 by two NASA astronauts, and had been sitting in the White House Oval Office for the past four years as a symbol of Americas lunar ambitions. After Donald Trump took office, however, the Moon rock was replaced by an urn, presumably as the new administration sets its sight on Mars. Recent images of the Oval Office revealed that the Apollo Moon rock had been removed from its display on a shelf to the left of Trumps desk as part of the presidents redesign of the White House, collectSpace first reported. Trump vowed to plant the American flag on Mars during his inaugural speech on January 20, overlooking NASAs ongoing efforts to land astronauts on the Moon by 2027. Apollo 17 astronaut Ronald Evans and moonwalkers Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan chipped this sample from a large boulder at the base of the North Massif. Credit: NASA NASA had loaned the Moon rock to the Biden administration in 2021 in recognition of past efforts to explore the lunar surface and the agencys current Moon-to-Mars game plan. Apollo 17 astronautsthe last humans to walk on the lunar surfacecollected the sample. The 332 gram (less than a pound) chunk of the Moon was chipped from a large boulder, and had likely formed 3.9 billion years ago during the last large impact that struck the nearside of the Moon, according to NASA. After its four-year stint at the White House, the Moon rock display was returned to NASA, a spokesperson for the agency told collectSpace in an email. Before it made its way to Washington, the lunar sample had been sitting at the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston. Its not clear whether the removal of the Moon rock has something to do with the current administrations spaceflight plans. The Oval Office gets a redesign each time a new president assumes position. Trump also brought back a bust of Winston Churchill and flags of the military services, items that had been removed by former President Joe Biden, according to the Wall Street Journal.We reached out to the White House and the White House Historical Association for more details but did not receive a response by the time of publication. Since Trump assumed office, NASA has been having difficulty navigating through the different executive orders issued by the new president. During his inaugural speech, Trump didnt mention the Moon, while highlighting launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars, he said.NASA has persistently vowed for a Moon-to-Mars approach, using the lunar surface as a testbed for landing astronauts on the Red Planet sometime in the 2030s. Rocket billionaire and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, on the other hand, has advocated for a more aggressive approach that targets a Mars touchdown right off the bat. Musk is a close advisor to Trump, and the new president may also be leaning more toward the commercial industrys approach to space exploration, which is evident through his choice of private astronaut Jared Isaacman for the position of NASA administrator. Trumps new decor of the Oval Office could reflect the presidents Mars-bias, chucking the lunar rock out of the White House. The rocky sample has already traveled thousands of miles from the Moon to Earth, so a trip back to Houston isnt a big deal, but a return to the lunar surface is the real point of debate.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Matt Novak Published February 6, 2025 By Lucas Ropek Published February 5, 2025 By Matt Novak Published February 5, 2025 By Passant Rabie Published February 5, 2025 By Passant Rabie Published February 4, 2025 By Passant Rabie Published February 4, 2025

Historical Roots, Unbreakable Structure: Ziraat Bank's New Headquarters in IstanbulSponsored ContentSave this picture! Dirk LindnerFor almost four decades, ABB, the Swedish-Swiss multinational leader in electrical engineering, has been at the cutting edge of innovation and expertise. A standout initiative in their portfolio is the Frozen Music video series,For Episode #24, a conversation with Mustafa Chehabeddine, Design Director at KPF, helped shape the narrative, emphasizing the formal and functional qualities of Ziraat Bank's new headquarters in Istanbul.KPF, renowned for its ability to tackle complex site challenges and interpret client aspirations, has long been a trailblazer in creating transformative architecture. A prime example of this legacy is the striking new headquarters of Ziraat Bank, located in Istanbul's dynamic Ataehir financial district a building that not only redefines the skyline but also enhances the urban fabric of the city. Ziraat Bank, an ambitious and sophisticated client, tasked KPF with designing a modern, yet culturally resonant building in a seismically active region. The result is a project that not only meets the demands of the future but also draws on the rich architectural heritage of one of the world's oldest cities. KPF's design integrates the curving profiles of the towers and the podium, which subtly reference the Tughraa traditional Ottoman calligraphic signaturemerging contemporary architecture with a deep cultural connection.Just like the two continents Istanbul straddles, this building is both separate, and connected. The 40- and 46-storey towers are anchored by a podium whose form serves both an aesthetic and functional purpose. It cleverly conceals large movement joints and a tensioned cable system in the base essential for resilience against seismic activity.Save this picture!Save this picture!The base also has the most elaborate design, characterized by arches and vertical fins. Enter via the spacious eight-story atrium, and you can discover the artistic high point: an enormous freestanding auditorium, crafted from nearly 1,800 Turkish travertine stones and 1,100 wood panels. Each has a unique curvature and was crafted using specialized CNC machines normally reserved for the automotive industry.This development. There are terraces, cafs, gyms, double-height gardens, quiet rooms, and other spaces for wellbeing and social connection. Technology is also crucial for convenience, from double-deck elevators to facial recognition systems. Automated lighting, managed centrally by ABB i-bus KNX, interfaces with presence detectors in individual rooms. Along with KNX controllers and wiring accessories, ABB was honored to provide systems and touchpoints that optimize comfort while enabling energy savings wherever possible.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!There are many more factors that contributed to the building's LEED Platinum certification such as the louvers added to the glass panels on the towers' exterior. Designed according to faade orientation, they minimize glare and prevent solar gain, reducing energy requirements for cooling.Clearly, the uniqueness of the Ziraat Towers lies in many details. Without the collaboration and input from multiple stakeholders the realization of such a complex building project is impossible. KPF needed to work and consult with the Turkish government and then worked closely together with Turner International, Kalyon naat', to name just a few, as well as the local architectural office A Tasarim. The design went through many stages of evolution before finalization.The result is a striking headquarters that now stands as the centerpiece of the financial districtan iconic project that will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression.Discover more about ABB's initiative and explore other videos from the Frozen Music series here.Image gallerySee allShow lessCite: "Historical Roots, Unbreakable Structure: Ziraat Bank's New Headquarters in Istanbul" 06 Feb 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1026252/historical-roots-unbreakable-structure-ziraat-banks-new-headquarters-in-istanbul&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

The Obel Award Announces the Theme for Its 2025 EditionSave this picture!Courtesy of Henrik Frode Obel FoundationThe OBEL Award is an international prize for architectural practice, presented annually by the Henrik Frode Obel Foundation. The jury, composed of representatives from firms such as Snhetta and MVRDV, alongside professionals from other disciplines, selects a theme to guide the choice of winners for each edition. The goal is to steer proposals toward solutions that foster dialogue and generate knowledge on emerging issues, aiming to promote architecture in service of social and ecological development worldwide. For its seventh edition, the 2025 call focus is Ready Made, targeting projects that place reuse and repurposing at the core of architecture for the common good.Under this concept, Ready Made refers to resources available for reinterpretation in response to urgent problems, conflicts, climate events, and social demands. The goal is to prioritize what already exists over market-driven logics that promote overproduction and hyper-consumption. This includes adaptive reuse, material innovation, and the transformation of pre-existing structures as a positive alternative to building and producing from scratch. The OBEL Award jury invites architectural practices to break away from both prevailing norms and aesthetics to challenge traditional building frameworks. An invitation to focus on what has already been made and is ready for use, under a broad definition of architectural practice.Save this picture!Previous editions have followed a similar trajectory, emphasizing environmental care, construction innovation, and exploratory approaches to urgent challenges. Architectures With, the 2024 theme, proposed rethinking the role of the architect and redefining the professional landscape to foster a more collaborative and collective practice. The award went to the Mexican firm Colectivo C733 in recognition of 36 community revitalization projects in urban and rural areas across Mexico, built within a year with government support. Since 2019, six previous winners have been selected under the themes Well-being (the inaugural theme), Mending, Cities, Emissions and Adaptations. Related Article Architecture is a Work of Generosity: In Dialogue with Colectivo C733, Winners of Obel Award 2024 Annual nominations are made by a global, anonymous network of scouts who submit projects for final evaluation by a jury that convenes twice a year, first to define the theme and later to select the winners. Deliberations are guided by discussions among jury members, following a system of representation that ensures a broad and inclusive perspective.Save this picture!The 2025 OBEL Award jury is composed by seven members: Kjetil Trdal Thorsen Chair (co-founder, Snhetta, Norway) Xu Tiantian (founding principal, DnA, Beijing, China) Dr Wilhelm Vossenkuhl (professor emeritus of philosophy, Germany) Nathalie de Vries (founding partner MVRDV, Rotterdam, The Netherlands) Louis Becker (design principal and partner, Henning Larsen, Denmark) Sumayya Vally (founder and principal at Counterspace in Johannesburg and London, South Africa and the United Kingdom) Aric Chen (general and artistic director of the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, The Netherlands) Save this picture!Image gallerySee allShow lessAbout this authorCite: Antonia Pieiro. "The Obel Award Announces the Theme for Its 2025 Edition" 06 Feb 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1026563/the-obel-award-announces-the-theme-for-its-2025-edition&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

Researchers at RIKEN, Japan have created remote controlled cyborg cockroaches, equipped with a tiny wireless control module that is powered by a rechargeable battery attached to a solar cell. (Credit: RIKEN)NewsletterSign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsEarthquakes, tornadoes, air strikes all around the world, countless lives are lost not just to the direct impacts of disasters, but those that are trapped in the resulting wreckage. Search and rescue efforts, both professional and amateur, are dangerous in themselves, as digging through rubble creates risk for secondary collapse and exposure to hazardous materials. Meanwhile time is short, and the larger the affected area, the harder it is to search efficiently and effectively. Dogs can sniff out people, but these specialized pooches are often rare compared to the vast footprint of the wreckage. A team of scientists out of Singapore and Japan believe they have a rather unconventional tool to offer search-and-rescue efforts: swarms of cyborg cockroaches. The research is published in Nature Communications.Developing Cyborg InsectsFor the last two decades, researchers have been developing technology that allows them to remotely control live insects through implants to their nervous systems. Early work developed remote-controlled flying beetles (Mecynorrhina torquata), and quickly expanded to include Madagascar hissing cockroaches (Gromphadorhina portentosa). I have communicated with rescue teams and found that they urgently need insect-sized vehicles capable of traversing small openings in rubble to locate humans trapped in disasters, says Hirotaka Sato, professor at Nanyang Technological University, who has long led this work.Early in 2025, Satos team announced a new breakthrough that brings the tech one step closer to launch: A new algorithm that can be used to deploy a swarm of the insects to navigate through unknown terrain and identify the locations of humans. Remote-Controlled InsectsHow do you make a cyborg cockroach? Apparently, the process only takes 15 to 20 minutes, the researchers say. While the insect is anesthetized with CO2, an ultra-thin silver wire is inserted into each cerci taillike sensory appendages (picture the tail end of an earwig or cricket) as well as into each antennae and a tiny hole cut into its second abdominal segment. These electrodes connect to a tiny backpack, 1.5 cm on a side, affixed to its back.Sending an electrical current through the abdomen and one antenna signals the roach to turn in the opposite direction. A similar signal sent through the cerci signals it to speed up. It takes less than a second of stimulus to elicit the response.These living cyborgs have a number of advantages over tiny robots. Theyre more energy-efficient, fueled by their own metabolism rather than the battery pack youd need to run a machine. Cockroaches are famously hardy, and this species can survive at least a week, if not more, without food or water (dont worry: these cyborgs are well-fed on a diet of carrots and apples). And when it comes to navigating difficult terrain, a cockroach doesnt need to be programmed to move over, under, and around obstacles in its path. Despite decades of advancements in robotics, miniature vehicles remain impractical due to high power consumption for locomotion and structural fragility, explains Sato. To address this challenge, we developed the concept of using living insects as a platform cyborg insects.Cyborg Search-And-RescueSending individual cockroaches into rubble like RC Cars couldbe helpful for a search-and-rescue team, but the potential impact of the cyborgs is multiplied when a larger swarm can be deployed to cover more ground. To develop the swarming capabilities of the cyborgs, Satos team worked with Naoki Wakamiya at Osaka University and Masaki Ogura at Hiroshima University, both leading experts in swarming control algorithms, as a part of Japans national research program, MOONSHOT.The concept of using the behavior of social insects to inspire algorithms dates back over 30 years, initially applied to software agents rather than physical robots.In general, you cannot say insects are programmed, but the result of evolution is that they are good at doing things that maximize the probability of their reproduction, says Marco Dorgio, research director for the Belgian Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique and co-director of the artificial intelligence research laboratory (IRIDIA) at the Universit Libre de Bruxelles, and was not involved in this study. Controlling the SwarmIn their new system, the researchers designate one cyborg in the swarm as the leader and the rest as followers. This provides a general direction for the group while allowing individuals to choose their own paths through the uneven terrain. Each cyborg can detect the location of its nearest neighbors and the leader, while only the leader knows the location of the groups destination.The benefits of this swarm are greater than the sum of its parts. Because the insects have free motion when theyre in the group, they naturally avoid obstacles that have caused others to slow down, and they wont pile up on each other. They can even help each other get unstuck or flip an overturned comrade rightside-up the insects instinctively will grab onto a passerby to right themselves. This system also reduces the need for guiding the cockroaches at all by 50 percent, the researchers report. The time spent in free motion while inside the swarm is meaningful, reducing the battery power needed in the control backpacks and reducing the likelihood of habituation to the signals. The researchers are continuing their work to refine their swarming algorithms and control systems. They hope that their cockroach rescue teams may soon scuttle their way from the lab into disaster zones, helping emergency responders locate survivors in the rubble faster and more efficiently than ever before. 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:Reuters. Searching for life in the rubbleNature Communications. Swarm navigation of cyborg-insects in unknown obstructed soft terrainBlue Zoo. Hissing Cockroaches1 free article leftWant More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/monthSubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In1 free articleSubscribeWant more?Keep reading for as low as $1.99!SubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In