Its based on a Saturday Night Live sketch. As hard as it might be to believe, there was a time about three or four decades ago when that was an intriguing proposition. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd proved their movie star bonafides by being on a mission from God, and Mike Myers reminded millions of Americans theyve been sleeping on Queens Bohemian Rhapsody for years. Theres a reason they kept making SNL movies: the shows best sketches are funny, so why not a film about those same characters?These days, the answer is obvious. Sometimes what works as a punchline for a five or three, or even two-minute sketch, does not translate to 90 minutes of laughs. And by the end of the 1990s, the idea of an SNL movie was quickly turning into a threat. Nonetheless, on the backside of the venerated television institution, the long line of movies based on Saturday Night Live skits has proven to have a few gems hidden in the rough, including some that audiences missed while they were in theaters. So without further ado, here is a ranking of the best and much, much of the rest of the SNL movie adaptations.11. Its Pat (1994)If success has many fathers and failure is an orphan, then Its Pat must be the most unloved and neglected of Dickensian street urchins to ever (barely) reach theaters. And thats saying something since no less than Quentin Tarantino in his pre-Reservoir Dogs days had a pass on the screenplay! But dont blame him. And as far as SNL maestro Lorne Michaels is concerned, dont blame him either: it was the idea of some folks at 20th Century Fox to make an Its Pat movie, and they got SNL alumni Julia Sweeney onboard before Michaels could gracefully say no. Supposedly.Whatever the case might be, Fox eventually abandoned the project and the film was nominally released into 33 cinemas by Disneys Touchstone Pictures. It would prove to be too many for what is the most unfunny, unwelcome, and wretched of SNL movies; a one-joke film that turned an already dire gag about gender confusion into 80 minutes where characters struggle to deduce whether Sweeneys Pat is a man or woman. Some mysteries though are best left unanswered.10. Stuart Saves His Family (1995)A movie I didnt even know existed before preparing for this article, the obscurity of Stuart Saves His Family proves an ill-omen for a film that should have honestly been a winner. Starring future U.S. Senator Al Franken in one of his more amusing creations as a veteran SNL writer and performer, Stuart Saves His Family has the added pedigree of being the brain child of Harold Ramis. The beloved comedy filmmaker apparently got the idea for the movie after reading Frankens comedy memoir for the Stuart character, Im Good Enough, Im Smart Enough, and Doggone It People Like Me!: Daily Affirmations by Stuart Smalley.Released between the best film in Ramis career, Groundhog Day (1993), and one of his more underrated gems, Multiplicity (1996), the lack of sincere laughs or even chuckles in Stuart Saves His Family is all the more perplexing. Based purely on the finished film, there seemed to be a decision made to play to the lowest common denominator in the development of Stuart Saves His Family, which would prove to be the downfall of most of the SNL movies developed in the 1990s. Yet going for the juvenile guffaw with talents of higher brow aspirations (or at least middle) like Franken and Ramis is a bad match. In other words, the movie is just bad.9. Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)For a film understandably reviled by comedy fans, Blues Brothers 2000 at least came out of a good place: in addition to probably wanting to have a starring vehicle again, actor, producer, and writer Dan Aykroyd sought to preserve some great blues, R&B, soul, and even rock legends like B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Billy Preston, and Eric Clapton in one film. After all, he, Belushi, and director John Landis had done something similar to mythic effect in 1980 with Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, James Brown, and Cab Calloway.Well, at least the non-Blues Brothers musical numbers in Blues Brothers 2000 are sometimes goodif too overwhelming with more than 15 interludes (versus about a half dozen in the first movie). But even if its excessive, its not like theyre distracting from anything important, because the narrative that Aykroyd and Landis settled on to appease Universal Pictures proved to be the most vacant and insipid collection of studio notes this side of Batman & Robin. Theres a kid sidekick (J. Evan Bonifant) and literal animated ghost riders in the sky. It was also apparently the studios idea to make the belated sequel to their transgressive, R-rated 1980s hit into an anodyne family-friendly PG movie. Coupled with Aykroyd and Landis declining comedy instincts, you get a dull time that wouldve worked better had Aykroyd just organized a concert film with his faves.Another Dan Aykroyd vehicle, Coneheads holds the distinction (oddity?) of being the only movie on this list based on what was even then an aged SNL sketch. Whereas every other moviesave for the Blues Brothers sequelwas based on a recent popular character or two, Coneheads was already dated by 1993.Also proving there was already limits to nostalgia for SNLs earliest golden age in the 1970s, the film was a flop. Still, we admit it has a few good lines and gags that would have worked well in an updated Coneheads sketch that lasted a few minutes. The problem, of course, is there not enough here to sustain a movie, even with Aykroyd and Jane Curtin reprising their signature roles in what amounts to an origin story for the sketch (actress Michelle Burke steps into the role of their teenage alien daughter, originally played by Laraine Newman). Its damning when in spite of this old school talent, the funniest bits are provided by Chris Farley in a small role.7. The Ladies Man (2000)The Ladies Man sketchtailored around Tim Meadows smooth-talking, Courvoisier-swilling gent about town who had afro and platform shoes to matchwas one of the first SNL gags I remember being (barely) old enough to watch. And the glaring naughtiness of his double entendres (most of which I did not get) still earned a giggle. That is perhaps why like a lot of folks who grew up watching Comedy Central in the early 2000s, this cable TV staple has a soft spot in my heart. But generally it is difficult to say it is any better or worse than Coneheads. But hey, this one has Leon Phelps, so that gives it the edge.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Meadows reprises that genuinely funny character in this mostly unfunny movie which manages to sneak in a few chuckles. In the film version, Leon is on hard times after losing the radio show that the skit is based around. Luckily, he discovers one of his former conquests wants to make him a kept manwhich is groovy, babybut unfortunately he doesnt know which one. Its a paper-thin premise that features some natural charm from Meadows, plus a pre-movie stardom Will Ferrell outraged that he has been cuckolded by Leon and his besotted wife (Save by the Bells Tiffani Thiessen).6. A Night at the Roxbury (1998)Based on another of my earliest formative memories of funny SNL sketches, A Night at the Roxbury has the advantage of starring Will Ferrell at the height of his comedy powers when he was the NBC series MVP. So the fact it failed to deploy him with the brilliance of Jon Favreau in Elf (2003) or Adam McKay in Anchorman (2004) and Talladega Nights (2006) a few years later betrays what wasted potential this one is. All the more inexplicable is comedy legend Amy Heckerling (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Clueless) had a hand in its development. One wonders whether she could have made it work if she had directed instead of just produced.As it is, the movie plays as a jokey riff on Saturday Night Fever where Kattan and and Ferrell are hopelessly lame nightclub rejects still stuck on the dated sounds of early 90s Eurodance music. This is about five years after that Ace of Base sound fell off and already seemed kitsch. This one never really fell on, however.5. Superstar (1999)The first movie on this list that garnered some audible laughs on revisit, Superstar isnt as dire as half the movies were ranking. Nonetheless, it reveals the clearest problem with most SNL movies: virtually none of these characters are interesting or empathetic enough to engender an audiences sympathy or emotional investment. So programming them into those flat 90s Hollywood comedy plots used by, say, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, and Jim Carrey always backfires. Each of those talents might have come from sketch comedy, but they developed their movie personas in a glaringly commercial (and often successful) way. Their films were designed to build audience allegiance to their slackers and goofs, begging you to root for them on their journeys of growth and self-actualization.By contrast, youre never going to root for Mary Katherine Gallagher, Molly Shannons painfully awkward and horny student at a Catholic private school. And the movie refuses to be clever enough to allow her to be an agent of chaos or scorna protagonist who is an antagonist to everyone else she meets. Still, she is played by Molly Shannon who in the 90s seemed willing to just about break every bone in her body for a laugh, and she earns quite a few of them here, be they through the aggressive pratfalls, or sequences where she starts licking a tree while practicing French kissing. Its aimed at the lowest-common denominator, but this might be the first one that at least finds its target a few times.4. Waynes World 2 (1993)Here is first good movie on this list, and I have to give it the backhand of saying it isnt a patch on Waynes World 1. Which is true, this quickie sequel released less than two years after the first filmand made while both stars Mike Myers and Dana Carvey remained cast members on the TV serieslacks the spontaneity and charm of its predecessor. What it maintains, however, is an infectious joy provided by both Myers and Carvey as Wayne and Garth, two 90s metalhead basement dwellers with big dreams, as well as the boldness to imagine a future (and movie) larger than its SNL skit origins.Whereas most SNL movies feel doomed by the limitations of their sketches, both Waynes World flicks use those humble beginnings as a jumping off point for entering a larger wacky universe that, like Blues Brothers before it, is powered by a sincere affection for music and the culture of odd admirers it attracts. In the sequel, that amounts to Wayne dreaming of building his own Woodstock in the desertnamed, of course, Waynestockpaling around with real-life musicians like Aerosmith, and recreating the ending of The Graduate by winning back everyones early 90s crush, Cassandra Wong (Tia Carrere). Its not necessarily as clever the second go-round but it has enough sweet shamelessness to power through. Rock on, guys.3. MacGruber (2010)Released a full decade after the last SNL movie on this list, and about 15 years following audiences wising up to the fact SNL movies by and large suck, theres a reason MacGruber came and went without a trace. But there is also a reason this one remains a cult favorite for a discerning type of genre fan who got wind of its brilliance a cult that includes no less than Christopher Nolan amongst its ranks. And that fact is MacGruber goes so f**king hard.Less an extension of Will Fortes 90-second MacGyver gag on SNL than it is a loving and meticulously well-thought out satire of 1980s meathead action movies that starred Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, and other relics of Reagan era values and stupidity, MacGruber revels in the badness and fun of that Commando culture. Its also directed and co-written by one of the Lonely Island guys, Jorma Taccone, bringing the flair of 2000s-era SNL digital shorts to the proceedings.Best of all, perhaps because the original sketch made the MacGruber character a dick, or because this one was allowed to be rated R, the film doesnt try to make Grubes an actual hero. Fortes protagonist is a cowardly narcissist with borderline sociopathic tendencies and he makes the lives of everyone who knows him worse. So much of the humor derives from looks of outright horror on the faces of co-stars Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, and Val Kilmer. Classic MacGruber.2. Waynes World (1992)The movie responsible for Paramount Pictures and Lorne Michaels onslaught of awful 90s SNL also-rans, it is easy for some to forget how earnest and endearing the first Waynes World is. Theres a reason this was such a hit that we got inundated with an avalanche of copycat dreck. But this one is an original. Or at least as original as a movie can be when it unabashedly builds its opening credits around Mike Myers Wayne and Dana Carveys Garth lip-synching along and thrashing their heads to Queens Bohemian Rhapsody.That extended three-minute sequence reveals the big-hearted fun at the center of the flick: it is a movie for and about nerds hanging out, and it invites you to bop along in the backseat (which in the process turned BoRap into a bigger phenom than ever before in the U.S.). It also has almost nothing to do with the sketch about Wayne and Garths public access TV show in the basement. Thats in the movie, too, but so is an amusing indictment of the entertainment industry that fanboys like Wayne and Garth never have a shred of hope of navigating. Theres also fourth-wall breaks and enough chutzpah to literally stop the movie mid-scene and rewrite the sequence you just watched so as to get the mega happy ending. Excellent.1. The Blues Brothers (1980)The Blues Brothers as a concept didnt really begin as an SNL sketch. The show was pivotal in it becoming popular after two of the shows original stars, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, began performing their characters Jake and Elwood Blues on television, but even that was touch-and-go because they had been doing it as a gag to warm up the live audiences before shows for months. There was skepticism it could actually work on TV. Yet after the sketch was a hit, Aykroyd and Belushi released a bonafide blues album, Briefcase Full of Blues, that was mostly 1950s covers; they also toured with Steve Martin at the height of his standup popularity.Belushi and Aykroyds choice to also leave SNL to make a Blues Brothers movie for the highest bidder (which notably could not include 1979-era Lorne Michaels) probably paved the way for Michaels obsession with recreating The Blues Brothers success via other SNL movies. He never really could though. The Blues Brothers was a genuine pop culture phenomenon in the late 1970s built as much on its affinity for a classic kind of sound as it was comedy. And the movie, co-written by Aykroyd and the films director John Landis, certainly didnt feel obligated to tip any black hat to the pictures roots in sketch comedy.The movie has a rugged counterculture energy befitting its 70s TV origins and in some ways outdoing it by virtue of a lack of censorship. There is also an emphasis on celebrating legends of blues and R&B like Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, James Brown, and Ray Charles. Landis films the musical icons with a sweaty excitement, and along with Belushi gets a lot of the periods hippest stars to cameo, be it Princess Leia-era Carrie Fisher or the anointed Beard of filmmaking himself, Steven Spielberg. And they also include, just because they can, a wildly dangerous-looking but still thrilling car chase, complete with the wrecking of 104 cars (arguably making it the most destructive car chase in film history). The sheer excess of the movie turning Chicago into a demolition zone suggests a certain arrogance and swagger unique to the moment it was made in. And at least in The Blues Brothers, it struts its stuff with abandon too.

A crisp white color scheme in a beach getaway is one thing, but when designer Celerie Kembles clients told her they wanted to live in their Hamptons house year-round, she knew it needed to shift in a seasonless direction. The goal was to make things bright, textural, and warm but still hold up to beach house life with children and dogs, Kemble says. To give the minimalist interiors an eclectic spin, she and designer Kristen Blood put texture and color at the forefront. Woven and patterned wallpaper now cover the walls in nearly every room, and flatweave wall-to-wall carpeting and custom rugs, suitable for any weather, pad the floors. The inspiration for the rich color palette came from the familys art, with its cobalt, beet, olive, turmeric, and coffee, Blood says.FAST FACTSDesigner: Celerie Kemble and Kristen Blood, Kemble InteriorsLocation: Southampton, New YorkThe Home: A 4,500-square-foot Victorian home built in the 1880s with six bedrooms and 4.5 baths Every surface in the house has a strong materiality, whether it is faux suede chairs, Madagascar grasscloth, tessellated shell, or Moroccan berbers. There is just so much to feel.designer Celerie KembleENTRYWAYThe cavernous area needed to feel cozier. Kirsten FrancisBench: Arteriors, in vintage suzani textile. Ceiling light: M2C Studio.Kirsten FrancisChairs: Lee Industries. Floor lamp: Arteriors. Pillows: Pat McGann Gallery.Our objective was to create a space that felt as warm and inviting on a cold winter day as it did on a lazy summer afternoon, Blood says. We added warmth by wrapping the walls in a cocoa-stained Madagascar grasscloth and painting the trim Benjamin Moore Coffee Bean. A pair of cozy armchairs invite guests to sitor sit down their belongings.LIVING ROOMEveryone naturally flocks to this gathering spot.Kirsten FrancisCeiling light: 1stdibs; Curtain fabric: Claremont. Ceramic lamps: Hollywood at Home. Hassocks: Nickey Kehoe.This is the familys go-to place to hang out during the day and after work. Plush outdoor fabrics ensure the upholstered furniture is kid- and beach-friendly, and the woven hassocks can serve as ottomans or extra seating when more people come over.PARLORNew seating made it a destination.Kirsten FrancisSofa fabric: Rogers & Goffigon. Chair fabric: Rose Tarlow. Sconce: Urban Electric Co. Coffee table: Galerie Philia. Bar cart: Dowell Furniture. Rug: Rug & Kilim.Compared with the living room, the front parlor felt more like a pass-through. Kemble and Blood fixed the flowwithout making any structural changesby adding a few strategic seating arrangements. We rearranged the floor plan to create a larger seating group, added a puzzle table in the window with chairs tucked neatly under it, and relocated the bar cart to draw people into a larger space, Blood says. Using the same color palette and a continuous rug blurs the line of where each space begins and ends, creating the illusion of one larger room.PRIMARY SUITEIt needed to feel cocooning.Kirsten FrancisWallpaper: Ottoline. Bed: custom, in Rose Tarlow fabric. Bedding: Celerie Kemble for Chairish. Rug: custom, in hair-on hide.Kirsten FrancisOttoman: Celerie Kemble for Taylor King. Chairs: Kenian, in Rose Tarlow fabric. Chandelier and table: original to house.The parents asked for their room to feel like a refuge. The gentle undulation of the catchweed wallpaper and soft colors create a breezy and calm atmosphere, Blood says. The tailored pleat curtains are an element the firm loves to use in every project. Here, theyre rendered in a gauzy sheer fabric that accentuates the bay window.GUEST ROOMThe wallpaper makes it feel much bigger.Kirsten FrancisSconce: Hudson Valley Lighting. Chest and mirror: Kenian. Rug: custom, L&M Carpets. Bedding: Matouk.Lots of consideration went into making this room comfortable. Kemble and Blood chose intricate paneling and chinoiserie wallpaper to highlight the angles of the walls and ceiling, which helps it feel cozy, not cramped. Painting the trim and ceiling panels red and sticking to a very simple color palette made one of the smallest guest bedrooms in the house feel like a special, jewel box space in a well-appointed hotel, Blood says. The homeowners added the finishes touches: carafes and bedside table books.BATHROOMVictorian-inspired details give it a period feel.Kirsten FrancisTile: Complete Tile. Sconces: Visual Comfort. Towel rack: Dutton Brown.The guest bath was the only room that called for a gut renovation. It needed a more functional, modern layout. Still, Kemble and Blood were careful to sl finishes that work with the homes architecture. The penny round floor and suede crackle subway tile are in keeping with historic tiles that were popular during the Victorian period, Blood says.EXTERIORA modern Victorian that honors the past.Kirsten FrancisThe 1880s Victorian is tucked into a hedge-lined yard in Southhampton, New York, planted with hydrangea bushes, wisteria, and climbing roses. About the DesignerCelerie Kemble is an interior designer based in New York City, where she is a partner in Kemble Interiors, Inc., the firm her mother, Mimi Maddock McMakin, founded in Palm Beach in 1982. Her projects have been published widely, including her Manhattan apartment in House Beautiful in 2016; she has product collaborations with brands including Schumacher, Merida Meridian, and Maitland-Smith; and she has written two books: Celerie Kemble: To Your Taste and Black and White: And a Bit in Between.Kristen Blood is an interior designer who has worked with Celerie Kemble since 2010. She has a BFA from Vanderbilt University and a Masters of Contemporary Design from Sothebys Institute of Art in London, and her work has been published in Architectural Digest and Homes & Gardens. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and daughter. Nickey Kehoe 17" Round Hassock$1,400 at nickeykehoe.comMatouk Bel Tempo Sham$165 at matouk.comCelerie Kemble for Taylor King Kemper Bench$2,970 at ChairishHollywood At Home Natan Moss Canteen Barium Blue Lamp$1,600 at hollywoodathome.com

The iPhone SE 4 will pack many changes when it launches this week, including a dramatic redesign, an A18 chip, and full Apple Intelligence support. However, one lingering question in my mind is whether Apple will finally upgrade the iPhone SEs base storage from the current measly 64GB. Will the iPhone SE 4 start at 64GB? The second-generation iPhone SE introduced in 2020 started at 64GB of storage for $399, and you could upgrade to 128GB for $50 and 256GB for $150. The current-generation iPhone SE 3 that launched in 2020 starts at 64GB for $429, while the 128GB costs $50 more and the 256GB costs $150 more. An incredibly sketchy leak this week from a Chinese retailer claims that the iPhone SE 4 will start at 64GB (via MacRumors). I would not put any stock into this rumor, as its almost certainly placeholder information as we await Apples official announcement of the device. Apple Intelligence is perhaps the best argument in favor of Apple finally deciding its time to increase the iPhone SEs base storage from 64GB. As weve reported, Apple Intelligence takes up around 7GB of storage on your iPhone. Thats a hefty chunk of storage, particularly if an iPhone only has 64GB of space to begin with. For that reason, I feel confident in predicting that the iPhone SE 4 will increase its base storage configuration from 64GB to 128GB. Weve seen Apple make hardware changes to accommodate Apple Intelligence needs in the past, and I think that same thinking will apply to the iPhone SE 4. I could very well be proven wrong, but that is where Im planting my stake for now. Looking outside of the iPhone SE lineup, Apple ditched the 64GB storage tier on its flagship iPhones with the launch of the iPhone 13 in 2021. Apple is expected to unveil the new iPhone SE as soon as Wednesday, so well know more details then. In the meantime, how much storage do you think the cheapest iPhone SE 4 will offer? Let us know in the comments. My favorite iPhone accessories: Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Plans for a Reddit paywall of some kind have now been confirmed by CEO Steve Huffman, after hints about it last summer.Huffman confirmed the plan for paid subreddits during a pre-recorded Ask Me Anything video shown during the companys earnings call The idea was first mentioned during a previous earning call in August of last year.Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has hinted that in future some subreddits could be paywalled, as the company seeks to devise new sources of income[He said] We will unlock the door for new use cases, new types of subreddits that can be built that may have exclusive content or private areas, things of that nature.Engadget reports that Huffman has now explicitly confirmed that this means paid subreddits.When asked if he could share information about the development of paid subreddits, Huffman said that Its a work in progress right now, so that ones coming. To a follow up question about new features coming to Reddit in 2025, Huffman said Paid subreddits? Yes, confirming theyre on the list.As the site notes, he didnt go into any details, but one possibility is some subreddits being limited to Reddit Premium subscribers.As we noted previously, its not a move which is likely to go down well with Redditors, who havent been impressed by the companys previous monetization moves.You can watch the video here.Image: 9to5Mac collage using image fromRedditAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Submitted by WA ContentsCarlo Ratti: "Architecture must rethink authorship and become more inclusive, learning from science" Italy Architecture News - Feb 17, 2025 - 16:07 html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Carlo Ratti, the curator of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of Venice Architecture Biennale, shared details and highlights of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale during a press conference on February 11.Ratti emphasized that architecture must adopt a more dynamic role in addressing climate change and environmental disasters. He highlighted that, by engaging with science, architecture can become more inclusive, as it will be discussed in this year's Biennial.The Biennale's theme, title Titled Intelligens Natural Artificial Collective, will focus on how architecture takes a flexible and active role in adapting to changing times by taking advantage of all kinds of intelligence, natural, artificial and collective.The 19th International Architecture Exhibition will take place from 10 May to 23 November 2025 at the Giardini, the Arsenale and various venues in Venice, Italy."Architecture has always been a response to a hostile climate. From the earliest "primitive hut," human design has been led by the need for shelter and survival, driven by optimism: our creations have always strived to bridge the gap between a harsh environment and the safe, livable spaces we require," said Carlo Ratti."Today, that dynamic approach is being taken to a new level - as climate becomes less forgiving. In the fires of Los Angeles, in the floods of Valencia and Sherpur, in the droughts of Sicily, we have witnessed first-hand how water and fire are attacking us with unprecedented ferocity.""The year 2024 marked a grim milestone as Earth registered its hottest temperatures on record, pushing global averages beyond the Paris Agreement's 1.5C target. In just two years, climate change has accelerated in ways that defy even the best scientific models," he added."For decades, architectures response to the climate crisis has been centered on mitigation designing to reduce our impact on the climate. But that approach is no longer enough. The time has come for architecture to embrace adaptation: rethinking how we design for an altered world."Corderie 2. Image "This years exhibition invites different types of intelligence"Ratti believes that "different types of intelligence" are needed to rethink the built environment in a rapidly changing world and invites them to work together."Adaptation demands a fundamental shift in our practice. This years Exhibition Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. invites different types of intelligence to work together to rethink the built environment," Ratti said."The very Latin title Intelligens contains the word gens (people) - inviting us to experiment beyond todays limited focus on AI and digital technologies.""In the time of adaptation, architecture is at the center and must lead with optimism. In the time of adaptation, architecture needs to draw on all forms of intelligence natural, artificial, collective.""In the time of adaptation, architecture needs to reach out across generations and across disciplines - from the hard sciences to the arts. In the time of adaptation, architecture must rethink authorship and become more inclusive, learning from science," he added."Architecture must become as flexible and dynamic as the world we are now designing for," Ratti said.In his curatorial highlights, Ratti also underlined that for the first time this year the number of participants will exceed 750. The participants will include architects, engineers, mathematicians, climate scientists, philosophers, artists, chefs, coders, writers, woodcarvers, farmers, fashion designers, and many more.Giardini venue. Image Andrea Avezzu, courtesy La Biennale di VeneziaIntelligens as "a dynamic laboratory""Adaptation demands inclusivity and collaboration," according to Carlo Ratti.Ratti stated that Intelligens will serve "as a dynamic laboratory", uniting experts across various forms of intelligence.Secondly, curating on this scale required a fundamental shift in methodology, Ratti emphasized. An interdisciplinary curatorial team has led the open, bottom-up selection process. Our open appeal for projects, The Space for Ideas, which ran from May 7 to June 21, 2024, had a tremendous amount of international response. Although the deluge of applications was exciting and intimidating, it also gave us the chance to find new, obscure voices that we may not have otherwise heard.Thirdly, the resulting participant pool spans generations, ranging from new graduates just starting their professions to seasoned professionals still innovating at ninety. Alongside up-and-coming architects and scholars are Nobel laureates, Pritzker Prize winners, previous curators of the Venice Biennale, and Royal Professors. Our dedication to a wide variety of viewpoints is demonstrated by this inclusion.Fourthly, a new approach to authorship is necessary in light of the diversity of contributions. He said that the idea that the architect is the only creator and that other experts should only play supporting roles is challenged by Intelligens. Drawing inspiration from scientific studies, the Biennale suggests a more inclusive authorship model. All of the voices influencing design must be acknowledged and given credit during the adaption phase.Gaggiandre. Image Fifthly, the Venice Biennale needs to work with other organizations in this age of adaptability. Intelligens has established relationships with numerous international organizations, including the Soft Power Club, the Davos Baukultur Alliance, C40, the UN's COP30 in Belem, and many more. GENS, its public program, will engage audiences of all sizes with a chorus of events and discussions.Carlo Ratti is an architect and engineer, and he is currently holding teaching positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and at the Politecnico di Milano.Ratti is the director of the Senseable City Lab at the MIT and a founding partner of the architecture and innovation office CRA-Carlo Ratti Associatibased in Torino, New York City, and London.The collaborations at the Corderie dellArsenale will feature the works of Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley, Kengo Kuma and Associates, Arup, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Tosin Oshinowo.Other collaborations include the Norman Foster Foundation, the UK Astronomer Royal Martin Ree, Boonserm Premthada, Tongji University professor Philip Yuan, and Gramazio Kohler Research from ETH Zurich with MESH and Studio Armin Linke.Also at the press conference, Ratti announced the national and international participants. This year, Russia and Israel will not participate in the event, while 4 new countries will participate in the Biennale: the Republic of Azerbaijan, Sultanate of Oman, Qatar, Togo.In 2023, Ghanaian-Scottish architect, academic, and novelist Professor Lesley Lokko curated the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, under the theme of The Laboratory of the Future - which explored decolonisation and decarbonisation.The top image in the article Andrea Avezz, courtesy La Biennale di Venezia.> via Venice Architecture Biennale

The winning teams will design and deliver a programme of decarbonisation interventions across 141 schools including three further education campuses.The initiative is being run by the arms length body LocatED and follows an earlier pathfinder programme which explored decarbonisation options for 50 schools.The contract is divided into three lots covering the West Midlands and East Midlands; North East and Yorkshire and the Humber; and the North West.AdvertisementAccording to the brief: LocatED, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, is inviting tenders for the opportunity to act as Delivery Partner and manage the delivery of decarbonisation interventions for 141 schools (including at least three FE colleges) across three lots.This opportunity builds on the Net Zero Accelerator Pathfinder project and will facilitate the roll out of energy generation and efficiency interventions across the education estate.LocatED is a government-owned property consultancy responsible for promoting the decarbonisation of the schools estate which is currently represents 37 per cent of public sector building carbon dioxide emissions.In 2023, LocatED appointed Barker Associates in consortia with Place Group and others, Arcadis in consortia with Cundall, Gleeds in consortia with eEnergy and PureThermal, Morgan Sindall Construction, and Syzygy Consulting to work on a feasibility study for its pathfinder programme.The latest procurement will select three delivery suppliers to work on a range of community renewables projects with 141 schools during 2025 and 2026.AdvertisementKey aims include unlocking access to clean energy and opportunities by promoting energy efficiency and generation on school campuses.Competition detailsProject title Net Zero Accelerator /Community Energy projectClient Department for EducationContract value37 billionFirst round deadline Midday, 19 March 2025Restrictions TbcMore informationhttps://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/cb2d9dc8-0fce-4a94-9e1d-f243d610b189

The winning teams selected for the agreement will work with NHSE to deliver the governments New Hospital Programme (NHP) which originally set out to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030 but has since been reviewed and will now see 50 schemes delivered in four waves by 2039.Up to 10 teams will be selected for the 12-year framework which is expected to cover refurbishments, fit outs, testing, enabling works, landscape, highways, office buildings, asset protection, planning, car parks, and the digital and lifecycle maintenance of capital works.According to the brief: NHSE is seeking to establish a multi-supplier framework agreement for major capital works for hospital build, refurbishment and ancillary works required by NHSE, including the detailed design, construction, commissioning and hand back of major hospital schemes as part of the NHP.AdvertisementThe framework agreement is to be referred to as the Hospital 2.0 Alliance Framework (the H2A Framework or Framework Agreement). Works and Services will be carried out on existing sites, adjacent to existing facilities or on new sites.The NHS in England is one of the countrys largest public employers with 1.4 million staff and more than 100 billion in annual funding. NHS England launched an initial search for a programme delivery partner for its ongoing new hospitals investment drive one year ago.The latest procurement comes just two months after NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde announced a new 1.5 million construction consultancy services framework and a month after NHS Property Services announced a new 9.5 million architectural services framework.The New Hospital Programme was first announced in 2020 and involved the delivery of 40 new hospitals defined as with a major new clinical building, a new wing, or a refurbishment altering all but the building frame or main structure.The programme has been reviewed and will now cover 50 schemes in four waves running up to 2039. Key aims of the programme include harnessing modern methods of construction, delivering new net zero carbon infrastructure and responding to future healthcare demand and capacity modelling.AdvertisementCompetition detailsProject title New Hospital Programme Hospital 2.0 Alliance (H2A) FrameworkClient NHS EnglandContract value37 billionFirst round deadline Midday, 19 March 2025Restrictions TbcMore informationhttps://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/004765-2025

It's no secret that a balanced diet is a significant part of a healthy lifestyle. But can it decrease your risk of cancer or help prevent it? Although foods are not miracle cures and no one food can guarantee you won't get cancer, there is some evidence that certain foods may reduce your risk of developing cancer.We asked doctors and experts which foods have been shown to potentially decrease cancer risk.1. Berries Upgrade your inbox Get cnet insider From talking fridges to iPhones, our experts are here to help make the world a little less complicated. Berries are rich in antioxidants and flavonoids like anthocyanins, which are anti-inflammatory and can reduce oxidative stress. "These two factors are major drivers of cancer, and berries pack a punch when it comes to reducing those risks," board-certified oncology dietician and cancer survivor Alison Tierneysays.A 2005 study in the European Journal of Cancer found that brightly-colored fruits with high anthocyanin levels may be chemopreventive, and could potentially reduce your risk of developing cancer. The phytochemicals in berries alter the gut microbiome to target immune cells to suppress tumor growth that could develop into cancer.In vivo, polyphenols in raspberries and strawberries have been shown to inhibit colon and prostate cancer cell growth in a 2011 review. Antioxidant-rich strawberries also may inhibit cancer cell growth in the liver, regardless of cultivar type and antioxidant level, in a 2003 test-tube study.Black raspberries have been found to slow colorectal cancer tissue growth in 2011 and 2012 cancer research studies. One 2012 rat study found both blueberries and black raspberries may also inhibit estrogen-driven breast cancer tumors. The chemopreventive effects in black raspberry anthocyanins may also prevent esophageal tumors from developing, according to a 2009 cancer prevention research study on rats.The American Institute of Cancer Researchrecommends a diet filled with a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains and plant-based foods including blueberries, cranberries, raspberries and strawberries to help lower cancer risk, as seen in laboratory studies.2. Soybeans Wang Yukun/Getty Images"Soy often gets a bad reputation, but research suggests it is a cancer-fighting powerhouse," Tierney says. Previously, soy plant estrogens (isoflavones) were believed to disrupt hormones, raising breast cancer risk in women. But soy-based foods like tofu, tempeh, edamame and soy milk do not contain enough isoflavones to increase your breast cancer chances, according to the Mayo Clinic. That said, taking concentrated isoflavone supplements could raise your risk if you have a personal or family history of thyroid issues or breast cancer.The American Cancer Society suggests that rat studies in which rats were exposed to high doses of isoflavones from soy may be linked to breast cancer. However, rats don't process soy the same way people do. Human studies, on the other hand, have revealed that soy's estrogen effects either have no effect or reduce breast cancer risk. A 2021 technical review of 417 reports concluded that soyfoods and isoflavones should not be classified as endocrine disruptors.In a 2024 study, participants eating 54 grams of soy products daily had an 11% reduction in cancer risk, while drinking 23 grams of soymilk daily showed a 28% lesser cancer risk. A 2021 meta-analysis of 300,000 Chinese women who enrolled in a study from 2004 to 2008 and had a follow-up in 2016 found that a 10 mg/day soy intake reduced breast cancer risk by 3%.3. TomatoesLycopene is a potent antioxidant found abundantly in tomatoes that could lower one's risk of developing lung, breast and stomach cancers, according to MD Anderson Cancer Center. A 2022 systematic review of 72 animal and human studies found that lycopene regulates inflammatory and oxidative stress processes, influences cell death and suppresses cell division, tumor growth and formation.In a 23-year longitudinal study of men published in 2016, researchers found that men who consumed two or more servings of tomato sauce weekly had a 30% lower risk of developing prostate cancer than those who ate one serving or less per month. These results are similar to a 2022 epidemiologic study review suggesting that increasing tomato-based product intake may reduce the risk of prostate cancer.Lycopene's ability to suppress tumor progression and boost the immune system while reducing inflammation has also shown promise in reducing the risk of lung cancer. Despite being carotenoids, beta-carotene and lycopene differ chemically, with beta-carotene potentially increasing lung cancer risk. Though tomatoes have a high level of lycopene, it's also found in other red, yellow and orange foods like watermelon, peppers, grapefruit, papaya and guava.4. Green tea Yasin Ozturk/Getty ImagesIncluding green tea in your diet may also reduce your risk of developing cancer. "Green tea contains bioactives called catechins, specifically EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate), that starve cancer by cutting off their blood supply," Dr. William Li, scientist and author of Eat to Beat Disease, says. "This activity, known as anti-angiogenesis, has been extensively researched."Angiogenesis is a normal and necessary blood vessel formation process during pre- and postnatal growth stages that helps oxygen reach your organs and tissues. But if your cells malfunction and create tumors, angiogenesis can feed the tumors, creating cancer and helping it spread throughout your body.EGCG has powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which "brings promising results in the prevention of breast, lung, prostate, stomach and pancreatic cancers. A 2012 Nutrients study found EGCG to be the most effective chemopreventive polyphenol in green tea. Over a 30-year study, EGCG in green tea has been shown to delay the onset of cancer and reduce your chances of getting a cancer diagnosis.According to AICR, studies where green tea has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer typically involve a large amount of tea consumption daily, from three to six cups. A 2018 analysis found that drinking more than 10 cups may lower your risk of the following cancers: colorectal, liver, lung and stomach.5. Cruciferous vegetablesCruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, bok choy and cabbage contain a powerful antioxidant, sulforaphane, that has anti-inflammatory properties and fights against oxidative stress, a factor that can lead to cancer."Sulforaphane has been shown to not only stop the growth of particular cancer cells but also encourage apoptosis (programmed cell death)," Dr. Courtney Scott, medical director of Momentous Recovery Group in Los Angeles, says. "Its functionality lies in activating specific enzymes that neutralize toxins in the human body, thus reducing the probability of DNA impairment that may stimulate cancer. These have been noted for breast, prostate and colon cancers specifically."A 2000 case-control study found that men who ate a large amount of cruciferous vegetables had a lower risk of prostate cancer. Premenopausal women in a 2008 epidemiological study who consumed cruciferous vegetables (broccoli in particular) regularly were found to have a marginally lower risk of breast cancer.A more recent 2022 study found another compound in cruciferous vegetables, indole-3-carbinol (I3C), frees tumor-suppressing genes to allow them to attack tumor cells and kill them off before they can grow into cancer and spread throughout the body. However, the study was done on lab mice, with humans needing to eat an equivalent amount of over six pounds of broccoli per day to get the same effects.The bottom lineEating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, green tea and other vitamin-packed foods can nourish your body, allowing you to live a healthy and active life. It may also build your immune response so your body is ready to fight off cancer cells before they can grow and develop into diagnosable cancer.Making foods such as berries, soybeans, tomatoes, cruciferous vegetables and drinks like green tea a regular part of your diet has been shown to potentially provide your body with the right chemicals to reduce your risk of cancer.

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February 16, 20254 min readQuantum Simulation Shows How Universe-Destroying Bubbles Could GrowPhysicists are finding new ways to model false vacuum decay, a terrifying, albeit remote, cosmic endgameBy Dan Garisto edited by Lee Billings Nico Korbel/Getty ImagesThe good news is that you, and everyone you love, will die long before it might happen.Now for the bad news. Someday, in the far-distant future, eons beyond its 13.8-billion-year adolescence, the universe could suffer a false vacuum decay. This would involve a bubble of incomprehensibly destructive power that would spontaneously materialize and ripple through spacetime at the speed of light. Such an event would rewrite the fundamental laws of physics and obliterate our reality in the equivalent of a cosmic cut-and-paste command.Whatever [was] in the false vacuumso this would be uswould disappear immediately right when this bubble spread through us, says Jaka Vodeb, a physicist at the Jlich Center in Germany.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.For decades, theoretical physicists have wondered whether the universe is stable or metastable. In the latter scenario, it is in afalse vacuum that will eventually decay to a state of lower energy, a true vacuum. Vacuum, in this case, refers neither to an appliance nor to outer space but to a state of truly empty space, which can still have energy even when it is devoid of particles. In recent years theorists experimental colleagues have begun tinkering with quantum systems to whip up analogous systems in the lab (given that working with bona fide universe-annihilating bubbles would be a bit dicey).Earlier this month Vodeb and his colleagues published the findings of their cosmic bubble simulation in Nature Physics. Using a 5,564-qubit quantum annealer from the company D-Wave to essentially create a one-dimensional chain of highly sensitive magnets that could point up or down, they simulated the growth and interactions of cosmic bubbles.The researchers first arranged the qubits to point up and then tuned a magnetic field so that pointing down was energetically favorable. Over time, some qubits flipped to point down, and the flips cascaded to nearby qubits, forming clusters, or bubbles. The analogue bubbles then grew and merged, matching predictions about their cosmic counterparts. The results, first shared on the preprint server arXiv.org in June 2024, represent the first time cosmic bubble interactions have been simulated.This is one of the simplest demonstrations of how a vacuum can decay in a real, physical system with a proper analytical theory behind it, says Roopayan Ghosh, a theorist at University College London, who was a peer reviewer for the paper. Thats why I think people should find it interesting.Contrary to their apocalyptic subject matter, the physicists who study false vacuum decay are rather zen about the whole thing. I dont really, you know, live in existential fear, Vodeb says.So Long, and Thanks for All the Flash-Frozen FishTo understand the metastability of the false vacuum, start by filling a bottle with distilled water and putting it in your freezer for a couple of hours. The bottles water, free of dust or chemicals to trigger crystallization into ice, can remain liquid below the normal freezing point. This is a metastable state. Jostling the bottle will cause the supercooled water to immediately freeze to ice, shifting to its stable state.Another example of metastability, more morbidly apropos of universe-ending bubbles, involves fish.The Greenland cod (Gadus ogac) is a tan-colored fish thats uninterestingsave for the fact that its blood freezes at about 0.7 degree Celsius. During the winter, seawater in their geographic range is colder than that, reaching a frigid temperature of 1.9 degrees C. The cod are no warmer, but they swim along fineunless they are brought into contact with ice. Researchers studying the phenomenon in the fjords of northern Canada in the 1950s placed the fish on ice and watched: ice crystals surged across the cods skin, rapidly killing the fish and creating a frozen monument to metastable precarity.Whereas flash frozen cod are a classical phenomenon, false vacuum decay requires quantum tunneling, in which a highly improbable fluctuation takes the universe to a different state. How improbable is that fluctuation? If the universe is in fact metastable, recent calculations of vacuum decay have put its lifetime at about 10790 years, a number so large that you could wait another 13.8 billion years for the arrival of a better analogy, and cosmic annihilation would still be 10790 years away.Supposing you are fortunate enough to be around for a false vacuum decay, physicists have deduced that there is additional encouraging news. As a consequence of this rapid expansion, if a bubble were expanding toward us at this moment, we would have essentially no warning of its approach until its arrival, wrote Sidney Coleman, a theorist then at Harvard University, in a 1977 paper.Lacking a universe in a bottle to observe, physicists have learned to blow bubbles in a variety of media. A quantum annealer is slow and not very useful for computing, Vodeb says, but its thousands of qubits are ideal for such a simulation because theyre very controllable, allowing bubble formation to be easily initiated and observed.Last year Alessandro Zenesini and his colleagues at the University of Trento in Italy reported their observations of a bubble in a collection of about a million sodium atoms that were the size of a poppy seed and cooled to nearly absolute zero. In that case, the bubble consisted of clumps of thousands of atoms that flipped their orientation to emulate the shift from a false vacuum to a true one.Although such atomic clumps are closer to the conventional image of a bubble than the annealers qubits in the new study, they are still only a crude toy model of the universenotably, they lack any meaningful inclusion of gravity. We cannot say anything about the real universe based on the 2024 experiment in Italy, says Alessio Recati, a theorist at the University of Trento and a member of the group that conducted that earlier study.That, of course, raises a broader and somewhat important, albeit nonurgent, question: Is the cosmos actually metastable, distantly destined for extinction by cosmic bubbles? Could be, Zenesini says breezily. Who knows?