NordVPN turns 13, so lets wish it the happiest birthday! We say this because NordVPN doesnt accept gifts. Its the opposite, as it gifts its loyal user base for its own birthday, with two exclusive incentives.Users can save up to 72% on NordVPNs 2-year plans and get up to 1 year of NordVPN Prime for free on top. This means you pay for a 2-year plan and get 3 years instead!Lets see whats in store for this fiery NordVPN celebration.See At NordVPNGet Up to 1 Year of NordVPN for FreeWell first explain its free VPN deals.The VPN offers four plans the Basic one is the least expensive but doesnt come with a free offer. On the flip side, we have three more packages:Plus at $4.39/mo (70% off) + 6 free monthsComplete at $5.39/mo (70% off) + 6 free monthsPrime at $8.39/mo (72% off) + 12 free monthsThe first two, when bought, grant you 6 free months of NordVPNs corresponding plans. For example, if you get Plus, youre awarded 6 free months of Plus, etc.Plus and Complete plans offer Threat Protection Pro and NordPass or NordPass + NordLocker respectively. Finally, theres the Prime plan the star of the show.This plan is equipped with all of the above plus NordProtect, for additional identity theft protection and cyber extortion insurance. At $8.39/mo, its 72% off and comes with a free year on top.NordVPN Basic: The Cheapest Birthday DealIf youre in it for the VPN only, the Basic plan may be your ideal pick.NordVPN graces us with a 70% discount on this plan, which drops the price to only $3.39/mo or $81.36 upfront for 24 months. Its way less expensive than Plus.However, you dont get 6 or 12 free months and NordVPN doesnt include other extras. Despite that, we think this is a brilliant deal because the VPN alone has many features.Some of them are:7,300+ servers in 118 countriesStreaming and torrenting allowanceUnlimited bandwidthDouble VPNNo-logging policyKill switchApplications for all devices10 simultaneous connections, and more.At this price, NordVPN is one of the best affordable VPNs. Not to forget its 30-day money-back guarantee, which permeates each plan.With it, you can test the VPN and be refunded in 30 days if you want.You dont need to explain your reasons and answer tedious questions.Its time to let NordVPN gift you its best birthday deal. If youre dead-set on this phenomenal VPN, now is the time to get up to 3 years of subscription for a two-year price. Dont wait until the next birthday.Get NordVPN Basic at $3.39/mo

Tickets are now on sale for Universal Horror Unleashed, opening this summer in Las Vegas immersive entertainment hub AREA15. The Universal Destinations and Experiences satellite interactive station brings Halloween Horror Nights to a year-round venue just off the Strip with monsters in tow beginning August 14, hot off the heels of Epic Universes opening. The attractions first major featured franchises include the Universal Monsters, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist: Believer, and a HHN fave in Scarecrow: The Reaping. So get those Summerween plans started to kick off the season in Vegas with Leatherface, the Universal Monsters, and friends. From the looks of it, its sure to be a killer way to beat the heat, with haunted houses, thrilling entertainment (Jack the Clown!), and spooky dining. The experience will be joining AREA15s other offerings, including Meow Wolfs Omega Mart. Heres a preview: It was previously announced that the year-round attraction will host limited runs of houses inspired by Universal Studios horror properties and Horror Nights original canon characters as seen at Universals theme parks. Were hoping some of our favorite all-timer haunts (Universal Studios Floridas Slaughter Sinema and Universal Studios Hollywoods Alien vs. Predator, for starters) get featured down the line. As opening date approaches, were excited to learn more about the themed dining and drinks that will no doubt homage the studios legacy in horror past and present. You know HHN Easts cult fave pizza fries cannot be excluded from the menu. And speaking of cult, its such a gas to see Jack the Clown all over the teaserthe HHN icon deserves the limelight and to have more people know his name.Tickets are now on sale through Universal Horror Unleasheds official site. They start at $69 to go through the haunts once and $99 to have unlimited access to them. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

OUTPOST CAFE / space design A.LIVESave this picture! PARK JONGSUArchitects: space design A.LIVEAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:731 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:PARK JONGSU Lead Architects: Jeon Heesu More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. OUTPOST is inspired by Ganghwa's historical "Dondae." This space reinterprets the fortress's intense atmosphere to create a sanctuary where modern individuals can reconnect with nature and recharge.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The circular, low walls are central architectural elements reminiscent of the "Dondae," offering visitors a sense of security akin to being cradled in a maternal embrace. These walls also strategically guide sightlines and movement, fostering concentration on the natural surroundings.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Inside, subdued lighting enhances the interplay of natural light, drawing attention outward to the surrounding nature.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officespace design A.LIVEOfficeMaterialConcreteMaterials and TagsPublished on February 20, 2025Cite: "OUTPOST CAFE / space design A.LIVE" 19 Feb 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1027077/outpost-cafe-space-design-alive&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

In this video I demonstrate the new Vicon Motion Capture system updates combined with the new Unreal Engine 5.4 Retargeting updates. The workflow to get Metahuman animation is getting EASIER and BETTER quality.- Vicon Shogun 1.12 has new updates making actor calibration much more visual and their Metahuman / UE5 Mannequin 1 click script works incredibly well.- Unreal Engine 5.4 has a new "Auto Retarget" feature that makes retargeting animation to any size Metahuman extremely easy.- UE 5.4 also has a new updated Sequencer UI which makes cleaning up and adjusting animations more straight forward.MOCAP System:10x Vicon Vero 2.2 CamerasShogun Live 1.7 and Shogun Post 1.7

Every dog owner recognizes the telltale manners of their furry companion, from tail wags to perked-up ears, but another, more subtle behavior likely wont be caught at first glance: blinking. A dogs blinking may not seem like a noteworthy function, but a recent study has found that it could actually reflect a subconscious way that dogs socialize, opening scientists eyes to a new perspective on canine communication.The research, published in Royal Society Open Science, shows how dogs mimic each other when blinking. Facial mimicry in canines is not a new revelation; scientists have previously studied how dogs emotion is conveyed when they copy yawns or match each others play faces. The new study proposes blinking much less noticeable than yawning or playful faces as yet another visual cue that helps dogs bond.A Dog's Need to AppeaseWith their shared evolutionary history, dogs and wolves both display visual cues that are believed to potentially act as appeasement signals in uncertain social situations. They may resort to these subtle signals, like eye blinking and nose licking, to advertise non-aggression when approached by another member of their species or, also in the case of dogs, a human.Blinking also plays a role in social communication among humans, as well as other primates; previous studies have shown, for example, that humans coordinate the timing of their blinks with social partners. The researchers wanted to see if a similar outcome could be observed as a form of social communication in dogs.To test this, the researchers created separate sets of 12-second videos, each with one of three actor dogs a terrier, a cocker spaniel, and a border collie. One set of videos, the control group, featured the dogs staying still and looking at the camera with an attentive, still-looking face. A second set of videos showed the dogs licking their nose, and a third set showed them blinking. The researchers then edited the videos together into sequences in which one of the facial signals would be displayed every four seconds.Bonding With BlinksFifty-four dogs were brought in to watch the videos and fitted with a heart-rate monitor so that the researchers could track their cardiac activity. The dogs were also filmed to capture their facial cues in response to the videos.Although some dogs fell asleep while watching the videos, those that didnt doze off blinked about 16 percent more on average when watching the blinking sequence compared to the other two sequences. The nose-licking sequence, on the other hand, did not cause a significant increase in nose-licking behavior in the dogs, suggesting that it does not serve the same mimicking purpose as blinking in this instance. The dogs heart rates remained stable throughout all sequences, meaning they likely perceived the video test as a non-stressing situation.Blinking in dogs, as seemingly confirmed in the study, is a way for them to communicate without even knowing; like blinking in humans at times, this is considered a reflexive behavior since the dogs in the test did not appear to deliberately blink more often on purpose, but rather, as an automatic reaction. The researchers state that future studies are needed to understand how dogs synchronize blinking, as the timing of their blinks may provide more insight into this curious form of communication.Read More: Do Dogs Have Long-Term Memory?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:Royal Society Open Science. If you blink at me, Ill blink back. Domestic dogs feedback to conspecific visual cuesRoyal Society Open Science. Rapid mimicry and emotional contagion in domestic dogsFrontiers in Systems Neuroscience. The perceptual consequences and neurophysiology of eye blinksJack Knudson is an assistant editor at Discover with a strong interest in environmental science and history. Before joining Discover in 2023, he studied journalism at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University and previously interned at Recycling Today magazine.

A new fossil discovery may rewrite Australias Cretaceous Period evolutionary history. Paleontologists led by Museums Victoria Research Institute and Monash University uncovered what they believe is the oldest known megaraptorid and possibly the first known evidence of carcharodontosaurs from Australias Victoria Coast.According to the study published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, these findings could change what science has known about predatory hierarchy in Cretaceous Australia.The discovery of carcharodontosaurs in Australia is groundbreaking, said Jake Kotevski a Ph.D. student with Museums Victoria Research Institute and Monash University, in a press release.Carcharodontosaurs vs. MegaraptoridsDuring the Cretaceous Period, Australia was part of the supercontinent Gondwanan, along with Antarctica, New Zealand, Africa, India, and South America, among others. During this time, Gondwanan began breaking up.As the continent broke apart, dinosaur evolution changed and diverged with it. In South America, for example, theropods like carcharodontosaurs dominated the predator hierarchy above megaraptorids.According to the study, in South America, carcharodontosaurs reached the size of the Tyrannosaurus rex, about 40 feet, while megaraptorids were just under 30 feet.While carcharodontosaurs may have been a South American Cretaceous apex predator, this can not be said for carcharodontosaurs living in Australia at the time.A Groundbreaking DiscoveryThe new findings from Australia describe five new theropod fossils uncovered along Victoria, Australias coast, an area known as the upper Strzelecki Group Bunurong/Boonwurrung Country, Bass Coast, and the Eumeralla Formation Eastern Marr Country, Otway Coast.Among the uncovered fossils were megaraptorids and carcharodontosaurs. However, the megaraptorids were about 20 feet long, while the carcharodontosaurs were about 6 feet to 13 feet long.This discovery indicates that in Cretaceous Australia, megaraptorids likely dominated the predatory hierarchy over carcharodontosaurs.Its fascinating to see how Victorias predator hierarchy diverged from South America, where carcharodontosaurs reached Tyrannosaurus rex-like sizes up to 13 meters [about 42 feet], towering over megaraptorids. Here, the roles were reversed, highlighting the uniqueness of Australias Cretaceous ecosystem, said Kotevski in the press release.According to the study, two of the fossils are some of the oldest megaraptorids known around the world. These findings help give researchers a better understanding of megaraptorid's evolutionary history and suggest that these theropods played a crucial role in the ecosystems of Gondwanan.Help from MuseumsAccording to the study authors, these findings highlight the critical role museums play in helping to unearth new discoveries and improve scientific knowledge.Museum collections are crucial to advancing our understanding of prehistoric life, Tim Ziegler, vertebrate paleontology collection manager at Museums Victoria Research Institute, said in a press release. Specimens preserved in the State Collection for decades unidentifiable until now are providing new insights into the evolution of dinosaur ecosystems.The authors also note that three of the fossils in this study were uncovered by Melissa Lowery, a volunteer at Museums Victoria. Lowerys contributions highlight how community members can help advance scientific research. 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:Australia Museum. The Cretaceous Period (146-65 million years ago)Britannica. GondwanaA graduate of UW-Whitewater, Monica Cull wrote for several organizations, including one that focused on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. Her current work also appears on her travel blog and Common State Magazine. Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who.

Nature, Published online: 19 February 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00502-8Nerve-cell highways identified in mice suggest that stress pushes the brain towards rigid habit and away from thoughtful choices.

Nature, Published online: 19 February 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08545-zAn intercomparison exercise reassesses mass loss from glaciers worldwide based on the main in situ and satellite methods from 2000 to 2023; the results are consistent with previous assessments and provide a refined and comprehensive observational baseline for future impact and modelling studies.

The tomb of Thutmose II, a pharaoh who ruled about 3,500 years ago, has been discovered west of the Valley of the Kings.

A dead galaxy shouldn't produce bursts of radio light. Yet this 11 billion-year-old one did throwing scientists for a loop.