Jason Charles Miller's latest album, Knives In The Dark, was released in September of 2024.Jason Chrles MillerPeople are often many things in their lives. Jason Charles Miller is a musician, songwriter, producer and actor. Hes best known as part of the extended Critical Role family playing Dungeons and Dragons with them as well as hosting Starter Kit during the early Geek & Sundry days.Miller has an extensive list of credits as a voice actor including roles in franchises like Final Fantasy, Elder Scrolls, and Halo. Three songs from his RezoDrone project were featured on the soundtrack of Cyberpunk 2077. Hes appearing at Gary Con XVII from March 20th to March 23rd in Lake Geneva, WI and we spoke about how Dungeons and Dragons had a huge influence on his creative career.My cousin Wesley is the one that not only turned me on to the Ralph Bakshi Lord of the Rings movie when I was visiting him, said Miller. but also Dungeons and Dragons. That same trip that I visited him I was 8 or 9 years old. My first boxed set was the Moldvay boxed set. Basic D&D. The first time we played is was just me and him. I had so much fun creating my character. Then he had so much fun taking advantage of my character immediately. He put me in an opening town and within five minutes I was penniless and naked.Despite this rough start, Miller fell in love with the game and credits it with stoking a love of creating. While there is a great social aspect of D&D a lot of solo fun can be had as well. Sitting down and making character after character can be very inspirational."I grew up in the woods of Virginia," said Miller. I grew up in an area near Washington D.C. but far enough away where we didnt have sidewalks. The closest house that had any kids to play withn was a half a mile away through the woods. I spent a lot of time creating characters and playing them with no one. Then in junior high I met a lot more people who wanted to play.Many folks take some time away from the table as they grow up and take on more responsibility. Adults often come back to D&D later in life, which is why the secondary market for classic materials is so wild. Miller focused on his band Godhead for a while, but came back to the game once he settled in Los Angeles.It was very much spoken about in hushed tones, said Miller. No one wanted to admit that they played it. Fast forward to now, where its the coolest thing ever for people to play.Playing and running D&D has a huge influence on creatives that participate in the game. There are aspects of prepration that inspire novels and TV shows to spring forth from games. Playing at a table also stretches improvisaional muscles and not always sticking with the tried and true.When you play Dungeons and Dragons, especially if youre a DM, youre always trying to come up with something new, said Miller. Youre always trying to come up with many different options available to your players. They could choose anything. They could go anywhere. You want to be prepared for that. That is a great tool for songwriters.

African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotisat) sunrise at Dzanga Bai, Dzanga-Sangha Special ... [+] Reserve, Central African RepublicAndy Isaacson / WWF-USFor centuries, elephants have been called forest gardeners for good reasons.When an elephant moves through trees and bushes, it pushes them aside, says Dr Thomas Breuer from WWF Germany. This reduces the competition for nutrients so that elephants help to create bigger trees faster.One species stands out: the African forest elephant. By toppling small trees and shrubs and stripping vegetation from large trees, the elephants help the trees to grow. Larger trees store significantly more CO2.WWF estimates that one forest elephant can increase the net carbon capture of the forest by almost 250 acres the equivalent of removing a years worth of emissions from 2,047 cars.Forest elephants also have a healthy appetite, eating up to 400 pounds of food a day. Theyre also healthy eaters, foraging for nutritious fruits, digesting them and excreting the seeds.Some seeds wont germinate without travelling through the elephants digestive system first, as many have a tough covering that makes them harder to sprout. But as the elephants chew the seeds and stomach acid weakens them, the shell softens, improving the germination rate and helping to grow the larger trees.Endangered ElephantsYet these elephants are under threat.The situation is dire. The population of African forest elephants has plummeted by 80% in recent years, a decline even more severe than that of African savannah elephants. This rapid loss underscores the urgent need for conservation efforts to protect these creatures.Each year, about 20,000 elephants in Africa are killed for their ivory, increasingly driven by demand from Asia for ivory.If you look at the history of men and elephants, we are responsible for 99% of the species decline, Breuer says. About 80 - 90% of the threats facing the elephant population are unnatural.Breuer explains that some African communities see elephants as hostile. If you imagine an area where no one has seen an elephant for 20 years and suddenly one appears, it can represent mystical or black magic fears, triggering communities to take action.This has a knock-on, calamitous effect on the local environment. When we lose a habitat after the loss of the elephants, its lost forever, Breuer says.Predictive AI Saving ElephantsHowever, there is hope on the horizon.For the last few months, IBM and the World Wide Fund For Nature - Germany (WWF) have been working together to develop a solution based on predictive Artificial Intelligence.IBM has adapted its technology software Maximo Visual Inspection (MVI) from heavy industry to the bush environment. Using AI-powered visual inspection and modelling capabilities, images from camera traps and film will be used to identify individual African forest elephants with greater accuracy - enough to identify individual elephants facially by the wrinkles around the eye or lines on the trunk. Eventually, it may be possible to use other characteristics such as the patterns of veins.Its early days and the project is still under development. But we will improve predictability by training foundation models, leveraging the combination of visual information and data, and building more data sets and knowledge, says Oday Abbosh, Global Sustainability Services Leader, IBM Consulting.On the ground, WWF can use the technology to understand where the elephants are going and count numbers more accurately.While the technology isnt new, the ability to tap into predictive AI is. In future, this technology may also be used to assess the financial value of the forest elephants' carbon sequestration."Being able to identify individual elephants from camera trap images has the potential to be a game-changer, says Breuer. "The spatial data will also show us where these elephants choose to move thus enabling us to protect these wildlife corridors. The forests can continue to reduce carbon through the trees carbon storage."By being present in an area, we can deter poaching crime, adds Breuer. An elephant alive is so much more than the ivory that might be carved from its tusks.

All points bulletin: Next time you are in Vegas, be on the lookout for some hot vehicles, and we don't mean stolen. That Cybertruck riding your bumper might be a cop. A generous benefactor has donate several of the Tesla trucks to the Metro Police, outfitted with the latest law-enforcement tech. During Tuesday's State of the Department address, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced plans to add 10 Tesla Cybertrucks to its patrol and SWAT vehicle fleets. News station WWNY reports that LVMPD will be the first law enforcement agency in the US to use these expensive trucks for official police business.Tesla Cybertrucks with the "Cyberbeast" package start at around $94,000, but versions outfitted with police and SWAT gear will easily exceed $115,000 especially the SWAT truck, which will have reinforced panels and other modifications. Sheriff Kevin McMahill assured keynote attendees that taxpayers are not footing the bill for the new rigs.McMahill explained that the department ordered the Cybertrucks over a year ago thanks to a generous donation. While the LVMPD did not disclose the donor's name, some speculate that Ben Horowitz was behind the gift. The co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz has previously donated high-tech equipment to the LVMPD.Following the State of the Department keynote, Sheriff McMahill tweeted images of the new vehicles, stating, "These are badass."Indeed! The black and white cruisers, fitted with overhead and bumper-placed red-and-blues, will definitely get your attention, especially if you see that single-bar headlight in your rearview mirror as an officer pulls you over. The SWAT van is even more impressive with its desert-toned paint job and extra modifications that, uncoincidentally, make it look more like a military vehicle than a Cybertruck. // Related StoriesThe final versions of these vehicles will likely look much different. Carscoops spotted that the LVMPD images appear to be re-renders of the upgraded Cybertruck UP.FIT cruiser that Unplugged Performance unveiled last year. Likewise, the mockup of the SWAT truck is a render of a Cybertruck with a proposed military makeover from last year with the word "SWAT" photoshopped on the side.The new Teslas are not the only high-tech gear Metro announced. The department is deploying "shot-spotters" that can triangulate the position of gunfire within the city and has positioned several drones throughout Las Vegas that will respond to disturbances and potentially dangerous situations. The drones can relay a live video feed to patrol vehicles responding to the call, including the new Cybertrucks.

Reviewers LikedUltra-bright screenPowerful AI toolsTerrific build qualityShockingly long battery lifeRival-beating camerasIncredible Super Res ZoomSlick, premium design16GB of RAMReviewers Didn't LikeExpensive128GB of base storageSlow charging speedsCan get hot when gamingUncompetitive performance scoreMore expensive than last year's Pixel 8 ProAI features are inconsistentCompetitors and Related Products Our editors hand-pick related products using a variety of criteria: direct competitors targeting the same market segment, or devices that are similar in size, performance, or feature sets. Expert reviews and ratings 88 The Pixel 9 Pro opens up a new niche for Google's hardware lineup - that of the compact flagship. We personally find that pretty exciting in itself. It also helps that the Pixel 9 Pro is a very well-rounded overall package. Its display, in particular,... By GSMArena on September 20, 2024 90 The Pixel 9 Pro XL is the more expensive of the phones at $1,100, which is a bit harder to justify now that the Pixel 9 Pro exists, unless you need/want its larger, beautiful display and slightly better battery life. Regardless, Google was overdue to release a smaller premium phone, and it was worth the wait. This phone is as powerful as the XL, but it's cheaper and much more comfortable to hold. Since these phones are now totally flat, you don't have the curved glass to make the largest of the series easier to hold. In our opinion, for $1,000, the Pixel 9 Pro is the one to get, unless you want a larger screen at all costs. By HotHardware on August 27, 2024 90 The Pixel 9 Pro XL is just a bigger Pixel 9 Pro, but that's good enough. It doesn't have exclusive camera features or extra RAM for a boost, it's just got a bigger display and a bigger battery. That means the Pixel 9 Pro is an even better pick this year, but it also means that you can choose your Pixel based on the size you like, not the features you need. By TechRadar on August 22, 2024 80 Google's Pixel 9 Pro XL pairs elegant hardware with powerful Android software and delightful but limited AI tools to give us a glimpse at the future of phones. By PCMag on August 21, 2024 90 The Pixel 9 Pro XL has incredible 18-hour runtime that frees you of battery life anxiety, but it appears to get toasty during certain taxing tasks. By Mashable on August 21, 2024 80 The Pixel 9 Pro XL is an excellent flagship phone, but it doesnt quite make enough meaningful progress to justify its elevated price tag, nor the same level of praise we heaped upon its predecessor. Meanwhile, its new design is sharp but disappointingly unoriginal. By TechAdvisor on August 21, 2024 92 With even more useful photography tricks and a much-improved telephoto camera, the Pixel 9 Pro XL cements its status as the best smartphone camera. By Engadget on August 21, 2024 80 But the important thing is that behind all the flashy AI features, theres a really good phone in the Pixel 9 Pro and the Pro XL. These are phones that I can finally hold up next to a Galaxy S24 Plus or an iPhone 15 Pro and think, yes, these are all top-of-the-line devices. These Pixels arent the budget-priced flagships that they used to be, and I think the higher prices are well justified by the hardware. By The Verge on August 21, 2024 80 The Pixel 9 Pro XL sets new records for having the brightest screen around and has the longest battery life in a Pixel, but the minor camera and processing performance leaves more to be desired especially when it's $100 more. By Tom's Guide on August 21, 2024 90 Some of the biggest AI upgrades have yet to comeGoogle will soon let Gemini tap into your calendar and tasks, as well as keep notes. Much like the forthcoming Apple Intelligence, we'll be able to see how effective large language models are when they become better personal assistants. The Pixel 9 series feels primed and ready for this challenge. By Wired on August 21, 2024Load More Reviews

In 2022, Google released a tool called Results About You that allowed users to request removal of personal information from Search results. Today, the company has announced that it is adding updated controls that will make the process even easier for getting certain details erased or have outdated information replaced with fresh one.Our new hub makes signing up easier than ever, and with proactive monitoring, well do the hard work for you alerting you if new results are found, says the company. The more notable change is the ease at requesting changes to personal information that appears in Google Search results.Nadeem Sarwar / Digital TrendsWhen you look up your name or business on Google Search, multiple search results pop up. If any of them appear to content sensitive information, you can request the removal by simply tapping on the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner of the search result box.Recommended VideosOn mobile, tapping on the menu button directly takes you to the next page where you see more details about how it was indexed on Google Search. At the top, you will see a Remove result button, which you can tap to submit a data removal request.Nadeem Sarwar / Digital TrendsOn the next page, you can specify the exact reason why you want that particular search result scrubbed off. You can cite privacy as one of the reasons for removing sensitive information (such as phone number, government ID details, financial data, passwords, restricted logs, etc), or mention a legal reason for it.Please enable Javascript to view this contentAt the bottom, you will also find an information refresh option where you can ask for outdated details to be replaced with updated information. Requests for data removal or update usually take a few days, and once it has proceeded, users will be notified about it on their registered email address.Nadeem Sarwar / Digital TrendsGoogle says the search system will perform a fresh web crawl and update the requested Search result with the latest available information. I submitted a request for updating details about my journalism career on a Search result, and the request was approved in less than ten minutes.The company also has dedicated protocols for removing not just professional information from Search results, but also those covering urgent issues such as explicit or personal media, non-consensual fake material, exploitative content, and personally identifiable information.Editors Recommendations

Going back on their word? Automattic shirked duty to keep WordPress free for everyone, lawsuit says Lawsuit: WordPress trademark fight put website owners in an impossible situation. Ashley Belanger Feb 26, 2025 3:44 pm | 0 Matt Mullenweg, Founder & CEO of Automattic. Credit: Kimberly White / Stringer | Getty Images Entertainment Matt Mullenweg, Founder & CEO of Automattic. Credit: Kimberly White / Stringer | Getty Images Entertainment Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreThe company behind WordPress, Automattic Inc., and its founder, Matt Mullenweg, continue to face backlash over a "nuclear war" started with WP Engine (WPE) that allegedly messed with maintenance and security of hundreds of thousands of websites.In a proposed class action lawsuit filed this weekend, a WPE customer, Ryan Keller, accused Automattic and Mullenweg of "deliberately abusing their power and control over the WordPress ecosystem to purposefully, deliberately, and repeatedly disrupt contracts"all due to a supposed trademark infringement claim. If granted, the class would include "all persons in the United States who had ongoing active WPE WordPress Web Hosting Plans on or before September 24, 2024 through December 10, 2024."WPE had previously sued Automattic and Mullenweg, alleging that the attack on WPE was actually an attempt to extort what Keller alleged was "tens of millions of dollars" in payments from WPE for using the WordPress trademark. Mullenweg made it clear that the value of the payments was "based on what he thought WPE could afford, rather than what the value of the trademark actually was," Keller's complaint alleged.Automattic's "poorly disguised attempt to extort WPE," Keller alleged, was lobbed "against the threat of making it virtually impossible for WPE (and its customers) to conduct its ordinary business."WordPress must remain free for all, lawsuit saysKeller runs a small business, Keller Holdings LLC, which has used WPE for more than a decade to manage its own website connected to the WordPress ecosystem, as well as to create websites for companies and individuals. He accused Automattic of intentionally putting him and allegedly hundreds of thousands of other WPE customers in an "impossible situation" by cutting off WPE's access to the WordPress ecosystem.WordPress software, Keller's complaint explained, "has long been promised to be free and available to everyone forever." This promise propelled WordPress' popularity to, by its own estimates, "encompass more than 40 percent of all websites in the world," his complaint said.In the 10 years Keller used WPE, he never had any issues accessing the WordPress ecosystem, and he thought WordPress had guaranteed that it would stay that wayespecially since WPE's use of the trademark appeared to be "expressly permitted on the WordPress foundation website."But in the past few years, WPE's business has substantially grown, Keller explained, attracting big customers like Yelp, Thompson-Reuters, and Dropbox, which otherwise may have paid WordPress for similar services.This seemingly frustrated Mullenweg, who accused WPE of abusing the WordPress trademark to charge customers for access to WordPress' free tools. The founder took the extraordinary step of blocking WPE's access to software updates and patches, security updates, and plugins last September. And although Automattic eventually allowed WPE three days to mirror certain data to fulfill its contracts with clients, access was permanently blocked after that, forcing WPE customers to waste time and resources finding workarounds or ways to migrate sites to new web platforms after WPE's mirroring proved faulty."Even if Defendants trademark case had merit (it likely does not), it does not excuse Defendants deliberate and vindictive targeting of Plaintiff and Classs contracts with WPE," Keller's complaint said, calling Automattic's reneging on its promise to always provide free access "an appalling deception."Automattic could harm the entire InternetFurther, Keller alleged that Automattic took steps to "poach" WPE customers.That effort included sending emails to WPE customers "claiming they could restore access to the website if the WPE customer left WPE" and posting a list calling out all of WPE's customers. Automattic also allegedly threatened WPE customers, required all WordPress users to tick a checkbox confirming they were unaffiliated with WPE to access resources, and "stole WPEs most popular plugin and renamed the author to give themselves credit for the product.""Defendants have made no secret that their intent is to induce Plaintiff and Class Members to leave WPE by degrading the services WPE provides to its paying customers," Keller's complaint alleged.In December, a US district judge in the lawsuit filed by WPE granted a preliminary injunction forcing Automattic to take down the list of WPE customers and stop blocking WPE customers from accessing the WordPress ecosystem. That injunction will remain in effect until WPE's trial concludes. While Automattic is currently pushing to dismiss the lawsuit, that case could drag on until 2027 if Automattic's proposed trial schedule is adopted.Keller is hoping a jury will agree that Automattic and Mullenweg had a duty to keep WordPress "free for everyone" but instead intentionally interfered with WPE's contracts and prospective business, as well as violated California's unfair competition law, to extort money out of WPE. He has asked the jury to award extensive damages, including punitive damages, as well as a permanent injunction ending Automattic's WPE meddling for good. He also wants Automattic and Mullenweg to forfeit any gains from allegedly poaching WPE's customers or disrupting its contracts.If not, his complaint warned that, not only would WPE customers be severely harmedstuck with costs and cybersecurity risks, while potentially losing clients or business as the WPE lawsuit drags onallegedly, the "entire Internet as a whole" could be harmed due to the "grave danger" that Automattic could continue withholding access to open source software any time a company doesn't cave to payment demands."Mullenweg profited greatly from the growth of open-source WordPress through his ownership of Automattic and WordPress.com," Keller's complaint said. "Withholding access to this open-source software pending personal payment to him and entities he controls is a betrayal of open-source principles."Ashley BelangerSenior Policy ReporterAshley BelangerSenior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 0 Comments

Crypto downturn Bitcoin plunges as crypto fans didnt get everything they wanted from Trump Bitcoin hit record $109,000 on Inauguration Day but has dropped 23 percent since. Jon Brodkin Feb 26, 2025 2:54 pm | 67 Credit: Getty Images | Andriy Onufriyenko Credit: Getty Images | Andriy Onufriyenko Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreThe price of bitcoin hit a record high of $109,114.88 during intraday trading on January 20, the day of President Trump's inauguration, but has plummeted since and went as low as $83,741.94 during today's trading.That's a 23.3 percent drop from the intraday record to today's low, though it was back over $84,000 as of this writing. Bitcoin had been above $100,000 as recently as February 7, and was over $96,000 on Monday this week.Bitcoin's drop is part of a wider rout in which over $800 billion of nominal value "has been wiped off global cryptocurrency markets in recent weeks, as the enthusiasm that swept the crypto industry after Donald Trump's election victory last year ebbs away," the Financial Times wrote today.Bitcoin hit a then-record of $89,623 in November, a week after the election, amid optimism about Trump's plans for crypto-friendly policies. It hit $100,000 for the first time in early December after Trump announced his planned nomination of Paul Atkins to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission.Trump made several early moves to support crypto. "After pouring tens of millions of dollars into Trump's 2024 campaign for president, the crypto industry has been paid back handsomely during his first week in the White House," CNBC wrote on January 25.For example, the SEC rescinded a 2022 accounting rule "that forced banks to treat bitcoin and other tokens as a liability on their balance sheets," a change that is said to make it easier for "regulated institutions to adopt crypto as an asset class that they support on behalf of the clients."Trump impact overestimatedBut enthusiasm waned as crypto investors apparently expected Trump to do more to boost the market in the five weeks since his inauguration. Traders hoped the US would start buying bitcoin and "rapidly enact new rules to encourage large financial institutions to buy crypto," today's Financial Times article said."There has been a recalibration of expectations regarding the Trump administration's crypto stance," Gadi Chait, investment manager at Xapo Bank, told the Financial Times. Michael Dempsey, managing partner at venture capital firm Compound, was quoted as saying that many crypto enthusiasts "materially overestimated [Trump's] positive impact on the space."The article cited an estimate that "the average purchase price of bitcoin ETFs [exchange-traded funds] since the US election was around $97,000 per coin, meaning that buyers during that period have collectively lost around $1.3 billion."Trump launched his own "$Trump" memecoin on January 17. Melania Trump launched a memecoin as well. The Trump memecoins have dropped in value, and so has one promoted by Argentina President Javier Milei.The so-called "end of the memecoin boom" is said to be creating a drag on the market, and the recent $1.5 billion ethereum heist is "reigniting worries about the security of digital tokens held by trading venues," the Financial Times wrote. "The price of ethereum has fallen 23 percent over the past month, while solana, the token representing the blockchain that hosts most of the memecoins, has dropped 42 percent."Bitcoin reserve not everything investors hoped forIn an executive order on January 23, Trump proposed creating a "national digital asset stockpile" that would potentially contain "cryptocurrencies lawfully seized by the Federal Government through its law enforcement efforts." The government holds about 198,000 bitcoins, although the Justice Department has court approval to sell 69,370 bitcoins from its largest-ever seizure.The executive order directed federal agencies to identify regulations affecting digital assets that "should be rescinded or modified." The SEC is also reportedly ending cases against Coinbase and Robinhood that began under the Biden administration.Those moves show that, as expected, US regulators will be less aggressive with the crypto industry under Trump. But this hasn't boosted crypto prices because investors seem to have already "priced in" expectations that Trump would give the sector everything it wanted. A Bloomberg article on January 26 described some discontent with Trump's first crypto moves:"Even though the market got 90 percent of what it wanted with the executive orders, it evidently was mostly priced in," said Sean McNulty, head of APAC derivatives at digital-asset prime brokerage FalconX. Anything short of a stockpile plan "that immediately started buying BTC was going to disappoint," he added.Jon BrodkinSenior IT ReporterJon BrodkinSenior IT Reporter Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. 67 Comments

The Bete I archaeological site in Ivory Coast was overgrown when researchers visited in 2020Jimbob Blinkhorn, MPGHumans were living in a tropical rainforest in West Africa 150,000 years ago. The finding pushes human habitation of tropical forests much further back in time, suggesting our ancestors were able to live in a wide variety of terrains.It has generally been thought that humans evolved in open grasslands and savannahs, says Eleanor Scerri at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Jena, Germany. Instead, she says, our ancestors were highly adaptable. Ecological diversity is at the heart

The AMOC brings warm water north from the tropics near the surface and takes cool water in the opposite direction in the deep oceanNOAAA critical ocean current is unlikely to shut down before the end of this century even under the most extreme climate scenarios, according to new findings that undermine doomsday predictions of an imminent catastrophic collapse.The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) transports warm water from the tropics northward, helping to keep northern Europe temperate. Warming temperatures and an influx of cold water from melting Arctic ice are weakening the current and, scientists fear, could shut it down altogether. This would plunge oceanic ecosystems into chaos and rapidly cool Europes climate by several degrees. AdvertisementSome researchers say an irreversible shutdown of the AMOC could happen this century. But this worst-case scenario is unlikely, says Jonathan Baker at the UKs Met Office.To explore whether a complete AMOC collapse this century is possible, Baker and his colleagues used 34 climate models to simulate changes to the AMOC under extreme climate change, with greenhouse gas levels trebling from todays levels overnight. The team also modelled huge volumes of freshwater entering the North Atlantic at many times the rate of current ice melt.They found that although the AMOC weakens significantly under these two scenarios, the ocean current would continue in its weakened state, supported by upwelling of North Atlantic deep water driven by winds in the Southern Ocean. Southern Ocean winds continue to blow and this pulls deep waters up to the surface, which acts like a powerful pump, says Baker. That keeps the AMOC running this century in the models.Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month.Sign up to newsletterThe findings help to explain why climate models generally simulate a more stable AMOC in a warming world compared with research relying on statistical methods, which tend to suggest the AMOC is more fragile.Niklas Boers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany says the findings are good news for those worried about an imminent AMOC collapse. All the state-of-the-art climate models agree on not showing a full AMOC collapse within the 21st century because of the stabilising mechanisms induced by the Southern Ocean, he says.But although the models dont foresee a full collapse of the AMOC, they show that quadrupling CO2 concentrations would lead to a significant reduction in the currents strength, by 20 to 81 per cent.If the AMOC weakens by around 50 per cent, the effects on climate would be significant, Baker says, with disruption to marine ecosystems, rising sea levels on North Atlantic coastlines and changes to global rainfall patterns impacting crop yields around the world. But this kind of weakening would not bring rapid cooling to Europe, he says.By comparison, an AMOC that is 80 per cent weaker than it is today would have catastrophic effects, Boers stresses. That is of course an almost shut-off AMOC, he says. That will give all the impacts in terms of cooling Europe and changing tropical monsoon patterns and everything we have been concerned about.Stefan Rahmstorf, who is also at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, agrees that the world could be left with a weak and shallow AMOC current this century under extreme warming. Some studies even define an AMOC collapse as this kind of substantial weakening, he says, rather than a total shutdown of all circulation. The new study investigates the remaining wind-driven overturning [current] in more detail, which is a valuable contribution to the scientific literature, he says. It does not, however, change the assessment of the risk and impact of future AMOC changes in response to human-caused global warming.Journal reference:Nature DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08544-0Topics:

2025-02-26T20:53:57Z Read in app Michelle Trachtenberg played Sarah Michelle Gellar's sister on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Frazer Harrison/Getty Images This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Michelle Trachtenberg was found dead on Wednesday morning. She was 39.She began her acting career as a child star and is best known for "Buffy" and "Harriet the Spy."Trachtenberg's famous friends and former costars paid tribute to the actor.After Michelle Trachtenberg's death on Wednesday morning, celebrities and fans are paying tribute.The NYPD told Business Insider that Trachtenberg had been found dead in a luxury apartment in Manhattan near Central Park. No cause of death has been given, and authorities said they're not treating the death as suspicious.Trachtenberg, who began acting in commercials at age 3, had a decadeslong career in Hollywood, appearing in memorable films like "Harriet the Spy" and "EuroTrip" and TV series like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Gossip Girl." As the news of her death spread, her famous friends and former costars shared their reactions and heartfelt messages online. Rosie O'Donnell said she wished she could've helped Trachtenberg.Rosie O'Donnell costarred with Trachtenberg in the younger actor's film debut. Evan Agostini/Liaison In a statement to Us Weekly, O'Donnell, who played the beloved nanny of Trachtenberg's character in her 1996 film debut "Harriet the Spy," called the younger actor's death "heartbreaking.""I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped," O'Donnell told the publication.Michelle Branch shared a photo of Trachtenberg with broken heart emojis.Michelle Branch reacted to Trachtenberg's death. Michelle Branch/Instagram Branch was a musical guest star on the sixth season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."Shawn Ashmore called Trachtenberg an incredible person.Shawn Ashmore previously dated Trachtenberg. J.Sciulli/WireImage Ashmore and Trachtenberg dated in the 2000s. In his post about her death, he called it an "incredible loss.""Incredibly sad to hear about Michelle's passing. She was an incredible person and I will always remember the years we spent together fondly," he wrote. "She was loving, quirky and would never pass up a law and order SVU marathon:) My condolences to her mother Lana and sister Irene!"Ed Westwick shared a photo of Trachtenberg as her "Gossip Girl" character.Ed Westwick starred with Trachtenberg on "Gossip Girl." Ed Westwick/Instagram Westwick played reformed bad boy Chuck Bass and Trachtenberg played fan-favorite antagonist Georgina Sparks throughout all six seasons of The CW teen drama "Gossip Girl.""So sad to hear of the passing of @MichelleTrachtenberg," he wrote in his Instagram story. "Sending prayers."David Boreanaz sent prayers to Trachtenberg's family.David Boreanaz and Trachtenberg both starred on "Buffy." David Boreanaz/Instagram Boreanaz played the vampire Angel, the longtime love interest of Buffy Summers on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and was a series regular on the first three seasons of the show before departing for his own spinoff.Trachtenberg joined the series as Buffy's sister Dawn Summers in season five.Kim Cattrall shared a throwback photo of her and Trachtenberg in "Ice Princess."Kim Cattrall was in the 2005 movie "Ice Princess" with Trachtenberg. Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images "Rest in peace sweet Michelle " Cattrall captioned the post.Trachtenberg's "Buffy" costar James Marsters shared a heartfelt message.James Marsters met Trachtenberg when she joined the cast of "Buffy" in 2000. Kevin Winter/Getty Images Marsters, who played Spike in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," worked closely with Trachtenberg from the time she joined the series in 2000 as a young teen."My heart is heavy today. We have lost a beautiful soul. Michelle was fiercely intelligent, howlingly funny, and a very talented person," the actor wrote on Instagram. "She died much too young, and leaves behind scores of people who knew and loved her.""My heart goes out to her family who are good people, and are suffering the greatest loss anyone could bear. I hope everyone can give them space to heal in this most difficult time. Godspeed Michelle. You are missed," Marsters added.