TJX CEO Ernie Herrman says he's excited about the opportunity for businesses like his from tariffs."We've been to the movie before," he said of rising costs. "It's a different headline."Herrman also pointed to several ways the off-price retailer is able to soften the impact of tariffs.Tariffs are shaking up retail, but not all companies are looking at the changes in the same way.For TJX, CEO Ernie Herrman says he's excited about the opportunity the new trade costs present for businesses like his."We've been to the movie before," he said of managing rising costs from inflation. "It's a different headline; it's just the same approach."Speaking on a fourth-quarter earnings call Wednesday, Herrman said TJX which owns brands like T.J. Maxx, Marshall's, Sierra, and Home Goods directly imports only an extremely small percentage of its inventory from China.As an off-price retailer, the company typically stocks up on merchandise that other retailers have already imported (and paid the relevant duties on) and could not sell themselves.In other words, most new tariffs aren't coming directly from TJX's pockets. Meantime, higher prices could push US consumers to get even more cautions about paying full price for things and as long as TJX can sell products for less than their traditional retail counterparts do, Hermann says the company will come out ahead."I'm excited about the sales and margin opportunity in this environment, because this is pretty much textbook situation coming up," he said.In addition, Herrman noted that a large chunk of TJX's sales come from housewares and furnishings, which tend to be more exposed to Chinese tariffs.To soften the impact of those and to differentiate TJX's assortment from its competitors Hermann said the company sources more of its home goods from Europe."It creates an umbrella of fashion and brand and quality that other home retailers don't do," he said. "Customers love that piece of our mix."

In the open grasslands of South Dakota, not far from the dramatic rock formations of Badlands National Park, lives one of the continents cutest, fiercest, and rarest animals: the black-footed ferret. Black-footed ferrets, weasel-like animals with distinctive dark bands around their eyes and black feet, are ruthless little hunters. At night, they dive into burrows in pursuit of juicy prairie dogs, their primary food source. Without prairie dogs, these ferrets would not survive. From as many as a million ferrets in the 19th century, today there are only a few hundred of these furry predators roaming the Great Plains, the only place on Earth they live. That there are any black-footed ferrets at all is something of a miracle. In the 1970s, scientists thought black-footed ferrets were extinct, but a twist of fate, and an unprecedented breeding effort led by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, brought this critical piece of the prairie ecosystem back from the brink. This success one of the greatest of any wildlife revival program is now at risk. Earlier this month, as part of the Trump administrations purge of federal employees, Tina Jackson, the head of the FWSs entire black-footed ferret recovery program, was fired. FWS also fired two other permanent staffers who were involved in keeping captive ferrets alive at the National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center, the nations main breeding facility. Those cuts amount to more than a quarter of the centers permanent, non-administrative staff, Jackson said. The center also has a vacant biologist position that Jackson said may not be filled.The staff changes imperil the tenuous success of ferret recovery and the very existence of these animals, several experts including current and former Fish and Wildlife Service employees told Vox. Critical funding has been restricted, too: Two organizations that rely on federal money for ferret conservation on public and tribal lands told Vox that funds for this work were frozen.Three baby ferrets, or kits, at the National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center. Kimberly Fraser/USFWSExperts who have spent decades trying to save black-footed ferrets say these impacts threaten the broader prairie ecosystem. Efforts to conserve ferrets and their prey sustain this important American landscape, a home for insects that pollinate our crops, plants that store carbon in their long roots, and streams that provide us with fresh water. Right now, the recovery of the species is dependent on captive populations, said Jackson, who started her role with the Fish and Wildlife Service last spring, after more than two decades with Colorados state wildlife agency. Without people to take care of those captive populations, we will potentially lose the species. The hardest thing is to think about them blinking out on our watch. Send us a tipDo you have information to share about the US Fish and Wildlife Service or other government agencies? Reach out to Benji Jones at benji.jones@vox.com, on Signal at benji.90, or at benjijones@protonmail.com.Job cuts impair finely tuned ferret breedingFew species demonstrate the power of conservation quite like the black-footed ferret. In the late 1800s, there were as many as a million living among prairie dog colonies in the plains, as far north as Saskatchewan and as far south as northern Mexico. But in the 1900s, extermination programs bankrolled by the US and state governments started killing off prairie dogs, which were viewed as pests that competed with cattle for forage. These government-sanctioned exterminations collapsed prairie dog populations, in turn devastating black-footed ferrets. Without prairie dogs, ferrets had nothing to eat. Around the same time, fleas began spreading plague yes, plague in the Great Plains. That killed even more prairie dogs and ferrets, both of which are highly susceptible to the disease. By the late 70s, ferrets had vanished, and scientists considered them extinct. Tina Jackson holds a baby black-footed ferret at the National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center. Courtesy of Tina JacksonBut in the fall of 1981, a dog named Shep changed everything. Shep, a ranch dog in Wyoming, brought a carcass of a small mammal to his home near the northern town of Meeteetse. His owners didnt recognize the animal and took it to a taxidermist, who identified it as a black-footed ferret. The carcass ultimately led wildlife officials to a nearby ferret colony the last known one on Earth, home to about 130 animals. With that, the extinct black-footed ferret was officially brought back from the dead. But just a few years after Sheps discovery, all but 18 ferrets had died from plague and other threats. So with the specter of extinction looming once again, wildlife officials took them out of the wild and into captivity. With those 18 ferrets, the Fish and Wildlife Service, along with Wyoming state wildlife officials, launched a captive breeding and recovery program in the late 80s, determined to keep the species alive. The goal of the program, among the first of its kind in the country, was to breed ferrets under human care before eventually releasing them back into the prairie landscape. In a way, it was the reverse of the government interventions that had initially helped push the ferrets toward extinction.The bedrock of this program is the Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center near Fort Collins, Colorado. The center breeds most of the black-footed ferrets in the US today. Its a painstaking process that involves carefully pairing individuals to make sure their babies will boost the populations limited genetic diversity. (Officials use a genetic registry called a studbook to figure out the best pairs.) Remarkably, the center has also led groundbreaking efforts to clone black-footed ferrets that died decades ago. The cloning program, which is the first of its kind, is another way to inject new genetic diversity into the population to ensure its survival. The ferret center is also critical for the survival of ferrets once theyve been released. Researchers condition the animals for life in the wild running them through what is essentially a predator bootcamp. Workers put the ferrets in outdoor pens with burrows and introduce live prairie dogs, typically once a week, for them to kill. After about 30 days, ferrets that have passed bootcamp muster get the okay to be released into the wild.Three ferrets poke their heads out of a temporary housing container. Cliff Owen/Associated PressPens that the Fish and Wildlife Service uses to condition ferrets for life in the wild. Kathryn Scott Osler/Denver Post via Getty ImagesThe importance of the captive breeding center to the survival of the species is pretty huge, said Steve Forrest, a biologist whos long been involved in black-footed ferret conservation. The recent job cuts will hamper the centers breeding and training efforts, experts told Vox. The two technicians who were terminated cared for captive ferrets, which involved raising kits, preparing food, and observing them during preconditioning. Jackson, meanwhile, was the connective tissue across a wide range of partners, including the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the nonprofit environmental group Defenders of Wildlife, which are all working to conserve black-footed ferrets. She led budget and staff meetings and made sure the breeding center had what it needed to keep running, Jackson said.The Fish and Wildlife Service did not respond to a request for comment.With funding on ice, wild ferrets may face a more severe threat of plagueBreeding black-footed ferrets is only half the challenge. The next step is making sure they survive once theyve been released into the wild. The main threat they face there is still plague, which is relatively common among prairie dog colonies in the Great Plains. Its also a minor threat to humans. So across many of the more than 30 sites where ferrets have been reintroduced, workers from a range of organizations kill fleas in prairie dog burrows and vaccinate wild-born ferrets against plague. Captive-born animals are vaccinated before theyre released. This approach works, but its labor-intensive and costly: technicians have to treat burrows and trap wild-born ferrets across thousands of acres, year after year. A ferret is released near Meeteetse, Wyoming, in the summer of 2016. Justin Joiner/Wyoming Game and Fish Department via Associated PressThe bulk of funding for this work comes from the federal government, and much of that money is currently on ice. In the Conata Basin of South Dakota home to the worlds largest wild population of ferrets efforts to rid the landscape of plague are funded in part by the US Forest Service and the National Park Service, according to Travis Livieri, executive director of Prairie Wildlife Research, a nonprofit. That funding is currently frozen, Livieri said, adding that treating burrows typically starts as early as April.If were not able to do plague mitigation, its very possible that over the course of three or four or five years we could lose the wild ferret population, a current Fish and Wildlife Service employee told Vox. (The employee requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the press.) Having a disruption in established plague mitigation programs is really problematic and an existential threat to wild black-footed ferret populations.Some federal funding for tribal nations to conserve black-footed ferrets has also been put on pause, according to Shaun Grassel, CEO of Buffalo Nations Grasslands Alliance (BNGA), a Indigenous-led conservation group, and a citizen of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. Last year, BNGA won a $1.1 million grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a nonprofit that routes both private and federal funding to environmental groups. The money was to help several tribes, such as the Cheyenne River Sioux, kill fleas, monitor ferrets, and oversee their reintroduction into the wild. At least half of that grant is funded by federal dollars, Grassel said, and now the whole thing is frozen. A prairie dog colony, or town, on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, where black-footed ferrets have been reintroduced. Matthew Brown/APA wild black-footed ferret is released in southwest South Dakota after it was captured and vaccinated. Courtesy of Prairie Wildlife ResearchA freeze in certain federal funds will keep tribes from implementing their plague mitigation work, Grassel said. If the freeze lasts much longer, several tribal biologists are likely to lose their jobs, he continued, because all tribal work is funded by some grant program or another.The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation did not respond to a request for comment.Whats especially frustrating to people involved in ferret conservation is that funding and staff resources were already limited heading into 2025. So much conservation work is happening bare-bones right now, so when cuts come in theres nothing left to cut, Jackson said. Theres no fat on the bones.And the sorts of dollar amounts for this work for wildlife conservation, overall are almost imperceptible compared to other federal line items. Last year, the budget for the entire Fish and Wildlife Service, which works to conserve all endangered plants and animals, was roughly $4 billion. Thats less than 3 percent of what the Department of Transportation spends, for example. Livieri says conservation practitioners are also working to make it cheaper, such as by using more innovative insecticides. Concerned employees at the Fish and Wildlife Service are now scrambling to keep black-footed ferret work moving forward, the current employee told Vox. One idea is to bring in staff from other departments to care for ferrets at the breeding center, they said. Yet the national coordination that the Fish and Wildlife Service provided will be hard to maintain without Jackson and uncertainty around funding. A number of meetings on the calendar will likely be canceled, Jackson told me. Plus, the Service is supposed to carry out a federally mandated five-year review of the black-footed ferrets conservation status soon, which Jackson was meant to lead. Its unclear who will now do that. Its literally a matter of life and death [for these animals], the current employee said. Were just trying to figure out how to keep the lights on.Antonia, a black-footed ferret clone. Roshan Patel/Smithsonian Conservation Biology InstitutePeople within the conservation community are deeply concerned about the fate of endangered species under the Trump administration. But if theres one thing that gives them hope for animals like the black-footed ferret, its the dedication they see in their colleagues.If at one point in this remarkable journey [of the black-footed ferret], somebody just decided that this isnt worth it, they could have gone extinct, the current employee said. But there have always been enough people who care, and weve soldiered on. It could have failed so many times, but enough people cared that it didnt. See More:

90s Sega icon Ristar is 30 years old and fans are demanding a new gameMichael BeckwithPublished February 26, 2025 5:00pm Only one game and yet theres so much affection for Ristar even today (YouTube)Dedicated Ristar fans are still holding out for a sequel 30 years later, especially after Sega acknowledged the games birthday on its socials.After years of thoroughly neglecting most of its older franchises, Sega is finally looking to revive some of them in a big way in the coming years, including via new games and various movie adaptations.Its first Shinobi game since 2011 Shinobi: Art Of Vengeance is scheduled to launch this August, while the company has yet to share further details on its various other revivals, which includes new entries for Jet Set Radio, Golden Axe, and Virtua Fighter.Not every retro Sega IP is set to receive the same treatment though, and for this month at least, Sega fans are promoting Ristar as their pick for a game that needs a sequel, in honour of its 30th anniversary.What is Ristar?For anyone unfamiliar with Ristar, its a 2D platformer developed and published by Sega for the companys Mega Drive console in 1995. Its title character is an anthropomorphic yellow star whose defining gimmick was his elastic arms, which he could stretch in eight different directions.Whereas the Sonic The Hedgehog games are all about speeding and jumping through levels as fast as possible, Ristars platforming is more methodical and revolves around using Ristars stretchy arms to grab, climb, and swing through levels. Although there are instances where Ristar can propel himself at high speeds for a short time, maintaining momentum by bouncing off the walls and ceiling.Ristar saw strong reviews back when it came out and holds up very well nowadays. Unfortunately, despite the positive reception, Ristar never saw any sequels or follow-ups besides a Game Gear version that launched around the same time and featured different levels.This can partially be attributed to how, by the time Ristar released in February 1995, the Mega Drive and Game Gear were on their way out. The Sega Saturn and Sonys PlayStation were already available, heralding a new era of 3D games that completely overshadowed Ristar, hampering its chances of becoming an ongoing series.The game has seen numerous re-releases over the years, thanks to various Sega themed compilations, like the Sega Mega Drive Classics collection, and it was one of the first Mega Drive games to be added to the Nintendo Switch Onlines Expansion Pack subscription service.More TrendingRistar the character has made the occasional cameo in other Sega games, although his most recent appearance was as the flagman in 2012s Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, so hes been MIA for well over a decade at this point.Even so, Sega must have a soft spot for Ristar because it commissioned a new piece of art to celebrate the games 30th anniversary. With over 17,000 likes on X and a further 2,700 likes on Bluesky, it seems lots of people remember Ristar fondly, with many comments on both sites asking for a sequel.The odds of it happening probably arent that high but if Segas revival projects prove successful, perhaps the company can be encouraged to drag Ristar out of retirement and give him a modern reimagining. This is the new 30th anniversary artwork (Sega)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

Its a unique time to be a Star Wars fan. This week, in a single 24-hour span, we saw a trailer for arguably the most exciting property the franchise has ever created, news of a nostalgic look back at the past, and the possibility of the person leading it all stepping away. This all comes with only one new show on the immediate horizon, Andor, and only one new movie on the schedule, The Mandalorian and Grogu, both of which are stories sandwiched in between stories we already know the beginning and end of. So what does the future hold? Wheres the wonder? We dont know the answers to those questions but we know the best place to find them: Star Wars Celebration. Since 1999, Star Wars Celebration has been the ultimate place to, well, celebrate Star Wars. From Denver to Tokyo, Anaheim to Chicago, and London and beyond, Celebration has traveled the world, acting as a homing beacon for fans to revel in the past, present, and future of Star Wars. This years convention takes place in Japan from April 18-20 and already has the past and present locked down. Within a week of the convention, Lucasfilm is gearing up to rerelease Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith for its 20th anniversary as well as the second season of Andor on Disney+. Both are sure to play big roles at the event. Andor. Image: Lucasfilm But both things are also here already. Fans dont travel to conventions to get the same experience they can have at home three days later. They go to conventions to be wowed. To feel special. To hopefully get their moneys worth. And its here where Star Wars Celebration has to deliver, because while the franchises past and present are easily taken care of, we have no idea what the future holds, nor do we feel confident anyone else does either. For the past few years, the best Star Wars stories have been on TV. This goes for both animation in the form of Bad Batch and Visions as well as live-action, with shows like The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew. However, Bad Batch is over, The Acolyte was canceled, and while there will surely be more Visions, thats not enough. Wheres the second season announcement for Skeleton Crew? When might we see Ahsoka season two? Is there anything to really look forward to in Star Wars biggest modern medium? As for the movies, well, thats a whole other nightmare. At the last Star Wars Celebration in London, Lucasfilm attempted to do exactly what were saying here. It brought out three filmmakers (James Mangold, Dave Filoni, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, seen at the top of the article) each with a clear and distinct Star Wars movie on the horizon. It was exciting. It was bold. And it was a little presumptuous, since almost two years have passed and very little has changed.The Obaid-Chinoy Rey movie could possibly be happening sometime soon, but its probably too public merry-go-round of writers doesnt inspire confidence. Mangolds idea of the birth of the Jedi is a fascinating one, but hes got lots of other things on his plate, including a recent, not-so-great experience with modern Lucasfilm fans. And Filoni, well, hes got the Mando movie and Ahsoka on his plate for starters. Could his Shadows of the Empire movie even happen before the end of the decade? In the interim, we did learn about The Mandalorian and Grogu movie which is kind of cool, but after the initial excitement, its still unclear why thats a story destined for the big screen as opposed to being two episodes of a show we can watch on our couch. Surely, theres time to explain that and Celebration might be just the place to do so. But even if the story is everything Star Wars should be, its going to be hard to make fans feel like its something beyond an easy cash grab. A TV show turned into a movie because its a known, proven quantity and Star Wars needs an easy win after not releasing a movie for six years and countingthats quite the stigma to outgrow.The Mandalorian and Grogu concept art. Image: Lucasfilm Other mediums like comics, books, video games, and even toys are always great places to find new, funStar Wars stories, and surely all of those will be on full display at Celebration. But the franchises beating heart is on the screen, and we hope Celebration can give us concrete news about what we all have to look forward to. On the other hand, arbitrary dates set for a convention two years in advance shouldnt dictate the creative process. If a Rey movie isnt any closer to being made, tell people that. If James Mangold is going to make a Swamp Thing movie for DC before he does anything Star Wars, tell people that. Dont force things, pun intended. Be open, be honest, and be rebellious. But, also, hopefully having a convention will act as a bit of a lightning rod for Star Wars creators to whip things into shape so they can tell fans We know you love this franchise, and heres how youre going to continue loving it in the future. Ive attended most of the Star Wars Celebrations since 2002 and almost every time I leave excited about the future of Star Wars. Thats because, at almost all of those events, there were projects on the horizon for me to be excited about. Ill never forget hearing Chewie, were home in a stadium full of cheering fans. Seeing the words The Rise of Skywalker appear for the first time ever. Or watching the buzz of those moments reverberate across the convention centers afterward.Will that happen in Japan this April? We dont know. But heres the good news, if it does, youll be the first to know. io9 will be in Japan for Star Wars Celebration and, hopefully, there when an exciting, clear future of Star Wars is revealed to the world. 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.

By Matt Novak Published February 26, 2025 | Comments (17) | Elon Musk at the White House during a cabinet meeting on Feb. 26, 2025. Screenshot: White House / YouTube Elon Musk appeared at President Donald Trumps first cabinet meeting of his second term Wednesday to talk about what the billionaire was doing with DOGE, the group thats currently dismantling the federal government in an illegal powerplay that circumvents Congress. And while Musk repeated a line hes said previously about how he would inevitably make mistakes while cutting trillions from the budget, there was another moment where he accidentally revealed hes unilaterally choosing what gets funded or not. I should say we will make mistakes. We wont be perfect. But when we make mistakes, well fix it very quickly, Musk said. The billionaire oligarch then gave his example of a mistake that was corrected, which was extremely revealing. So for example, with USAID, one of the things we accidentally canceled very briefly was Ebola prevention, Musk said. I think we all want Ebola prevention. So we restored the Ebola prevention immediately. And there was no interruption. But we do need to move quickly if were to achieve a $1 trillion deficit reduction in financial year 2026. Whether he knows it or not, Musk was admitting that he was making the decisions about what should get funding in a completely arbitrary way. While it may seem obvious that Ebola prevention should be funded, he hasnt been elected or confirmed to make that decision. His mandate from President Trump as a special government employee is ostensibly to root out waste, fraud, and abuse. But everything DOGE has presented publicly to cut is just something Musk didnt like, not something that was an example of waste, fraud, or abuse.Congress very famously has the power of the purse and created agencies like USAID to distribute foreign aid around the world. And if an unelected billionaire can just come in and decide what gets funded, thats simply not the legal way of doing it. What makes Musks claims all the more galling is that at least one expert in the field of Ebola says the billionaire isnt even accurately representing what happened. Craig Spencer, a doctor who works at Brown University School of Public Health and is an Ebola survivor, wrote on X about how Musk wasnt really telling the truth about what happened now that funds have been drastically cut for public health. On January 29, Uganda reported an Ebola outbreak. Normally the U.S. wouldve very quickly sent one of our Ebola experts to help the response. But this time, we didnt. Because we couldnt. Because this administration wouldnt let them go right when this outbreak was declared, Spencer wrote. And normally the U.S. wouldve helped set up border screening and other measures on the ground, Spencer continued. But this time, we didnt. Normally, we wouldve spoke with the WHO about helping end the outbreak. But this time, we didnt. Because CDC staff werent even allowed to talk to them.Spencer even says that a colleague in Uganda tried to call the White House about the outbreak and wasnt able to reach anyone. You know who does Ebola prevention here in the U.S.? The CDC, Spencer wrote. Hundreds of these frontline experts lost their jobs last week as part of indiscriminate cost saving firings. More cuts are expected. USAID has long supported Ebola response efforts overseas. Not no more. So, it's NOT true to say 'one of things we accidentally cancelled very briefly was Ebola prevention' and that it was quickly restored Because you've hobbled or directly dismantled the response structures needed to end Ebola outbreaks abroad and protect us here in the U.S. Craig Spencer MD MPH (@Craig_A_Spencer) February 26, 2025 Musk spoke for about 10 minutes, according to a livestream on YouTube, and talked about the ways in which Trump had told him to be aggressive in firing people. Its unclear how many people have been laid off from the federal government so far, but probationary employees have been the first to be let go and the Associated Press reported on Wednesday plans have been drawn up to fire more by March 13. Aside from Musk, the cabinet meeting also touched on other topics, like Trumps plan to abandon the EB-5 visa in favor of what hes calling a gold card that would allow someone whos willing to pay $5 million to essentially buy a green card to have legal residence in the country.Trump also brought up his idea that Canada should become Americas 51st state, an aggressively stupid threat against a long-time ally. The president also made the ridiculous claim that the European Union was formed to screw the United States. Several lawsuits have been brought against Musk and Trump for the way that theyre currently destroying the federal government. But it remains to be seen whether those lawsuits will be worth anything. Trumps Justice Department continually ignores court orders in brazen defiance of the rule of law. And since federal courts dont have their own people with guns to enforce the law, Trump and his goons can just continue doing what they do.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Thomas Maxwell Published February 26, 2025 By AJ Dellinger Published February 25, 2025 By Lucas Ropek Published February 25, 2025 By Matthew Gault Published February 25, 2025 By Matt Novak Published February 25, 2025 By Matthew Gault Published February 25, 2025

Mountain Lodge 14-Leguas / 3164.estudio + SDF ArquitectosSave this picture! Juan Cruz ParedesHousesLa Estancia, ArgentinaArchitects: 3164.estudio, SDF ArquitectosYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2020 PhotographsPhotographs:Juan Cruz ParedesMore SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. Immersed in a mountainous environment of continuous hills and rocky blooms, the refuge sits subtly and firmly on one of its hills. It opens towards the pine forest as a close view, seeking with its orientation the profile of the great sierras of Crdoba in the distance.Save this picture!Save this picture!Designed to provide support and kickstart the recent subdivision 14-Leguas, the refuge serves as a safe and pleasant space for visitors and friends to enjoy the developing area.Save this picture!A visible reinforced concrete structure, which serves as both structure and finish, along with two large main profiles, supports a metal roof that, like a hang glider, flies over the landscape, sheltering beneath it the entire program.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Inside, the functional distribution responds to the landscape. The support programs, kitchen, storage, foyer, and bathroom are located to the south, overlooking the entrance of the subdivision. This frees up the north for the main program of free function with views of the landscape, which, for the moment, serves as a reception area for visitors, but over time could become a home, an atelier, or a small restaurant for a few diners.Save this picture!Outside, a local stone retaining wall separates, contains, and directs the support and expansion program: a gallery, a storage room, and a bathroom. Finally, under the shade of the large eave, various outdoor activities are made possible.Save this picture!Regarding the chosen materials, the intention was for them to play a secondary role in the environment. Sustainability comes from the low impact of maintaining the materials, primarily the exposed concrete, which can show the passage of time on its surface.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this office3164.estudioOfficeMaterialsSteelConcreteMaterials and TagsPublished on February 26, 2025Cite: "Mountain Lodge 14-Leguas / 3164.estudio + SDF Arquitectos " [Refugio de montaa para 14-Leguas / 3164.estudio + SDF Arquitectos ] 26 Feb 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1027137/mountain-lodge-14-leguas-316studio-plus-sdf-arquitectos&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

(Image Credit: Ole.CNX/Shutterstock) NewsletterSign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsDecoding Thoughts: AI Translates Brain Scans into TextHow useful it would be to know what the person standing next to you on the train was thinking. Or what your boss was going to offer as a pay rise or what a potential partner thought of you. This ability is entirely futuristic, of course. But the groundwork is being laid now. Various groups have demonstrated the ability to decode certain kinds of thoughts, particularly what people are looking at, based on functional MRI brain scan images. This is difficult work and the results have been, well, lets say developmental. But this capability is now a step closer thanks to the work of Weikang Qiu at Yale University in New Haven, and colleagues, who have developed an AI system capable of decoding fMRI scans. The machine, called MindLLM, produces a text description of a subjects thought process while looking at an image. The work paves the way to better understand the human brain and its thought processes. It also substantially improves on what has been done before. "MindLLM outperforms the baselines, improving downstream tasks by 12.0%, unseen subject generalization by 16.4%, and novel task adaptation by 25.0%," say Qiu and co.Mind MappingFunctional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measures brain activity indirectly by detecting changes in blood oxygenation levels, known as the hemodynamic response. This response, which lags neural activity by several seconds, provides a spatial map of brain activation, albeit with limited temporal resolution. The technique has provided numerous insights into the role that various parts of the brain play. But decoding complex thoughts and ideas from these scans has been a long-standing challenge. Previous methods have struggled with accuracy, limited task variety, and difficulty generalizing across different individuals. The variability in brain structures and activation patterns between people makes it challenging to develop a universal decoding model.MindLLM tackles these challenges head-on. It consists of two main components: an fMRI encoder and a large language model (LLM). The fMRI encoder processes the scan data and converts it into a format that the LLM can understand. The LLM has been pre-trained on a wide range of images with their text description. The fMRI data consists of brain scans of subjects undertaking tasks such as looking at an image and answering a simple question about it. For example, given an image of a clock next to some lettering, the tasks might be to determine the letters in the image or, given an image of a baseball player in the act of throwing, the question might be what object is being thrown. So given the fMRI data, MindLLM must generate text that describes the brain activity captured in the scan. One of the key innovations of MindLLM is its ability to focus on the most relevant parts of the fMRI data, improving its accuracy and efficiency. Another critical aspect of MindLLM is a technique known as Brain Instruction Tuning (BIT). This involves training the model on a diverse dataset of images and text, enabling it to capture a wide range of representations from fMRI signals. The BIT dataset includes tasks related to perception, memory, language processing, and complex reasoning, ensuring that MindLLM can decode various aspects of human thought. The potential applications of MindLLM are significant. Qui and co say it could be used to develop brain-computer interfaces that allow people to control devices with their thoughts, revolutionizing assistive technology for individuals with disabilities. The model could also provide insights into cognitive processes, helping researchers better understand how the brain works. Moreover, MindLLM's ability to decode thoughts has ethical implications that society will have to consider. The possibility of decoding private thoughts raises concerns about privacy and security, and it is essential to establish ethical guidelines for the development and deployment of such technology. Qui and co acknowledge that they will not necessarily know how it will be used. "It is common that users want to adapt the MindLLM to their own specific use cases," they say.Fact or FictionDespite its impressive performance, MindLLM is still in its early stages. One limitation is that fMRI is not a real-time imaging technique and requires significant processing time plus expensive bulky equipment. Future research could explore faster and more portable brain imaging techniques, such as electroencephalography (EEG) or functional near-infrared spectroscopy, to complement or replace fMRI in practical applications.Additionally, the researchers aim to investigate the relationship between fMRI data and other modalities, such as videos, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of brain activity. Thats interesting work that shows how mind-reading techniques are progressing in leaps and bounds. The ability to decode thoughts has long been a staple of science fiction, but it may not be longer until it acquires the status of science fact. Ref: MindLLM: A Subject-Agnostic and Versatile Model for fMRI-to-Text Decoding : arxiv.org/abs/2502.15786artificial intelligence1 free article leftWant More? 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Our brain is constantly working to keep the body functioning and, therefore, requires the utmost protection. In addition to a thick skull, the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a natural protective membrane, prevents microscopic intruders such as toxins and pathogens from entering the nervous system.Unfortunately, this also limits medical treatment for neurological disorders, including Alzheimers, Parkinsons, brain tumors, and ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). But recent developments in medical physics have introduced ultrasound-activated microbubbles that temporarily open the BBB, allowing targeted drug delivery. This innovation could revolutionize healthcare by enhancing treatment precision and reducing side effects.To better understand the physical mechanisms behind microbubble drug delivery, researchers from ETH Zurich, Switzerland, published their findings in Nature Physics, offering insights into the future of targeted therapies.Targeted Drug DeliveryThe BBB consists of tight junctions that connect endothelial cells the cells lining the inside of blood vessels. It selectively allows certain nutrients and oxygen to pass through while restricting many other substances. Drugs that cross the BBB are typically fat-soluble molecules that diffuse directly through cell membranes, whereas larger or water-soluble molecules face significant challenges.Most chemical drugs intended to treat central nervous system disorders struggle to penetrate the BBB due to their chemical properties. As a result, they often have low therapeutic efficacy while accumulating in other organs and tissues, increasing the risk of side effects.To overcome this challenge, researchers have been exploring advanced methods for targeted drug delivery. Microbubbles, which encapsulate therapeutic compounds in gas form, offer a promising solution. Administered via the bloodstream, they travel to the targeted area and release their cargo into the brain when triggered by ultrasound. This makes them the only known noninvasive, localized, and reversible method for opening the BBB and delivering drugs directly to the brain.However, the precise physical process by which microbubbles facilitate drug transport remained unclear until now.Read More: Inside the Human BrainMicrobubbles and MicrojetsMicrobubbles, which are smaller than red blood cells, are stabilized by a coating of fat molecules. When exposed to ultrasound at the target site, these bubbles temporarily create tiny pores in the BBBs cell membrane, allowing drugs to pass through. However, the exact mechanism behind this process had not been fully understood.Observing these interactions is extremely challenging, as microbubbles measure only a few micrometers in diameter (a micrometer is a thousandth of a millimeter) and vibrate millions of times per second under ultrasound.To capture this process in detail, the researchers developed a specialized microscope with 200x magnification and integrated it with a high-speed camera capable of recording up to 10 million images per second.To simulate the interaction between microbubbles and the BBB, they constructed a model consisting of endothelial cells on a plastic membrane submerged in a saline solution. After introducing microbubbles containing a model drug, they applied a microsecond-long ultrasound pulse.We were able to show that under ultrasound, the surface of the microbubbles loses its shape, resulting in tiny jets of liquid, so-called microjets, which penetrate the cell membrane, Marco Cattaneo, a doctoral student and first author of the study, explained in a press release.These microjets, moving at an astonishing speed of 200 kilometers per hour (about 124 miles per hour), puncture the cell membrane with pinpoint precision while keeping the cell intact. The process is highly efficient, as the bubble remains intact after each jet formation, enabling continuous drug release with every ultrasound cycle.Observing in DetailThis laboratory setup allows researchers to observe cell-microbubble interactions in unprecedented detail. Moving forward, scientists aim to optimize the frequency and pressure of ultrasound, as well as the size and coating of microbubbles, to maximize therapeutic efficacy while ensuring patient safety.Our work clarifies the physical foundations for targeted administration of drugs through microbubbles and helps us define criteria for their safe and effective use, said Outi Supponen, a professor at the Institute of Fluid Dynamics in Zurich, in the press release.Future studies will further refine this technology, potentially expanding its applications beyond neurodegenerative diseases to include conditions such as heart attacks and atherosclerosis.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:StatPearls: Anatomy, Head and Neck: Blood Brain BarrierHaving worked as a biomedical research assistant in labs across three countries, Jenny excels at translating complex scientific concepts ranging from medical breakthroughs and pharmacological discoveries to the latest in nutrition into engaging, accessible content. Her interests extend to topics such as human evolution, psychology, and quirky animal stories. When shes not immersed in a popular science book, youll find her catching waves or cruising around Vancouver Island on her longboard.

Recently analyzed fossils finally confirm a longtime paleontological theory: Flying squirrels the size of domesticated cats glided across the Bering Land Bridge roughly 5 million years ago. Although no longer native to North America, the ancestors to todays aerodynamic rodents likely made the most of the Early Pliocenes warmer climate.The new findings come from an international research team collaborating between East Tennessee State University and Spains Institut Catal de Paleontologia, and are described in a study published on February 21 in the Journal of Mammalian Evolution. The discovery of a Miopetaurista webbi specimen at the Gray Fossil Site in Washington County, Tennessee, surprised paleontologists given what they previously understood about the creatures evolutionary journey.Finding Miopetaurista in North America was quite unexpected as this genus is only known from Eurasia, Isaac Casanovas-Vilar, a study co-author and Institut Catal de Paleontologia researcher, said in a statement. There had been some uncertain reports from Florida, but the specimen of the Gray Fossil Site provided new information.Modern Southern Appalachia was much warmer during the Pliocene epoch, which lured prehistoric mammal species east after crossing the Bering Land Bridge. Due to its Eurasian origins, the Miopetaurista that eventually soared through the trees of Tennessee all the way down to Florida were more closely related to todays flying squirrels in China, Japan, and Indonesia than any North American squirrels.While roughly the size of a cat, Miopetaurista webbi only weighed about 3 pounds.Miopetaurista species are previously documented in areas of China, France, and Germany during both the Miocene (23-5.3 million years ago) and Pliocene (5.32.5 million years ago) epochs. But the discovery and dating of the Tennessee Miopetaurista webbi now means those flying squirrels were some of the last of their kind.As the climate cooled over time, the Pleistocene Ice Ages led to the isolation of these giant flying squirrels in warmer refuges like Florida, and ultimately contributed to their extinction, study co-author Montserrat Grau-Camats said. The last American Miopetaurista lived millions of years after all Eurasian species of this genus had disappeared, meaning at the time they were living fossils.' This also meant the flying squirrels lived beside some unexpected neighbors.It is amazing to imagine these giant flying squirrels gliding over rhinos and mastodons living in the forests of Tennessee 5 million years ago, said study co-author Joshua Samuels.The post Flying squirrels the size of cats soared over prehistoric Appalachia appeared first on Popular Science.

Nature, Published online: 26 February 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08568-6A textile fibre computer combining sensing, memory, processing and communication in a 5-g mass has been developed, enabling distributed computation on the human body through garments.