In a damning report published today (28 February), the governments Public Accounts Committee (PAC) demanded detailed plans for a fundamental reset for HS2 by summer 2025, following what it describes as a litany of failures and unheeded warnings on the project which are likely to have wasted billions of pounds of taxpayers money.The committee, which examines the value for money of government projects, programmes and service delivery, insists that the Department for Transports (DfT) failure to manage the major public sector project now represents a reputational risk to the UK.What possible benefit can the government now salvage for the taxpayer?Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, chair of the committee, said it is long past the point of making recommendations which could deliver better outcomes for HS2 passengers.AdvertisementHe said the question, instead, had become: What possible benefit can the government now salvage for the taxpayer, from a mess that presents real risks to the UKs overall reputation?In his damning statement following publication of the report, Clifton-Brown described HS2 as a cautionary tale that should be studied by future governments in how not to run a major project.We are sceptical of governments ability to successfully deliver even a curtailed scheme, one which we already know will on its face bring very poor value for money, he added.The committees report marks the latest update in its long-running scrutiny of the project, following the cancellation of HS2s Northern Leg in October.Among its most pressing concerns over HS2, the committee highlights the mismanagement of Euston Station architect Grimshaws plans for the London terminus have been repeatedly reworked due to changes in scope and budget.AdvertisementIt also picked out the 100 million costs racked up up for a HS2 bat tunnel in Buckinghamshire issues which Labours former transport secretary, Louise Haigh, respectively described as an absolute mess and the tip of the iceberg in the high-speed rail lines project mismanagement. Source:HS2 LtdProposed north entrance to HS2 Euston station (as updated November 2022)The report points out: The c100 million cost of the 1km bat tunnel, which did not strike the right balance between protecting wildlife and the burden on the taxpayer, more than doubled the cost of that section of railway alone.Meanwhile, the governments plans on Euston currently rest on the circa 6 billion cost of the station being significantly underpinned by the private sector, explained the committee, which says it remains sceptical that the private sector will provide the necessary funds.In the meantime, local businesses, residents and passengers will continue to face significant disruption at Euston for many years to come, added the PAC.The PAC said the government and HS2 Ltds failure to work together effectively on HS2 was illustrated by their inability to agree with each other on how much the programme will cost.The committee itself estimates that the total programme costs of HS2 could approach 80 billion and it is pessimistic that significant savings can be made during construction, given a lack of apparent incentives for contractors to deliver significant savings.Clifton-Brown added: It is ultimately the Department for Transport that has failed to manage this enormous project and manage HS2 properly.This is likely to have wasted billions of pounds of taxpayers money in delays and overspends.Clifton-Brown said the DfT and HS2 Ltd must now begin the hard work of making this project the best possible version of itself in the circumstances. He said the department must reset itself, as well as the project, to achieve a workable conclusion in line with the eventually agreed budget and timescale.The committee chair added: [The DfT] will need to employ people with the correct range of skill sets to critically supervise and oversee this huge project. This is the only way to salvage its severely tarnished reputation.We expect to see a real improvement when we next examine this matter.Shortly after joining HS2 Ltd as its new chief executive in December 2024, Mark Wild acknowledged that the project was in a very serious situation that requires a fundamental reset.Wild said he remained committed to ensuring that the railway opens safely and efficiently.2025-02-28Anna Highfieldcomment and share

PlayStation Plus is Sony's version of Xbox Game Pass, and it offers subscribers a large and constantly expanding library of games. There are three plans starting at $10 a month, but each plan gives subscribers access to monthly games and rewards. And subscribers have a few more days to carry out daring heists in the cooperative shooter game Payday 3.Here are all the games PlayStation Plus subscribers can access this weekend before they are taken off the service on Monday. You can also check out the latest games Sony added to the PlayStation Plus Libraryin January.Payday 3A lot of good movies and games involving heists start with the premise of "one last job," and Payday 3 is no different. Set years after Payday 2, this game sees the Payday Crew come out of retirement to crush a new threat in New York City. Will you and your friends be able to plan and execute the perfect heist, or will you be brought down by your enemies in law enforcement or the criminal underworld?High on LifeAn alien cartel is trying to abduct and get high off all the humans on Earth, and the only thing to stop them is you and an arsenal of talking weapons. Those weapons include the optimistic pistol Kenny, a cannon that mimics Sylvester Stallone named Lezduit and the sociopathic and aptly named knife Knifey. Since the game comes from the co-creator of the Rick and Morty series, expect the same kind of crude humor around every corner.Pac-Man World Re-PacPac-Man is a family man. However, when he arrives home one day presumably from cleaning up the maze he finds out that the Ghosts have kidnapped his Pac-Fam. What's a Pac-Man to do but travel a 3D world, solve environmental puzzles and travel to Ghost Island to save his family? For more on PlayStation Plus, here's what to know about the service. You can also check out the latest upcoming games on Xbox Game Pass, Apple Arcade and Netflix Games. Watch this: Everything We Expect in Gaming in 2025 05:01

As a real estate professional, one of the most common questions I get is, "When are home prices going to come down?"It makes sense;buying a home is a huge financial decision. With the headlines predicting crashes, recessions and market downturns, it's natural to want to wait for the housing market to become more affordable. TAX SOFTWARE DEALS OF THE WEEK H&R Block Free Simple Tax Returns eFile: $0 (save $0) TurboTax Deluxe 2024 (Federal and State, PC/Mac Download): $56 (save $24) TurboTax Premier 2024 (Federal and State, PC/Mac Download): $83 (save $32) TaxSlayer Classic Plan: $28 (save $10) Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.Yet real estate doesn't behave the way a lot of people think it does. Sure, home values can fluctuate, but prices are stuck at all-time highs. We can partly blame inflation, which is making everything more expensive. We can also blame a massive housing shortagefor keeping competition up. Across most of the US, we still don't have enough homes available for those who want to buy them.It's my job as a realtor to tell my clients never to rush out and buy the first home they see. But if you're still sitting on the sidelines waiting for a major drop in home prices, you might be waiting forever.Home prices aren't dropping anytime soonA lot of people think real estate is like a stock -- prices go up, prices go down. If you time the market, you can get in at the lowest possible price. Except homes aren't like stocks at all.Home prices don't just suddenly drop. A combination of factors prevents them from falling significantly, from supply and demand to inflation, from mortgage rates to homeowners' emotional attachment to their properties.I've been in the real estate industry long enough to know that housing downturns don't happen in a vacuum. Let's dive into the key reasons why a big price drop in today's market is unlikely.Home prices don't just suddenly drop. A combination of factors prevents them from falling significantly, from supply and demand to inflation, from mortgage rates to homeowners' emotional attachment to their properties. 1. Supply is low, demand is highAt its core, the housing market is driven by supply and demand. When there are more buyers than available homes, prices go up. Depending on what report you read, the US is short between four and six million homes.The severe undersupply of homes has been a problem for over a decade. After the 2008 financial crisis, homebuilding slowed dramatically and never fully ramped back up. Restrictive zoning laws and rising construction costs have made it difficult to build new homes at the pace needed. In many areas, the high cost of breaking ground on new construction incentivizes builders to just focus on higher-end homes, leaving first-time buyers with even fewer options.At the same time, demand for homes is strong. Millennials, the largest generation in the country, are in their prime homebuying years, and many are determined to buy. As long as market demand exceeds supply, home prices will stay strong.2. Inflation keeps home prices elevatedIf you've been to the grocery store, filled up your gas tank or paid for any service lately, you've seen firsthand how inflation affects prices. Housing is no different.Inflation puts long-term upward pressure on prices. After peaking in early 2022, inflation started to ease after the Federal Reserve's series of interest rate hikes. But recent data shows consumer prices rising again.As inflation erodes the value of money, tangible assets like real estate become more expensive. A home that cost $300,000 in 2010 would now be worth around $427,000 just from inflation alone. Even if housing demand cools temporarily, home values tend to rise over time simply because of how our financial system works.3. It costs a lot to sell a homeSelling a home isn't as simple as listing it online and waiting for offers. It's a process that comes with significant costs for sellers, including real estate commissions, closing costs, staging expenses and potential repairs.For many homeowners, selling is expensive and doesn't make much financial sense. Sellers would rather stay put than take a financial hit, and fewer homes on the market prevent prices from falling.4. The rate-lock effect freezes supplyThe rate-lock effect is one of the biggest reasons why existing homes aren't hitting the market.During the pandemic, millions of homeowners locked in ultra-low mortgage rates, some as low as 2 to 3%. These homeowners are not eager to trade their sub-3% mortgage for a new one at 7%. Even with home values rising, many homeowners don't want to take on a significantly higher mortgage payment for their next home.Until mortgage rates come down substantially, many homeowners will stay put, keeping inventory tight and prices steady.5. People selling homes are also buying themMost sellers are also buyers. Every home that gets sold is usually offset by another purchase. Unlike in 2008, when foreclosures flooded the market, today's sellers are typically moving by choice, not out of necessity.Demand for homes has a lot to do with life stages. People get married, have kids, relocate for jobs, downsize or look for better schools. Even in a high-rate environment over the last two years, these factors have kept the housing market moving.6. Homeowners see higher value in their propertiesPeople have a deep emotional connection to their homes, and that plays a role in pricing. When homeowners see a neighbor's house sell for top dollar, they often believe their home is worth the same or more. Even in slower markets, homeowners are reluctant to accept lower offers unless they absolutely have to sell.Unlike stocks, where people are quick to cut losses, homeowners tend to hold onto their properties rather than take a perceived loss. This is another reason why home prices tend to be sticky, even during economic downturns.Would a recession lead to lower home prices?I often hear the argument that home prices will drop if we enter a recession. While it's true that economic downturns can impact housing, most recessions don't lead to significant price declines.Historically, home prices have remained stable or even risen during recessions. Layoffs tend to impact lower-income workers who are less likely to be homeowners, and those who do own homes typically have enough equity to avoid distressed sales. Unlike in 2008, where risky lending led to foreclosures, today's homeowners are in a much stronger financial position.Why it costs more to wait to buy a homeOver the last 60 years, home prices have appreciated at an average rate of 4.6% per year. If you're waiting for a housing crash, you're betting against a trend that has been remarkably consistent.Even if home prices stagnate, interest rates could stay high, which impacts affordability far more than a small price drop. And it could end up costing you more to wait. Renting instead of buying means missing out on years of home equity, and inflation will just continue making homes more expensive over time.Tips for homebuyersIf you're trying to decide whether to buy, focus on your own financial situation rather than trying to time the market.Financial stability: If you can afford a down payment, make sure your projected monthly mortgage payment is comfortable and sustainable. You should also have enough money in the bank for closing costs, insurance, taxes and other homeowner fees.Consider different markets: Not all real estate markets are created equal. Pay attention to what's happening in your specific area. At the time of this article, Florida inventory is growing while the Northeast is still in very short supply.Think long term: Real estate is not about what will happen today or tomorrow but rather decades from now. As a general rule, plan to stay in your home for at least five or seven years so that short-term market fluctuations won't matter much.Read more:

February 27, 20256 min readIf Aliens Looked at Earth from Far Away, What Might They See?Whether aliens could detect our modern civilization depends on what signs theyre looking forand, crucially, their distance from usBy Phil Plait edited by Lee BillingsHow far out into the cosmos would signs of our civilization reach? The answers might surprise you. DrPixel/Getty Images (Elements of this illustration furnished by NASA)So far astronomers have discovered nearly 6,000 exoplanetsworlds that orbit stars other than our sun. If that number already feels ridiculously large, youd better brace yourself: through extrapolation, there could be hundreds of billions of planets in our galaxy alone. Some fraction of them will be like Earth, though at the moment we dont yet know what that fraction is. Still, with a total that huge, even a small fraction can yield a lot of habitable planets.Thats why most scientists take the idea of life on other worlds seriously. Life arose here pretty rapidlypractically as soon as Earth had cooled enough to harbor oceanswhich implies that its easy to get started once conditions are clement. The timing of the advent of hazily defined, higher-order features such as intelligence and technology, however, is a different question and one about which we are mostly restricted to speculation (though there have been some interesting investigations). But lets say that, right now, there are intelligent aliens and technological civilizations out there, somewhere in the Milky Way.Could they detect us?On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Phrased that way, in the most general sense, the answer is yes. By this I mean that theres no physical reason why you couldnt build an immense telescope, one far, far larger than any currently in existence, that would be capable of taking a detailed image of a planet from a great many light-years away. The engineering task may be considerable, but its not technically impossible. Then it might only be a matter of seeing city lights at night, for example, to confirm that aliensthat is, us, because wed be alien to themexist.Actually, it may be even easier than that. A much smaller telescope need not resolve the planet; just observing it well enough to watch it get brighter and dimmer as city lights at night rotate into and out of view might be good enough. And that smaller telescope would only have to be, oh, lets say, ridiculously huge instead of overwhelmingly so.The reason to wonder about this, though, is that it flips the script on whats usually asked, which is how we can detect them, given our current level of technology. We cant know their level in advance, but we do know our ownso it makes sense to assume their tech is equivalent to ours and then to ask from what distance they could spot us.That task is actually extremely difficult. Space is big, and vast distances dim even the mightiest of civilizations. But we can use our own as a template and work backward to estimate the outer limits of any interstellar eavesdropping on our noisy little world by aliens that use similar technology.A team of astronomers headed by Sofia Sheikh of the SETI Institute has run the numbers and published its results in the Astronomical Journal. (SETI stands for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.) The researchers looked at various methods of detecting our various so-called technosignatures, and the answer unsurprisingly depends on which specific one any aliens would be looking for. Many of these ideas have been individually investigated before, but this latest analysis examines them collectively and consistently to arrive at some fresh insights.One example of a technosignature is radio. Since its inception in the mid-20th century, SETI has focused on detecting artificial radio signals from space. Radio waves are easy to make and detect, and they can pass at the speed of light through interstellar space scarcely impeded by any gas and dust that might be in the way. That makes radio a nearly ideal carrier for galactic-range communication.The astronomers divided radio signals into four categories: first, pointed but intermittent broadcasts to space, essentially we are here messages; second, intentional and persistent targeted signals sent to our planetary probes in deep space that continue on into the galaxy; third, persistent omnidirectional signals, such as leakage emissions from cell-phone towers, as well as radio and television stations; and fourth, signals from artifacts, such as low-power downlinks from our interplanetary probes.Unsurprisingly, signals in the first category can be detected from the farthest away because the power involved in the transmission is highest. Sheikh and her colleagues estimate that these can be spotted at a staggering 12,000 light-years from Earth! Thats a maximum distance, but several billon stars lie in its volume. If you want to be found, this is probably the way to go.The other methods dont fare as well. For the second category, the maximum distance is more like 65 light-years, which still contains thousands of stars. The third category only gets out to four light-years, which isnt even as far as the closest star to the sun. (That star, Proxima Centauri, is 4.25 light-years distant.) That jibes with recent research on radio emissions from cell-phone towers. The fourth one, which would include signals from our spacecraft, such as the Voyager 1 probe, has a detection limit of just under a light-year away. That actually surprised me, given how weak the signal is now, when the spacecraft is only about 25 billion kilometers away. Voyager 1s 23-watt transmitter is already dimmed to less than a billionth of a billionth of a watt, as seen from our world!Clearly radio is the method of choice for aliens looking for Earth. But there are other signatures.One outcome of our modern civilization is an imprint on our atmosphere. Besides carbon dioxide, quite a few other chemicals have been dumped into our air by industry and other anthropogenic sources. Altering our planets climate is not great, to say the least, but it does make a signature detectable from space. And that signature could be especially obvious for an interstellar observer located along our solar systems ecliptic, the plane of Earths orbit around the sun: from that perspective, they would see our planet pass directly in front of our star once every year, slightly dimming its light. This is called a transit, and it has been the most successful method so far for discovering exoplanets.Such transits can also be used to remotely analyze a worlds air. As starlight (or in our case, sunlight) passes through a planets upper atmosphere, certain wavelengths of light will be absorbed by molecules there, creating a fingerprint of sorts that can be measured. We already do this for some transiting exoplanets now with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). And proposed future telescopes such as NASAs Habitable Worlds Observatory are meant to scan the atmospheres of dozens of potentially Earth-like exoplanets that may exist around nearby stars (even if they dont transit, as seen from our solar system!).In their new study, the SETI Institute astronomers focused on the remote detection of nitrogen dioxide, or NO2, a conspicuous by-product of fossil-fuel burning. Given the current levels in our polluted air, they find that we could detect such a signature from a distance of 5.7 light-years. Only the Alpha Centauri system is within that range, which limits any aliens options for sniffing us out. Still, its an impressive technological achievement to be able to do this sort of search at all.Most other types of technosignatures fare worse. A JWST clone perched somewhere in the vicinity of Neptunes orbit could detect the infrared glow of heat that emanates from our cities, but farther out, that trail grows cold. At about 100 times that distance, the optical gleam of Earths city lights would fade to blackbetter but still far short of even our next nearest star.Lasers are easier to detect and are already being tested by NASA and the European Space Agency right now for in-space satellite communication. Still, under reasonable assumptions, a lasers beam of focused light would be too dim to detect from a distance of just under six light-years, which is not enough to be spotted even at Barnards Star, the second-closest star system to our own.The worst case involves searches for our off-world technological artifacts. Earths swarms of artificial satellites, for example, slightly change the amount of sunlight our planet blocks during a transit but not enough to even be detectable from Mars. Suffice to say that if aliens were close enough to see such things, there would be far easier ways for them to spot us.All of these numbers come with the pretty big caveat that the aliens are no more advanced technologically than we are. This may be very conservative because, after all, we get more advanced all the time. We continue to build bigger telescopes, limited only by budget and the laws of physics, and are still finding and developing new ways to investigate the cosmos, such as detecting neutrinos and gravitational waves. Weve only been doing what might be called modern astronomy for a century or so, and its difficult to predict where we might be 100 years hence. The galaxy has been around for billions of years. No one can yet say who else shares it with us or what theyre using to explore. The truth is out there, and turning our search for aliens inside outby looking from the outside inmay best inform us on how to find it.

February 27, 2025Why You Cant Get That Song Out of Your HeadSome songs get stuck in our head more than others, and scientists have uncovered what makes them so irresistible. Anaissa Ruiz Tejada/Scientific AmericanSUBSCRIBE TO Science QuicklyRachel Feltman: For Scientific Americans Science Quickly, Im Rachel Feltman.You know that feeling when you just cant get a song out of your headjust a short part of it playing over and over? Right now my brain is chewing on the Muppet Show theme cause I just watched a live-stream charity event where a bunch of my favorite comedians, including some from Dropout, which longtime listeners know Im a huge fan of, did a onstage reading of The Muppet Show, so right now its just, you know, Its time to play the music / Its time to light the lights, over and over again. So thanks for that, folks.A lot of people call those annoying little ditties earworms: fragments of songs that crawl into your mind and just dont want to leave. And scientists have actually done quite a bit of research to figure out why some tunes wriggle their way into our heads better than others.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Youve probably dealt with your own share of earworms. In fact, in a few previous episodes, I asked all of you to send in some of your favorite or most infuriating examples, and a whole bunch of you were kind enough to sing into your phones for us.Heres Kerry from New Orleans.Kerry: I have had this earworn in my head for literally at least 20 years before I go to bed at nightWhitney Houston.[CLIP: Listener Kerry sings the chorus of I Want to Dance With Somebody, by Whitney Houston.]Feltman: And a listener named John shared this classic.[CLIP: Listener John sings the chorus of Wonderwall by Oasis.]Feltman: And heres Jim from Massachusetts.[CLIP: Listener Jim imitates the music in Angry Again by Megadeth.]Feltman: Why do these songs get stuck in our noggins? And how can we get rid of them? To answer these questions Im joined today by Scientific American senior editor Josh Fischman, whos been taking a deep dive into the psychology of earworms.Hi, Josh!Josh Fischman: Hi, Rachel. Hey, thanks for having me here.Feltman: Of course, happy to have you. So do you get earworms?Fischman: I am incredibly [laughs] prone to earworms. And Im not musical; I am a failed flute player, and believe me, you really dont wanna hear me sing. But I always seem to have this musical soundtrack in the back of my head.Feltman: Can you give me an example?Fischman: Oh, Rachelyoure going to be sorry that you asked that.[CLIP: The introduction of Hooked on a Feeling by Blue Swede fades in.]Fischman: That song, of course, is the 1974 hit Hooked on a Feeling by the band Blue Swede. And it seems like its there for me once or twice every week. And once its on it doesnt go away for days.Feltman: [Laughs] Yeah, a classic earworm, for sure. And I think, regardless of folks, you know, musical history or taste, since the first Guardians of the Galaxy came out, I think probably the, the number of people who have that stuck in their head on any given day has gone up exponentially [laughs].Fischman: Yeah, Ithanks for that movie and, you know, Peters mixtape for bringing that back for me, a lot.Feltman: So one thing Im curious about is how common earworms actually are.Fischman: Thats a great question. It doesnt have a hard-and-fast answer, though, because theres no one giant, definitive population study. But lots of smaller ones say earworms are, in fact, really common.I talked about this with Kelly Jakubowski, whos a psychologist at the University of Durham in England, and shes one of the leading researchers in this area.Kelly Jakubowski: The vast majority of times we have earworms, theyre songs that we, you know, we remember well, that weve learned and have known before, and so on, and so earworms are a really interesting way to kind of provide sort of everyday insight into the workings of musical memory and how our memories sometimes, often kind of spontaneously, present us with these tunes and why they come to mind and what does it all mean.Fischman: Now, Kelly says these sneaky little critters may be windowsor tiny microphonesinto how memory works.A lot of memorys voluntary, right? You try and remember where you parked your car or what you need from the grocery store. But earworms are involuntary; in fact, psychologists call them involuntary musical imagery. So looking at them may produce some insights into how memory works in a small way: where associations trigger memories or how mood is associated with memory.Feltman: Im really curious about those triggers. You know, why, for instance, does the Ooga-Chaka song keep [laughs] coming back to you?Fischman: Thats a great question, too [laughs]. I really dont know for sure. But there are a couple of aspects of that tune that do make it prime earworm material, psychologists have found. One is the tempo and that Ooga-Chaka repetition, and Ill get back to that later.The other might be word association. The next line after the Ooga-Chakas is: I cant stop this feeling. Now, I report on health, including psychology, so usually the word feeling comes up every day in what I read and what I talk about. So it turns out that, according to one recent study, that associations like that are a big earworm trigger.I talked to another earworm researcher about the way that that works.Matt Evans: Im Matt Evans. Im a Ph.D. student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in cognitive psychology.Fischman: Matt told me that some psychologists figured out a cool way of developing a database of popular earworms.Evans: Victoria Williamson and a large team of researchers out of Goldsmiths, University of London, had a, a really clever way of finding a really big dataset of people reporting their earworms and where they came from. They realized that there was a BBC radio drive-time show where the DJ would ask people to call in when they had an earworm and tell em what their earworm was and why they had it, and then they, the DJ, would play the song.They were able to use that to generate this sort of theoretical model of where earworms come from, and one of the most common triggers is having heard a song recently, but then various types of thematic association was also, like, a majoryou know, someone sees a license plate, and theres a set of letters in there that sort of looks like the word purple, and its raining, and that makes them think of Purple Rain, and suddenly they have Prince stuck in their head.[CLIP: Purple Rain by Prince]Fischman: So maybe that jibes with my experience. Actually, I mentioned the Ooga-Chakas song to Matt, and he said ...Evans: Thats gonna be stuck in my head now.Feltman: Yeah, I have to admit that when I looked at your outline to get ready for this episode and I saw that you were gonna mention that song, I was like, Oh, no, Im cooked [laughs]; its gonna be Ookga-Chaka all day for me [laughs].Fischman: Oh, sorry!Feltman: I mean, you know, who among us could possibly stop that feeling?Fischman: Im high on believing that, Rachel.Matt went on to say that thats not the only kind of trigger.Evans: Being in a certain mood could be a trigger for a certain earworm. A person would report that they were feeling sad, for example, and that feeling of sadness they associated with a certain song, and that song got stuck in their head.Feltman: Okay, so just a pause to do a tally of triggers here. So far we have three: Theres having heard a song recently, which, of course, makes sense. Then theres also an association with something nonmusical you see or hear. And then theres your mood, like sadness or happiness. Are there any more triggers we know about?Fischman: Well, some surveys have asked people what they were doing when an earworm turned up. One of the most common answers is: Nothing much. And Nick Davidenko, a psychologist at UC Santa Cruz who studies perception and memoryand who works with Matttalked with me about this.Nick Davidenko: Mind wandering or, like, taking a walk ortheres a certain kind of daily things that seem to maybe not involve too much cognitive load or too much thought or effort where earworms are more likely to sort of come up or maybe more likely to be noticed.Fischman: So what Nick means by cognitive load is what you and I might call focus, Rachel. So if youre concentrating hard on somethingI dont know, for me, that might be rewiring an electrical outlet on my house, which makes me nervous; thats almost literally a load on my mind. It takes a lot of ...Feltman: Mm.Fischman: Mental resources. Thats a situation where I dont hear music in my head.Feltman: See, Im the kind of freak who hears, like, The Final Countdown when Im doing something stressful. Just [imitates the beginning of The Final Countdown by Europe].But I do get what you mean [laughs] cause when I really need to knuckle down and focus on something, I actually tend to put on really repetitive instrumental music, specifically to keep my internal radio from turning on and distracting me, so it makes sense that the opposite situationwhere youre kind of just mentally meandering or ruminating on somethingis, like, prime time for earworms. You know, our minds are free to latch on to things, including songs weve maybe heard throughout the day.Fischman: Yeah, exactly, and its not just outside influencesKelly points out that certain musical features of the song itself can make it particularly earworm-worthy.Jakubowski: I worked on a study that we published a few years ago, back in 2017, where we looked at the features specifically of pop songs that get stuck in peoples heads. And we found that songs that are at a certain tempo range are sort of more likely to get stuck with people.Basically, we looked at pop songs that were really frequently named as earworms in a big survey compared to comparable pop songs that had never been named as earworms even once in this big survey. We found that earworm songs tended to be faster in tempo than the non-earworm songs. These tended to be around sort of 124 beats per minute as a sort of average tempo; obviously there was some range around that.Something interesting about that tempo range is that it kind of aligns quite well with what we call the sort of spontaneous preferred tempo for humans.Fischman: Basically, Kelly says, thats the speed that we kind of like to move at or to dance at.Feltman: Thats cool. Listeners, if you dont have a great reference point for BPMs, thats about two beats per second, which is, like, pretty snappy.Jakubowski: Music that is at that speed seems to get stuck in our heads more often. It seems like there is this kind of inherent link between our sort of body rhythms and the rhythms of the music in our head and so on.Fischman: Now, remember, she said around 124 beats, so theres a lot of variation, but the big takeaway, just like you said, was that up-tempo songs get named as earworms by more people, like this one.[CLIP: Bad Romance by Lady Gaga]Feltman: Thats Lady Gaga, of course, with Bad Romance, a frequent earworm resident [laughs] for me.Fischman: Yeah, and it was a huge hit, too. And shes very close to 124 beats per minute there. But her chorus also shows another very earwormy feature: the melody of it rises and falls in a regular patternit goes up, and it goes down. Kelly says that regularity may help us recall the song more easily.Feltman: Totally, yeah, I mean that little hook with the ooh la las and whatevertheres a lot of stuff in that song that seems really primed to get stuck in at least my head.So what do I do if that song is in my brain for the next three days and, as much as I love Lady Gaga, I want it gone?Fischman: Yeah, totally hear you. So earworm control is such an interesting area. Actually, all the scientists I spoke with pointed out that in surveys, most people say they like their earworms; only about a third say theyre bothered by them.Feltman: Okay, so why do we tend to talk about them in such a negative light? I mean, you rarely hear someone say, Oh, Ive got this cool song in my head today, and thats so great.Fischman: Yeah, like, Im much more likely to say, I cant get this stupid song to stop. Psychologists say that thats probably a type of cognitive bias.Feltman: Mm.Fischman: Were more likely to pay attention to negative experiences, things that irritate us, so we react to the bad earworms and the good ones happily play in the background, giving us a bit of joy when we stop and notice them.Feltman: Yeah, I, I buy that. But if I do have a bad one, what can I do about it?Fischman: I went back to Nick Davidenko for that one. Nick has a interesting perspective on this because he always has an earworm.Davidenko: Yeah, its true. As far as I can remember, even as, as a kid, I rarely experience moment of where there is no music in my head, unless Im actively talking, for example.Its a little bit random: it can be popular music, less often classical music but jazz, kind of genre of music that I listen to or that I like or that I play is a candidateor even music I dont like or, you know, theme song from a TV show or a commercial.Feltman: Oh, wow. Im not quite at that level, but I do hear music in my head more often than not, and Ive honestly never stopped to think about how normal that is, and its usually benign or even enjoyable, but there are definitely times when it gets annoying. So what does Nick do to make it stop?Davidenko: At some point try to jump on to another song. So it could be a related song, harmonically or melodically, or it could be a completely different song, but it helps to be another song that can get stuck in my head.So it, its a trade-off, right? If youre finding yourself kind of tired of having a specific song, I have to trade it for another song, so I might as well trade it for something thats gonna be different enough and, and sort of strike a different part of my brain than whatever song that was.Fischman: And Kelly endorsed that idea.Jakubowski: Like, switch your mental radioso imagine a song that you really do like or listen to some other music. Its very, very hard to listen to music and have a song stuck in your head at the same time; those two things use very similar neural resources in our brain, so imagining music essentially uses very similar capacities to hearing music, so its pretty effective to block out an earworm.Fischman: Theres one final strategy sussed out by some scientists at the University of Reading in England: chew gum.Feltman: Really?Fischman: I had to get Kelly to explain that one to me. But apparently this works. It has to do with something called subvocalization.Essentially, when we think of lyrics or spoken words we subconsciously rehearse saying themnot to the point of moving our jaws but before thatkind of rehearsing the nerve signals that will move your jaws and your throat in the desired pattern. But chewing also involves those nerve signals, and they interfere with the word-rehearsal signals.Heres Kelly.Jakubowski: Chewing gum actually ties up what we call the sort of articulatory-motor planning system. So in order to mentally rehearse words or songs, we need to actually, essentially, sort of mentally sing them. So if youre using your mouth, you cant actually kind of fully mentally sing them.So what they found is that when people chewed gum vigorously, they had fewer earworms of a song that they had heard earlier in the experiment. I think the vigorously thing is key; I suppose if you kind of start chewing the gum to the beat of the music, that might not really help [laughs].Fischman: So, Rachel, I guess you cant play an earworm and chew gum at the same time.Feltman: [Laughs] Honestly, that sounds like a challenge to me, but Ill have to give it a try the next time I find myself stuck with an earworm that I, like, really cant shakesomething really annoying, you know? If only we had an example of something like that ...[CLIP: Listener Jesse sings Baby Shark.]Feltman: Thanks to listener Jesse from Florida for that lovely rendition of, of course, Baby Shark. And, Josh, thanks for coming by and planting all of these melodies in our heads.Fischman: Hey, Rachel, Im digging out the worms right along with you.Feltman: [Laughs] Thats all for today's episode. But before we sign off, here are a few more earworms from our lovely listeners.[CLIP: Listener Sarah vocalizes.][CLIP: Listeners Sarah and Andy sing the first verse and chorus of Scotty Doesnt Know by Lustra.][CLIP: Listener Andrea sings part of Holiday Road by Lindsey Buckingham.]Feltman: Thank you to Sarah from New Mexico, Andy and Sarah from Alaska, and Andrea from Kentucky for those submissions.Science Quickly is produced by me, Rachel Feltman, along with Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Naeem Amarsy, and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was reported and co-hosted by Josh Fischman. Emily Makowski, Shayna Posses, and Aaron Shattuck fact-check our show. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Subscribe to Scientific American for more up-to-date and in-depth science news.For Scientific American, this is Rachel Feltman. Have a great weekend!

Merry Monster Hunter Wilds day to all those who celebrate. Capcom's dino-basher has been going from strength to strength since Worlds became a breakout hit back in 2018, and Wilds doubles down on that open world monster-mashing experience with style. It's a great time to start playing Monster Hunter if you're new to the series, and we've got a whole Monster Hunter Wilds walkthrough to help you every step of the way through the main campaign.However, despite Capcom's best efforts to streamline its barrage of systems and complex web of interlocking stat boosts, weapon buffs and goodness knows what else, there's still plenty of stuff that Wilds doesn't tell you from the outset. It may be the friendliest and easiest Monster Hunter to get into in, well, ever, but to help make your journey even smoother, we've put together some extra handy starter tips to help give you a leg up into this brilliant action RPG - stuff we wish we knew before we started playing Wilds for the first time, and stuff we hope you'll want to know before you dive in, too.Watch on YouTubeOn this page:Take the time to experiment with different weapons - don't just accept the Great Sword Attack the barrels and you'll be able to practice each weapon's attack combos in complete safety. | Image credit: Eurogamer/CapcomDuring the opening monster chase, you'll be handed an enormous Great Sword as your first weapon. But be warned. While the Great Sword is one of the best Monster Hunter Wilds weapons, it's not necessarily the easiest one to master early on due to its slow wind-ups and excessive heft. It's a heavy, sluggish weapon, and can make fights more difficult if you're not used to it. There are a lot of weapon types in Monster Hunter Wilds, and finding the right one for you is crucial before you continue. | Image credit: Eurogamer/CapcomInstead, before you carry on with the story mission, take the time to experiment with all 14 weapon types by speaking to Alma. Once you've equipped a weapon, practice attacking the barrels to the side of the spring where you're resting. For beginners, I'd recommend a lighter kind of blade weapon - the traditional sword and shield is a great starter weapon and lets you play Monster Hunter like a more traditional action adventure game, but I'd also recommend having a go with the Dual Blades. This is my particular weapon of choice, and I love how fast and nippy they are - and how powerful and cool its Demon Mode attacks are, too. Try it - you might be surprised. And as for those who prefer ranged attacks, the regular bow is another great option to try your hand at. Once you've found a weapon you like, feel free to continue with the mission. You can always swap weapons and try even more new ones when you're back at base camp.Don't forget to raid your Seikret's supply items for free stuff Make sure you leave some space in your own item pouch so you can take advantage of your Seikret's freebies. | Image credit: Eurogamer/CapcomIf you find yourself running low on health and stamina items, don't forget that your Seikret is basically a walking med kit in disguise thanks to its bundle of free supply items that get dumped there at the start of every mission. Wilds doesn't do a great job of flagging this up when you head out on missions, but if you press left on the d-pad while mounted on your Seikret, you can open up its Supply Item menu for free first aid kits and rations, among other items.It's well worth transferring all of these supply items over to your main item pouch at the start of a mission, as it's basically just loads of free stuff that will help you out later on. If you leave them on your Seikret, they'll disappear at the end of the mission, so make sure to grab them while you can. Waste not, want not, right?Customise your radial menus for a wider variety of healing items There are so many healing items available in Monster Hunter that it's worth taking the time to create a dedicated radial menu for them to give you greater control over your item stocks. | Image credit: Eurogamer/CapcomThe new crop of radial item menus in Monster Hunter Wilds make it easier than ever before to get the right item you need for any given situation. The default Action wheel is particularly handy for flagging up appropriate healing items, and 90 per cent of the time it will give you exactly the thing you're looking for straight away. Poisoned? Here's an Antidote. In need of more health? Here's a herb.For that remaining 10 percent, though, you might want to consider making your own custom radial menu instead. This way, you'll have a wider variety of items at your fingertips, and more control over your growing pool of crafting items. For example, I found the Action wheel's Optimal Health Recovery option kept offering up my very limited number of herbs when I tried to select it, which never quite topped up my health bar as much as I wanted, especially when I was sitting on about 86 potions that would do a much better job at patching me up. So rather than waste some of my more precious items, I opened up the main menu, clicked on Customise Radial Menu in the Items & Equipment tab, and set about stuffing a new radial menu with the widest selection of health and stamina boosting items I could muster.Learn how to pause the game when you're in a pinch Put the pause function on your radial menu, stat! | Image credit: Eurogamer/CapcomOn a similar note, I was 12 hours into the game before I learned I could pause Monster Hunter Wilds from the radial menu - which is exceedingly handy if you need to stop the action for a minute. Like Elden Ring, you'll probably notice quite quickly that opening up Monster Hunter Wilds' main menu doesn't actually pause the game at all - the action continues to run away in the background, and leaves you exceedingly vulnerable in the meantime. The main menu does, technically, have a pause function in it, if you somehow manage to navigate to the System tab and hit Pause there, but the easiest thing to do is stick it right on one of your radial menus, so it's much easier to reach when you need it.To do this, go to Customise Radial Menu in the Items & Equipment tab of the main menu, select the radial menu you want to add it to, select where you want to put it on the radial menu, then press left trigger to get to the Other tab, and you'll see Pause right near the bottom of available options. Trust me, you won't regret this one.Always grill a meal before heading out on a hunt Your portable BBQ can now cook more food types than ever before when you're out on a mission - make the most of it! | Image credit: Eurogamer/CapcomPrevious Monster Hunter games have always made a big deal about eating some food before you head out on hunts. Sadly, Wilds doesn't have its equivalent Meowster Chef, or dedicated canteen area in your various camps, to help hammer this point home, but eating a meal before heading out on missions is still just as important as ever, so don't forget to chow down before continuing with the story.To grill yourself a meal in your base camp, you'll need to head to your tent and do it through the menus. Alternatively, if it slips your mind and you suddenly need a pick-me-up out on the field, never fear. Rather than fast travel back to base camp, whip out your portable BBQ. Previously, you could only use this to grill stamina-restoring meat cuts (provided you had some raw meat on you to begin with, that is), but now you can do that and grill more substantial meals that can boost your health, stamina and attack power depending on the ingredients you use. It's exceedingly handy, and the fact you can do this anywhere, anytime, means there's now no excuse not to stuff your face before a big fight.Use waypoints and your Seikret's auto-run to easily get around If you want to get to a specific area on a map, just select any harvestable material there as a waypoint and your Seikret will run straight toward it. | Image credit: Eurogamer/CapcomYour Seikret's auto-run is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing, in that it will automatically take you towards your target so you can concentrate on more important things like sharpening your weapon with a whetstone, switching weapons, using your slinger to nab important crafting materials without disrupting the flow of your journey, and generally taking in the sights and sounds of the area without worrying too much about where you're going.The curse is that, because you're paying less attention to how each area's many disparate parts fit and connect together, it can sometimes be tricky to know exactly how to get to specific places on the map if you want to indulge in some side missions or just do a bit of exploring for materials between major story beats. Luckily, your Seikret's auto-run is once again your friend in disguise here. Open up your map from the main menu, select Detailed Map and then decide where you want to place your waypoint by clicking in your right analogue stick. Unfortunately, you can't select general numbered areas to head to in Wilds, but you can select a specific monster or material in an area instead. Once you back out of the menu and mount your Seikret, you'll be on your way in no time.Pay attention to your armour's equipment skills to maximise buffs and elemental resistances Navigate to the equipment skills menu and you can see how different armour pieces can bring new skills for your hunter. | Image credit: Eurogamer/CapcomCrafting armour is an integral part of the Monster Hunter experience, and every time you return from a hunt, you should head straight to Gemma to see what new bits and pieces you can make. You'll usually always be able to craft some part of a new armour set after taking down a monster for the first time, and constantly updating your wardrobe is a great way to raise your defence and elemental resistances for taking on bigger and badder beasts later on.But savvy hunters can take advantage of some quite key passive skills and buffs early on if they pay attention to the equipment skills menu. There's a lot of information thrown at you when crafting new armour, with tons of valuable information hidden away in sub-tabs you might not notice on the crafting screen. But if you use your controller's trigger buttons to navigate left and right through the Skills tabs, you'll see each piece of armour's respective equipment skills, and how they stack with everything else you've currently got equipped. If you want to reduce your stamina depletion when evading or blocking, for example, focus on crafting items with the Constitution equipment skill, as the more pieces of armour you have equipped with this skill, the more that skill will level up and increase its effect. Left: Equipping this mail armour will mean I lose my Rey Dau Voltage set bonus skill. Right: To see what each skill name means, hit Y to open the sub-menu to see their skill info description. | Image credit: Eurogamer/CapcomYou can also gain valuable bonuses from equipping armour belonging to the same set. These are listed as Set Bonus Skills below the Equipment Info tab, and you can often get an initial bonus from wearing two armour pieces from the same set, which then gets better if you equip four from the same set. Others, meanwhile, will give you a group bonus if you're wearing three pieces from the same set. They're worth paying attention to as you get further into the game, as sometimes raw defence just isn't enough to help you overcome the monster at hand.Happy hunting!

Twitch CEO reveals 2025 plans: collaboration, mobile, and more monetisationFollowing tumultuous 2024.Image credit: Twitch News by Ed Nightingale Deputy News Editor Published on Feb. 28, 2025 Twitch CEO Dan Clancy has published an open letter detailing the company's plans for 2025, including new ways of collaborating, mobile improvements, and more monetisation.After thanking the streaming community for an "amazing" 2024 - "More than ever, in todays world, we all want and need to find belonging and connection with other people," said Clancy - the CEO listed new tools and opportunities for streamers, as well as new ways of building connection.Collaboration is a "core part of Twitch", so following the Stream Together feature added last year, the company is working on shared hype trains and shared sub goals to drive revenue collaboratively. In addition, shared chat will be manageable in the mobile app for IRL streamers.Xbox currently has more first-party games coming to PlayStation 5 this year than Sony.Watch on YouTubeSpeaking of mobile, last year Twitch re-launched its mobile app (as announced at TwitchCon Europe), adding a Discovery Feed to find streamers based on recommendations. This year it will continue to revise the app, adding the ability to stream in both landscape and vertical video, and investing in the feed to aid discovery. Clips - short videos of a streamer's best moments - will also be easier to edit.Perhaps most interestingly, Twitch is opening up monetisation for "most" streamers, such as subscriptions and bits. Usually streamers need to reach Affiliate status before monetisation tools kick in, but this year streamers will be able to start earning immediately. Of course, Twitch takes a cut of all monetisation, so it's as much of a benefit to the company as to streamers themselves.Elsewhere, the company is launching a new tool for streamers to let brands know they want to collaborate (sponsored streams are often more lucrative to streamers than subscriptions), and will also launch more promotional events.Importantly, Twitch is continuing to focus on safety. This month, Twitch updated its enforcement rules; next it's looking to provide more detail on violations, and will expand moderator tools to make it easier to protect streams.Lastly, Twitch will expand more of its Guilds (such as the Pride Guild) to a global community and include Ambassadors from around the world.It's been a quieter start for the year for Twitch compared with 2024. It began last year with over 500 layoffs as Clancy admitted the platform isn't profitable.A report later in the year claimed staff were concerned about more layoffs on the way and the future of the platform.At TwitchCon Europe last year, I spoke with VP of product Jeremy Forrester about the sustainability of the platform.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Contents hide Capcoms Monster Hunter Wilds is currently decimating the Steam charts with the game currently peaking over 940,000 concurrent players at the time of writing. While the game is a huge success on PC, Monster Hunter Wilds rocky performance does leave a lot to be desired.While fans called for the addition of Monster Hunter Wilds DLSS 4 support before release for Nvidia RTX GPUs, Capcom decided to ship the game with an earlier version of the reconstruction technology which can result in substantially poorer image quality. Thankfully, you can simply force the feature on PC yourself.How to force Monster Hunter Wilds DLSS 4 supportJust like with previous games using DLSS, although this is a first for Monster Hunter, players can inject DLSS 4 into Capcoms latest title by replacing the internal DLSS DLL file hidden within the game files.As Monster Hunter Wilds ships with DLSS 3.7 instead of the latest version of Nvidias reconstruction tech, you cans imply swap out that DLSS file with a newer version. Using the Nvidia App, the newer version of GeForce Experience, you can override the games DLSS with these simple steps: Open the Nvidia AppSelect GraphicsClick on Monster Hunter Wilds Scroll down to the Driver Settings option (make sure the latest drivers are installed)Tick DLSS Override Super ResolutionIts worth noting that, at the time of writing, you cant override frame generation in Monster Hunter Wilds. For now, doing so will result in the game crashing, but simply adding DLSS Super Resolution will work fine.Additionally, if your Nvidia App isnt updated, or simply isnt showing the setting for Wilds, you can also download the Nvidia DLSS 310.2 DLL from here and replace the current file inside your Monster Hunter Wilds install yourself.Just be carefulIt should be noted that, while fans have experienced no issues yet, there could be some minor instability added by forcing Monster Hunter Wilds DLSS 4 support. However, is this does happen, you can simply verify your game files on Steam, or manually revert your DLSS back to the original 3.7 version, and you should be smooth sailing.Considering the swathe of performance issues in Monster Hunter Wilds on launch, it is surprising that Nvidia and Capcom didnt push for DLSS 4 support on launch. However, with Nvidia trying very hard to get its best technology adapted by more games, it could arrive in a post launch update like it did very recently for Marvel Rivals.While Wilds performance may be unwelcoming on release, it isnt stopping anyone from enjoying the game. With over 940,000 players on Steam alone, this may be one of the biggest releases of the year.Monster Hunter WildsPlatform(s):PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Action RPGSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Contents hide Its been a hot start to 2025 for Valorant. Riot has significantly changed the roadmap for the year ahead, and in January they delivered a new playable character called Tejo. Even though Tejo only came out in January, another new playable character is ready to make their debut. Riot will unmask this new character soon, and the new Valorant Agent 28 has been declared OP as even more details have leaked online.New Valorant Agent 28 is OPValorant pros and creators have been reacting to and teasing the arrival of Agent 28. Previously, pros teased she has an aggressive playstyle, and that, as a Duelist, she is better than Jett, Reyna, and Yoru combined. It was also stated no one will pick Jett once this new character drops.Now more creators have added fuel to the hype. Visqm said shes safe, but Snax Gaming labelled her as a destroyer. Arinn called her insane, MintAuka aligned her with speed, and Johnqt labelled her disruptive. However, perhaps the most exciting declaration was shes OP from TenZ.Image credit: @ValorantUpdated on XA new teaser has been shared for Valorant Agent 28. It shows Killjoy moving in slow motion before getting shot, and fans are assuming the new character has a stun ability.Leaks and everything we know so farAccording to Valorant updates, Agent 28 is from Thailand. Meanwhile, in reacting to gameplay, pros have confirmed the leaks that the character is female and that they are a Duelist.Image credit: Riot Games via @ValorantUpdated on XHer abilities have not leaked ahead of her reveal. However, shes been aligned with speed by pros, so the speculation is that she is a flash/movement Duelist. She has also been described as aggressive and overpowered, so she seems poised to be Riots best Duelist yet.Its also speculated that her abilities could include illusions and teleportation. This is because of her codename Refract, plus the battle pass Prismatic Pathways player card.Per Riot Games, fans are encouraged to Tune in toMasters Bangkok Grand Finalsto see the reveal of Valorants next agent, followed by a showmatch to show off the gameplay of this dazzling new addition to the roster. The Finals broadcast starts March 2 at 5 PM Local Time (2 AM PST).For more Valorant, check out our18 tips on how to get betterat the game along with our guide forhow to appear offlineif you dont want certain friends knowing youre playing. We also have guides forhow to chat with the team, all, and private, along withhow to add friends.ValorantPlatform(s):PCGenre(s):Action, Shooter, StrategyRelated TopicsValorant Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

Every week, hundreds of artists share their work on the Blender Artists forum. I'm putting some of the best work in the spotlight in a weekly post here on BlenderNation.Source