MainFrames is a perfect example of a game with a clever idea that doesnt overstay its welcome.In the new indie platformer, you play as an adorable floppy disk that traverses computer desktops. The aesthetic is ridiculously charming: the many characters sprinkled throughout the game are so dang cute, and the levels are filled with application windows and desktop icons that serve as bouncing pads or gears to change things in the levels. Everything is overlaid on pixelated landscape computer backgrounds that differ between worlds. And its all backed by a catchy chiptune soundtrack that really sells the vibe.These icons will spring you in the direction that theyre pointing. Image: The Arcade CrewIts a great premise, and MainFrames takes the idea one step further by regularly letting you manipulate computer windows by clicking or dragging them like you would with an actual mouse. So, for example, if you cant reach a far-off ledge, you might be able to hop onto a computer window with a platform and drag that window over to the ledge so you can reach it. Youll also select certain windows to activate functions like flipping gravity.Over the course of the game, youll take on progressively more difficult platforming puzzles that require precisely timed jumps and manipulating windows in various ways. There are lots of different approaches for exploring each level, and its worth combing through them to see as much as you can. One of my favorite sections had me retrieving tissues for a clock with a cold. A few times, I ran into a coffee cup making coffee at a coffee machine. Once, I even stumbled on a photo memorializing somebodys dog.Some of the platforming puzzles are quite difficult. But when you fail a jump or run into an obstacle, you respawn right away, so its easy to throw yourself at a challenge as many times as you need to beat it. I was able to skip through some rooms by being smart about where I was jumping, and while I felt pretty proud of myself, I have a hunch the games developers intentionally designed some of those shortcuts. You can also turn on accessibility features like invincibility or infinite jumps to breeze through anything you just cant get past, and Im not ashamed to admit that I did so for a handful of areas near the end of the game. While playing MainFrames, I kept drawing comparisons to Celeste. Both are smart platformers with great vibes that can get pretty tough, but because reloads are so quick, repeated failures dont sting too badly. And both games feel like they play out their ideas exactly as far as they need to. I rolled credits on MainFrames in a little under four hours, and the experience felt just right.MainFrames is now available on Nintendo Switch and PC.See More:

Applying large language models (LLMs) in clinical disease management has numerous critical challenges. Although the models have been effective in diagnostic reasoning, their application in longitudinal disease management, drug prescription, and multi-visit patient care is yet to be tested. The main challenges are limited context understanding across numerous visits, heterogeneous adherence to clinical guidelines, and drug reasoning complexities. Moreover, providing real-time, high-quality patient interactions and computational efficiency is a significant challenge. Overcoming these challenges is essential in developing AI-based systems that can assist healthcare professionals in providing accurate, evidence-based, and personalized disease management.Earlier artificial intelligence-based clinical models have predominantly focused on diagnostic reasoning, employing structured datasets to generate differential diagnoses. These approaches, however, encounter significant limitations when implemented in real-world disease management environments. A vast majority of existing approaches fail to maintain adequate tracking of patient history across visits, resulting in disconnected and inconsistent care recommendations. Various models also display an inability to effectively conform to existing clinical guidelines, thereby decreasing the reliability of their management plans. Moreover, medication reasoning is a challenge, as existing techniques tend to generate inconsistencies in drug choice, dosing, and interactions, thus decreasing their reliability for safe prescribing behavior. Even more so, the necessity for real-time decision-making in medical environments involves the quick processing of enormous clinical data, which is a computational bottleneck for most systems based on large language models.Google researchers present an innovative LLM-based agentic system, designed for clinical disease management and multi-visit patient encounters. The solution improves AI-based medical reasoning with a series of innovations. A multi-agent system is presented, where a Dialogue Agent enables natural, empathetic conversation and tracks patient history from visit to visit, and a Management Reasoning (Mx) Agent reasons over clinical guidelines, patient history, and test results to create structured treatment plans. The system uses Geminis extended-context capabilities to remain aligned with current clinical guidelines and drug formularies. In contrast to legacy AI-based models operating within static, single-visit environments, this solution dynamically manages real-time, multi-visit interactions, enabling recommendations to evolve based on patient progress and test results. A new multiple-choice benchmark, RxQA, is also presented to assess medication reasoning accuracy. This dataset, created from two national drug formularies (US, UK), challenges the ability to process complex pharmacological queries, and it shows improved performance compared to human clinicians in managing high-difficulty drug-related tasks.The system combines several cutting-edge methodologies to enhance performance. A blinded, randomized virtual Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) was implemented to compare this AI-enhanced method against 21 primary care physicians in 100 multi-visit case scenarios, including UK NICE Guidance and BMJ Best Practice guidelines. For medication reasoning assessment, the RxQA benchmark is made up of 600 multiple-choice questions drawn from OpenFDA and the British National Formulary (BNF) and validated by board-certified pharmacists. Architecturally, the system includes a Dialogue Agent based on Gemini 1.5 Flash, optimized for multi-visit medical dialogues, and an Mx Agent based on structured retrieval and reasoning to generate detailed management plans. A structured generation framework with specified constraints ensures consistency in output as well as citation fidelity from clinical guidelines. To ensure efficiency during real-time patient engagement, the model is designed to respond within one minute based on a comprehensive evaluation corpus of 627 clinical guidelines, including 10.5 million tokens, which requires optimized retrieval methods to effectively handle such vast data.The AI system exhibited non-inferior performance to primary care physicians in disease management reasoning but outperformed them in critical areas like treatment accuracy, medication reasoning, and guideline compliance. A multi-visit OSCE study, it offered more structured and accurate management plans with improved compliance with clinical guidelines and more specificity in treatment and investigation recommendations. Medication reasoning ability also outperformed human clinicians, especially in high-difficulty drug-related queries, by successfully utilizing external drug formularies for improved accuracy. Moreover, specialist physician and patient actor ratings also reflected the AIs capacity to monitor and update management plans, ensuring structured and patient-centered decision-making across multiple visits. These findings reflect its potential to improve AI-based clinical decision support, providing accurate, evidence-based, and effective disease management solutions.This AI system is a remarkable leap in disease management from simple diagnostic functions to holistic patient care between visits and systematic treatment planning. With the addition of deep contextual reasoning, coordination of multiple agents, and real-time retrieval of clinical guidelines, it achieves decision-making capabilities on par with physicians for complex cases. Its ability to give accurate treatments, augment pharmacological reasoning, and strictly follow established protocols demonstrates its revolutionary potential for AI-aided clinical practice. While additional research is needed for application in real-world environments, this research is a notable step forward in bridging gaps in primary care, enhancing the uniformity of treatments, and maximizing healthcare delivery through AI-powered automation.Check outthe Paper and Blog Article.All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,feel free to follow us onTwitterand dont forget to join our80k+ ML SubReddit. Aswin AkAswin AK is a consulting intern at MarkTechPost. He is pursuing his Dual Degree at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He is passionate about data science and machine learning, bringing a strong academic background and hands-on experience in solving real-life cross-domain challenges.Aswin Akhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/aswinak/Rethinking MoE Architectures: A Measured Look at the Chain-of-Experts ApproachAswin Akhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/aswinak/MedHELM: A Comprehensive Healthcare Benchmark to Evaluate Language Models on Real-World Clinical Tasks Using Real Electronic Health RecordsAswin Akhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/aswinak/Tencent AI Lab Introduces Unsupervised Prefix Fine-Tuning (UPFT): An Efficient Method that Trains Models on only the First 8-32 Tokens of Single Self-Generated SolutionsAswin Akhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/aswinak/Elevating AI Reasoning: The Art of Sampling for Learnability in LLM Training Recommended Open-Source AI Platform: IntellAgent is a An Open-Source Multi-Agent Framework to Evaluate Complex Conversational AI System' (Promoted)

As of March 8, the Pokmon TCG: Scarlet & VioletPaldean Fates Premium Collection is back in stock at Amazon for around 50. This set includes eight booster packs, three etched foil promo cards, and an oversized Quaquaval ex, but the real draw is what could be inside those packs. Paldean Fates has some of the most valuable Shiny Pokmon cards weve had for a while.Pokmon TCG: Scarlet & Violet Paldean Fates Premium CollectionPokmon TCG: Scarlet & Violet Paldean Fates Premium CollectionEqual to 6.25 per booster pack$49.99 at AmazonPaldean Fates follows the trend of special sets featuring Shiny Pokmon reprints, much like Hidden Fates and Shining Fates. Those sets became nearly impossible to find at retail after a few months, and this one is on the same path. Its packed with rare and playable cards, so collectors and competitive players are snapping up packs fast. Unlike regular sets, Paldean Fates guarantees at least one Shiny Pokmon every three packs on average, making it one of the more rewarding sets to open.The Best Pokmon Chase Cards From Paldean FatesThe biggest chase card in the set is Charizard ex (Special Illustration Rare), currently selling for over 200. Charizard cards always hold value and are usually playable, making them even more desirable. The stunning artwork features Shiny Charizard in Dragon Tera form, making it a must-have for collectors. If past Charizard chase cards are anything to go by, this one isnt going to drop in price anytime soon.Right behind it is Mew ex (Special Illustration Rare), which is going for over 350. Known as "Bubble Mew", this card stands out for its unique, stylized artwork that makes it look completely different from any Mew card before it. Its not just collectors driving up the price. The card is playable and highly sought after for competitive decks, making it one of the most valuable pulls in the entire set.Gardevoir ex (Special Illustration Rare) is another high-value card, selling for close to 100. This version had big expectations after the Scarlet & Violet base sets Gardevoir ex Special Illustration Rares, but it delivers with a softer, dreamlike art style. Gardevoir has always been a fan favorite, so its no surprise that this card is among the most expensive in Paldean Fates.Credit: IGN Photo Composite / The Pokmon Company + Creatures IncIf youre after classic Pokmon, the Shiny Rare Pikachu is one of the hardest to find. Despite being the same rarity as other Shiny Pokmon, its 40+ price tag proves just how much collectors want it. Pikachu cards are usually easy to find (Bar Surging Sparks of course), but this one is different. Its part of the Shiny Vault subset, which means theres a huge pool of possible pulls, making it tough to track down.Iono (Special Illustration Rare) is one of the best Trainer cards in the set and is selling for over 35. Its one of the most playable supporter cards in the game, meaning players need multiple copies, and this version has incredible alternate artwork. It was the most expensive card in the Japanese version of the set, and while its not quite at that level in English, its still one of the best pulls you can get.Theres also strong demand for Shiny Charmander and Charmeleon because no one wants an incomplete evolution line. Charmander is selling for over 25, and Charmeleon is around 15-20, mostly because players want them to go alongside Shiny Charizard ex. These are the kinds of cards that only become harder to find over time, especially as more people complete their collections.Paldean Fates Pull RatesPaldean Fates has solid pull rates, making it one of the better sets to open if youre hoping to find something valuable. Shiny Pokmon show up about once every three packs, and theres a real chance of hitting a Special Illustration Rare or Hyper Rare every 50 to 60 packs. While that might sound like a long shot, its far better than what weve seen in some past special sets like Prismatic Evolutions and Shrouded Fable. Every pack feels like it has potential, which makes it easy to keep opening more.Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of "Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior". Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.

This article appears in the new issue ofhere.In 2016s The Accountant, Ben Affleck played Christian Wolff, a man on the spectrum whose genius with numbers made him the go-to accountant for criminal organizations looking to launder money or find out whos stealing from them. Hired by a seemingly legitimate company to audit their books, Chris found himself drawn into a web of intrigue that involved an innocent bookkeeper (Anna Kendrick), a U.S. Treasury agent named Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), her own slippery boss (J.K. Simmons), and ultimately Chris estranged brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal), a security expert who comes into conflict with his sibling.Directed by Gavin OConnor, The Accountant was released by Warner Bros. Pictures and became the definition of a sleeper hit. A mid-range adult dramawhich is increasingly a rarity in Hollywoodit grossed $155 million off a modest $44 million budget, making a very decent return on investment. And yet, its taken nine years for OConnor, screenwriter Bill Dubuque, and Affleck to get The Accountant 2, the middle entry in a proposed trilogy, up and running, thanks in part to unforeseen events like COVID and the 2023 writers and actors strikes, but also the peculiarities of studio politics and decision-making.It turns out that Amazon MGM Studios ran the numbers and came up positive, giving The Accountant 2 a home at last. The movie promises more of the same combination of action, intrigue, mystery, and quirky character drama that made the first film a viewer favorite, with Bernthal, Addai-Robinson, and Simmons all coming back in addition to Affleck, though as we see in the trailer, one of those characters doesnt make it very far into the movie. Gavin OConnor explains that and more about the sequels journey to the screen when we catch up with him.The original movie was the kind of mid-budget adult crime drama that has become very hard to make in the last few years. Yet it got out there and people enjoyed it.I was very happy to see that people responded, but what I didnt expect was the life after it came out in theatershome entertainment and streamingwhere people just seemed to really respond to the movie. It was just a different type of action thriller, and its just such a unique, original character,that I think people responded to that.Did that post-theatrical life help in terms of making this sequel come to fruition?It was a rollercoaster trying to get it made. We finally got a deal with Warner Brothers to get Bill to write a second movie. That took two years it was so odd to us because the movie was in that mid-range budget and performed really well, so we were very surprised why there was hesitancy. But we were hammers on a nail, refusing to give up. In the end, we were able to extricate it from Warner Brothers.They were generous enough to let us leave and take it to Amazon, which felt like the right place for a number of reasons, starting with the fact that a lot of our friends that were at Warner Brothers when we made the first one were now at Amazon, so they knew the [first] movie intimately.Did you keep in touch with the cast to make sure that they were still interested?I always knew everyone was going to come back. We all had a really fertile creative experience making the first movie. Jon and J.K. are in my life as friends, so I wasnt worried about bringing them back. The hard part, to be honest with you, was breaking the news to J.K. that his character, Ray King, dies. Which is no secret. Its in the trailer. I had to break that news to J.K. and explain to him why, which was that obviously I wanted to make it personal for Chris and Marybeth.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Watching the trailer, I was a little surprised to see that in there.We tried, man, we tried. But I mean, beyond that, do you know what the movie is about from watching the trailer?Only that theyre trying to find out what Ray King was doing that led to his death.Thats all you get! That was the goal and it was really tough to do without giving that one piece of information away, but we were protecting everything else beyond that.What can you say about where we pick up with the characters?The challenge was that every year that went by, I had to justify why Chris and Brax havent seen each other in so long. We were constantly massaging that. It makes it easier when one characters on the spectrum and the other one lives an itinerant lifestyle, so we started to work all that out. What never changed and what was important to me in building the script was that I wanted the key in the ignition to be that Ray gets killed, and let that sort of tentacle into a much bigger story.I also wanted to build a movie around human trafficking. Since 2018, thats been really important to me, and I just wanted to be able to shine a light on that. But that also came with its own complications because it becomes very tricky to be dealing with this kind of heavy subject matter and also trying to make a fun, entertaining movie, so we were walking a tightrope there. And then I guess lastly, the puzzle aspect of the movie was really tricky to do because if its too easy, you dont need Chris to come in and figure it out. And if its too complicated, the audience is going to check out of the fucking movie.It seems like Chris and Brax are much more of a team in this movie.The movie very much is about Chris and Brax, and how they have to fix it with each other. That was always the intention in the second movie. And then the third movie is going to be what I call Rain Man on steroids. Its just the two brothers. We dont know exactly what happens yet [in it], Bill and I have ideas, but the third movie is going to start with the two brothers together and were off to the races. Weve always been building the franchise in that direction.Youve worked with Ben now on three movies in a row (Accountant 1 and 2 and The Way Back). What makes you two simpatico creatively?I can remember Ben saying to me, before we made the first one, I like your taste. I feel like we have similar taste. And I think what he meant by that, which I agree, is that he and I have, just artistically and as storytellers, just a similar aesthetic. We trust each other artistically. For me as a storyteller, it actually starts with the performances. So I think that Ben understands and appreciates that and trusts that were not only going to find and explore the character, but create something that just feels honest and truthful and grounded. So theres just a lot of work going into the characters and performance.The Accountant opens in theaters on April 25 and premieres at SXSW on March 8.

At one time, freelancing was seen as the domain of plucky young writers and daring web designers. Now, it's a growing fact of life for billions of workers around the world, as companies break up full-time positions into contract work with less stability and protection by labor laws.That was already becoming the case back in 2009, when the fallout of the Great Recession forced thousands of out-of-work professionals to become freelancers to pay the bills.Jump ahead to 2024, when over 76 million Americans were said to be freelance workers, up from 64 million in 2023. That's over 36 percent of the workforce, a number that's expected to grow to over 50 percent by 2028, primarily driven bycost-cutting hiring practices.Though Wall Street-backed think tanks and Fortune 500 companies laud freelance as the "future of work," labor experts warn that self-employment is a dangerous precedent that allows companies to shirk labor laws and keep worker benefits at a minimum.While rosy think pieces would have you believe workers and employers alike prefer these types of "flexible" arrangements, they are increasingly becoming the only choice for many who would prefer full-time work, to the benefit of a select few.Involuntary freelance is hard enough. But a recent study by researchers at Washington University and NYU's Stern School of Business highlights a new hardship facing freelancers: the proliferation of artificial intelligence. Though the official spin has been that AI will automate "unskilled," repetitive jobs so humans can explore more thoughtful work, that's not shaping up to be the case.The research finds that "for every 1 percent increase in a freelancer's past earnings, they experience an additional .5 percent drop in job opportunities and a 1.7 percent decrease in monthly income following the introduction of AI technologies." In short: if today's AI is any indication, tomorrow's AI is going to flatten just as many high-skilled jobs as it will low-skilled.It's compelling evidence that big tech's endless push toward an AI-powered future will continue to be a one-way street in our current labor environment.Though AI is far from offering the kind of liberation tech moguls have been promising for years, it's nonetheless already being used to siphon money away from workers for the profit of those who own the companies.The research hammers home the fact that AI isn't a cure-all for the problems with today's job market, and that anyone who tells you otherwise is either duped by big tech's enormous promises, or was in on the game from the start.Whether freelance or full time, control of AI will ultimately fall to those who rule the current labor environment but it doesn't have to. A handful of well-organized unions are pushing back against this grim future, asserting their right to quality work in the face of the enshittification oflabor.In October of last year, for example, a militant dockworker strike delayed the automation of America's ports, a development which would have destroyed thousands of well-paying jobs. Earlier in April, hundreds of members of the California Nurses Association successfully stopped slapdash AI tech from being rushed out by hospital administration.At Boston University, striking graduate students and faculty with the Service Employees International Union Local 509 forced the administration to backtrack after suggesting AI could do the instructors' work while they organized for better working conditions.It's not all going to be easy, especially for contract and freelance workers. But it's clear that the AI dystopia is already upon us, actively making conditions worse for workers right now. The only question left is, what will we do about it?Share This Article

Elon Musk's DOGE has taken the chainsaw to a number of agencies that pose glaring conflicts of interest. His team of Trump-approved cost-cutters has gone after the United States Agency for International Development, impacting Musk's Starlink, the Federal Aviation Agency, affecting SpaceX, and the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates Neuralink.So far, those are all business interests. But a new move by DOGE might touch on something a little more personal for the billionaire: the Department of Health and Human Services, and more specifically its child support office.DOGE is reportedly trying to access a sensitive database held by the DHH containing income data for nearly all workers in the United States, according to the Washington Post, among other sensitive data like unemployment insurance and employment status.Musk and his golden boys have previously expressed interest in probing the Internal Revenue Service for federal benefits fraud, according to WaPo meaning the DHH database grab could be a part of DOGE's fraud check. This is coincidentally after Musk sawed through the IRS, firing thousands of employees whose whole job was to investigate fraud."This is private, confidential data, including Social Security numbers and earnings, of virtually all people in the country," Vicki Turetsky, who led the DHH's child support system under the Obama administration, told WaPo. "I dont think you want your data to go to DOGE or to anyone else who isnt authorized."Though it's anyone's guess exactly why DOGE is tapping the DHH files, Musk's own struggles with fatherhood just might be a motivating factor.Musk is something of a serial stallion, overseeing a brood at least 14 children strong and those are just the ones we know about. That doesn't mean he's a great father, though. He's been widely criticized for abandoning his children and their mothers, leaving them to learn about their siblings from social media posts. Even his own father, Errol Musk himself an appalling father figure has gone on record calling Elon a deadbeat.In late February, Musk was ordered to appear in court by a New York City judge regarding a custody and child support dispute with Ashley St. Clair, a right-wing influencer who surprised the world last month with the news that she had given birth to Musk's 13th child in secret.Previously, Musk was embroiled in a prolonged legal battle with Claire "Grimes" Boucher over the custody of their three children, who have the extraordinary names of X AE A-12, Exa Dark Siderael Musk, and Techno Mechanicus. That messy clash spilled into the public eye when the indie musician blasted Musk for ignoring her messages as one of their children faced a medical emergency, fueling the deadbeat Dad accusations."I have always paid extremely generous child support and without any coercion to do so," the billionaire fumed when pressed by influencers and media personalities. "Sometimes the mother asked for money vastly in excess of what the children could possibly need, so that needed to be adjudicated."Based ondocuments viewed duringthe row with Grimes, Business Insider has speculated that Musk pays the mother of his children just $2,760 per month in child support, a paltry sum compared to his immense personal fortune,especially considering that the average monthly cost of daycare alone is $1,230 per child a necessity for most single mothers.The estimate brings into question the amount Musk pays for his other 11 children as he bulldozes through child support infrastructure for the rest of us and his motivation for doing so.More on Musk's kids: Elon Musk Working to Move His Children and Mothers to Strange CompoundShare This Article

Daylight saving timeis the source of a lot of hot takes. Whether you're for or against the practices of springing forward and falling back, the changing of clocks has repercussions that go far beyond losing or gaining an hour of sleep.The spring DST change means we lose an hour of sleep but gain daylight at the end of the day. With it, according to research, comes a lowered risk of crime, including home break-ins and burglaries. Why do thieves back down? As our conversations with criminologists has shown, many burglarsprefer to strike homes in the middle of the day, when they're more confident the house will be empty. But plenty of burglars still like to wait for the cover of darkness to sneak around, and DST has a significant impact on their choices. Studies such as this research from Jennifer Doleac and Nicholas Sanders have shown (even with other factors accounted for) the extra hour of daylight leads to a decrease in crimes such as robberies, which fall by as much as 27% during the sunset hours to save around $246 million in social crime costs each year. That also applies to reported crimes such as murder and rape, which fall significantly as the evening brightens -- murder reports by as much 48% and rape by 56%.While researchers noted that "Individuals discover a burglary upon returning home, or a stolen car on the following morning, but have no idea what time during the day the burglary occurred," the trend appears to apply to all spur-of-the-moment crimes -- which most break-ins fall under.The reverse is even more noticeable for home crime. When home security company Vivint compared crime rates, it found that home burglaries and related crimes jumped 16% when daylight savings time ended in the fall. Blink offers a cheap option for a smart floodlight cam. BlinkSo while jumping our clocks backward and forward can be a pain, keep in mind that March's DST shift is helping to keep you and your home safer. There are also signs that bright streetlights can have a similar effect, helping to cut down on all kinds of theft. It turns out people prefer the dark when they get in a stealing mood and a brighter atmosphere makes them less likely to act out.Although we don't suggest trying to install your own personal street lamps on a public road, you should stop by our picks for the best security cameras with floodlights for a similar effect. Look up our full list of tips to deter burglars to learn even more.

If you've got cash you can set aside for a period, a certificate of deposit can be a smart place to put it. Your rate is locked in when you open a CD, so your returns will stay the same even if rates drop after that.You can earn up to 4.65% annual percentage yield with today's best CDs. That's more than three times the national average for some terms. How much can that net you? To give you an idea, let's take a look at how much interest you'll earn if you put $5,000 into a top CD today. 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.Read more: Best CD Rates for March 2025: Boost Your Earnings With APYs up to 4.65%How much can you earn by depositing $5,000 into a CD?If you have $5,000 to put into a CD, here are some sample earnings for several popular term lengths: six months, one year, three years and five years.Your earnings with a $5,000 deposit Term Top APYBankInterest earningsCD value at maturity6 months 4.65%CommunityWide Federal Credit Union$114.93$5,114.931 year 4.45%CommunityWide Federal Credit Union$222.50$5,222.503 years 4.15%America First Credit Union$648.69$5,648.695 years 4.20%America First Credit Union$1,141.98$6,141.98 APYs as of March 6, 2025, based on the banks we track at CNET. Earnings are based on APYs and assume interest is compounded annually.The national average for a one-year CD is 1.80% APY as of March 6, 2025, while the average for a one-year CD for the top banks tracked at CNET is 4.06% APY. What difference does that make for your interest earnings?The value at maturity for a one-year CD with the national average APY would be $5,090 if you deposit $5,000. However, if you deposit $5,000 into a one-year CD earning 4.45% APY -- the top APY among CDs we track -- you'd end up with a total value of $5,222.50.How much can you earn by depositing other amounts?If you want to put more -- or less -- money into a CD, you can still earn a competitive interest rate. Here are some examples of interest earnings for other deposit amounts.Your earnings with different amounts Term Top APY$1,000 deposit$2,500 deposit$10,000 deposit$25,000 deposit6 months 4.65%$22.99$57.46$229.86$574.651 year 4.45%$44.50$111.25$445.00$1,112.503 years 4.15%$129.74$324.35$1,297.38$3,243.465 years 4.20%$228.40$570.99$$2,283.97$5,709.91 APYs as of March 6, 2025, based on the top APY available from the banks we track at CNET. Earnings assume interest is compounded annually.How interest on a CD is calculatedThe APY on your CD represents therate of return you'll receive on your cash over 12 months. CDs earn compound interest, which means you earn interest on your initial deposit amount and any interest earned to date.All banks compound interest differently. Your CD may compound interest daily, weekly or monthly. The more frequently the interest compounds, the more money you earn. You can use a CD calculator to figure out exactly how much interest your CD could earn.How to select the right CD for youWhen you're looking for a CD, a good APY matters, but there are other important factors to consider, too. Ask yourself these questions when you're choosing a CD:When will I need my money? Each CD has a set term, and you can't withdraw your money during the term without paying an early withdrawal penalty. CD terms typically range from six months to five years, so pick one that fits your timeline.Do I meet the minimum deposit requirements? Some CDs have no minimum deposit requirement, but others may require a deposit of $1,000 or more. How much money you have to put into a CD can help narrow down your options.What are the costs? Some CDs charge fees, such as monthly maintenance or early withdrawal fees. These fees can eat into your earnings. Read the fine print for any CD you're considering so you know what you're signing up for.Is the bank insured? CDs at banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and credit unions insured by the National Credit Union Administration are protected for up to $250,000 per account, per person. Look for CDs from these institutions to keep your money safe. More on CDs

March 8, 20254 min readEarths Oldest Impact Crater Discovered in AustraliaScientists with a new theory about how Earths early continents formed predicted where a superold impact crater should bethen found itShatter cones in ancient rocks of the Pilbara, Western Australia. Tim Johnson, Curtin UniversityThe following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research.We have discovered the oldest meteorite impact crater on Earth, in the very heart of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The crater formed more than 3.5 billion years ago, making it the oldest known by more than a billion years. Our discovery is published today in Nature Communications.Curiously enough, the crater was exactly where we had hoped it would be, and its discovery supports a theory about the birth of Earths first continents.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.The very first rocksThe oldest rocks on Earth formed more than 3 billion years ago, and are found in the cores of most modern continents. However, geologists still cannot agree how or why they formed.Nonetheless, there is agreement that these early continents were critical for many chemical and biological processes on Earth.Many geologists think these ancient rocks formed above hot plumes that rose from above Earths molten metallic core, rather like wax in a lava lamp. Others maintain they formed by plate tectonic processes similar to modern Earth, where rocks collide and push each other over and under.Although these two scenarios are very different, both are driven by the loss of heat from within the interior of our planet.We think rather differently.A few years ago, we published a paper suggesting that the energy required to make continents in the Pilbara came from outside Earth, in the form of one or more collisions with meteorites many kilometres in diameter.As the impacts blasted up enormous volumes of material and melted the rocks around them, the mantle below produced thick blobs of volcanic material that evolved into continental crust.Our evidence then lay in the chemical composition of tiny crystals of the mineral zircon, about the size of sand grains. But to persuade other geologists, we needed more convincing evidence, preferably something people could see without needing a microscope.So, in May 2021, we began the long drive north from Perth for two weeks of fieldwork in the Pilbara, where we would meet up with our partners from the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA) to hunt for the crater. But where to start?On the hunt for shatter cones in a typical Pilbara landscape with our trusted GSWA vehicles.Chris Kirkland, Curtin UniversityA serendipitous beginningOur first target was an unusual layer of rocks known as the Antarctic Creek Member, which crops out on the flanks of a dome some 20 kilometres in diameter. The Antarctic Creek Member is only 20 metres or so in thickness, and mostly comprises sedimentary rocks that are sandwiched between several kilometres of dark, basaltic lava.However, it also contains spherules droplets formed from molten rock thrown up during an impact. But these drops could have travelled across the globe from a giant impact anywhere on Earth, most likely from a crater that has now been destroyed.After consulting the GSWA maps and aerial photography, we located an area in the centre of the Pilbara along a dusty track to begin our search. We parked the offroad vehicles and headed our separate ways across the outcrops, more in hope than expectation, agreeing to meet an hour later to discuss what wed found and grab a bite to eat.Large hut-like shatter cones in the rocks of the Antarctic Creek Member at the discovery site. The rocks on the hilltop farthest left are basalts that lay directly over the shatter cones.Tim Johnson, Curtin UniversityRemarkably, when we returned to the vehicle, we all thought wed found the same thing: shatter cones.Shatter cones are beautiful, delicate branching structures, not dissimilar to a badminton shuttlecock. They are the only feature of shock visible to the naked eye, and in nature can only form following a meteorite impact.Little more than an hour into our search, we had found precisely what we were looking for. We had literally opened the doors of our 4WDs and stepped onto the floor of a huge, ancient impact crater.Frustratingly, after taking some photographs and grabbing a few samples, we had to move on to other sites, but we determined to return as soon as possible. Most importantly, we needed to know how old the shatter cones were. Had we discovered the oldest known crater on Earth?It turned out that we had.An approximately one meter tall shatter cone hut, with the rolling hills of the Pilbara in the background.Chris Kirkland, Curtin UniversityThere and back againWith some laboratory research under our belts, we returned to the site in May 2024 to spend ten days examining the evidence in more detail.Shatter cones were everywhere, developed throughout most of the Antarctic Creek Member, which we traced for several hundred metres into the rolling hills of the Pilbara.Our observations showed that above the layer with the shatter cones was a thick layer of basalt with no evidence of impact shock. This meant the impact had to be the same age as the Antarctic Member rocks, which we know are 3.5 billion years old.Delicate shatter cones within rocks typical of the Antarctic Creek Member.Tim Johnson, Curtin UniversityWe had our age, and the record for the oldest impact crater on Earth. Perhaps our ideas regarding the ultimate origin of the continents were not so mad, as many told us.Serendipity is a marvellous thing. As far as we knew, other than the Traditional Owners, the Nyamal people, no geologist had laid eyes on these stunning features since they formed.Like some others before us, we had argued that meteorite impacts played a fundamental role in the geological history of our planet, as they clearly had on our cratered Moon and on other planets, moons and asteroids. Now we and others have the chance to test these ideas based on hard evidence.Who knows how many ancient craters lay undiscovered in the ancient cores of other continents? Finding and studying them will transform our understanding of the early Earth and the role of giant impacts, not only in the formation of the landmasses on which we all live, but in the origins of life itself.This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.