New research suggests you're more likely to believe a conspiracy if you're exhausted. Credit: Deposit PhotosSharePoor sleep can make you susceptible to a wide range of physical and mental health issues, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and anxiety. But new research indicates it may also increase the chances of yet another unwanted outcome: embracing conspiracy theories.A team from the University of Nottinghams School of Psychology recently conducted two experiments on a total of over 1,000 volunteers. The results, published on March 12 in the Journal of Health Psychology, suggest adding bad sleep quality on top of existing issues like depression can make people more susceptible to patently untrue conspiracies. The odds for adopting such beliefs may especially increase if tired people are exposed to conspiratorial content from outside sources as opposed to coming to similarly false conclusions on their own.For their first study, researchers asked 540 participants to complete a standardized sleep quality assessment before reading one of two articles about the 2019 Notre Dame Cathedral fire in Paris. While some volunteers received a verified rundown of the devastating accident, others reviewed a story that falsely stated the blaze involved a cover-up conspiracy. After surveying the participants, researchers noted those who previously cited worse sleep quality entertained the Notre Dame Cathedral conspiracy more often than their well-rested counterparts.The next phase expanded on the teams initial work through reviewing another 575 peoples psychological profiles and beliefs. After analyzing the data, researchers argue that there is often a direct link between a conspiracy theory mindset and poor sleep or insomnia. In many cases, depression emerged as the major underlying psychological mechanism behind conspiratorial thinking.Sleep is crucial for mental health and cognitive functioning, Daniel Jolley, the studys research lead and a University of Nottingham assistant professor of social psychology, said in a statement.Poor sleep has been shown to increase the risk of depression, anxiety, and paranoiafactors that also contribute to conspiracy beliefs, he added.Buying into conspiracies doesnt just result in a newfound affinity for tin foil hatssubscribing to these beliefs can have much wider societal effects. Distrust of data-backed vaccine efficacy lowers a societys overall resilience against infectious diseases like measles, COVID-19, and tuberculosis. Misinformation surrounding climate change has for decades hampered ongoing efforts to combat its existential risks to humanity and our planet. Meanwhile, the embrace of stolen election conspiracies and fears about secret, nonexistent international cabals has given way to multiple deadly and tragic outcomes. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.People also often become extremely resistant to giving up a conspiracy mindset after succumbing to it. While it is possible to do so, be it through personal reflection or with the help of others, its easier to avoid the situation altogether by maintaining critical thinking skills in the face of a landscape of increasing misinformation and false narratives. One way to do that is by getting a good nights rest.Our research suggests that improving sleep quality could serve as a protective factor against the spread of conspiratorial thinking, Jolley said.So the next time someone tries to sell you on an unequivocally bonkers conspiracy, do yourself a favor and sleep on it, at the very least.

Nature, Published online: 12 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08699-4Ancient DNA from the eastern Maghreb (Tunisia and Algeria) dating between 15,000 and 6,000 years ago shows that this region was far less affected by external gene flow than the rest of the Neolithic Mediterranean, including not only Europe but also the western Maghreb (Morocco).

Nature, Published online: 12 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08694-9Dopamine release in the basal ganglia of the zebra finch is driven by neurons associated with reinforcement learning and by cholinergic signalling, and tracks performance quality during long-term learning of its song.

NASA's newly-launched SPHEREx space telescope will offer a complementary 'panoramic' view to the JWST's high resolution infrared snapshots, enabling astronomers to study some of the universe's biggest mysteries.

Take a moment to admire this stunning anime-inspired environment crafted with Unreal Engine 5 by Game Developer Ambegame and learn how the creator made it with the tutorial breaking down the process.The appealing setups feature a school, a temple, various fantasy-inspired landscapes, and a winter snow scene. The developer shared that he always wanted to build an anime-style map since before, he had only created realistic maps. The scenes look vibrant and bright, with distinct artistic style features.In the detailed tutorial, Ambegame covers and details the pipelines steps, including gathering references, modeling, and post-production.The creator has three years of experience in game development and makes beginner-friendly and advanced tutorials on creating games in Unreal Engine 5 and shares them on the YouTube channel:Dont forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.Source link The post Developer Shows How This Amazing Anime-Style UE5 Environment Was Built appeared first on CG SHARES.

Destiny 2's seasonal event, Guardian Games 2025, brings a brand-new weapon to the space shooter's arsenal: Keraunios. This Legendary Arc trace rifle is far more effective in PvE than PvP activities due to the perks it can roll with. Having said that, Keraunios also receives plenty of buffs from Heresy Artifact, as it focuses on Arc abilities and damage output. Here's how to get it and the Keraunios god roll perks to look out for.Table of Contents [hide]How to get KerauniosHow to get KerauniosKeraunios can drop from any Guardian Games weapons source, such as Rushdown or by completing objectives given by Eva Levante in the Tower for the duration of the event. Doing the Rushdown mode is the most effective way to get your hands on Keraunios quickly, as if you defeat at least three bosses in a single run, you're guaranteed a Guardian Games weapon drop. Keraunios is exclusive to Guardian Games, so remember that once the event is over, you will no longer be able to obtain it. At least, not until 2026.Guardian Games event challenges also include a guaranteed Keraunios drop. All you need to do is earn and deposit any medal from the games in the Tower event area. Completing the first step in the Best in Class quest, collected from Eva Levante, will also give you a Keraunios. Remember that you need to equip or use the Guardian Games class item as an ornament for rewards to drop.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Act II of Destiny 2: Episode Heresy has dropped and brought with it some new toys to have fun with. A new rocket-assisted-frame sidearm has arrived in the form of Lotus Eater. This new Void element weapon is another excellent addition to the archetype--however you get your hands on one, a rocket sidearm is a great asset. Here's how players can find it and what the god roll perks for Lotus Eater are.Table of Contents [hide]How to get Lotus EaterHow to get Lotus EaterLotus Eater is only available as a drop from Nightfalls or Grandmaster Nightfalls when the weapon is a part of the weekly rotation. At the end of a Nightfall run, it has a chance to drop. Each difficulty tier has a particular percentage to drop Lotus Eater, but the easiest way to guarantee a drop to happen is to complete a Grandmaster Nightfall with a Platinum score. Achieving a Platinum score on Grandmaster will guarantee a drop for the Adept variation of Lotus Eater while it is on rotation, which offers increased stats and curated rolls.After Episode Heresy has concluded and the next expansion is available, Lotus Eater will also be available to unlock via spending Nightfall Ciphers at Zavala in the Tower.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Making money in GTA Online is very important. However, earning RP (reputation) is also important when it comes to unlocking special perks, weapons, and more. GTA Online has been going strong since 2013. During that time, many players managed to reach the maximum level cap of 8000. This is no easy task, as players need to earn well over 1 billion RP to reach this rank.

The Sinking City 2, indie developer Frogwares' upcoming follow-up to its 2019 cult classic Lovecraftian horror detective title, will be shifting direction from the original game to walk the road that a number of successful and well-received horror entries in recent times have. Titles like the Resident Evil remakes, Alan Wake 2, and last year's Silent Hill 2 Remake, have all utilized broadly similar but effective designs to create satisfying third-person horror experiences that resonated positively with fans. Frogwares has stated that The Sinking City 2 will explicitly be more of a survival horror experience, downplaying the first title's open-world and investigative aspects in favor of playing and feeling more like the aforementioned releases.

Lemokey managed to win me over with its P1 HE keyboard, which offers a level of features and customization thats unparalleled at $170. Its Hall-effect switches, excellent acoustics, and aluminum chassis arent common to find in a keyboard under $200. These features made the P1 HE my daily driver, and I was excited to try out one of Lemokeys upcoming Hall-effect keyboard, the $210 L5 HE 8K. Lemokey ran a successful Kickstarter campaign and expects to ship the keyboard to backers in May. Backers can secure a unit for $199, though its retail price will be $210.Based on looks alone, its easy to mistake the L5 HE for the P1 HE Ive been using. The L5 HE offers a similar 75% layout, and is equipped with Hall-effect switches and a detachable USB-C connection just like the P1 HE. However, the biggest difference in the L5 HE (and the main reason why its price is higher) is its 8,000 Hz polling rate, which dwarfs the 1,000 Hz polling rate found on the P1 HE and many other keyboards.In theory, a higher polling rate allows your inputs to be registered faster and cuts down on response time good things! But when I compared the performance between the L5 and the P1, I couldnt notice a clear difference. Additionally, the L5 HE and its 8K polling rate can only be used in wired mode, making it the less ideal choice if you want to rely on the wireless capabilities of the P1 HE.There are some minor cosmetic adjustments, too, but I wouldnt necessarily consider them to be improvements. This includes a small RGB light strip fitted into the L5 HEs base and some non-standard keycaps fitted to some of the modifier keys.In terms of what you can expect from day-to-day use of the L5 HE, its almost identical to using the P1 HE. The L5 HE uses the same web-based configuration software as the P1 HE, allowing you to customize inputs, adjust the actuation points of your switches, and change the RGB lighting. You also have the option to lower the polling rate if youd like, but I cant think of a reason why you would.Just like the P1 HE, the internals of the L5 HE are pretty easy to customize. Six small screws hold the board together, and you dont even have to remove any of the switches if youre just making small adjustments to the PCB. The acoustics of the L5 HE are fine, although personally, I thought the P1 HE sounded better out of the box.Lemokey includes a variety of small silicone dampeners with the L5 HE that can be swapped out along the contact points of the PCB. This allows you to modify the acoustics of the keyboard, but I found this practice to be extremely finicky due to some of the dampeners being both extremely small and in hard-to-reach spots along the PCB. While Im glad that this is an option, its an annoying process, and I just wish Lemokey had improved the acoustics out of the box.My biggest issue with the L5 HE 8K is that its too similar to the P1 HE, and the L5s higher price isnt totally justified. In fact, it makes the P1 look better by comparison, given that it has Hall-effect switches and deep hardware customization) for less plus Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz wireless as options. The aesthetic changes and higher polling rate might be important to some users, but I cant justify paying an extra $30 for some questionable upgrades.