Local Large Language Models can convert massive DataFrames to presentable Markdown reports — here's how. The post LLMs + Pandas: How I Use Generative AI to Generate Pandas DataFrame Summaries appeared first on Towards Data Science.

Replicube A game by Walaber Entertainment LLCDev snapshot: Godot 4.5 dev 5By: Thaddeus Crews2 June 2025Pre-releaseBrrr… Do you feel that? That’s the cold front of the feature freeze just around the corner. It’s not upon us just yet, but this is likely to be our final development snapshot of the 4.5 release cycle. As we enter the home stretch of new features, bugs are naturally going to follow suit, meaning bug reports and feedback will be especially important for a smooth beta timeframe.Jump to the Downloads section, and give it a spin right now, or continue reading to learn more about improvements in this release. You can also try the Web editor or the Android editor for this release. If you are interested in the latter, please request to join our testing group to get access to pre-release builds.The cover illustration is from Replicube, a programming puzzle game where you write code to recreate voxelized objects. It is developed by Walaber Entertainment LLC (Bluesky, Twitter). You can get the game on Steam.HighlightsIn case you missed them, see the 4.5 dev 1, 4.5 dev 2, 4.5 dev 3, and 4.5 dev 4 release notes for an overview of some key features which were already in those snapshots, and are therefore still available for testing in dev 5.Native visionOS supportNormally, our featured highlights in these development blogs come from long-time contributors. This makes sense of course, as it’s generally those users that have the familiarity necessary for major changes or additions that are commonly used for these highlights. That’s why it might surprise you to hear that visionOS support comes to us from Ricardo Sanchez-Saez, whose pull request GH-105628 is his very first contribution to the engine! It might not surprise you to hear that Ricardo is part of the visionOS engineering team at Apple, which certainly helps get his foot in the door, but that still makes visionOS the first officially-supported platform integration in about a decade.For those unfamiliar, visionOS is Apple’s XR environment. We’re no strangers to XR as a concept (see our recent XR blogpost highlighting the latest Godot XR Game Jam), but XR platforms are as distinct from one another as traditional platforms. visionOS users have expressed a strong interest in integrating with our ever-growing XR community, and now we can make that happen. See you all in the next XR Game Jam!GDScript: Abstract classesWhile the Godot Engine utilizes abstract classes—a class that cannot be directly instantiated—frequently, this was only ever supported internally. Thanks to the efforts of Aaron Franke, this paradigm is now available to GDScript users (GH-67777). Now if a user wants to introduce their own abstract class, they merely need to declare it via the new abstract keyword:abstract class_name MyAbstract extends Node The purpose of an abstract class is to create a baseline for other classes to derive from:class_name ExtendsMyAbstract extends MyAbstract Shader bakerFrom the technical gurus behind implementing ubershaders, Darío Samo and Pedro J. Estébanez bring us another miracle of rendering via GH-102552: shader baker exporting. This is an optional feature that can be enabled at export time to speed up shader compilation massively. This feature works with ubershaders automatically without any work from the user. Using shader baking is strongly recommended when targeting Apple devices or D3D12 since it makes the biggest difference there (over 20× decrease in load times in the TPS demo)!Before:After:However, it comes with tradeoffs:Export time will be much longer.Build size will be much larger since the baked shaders can take up a lot of space.We have removed several MoltenVK bug workarounds from the Forward+ shader, therefore we no longer guarantee support for the Forward+ renderer on Intel Macs. If you are targeting Intel Macs, you should use the Mobile or Compatibility renderers.Baking for Vulkan can be done from any device, but baking for D3D12 needs to be done from a Windows device and baking for Apple .metallib requires a Metal compiler (macOS with Xcode / Command Line Tools installed).Web: WebAssembly SIMD supportAs you might recall, Godot 4.0 initially released under the assumption that multi-threaded web support would become the standard, and only supported that format for web builds. This assumption unfortunately proved to be wishful thinking, and was reverted in 4.3 by allowing for single-threaded builds once more. However, this doesn’t mean that these single-threaded environments are inherently incapable of parallel processing; it just requires alternative implementations. One such implementation, SIMD, is a perfect candidate thanks to its support across all major browsers. To that end, web-wiz Adam Scott has taken to integrating this implementation for our web builds by default (GH-106319).Inline color pickersWhile it’s always been possible to see what kind of variable is assigned to an exported color in the inspector, some users have expressed a keen interest in allowing for this functionality within the script editor itself. This is because it would mean seeing what kind of color is represented by a variable without it needing to be exposed, as well as making it more intuitive at a glance as to what color a name or code corresponds to. Koliur Rahman has blessed us with this quality-of-life goodness, which adds an inline color picker GH-105724. Now no matter where the color is declared, users will be able to immediately and intuitively know what is actually represented in a non-intrusive manner.Rendering goodiesThe renderer got a fair amount of love this snapshot; not from any one PR, but rather a multitude of community members bringing some long-awaited features to light. Raymond DiDonato helped SMAA 1x make its transition from addon to fully-fledged engine feature (GH-102330). Capry brings bent normal maps to further enhance specular occlusion and indirect lighting (GH-89988). Our very own Clay John converted our Compatibility backend to use a fragment shader copy instead of a blit copy, working around common sample rate issues on mobile devices (GH-106267). More technical information on these rendering changes can be found in their associated PRs.SMAA comparison:OffOnBent normal map comparison:BeforeAfterAnd more!There are too many exciting changes to list them all here, but here’s a curated selection:Animation: Add alphabetical sorting to Animation Player (GH-103584).Animation: Add animation filtering to animation editor (GH-103130).Audio: Implement seek operation for Theora video files, improve multi-channel audio resampling (GH-102360).Core: Add --scene command line argument (GH-105302).Core: Overhaul resource duplication (GH-100673).Core: Use Grisu2 algorithm in String::num_scientific to fix serializing (GH-98750).Editor: Add “Quick Load” button to EditorResourcePicker (GH-104490).Editor: Add PROPERTY_HINT_INPUT_NAME for use with @export_custom to allow using input actions (GH-96611).Editor: Add named EditorScripts to the command palette (GH-99318).GUI: Add file sort to FileDialog (GH-105723).I18n: Add translation preview in editor (GH-96921).Import: Add Channel Remap settings to ResourceImporterTexture (GH-99676).Physics: Improve performance with non-monitoring areas when using Jolt Physics (GH-106490).Porting: Android: Add export option for custom theme attributes (GH-106724).Porting: Android: Add support for 16 KB page sizes, update to NDK r28b (GH-106358).Porting: Android: Remove the gradle_build/compress_native_libraries export option (GH-106359).Porting: Web: Use actual PThread pool size for get_default_thread_pool_size() (GH-104458).Porting: Windows/macOS/Linux: Use SSE 4.2 as a baseline when compiling Godot (GH-59595).Rendering: Add new StandardMaterial properties to allow users to control FPS-style objects (hands, weapons, tools close to the camera) (GH-93142).Rendering: FTI - Optimize SceneTree traversal (GH-106244).Changelog109 contributors submitted 252 fixes for this release. See our interactive changelog for the complete list of changes since the previous 4.5-dev4 snapshot.This release is built from commit 64b09905c.DownloadsGodot is downloading...Godot exists thanks to donations from people like you. Help us continue our work:Make a DonationStandard build includes support for GDScript and GDExtension..NET build (marked as mono) includes support for C#, as well as GDScript and GDExtension.While engine maintainers try their best to ensure that each preview snapshot and release candidate is stable, this is by definition a pre-release piece of software. Be sure to make frequent backups, or use a version control system such as Git, to preserve your projects in case of corruption or data loss.Known issuesWindows executables (both the editor and export templates) have been signed with an expired certificate. You may see warnings from Windows Defender’s SmartScreen when running this version, or outright be prevented from running the executables with a double-click (GH-106373). Running Godot from the command line can circumvent this. We will soon have a renewed certificate which will be used for future builds.With every release, we accept that there are going to be various issues, which have already been reported but haven’t been fixed yet. See the GitHub issue tracker for a complete list of known bugs.Bug reportsAs a tester, we encourage you to open bug reports if you experience issues with this release. Please check the existing issues on GitHub first, using the search function with relevant keywords, to ensure that the bug you experience is not already known.In particular, any change that would cause a regression in your projects is very important to report (e.g. if something that worked fine in previous 4.x releases, but no longer works in this snapshot).SupportGodot is a non-profit, open source game engine developed by hundreds of contributors on their free time, as well as a handful of part and full-time developers hired thanks to generous donations from the Godot community. A big thank you to everyone who has contributed their time or their financial support to the project!If you’d like to support the project financially and help us secure our future hires, you can do so using the Godot Development Fund.Donate now

News Astronomy A dwarf galaxy just might upend the Milky Way’s predicated demise The Large Magellanic Cloud could prevent a smashup between the Milky Way and Andromeda There’s about a 50 percent chance that the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy will merge into a single giant galaxy, dubbed Milkomeda, in the next 10 billion years, a new analysis shows. B. Whitmore/STScI, the Hubble Heritage Project, NASA, ESA By Nikk Ogasa 17 hours ago It may come down to a coin toss as to whether the Milky Way collides with the Andromeda Galaxy within 10 billion years. While scientists have previously reported that a convergence was certain, an analysis of the latest data suggests the odds are only about 50 percent, researchers report June 2 in Nature Astronomy. The Milky Way’s largest satellite system — the Large Magellanic Cloud — may be our galaxy’s saving grace, the study shows. Sign up for our newsletter We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

Fruit flies don't naturally enjoy the taste of cocaine. Credit: Deposit Photos Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. In a world first, scientists at the University of Utah have engineered fruit flies susceptible to cocaine addiction. But as strange as it sounds, there are potentially life-saving reasons for genetically altering the insects to crave the drug. The novel biological model could help addiction treatment therapies development and expedite research timelines. The findings are detailed in the Journal of Neuroscience. As surprising as it may sound, humans have a lot in common with fruit flies. In fact, we share around 70–75 percent of the same genes responsible for various diseases, as well as many of the same vital organs. Researchers have relied on the insects for genetic studies for years, especially for investigating the biological roots of certain addictions like cocaine abuse. This is due in large part to the fruit fly’s quick life cycle and its comparatively simple genetic makeup. But while scientists have administered the drug to the bugs in the past, there’s always been a small problem. “Flies don’t like cocaine one bit,” Adrian Rothenfluh, the study’s senior author and an associate professor of psychiatry, said in a statement. Even when previously introduced to cocaine, Rothenfluh’s team noted that the insects routinely opted for pure sugar water over sugar water laced with cocaine. Study first author Travis Philyaw theorized the reason may reside in a fly’s sense of taste that is found on their legs. “Insects are evolutionarily primed to avoid plant toxins, and cocaine is a plant toxin,” Philyaw explained. “They have taste receptors on their ‘arms’—their tarsal segments—so they can put their hand in something before it goes in their mouth, and decide, ‘I’m not going to touch that.'” After confirming that cocaine activates a fruit fly’s bitter-sensing taste receptors, Rothenfluh and Philyaw switched off those nerves. Once deactivated, there was little to stop the flies from developing a cocaine habit. These modified flies were subsequently introduced to sugar water infused with a low concentration of cocaine. Within 16 hours, the insects indicated a preference for the drug-laced drink. “At low doses, they start running around, just like people,” said Rothenfluh. “At very high doses, they get incapacitated, which is also true in people.” Now that researchers know how to breed the modified fruit flies, they can more easily study how cocaine addiction evolves in the body. Not only that, but they can do so on a much faster timeline by analyzing hundreds of genes at a time. “We can scale research so quickly in flies,” said Philyaw. “We can identify risk genes that might be difficult to uncover in more complex organisms, and then we pass that information to researchers who work with mammalian models.” From there, scientists can identify treatment targets that help link to human therapy options. “We can really start to understand the mechanisms of cocaine choice, and the more you understand about the mechanism, the more you have a chance to find a therapeutic that might act on that mechanism,” explained Rothenfluh.

With Queens of the Dead, Tina Romero, daughter of the legendary filmmaker George A. Romero, is set to make her first directorial outing, premiering the feature at the Tribeca Film Festival June 7. The filmmaker recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly and reflected on her father’s influence. “I am his kid. There’s no denying it. And he has influenced me greatly.” Romero said. Queens of the Dead will feature Easter eggs to honor her father’s legacy. “And this is his monster, this is his genre. I had fun doing my little Romero nods throughout the film, and we have some good ones,” she shared, including appearances by notable figures such as makeup artist and actor Tom Savini and Dawn of the Dead star Gaylen Ross.  “The zombie apocalypse is such a rich sandbox to play in when it comes to social commentary. I can’t be my dad’s daughter without making an attempt at saying something with zombies,” Romero told the magazine. “I did want this to be a film in which I am paying homage to the world and the monster he created, but I’m also introducing my own voice. It’s very much not a film he would make, but it is using his vocabulary and is playing by his rules. As far as the queer element, on one hand, I just feel like the gays need a zombie film. It’s time that we get to have a big gay zombie movie.” “I didn’t want to touch the genre unless it felt authentic to me,” Romero emphasized. Queens of the Dead revolves around a night in the queer party scene when the nightlife vibes at a warehouse drag show get interrupted by the zombie apocalypse. The inspiration came from intense conflict on social media among party promoters during her stint as a DJ. Romero recounted,  “The original promoter posted this manifesto begging the question, ‘When will the queer community stop devouring its own?’ And it hit me like a bolt of lightning. I was like, ‘Oh my God! This would be how I want to explore the zombie genre in this world of queer nightlife.’” The Mandalorian baddie Katy O’Brien plays the fictionalized promoter who leads the film; Romero noted that there’s a special thanks to Tom Cruise in the credits for letting them take the time off their Mission: Impossible shoot to film the horror flick. Romero hopes the film will shine a light on the hunger for more genre films that represent an intersection of gay scream queens with that familiar flair for horror and dark comedy from her father’s roots. The legendary filmmaker didn’t get to see a completed script but mentored his daughter during the development process. Romero shared, “He said, ‘I love it! Run with it. Go for it.’ Unfortunately, he never got to read the completed script because it took me about seven years to get this developed… but I did have this blessing.” Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Nearly two decades ago, scientists made an alarming discovery in upstate New York: Bats, the world’s only flying mammal, were becoming infected with a new, deadly fungal disease that, in some cases, could wipe out an entire colony in a matter of months. Since then, the disease — later called white-nose syndrome — has spread across much of the country, utterly decimating North American bats that hibernate in caves and killing over 90 percent of three bat species. According to some scientists, WNS has caused “the most precipitous wildlife decline in the past century in North America.” These declines have clear consequences for human populations — for you, even if you don’t like bats or visit caves. Bats eat insect pests, such as moths and beetles. And as they decline, farmers need to spray more pesticides. Scientists have linked the loss of bats in the US to an increase in insecticide use on farmland and, remarkably, to a rise in infant deaths. Insecticide chemicals are known to harm the health of newborns. The only reason we know any of this is because of a somewhat obscure government program in the US Geological Survey (USGS), an agency nested within the Interior Department. That program, known as the Ecosystems Mission Area (EMA), is the biological research division of Interior. Among other functions, it monitors environmental contaminants, the spread of invasive species, and the health of the nation’s wildlife, including bees, birds, and bats.White-nose syndrome, a fungal disease, has caused massive declines in a handful of bat species, including the tricolored bat, shown here in flight. J. Scott Altenbach/Bat Conservation InternationalThe Ecosystems Mission Area, which has around 1,200 employees, produces the premier science revealing how animals and ecosystems that Americans rely on are changing and what we can do to keep them intact — or risk our own health and economy. This program is now at an imminent risk of disappearing.Send us a confidential tipAre you a current or former federal employee with knowledge about the Trump administration’s attacks on wildlife protections? Reach out to Vox environmental correspondent Benji Jones on Signal at benji.90 or at benji.jones@vox.com or at benjijones@protonmail.com.In the White House’s 2026 budget request, the Trump administration asked Congress to slash funding for EMA by about 90 percent, from $293 million in 2025 to $29 million next year. Such cuts are also in line with Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s conservative policy roadmap, which calls for the government to “abolish” Interior’s Biological Resources Division, an outdated name for the Ecosystems Mission Area.Meanwhile, the Trump administration is also reportedly trying to fire government employees in the Ecosystems Mission Area, though a federal judge has so far blocked those efforts. Eliminating biological research is not good. In fact, it’s very bad.For a decade now, EMA’s North American Bat Monitoring Program, or NABat, has been gathering and analyzing data on bats and the threats they face. NABat produces research using data from hundreds of partner organizations showing not only how white-nose syndrome is spreading — which scientists are using to develop and deploy vaccines — but also how bats are affected by wind turbines, another known threat. Energy companies can and do use this research to develop safer technologies and avoid delays caused by wildlife regulations, such as the Endangered Species Act. The irony, an Interior Department employee told me, is that NABat makes wildlife management more efficient. It also helps reveal where declines are occurring before they become severe, potentially helping avoid the need to grant certain species federal protection — something the Trump administration would seem to want. The employee, who’s familiar with Interior’s bat-monitoring efforts, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation by the Trump administration. A northern long-eared bat with white-nose syndrome. Steve Taylor/University of IllinoisA dead bat infected with white-nose syndrome under UV light. USGS“If they want to create efficiencies in the government, they should ask us,” another Interior employee told Vox. “The damage that can be done by one administration takes decades to rebuild.”In response to a request for comment, an Interior Department spokesperson told Vox that “USGS remains committed to its congressional mandate as the science arm of the Department of the Interior.” The White House did not respond to a request for comment. In a Senate appropriations hearing last week, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum refused to commit to maintaining funding for EMA.“There’s no question that they don’t know what EMA does,” said a third Interior employee, who has knowledge of the Ecosystems Mission Area.Ultimately, it’s not clear why the administration has targeted Interior’s biological research. EMA does, however, do climate science, such as studying how plants and animals are responding to rising temperatures. That’s apparently a no-go for the Trump administration. It also gathers information that sometimes indicates that certain species need federal protections, which come with regulations (also a no-go for President Donald Trump’s agenda).What’s especially frustrating for environmental advocates is that NABat, now 10 years old, is starting to hit its stride.“We should be celebrating the 10-year anniversary of this very successful program that started from scratch and built this robust, vibrant community of people all collecting data,” said Winifred Frick, the chief scientist at Bat Conservation International, an environmental group. “We have 10 years of momentum, and so to cut it off now sort of wastes all that investment. That feels like a tremendous loss.” Meanwhile, the cost of maintaining the program is less than 1 percent of Interior’s overall budget.The government’s wildlife monitoring programs are “jewels of the country,” said Hollis Woodard, an associate professor of entomology at University of California Riverside who works with USGS on bee monitoring. “These birds and bats perform services for us that are important for our day-to-day lives. Literally everything I value, including food, comes down to keeping an eye on these populations. The idea that we’re just going to wipe them out is just terrifying.”Update, June 2, 12:58 pm ET: This article was originally published on May 29, 2025, and has been updated to include newly public details on the 2026 White House budget request.See More:

Attendees at a screening for ReelShort's "Wings Of Fire." Tiffany Rose/Getty Images for ReelShort 2025-06-03T08:42:01Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Mini-drama apps have grabbed Hollywood's attention as they've gained popularity in the US. The apps offer bite-sized, mobile-friendly episodes that people are paying to watch. They could be a low-cost alternative to traditional shows for Hollywood giants. Mini-drama apps made popular in Asia are surging in the US — and Hollywood is taking notice.These apps are best known for their soapy melodramas featuring princes, werewolves, and more, which are presented in bite-sized vertical episodes and meant for mobile phones. China-backed ReelShort is the most prominent purveyor of these, with typical titles like "The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband." Another top player is DramaBox.Hollywood has been trying to figure out how it can capitalize on the mini-drama craze, and studios like Lionsgate have been evaluating opportunities in the space."I get an overwhelming number of questions about this topic every week," said David Freeman, head of digital media at CAA. "Talent is actively exploring the space, creators are drawn to it due to the low cost of content production, and major companies are evaluating their strategic approach."Freeman said some key questions were which categories work well and whether the format could be expanded to the unscripted realm."In time, I anticipate that Netflix will find a way to successfully integrate vertical video and potentially make it part of their strategy to engage Gen Z audiences," he continued.As TV and streaming giants spend more money on sports at the expense of traditional TV and film, producers, studios, and other players are casting around for other entertainment markets and ways to serve audiences on the cheap.Social-media stars have already been getting a second look from Hollywood. And now, so are mini-dramas. Industry players said they'd taken note of the marketing on TikTok that the mini-drama apps are throwing behind their stars.App tracker Appfigures counts 215 short drama apps in the US and estimated US spending on them more than doubled in the past 12 months, to more than $100 million a month in gross revenue. Still from "Breaking the Ice" on ReelShort. ReelShort Hollywood is curious about mini-dramasAgents and others told Business Insider that while Hollywood is buzzing about mini-dramas, companies are generally still in the initial stages of exploring the format. One traditional player that's making concrete moves in the space is TelevisaUnivision. It's planning to debut 40 telenovela-style minidramas on ViX, its streaming platform, and intends to expand to other genres like docs and comedy.Others are at least mini-drama curious. Lionsgate, for one, has been in the early stages of exploring the format, a person familiar with the studio's plans said. Hallmark is another studio that's discussed the format internally, a person familiar with the company's thinking said.Select Management Group, an influencer talent management firm, is looking for mini-drama actors to sign, primarily those prominent on ReelShort.Select's Scott Fisher said verticals have "become another place you find talent," much like YouTube birthed digital stars like MrBeast and Emma Chamberlain.People have questionsDespite Hollywood's interest, it's unclear how these vertical dramas could fit into the traditional film and TV system, which emphasizes high production values and guild-protected talent.And people in Hollywood told BI they had plenty of questions.Here are a few:These mini-dramas often fall below the budget threshold that would trigger certain rules from the Hollywood guilds. But how can legacy companies take advantage of these productions' low costs without alienating the guilds and their members?Soapy melodramas are the most popular form of vertical series, but are they extendable to other genres such as reality TV, docs, and true crime? A+E Global Networks is taking the unscripted route, launching a slate of original series for mobile around its History brand in an effort to reach young viewers.Can they make real money? The appeal is that they're cheap to make, but how big of a business can they be? And what's the right mix of revenue between ads and viewer payments? ReelShort parent Crazy Maple Studio's founder Joey Jia said last year that viewers typically paid $5 to $10 a week.How should they distribute them? TelevisaUnivision has its own platforms to post such shows. But production companies that don't have their own distribution arms could use the likes of TikTok or YouTube and share the revenue with the platform.Are these dramas too far out of Hollywood's comfort zone for it to get right? Hollywood insiders remember how Quibi, Jeffrey Katzenberg's idea to make quick-bite shows, went down in ignominy. The big difference is that Quibi's episodes were more highly produced than today's vertical dramas and didn't employ a "freemium," pay-as-you-go model.'It's just a matter of time' Paramount's "Mean Girls" experiment on TikTok bore some resemblance to mini-dramas. Paramount Pictures Some media insiders think it's inevitable that big streamers and studios will at least test the format's potential.They've already shown some willingness to play with different formats and distribution platforms. For example, Paramount put "Mean Girls" on TikTok in 23 segments lasting one to 10 minutes. And YouTube and Amazon's Prime Video could make sense as distributors because they're already set up as platforms that allow people to rent or buy individual movies or shows."There's just a question of how far are they going to stray from doing what they normally do," Fisher said of the Hollywood players.Industry analyst Evan Shapiro sees mini, vertical-shot dramas as "toilet television," something made for watching on mobile phones and fitting the scrolling mentality. He added that he believes the format is a natural way for companies to incubate shows for TV."It's just a matter of time before you see a drama from one of these players and a fast follow into other formats," Shapiro said. "The big question is, how do we monetize that. But if it takes off, it converts to a premium, wide-screen format for TV."Geoff Weiss contributed reporting.

Good News Colon cancer recurrence and deaths cut 28% by simple exercise, trial finds Any type of aerobic exercise works for the improvements, study finds. Beth Mole – Jun 2, 2025 6:05 pm | 42 Credit: Getty | Oli Kellett Credit: Getty | Oli Kellett Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Exercise is generally good for you, but a new high-quality clinical trial finds that it's so good, it can even knock back colon cancer—and, in fact, rival some chemotherapy treatments. The finding comes from a phase 3, randomized clinical trial led by researchers in Canada, who studied nearly 900 people who had undergone surgery and chemotherapy for colon cancer. After those treatments, patients were evenly split into groups that either bulked up their regular exercise routines in a three-year program that included coaching and supervision or were simply given health education. The researchers found that the exercise group had a 28 percent lower risk of their colon cancer recurring, new cancers developing, or dying over eight years compared with the health education group. The benefits of exercise, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, became visible after just one year and increased over time, the researchers found. The rate of people who survived for five years and remained cancer-free was 80.3 percent among the exercise group. That's a 6.4 percentage-point survival boost over the education group, which had a 73.9 percent cancer-free survival rate. The overall survival rate (with or without cancer) during the study's eight-year follow-up was 90.3 percent in the exercise group compared with 83.2 percent in the education group—a 7.1 percentage point difference. Exercise reduced the relative risk of death by 37 percent (41 people died in the exercise group compared with 66 in the education group). "The magnitude of benefit from exercise ... was similar to that of many currently approved standard drug treatments," the researchers noted. However, the exercise routines that achieved those substantial benefits weren't heavy-duty. Participants were coached to perform any recreational aerobic exercise they enjoyed, including brisk walking. Adding 45- to 60-minute brisk walks three or four times a week, or three or four jogs lasting 25 to 30 minutes, was enough for many of the participants to improve their odds. Overall, the goal was to get the exercise group over 20 MET hours per week. METs are Metabolic Equivalents of Task, which represent the amount of energy your body is burning up compared to when you're at rest, sitting quietly. Brisk walking is about four METs, the researchers estimated, and jogging is around 10 METs. To get to 20 MET hours a week, a participant would have to do five hours of brisk walking a week (e.g., five hour-long walks a week) or jog for two hours a week (e.g., four 30-minute jogs per week). “Quite impressive” The exercise group, which had supervised exercise for the first six months of the three-year intervention, reported more exercise over the study. At the end, the exercise group was averaging over 20 MET hours per week, while the education group's average was around 15 MET hours per week. The exercise group also scored better at cardiorespiratory fitness and physical functioning. Still, with the health education, the control group also saw a boost to their exercise during the trial, with their average starting around 10 MET hours per week. These findings "raise the possibility of an even more powerful effect of exercise on cancer outcomes as compared with a completely sedentary control group," the researchers note. For now, it's not entirely clear how exercise keeps cancers at bay, but it squares with numerous other observational studies that have linked exercise to better outcomes in cancer patients. Researchers have several hypotheses, including that exercise might cause "increased fluid shear stress, enhanced immune surveillance, reduced inflammation, improved insulin sensitivity, and altered microenvironment of major sites of metastases," the authors note. In the study, exercise seemed to keep local and distant colon cancer from recurring, as well as prevent new cancers, including breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers. Outside experts hailed the study's findings. "This indicates that exercise has a similarly strong effect as previously shown for chemotherapy, which is really quite impressive," Marco Gerlinger, a gastrointestinal cancer expert at Queen Mary University of London, said in a statement. "One of the commonest questions from patients is what they can do to reduce the risk that their cancer comes back. Oncologists can now make a very clear evidence-based recommendation." "Having worked in bowel cancer research for 30 years, this is an exciting breakthrough in the step-wise improvement in cure rates," David Sebag-Montefiore, a clinical oncologist at the University of Leeds, said. "The great appeal of a structured moderate intensity exercise is that it offers the benefits without the downside of the well-known side effects of our other treatments." Beth Mole Senior Health Reporter Beth Mole Senior Health Reporter Beth is Ars Technica’s Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes. 42 Comments

Looker_Studio - stock.adobe.com News Analysis of job vacancies shows earnings boost for AI skills Even when parts of a job are being automated, those who know how to work with artificial intelligence tools can expect higher salaries By Cliff Saran, Managing Editor Published: 03 Jun 2025 7:00 UK workers with skills in artificial intelligence (AI) appear to earn 11% more on average, even in sectors where AI is automating parts of their existing job functions. Workers in sectors exposed to AI, where the technology can be deployed for some tasks, are more productive and command higher salaries, according to PwC’s 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer. The study, which was based on an analysis of almost one billion job adverts, found that wages are rising twice as fast in industries most exposed to AI. From a skills perspective, PwC reported that AI is changing the skills required of job applicants. According to PwC, to succeed in the workplace, candidates are more likely to need experience in using AI tools and the ability to demonstrate critical thinking and collaboration. Phillippa O’Connor, chief people officer at PwC UK, noted that while degrees are still important for many jobs, a reduction in degree requirements suggests employers are looking at a broader range of measures to assess skills and potential. In occupations most exposed to AI, PwC noted that the skills sought by employers are changing 59% faster than in occupations least exposed to AI. “AI is reshaping the jobs market – lowering barriers to entry in some areas, while raising the bar on the skills required in others,” O’Connor added. Those with the right AI skills are being rewarded with higher salaries. In fact, PwC found that wages are growing twice as fast in AI-exposed industries. This includes jobs that are classed as “automatable”, which means they contain some tasks that can readily be automated. The highest premiums are attached to occupations requiring AI skills, with an average premium in 2024 of 11% for UK workers in these roles.   AI is reshaping the jobs market – lowering barriers to entry in some areas, while raising the bar on the skills required in others Phillippa O’Connor PwC UK PwC’s analysis shows that sectors exposed to AI experience three times higher growth in the revenue generated by each employee. It also reported that growth in revenue per employee for AI-exposed industries surged when large language models (LLMs) such as generative AI (GenAI) became mainstream. Revenue growth per employee has nearly quadrupled in industries most exposed to AI, such as software, rising from 7% between 2018 and 2022, to 27% between 2018 and 2024. In contrast, revenue growth per employee in industries least exposed to AI, such as mining and hospitality, fell slightly, from 10% between 2018 and 2022, to 9% between 2018 and 2024. However, since 2018, job postings for occupations with greater exposure to AI have grown at a slower pace than those with lower exposure – and this gap is widening. Umang Paw, chief technology officer (CTO) at PwC UK, said: “There are still many unknowns about AI’s potential. AI can provide stardust to those ready to adapt, but risks leaving others behind.” Paw believes there needs to be a concerted effort to expand access to technology and training to ensure the benefits of AI are widely shared. “In the intelligence age, the fusion of AI with technologies like real-time data analytics – and businesses broadening their products and services – will create new industries and fresh job opportunities,” Paw added. Read more about AI skills AWS addresses the skills barrier holding back enterprises: The AWS Summit in London saw the public cloud giant appoint itself to take on the task of skilling up hundreds of thousands of UK people in using AI technologies. Could generative AI help to fill the skills gap in engineering: The role of artificial intelligence and machine learning in society continues to be hotly debated as the tools promise to revolutionise our lives, but how will they affect the engineering sector? In The Current Issue: UK government outlines plan to surveil migrants with eVisa data Why we must reform the Computer Misuse Act: A cyber pro speaks out Download Current Issue What to expect from Aera Technology AeraHUB 25 – CW Developer Network NTT IOWN all-photonics ‘saves Princess Miku’ from dragon – CW Developer Network View All Blogs

June 02, 2025 Eagles Star Hurdles into Madden 99 Club and Iconic Madden NFL 26 Covers After Championship and Record-Setting Season Fans Can Pre-Order* The EA SPORTS MVP Bundle Now To Get Madden NFL Deluxe Edition and Early Access To Madden NFL 26. REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) and EA SPORTS™ announced today that Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley will grace the cover of EA SPORTS™ Madden NFL 26, the first Eagle to do so in 20 years. Barkley’s record-setting season earned him both the cover and induction as the first member of the coveted Madden NFL 26 ‘99 Club.’ Barkley appears on two unique covers with one memorializing his spectacular reverse hurdle from last season. New features coming to Madden NFL 26 will be revealed this Wednesday, June 4 and Madden NFL 26 will launch worldwide on August 14 on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via EA app for Windows, Steam, and Epic Games Store.Eagles Superstar Saquon Barkley Soars Onto Standard and Deluxe Covers Following Record-Setting, Super Bowl-Winning Season“Starring on the cover of Madden NFL 26 and being named to the Madden NFL ‘99 Club’ are both dreams come true,” said Barkley. “I’m grateful to my teammates, coaches, and Eagles fans for their support, and I can’t wait to hit the field again to give Madden players more highlight-reel moments in Madden NFL 26.”Barkley etched his name in the record books in 2024 with one of the most dominant seasons ever, becoming the first player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,500 yards in a single season, including playoffs, and leading Philadelphia to a Super Bowl LIX victory over the Kansas City Chiefs."Saquon's reverse hurdle was one of the rare, defining moments in NFL history that would have once been described as 'something out of a videogame,'” said Evan Dexter, VP, Franchise Strategy & Marketing, EA SPORTS Madden NFL. “Now, it’s a display of the athleticism and creativity of one football's most electrifying athletes. Madden NFL 26 will deliver the most real NFL experience we've ever built so that players can experience more of the unreal moments that Saquon put on display all season long. The full reveal is this Wednesday - don’t miss what’s next."Fans can pre-order* the Madden NFL 26 Deluxe Edition now to unlock a host of benefits, including 3-day early access, 4600 Madden Points, and a range of amazing extras. Pre-ordering* theEA SPORTS™ MVP Bundle for PlayStation®5 and Xbox Series X|S gets fans deluxe editions of EA SPORTS™ College Football 26 and Madden NFL 26, complete with 3-day early access and a suite of rewards for both games. EA Play** subscribers will enjoy a 10-hour early access trial alongside recurring monthly in-game bonuses for Madden NFL 26.Follow the Madden NFL 26 journey on the official website and social channels (Instagram, X, TikTok, YouTube) for the latest updates and stay tuned for the trailer and feature reveal coming Wednesday, June 4. Madden NFL 26 is developed by EA SPORTS in Orlando, Florida, and Madrid, Spain.*Conditions & restrictions apply. See https://www.ea.com/games/madden-nfl/madden-nfl-26/legal-disclaimers for details. **Conditions, limitations and exclusions apply. See EA Play Terms for details.For Madden NFL 26 assets, visit: EAPressPortal.com.About Electronic ArtsElectronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company develops and delivers games, content and online services for Internet-connected consoles, mobile devices and personal computers.In fiscal year 2025, EA posted GAAP net revenue of approximately $7.5 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality brands such as EA SPORTS FC™, Battlefield™, Apex Legends™, The Sims™, EA SPORTS™ Madden NFL, EA SPORTS™ College Football, Need for Speed™, Dragon Age™, Titanfall™, Plants vs. Zombies™ and EA SPORTS F1®. More information about EA is available at www.ea.com/news.EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS FC, Battlefield, Need for Speed, Apex Legends, The Sims, Dragon Age, Titanfall, and Plants vs. Zombies are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. John Madden, NFL, and F1 are the property of their respective owners and used with permission.Category: EA Sports Erin Exum Director, Integrated Comms [email protected] Source: Electronic Arts Inc. Multimedia Files: