James Bond certainly wouldn’t approve.

Like a good pair of Basquiat Crocs, there are innumerable bad ways to license an artist’s work. So when Airstream looked to partner up on a project with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, the aluminum-clad trailer brand could have just printed one of the architect’s famous patterns on a limited run of its vehicles and called it a day. It probably would have even sold well. But that is decidedly what Bob Wheeler, Airstream’s president and CEO, did not want to do.  “We said, ‘All right, let’s make sure that everything has a purpose and a function—that way it’s not just a pastiche, or some kind of lame attempt to mimic something,’” Wheeler recalls. “We didn’t want it to seem overdone or kitschy.” Instead, the brand embarked on a multiyear collaboration with the experts at Wright’s Taliesin West home and studio in Scottsdale, Arizona, and today the two are rolling out the 28-foot Airstream Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian Limited Edition Travel Trailer. With just 200 numbered vehicles that retail for $184,900 on offer, you—like me—might not be able to afford one at the moment, but they just might also restore your faith in the art of the artist collab at large.  [Photo: Airstream] BETTER LATE THAN NEVER Wheeler has a passion for midcentury design (as you might expect of Airstream’s CEO), so it tracks that he’d be a natural fan of Wright’s organic architecture. “Honestly, this has been a dream of mine for the last 20 years, which is about as long as I’ve been president of Airstream,” he says. “Why are Wright’s designs so celebrated today? It’s because they’re timeless. I think there are values there that incentivize someone to buy an Airstream that overlap in some meaningful ways.” Though Wright and Airstream founder Wally Byam were active at the same time and likely shared some of the same design fan base, there’s no record of them ever meeting. But a collaboration between the two ultimately proved inevitable when Wheeler reached out to Wright’s foundation in 2022. Foundation historian Sally Russell says her team wasn’t initially sure how robust a joint project could be. They eventually toured the Airstream factory in Ohio where the trailers are handmade using 3,000 rivets over the course of 350 hours, and saw how much customization was truly possible. Then she realized that it could be a great showcase of Wright’s work.  Beyond an Airstream’s signature aluminum exterior, Wheeler says the trailer is essentially a blank canvas. “And that’s where we can really flex some design muscle and allow others to do so.”  Russell says the foundation first explored whether to make the trailer feel like an adaptation of a specific Frank Lloyd Wright home. “The answer to that was no,” she says. “We didn’t want to try to re-create the Rosenbaum House and shove it into the size of a trailer. It didn’t make sense, because Frank Lloyd Wright certainly designed for each of his individual projects—he created something new, something that expressed the individual forms of the project, the needs of the client. So there was a great awareness of wanting to continue that legacy through the work that we did on the trailer.” The two teams ultimately homed in on the concept of Usonian design, a style that aimed to democratize design via small, affordable homes with a focus on efficient floor plans, functionality, and modularity.  In other words: an ideal fit for an Airstream. [Photo: Airstream] COLLAPSIBLE CHAIRS AND CLERESTORY WINDOWS When you approach the trailer, the connection to Wright is immediate on the custom front door featuring the Gordon leaf pattern, which the architect commissioned his apprentice Eugene Masselink to design in 1956. It’s a tip of the hat to nature, presumably an Airstreamer’s destination, and can be found subtly throughout the trailer in elements like sconces and cabinet pulls—but not too much, per the design mission at the outset. (“At one point we had a lot more of that Gordon leaf in there,” Wheeler notes. “We dialed that way back.”) With the push of a button, the bench seating converts into a king-size bed—one of Wheeler’s favorite elements. It is the largest bed in any Airstream, and is a first for the company, he says.  [Photo: Airstream] Another convertible element, in line with that focus on modularity, is the living space at the front of the trailer. Here, a dining table, desk, and seating inspired by the slant-back chairs that Wright used throughout his career collapse into a wall cabinet. Wheeler says Airstream used to deploy clever features like this in the midcentury era, before modern preferences trended toward built-in furniture. “So in some ways, this is a bit of a flashback to an earlier design in the ’50s, which is appropriate.” The teams also honored Wright’s focus on natural light, relocating Airstream’s usual overhead storage in favor of clerestory windows, which are prominent in Usonian homes. Meanwhile, the overall color palette comes from a 1955 Wright-curated Martin-Senour paint line. Russell says the team selected it for its harmonious blend with the natural settings where the trailer is likely headed, featuring ocher, red, and turquoise.  Ultimately, “It’s like a Frank Lloyd Wright home, where you walk into it, and it’s a completely different experience from any other building,” Russell says. “I hope that he would be very happy to see that design legacy continue, because he certainly did that with his own fellowship and the apprentices that he worked with.” [Photo: Airstream] USONIAN LIFE Starting today, the limited-edition, numbered trailers will be available for order at Airstream dealerships. Wheeler says the company was originally going to release just 100 of them, but got so much positive feedback from dealers and others that they doubled the run.  On the whole, the collaboration comes in the wake of a boom time for Airstream, which is owned by Thor Industries. Airstream experienced a surge during the pandemic, resulting in a 22% jump in sales in 2021 as people embraced remote work or realigned their relationship to the world.  “We’ve come back to earth now, and now we’re much more tied to actual market retail rates, which is what we know,” Wheeler says. In its third-quarter financials, Thor reported $2.89 billion in revenue (up 3.3% from previous year). While the company declined to provide Airstream-specific numbers, its overall North American towable RV division is up 9.1% from the same period in 2024. But there’s a problem afoot: The current administration’s tariffs, which Wheeler says made settling on the price for the Frank Lloyd Wright collaboration tricky. He adds that the company is struggling with shortages caused by the disruption in the supply chain, and high interest rates are also a problem.  [Photo: Airstream] “Look, we’re 94 years old,” he says. “We’ve been through more of these cycles than we can count, so we’re fine, and we’ll continue to trade on authenticity, quality, great service and support, a great dealer network, and a brand that really has become part of the fabric of the U.S. traveling adventure.”

Bacteria wouldn’t be so bad if we could tell them what to do. “Stop spreading! Stop sticking together! Stop fending off our antibiotics!” A new method is starting to allow scientists to do just that, letting them use light to control certain functions of bacteria. Introduced in a paper published in The European Physical Journal Plus, the preliminary approach could have several potential applications, including a possible avenue for combating antibiotic resistance.The Problem of Antibacterial Resistance Bacteria are behind a variety of diseases, from strep to staph to pneumonia and meningitis, and they attack our bodies in a variety of ways, as well, including through the production of toxins that damage and disrupt our cells. Some of these infections stop on their own, but others are too stubborn, or too serious, to leave untreated. These are the infections that we target with antibiotics — that is, as long as our antibiotics are working.But, because bacteria are constantly changing, they can develop defenses against the antibiotics that we use to stave them off, making these treatments much less effective. That’s the gist of the growing threat posed by antibiotic resistance, which has contributed to millions of deaths since 1990 and is anticipated to contribute to millions more by 2050. Setting out to find a new solution to this growing problem, scientists from the Italian Institute of Technology and the Polytechnic University of Milan embarked on the Engineering of Bacteria to See Light (EOS) project. The project aims to use light to control bacteria, primarily for the fight against antibiotic resistance. And the new method pushes the project closer to achieving that aim. Using light and light-sensitive molecules to adjust the electrical signals that are transmitted across the bacterial membrane, the method impacts the biological activity of bacteria without any alterations to their genetic makeup.“This interplay between light and electrical [signaling] allows us to control key biological processes such as movement, biofilm formation, and antibiotic sensitivity,” said Giuseppe Maria Paternò, a study author and a professor at the Polytechnic University of Milan, according to a press release. “We can influence antibiotic uptake and restore or even enhance the effectiveness of treatments against resistant strains.”Coating Bacteria to Curb Antibiotic ResistanceTo control bacteria, the method takes advantage of a light-sensitive molecule called Ziapin2, which sticks to the bacterial surface. By covering bacteria with this light-sensitive molecule and by subjecting the covered bacteria to light, the scientists were able to modify the electrical signals that were transmitted across their bacterial membranes, transforming the bacteria’s basic functioning. Testing their method on one of the most studied bacterial species, the scientists changed the electrical signaling across the membranes of Bacillus subtilis, a popular model organism that’s often used as a stand-in for Staphylococcus aureus, the bacterium that causes staphylococcus, or staph, infections.When tested, the method modulated the bacteria’s susceptibility to Kanamycin, an intracellular antibiotic that’s frequently used as a treatment for severe bacterial infections after other treatments fail. “Under blue light,” Paternò said in the release, “the effectiveness of Kanamycin was significantly reduced,” indicating that the electrical signaling on the bacterial membrane “plays a crucial role in the drug’s uptake.”Additional research is required to tailor the method to increase the effectiveness of Kanamycin and other antibiotics against bacteria. But for now, it seems that such an outcome could be possible. “This initial assessment […] represents a first step in a completely new field of study,” the scientists state in their paper. “This proof-of-concept study underscores the potential of non-genetic, light-based interventions to modulate bacterial susceptibility in real time. Future work will expand this approach […] ultimately advancing our understanding of bacterial bioelectric regulation and its applications in antimicrobial therapies.”This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:The European Physical Journal Plus. Photocontrol of Bacterial Membrane Potential Regulates Antibiotic Persistence in B. SubtilisSam Walters is a journalist covering archaeology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution for Discover, along with an assortment of other topics. Before joining the Discover team as an assistant editor in 2022, Sam studied journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Earth and space mingle in stunning ways for the 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year contest. From the “geological masterpiece” of Coyote Buttes, Utah to the sandstone terrain of desolate Ennedi, Chad to a lava-spewing volcano in Guatemala, this year’s entries dazzle from all corners of the globe. We even get a view of the Milky Way from off-planet with a photograph from NASA astronaut Don Pettit taken aboard the International Space Station. “The Wave”Coyote Buttes, UT, USAOne of my greatest passions is visiting stunning natural wonders and paying my personal tribute to them through night photography. This image was taken at Coyote Buttes, a geological masterpiece located in Arizona, where special access permits are required to protect it for future generations.Despite the intense cold during those days, it was incredibly exciting to visit the great sandstone wave for the first time and enjoy its spectacular shapes and colors.To capture this 360° panorama, I planned for the Milky Way and focused on creating a balanced photographic composition. It’s hard to put into words the beauty of this place, but I hope my photograph manages to convey it.Credit: Luis Cajete / 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Daniel Zafra Portill The Milky Way contains an estimated 200-400 billion stars, but we can only see a fraction of the celestial bodies with our naked eyes. Photography opens up the skies to the staggering light show floating around us. (Click to enlarge images.) “Echiwile Arch” Ennedi, ChadWhen one first Googles information about visiting Chad, the results aren’t very encouraging from a safety perspective. Nevertheless, the intrepid astrophotographer in me decided to take the chance and visit this landlocked country, specifically the Ennedi Massif in the north.Sparsely populated and completely devoid of light pollution, the three-day drive from the capital, N’Djamena, was well worth the troubles and risks involved. The region is filled with numerous rock formations, shapes, and arches, offering an abundance of options for foreground elements to frame the dramatic night skies. Seen here is a small arch in the shape of a hoof in the Ennedi region.Credit: Vikas Chander / 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Daniel Zafra Portill “Fortress of Light”Jujuy, ArgentinaSince I started shooting the night sky, I’ve always sought out landscapes that feel like they belong to another planet — remote, untouched, and far from light pollution. That’s exactly what I found in “The Cathedral,” a surreal rock formation in Jujuy, Argentina.Photographing at over 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) presented its challenges, but when I arrived and saw the rock formations, I was completely blown away. The landscape felt like something from a fantasy world, and the towering cliffs instantly reminded me of a giant stone fortress sculpted by nature.As twilight gave way to full darkness, the core of the Milky Way appeared high overhead, shining with incredible clarity. I patiently waited as the galactic center slowly descended toward the horizon, perfectly aligning above the cliffs.While capturing the panorama, the camera picked up bands of orange and green airglow, adding a unique glow to the horizon.This image captures everything I love about photographing the Milky Way — the silence of remote places, the peace of standing under a pristine sky, and the deep connection I feel to the moment, fully present and grateful to witness it.Credit: Mauricio Salazar / 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Daniel Zafra Portill “The Night Guardians” Easter Island, ChileEaster Island had been on my bucket list for a long time, and it once seemed almost impossible to reach. On our first night there, the weather forecast looked promising, so we decided to go ahead with the tour our group had booked 4–5 months earlier. However, Rapa Nui sits in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where the weather is notoriously unpredictable. When we woke up at 3 a.m. in our hotel, the sky was completely covered in clouds. Still, we decided to take the risk, knowing the forecast for the next few nights was even worse.An hour later, we were frantically photographing the statues at Rano Raraku—the quarry where nearly all of the island’s 900 statues were carved—when the sky suddenly began to clear. By 5 a.m., it was completely clear, and we had less than two hours to capture all the shots we wanted. We felt incredibly lucky to be in the right place at the right time.Credit: Rositsa Dimitrova / 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Daniel Zafra Portill “Blossom”Hehuan Mountain Dark Sky Park, TaiwanAfter three years of waiting, the Yushan alpine rhododendrons are finally in bloom once again on Taiwan’s 3,000-meter-high Hehuan Mountain. On this special night, distant clouds helped block city light pollution, revealing an exceptionally clear view of the Milky Way. A solar flare from active region AR3664 reached Earth that evening, intensifying the airglow and adding an otherworldly touch to the sky.Together, these rare natural events created a breathtaking scene—vivid blooms glowing softly beneath a star-filled sky.Credit: Ethan Su / 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Daniel Zafra Portill “Spines and Starlight”Kanaan, NamibiaOn our second Namibia Photography Tour, we began our journey once again at one of our favorite spots in Kanaan. Last year was an incredible experience, but this time, we decided to explore more of this vast land.During a scouting trip, I stumbled upon the perfect composition—two quiver trees standing tall with a large cactus in the foreground, all beautifully aligned with the Milky Way. I had always wanted to capture the Milky Way alongside a big cactus, so in that moment, it felt like a special gift.Getting everything in focus was a bit challenging, as I had to get extremely close to the cactus without getting poked. To achieve perfect sharpness, I used focus stacking. Additionally, I shot with an astro-modified camera and a GNB Nebula filter to enhance the details of the night sky.Credit: Burak Esenbey / 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Daniel Zafra Portill “Galaxy of the Stone Array” Moeraki Boulders, New ZealandThe Milky Way hangs over the sea. The night sky of the Southern Hemisphere condenses the poetry of Li Bai, a poet from China’s Tang Dynasty, into eternity. On a clear night, the Milky Way pours down over the sea like a waterfall from the sky, intertwining with the atmospheric glow on the water’s surface.Credit: Alvin Wu / 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Daniel Zafra Portill “One in a Billion ”ISS (International Space Station)I float in the Cupola, looking out the seven windows composing this faceted transparent jewel. While my mind is submerged in contemplation, my eyes gorge on the dim reflections from a nighttime Earth. There are over eight billion people that call this planet home. There are seven of us that can say the same for Space Station. What a privilege it is to be here. I used an orbital star tracker to take out the star streak motion from orbit.Credit: Don Pettit / 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Daniel Zafra Portill “Winter Fairy Tale”Dobratsch Nature Park, AustriaUndoubtedly my wildest location this winter: Austria’s Dobratsch mountain! If I had to describe it in two words, it would be a “Winter Fairytale”!Despite a 5 a.m. work shift, I drove to Austria by 1 p.m., worried about my fitness and lack of sleep. After a 2-hour hike through the snow with a 22kg backpack and sled, the stunning views kept me energized.Arriving at the cabin (where I had planned my winter panorama two years ago), I was greeted by untouched snow, completely free of footprints. I spent the evening exploring compositions, and this is my favorite: a panorama of the winter Milky Way with reddish nebulae, stretching above Dobratsch Mountain.I captured the Zodiacal light and even the Gegenschein glow! The sky was magnificent, with Jupiter and Mars shining brightly. In the foreground is the cabin, where I spent 3 freezing hours (-12°C), waiting for the perfect shot of the Milky Way’s core. It turned out exactly as I envisioned—a true winter fairytale.Credit: Uroš Fink / 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Daniel Zafra Portill “Valle de los Cactus” San Pedro de Atacama, ChileA panoramic shot of the Milky Way in a remote area of the Atacama Cactus Valley, known for its large concentration of cactus plants. I love this place with its countless possibilities. The panorama was taken just as the galactic center began to rise, with the spectacular Gum Nebula visible on the right.It was an especially bright night with a breathtaking sky. The valley isn’t easy to navigate, but it’s always worth trying to find new compositions in such stunning locations beneath the night sky.Credit: Pablo Ruiz / 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Daniel Zafra Portill “Cosmic Fire”Volcán Acatenango, GuatemalaOn the early morning of June 2, 2024, I summited Acatenango Volcano for the first time, hoping to witness the fiery beauty of the neighboring Volcan de Fuego against the Milky Way’s backdrop. That night, the volcano was incredibly active—each thunderous explosion reverberated in my chest, while glowing lava illuminated the dark slopes. Above, the Milky Way stretched diagonally across the sky, a mesmerizing band of stars contrasting with the chaos below. As the volcano erupted, the ash plume rose vertically, forming an acute angle of about 45 degrees with the galaxy’s diagonal path, creating a stunning visual contrast between Earth’s fury and the cosmos’ serenity.Capturing this required a fast, wide-angle lens (f/2.8), an ISO of 3200, and a 10-second exposure to balance the volcanic glow with the starlight. The challenge was timing the shot during a new moon and aligning the right moment for the Milky Way to cross the frame next to the volcano. I used Lightroom as the editor. This image is special for its storytelling—the raw power of Volcan de Fuego meeting the tranquil expanse of the galaxy.Credit: Sergio Montúfar / 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Daniel Zafra Portill “Lake RT5” Zanskar, HimalayasLake RT5 is a pristine alpine lake nestled at 5,700 meters above sea level. My passion has always been to capture the unseen Himalayas in their rawest form. This journey led us through rugged mountains and glaciers, where we discovered several unknown alpine lakes and named them along the way.We endured multiple nights in extremely cold, unpredictable conditions. Due to the ever-changing weather and limited time, I used a blue hour blend to achieve a cleaner foreground. Since my campsite was right beside the lake, I was able to capture the tracked sky shot from the exact same position later that night.I was in awe of the incredible airglow illuminating the Himalayan skies. The raw image had even more intense colors, but I toned them down to stay true to reality. This was undoubtedly one of the most unforgettable nights I’ve ever spent in the heart of the Himalayas.Credit: Tanay Das / 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Daniel Zafra Portill “A Stellar View From The Cave” Saint Raphael, FranceFramed by the rugged mouth of a coastal cave, this image captures the heart of the Milky Way rising over the Mediterranean Sea. Taken during the peak of the Galactic Core season last May, it blends the natural beauty of the foreground with the awe-inspiring vastness of the cosmos. A winding road, illuminated by passing cars, creates a dynamic trail of light that guides the eye toward the stars above.This photo is a reminder that magic often hides in the most unexpected places. All it takes is a little patience, planning, and passion.Credit: Anthony Lopez / 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Daniel Zafra Portill “Boot Arch Perseids” Alabama Hills, CA, USAThe Perseid Meteor Shower occurs every August, raining down hundreds of meteors over a few nights. In 2024, I had planned to photograph it from the Canadian Rockies, but wildfires forced me to change my plans at the last minute. After checking wildfire maps, I found a safe haven in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.After three full nights of capturing meteors, I created this image. Sitting on the rock is my friend Arne, who often joins me on these adventures, gazing up at the magnificent core of our galaxy. Each meteor is painstakingly aligned to its true location in the night sky. The final depiction shows all the meteors I captured, combined into one frame—as if the Earth hadn’t been rotating and all the meteors had fallen at once.Credit: Mike Abramyan / 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Daniel Zafra Portill “Starlit Ocean: A Comet, the setting Venus, the Milky Way, and McWay Falls” – California, USACapturing this image was a race against time, light, and distance. With Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS (C/2023 A3) making its approach, I knew I had a rare opportunity to see it with the naked eye before it faded into the cosmos. I embarked on a five-hour round trip to McWay Falls in Big Sur, one of the few Bortle 2 locations accessible along California’s coast. My window was narrow—just six precious minutes of true darkness before the Moon rose and washed out the night sky. But those six minutes were unforgettable.In that brief span, the Milky Way arched high above the Pacific, Venus shimmered as it set over the ocean, and the comet streaked quietly across the sky—a celestial visitor gracing this iconic coastal cove. The soft cascade of McWay Falls and the stillness of the starlit ocean created a surreal harmony between Earth and sky. It was one of the most vivid and humbling naked-eye comet sightings I’ve ever experienced—an alignment of cosmic elements that felt both fleeting and eternal.Credit: Xingyang Cai / 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Daniel Zafra Portill “Diamond Beach Emerald Sky”Great Ocean Road, AustraliaWith a clear night forecast and the Milky Way core returning for 2025, I set out to explore the Great Ocean Road. After a few setbacks—such as a failed composition and getting the car stuck on a sandy track—I almost gave up. However, I pushed on and found a great spot above the beach to capture the scene.The night was full of color, with Comet C/2024 G3 Atlas and a pink aurora in the early hours, followed by the Milky Way rising amid intense green airglow near dawn. Despite the challenges, the reward of this stunning image and the memory of the view made it all worthwhile.Credit: Brent Martin / 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Daniel Zafra Portill

New Research Scientists Use DNA to Trace Early Humans’ Footsteps From Asia to South America Over thousands of years, humans from Eurasia trekked more than 12,400 miles to eventually reach the southernmost tip of South America, a new genetic investigation suggests Researchers have used genomic sequencing to trace what they’re calling the “longest migration out of Africa.” Nanyang Technological University Tens of thousands of years ago, Homo sapiens embarked on a major migration out of Africa and began settling around the world. But exactly how, when and where humans expanded has long been a source of debate. Now, researchers have used genomic sequencing to trace what they’re calling the “longest migration out of Africa.” Over the course of many generations and thousands of years, humans from Eurasia trekked more than 12,400 miles to eventually reach the southernmost tip of South America, according to a new paper published in the journal Science. In addition to providing insight into human expansion throughout the Americas, the analysis also sheds new light on health differences between populations. In the future, the researchers hope their work will contribute to personalized medical care based on an individual’s genetic profile. “[It is] only after we know the entire genetic makeup of humanity that we can provide precision medicine that is specific to the needs of every ethnic group, in particular, those that have become endangered and are on the brink of going extinct,” co-author Stephan Schuster, a genomicist at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, tells the Straits Times’ Judith Tan. #NTUsg researchers: Early Asians made the longest human migration in prehistory Watch on For the study, an international team of scientists analyzed the genomes of 1,537 individuals from 139 ethnic groups in South America and Northeast Eurasia. Comparing this DNA allowed them to reconstruct the human migration from Asia to South America, following the “genetic footprints left behind by the early settlers,” as lead author Elena Gusareva, a biologist at Nanyang Technological University, tells Cosmos magazine’s Evrim Yazgin. Modern humans arrived in northern Eurasia around 45,000 years ago. By roughly 31,600 years ago, they had migrated east toward Beringia, the land bridge connecting Asia and North America in what is now the Bering Strait. From there, they walked into present-day Alaska. They expanded across North America and eventually headed into South America, reaching the continent’s northwest tip around 14,000 years ago. “Our findings show that Native Americans are descendants of Asian populations, particularly from the West Beringian region,” says study co-author Kim Hie Lim, a genomicist at Nanyang Technological University, to the South China Morning Post’s Victoria Bela. This South American group then split into four genetic lineages, the researchers found. One population headed east toward the Dry Chaco region, while another went south to Patagonia. One climbed up into the Andes Mountains, while another remained in the Amazon basin. Once the groups split off, they became isolated by the continent’s geography, which reduced their genetic diversity. More specifically, the researchers found a reduced diversity of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes, which help support immune health. Reduced genetic diversity may have made these early South Americans more susceptible to diseases introduced by European colonists, the researchers posit. “Understanding how ancient populations moved and settled not only helps us understand human history, but also explains how their immune systems adapted to different environments,” Kim tells the Borneo Bulletin. Data used in the study came from GenomeAsia 100K, a large-scale project that aims to sequence 100,000 Asian human genomes. “Most existing medicines were developed based on studies of European populations, often excluding Indigenous populations,” Kim tells Live Science’s Kristina Killgrove. “It is critical to provide tailored healthcare and disease prevention strategies that consider their specific genetic profiles.” Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

Fortnite mobile still not available in UK despite return to US App Store GameCentral Published May 21, 2025 10:43am Updated May 21, 2025 10:43am There’s still no good news for Fortnite fans in the UK (Credits: REUTERS) The long road towards getting Fortnite back onto the UK iOS and Android app stores continues, even though it’s back in the US. It’s taken five years, a costly legal battle, and several court orders, but Fortnite is finally available again in the US App Store, meaning that American fans can now play it on iPhone and iPad. According to publisher Epic Games it should turn up on the Epic Games Store and AltStore in the EU today as well, but unfortunately none of that seems to be helping its availability in the UK. Epic hasn’t been specific about anywhere else, but as of right now the mobile version of the game isn’t available in the iOS App Store or Android’s Google Play in the UK. And it’s not clear when that’s going to change. The game’s absence began in 2020, when Epic purposefully broke Apple’s rules about fees for in-app purchases, knowing that it would get them thrown off the store. This led to a five year legal battle which seemed to end in a stalemate, but which this year saw a US judge instruct Apple to stop trying to take a cut of payments. This immediately led to Epic announcing that Fortnite would be making a return, but its initial attempts to do so were blocked by Apple. Apple was told to stop doing this, by a US judge, and so on Tuesday the game finally returned to US App Stores, complete with the ability to buy cosmetics and other in-app purchases directly from Epic. That means more money for Epic, as they won’t now be giving 27% of every payment to Apple, but it makes little difference to players, other than there are some good deals at the moment to incentivise them into using the Epic store. As you might gather from all this, Fortnite mobile is not actually a very large proportion of the overall audience, or otherwise Epic Games wouldn’t have allowed it to sit the last five years out. Instead, they embarked on a bizarre marketing campaign, using Orwellian imagery and trying to paint Apple as a restrictive tyrant. Really, the only problem was that Epic didn’t like having to give Apple money, in what is a fairly standard licensing arrangement similar to how Steam and video game consoles work. But then Epic boss Tim Sweeny doesn’t like those either. How to play Fortnite mobile in the UK Since Epic hasn’t been specific about any region other than the US and Europe it’s unclear exactly what’s going on in the rest of the world but as of right now Fortnite is not available on iOS or Android. So, sadly, the answer to the above question is just to… wait. More Trending Last year, Epic Games stated that they hoped to get Fortnite back in the UK in the second half of 2025. That was before the recent court judgements in the US, but it’s unclear if that’s going to speed things up or not. Thanks to Brexit, the UK is no longer in the EU, so any changes to the situation there have no relevance here. However, the UK does have legislation very similar to the EU’s DMA (Digital Markets Competition and Consumers Act) so in theory there shouldn’t be a problem. Epic boss Tim Sweeney told The Guardian last year that, ‘Unless Apple and Google manage to lobby the UK government that they should be able to continue blocking competition, we should be able to move on that by the end of next year.’ There’s no sign that Apple and Google are trying to lobby anyone at the moment, so that hopefully clears the road for a UK annoucement soon. Mobile gamers are going to miss the Star Wars season (Epic Games) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy