Launch week is finally here, and though I would love to be bringing you a proper review of the Nintendo Switch 2 right now, I still don’t have one at the time of writing. In its wisdom, Nintendo has decided not to send review units out until the day before release, so as you read this I will be standing impatiently by the door like a dog anxiously awaiting its owner.I have played the console, though, for a whole day at Nintendo’s offices, so I can give you some first impressions. Hardware-wise, it is the upgrade of my dreams: sturdier JoyCons, a beautiful screen, the graphical muscle to make games look as good as I want them to in 2025 (though still not comparable to the high-end PlayStation 5 Pro or a modern gaming PC). I like the understated pops of colour on the controllers, the refined menu with its soothing chimes and blips. Game sharing, online functionality and other basic stuff is frictionless now. I love that Nintendo Switch Online is so reasonably priced, at £18 a year, as opposed to about the same per month for comparable gaming services, and it gives me access to a treasure trove of Nintendo games from decades past.But here’s the key word in that paragraph: it’s an upgrade. After eight years, an upgrade feels rather belated. I was hoping for something actually new, and aside from the fact that you can now use those controllers as mice by turning them sideways and moving them around on a desk or on your lap, there isn’t much new in the Switch 2. Absorbed in Mario Kart World, the main launch title, it was easy to forget I was even playing a new console. I do wonder – as I did in January – whether many less gaming-literate families who own a Switch will see a reason to upgrade, given the £400 asking price.Brilliant … Mario Kart World. Photograph: NintendoSpeaking of Mario Kart World, though: it’s brilliant. Totally splendid. It will deservedly sell squillions. Alongside the classic competitive grand prix and time trial races, the headline feature is an open, driveable world that you can explore all you like, as any character, picking up characters and costumes and collectibles, and getting into elimination-style races that span the full continent. All the courses are part of one huge map, and they flow right into one another.Your kart transforms helpfully into a boat when you hit water, and I found an island with a really tricky challenge where I had to ride seaplanes up towards a skyscraper in the city, driving over their wings from one to the other. Anyone could lose hours driving aimlessly around the colourful collection of mountains, jungles and winding motorways here. There’s even a space-station themed course that cleverly echoes the original Donkey Kong arcade game, delivering a nostalgia hit as delightful as Super Mario Odyssey’s climactic New Donk City festival.Pushing Buttons correspondent Keith Stuart also had a great time with another launch game, Konami’s Survival Kids, which is a bit like Overcooked except all the players are working together to survive on a desert island. (Be reassured, if you generally find survival games hard work: it’s very much fun over peril.)However: I would steer clear of the Nintendo Switch Welcome Tour, an almost belligerently un-fun interactive tour of the console’s new features … that costs £7.99. Your tiny avatar walks around a gigantic recreation of a Switch 2 console, looking for invisible plaques that point out its different components. There are displays with uninteresting technical information about, say, the quality of the console’s HD rumble. One of the interactive museum displays shows a ball bounding across the screen and asks you to guess how many frames per second it is travelling at. As someone who aggressively does not care about fine technical detail, I was terrible at this. It’s like being on the least interesting school trip of your life.And it felt felt remarkably un-Nintendo, so dry and devoid of personality that it made me a little worried. Nintendo Labo, by contrast, was a super-fun and accessible way of showing off the original Switch’s technical features. I had assumed that Welcome Tour would be made by the same team, but evidently not.I couldn’t wait to get back to Mario Kart World, which, once again, is fantastic. I’m excited to spend the rest of the week playing it for a proper review. And if you’ve pre-ordered a Switch 2, you’ll have it in your hands in the next 24 hours. For those holding off: we’ll have plenty more Switch 2 info and opinions in the next few weeks to help you make a decision.What to playArms akimbo … to a T is funny and weird. Illustration: Annapurna interactive/SteamLast week I played through to a T, the beautifully strange, unexpectedly thoughtful new game from Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi. It is about a young teenager who is forever stuck in a T-pose, arms akimbo. As you might imagine, this makes life rather difficult for them, and they must rely on their fluffy little dog to help them through life. It’s a kid-friendly game about accepting who you are – I played it with my sons – but it is also extremely funny and weird, and features a song about a giraffe who loves to make sandwiches. I love a game where you don’t know what to expect, and I bet that if I asked every single reader of this newsletter to guess how it ends, not one of you would be anywhere close.Available on: PS5, Xbox, PC Estimated playtime: What to readTake chances … Remy Siu (left) and Nhi Do accept the Peabody award for 1000xRESIST. Photograph: Charley Gallay/Getty images 1000xRESIST, last year’s critical darling sci-fi game about the immigrant experience and the cost of political resistance, won a Peabody award this week. From the creators’ acceptance speech: “I want to say to the games industry, resource those on the margins and seek difference. Take chances again and again. This art form is barely unearthed. It’s too early to define it. Fund the indescribable.” Keith Stuart wrote about the largely lost age of midnight launch parties – for the Switch 2 launch, only Smyths Toys is hosting midnight releases. Did you ever go to one of these events? Write in and tell me if so – I remember feeling intensely embarrassed queuing for a Wii on Edinburgh’s Princes Street as a teenager. The developers of OpenAI are very proud that their latest artificial “intelligence” model can play Pokémon Red. It’s terrible at it, and has so far taken more than 80 hours to obtain three gym badges. I’m trying not to think about the environmental cost of proving AI is terrible at video games. When Imran Khan had a stroke last year, he lost the ability to play games. I found this essay about the role that Kaizo Mario (super-difficult hacked Mario levels) played in his recovery extremely moving. skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Pushing ButtonsFree weekly newsletterKeza MacDonald's weekly look at the world of gamingPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionWhat to clickQuestion BlockSoothing … Unpacking. Illustration: Humble Games/SteamReader Gemma asks:“At this moment I am cuddling my three-month-old as he naps on the sofa while I’m playing Blue Prince. It might be the best postnatal game: it has very little background sound or music; can be paused any time; is very chill with zero jeopardy; but also has a fascinating storyline and incredible puzzles. I also find myself narrating the letters and talking out loud for the maths puzzles. (Do three-month-olds understand algebra?) Your article [about Nintendo at naptime] made me feel less guilty, so thank you. Any other updated tips for similar games that you’ve discovered in the last eight years for postnatal gaming?”In the small-baby years I played two types of games: five-hour ones that I could complete in a couple of evenings, or endless Stardew Valley/Animal Crossing-type games where you could just drop in and zone out for as long as you needed, and it didn’t matter whether you were “achieving” anything. I couldn’t play anything with a linear plot because my brain was often mush and I’d simply forget what had happened an hour ago. It’s different for everyone, though – my friend Sarah was obsessed with Grand Theft Auto when her baby was wee.I became hooked on a couple of exploitative phone games that I won’t recommend – don’t go near those in a vulnerable brain-state, you’ll end up spending hours and £££ on virtual gems to buy dopamine with. Something like Unpacking or A Little to the Left might be soothing for a puzzle-brain like yours (and they’re short). I’ll throw this out there to other gamer mums: what did you play in the early months of parenthood?If you’ve got a question for Question Block – or anything else to say about the newsletter – email us on pushingbuttons@theguardian.com.

News Animals How luna moths grow extravagant wings Warm temperatures, not just predator pressure, may favor long, bat-fooling streamers Long, skinny streamers on the hind wings of luna moths tend to evolve in certain climate conditions, a new study shows. Keith Ramos/USFWS By Susan Milius 17 hours ago For the first time, biologists have linked the ribbony “tails” streaming from big, green luna moths’ hind wings with, of all things, a cozy climate. Those dangling wing tails rank among such evolution-was-drunk novelties as the narwhal’s single unicorn tusk or the peacock’s giant feather train. Wing streamers with twisting or cupped ends have evolved independently at least five times in the family of luna and other moon moths (Saturniidae), says behavioral ecologist Juliette Rubin, now at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Balboa, Panama. Her new data crunch of environmental factors links the ribbony tails with growing up in a long stretch of even temperatures, she and colleagues report May 7 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Sign up for our newsletter We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

Peter David, the highly regarded novelist and writer of comics like The Incredible Hulk, Young Justice, and X-Factor, has died at 68. The news was confirmed by David's friend and colleague Keith R.A. DeCandido via Facebook.David enjoyed a long and prolific career at Marvel and DC over several decades. He may be best remembered for his 12-year run on Marvel's The Incredible Hulk series, a sprawling saga that redefined the relationship between Bruce Banner and his alter ego and earned David and artist Dale Keown an Eisner Award in 1992. As much as Frank Miller is viewed as the definitive Daredevil writer/artist and Chris Claremont the definitive X-Men writer, David is widely regarded as the most important and influential Hulk writer of all time. Art by George Perez. (Image Credit: Marvel)David is also well known for co-creating Spider-Man 2099 and for his two runs on X-Factor. David's original X-Factor run saw the team, which was originally a reunion of the original five X-Men, remade into a government-sanctioned mutant strike force. His second X-Factor run again reinvented the team, this time as a detective agency led by Madrox the Multiple Man. At DC, David enjoyed successful and influential stints on books like Aquaman, Supergirl, and Young Justice. David also regularly worked on the Star Trek franchise in both comic book and prose form, with his best-known Trek work being the 1994 novel Q-Squared. Outside of books and comics, David worked on television shows like Babylon 5, Young Justice, and Ben 10: Alien Force and wrote video games like Shadow Complex and Spider-Man: Edge of Time.A Visual History of HulkDavid suffered from poor health in recent years, beginning with a stroke in 2012. His health issues prompted family friend Graham Murphy to organize a GoFundMe campaign in 2022 and again in 2025. David is survived by his wife, Kathleen O'Shea David, and his four children.Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket byfollowing @jschedeen on BlueSky.

The US is less than 250 years old, but some of its most important archaeological sites are older than the Viking seafarers, the Roman Empire, and the pyramids.Many help tell the story of how the first humans came to North America. It's still a mystery exactly how and when people arrived, though it's widely believed they crossed the Bering Strait at least 15,000 years ago."As we get further back in time, as we get populations that are smaller and smaller, finding these places and interpreting them becomes increasingly difficult," archaeologist Kenneth Feder told Business Insider. He's the author of "Ancient America: Fifty Archaeological Sites to See for Yourself."Some sites, like White Sands and Cooper's Ferry, have skeptics about the accuracy of their age. Still, they contribute to our understanding of some of the earliest Americans.Others are more recent and highlight the different cultures that were spreading around the country, with complex buildings and illuminating pictographs.Many of these places are open to the public, so you can see the US' ancient history for yourself. White Sands National Park, New Mexico Footprints at White Sands. National Park Service Prehistoric camels, mammoths, and giant sloths once roamed what's now New Mexico, when it was greener and damper.As the climate warmed around 11,000 years ago, the water of Lake Otero receded, revealing footprints of humans who lived among these extinct animals. Some even seemed to be following a sloth, offering a rare glimpse into ancient hunters' behavior.Recent research puts some of these fossilized footprints at between 21,000 and 23,000 years old. If the dates are accurate, the prints would predate other archaeological sites in the US, raising intriguing questions about who these people were and how they arrived in the Southwestern state."Where are they coming from?" Feder said. "They're not parachute dropping in New Mexico. They must have come from somewhere else, which means there are even older sites." Archaeologists simply haven't found them yet.While visitors can soak in the sight of the eponymous white sands, the footprints are currently off-limits. Meadowcroft Rockshelter, Pennsylvania The archeological dig at the Meadowcroft National Historic Site in 2013. AP Photo/Keith Srakocic In the 1970s, archaeologist James M. Adovasio sparked a controversy when he and his colleagues suggested stone tools and other artifacts found in southwestern Pennsylvania belonged to humans who had lived in the area 16,000 years ago.For decades, scientists had been finding evidence of human habitation that all seemed to be around 12,000 to 13,000 years old, belonging to the Clovis culture. They were long believed to have been the first to cross the Bering land bridge. Humans who arrived in North America before this group are often referred to as pre-Clovis.At the time, skeptics said that the radiocarbon dating evidence was flawed, AP News reported in 2016. In the years since, more sites that appear older than 13,000 years have been found across the US.Feder said Adovasio meticulously excavated the site, but there's still no clear consensus about the age of the oldest artifacts. Still, he said, "that site is absolutely a major, important, significant site." It helped archaeologists realize humans started arriving on the continent before the Clovis people.The dig itself is on display at the Heinz History Center, allowing visitors to see an excavation in person. Cooper's Ferry, Idaho Excavators at Cooper's Ferry in 2013. Loren Davis/Oregon State University One site that's added intriguing evidence to the pre-Clovis theory is located in western Idaho. Humans living there left stone tools and charred bones in a hearth between 14,000 and 16,000 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating. Other researchers put the dates closer to 11,500 years ago.These stemmed tools are different from the Clovis fluted projectiles, researchers wrote in a 2019 Science Advances paper.Some scientists think humans may have been traveling along the West Coast at this time, when huge ice sheets covered Alaska and Canada. "People using boats, using canoes could hop along that coast and end up in North America long before those glacial ice bodies decoupled," Feder said.Cooper's Ferry is located on traditional Nez Perce land, which the Bureau of Land Management holds in public ownership. Page-Ladson, Florida Divers search in the sediment at the Page-Ladson site. Texas A&M University via Getty Images In the early 1980s, former Navy SEAL Buddy Page alerted paleontologists and archaeologists to a sinkhole nicknamed "Booger Hole" in the Aucilla River. There, the researchers found mammoth and mastodon bones and stone tools.They also discovered a mastodon tusk with what appeared to be cut marks believed to be made by a tool. Other scientists have returned to the site more recently, bringing up more bones and tools. They used radiocarbon dating, which established the site as pre-Clovis."The stone tools and faunal remains at the site show that at 14,550 years ago, people knew how to find game, fresh water and material for making tools," Michael Waters, one of the researchers, said in a statement in 2016. "These people were well-adapted to this environment."Since the site is both underwater and on private property, it's not open to visitors. Paisley Caves, Oregon One of the Paisley Caves near Paisley, Oregon. AP Photo/Jeff Barnard Scientists study coprolites, or fossilized poop, to learn about the diets of long-dead animals. Mineralized waste can also reveal much more. In 2020, archaeologist Dennis Jenkins published a paper on coprolites from an Oregon cave that were over 14,000 years old.Radiocarbon dating gave the trace fossils' age, and genetic tests suggested they belonged to humans. Further analysis of coprolites added additional evidence that a group had been on the West Coast 1,000 years before the Clovis people arrived.Located in southcentral Oregon, the caves appear to be a piece of the puzzle indicating how humans spread throughout the continent thousands of years ago.The federal Bureau of Land Management owns the land where the caves are found, and they are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Swan Point, Alaska Excavators working at the Swan Point site in June 2016. Charles Holmes/University of Alaska, Fairbanks Whenever people arrived in the Americas, they crossed from Siberia into Beringia, an area of land and sea between Russia and Canada and Alaska. Now it's covered in water, but there was once a land bridge connecting them.The site in Alaska with the oldest evidence of human habitation is Swan Point, in the state's eastern-central region. In addition to tools and hearths dating back 14,000 years, mammoth bones have been found there.Researchers think this area was a kind of seasonal hunting camp. As mammoths returned during certain times of the years, humans would track them and kill them, providing plentiful food for the hunter-gatherers.While Alaska may have a wealth of archaeological evidence of early Americans, it's also a difficult place to excavate. "Your digging season is very narrow, and it's expensive," Feder said. Some require a helicopter to reach, for example. Blackwater Draw, New Mexico A palaeontologist excavating a mammoth in Portales, New Mexico, circa 1960. Dick Kent/FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images In 1929, 19-year-old James Ridgley Whiteman found mammoth bones along with fluted projectile points near Clovis, New Mexico. The Clovis people who made these tools were named for this site.Researchers studying the site began to realize the artifacts found at the site belonged to different cultures. Clovis points are typically larger than Folsom flutes, which were first found at another archaeological site in New Mexico.For decades after Whiteman's discovery, experts thought the Clovis people were the first to cross the Bering land bridge from Asia around 13,000 years ago. Estimates for humans' arrival is now thought to be at least 15,000 years ago.Eastern New Mexico University's Blackwater Draw Museum grants access to the archaeological site between April and October. Upper Sun River, Alaska Excavations at the Upward Sun River, Alaska. Ben Potter/University of Alaska, Fairbanks One reason the dates of human occupation in North America is so contentious is that very few ancient remains have been found. Among the oldest is a child from Upward Sun River, or Xaasaa Na', in Central Alaska.Archaeologists found the bones of the child in 2013. Local indigenous groups refer to her as Xach'itee'aanenh t'eede gay, or Sunrise Girl-Child. Genetic testing revealed the 11,300-year-old infant belonged to a previously unknown Native American population, the Ancient Beringians.Based on the child's genetic information, researchers learned that she was related to modern Native Americans but not directly. Their common ancestors started becoming genetically isolated 25,000 years ago before dividing into two groups after a few thousand years: the Ancient Berignians and the ancestors of modern Native Americans.According to this research, it's possible humans reached Alaska roughly 20,000 years ago. Poverty Point National Monument, Louisiana Poverty Point in Louisiana. National Park Service Stretching over 80 feet long and 5 feet tall, the rows of curved mounds of Poverty Point are a marvel when viewed from above. Over 3,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers constructed them out of tons of soil. Scientists aren't sure exactly why people built them, whether they were ceremonial or a display of status.The artifacts various groups left behind indicate the site was used off and on for hundreds of years and was a meeting point for trading. People brought tools and rocks from as far as 800 miles away. Remains of deer, fish, frogs, alligators, nuts, grapes, and other food have given archaeologists insights into their diets and daily lives.You can see the World Heritage Site for yourself year-round. Horseshoe Canyon, Utah The Great Gallery in Horseshoe Canyon. Neal Herbert/National Park Service Though remote, the multicolored walls of Horseshoe Canyon have long attracted visitors. Some of its artifacts date back to between 9,000 and 7,000 BCE, but its pictographs are more recent. Some tests date certain sections to around 2,000 to 900 years ago.The four galleries contain life-sized images of anthropomorphic figures and animals in what's known as the Barrier Canyon style. Much of this art is found in Utah, produced by the Desert Archaic culture.The pictographs may have spiritual and practical significance but also help capture a time when groups were meeting and mixing, according to the Natural History Museum of Utah.It's a difficult trek to get to the pictographs (and the NPS warns it can be dangerously hot in summer) but are amazing to view in person, Feder said. "These are creative geniuses," he said of the artists. Canyon de Chelly, Arizona The Antelope House at Canyon de Chelly National Monument. Michael Denson/National Park Service Situated in the Navajo Nation, Canyon de Chelly has gorgeous desert views and thousands of years of human history. Centuries ago, Ancestral Pueblo and Hopi groups planted crops, created pictographs, and built cliff dwellings.Over 900 years ago, Puebloan people constructed the White House, named for the hue of its clay. Its upper floors sit on a sandstone cliff, with a sheer drop outside the windows.Navajo people, also known as Diné, still live in Canyon de Chelly. Diné journalist Alastair Lee Bitsóí recently wrote about visiting some of the sacred and taboo areas. They include Tsé Yaa Kin, where archaeologists found human remains.In the 1860s, the US government forced 8,000 Navajo to relocate to Fort Sumner in New Mexico. The deadly journey is known as the "Long Walk." Eventually, they were able to return, though their homes and crops were destroyed.A hike to the White House is the only one open to the public without a Navajo guide or NPS ranger. Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado Visitors line up at Mesa Verde National Park. Shutterstock/Don Mammoser In the early 1900s, two women formed the Colorado Cliff Dwelling Association, hoping to preserve the ruins in the state's southwestern region. A few years later, President Theodore Roosevelt signed a bill designating Mesa Verde as the first national park meant to "preserve the works of man."Mesa Verde National Park holds hundreds of dwellings, including the sprawling Cliff Palace. It has over 100 rooms and nearly two dozen kivas, or ceremonial spaces.Using dendrochronology, or tree-ring dating, archaeologists learned when Ancestral Pueblo people built some of these structures and that they migrated out of the area by the 1300s.Feder said it's his favorite archaeological site he's visited. "You don't want to leave because you can't believe it's real," he said.Tourists can view many of these dwellings from the road, but some are also accessible after a bit of a hike. Some require extra tickets and can get crowded, Feder said. Cahokia, Illinois A mound at Cahokia in Illinois. Matt Gush/Shutterstock Cahokia has been called one of North America's first cities. Not far from present-day St. Louis, an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 people lived in dense settlements roughly 1,000 years ago. Important buildings sat atop large mounds, which the Mississippians built by hand, The Guardian reported.At the time, it was thriving with hunters, farmers, and artisans. "It's an agricultural civilization," Feder said. "It's a place where raw materials from a thousand miles away are coming in." Researchers have also found mass graves, potentially from human sacrifices.The inhabitants built circles of posts, which one archaeologist later referred to as "woodhenges," as a kind of calendar. At the solstices, the sun would rise or set aligned with different mounds.After a few hundred years, Cahokia's population declined and disappeared by 1350. Its largest mound remains, and some aspects have been reconstructed.While Cahokia is typically open to the public, parts are currently closed for renovations. Montezuma Castle, Arizona Montezuma Castle, a cliff dwelling, in Arizona. MyLoupe/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Perched on a limestone cliff in Camp Verde, Arizona, this site is an apartment, not a castle, and is unrelated to the Aztec ruler Montezuma.The Sinagua people engineered the five-story, 20-room building around 1100. It curves to follow the natural line of the cliff, which would have been more difficult than simply making a straight building, Feder said."These people were architects," he said. "They had a sense of beauty."The inhabitants were also practical, figuring out irrigation systems and construction techniques, like thick walls and shady spots, to help them survive the hot, dry climate.Feder said the dwelling is fairly accessible, with a short walk along a trail to view it, though visitors can't go inside the building itself.

Henry Goodsell captained a schooner similar to the one seen above. Credit: Deposit Photos Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. In 1995, a mystery skull washed onto a beach in Longport, New Jersey. Four years later, additional bone fragments were discovered less than two miles away on a shore in the neighboring southern New Jersey town of Margate. It would take another 14 years for even more skeletal remains to arrive on a beach another five miles away in Ocean City. But over those three decades, forensic experts and law enforcement couldn’t put a name to the individual known only as “Scattered Man John Doe.” After 30 years, the mystery has finally been solved thanks to a combination of genetic testing, historical research, and archival analysis. “Scattered Man John Doe” wasn’t a victim of foul play—he wasn’t even a comparatively recent death. Instead, the bones belong to Henry Goodsell, a 29-year-old merchant ship captain who perished along with his crew during a storm in the winter of 1844. The identification comes two years after state law enforcement reached out to the Ramapo College of New Jersey’s Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center. After sending bone samples to Intermountain Forensics, a nonprofit dedicated to identifying missing person remains, Ramapo undergraduates began crossreferencing archival files in the hopes of finding a lead. Genetic analysis results traced ancestry as far back as the 1600s, to Connecticut’s Litchfield and Fairfield counties. From there, they also started investigating newspaper reports of any shipwrecks off the coast of New Jersey. Eventually, the students flagged two articles dated from December 20 and 24, 1844. “The schooner Oriental… was lost on the evening of the 4th on Brigantine shoals and all hands with her,” read the Friday edition of the York Democratic Press. An initial report of the ‘Oriental’ shipwreck from December 20, 1844. Credit: Ramapo College According to the paper’s account, the ship left Bridgeport, Connecticut for Philadelphia with around 60 tons of marble intended for Girard College. While cautioning that it was “possible that the crew had taken off, and that the vessel had been abandoned. Four days later, however, newspapers across the northeast confirmed the worst case outcome. “The Bridgeport Standard (Conn.) has further accounts from this ill-fated vessel, which render it certain that all on board must have perished,” reported the Boston Daily Bee on December 24. The consensus at the time was that the Oriental likely sprung a leak before sinking less than a mile from the shoreline, but an intense storm prevented any rescue attempts. All five crew members including Capt. Goodsell ultimately drowned, but only one sailor “was thrown on the shore” five miles away. Authorities later identified him as John Keith before seeing that he was “decently buried,” according to the Daily Bee. Capt. Goodsell left behind a wife and three children. After digging deeper into his family tree, the students suggested he warranted a closer look from the New Jersey State Police (NJSP). On March 7, 2025, authorities collected a DNA reference sample from one of Goodsell’s great-great grandchildren. One month later, the NJSP confirmed “Scattered Man John Doe” to be the late Capt. Goodsell. “The ability to bring answers to families—even generations later—shows how far science and dedication can take us,” NJSP superintendent Col. Patrick Callahan said in a university announcement on May 21. While Goodsell marks the school’s Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center’s  92nd consultancy project, Ramapo College reports it is one of the oldest cold case files ever solved using this advanced type of investigative genealogy.

Laurie Baker never advocated an imitation of his architecture. He instead intended that his design principles would generate a truly Indian architecture. ‘Be honest and truthful in design, material usage, construction, costs, and about your own mistakes,’ he wrote as one of 20 guiding principles, which he duly respected in his projects. His last major commission started as the Navayatra community living centre, and became the Laurie Baker Centre for Habitat Studies (LBC), a place where his design ethos and philosophy live on.  The project started in 1994, when Baker was 77 years old. Keith Saldanha, an economist based in Canada, decided to relocate to the southern Indian state of Kerala and build a community centre dedicated to fostering creative abilities for children with special education needs. Having purchased a three‑and‑a‑half‑acre site in Vilappilsala, outside the city of Thiruvananthapuram, Saldanha named his project Navayatra, or ‘a new journey’, and reached out to Baker. He had heard of the British‑born Indian architect, whose full original name was Lawrence Wilfred Baker, because his work in the region had been gaining traction. Baker was rigorous in applying his own design principles (Laurie Baker Centre) The small yet densely populated state of Kerala, created in 1956, had become known as a ‘model of development’ in the ’70s. An extended period of political stability under the able stewardship of successive communist governments led to significant improvement of human development parameters, including health, education and housing, despite low economic growth. Baker’s cost‑effective design philosophy and work resonated with the holistic welfare ideology of then chief minister Chelat Achutha Menon, who commissioned him to design several welfare projects, despite his ‘unconventional’ building methods. After he retired in 1985, Achutha Menon founded the Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development (COSTFORD), a non‑profit, with Baker as its chief architect. His innovative approach to sustainable and cost‑effective architecture emphasised the use of local resources, labour and harmony with the natural environment. ‘Always study your site: its soil, topography, water, climate and neighbours (noisy temples, smelly factories, etc)’ was another of Baker’s principles. In his sketch for Navayatra’s masterplan, Baker meticulously noted the natural features; his proposal made the most of the complex topography, preserving the prominent granite rock formations as well as the scattered coconut and mango trees. The abandoned quarry pit was turned into a rainwater harvesting tank, which catered to the water requirement of the new centre all through the year. Functional spaces were housed on the high rock outcrops so that the natural drainage would not be disturbed and to curtail foundation costs.  Construction began in 1996, with a meandering pedestrian path connecting the different buildings. Each one is unique, but they are held together by the consistent use of exposed brick and the verdant landscape. The canteen hugs the rocky edges of the large granite quarry pit, with steps descending from its kitchen to the water body. The circular array of bedrooms in the guest house preserves the existing trees, while the undulating roof of the dormitory mimics the adjacent rock formations. The curved, perforated brick walls, while appearing irregular, are meticulously designed to respond to the site’s visual context and prevailing breezes. Baker’s rejection of rigid geometries made his spaces fluid, dynamic and adaptable. Each space appears to flow seamlessly into the next, a quality particularly exemplified in the dormitory.  Read Laurie Baker’s Reputations essay Discarded materials such as cut bricks, glass bottles, stone chips, timber pieces and broken tiles, all sourced within a 5km radius of Vilappilsala, were repurposed throughout the site, and local labour was employed. Baker had an in‑depth understanding of brick, timber and stone, which he deployed in myriad ways. He himself facilitated training, in collaboration with his engineer and constant companion PB Sajan. ‘Laurie Baker firmly refused ostentation and decoration for its own sake,’ recalls Sajan, ‘yet his buildings were never dull. There would always be an element of surprise, either in the use of an ordinary material or the geometrical interpretation of space. He believed in the intrinsic beauty of all things, living and non‑living.’     The spaces designed by Baker must be appreciated in light of his design philosophy. The 20 principles of architecture that he advocated in his writing and talks are an amalgamation of his Quaker beliefs and the Gandhian ideal of commitment to social justice and non‑violence; he believed architecture should be a non‑violent insert into the land and local ecology. This new aesthetic was refreshingly non‑invasive, even if it alienated some contemporary modernists. Baker’s innovative adaptation of local craft techniques was both playful and resourceful. His designs, frugal and pragmatic, were driven by a desire to be cost‑effective – rather than the expression of purely stylistic choices.  The programmatic needs of Navayatra evolved and translated into the construction of new structures, including accommodation for invited artists and a residential space for the client. There was no electrical connection on the site; all activities took place in the daytime. The extensive use of perforated walls helped to keep the spaces cool and well ventilated. The dormitory, on the higher western edge of the site, is the last structure Baker designed for Navayatra. It was the primary learning and living quarters for the tutors who conducted classes. Its semi‑open terrace, nestled in the undulating roof, proved an ideal learning and interactive space. Its completion in 2002 marked Baker’s last site visit to Navayatra.  PB Sajan continued work on the site, designing, for example, the two small structures along the pathway at the entrance, for which Baker gave his approval. Both were experiments to test concrete roof slabs using bamboo reinforcement instead of steel rods. The centre continued to function as a vibrant community space for a couple of years, but once Saldanha moved out, due to deteriorating health, managing Navayatra became difficult. At the same time, COSTFORD, still under the guidance of Laurie Baker, required a dedicated space. The architect welcomed Saldanha’s offer to sell Navayatra, with a view to turning it into an independent centre for learning that would focus on innovation and research in alternative building technologies, but financial constraints, as well as Baker’s failing health, delayed the process. Two years after Baker’s death in 2007, Kerala’s finance minister sanctioned 8 million rupees (£70,000) to purchase the land. The Laurie Baker Centre for Habitat Studies was inaugurated in October 2009; Sajan has since been the director of both COSTFORD and the LBC. The centre encourages the appropriate use of natural resources, disseminates non‑conventional and eco‑friendly design strategies, and provides hands‑on training in innovative construction methods. ‘The thrust is not to propagate a “Laurie Baker architecture” but to understand the sound principles behind his life’s work,’ explains KP Kannan, chairman of LBC and COSTFORD, ‘and apply them to questions of housing and inclusive development.’  Due to the steep spike in construction over the decade, Kerala faces an acute shortage of sand (because of uncontrolled sand mining), granite (quarrying of hills is rampant) as well as bricks (as suitable clay is becoming scarce). The LBC’s research on, and advocacy of, alternative and low‑energy construction materials has led them to turn to mud and bamboo, while continuing to explore the use and potential of recycled materials. Sajan and the COSTFORD team designed additional buildings for the LBC, including an office annexe and a four‑storey library used for research. They also added spaces for workshops and for treating bamboo to Baker’s original masterplan, and the entire centre has been availed of electrical and plumbing connections for a better work environment.  Built primarily with mud and bamboo, the new office annexe and library serve the functional purpose of the centre, but stand out from Laurie Baker’s original designs and fail to blend into his original masterplan, even though they do follow nearly all his design principles. Baker liked to advise to ‘use common sense and have fun designing’, but the playfulness feels absent, as these two new buildings are primarily concerned with showcasing construction techniques. As a result, they compromise on spatial quality. While all of Baker’s structures were strategically positioned in relation to one another, the library seems isolated; it is conspicuous instead of blending in with the older brick buildings and the landscape. The play of light and darkness, the fluidity of spaces and the meticulous attention to detail, which are the salient hallmarks of Laurie Baker’s designs, are also missing in these new additions. The temporary sheds used for training sessions and workshops could have been envisioned as thatched pavilions instead of pitched blue tarpaulins.  What makes LBC’s success, however, is the strength of its educational programmes: the sharing of knowledge about alternative building technologies with architecture students, and the willingness to build on existing research and their own archive, which is made accessible to all visitors. Students, professionals and construction workers all come here to learn about dry rubble stone masonry, building with mud, bamboo treating and joinery, brick arches and walls, including Baker’s much loved rat trap bond, as well as the preparation of lime plasters. The centre is interested in further researching water management and establishing a permanent material lab and research space for scholars and professionals. In his lecture ‘Truth in Architecture’ at Thiruvananthapuram’s College of Engineering in 1982, Baker critiqued the resource‑intensive architecture that was starting to mushroom in the city. The indiscriminate use of concrete, excessive ornamentation and overconsumption of resources were popularly understood as a marker of status. Baker foresaw the impending crisis that such excesses would trigger. What he anticipated has only accelerated. In the face of the climate emergency, Kerala confronts significant challenges, including diminishing natural resources and rising construction costs coupled with sluggish economic growth. Ahead of its time, Baker’s practice advocated a pragmatic and reasonable use of resources – ‘don’t rob national resources and do not use them extravagantly and unnecessarily,’ he wrote in his list of principles. To this day, Baker’s philosophy represents a vital rallying call to interrogate contemporary notions of modernity.  This article was featured in the May 2025 Circularity issue. Purchase your copy here

Sen. Ron Wyden sent a letter to fellow Senators on Wednesday, revealing that three major U.S. cellphone carriers did not have provisions to notify lawmakers about government surveillance requests, despite a contractual requirement to do so.  In the letter, Wyden, a Democrat and longstanding member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that an investigation by his staff found that AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon were not notifying Senators of legal requests — including from the White House — to surveil their phones. The companies “have indicated that they are all now providing such notice,” according to the letter. Politico was first to report Wyden’s letter. Wyden’s letter comes in the wake of a report last year by the Inspector General, which revealed that the Trump administration in 2017 and 2018 secretly obtained logs of calls and text messages of 43 congressional staffers and two serving House lawmakers, imposing gag orders on the phone companies that received the requests. The secret surveillance requests were first revealed in 2021 to have targeted Adam Schiff, who was at the time the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. “Executive branch surveillance poses a significant threat to the Senate’s independence and the foundational principle of separation of powers,” wrote Wyden in his letter. “If law enforcement officials, whether at the federal, state, or even local level, can secretly obtain Senators’ location data or call histories, our ability to perform our constitutional duties is severely threatened.”  AT&T spokesperson Alex Byers told TechCrunch in a statement that, “we are complying with our obligations to the Senate Sergeant at Arms,” and that the phone company has “received no legal demands regarding Senate offices under the current contract, which began last June.” When asked whether AT&T received legal demands before the new contract, Byers did not respond. Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | June 5 REGISTER NOW Wyden said in the letter that one unnamed carrier “confirmed that it turned over Senate data to law enforcement without notifying the Senate.” When reached by TechCrunch, Wyden’s spokesperson Keith Chu said the reason was that, “we don’t want to discourage companies from responding to Sen. Wyden’s questions.”  Verizon and T-Mobile did not respond to a request for comment.  The letter also mentioned carriers Google Fi, US Mobile, and cellular startup Cape, which all have policies to notify “all customers about government demands whenever they are allowed to do so.” US Mobile and Cape adopted the policy after outreach from Wyden’s office. Chu told TechCrunch that the Senate “doesn’t have contracts with the smaller carriers.” Ahmed Khattak, a spokesperson for US Mobile, confirmed to TechCrunch that the company “did not have a formal customer notification policy regarding surveillance requests prior to Senator Wyden’s inquiry.”  “Our current policy is to notify customers of subpoenas or legal demands for information whenever we are legally permitted to do so and when the request is not subject to a court order, statutory gag provision, or other legal restriction on disclosure,” said Khattak. “To the best of our knowledge, US Mobile has not received any surveillance requests targeting the phones of Senators or their staff.” Google and Cape did not respond to a request for comment.  As Wyden’s letter notes, after Congress enacted protections in 2020 for Senate data held by third party companies, the Senate Sergeant at Arms updated its contracts to require phone carriers to send notifications of surveillance requests.  Wyden said that his staff discovered that “these crucial notifications were not happening.” None of these protections apply to phones that are not officially issued to the Senate, such as campaign or personal phones of Senators and their staffers. In the letter, Wyden encouraged his Senate colleagues to switch to carriers that now provide notifications.

Beyond classification (Nintendo) The Wednesday letters page debates whether Borderlands 4 is worth £80 or not, as one reader looks forward to Nintendo Switch 2 OLED Model. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk Multi-generational I have a question about the Nintendo Switch 2. It’s not very serious and I don’t think it’s possible to have a definitive answer, but is the Switch 2 the start of the tenth generation of consoles or is it still part of the ninth generation?I was curious to see if Wikipedia had a stance on it, and it seems pretty unambiguous in counting it as ninth generation. I find this unsatisfying, as it’s clear that the Switch 2 is a big change for Nintendo, in terms of pricing and things like online accounts. Also, the tenth generation sounds like it’s going to start in a couple of years and I’m not sure it’s fair to pretend the Switch 2 isn’t part of it. For me it’s not a question of power but of who you’re competing with, and I’d already bet the Switch 2 is going to easily outsell the PlayStation 6 and next gen Xbox.Penfold GC: We’d say the huge gap between the release of the original and the Switch 2 means they cannot be considered the same generation. So, the real question is what generation is the Switch 1? Our initial reaction is to say eighth, but we’d also agree with the idea that the Switch broke the concept of generations and is simultaneously eighth and ninth and neither. So, if you wanted to consider Switch the start of the tenth we wouldn’t argue against it, but for us it fits better as ninth. A rich man’s world I’d say I was shocked by the arrogance of Randy Pitchford’s comments, about $80 games, but It’s Randy Pitchford so I’m not. I’m not sure I’d even argue a game like Borderlands 4 isn’t worth it: a co-op focused multiplayer game that’s got lots of replayability.It’s not like Doom: The Dark Ages where I imagine you’re only going to play it once but something that can potentially last for years (admittedly probably via DLC and other expensive extras). So in theory I can see the argument, but do all these millionaire owners and businessmen have to be so smug about it? Although it may not be a lot of money to them it is to the rest of us. If the price rises mean I have to be much more select about what I spend my money on then I think Borderlands 4 just went down the priority list a few notches.St1nger Take your pick It’s not a very Nintendo thing to do, because they sure do like to encourage double and triple-dipping, but I would’ve been happy if they’d releases the Switch 2 OLED Model and Switch 2 Lite straight away and just made them options. Everyone knows they’re coming, so it would be a lot fairer on people that don’t want to be caught out.I do wish you had not worked out the time from the original Switch to its OLED version though and said that means we might not get the Switch 2 edition until 2030. Not because I’m that desperate for it but because that just goes to show how long the Switch has been going and how long it’s been. I truly do believe it’s the best console ever and the length of time it’s stayed relevant just goes to show that.Gadfly Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk The funniest of us I will be very happy if Naughty Dog is working on another IP. They’ve been bogged down with The Last Of Us for too long now and I’d like to see them break out and do something new. Ideally, I’d like to see them do something a bit lighter in tone but I don’t see that happening with Neil Druckmann in charge.He even tried to make Uncharted more miserable, and took all the supernatural out of it, so I don’t know what kind of fantasy game he’d make. Probably something that would make Game Of Thrones seem light-hearted. Maybe it’s just me but given all the news from the real world at the moment I’m looking for something more hopeful and optimistic from my entertainment right now. Although given how long games take nowadays, who knows what will be going on by the time Naughty Dog’s latest is actually out.Pinky Grand Theft Horsey For me there’s no argument about Red Dead Redemption 2 being Rockstar’s best game… and one of the best games of all time. Yes, it’s too long, and that means the plot is not as focused as it should be, but that’s the only criticism I’m willing to take seriously.In terms of graphics, I’ve still never seen anything better and that goes for the open world too, which is just amazing. The amount of freedom and total non-linearity is amazing and yet the game is still able to have scripted scenes, like Arthur’s illness and the shipwreck that come out of nowhere, but which feel completely natural. An amazing game that may even end up being better than GTA 6. It’s certainly the one to beat as far as I’m concerned, as I’d put it several leagues above GTA 5.Keith Lowering expectations I am curious to know what the next mainline Pokémon game Is going to look like on Switch 2, but I really don’t know how optimistic I can be. The problem is that Pokémon has always been open world, right from the Game Boy games, so while Game Freak clearly aren’t very good at making modern 3D worlds, they kind of have to because there’s no way to take things back a notch and still be authentic to what the series is.If I was Nintendo, I would’ve sent Monolith Soft over to do all their tech for them, but that doesn’t seem to be how things work. Instead, I worry that all the talk of bugs with Violet and Scarlet will overshadow the improvements Game Freak tries to make. It would be great if their next game was bug free but if they put all their energy into that there’s going to be no time to actually improve the gameplay and try to innovate. Which has been the whole problem for at least the last decade. I just don’t know what to suggest. Based on the scale of the concept, and the popularity of the franchise, Pokémon should have the biggest budget and biggest number of staff working on it. It sells much more than Zelda and yet it looks so cheap and empty compared to it. But I don’t think Game Freak is capable of the kind of radical change necessary, to step up in the way it needs to. So I really don’t know what to expect at all from the next game, except probably disappointment.Tasker Uneven distribution Well, thanks to you guys I actually managed to bag myself a Nintendo Switch 2 with Mario Kart and the camera from Very. I was able to put it on But Now Pay 12 months later with interest free credit and I also got 10% off the total value too (due to Very owing me a discount code).However, I was very surprised though how long Very, Argos, etc. actually had the Switch 2 in stock for. It must of been three or four days before they all sold out?HAJ GC: We’re happy to help but it was strange, especially as some bigger retailers didn’t seem to get any new stock at all. Anniversary bump After your Star Wars feature, I thought you’d be interested in knowing there’s been a massive spike in interest in playing Battlefront 2 lately. The number of people playing on Steam has shot up and it’s just outside the top 20 selling games on PlayStation 5.That’s great because I think, after all the updates, it’s a really good game, but the problem is nobody seems to have any idea why. I think it’s a combination of Andor and the re-release of Revenge of the Sith and its 20th anniversary. There’s a lot of good prequel era stuff in the game (far more than the sequels, oddly) and I think younger (or not so young now, I guess) fans appreciate that. I would be really happy if this convinced EA to make a third game, especially if it was based on the tech from the new Battlefield. I don’t know how likely that it is, but I think Battlefront is an important part of making non-Jedi elements of Star Wars work. For me it’s just a really good shooter, with some interesting weapons, vehicles, and great graphics. It is interesting to see how other media can affect games though, even if I’m sure this one was completely unanticipated by anyone.Terry Gold PS: I agree that Andor would be a much better for setting for the new XCOM clone game. The prequel setting makes no sense to me, especially given how perfect Andor would’ve been.Inbox also-rans I wonder what it would mean if Cyberpunk 2077 was a big hit on Switch 2? I’m sure Cyberpunk 2 wouldn’t work on it so would CD Projekt consider some kind of exclusive spin-off?BowieSo are we expecting the normal not-E3 Nintendo Direct next month? It’ll be pretty soon after launch so I’m not sure if there’s going to be any other announcements for a while.Toska GC: It’s very likely there’ll be a Direct in mid to late June, just like usual. Whether it’d have any new announcements is another question entirely. More Trending Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk The small printNew Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content. You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot. You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter. Arrow MORE: Games Inbox: What is Rockstar Games’ best game? 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

When I got my first job in games journalism 30 years ago, I arrived just too late to review games for my favourite ever console: the Sega Mega Drive. Although a few titles were still being released for the machine in 1995, the games magazine world had moved on and all anyone wanted to read about were the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn. It was a bitter blow.Fast-forward to 2025 and a resurgent interest in producing new games for vintage home computers and consoles has led to Farming Simulator: 16bit Edition – a Mega Drive instalment in the hugely successful agricultural sim series. The passion project of Renzo Thönen, lead level designer and co-owner of Farming Simulation studio Giants Software, the game has been written using an open-source Mega Drive development kit, and manufactured in a limited run of genuine Mega Drive cartridges. Slotting this brand new release into the cart of my dad’s ancient Mega Drive II console felt ridiculously moving and I thought the game could only be a letdown after that. But I was wrong.The cartridge of Farming Simulator: 16bit Edition. Photograph: Giants SoftwareFarming Simulator: 16bit Edition takes the basic rhythms of its stablemates – sowing, harvesting and selling crops – and puts them in an isometric environment where workable fields are interspersed with useful buildings such as fuel depots, seed stores and garages. You begin with basic tractors and harvesters, but as you carefully work the land, you grow and sell wheat to earn money, thereby opening the prospect of upgrading your machinery and buying more powerful vehicles. Eventually, you make enough money to unlock new farm areas, but the basic game play is always the same: you slowly and carefully drive your tractors over your land, ploughing and sowing and harvesting as the seasons pass.In this reduced format, the sedate pace of the farming simulator games should become a dull repetitive chore; robbed of intricately detailed 3D visuals, real-time weather systems and supplementary activities, all you’re doing is effectively mowing the lawn. Over and over again. Let’s be honest: transferring the complex, multilayered 3D sim into a console that launched at the same time as the world wide web and the first mass manufactured Nokia mobile phone was always going to be a technical challenge.A trip down memory lane … a Sega Mega Drive running Farming Simulator: 16bit Edition. Photograph: Keith Stuart/The GuardianBut somehow, the system still works. Perhaps it’s the nice chug-chug sound effects of the tractors, or the amusingly precarious steering that often sends you crashing into a tree; or maybe it’s the sheer nostalgia of the rugged 2D visuals. I don’t know. I just know that I’ve kept playing. Veteran Mega Drive owners may be reminded of the Desert, Jungle and Urban Strike games or the isometric strategy delights of Populous or General Chaos. But what’s really fascinating is seeing a modern game genre on this old machine and wondering, what score would it have received from contemporary gaming mags such as Sega Power or Mega?Perhaps, this is one for Mega Drive nuts like me who thrill at the idea of running something new on their beloved artefact – like playing a 4K Blu-ray movie on a Toshiba video recorder. It’s also going to be tough to secure one as only 1,000 are being made. However, Giants has previously released a Commodore 64 version of the game, Farming Simulator C64, which is now available to play for PC, and perhaps an emulated version of this one will also find a way to modern machines.And yet, like a deluxe half-speed remaster of some old vinyl album, there is emotional value in the format itself. This is why Giants isn’t alone in producing new carts for the old consoles. The excellent puzzle platformer Tanglewood appeared for the Mega Drive a few years ago and a promising shooter Earthion is coming later this year. Limited Run games has also made a whole range of new SNES carts for classic titles.I wish my dad were around to see me reviewing a new release for the last console we played on together. As someone who spent all his boyhood summers staying on a farm, he certainly would have loved this game. For now, I will keep ploughing these fields and selling wheat, enjoying the tranquil cycle of nature as rendered on a machine as out of date as an ox cart.