microphones, inductors, Charles Steinmetz, Henry Ford, engineering anecdotes, electrical engineering, innovation, inspiration, storytelling ## The Legacy of Charles Steinmetz: An Ingenious Fixer In the world of electrical engineering, stories of innovation and brilliance often blend into the fabric of legends. One such tale is that of Charles Steinmetz, a remarkably gifted engineer who left...

Sabella pavonina, commonly known as the peacock worm, is a species of marine polychaete worm in the family Sabellidae. It can be found along the coasts of western Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, in shallow, tidal waters with a bed of mud, sand or gravel. The worm is 10 to 25 centimetres (4 to 10 inches) in length, with its body divided into 100 to 600 small segments. The head has two fans of 8 to 45 feathery radioles arising from fleshy, semi-circular lobes. The body is mostly grey-green while the radioles are brown, red or purple with darker bands. This group of S. pavonina worms was photographed with a short-snouted seahorse in a protected marine natural area near Porto Cesareo, Italy. Photograph credit: Romano Gianluca Recently featured: Magna Carta (An Embroidery) Raspberry Challenger 2 Archive More featured pictures

June 15: Trinity Sunday (2025) Sallie Gardner at a Gallop 1215 – King John of England and a group of rebel barons agreed on the text of Magna Carta, an influential charter of rights. 1800 – War of the Second Coalition: The signing of the Convention of Alessandria brought temporary peace between France and Austria. 1878 – Eadweard Muybridge took a series of photographs to prove that all four feet of a horse leave the ground when it gallops (animation pictured), which became the basis of motion pictures. 1944 – World War II: The United States Army Air Forces began its first air raid on the Japanese archipelago, although little damage was caused. 1996 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a truck bomb in the commercial centre of Manchester, England, injuring more than 200 people and causing widespread damage to buildings. Lisa del Giocondo (b. 1479)Adam Eckfeldt (b. 1769)James K. Polk (d. 1849)Hoshi (b. 1996) More anniversaries: June 14 June 15 June 16 Archive By email List of days of the year About

Magna Carta (An Embroidery) is a 2015 work by English installation artist Cornelia Parker. The artwork is an embroidered representation of the complete text and images of an online encyclopedia article for Magna Carta, as it appeared in English Wikipedia on 15 June 2014, the 799th anniversary of the document. The hand-stitched embroidery is 1.5 metres (5') wide and nearly 13 metres (42') long. The embroidery formed part of an exhibition celebrating the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta on 15 June 2015. It was displayed in the Entrance Hall of the British Library from 15 May to 24 July 2015. Embroidery credit: Cornelia Parker; Scanned by British Library; edited by Bammesk Recently featured: Raspberry Challenger 2 Grey-breasted mountain toucan Archive More featured pictures

F1 25 is a near-perfect mix of realism and playability that offers much of the drama from the real-life sport and a sprinkling of fiction and, uh, Brad Pitt just becauseTech18:11, 02 Jun 2025This year's game looks better than everIn many ways, writing an F1 25 review should be the easiest of this year’s critical assessments. Codemasters is legendary for its commitment to digital recreations of automotive competition (I’ve been playing its games since TOCA on the PS1 ), and having the F1 licence means it’ll always be cutting-edge in terms of racers, tracks, and more.If you’re an F1 fan, you’ve almost certainly already bought it, and while non-fans of sports games will baulk at paying for a “roster update” each year, Codemasters simply refuses to coast, keeping its foot firmly on the gas and moving from last year’s podium finish to Championship-winning form with this year’s entry.‌Conditions can be treacherous‌Last year’s F1 24 was easily one of the most impressive games to look at on PS5 Pro, and while Codemasters had talked a good game about visual fidelity , I wasn’t sure it would be able to take much of a realistic step beyond.And yet, F1 25 is frequently stunning. In motion, it’s hard to see anything wholly new, but that’s more down to the speed at which you’ll be taking corners of meticulously detailed tracks. Slow things down a tad, though, and you’ll find things a little less sterile than they had been.Whereas F1 24 circuits felt a little too clean at times, there’s a little more dirt here and there, more wear on the track, and even correctly identified tree species in tracks that have been scanned via LiDAR.Article continues belowIt’s likely an ongoing process, with Bahrain, Miami, Melbourne, Suzuka and Imola getting the scanned treatment so far, but it’s an impressive taste of what’s to come and could mean upcoming games look even better.On track, the handling model feels much breezier. You can still crank up the difficulty by leaving the assists in the pits, but cars feel more responsive than ever.You’ll need that, too, because some tracks can be driven in reverse (complete with mirrored pit lanes).‌You can still race, but you'll pick one of your stars to "follow" for the weekendThe crown jewel of this year’s entry, however, is My Team. The mode has always been solid, but lacking in ambition, but this year sees Codemasters really go to town on its underlying machinery.While you’ll no longer be some team owner/driver hybrid superstar like Tony Stark in Iron Man 2, that adds an interesting new flavour to the mode. You’ll start as boss of an existing team or form your own, and then hire drivers, work to improve your car, and try to woo sponsors.‌Because you’re no longer racing yourself, there are more magnanimous decisions to be made about car parts. Research costs time, manufacturing costs money, and then you’re left to decide which of your racers gets the added boost.Consistently upsetting one can see them look elsewhere, while you can plan for next season’s drivers right from the off, making a Lewis Hamilton-esque switch to a rival a pressing concern throughout the year.While much of My Team takes place in menus, they all feel dynamic enough to feel much more enjoyable than you might expect, and while it doesn’t get quite as deep as F1 Manager, it’s still full of potential.‌You can even sneak some star power onto the grid, too, taking the reins of Brad Pitt’s racing team from the upcoming F1 movie , or signing iconic former drivers to build a dream lineup.As an aside, I love that EA is experimenting with things like this in its career modes, especially since EA FC added Icons to its own version. Long may it continue.Konnersport are now vying for titles(Image: EA)‌Another big return this year comes from Braking Point , marking its third instalment. The mode that essentially condenses a season’s worth of drama into playable chunks with a healthy dose of inspiration from Netflix ’s Drive to Survive is back as part of its “one season off, one season on” cadence.It’s packed with sporting cliches and no small amount of cheese, but it humanises a sport that can sometimes feel more focuses on cutting seconds off a lap than it can the drivers doing that work.After years of building a team, Konnersport is finally competing for the Championship, and players can switch between their driver roster to achieve different objectives, and there’s an alternative ending for those willing to commit.Article continues belowF1 25 is the best entry in years, with changes big and small piling up to offer a truly immersive and feature-packed title.My Team will get the plaudits (and rightfully so), but Braking Point’s return and Codemasters’ continued commitment to realism shouldn’t be forgotten.Reviewed on PS5 Pro. Review copy provided by the publisher.‌‌‌

The Enhanced Games, a bizarre, steroid-fueled Olympics knock-off that is being funded by wealthy MAGA types, is officially happening. The unconventional sports festival—which, as its name proudly suggests, will allow contestants to use performance-enhancing drugs—will take place in 2026 in Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend, organizers announced on Wednesday. The inaugural festival (which, depending on whether this one results in some sort of legal action, may also be the last) will involve competitions in swimming, weight lifting, and track and field, organizers announced. So far, a small number of former Olympic swimmers have announced their intentions to participate. Other than that, it’s unclear exactly who will be competing in the tournament. The organization’s website currently includes a submission portal where interested athletes can apply to compete. Enhanced Games describes itself as “the ultimate demonstration of what the human body is capable of,” though a more accurate description would probably be the “ultimate demonstration of what the human body is capable of when you shoot it full of drugs.” Enhanced claims that its openly drug-fueled approach will actually be safer than traditional sporting festivals because, while doping often takes place in traditional sporting competitions, it occurs secretly, perhaps increasing its risk. Enhanced’s approach will allow the doping process to occur transparently, under the watchful eye of health professionals, making it safer, organizers reason. “We aim to deliver the safest sporting event in history by setting a new industry gold standard for athlete health assessments,” the festival’s website claims. “In order to assess health risks, and give athletes an informed picture of their health, we are introducing a mandated state-of-the-art pre-competition full-system medical profiling, which will help monitor cardiac risks, among other key health markers.” Detailed information about what that profiling and monitoring will look like hasn’t been released by the organization yet. Another way in which Enhanced differs from competitions like the Olympics is the degree to which it plans to compensate contestants. While the Olympics generally only compensate the winners of certain competitions (in the U.S., medalists typically only get somewhere between $15k and $25k), Enhanced’s website claims that all “athletes competing in the Enhanced Games will be paid, with those who set new enhanced world records eligible for million-dollar prizes.” The site adds that “the first athletes to set new world records for the 100m Sprint and the 50m Freestyle will receive one million dollars (USD $1,000,000).” Given that this is a competition organized by mega-capitalists, this tracks. Enhanced is largely being funded by 1789 Capital, a venture capital firm that was founded by Donald Trump Jr., as well as MAGA banking magnate Omeed Malick and tech accelerationist Chris Buskirk. However, original funding for Enhanced Games was provided by a number of wealthy donors, including tech magnate Peter Thiel and his acolyte former Andreessen Horowitz general partner and “Network State” prophet Balaji Srinivasan. Christian Angermayer, another venture capitalist, is also a pivotal funder. “The Enhanced Games are challenging traditional sports paradigms by embracing science, innovation, and fairness, to create the Third Olympiad – a new era of athletic excellence,” a recent press release from the 1789 Capital claims. “This landmark funding injection underscores the momentum and global belief in the Enhanced Games’ vision.” Aron D’Souza, the president and founder of Enhanced, also recently criticized the Olympics, claiming they were “a representation of the past” and were “rooted in ancient Greece.” He added: “They have this amateurish, natural ethos that is run by a bunch of European aristocrats. The Enhanced Games are very different. They’re run by capitalists, who believe in the future, believe in science and technology.”

Physics defines light as 100% predictable. Using that guiding principle, and other laws that show how matter moves through the world, Snøhetta asks – or perhaps answers – the question: what would a lamp look like that is designed by the light rather than the other way around? The Aura Collection for Viabizzuno, which debuted at Salone del Mobile, features three different designs, each at specific angles that delineate where the glowing light falls. An exploration in the design process itself, this collection uses ray tracing and mathematical calculation to exemplify the type of innovation that pushes the collective needle forward. The lights are made of a highly efficient and transparent material ensuring that the light is used to its full potential as it is suspended in space. Specific angles create a warm glow, coaxing beams of light into predetermined configurations. This creates a pleasing glow thrown onto the wall and surrounding areas, a true spectacle when shown in such a grand configuration at Salone del Mobile this year. “Rather than designing a fixture to hold light, we set out to design light itself – sculpting it with precision and control,” says Marius Myking, Director of Snøhetta Product Design. “This collection embodies the intersection of physics, engineering, and design, made possible through our close collaboration with Viabizzuno. Together, we’ve redefined what’s possible with light.” Settling proudly at the intersection of social, environmental, and economical sustainability, Snøhetta partners with industry leaders in a robust variety of disciplines to create thoughtful and impactful products: architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, art, product design, and graphic and digital design. They aim to be a solid cornerstone in these spaces, increasing moments throughout our daily lives for people to connect; after all, the firm shares their name with a beautiful and historically significant mountain in Norway. In a time of increased isolation, Snøhetta creates a culture that unites, be it for the reviving of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, reviving the Library of Alexandria, or the National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion at the World Trade Center in New York City. Viabizzuno is an Italian brand shaping the way we view lighting design. Founded in 1994 with headquarters in Bentivoglio, Emilia-Romagna, they continue to use the highest quality materials to offer new visions of how we perceive light within the workplace and at home. Informed design decisions fueled by research-backed practices have continued to increase their notoriety globally, with a sales network active in over 50 countries. Unique solutions and respectful collaboration are natural results of this type of work, spurring precedence for more in the future. To learn more about the Aura light by Snøhetta for Viabizzuno, visit snohetta.com. Photography courtesy of Snøhetta and Viabizzuno.

Michael Shannon, George MacKay and Tilda Swinton in The EndNeon The End Joshua Oppenheimer  (Streaming on MUBI) Life on the planet’s surface has become nigh-on unbearable, but with money and resources enough, the finest feelings and highest aspirations of our culture can be perpetuated underground, albeit only for a chosen few. In Joshua Oppenheimer’s unearthly drama The End, Michael Shannon plays the father, an oil magnate who, years ago, brought his family to safety in an old mine. Here, he rewrites his history and that of his company in a self-serving memoir dictated to his grown-up but inexperienced…

At long last, you can play as General Grievous in Fortnite, so long as you have the Chapter 6 Galactic Battle Pass. Grievous and his second outfit, Warlord Grievous, are locked to it, but unlike previous special pass skins there aren’t any specific quests you have to complete to unlock him. Below we explain how to unlock the General Grievous skin in Fortnite. How to get the General Grievous and Warlord Grievous skins in Fortnite All you have to do to grab both Grievous skins is own the battle pass and level up. You need to gain 28 new levels to unlock both versions of the skin, but if you just want the base General Grievous look, then you only need 14 levels. You can see the Warlord Grievous skin below. Between the two skins, there are also cosmetics that unlock every two levels, like a “Magnaguard Electrostaff” pickaxe and a “Separatist Cape” back bling. A few of the cosmetics can actually be claimed even if you don’t have the battle pass unlocked, as sweet little freebies. The full list of Grievous cosmetics and the levels required to get them are as follows: “Tsmeu-6 Wheel Bike” glider (two levels) “Grievous Grasp” emote (four levels) “Grievous vs. Windu” loading screen (six levels, no battle pass required) Magnaguard Electrostaff” pickaxe (eight levels) Grievous banner icon (10 levels) “Separatist Cape” back bling (12 levels, no battle pass required) General Grievous skin and “Dual Staff Slam” built-in emote (14 levels) “Saber Collector” wrap (16 levels) “The Soulful One” guitar/back bling (18 levels) “Warlord’s Origin” loading screen (20 levels, no battle pass required) “Kaleesh Cape” back bling (22 levels) “Grievous Stare” emote (24 levels) “Soulless One Dropper” contrail (26 levels, no battle pass required) Warlord Grievous skin (28 levels) In short, if you’re a battle pass owner, you should be able to unlock Grievous just by playing the game.

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. This baby boy was treated with the first personalized gene-editing drug Doctors say they constructed a bespoke gene-editing treatment in less than seven months and used it to treat a baby with a deadly metabolic condition. The rapid-fire attempt to rewrite the child’s DNA marks the first time gene editing has been tailored to treat a single individual.The baby who was treated, Kyle “KJ” Muldoon Jr., suffers from a rare metabolic condition caused by a particularly unusual gene misspelling. Researchers say their attempt to correct the error demonstrates the high level of precision new types of gene editors offer. The project also highlights what some experts are calling a growing crisis in gene-editing technology. That’s because even though the technology could cure thousands of genetic conditions, most are so rare that companies could never recoup the costs of developing a treatment for them. Read the full story.—Antonio Regalado Access to experimental medical treatments is expanding across the US —Jessica Hamzelou A couple of weeks ago I was in Washington, DC, for a gathering of scientists, policymakers, and longevity enthusiasts. They had come together to discuss ways to speed along the development of drugs and other treatments that might extend the human lifespan. One approach that came up was to simply make experimental drugs more easily accessible. Now, the state of Montana has passed a new bill that sets out exactly how clinics can sell experimental, unproven treatments in the state to anyone who wants them. The passing of the bill could make Montana something of a US hub for experimental treatments. But it represents a wider trend: the creep of Right to Try across the US. And a potentially dangerous departure from evidence-based medicine. Read the full story. This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, sign up here. Take a new look at AI’s energy use Big Tech’s appetite for energy is growing rapidly as adoption of AI accelerates. But just how much energy does even a single AI query use? And what does it mean for the climate?Join editor in chief Mat Honan, senior climate reporter Casey Crownhart, and AI reporter James O’Donnell at 1.30pm ET on Wednesday May 21 for a subscriber-only Roundtables conversation exploring AI’s energy demands now and in the future. Register here. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 xAI has blamed Grok’s white genocide fixation on an ‘unauthorized modification’Made by an unnamed employee at 3.15am. (TechCrunch)+ The topic is one the far-right comes back to again and again. (The Atlantic $)+ Memphis residents are struggling to live alongside xAI’s supercomputer. (CNBC) 2 Meta has delayed the launch of its next flagship AI modelIts engineers are struggling to improve its Behemoth LLM enough. (WSJ $)  3 Elon Musk is tapping up friends and allies for federal jobsIt’s creating an unprecedented web of potential conflicts of interests. (WSJ $)+ Musk is posting on X less than he used to. (Semafor) 4 The US is slashing funding for scientific researchSuch projects produced GPS, LASIK eye surgery, and CAPTCHAs. (NYT $)+ US tech visa applicants are under seriously heavy scrutiny. (Wired $)+ The foundations of America’s prosperity are being dismantled. (MIT Technology Review)5 Big Tech wants its AI agents to remember everything about you They’re focusing on improving chatbots’ memory—but critics are worried. (FT $)+ AI agents can spontaneously develop human-like behavior. (The Guardian)+ Generative AI can turn your most precious memories into photos that never existed. (MIT Technology Review) 6 People keep making anti-DEI modifications for The Sims 4And the gamemaker EA’s attempts to stamp them out aren’t working. (Wired $) 7 This chatbot promises to help you get over your ex Closure creates an AI version of ex-partners for users to vent their frustrations at. (404 Media)+ The AI relationship revolution is already here. (MIT Technology Review) 8 How this AI song became a viral megahit in JapanYAJU&U is completely inescapable, and totally nonsensical. (Pitchfork)+ AI is coming for music, too. (MIT Technology Review) 9 Your future overseas trip could be by zeppelinIf these startups get their way. (WP $)+ Welcome to the big blimp boom. (MIT Technology Review) 10 Are you a ‘dry texter’? It’s a conflict-averse teen’s worst nightmare. (Vox) Quote of the day “It’s OK to be Chinese overseas.” —Chris Pereira, the CEO of iMpact, a communications firm advising Chinese companies expanding abroad, tells Rest of World that DeepSeek has given Chinese startups the confidence not to hide their origins. One more thingWe’ve never understood how hunger works. That might be about to change. When you’re starving, hunger is like a demon. It awakens the most ancient and primitive parts of the brain, then commandeers other neural machinery to do its bidding until it gets what it wants. Although scientists have had some success in stimulating hunger in mice, we still don’t really understand how the impulse to eat works. Now, some experts are following known parts of the neural hunger circuits into uncharted parts of the brain to try and find out. Their work could shed new light on the factors that have caused the number of overweight adults worldwide to skyrocket in recent years. And it could also help solve the mysteries around how and why a new class of weight-loss drugs seems to work so well. Read the full story. —Adam Piore We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)+ Who knew—Harvard Law School’s Magna Carta may be the real deal after all.+ Early relatives of reptiles might have walked the Earth much earlier than we realised.+ New York University’s MFA Students are a talented bunch.+ The Raines sandwich sounds unspeakably awful