The ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ star has been in a relationship with Grant Shaffer for nearly 20 years. Get to know everything you need to know about Alan Cumming’s marriage here.
The ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ star has been in a relationship with Grant Shaffer for nearly 20 years. Get to know everything you need to know about Alan Cumming’s marriage here.
The Environmental Protection Agency has scrapped a plan to phase out mammal testing for studying chemical toxicity, Science reports. In 2019, the regulatory agency vowed to completely phase out animal testing for toxicology studies by 2035 in favor of non-animal “test subjects” programmed into computer models.
The call to challenge the status quo was controversial from the start — it not only was going to impact thousands of studies and experiments, but many scientists argued that computer models were nowhere near ready to replace animals as test subjects. In a letter written by a group of public health officials, the experts urged the EPA’s head Michael Regan to reconsider the ban because computational models, in their opinion, were “not yet developed to the point” where they could be relied on for risk assessments.
In order for the new ban to have taken effect, the EPA said there needed to be “scientific confidence” that non-animal models could soundly replace critters like mice and rabbits in labs. Despite the 2035 deadline being put on ice, however, an EPA spokesperson told Science that it would still explore alternatives to animal testing.
The ambitious plan is not entirely a lost cause, though. While the EPA hasn’t made any official statements about how it plans to work toward its original goal, now without a deadline, some studies have shown promise that computational models might effectively reflect the toxicology of certain chemicals during testing. In some instances, these studies suggest, they can even outperform lab rats.
3D developments like technical organoids are also popping up on the research front by way of stem cells that allow duped livers to be tested and evaluated during research as a human liver would. Labs are currently working on ways to more effectively develop realistic organs using 3D printers. But it might be a while before 3D printing can consistently be used to assist biologists and pharmacologists for research and drug testing.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/epa-scraps-plan-that-would-have-had-it-ban-mammal-testing-in-favor-of-computer-models-204540435.html?src=rss
NASA’s X-59 Quesst supersonic commercial jet, which is being developed by Lockheed Martin, will have its flight test livestreamed as a demonstration of how quiet it can be in the air. The $247.5 million Quesst, whose name is short for Quiet SuperSonic Tech, will be shown on the livestream dramatically emerging from Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. NASA has been on a mission since 2018 to prove that its X-59 can fly over cities without producing noise pollution, or sonic booms. This test flight marks an important milestone in the six-year-old project.
The first flight will be streamed on January 12 at 4pm ET on YouTube, as well as the NASA app and the NASA+ streaming service.
The space agency said it will survey people about the noises they hear from the jet during the first flight. It did not specify how it would find these people, or many people it would poll. The data collected will be sent to regulators and used to help propose new rules that limit the use of supersonic jets. The US federal government has blocked all civilian supersonic jets from flying over land for over five decades.
When NASA first announced its quiet supersonic technology project in 2018, administrator Jim Bridenstine said, “This aircraft has the potential to transform aviation in the United States.” While the jet was supposed to first take flight in 2021, the debut today still marks a major milestone in the QueSST mission. By 2027, NASA expects to have more definitive results about how effective the new aircraft technology is at reducing flight noise.
If new laws are eventually passed that permit supersonic jet aircrafts to fly in close proximity to land, high-speed commercial flights could become a reality. Once NASA and Lockheed Martin finalize development of the aircraft, the agency said it will conduct safety evaluations for about nine months. After enough evidence is shared to prove that the Quesst aircraft can be flown safely, NASA plans to expand its flight tests to cities across the US and collect more information about the noise it produces through additional surveys.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nasas-new-x-59-plane-could-hit-supersonic-speeds-with-minimal-sonic-boom-210037676.html?src=rss
Welcome back to our weekly gaming news roundup.
January is a magical time in the video game industry. We’ve just closed out 12 months of marketing hype and shifting production timelines, and the year ahead is filled with the promises of new titles and fresh hardware. During this special month, we can look at the 2024 release calendar with excitement and optimism, before the delays start rolling in. So, let’s get to it — these hearts aren’t going to break themselves.
You watched Arcane, right? The Netflix series set in the League of Legends universe debuted in late 2021 and it was an instant sensation, starring fan-favorite characters like Jinx, Vi and Caitlyn. The next season is set to come out in November and Riot dropped a one-minute teaser for it last Friday. The trailer has Singed experimenting on himself in a dreary laboratory, while a creature that looks like Warwick hangs above, connected to tubes and IVs. It’s gonna get dark, kids.
If you haven’t watched season one of Arcane, do that now.
I guess we can all stop playing Tetris. 13-year-old Willis Gibson became the first person to reach the killscreen in the classic NES version of Tetris, 34 years after the game’s debut. Gibson caught the moment on camera and honestly, it gives me goosebumps every time I watch it. The competitive Tetris scene has been steadily growing over the past few years, and players are using a new input technique called rolling that allows them to move pieces faster than ever. If you’re into this kind of thing, I recommend watching Classic Tetris Monthly on Twitch or YouTube.
Before we get back into all the award shows and livestreams and media events this year, let’s take a look at the video game promises heading into 2024.
There’s nothing official yet, but it looks like Nintendo is preparing to release the Switch 2 in 2024, seven years after the launch of the original Switch, and right in the middle of the PS5 and Xbox Series X console cycle. According to early reports, the Switch 2 will be an iterative hardware update with slightly more processing power and support for DLSS and raytracing. The big news is that Nintendo has finally joined us in the 21st century, and players should be able to transfer their Switch games to the new console without any roadblocks.
Outside of the new Switch, 2024 is all about games. We know how this goes, right — in video games, a release date is really just the first step before a delay, so whatever you’re into, prepare for heartbreak over the next 12 months.
There are two games I’m confident will actually hit the market on their release dates in 2024, and that’s only because they’ve been in development for years and delayed multiple times already. Ubisoft’s open-world pirate simulator Skull and Bones is due out on February 16 for PS5, Xbox and PC, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will hit PS5 on February 29. Rebirth looks legit, while Skull and Bones … doesn’t.
Overall, we have a healthy lineup of titles to get excited about in 2024. First, on the mainstream front:
January 18: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown | Ubisoft Montpellier
January 19: The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered | Naughty Dog
January 26: Tekken 8 | Bandai Namco Studios, Arika
February 2: Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League | Rocksteady Studios
February 2: Persona 3 Reload | P-Studio
February 16: Skull and Bones | Ubisoft
February 29: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth | Square Enix
March 22: Dragon’s Dogma 2 | Capcom
March 22: Princess Peach: Showtime! | Nintendo
March 22: Rise of the Ronin | Team Ninja
2024: Silent Hill 2 remake | Bloober Team
2024: Star Wars Outlaws | Massive Entertainment
2024: Avowed | Obsidian Entertainment
2024: Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 | Ninja Theory
2024: Concord | Firewalk Studios
2024: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door | Nintendo
This isn’t a comprehensive list for the year in AAA gaming, but it’s a solid start.
And then there are the games I’m personally looking forward to in 2024. Most of these still have vague release windows — it’s as if the developers didn’t want to give a timeframe at all, so they just whispered 2024 to their marketing teams and hoped no one would notice. But I did. I always do. I’m always watching.
Here are the games on my underground radar this year (again, this isn’t an exhaustive list because there are so many fantastic games nowadays, but these ones spring to mind):
January 16: Home Safety Hotline | Night Signal Entertainment
August 20: Black Myth: Wukong | Game Science
2024: Skate Story | Sam Eng
2024: Lorelei and the Laser Eyes | Simogo
2024: Baby Steps | Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy
2024: The Plucky Squire | All Possible Futures
2024: Mewgenics | Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel
2024: 33 Immortals | Thunder Lotus
2024: Thank Goodness You’re Here! | Coal Supper
2024: Despelote | Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena
2024: Time Flies | Playables, Raphaël Munoz, Michael Frei
2024: Cryptmaster | Paul Hart, Lee Williams, Akupara Games
2024: Hades 2 | Supergiant Games
2024: Hyper Light Breaker | Heart Machine
When any of these titles is inevitably delayed, we can all gather right here and have a good cry. Let us know in the comments what you’re looking forward to this year and why it’s Hollow Knight: Silksong.
I’ve been sticking with local co-op games during these chilly winter months, and now I’ve moved on to Baldur’s Gate 3. I know, I know, everyone is already telling you to play it, but this pitch is strictly for the splitscreen crowd — Baldur’s Gate 3 is a joy to play alongside a loved one, as long as your cleric actually remembers to heal your party every now and then. You know who you are.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nintendo-switch-2-and-games-to-get-excited-about-in-2024–this-weeks-gaming-news-211257742.html?src=rss
British actor Callum Turner is rumored to be dating ‘New Rules’ hitmaker Dua Lipa. Here’s what to know about him.
British actor Callum Turner is rumored to be dating ‘New Rules’ hitmaker Dua Lipa. Here’s what to know about him.
Audio cues can sometimes be crucial for success in games. Developers frequently design the sound environment for their experiences to be not only rich and immersive, but to also contain hints about approaching enemies or danger. Players who are hard of hearing can miss out on this, and it’s not fair for them to be disadvantaged due to a disability. A product called Audio Radar launched at CES 2024 and it can help turn sound signals into visual cues, so that gamers with hearing loss can “see the sound,” according to the company AirDrop Gaming LLC.
The setup is fairly simple. A box plugs into a gaming console to interpret audio output and converts that data into lights. A series of RGB light bars surround the screen, and display different colors depending on the type of sound coming from the respective direction they represent. Put simply, it means that if you’re walking around a Minecraft world, like I did at the company’s booth on the show floor, you’ll see lights of different colors appear on the different bars.
Red lights mean sounds from enemies are in the area adjacent to the corresponding light, while green is for neutral sounds. An onscreen legend also explains what the sounds mean, though that might just be for the modded Minecraft scenario on display at CES.
I walked around the scene briefly, and could see green lights hovering above a pen of farm animals, while purple lights fluttered in tandem with a dragon flying overhead. I did find it a little confusing, but that is probably due more to the fact that I know very little about Minecraft, and as someone with hearing I might not appreciate the added information as much as someone without.
With an SDK that the company launched at the show, developers will be able to customize the lights and visual feedback to elements in their game so that they have control over what their hard-of-hearing gamers see. In the meantime, Audio Radar is using its own software to detect stereo or surround sound signals to convert to feedback in lights and colors.
Though the product may seem in its early stages, various major gaming companies have appeared to indicate interest in Audio Radar. AirDrop Gaming’s CEO Tim Murphy told me that Logitech is “providing support as we further develop our product and design our go-to-market strategy.” Also, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was spotted at the booth on opening day.
Audio Radar is beginning to ship on a wider level this year, and the company continues to develop products for gamers who are deaf and hard of hearing, among other things. The system works with Xbox, PlayStation and PC.
We’re reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio-radar-helps-gamers-with-hearing-loss-see-sound-effects-instead-195001226.html?src=rss
New year, new… desktop setup? If you’re looking for ways to spruce up your desk space without breaking the bank, it’s worth taking a peek at a Logitech sale on Amazon that includes discounts on mice, webcams and other accessories. Most of us could do with a webcam upgrade (I know I could given the low-res one built into my laptop), and Logitech’s Bio 300 may fit the bill. It’s a Full HD 1080p webcam that’s on sale for $44.85. That’s a 25 percent discount, or just over $15 off the usual price of $60.
The Bio 300 has a privacy shutter, 70-degree field of view, auto-light correction function, LED activity light, built-in mono noise reducing microphone and USB-C connector. You’ll be able to use the Logi Tune app to adjust color and image quality. Those concerned with sustainability may be pleased to learn it’s made with 48 percent post-consumer recycled plastic too. The slightly speckled plastics help give the webcam a fresh look.
One other product that caught our eye in the sale is the Pebble 2 M350s mouse. That’s on sale for $25, which marks a record low. The wireless mouse usually costs $30. The Pebble 2 is available in black, white or a fetching rose to match the aforementioned webcam. It too is built with at least 58 percent certified post-consumer recycled plastic.
This low-profile mouse has quiet clicking sounds and is highly portable, making it a good fit for those who move around with their laptops. It supports Bluetooth 5.1 and the Logitech Bolt receiver, and it’s able to pair with up to three devices (you can switch between them using a button on the base). The middle button is customizable and supports shortcuts. Logitech says the Pebble 2 M350s will run for up to two years before you have to change the battery.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/logitech-mice-webcams-and-accessories-are-up-to-25-percent-off-at-amazon-201429217.html?src=rss
Another lawmaker is pushing the Securities and Exchange Commission for more information about its security practices following the hack of its verified account on X. In a new letter to the agency’s Inspector general, Senator Ron Wyden, called for an investigation into “the SEC’s apparent failure to follow cybersecurity best practices.”
The letter, which was first reported by Axios, comes days after the SEC’s official X account was taken over in order to post a tweet claiming that spot bitcoin ETFs had been approved by the regulator. The rogue post temporarily juiced the price of bitcoin and forced SEC chair Gary Gensler to chime in from his X account that the approval had not, in fact, happened. (The SEC did approve 11 spot bitcoin ETFs a day later, with Gensler saying in a statement that “bitcoin is primarily a speculative, volatile asset that’s also used for illicit activity.”)
The incident has raised a number of questions about the SEC’s security practices after officials at X said the financial regulator had not been using multi-factor authentication to secure its account. In the letter, Wyden, who chairs the Senate’s finance committee, said it would be “inexcusable” for the agency to not use additional layers of security to lock down its social media accounts.
“Given the obvious potential for market manipulation, if X’s statement is correct, the SEC’s social media accounts should have been secured using industry best practices,” Wyden wrote. “Not only should the agency have enabled MFA, but it should have secured its accounts with phishing-resistant hardware tokens, commonly known as security keys, which are the gold standard for account cybersecurity. The SEC’s failure to follow cybersecurity best practices is inexcusable, particularly given the agency’s new requirements for cybersecurity disclosure”
Wyden isn’t the only lawmaker who has pushed the SEC for more details about the hack. Senators J. D. Vance and Thom Tillis sent a letter of their own, addressed to Gensler, immediately following the incident. They asked for a briefing about the agency’s security policies and investigation into the hack by January 23.
The SEC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The agency said in an earlier statement that it was working with the FBI and the Inspector General to investigate the matter.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/senators-want-to-know-why-the-secs-x-account-wasnt-secured-with-mfa-203614701.html?src=rss
There’s a 100 percent chance that the OG movie star and the newbie had fun during their first meeting.
There’s a 100 percent chance that the OG movie star and the newbie had fun during their first meeting.
Madelyn Cline believes this lipstick will help you make a fashion statement — since it’s bold and bright.
Madelyn Cline believes this lipstick will help you make a fashion statement — since it’s bold and bright.
