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Northern Australian elder George Milpurrurr shows the next generation how to do a cultural burn.Credit: Penny Tweedie/Alamy
Indigenous Australians have been using fire to shape the country’s northern ecosystems for at least 11,000 years, according to charcoal preserved in the sediment of a sinkhole. The study was published on 11 March in Nature Geoscience1.
The practice of cultural burning, also known as ‘fire-stick farming’, is integral to Indigenous Australian culture and history, and is understood to have profoundly altered landscapes across the country.
Fire-stick farming involves introducing frequent, low-intensity fires in small areas of the landscape in a patchy, ‘mosaic’ pattern, and is done early in the dry season. The practice is important culturally and environmentally; in particular, it reduces the amount of fuel available for burning and therefore decreases the intensity of wildfires that might spark late in the dry season because of lightning strikes or other triggers.
Archaeological evidence indicates that humans have continuously occupied the Australian continent for at least 65,000 years2, but little is known about when the practice of fire-stick farming began.
“You need a really long record that goes back before people were here so you can see what the natural world — the definitively unimpacted world, if you’d like — looks like and then you’ve got enough of a record to be able to see if anything changed,” says study co-author Michael Bird, a geologist at James Cook University in Cairns, Australia.
The researchers found that record in the sediment of Girraween Lagoon, a permanent water body formed in a collapsed sinkhole near Darwin in the Northern Territory. The lagoon is an important site for the traditional owners of the land, the Larrakia Nation, and was made famous by the crocodile attack scene in the 1986 film Crocodile Dundee.
Because the lagoon has remained full, its sediments offer a continuous record of deposition that has not been disturbed by drying out and cracking. Bird and his colleagues were able to extract a core from the bottom of the lagoon that provided a 150,000-year-long record of changes in the type and geochemistry of the deposited charcoal, and in the accumulation of pollen.
Change in the charcoal
The team notes that, around 11,000 years ago, the changes in the charcoal deposits point to alterations in the intensity of fires in the area.
Without human influence, fires are less frequent but have enough intensity to burn trees and leave behind charcoal, says Bird.
“A less-intense fire doesn’t get into the crown — it’s burning what’s on the ground,” he says. The grass, as well as twigs and fallen tree leaves, are more likely to become charcoal than the trees themselves, he adds.
Because tree-derived charcoal has higher concentrations of the isotope carbon-13 than does charcoal from grasses, the researchers analysed the composition and geochemistry of the burnt residue in the sample. The authors found a sustained change from low-frequency, high-intensity fires — the ‘natural’ fire regime — to more frequent but less intense ones, which they suggested was the result of Indigenous fire-stick farming.
The authors ruled out climate change as the cause of the shift by using the ratio of tree pollen to grass pollen as a type of climate history to show that vegetation changes did not explain the shift in the charcoal record.
However, Bird notes that European colonization has mostly brought an end to cultural burning practices, and has shifted fire intensity back towards a natural pattern. “Because we’ve had, 10,000 plus years of a particular fire regime, it’s the release from that fire regime that’s actually creating quite significant issues,” he says, suggesting that this shift has contributed to the return of more high-intensity wildfires.
Joe Fontaine, a fire ecologist at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, says that the growing understanding of how cultural burning has shaped the Australian landscape, particularly in the northern regions, is crucial for contemporary fire-management practices, which to a large extent have excluded Indigenous people and their expertise.
“The barriers to doing cultural burning, in our arcane system of laws and bureaucracy,” are challenging to overcome, Fontaine says. There are also many more permanent structures in the landscape nowadays than there were before colonization, he says, so the challenge is to work out where and how cultural burning can be restored as a practice.
The continuing work that “puts cultural burning practices out there and establishes it as something that really existed, is crucial to the evolution of contemporary fire management,” he says.
There can’t be many people who haven’t seen at least one video of Boston Dynamics’ robot dog Spot performing tricks like going up and down stairs, spinning, dancing, jumping, and carrying objects. The robot isn’t just for fun however. It can be used for a variety of work tasks, such as inspecting industrial sites and carrying out hazardous duties.
Spot isn’t the only industrial robot animal in town now, though. It has competition from an unexpected source – Lenovo.
Wisely, the Chinese manufacturer isn’t calling its creation a dog, and it’s added an additional pair of legs to further distance itself from Boston Dynamics’s robot canines, but it’s hard not to draw comparisons.
Six legs are better than four?
Lenovo Daystar Bot GS, which is referred to as a “Legged Robot For Inspection Solution”, can be seen in all its glory on the IF Design site.
The details accompanying it say “Step into the forefront of industrial automation and public services with Lenovo Daystar Bot GS. The groundbreaking six-legged design guarantees unmatched stability and maneuverability that surpasses traditional robotic platforms, allowing it to traverse diverse terrains with ease.”
Daystar Bot GS is aimed at trade, industry, government and the public sector, and Asia will be Lenovo’s primary market when it is released later this year.
Lenovo adds, “Boasting an advanced control system, cutting-edge perception algorithms, and IP66 robust protection, GS outperforms in unforeseen scenarios, enabling comprehensive data collection at any location and time. In our unwavering pursuit of excellence, GS stands as a testament to innovation, efficiency, safety, and the boundless potential of automated exploration.”
The big one question we don’t currently have an answer for, is who would win in a fight (or a race for that matter) – Spot or GS?
Microsoft is holding a digital event titled “Advancing the new era of work with Copilot” on March 21. Among the possible announcements are new Surface devices, potentially the first branded as AI PCs. It will already be the second Windows hardware event — and first mainline Surface Pro launch — without former chief product officer and longtime keynote presenter Panos Panay, who left for Amazon last year. Here’s everything we could see at the company’s first launch event of 2024.
The company describes the event as breaking down “the latest in scaling AI in your environment with Copilot, Windows, and Surface.” There are conflicting reports about exactly what we’ll see in late March.
Windows Central claims an OLED Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 will headline the event, with their upgraded processors enabling “huge performance and efficiency gains” over their predecessors. However, a report from The Verge suggests this month’s event will only cover the business and commercial-focused versions of the devices — with much subtler upgrades than the consumer versions. The outlet claims the consumer variants with “a larger redesign” will follow later this spring.
The new devices will allegedly be powered by Intel Core Ultra or Snapdragon X Elite silicon with next-generation neural processing units (NPUs) for advanced AI tasks. The Intel variants are expected to launch in April, while the Arm-based Snapdragon ones will reportedly arrive several months later in June. If the reports are accurate, this would be the first time the Surface Laptop line has included an Arm-based version.
At least in the consumer models, the Surface Pro 10 is rumored to switch from LCD to an anti-reflective OLED screen. The device would be brighter than the Surface Pro 9’s screen and support HDR content. Meanwhile, the Surface Laptop 6 is rumored to include thinner display bezels (with rounded corners) and a haptic touchpad. Its updated port selection is said to include two USB-C and one USB-A on its left side.
The commercial / business models (which may be all we see at this month’s event) are rumored to include a built-in Common Access Card (CAC) reader and options with up to 64GB of RAM.
Microsoft
Whether at this month’s event or later, the new consumer-facing Surface Pro and Surface Laptop are expected to kick off Microsoft’s push for Windows 11-running AI PCs. They’ll reportedly be among the first to include an on-device version of Copilot. Other rumored AI features include real-time captioning and translation, upscaling and frame-rate smoothing for games, upgraded Windows Studio Effects and a feature called AI Explorer. Both devices will reportedly include a dedicated Copilot key.
AI Explorer is rumored to include a built-in timeline that’s searchable using natural language. Perhaps similar to the third-party Rewind AI app for macOS, the feature will allegedly log everything you do and see on your device, letting you sift through it with Copilot. It would let you ask the assistant things like, “Find me that thing about dinosaurs,” and see every moment in your PC’s history relating to them. (It could be a privacy nightmare if not handled properly, but expect Microsoft to offer security assurances like encryption and entirely on-device processing.)
The feature would also allegedly “understand context, help jumpstart projects or workflows, and even suggest tasks based on what’s currently on screen.” Other rumored features include the ability to tell Copilot to remove the backgrounds of onscreen images from third-party apps in the Photos app.
The AI features, which aren’t expected to be exclusive to the Surface devices, will reportedly arrive in this year’s annual feature update for Windows 11 (version 24H2), expected in the fall. Windows Central noted it isn’t clear whether Microsoft will discuss the features during the March event.
Engadget will have full coverage of Microsoft’s announcements on March 21 at noon ET.
Every year around Christmas, I hang an ornament on the tree featuring a photo of my family. There we are, all four of us, in one shot, Except something is wrong with the photo; while we’re all dressed in our winter best, we don’t quite hang together as a unit. In fact, it becomes quite clear that this is not a natural group shot and is something I cooked up in Photoshop because I needed a nice family photo for the ornament frame. No one is fooled when they look at it.
Suffice to say, I feel for Princess of Wales Kate Middleton, the royal who, in an apparent effort to convey normalcy in what might not be entirely normal times, did a bit of family portrait photo editing wizardry that didn’t all go according to plan. There are numerous artifacts in her final image, shared widely over the weekend to celebrate UK Mother’s Day. So many that the Royal Family eventually pulled the photo and Middleton fessed up to doing some creative photo editing.
I’m not here to judge that effort or why she did it. No, I offer a helping hand and a few tips from modern mobile and application-based technology that could help her and you avoid similar photo-editing mishaps.
The Best Shot
(Image credit: Future)
If the goal was simply to get all those enthusiastic faces together (all the kids smiling and happy along with Kate’s best look) then I think the Google Pixel 8 Pro’s new Best Shot feature might’ve saved her a lot of trouble.
Best Shot works by letting you take a quick series of pictures from one position (no moving or you ruin it) and then letting you choose the best expressions from each shot, before combining them into one near-perfect master shot. If Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis weren’t all smiling or laughing at once, Kate could’ve selected the biggest smiles from each image and combined them into one in a way that, thanks to AI, looks surprisingly natural.
This is a much better approach than trying to copy and paste people (or even parts of people) from one image to another and then doing your best to match hand and clothing placement. Using that method never ends well.
Magic Editor
Sometimes you just want to use Google Magic Eraser to remove background noise. (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)
Sometimes, it’s not just the expressions you want to replace or edit. If you have more work to do – as it appears Kate did – then Google‘s Magic Editor (and Magic Eraser), also found on the Pixel 8 Pro, could help here.
While Magic Editor and Magic eraser won’t let you combine disparate photos, the tools can help you make the most of what you’ve got and even clean up a bad Photoshop edit, and all using AI.
You’ll find the tools on a Pixel 8 phone under Photos/Edit/Tools.
If, for instance, you want to remove some extra coat fabric showing in a space where there should be nothing but the background, you can use Magic Eraser to select the offending object by drawing over it with a semi-transparent digital marker, delete it, and have the Pixel 8 Pro automatically replace the removed fabric with a natural-looking background.
Or, if you see a blurred hand that looks unnatural, you can unblur the fuzzy parts of your photo.
Firefly to the rescue
Image 1 of 3
Select what you want to remove(Image credit: Future)
Delete or erase it.(Image credit: Future)
Tell Firefly how to fill it.(Image credit: Future)
Sometimes, you need to use the right tools in Adobe Photoshop. I, too, have overused the Clone tool, which lets you take an element, background, or texture from one part of a photo and stamp it in another place to, for instance, cover up an errant few strands of hair. The problem with this feature is that it’s a bit of a blunt object.
Adobe Photoshop now includes Firefly (as does Photoshop Express), which lets you use generative AI to fill in and extend image elements in ways that often look as natural as (or even better than) the original photos.
Is your photo missing part of a coast zipper? Delete the bad-looking part, select the real zipper plus the space left by your cut, and ask Firefly to fill it in. You will probably have a perfect-looking coat zipper. Do you want to replace that coat fabric with the grass from the background? Delete the grass, select the area, and then tell Firefly how you want it to fill the space.
As for that hair falling unnaturally on top of another subject’s hair, you can select those strands, then select the hair you want to extend and that blank space, ask Firefly to generate the rest, and you will have a full head of flowing hair.
I’m not suggesting these tools will solve every photo editing issue. There is a wealth of powerful tools in Adobe Photoshop and a shocking amount of power in Google’s AI editing tools on the Pixel 8. Plus, you can find a lot of third-party mobile apps that you can download and try. But the tools and features I’ve outlined here might do the least damage and the maximum good.
Ultimately, we want our photos to match what we see in our mind’s eye. I’m sure that’s all Kate hoped to achieve, she probably just chose the wrong tools.
If you’re like me, you might never have heard of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) until the last few months, if at all. However, if your online presence has found its way on to any health or wellness algorithms, you’ve almost certainly encountered at least one or two advertisements or endorsements for the technology.
That’s because these smart glucose sensors are being touted by manufacturers and lifestyle brands as the key to unlocking and improving metabolic health, despite having been invented primarily to provide diabetes patients with real-time glucose readings.
Graph showing the worldwide search interest for CGMs increasing over the last year (Source: Google) (Image credit: Future / Canva)
But what is metabolic health, and does the information generated by these devices provide any insight that can provably help non-diabetic users? These are the questions I sought to answer when I began my journey trialing CGMs this year.
So, in addition to testing out Lingo by Abbott and the Zoe diet, I’ve spoken with nutritionists, diabetes experts and CGM gurus to find out what all the fuss is about.
What is a CGM, and who’s it for?
CGMs pack some pretty fascinating technology. Once applied, they look pretty nondescript; just a white disc stuck onto your arm and rarely larger than 1.4-inches / 3.5cm in diameter. Under the hood, however, there’s a lot going on.
CGMs insert a subcutaneous (under the skin at the layer closest to your muscle) sensor, using an algorithm to estimate blood glucose concentration based on the levels they find in the interstitial fluid (found in the spaces between cells). They do it in almost real-time, with a delay of just 15-30 minutes depending on the sensor. This data is then transmitted to a companion app and translated into a glucose reading to show how your body responds to recently eaten foods.
I spoke with Dr. Mark J. O’Connor, Assistant Professor of Medicine and practicing endocrinologist, to learn more about how these devices are used in a clinical setting.
Dr. O’Connor is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts, and a practicing endocrinologist at UMass Memorial Health Care System, particularly in the UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence. He’s also conducted a small research study on the utility of using CGMs to help diabetes patients in emergency departments.
He explains: “A CGM is a useful tool for people with diabetes, because it gives them a lot more insight into their blood sugar levels, and it gives us as healthcare providers more insight so that we can make the best recommendations.
“It also helps people make better decisions about exercise, food, and other factors that affect blood sugar levels. For many people with diabetes, it’s a Godsend.”
The technology has come a long way since 1999, when it gained Food and Drug Association approval for clinical use in the US. Abbott, one of three US companies manufacturing the majority of CGMs worldwide, is one of the first to take its technology into the consumer space; its consumer offering, Lingo, arrived in the UK in January, and pending FDA clearance is set to be released in the US later this year.
I spoke with Olivier Ropars, Division VP of Lingo Biowearables, about the company’s expansion into direct-to-consumer CGMs.
Olivier Ropars
Ropars joined Abbott in 2022 to run Lingo, Abbott’s consumer Biowearables division, where he is currently overseeing the growth of the product as it comes to market in various regions. He previously held positions at eBay, StubHub and McKinsey.
The key benefit to direct-to-consumer CGMs, says Ropars, lies in understanding your metabolic health – which, broadly speaking, is the absence of metabolic disorders, including conditions such as type 1 diabetes, obesity, and inflammatory bowel diseases. They can also be vital tools in measuring the long-term effects of hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) and hyperglycemia (high glucose levels).
As Ropar explains, a series of studies conducted by Abbott employees and consultants found post-meal glucose spikes correlate to sleep and mental health difficulties and increased hunger. More worryingly, they were also associated with the development of type 2 diabetes and an “increased risk of seven out of the 10 leading causes of death in the US; that’s expected to be the same in the UK.” These include cardiovascular disease, liver failure, kidney failure, and increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
(Image credit: Shutterstock / Dragoljub Bankovic)
CGMs: Fad or fact
“The current healthcare system is entirely focused on curing diseases or trying to catch diseases early. There’s very little focus on disease prevention,” says Ropars, citing findings that health trackers such as pedometers have an “overwhelmingly positive” impact on people’s lifestyles. CGMs, he argues, will have the same effect.
Ropars says three groups of people have been particularly receptive to Lingo. The first is people, particularly athletes, looking to optimize their health and performance. These bio-hackers are a core demographic across many CGM offerings; the recently shuttered Supersapiens CGM-based platform (which also used Abbott sensors) enticed users with the promise they’d “never bonk again”, referring to the exercise-induced hypoglycemia endurance athletes can experience when they haven’t eaten enough carbohydrates. Indeed, early studies have shown CGMs might be useful for athletes in determining ideal carbohydrate intake – but as of yet, this isn’t proven.
The second and third groups are more general; people wanting to resolve age- or health-related issues who haven’t seen success in one-size-fits-all solutions; and those with a family history of disease wanting to monitor health and take preventative measures.
Many brands, such as Zoe in the UK and Super Sapiens in the US use Abbott’s CGMs paired with their own proprietary platforms for data analysis and lifestyle guidance. (Image credit: Shutterstock / Jeniffer Fontan)
O’Connor can likewise see the benefits: “To me, it does make sense that giving people access to more information would be helpful. To see the effect on your blood sugar of routine exercise or a healthy diet is positive reinforcement to continue to make healthy behavioral changes.” A small study funded by Dexcom, another major CGM manufacturer, supports this, seeing a small group of people generally improve their lifestyle after using a CGM.
Lauren Johnson Reynolds, AKA the London Wellness Coach, is a homeopath, nutritionist, and health coach with a special interest in hormone balance following her own experience with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Early studies have shown a correlation between glucose tolerance, diabetes, and PCOS, which is why Reynolds tried out CGMs after giving birth led her HBA1-C to elevate to a near pre-diabetic range.
“There were certain foods and combinations that I felt wouldn’t cause any issues, but were spiking my blood sugar quite badly,” she says. “It was very eye-opening, and I became very aware of how stress impacted my blood sugar.”
Lauren Johnson Reynolds
Following a series of health difficulties relating to stress and PCOS, Reynolds turned to homeopathic solutions to relieve her symptoms, beginning a journey of healing and self-understanding that culminated in her studying an integrated Homeopathy and Nutritional therapy course. Now, she shares her knowledge, passion and holistic approach to wellness as a health coach.
A double-edged needle
While there’s plenty of buzz around the potential for CGMs, there’s perhaps not significant enough proof to convince some practitioners. Katherine Metzelaar, MSN, RDN, CD, founder and CEO of Bravespace Nutrition, is one of many concerned parties. “There’s this general desire to want to know what’s going on inside of our bodies – but it’s not as simple as that.
“We have yet to hear about any positive impacts of continuous glucose monitoring outside of the management of diabetes, and I think they cause more harm than good.”
Katherine Metzelaar, MSN, RDN, CD
Passionate about helping people battling disordered eating, Katherine Metzelaar’s approach is to help cultivate a positive food and body relationship by creating a weight-inclusive space and educating clients on the impacts of diet culture. Her specialism is in eating disorder recovery, body image concerns, and weight-inclusive nutrition therapy, which she practices using the HAES (health at every size) approach.
Metzelaar specializes in disordered eating and food positivity, and fears CGMs are another chapter in a legacy of illusory diet and wellness fads that contribute to an ineffective approach to health.
“It could lead to oversimplifying nutrition, increased stress and anxiety around food, and unnecessary restriction or inaccurate and inadequate advice around what to do with that information,” she says. “My recommendation is usually not to do it. Even for clients I work with that have diabetes, it leads to them feeling anxious when they see their glucose spike.”
She’s also broadly unconvinced by the usefulness of the data provided, especially the difficulty in parsing what specifically might have elevated glucose levels when eating different foods.
Despite her own positive experience, Reynolds has similar concerns about the broader use of CGMs. “I recommend them to a few clients but not the majority… When you step back and look at it, it’s quite extreme, but we’re so used to monitoring our sleep and our recovery, it’s become very normalized.”
Lingo by Abbott provides real-time insight into blood glucose levels, presenting spikes as “Lingo counts” and encouraging users to stay below a target each day. The target is based on your health data; factors such as age, gender and weight. (Image credit: Future)
“Modern society has lost track of hunger signals and thirst signals. We’re told to drink eight glasses of water a day and eat three meals and two snacks, and so that’s what we do. It’s taking away from that mind-body connection. So, although I think they are extremely useful for people who have blood-sugar issues, have a condition like PCOS, or want to try CGMs for a short amount of time, for the average person I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Metzelaar also has concerns about the self-led nature of many CGM platforms. “To my understanding, there’s no oversight from a doctor or a dietitian to interpret that information and add clarity to it.” This, she says, could lead users to change their behaviors based on what could simply be the normal curve of what happens during digestion.
I tried two different CGMs as part of my research for this article; Zoe Health and Lingo. While I don’t have any metabolic health diagnoses, I’ve had a lot of digestive and stress-related issues in recent months – but for me, this technology is still perhaps a little extreme. (Image credit: Future)
Knowledge is power – until it’s not
As of right now, there are numerous consumer-based studies underway, including large-scale efforts being conducted by CGM platforms including Levels and Signos. In the UK, Zoe Health combines gut microbiome, blood sample, and bowel movement data with its CGM readings, the results of which can be discussed with a Zoe nutritionist. Clearly, there’s plenty of confidence from these providers that there’s something in this CGM craze worth fighting for.
That’s certainly the resounding take of Ropars, who says we’re only just beginning to unlock the potential of CGMs: “It’s not like buying a diet book; that may not work for everyone. A CGM provides personalized information, so you can make the adjustments that matter the most for you.”
So, are CGMs a fad or the future of wellbeing? As of right now, they don’t definitively support non-diabetics to improve their lifestyle, nor can studies fully demonstrate the biomarkers they track have a measurable impact on long-term health and wellbeing.
Still, the appetite for the technology and the research being conducted into metabolic health, blood glucose, and the relationship with long-term health means, for better or worse, we’re likely going to be seeing a lot more about CGMs in the coming years.
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The worm-like caecilian Siphonops annulatus is the first amphibian described to produce ‘milk’ for offspring hatched outside its body.Credit: Carlos Jared
A species of amphibian is the first observed to nourish its young with a milk-like product, which it squirts from the cloaca, a combined rear opening for its reproductive and digestive systems. Siphonops annulatus is a blind, worm-like caecilian that lives underground. Lactation is considered a key characteristic of mammals, but a handful of other animals — including some birds, fish, insects and even spiders — produce nutrient-rich liquid for their offspring.
At its annual meeting this week, China’s legislative body, the National People’s Congress, promised to increase government funding for science by 10% in 2024. It’s the largest boost to funding in five years. The increase comes as the Chinese economy struggles to meet growth targets and is locked in a race for technological supremacy with the United States. “To win this game, China has to invest in science and technology, especially in basic research,” says Marina Zhang, who studies innovation with a focus on China.
New president Javier Milei hasn’t outright shut down Argentina’s main national science agency, CONICET, as he pledged during his presidential campaign. But by keeping its budget unchanged — in a country where annual inflation stands at more than 250% — he is making it impossible for some laboratories to stay open, say critics. On Wednesday, 68 Nobel prizewinners in chemistry, economics, medicine and physics delivered a letter to Milei expressing their concerns. “We watch as the Argentinian system of science and technology approaches a dangerous precipice, and despair at the consequences that this situation could have for both the Argentine people and the world,” it says.
Stone tools found in western Ukraine date to roughly 1.4 million years ago, making them the oldest known artefacts in Europe made by ancient humans. The findings support the theory that our early relatives — probably of the versatile species Homo erectus — first entered Europe from the east and spread west. The type of tools, and the location where they were found, hint that the first Europeans might have moved westwards along the valleys of the Danube River.
A stone tool from the archaeological site of Korolevo in western Ukraine.Credit: Roman Garba
Features & opinion
Researchers suggest that an imbalance in the intestinal microbiota might cause the gut to send signals to the brain that promote addiction behaviours. Even before a person’s first contact with alcohol or drugs, the imbalance could give rise to traits such as impulsivity, susceptibility to stress or anxiety, and sensation-seeking, creating a vulnerability that can lead to addiction. If that’s true, it could open the door to new treatments — but it’s not going to be simple to address disorders that are associated with many risk factors, including mental-health conditions and genetics. “People have asked me, ‘Can someone just eat yogurt and cure their addiction?’” says Drew Kiraly, a psychiatrist and physician. “It’s going to be much, much more complicated than that.”
There are four cognitive ‘traps’ that researchers should consider carefully before embedding AI tools in their research, say anthropologist Lisa Misseri and cognitive scientist Molly Crockett. They characterized these AI mindsets or ‘visions’ — ‘AI as Oracle’, ‘AI as Arbiter’, ‘AI as Quant’ and ‘AI as Surrogate’ — after reviewing 100 peer-reviewed papers, preprints, conference proceedings and books. In general, they warn researchers against imbuing AI systems with ‘superhuman’ abilities. “There’s a risk that we forget that there are certain questions we just can’t answer about human beings using AI tools,” says Crockett.
One behaviour that was thought to be unique to humans is the ability to learn something from your predecessors that you couldn’t figure out on your own. Now researchers have shown that bumblebees are also capable of this ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ approach to learning. Bees taught how to complete a puzzle too difficult to solve on their own were able to share this knowledge with other bees, raising the possibility that this ability could be widespread among animals.
Gender-equality researcher Susanne Täuber was dismissed from her job after blowing the whistle on bias. Her advice for others concerned about their workplace: trust your gut feeling. (Nature | 5 min read)
…and as usual, the Moto G84 is a surprisingly adept and reliable Android handset from one of the world’s most dedicated phone manufacturers, with Motorola continuing its forcible takeover of our round-up of the best cheap phones.
The latest entry in Motorola’s ever-growing G-line of low-cost mobiles, the G84 brings a few clear and concise arguments as to why it should be your next purchase, as well as a few wardrobes that it hopes you won’t be checking for skeletons.
First up, the Moto G84 is the company’s latest collaboration between Motorola and paint company Pantone, with one of its three colors designed by color experts. This is the Viva Magenta one that you can see pictured above, adorned in the shade that Pantone decided was its Color Of The Year 2023.
It’s a distinctive shade (which may put some people off), and we’re big enough fans to add the vibrant and striking look to the ‘Pros’ list above. But for some reason, Moto decided to release two other color options, silver and black, which look pretty boring by comparison.
We go from one of the phone’s touted selling points to something Motorola is barely mentioning: the G84 is a powerhouse for gaming. While I’ve been disappointed by other mobiles brandishing the same Snapdragon 695 chipset used here, the Moto chews through gaming and other intensive tasks. If you’re a gamer on a budget, this is definitely a solid pick.
(Image credit: Future)
It’s at this point in the review (less than a minute into the ‘two-minute review’, so pretty early on) that I should mention the Moto G73. This mobile, released in early 2023 and still ranged by most retailers including Moto itself, has lots of specs in common with the G84.
It has a lower price and the same camera array, same rough design, same software, same battery size, same charging speed and same screen size. Admittedly it’s screen quality is worse, it doesn’t have an under-display fingerprint scanner, it’s less powerful and it doesn’t catch the eye quite like this Viva Magenta-clad beast. But if you want to save some cash and don’t mind these tweaked features, it’s a very real competitor that may sway your attention.
‘Close competition’ is nothing new for Moto phones, given how many similar-looking budget mobiles it releases each year. Neither is my other major gripe with the handset: its cameras are anything but impressive, with photos that look a little dull and unexciting.
Picking up a Motorola phone and being surprised that its cameras aren’t amazing, is like picking up a dumbbell and being surprised it’s heavy – that trait is just par for the course. The cameras aren’t terrible either, they just won’t suit passionate smartphone-centric photographers.
And overall, the Moto G84 is a terribly impressive phone, when you consider its feisty look, gaming power and low price; it’ll just fit some users better than others.
Moto G84 review: price and availability
Released in September 2023
Costs £249.99 (roughly $315, AU$475)
Not for sale in US or Australia
(Image credit: Future)
The Moto G84 was released in the UK in mid-September 2023, after coming out in India and Europe in the weeks prior. It was joined by the low-end Moto G54 and premium-leaning Moto Edge 40 Neo.
You can pick up the phone for £249.99 (roughly $315, AU$475), which lodges it firmly in the category of ‘cheap Android phone’, perfect for people on a budget who want a reliable mobile. That’s Moto’s whole schtick, after all. There’s no information on a US or Australian launch, but they seem unlikely even several months after the phone’s release.
Rivals at that price include Samsung’s Galaxy A23 5G, Redmi’s Note 12 5G, OnePlus’ Nord CE 3 Lite and several of Motorola’s own mobiles, like the Moto G73 5G and Edge 40 Neo, which are all at roughly the same price point. But for its price and the performance it offers, the G84 is solidly good value.
Moto G84 review: specs
The Moto G84 has many traits in common with other budget phones, but it exceeds its class in a few areas too.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Moto G84 specs
Header Cell – Column 1
Dimensions:
160 x 74.4 x 7.6mm
Weight:
166.8g
Screen:
6.5-inch 20:9 FHD+ (2400×1080) 120Hz p-OLED
Chipset:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 695
RAM:
12GB
Storage:
256GB
OS:
Android 13
Primary camera:
50MP, f/1.9
Ultra-wide camera
8MP f/2.2
Front camera:
16MP f/2.5
Audio:
Stereo speakers, 3.5mm headphone jack
Battery:
5,000mAh
Charging:
30W wired
Colors:
Viva Magenta, Marshmallow Blue, Midnight Blue
Moto G84 review: design
Vibrant Pantone-designed red shell
Repositioned under-display fingerprint scanner
3.5mm headphone jack and USB-C port
(Image credit: Future)
Motorola isn’t exactly in the business of revolutionizing smartphone design (well, at least for its budget mobiles, though you can say what you like about the Moto Razr). So if you’ve seen a Moto G in the last few years you’ve seen the G84.
It’s a standard Android mobile measuring 160 x 74.4 x 7.6 mm – a few years ago we could’ve called it “a little on the big side” though you could probably consider it average now. It’s surprisingly light at 166.8g, which means the phone sits a little comfier in the hand than most phones with a flat edge.
You’ve got the usual accouterments of a Moto: a USB-C port and 3.5mm headphone jack underneath, a power button and volume rocker on the right edge. But Motorola has made one big adjustment in its budget phones of late, and that’s in replacing the side-mounted fingerprint scanner with a more premium under-display one. And it’s a great change too, as unlocking the phone is much easier than in previous Motos. The scanner is a bit lower down the phone than on most others, but it’s something I got used to.
There are three different color options for the Moto G84: a silver and a black option, and also an eye-catching red version called Viva Magenta. This latter was created by paint company Pantone, and it’d make the phone very attractive if it wasn’t for the big Pantone-logo color swatch on the bottom. You can’t remove this, it’s part of the phone.
Still, if the G84 was in a line-up of 10 random other phones, it’d be the most attractive one the vast majority of the time – its red is a little richer than Apple’s Product Red and the glossy alternatives some Chinese phones offer.
In terms of protection, you’re looking at IP54: it’s partly dust proofed but not against all solids, and is splash-proof but can’t be dunked in water. That’s all to be expected at this price.
Moto G84 review: display
Big 6.5-inch screen
FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh
Automatic brightness issues
(Image credit: Future)
The Moto G84 has a 6.5-inch display, which is pretty average for a smartphone these days, but the Moto’s specs are anything but average.
The phone packs an FHD+ display (that’s 1080 x 2400) and a 120Hz refresh rate, which means the display updates its image 120 times per second, over the old standard of 60Hz. Lots of budget mobiles tout this spec now but certainly not all of them, and it brings a marked improvement when you’re scrolling around the menus.
Another unusual trait is the use of the DCI-P3 color gamut with over 1 billion colors – this was designed for use in movies and it makes videos look that little bit better than on another budget phone.
One other display feature worth flagging is that the punch-hole that houses the front-facing camera is very small, reducing the amount of screen space you’re losing from it.
A small issue I had with the phone was with its display and the automatic brightness features. Often, the phone would default to a screen brightness that was just too low, and I frequently had to manually adjust it to be able to make out the display.
Moto G84 review: software
Stock Android 13 is clean
Useful Moto Actions return
Plenty of customization options
(Image credit: Future)
When you boot up the Moto G84, it’ll come running stock Android 13 – that was the current OS when the mobile launched, though Android 14 started rolling out just weeks later. The G84 is only confirmed for one software update too, so Android 14 is all you’ll definitely get, though you’ll be able to enjoy at least three years’ security updates.
Stock Android is always fairly clean, at least compared to some other Android forks, but some bloatware has snuck into the Moto. There’s TikTok, LinkedIn and three simple games – it’s nothing too offensive, and if you’ve used one of the budget phones from another brand you might have used something a lot worse, but it’s still not ideal.
Moto phones have always been great for software customization, even before Google made it an official Android feature, and there’s no difference here. You have plenty of choice in terms of font, color scheme, icon shape, animations and more – if you like diving into the settings and then tweaking the nitty-gritty of how your phone looks, you’ll love this phone.
A returning feature exclusive to Moto phones are Moto Actions, which are easy navigation tricks that I find myself using a lot. Examples include a double karate-chop motion to quickly turn on the torch and a twisting shake to open the camera app. They take a little getting used to, but once you’ve got the knack for them, they’re incredibly handy.
Moto G84: cameras
50MP main and 8MP ultra-wide cameras
Some extra features like Spot Color
16MP front-facing camera for selfies
(Image credit: Future)
The camera department is an area that Motorola phones rarely excel in, and there’s no exception here. The phone uses up its ‘color’ budget on its exterior shell and there’s none left for its photos…
The main snapper is a 50MP f/1.9 unit and it’s joined by a single 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide companion. On the front, you’re looking at a 16MP f/2.5 selfie camera. That’s not exactly a revolutionary combo for Moto, which used the exact same line-up in the Moto G73 from earlier in the year.
Pictures taken on the main camera looked fine – that nondescript word is the best way to describe them – with fair sharpness but a lack of vibrancy or color that made me miss Samsung’s or Xiaomi’s handsets.
Flip onto the ultra-wide camera and you’re getting pretty grainy pictures – it’s an 8MP sensor, what did you expect – though not straight away. No, the secondary snapper was surprisingly slow to focus when I pressed the icon in the camera app, and I often found myself waiting a few moments for it to sharpen the image.
You can also use the ultra-wide camera for macro (close-up) shots, but this suffers from the issue that all wide-angle-macro phone photos do: it’s rounded and distorted thanks to the lens type. No thanks!
There’s no zoom lens on the Moto G84, so you have to use its 8x digital zoom to get closer to a subject. But I’d really recommend you don’t, unless you want your photo to be as grainy as spot art.
Grainy is also the word to use for pictures captured on the front camera, which is a surprising twist as some Motos redeem themselves on their selfie abilities. They’ll be fine for sending between phones, especially with bokeh working well in Portrait mode, but if you look at selfies on any bigger screen you’ll see the pixels clearly.
When capturing video, you can shoot at 1080p, with no 4K option. There’s also a slow-mo option as well as dual capture (front and back cameras at once) and Spot Color, which lets you isolate a single color in your recording. These latter two options are also available for photography.
Moto G84 camera samples
Image 1 of 7
This ‘standard’ shot of a coffee looks a little dull in the froth and colorful plates.(Image credit: Future)
This photo came out bizarrely yellow.(Image credit: Future)
Here’s a standard snap of a street, so you can contrast to the next pic…(Image credit: Future)
…here’s that same street in ultra-wide.(Image credit: Future)
This festive outlook also looks a little duller than what another phone would capture.(Image credit: Future)
If you were to zoom in close to the face, you’d see it’s quite grainy (but please don’t!).(Image credit: Future)
I captured the G84’s contemporary, the Edge 40 Neo, so you can see how it picks up color.(Image credit: Future)
Moto G84: performance and audio
Snapdragon 695 chip exceeds expectations
12GB RAM and 256GB storage
3.5mm headphone jack and Bluetooth 5.1
The Moto G84 packs the Snapdragon 695, and anyone who’s used a phone using this chipset knows what to expect: fine everyday performance, but a lackluster showing when used for gaming or intensive processes. That’s how this exact same chip worked in the recent OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite, and gaming was a slog.
In a pleasantly surprising plot twist, the G84 bucks expectations: it runs a lot faster than you’d think. In fact, through our rigorous gaming tests, it proved itself as one of the most reliable low-budget phones for gaming.
When playing titles like Call of Duty: Mobile and PUBG Mobile, the phone could be relied on to get through a match without lags, stutters or freezes – in fact, the G84 beat many gaming phones in that it didn’t even overheat!
This may be thanks to the 12GB RAM you’re getting, a surprising amount for a phone at this price. The 256GB storage is also laudable – this is a phone that’ll last you a long time, and even if you do manage to fill the device’s onboard storage, the microSD card slot will keep you going for even longer.
If you’re into your facts and figures, a benchmark test through Geekbench 6 returned a multi-core average score of 2,037. That middling score shows that this phone is no supercomputer that’ll land a spaceship on the sun or predict the future, but for the price, I was very surprised.
Onto audio – this is par for the course for a Moto phone. There’s a 3.5mm headphone jack for wired music and Bluetooth 5.1 for wireless. The onboard stereo speaker is nothing to write home about, but it’s not so tinny that voice calls or memos are affected.
Moto G84 review: battery life
Large 5,000mAh battery
Over a day’s use from a single charge
30W charging isn’t particularly fast
(Image credit: Future)
If there’s one thing a Motorola phone can be relied on to have, even more than a confusing name, great customization or that distinctive sound when you first boot it up, it’s a long-lasting battery life.
No surprise, then, that the Moto G84’s 5,000mAh battery lasts a long time. You can use it to get through a day of use with no issue, and in our tests it lasted well into a second day before the charging cable needed to come out.
That charging cable gets you powering at 30W, so it’s not particularly fast, not when rival budget mobiles hit 50W, 67W or higher. You’re looking at charging times just shy of an hour, or more if you’re using the thing as you power it.
There’s no wireless charging here, but at that price, no-one should be surprised.
Should you buy the Moto G84?
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Moto G84 score card
Attributes
Notes
Rating
Value
Moto offers a lot for its price, and undercuts some big-name rivals too
4 / 5
Design
A bright color and light frame distract from this otherwise standard-looking Android.
3.5 / 5
Display
Mostly unimpressive for the price, but DCI-P3 makes a difference.
3.5 / 5
Software
Moto expands upon stock Android 13 with useful features
4 / 5
Camera
There’s nothing impressive in the Moto G84’s three camera selection.
2.5 / 5
Performance
The Moto G84 redefines budget gaming power, plus has loads of storage
4 / 5
Battery
The phone has a long battery life though unimpressive charging speeds.
3.5 / 5
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Moto G84 review: Also consider
If you’re looking for Android phones at the Moto G84’s price, you’ve got loads of rivals to consider. Here are a few:
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Moto G84
Moto G73
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro
Price (at launch):
£249 (around $315, AU$475)
£269 (around $330, AU$500)
£299 (around $350 / AU$520)
£299 (around $350 / AU$520)
Dimensions:
160 x 74.4 x 7.6mm
161.4 x 73.8 x 8.3mm
165.5 x 76 x 8.3mm
163 x 76 x 8mm
Weight:
166.8g
181g
195g
187g
OS (at launch):
Android 13
Android 13
Android 13
Android 12
Screen Size:
6.5-inch
6.5-inch
6.72-inch
6.67-inch
Resolution:
1080×2400
1080×2400
1080×2400
1080×2400
CPU:
Snapdragon 695
Dimensity 930
Snapdragon 695
Dimensity 1080
RAM:
12GB
8GB
8GB
6GB / 8GB / 12GB
Storage (from):
256GB
128GB / 256GB
128GB / 256GB
128GB / 256GB
Battery:
5,000mAh
5,000mAh
5,000mAh
5,000mAh
Rear Cameras:
50MP main, 8MP ultra-wide
50MP main, 8MP ultra-wide
108MP main, 2MP depth sensor, 2MP macro
50MP main, 8MP ultra-wide. 2MP macro
Front camera:
16MP
16MP
16MP
16MP
How I tested the Moto G84
Review test period = 2 week
Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
As you can tell from my review and the images, I tested the Moto G84 in its Pantone-endorsed Viva Magenta colorway. It felt fitting to test this festive-looking mobile during winter, hence the Christmas baking images!
Before true testing commenced I set up the phone to let the battery use settle, then used it as a standard mobile for two weeks. This included all the tasks you’d use your mobile for: social media, photography and streaming.
I also used it for gaming a lot. In fact, it was so snappy and fast for this task, alongside its lovely display, that I was loathe to move onto the next handset I’m testing for TechRadar!
My tech review history spans five years for TechRadar, and more for other brands. I used to work as an editor and writer for the site, covering phones, tablets and wearables (as well as a wide range of other gadgets), and continue to write freelance reviews across many types of gadget.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 has become a workhorse of the private satellite launch vehicle market.Credit: Associated Press/Alamy
Who Owns the Moon? In Defence of Humanity’s Common Interests in SpaceA. C. Grayling Oneworld Publications (2024)
The Moon seems to be back on everyone’s radar. NASA’s Artemis mission is expected to shuttle humans back to the lunar surface before the end of this decade. In the past year, Japan and India have successfully landed rovers there; Luna 25, a Russian effort almost half a century after the nation’s last, almost made it, but crash landed.
Several non-state actors are also stepping into the fray, with the space-exploration company Intuitive Machines, based in Houston, Texas, last month becoming the first private firm to complete a lunar touchdown — a feat that sent the company’s stock price soaring.
The fallout and consequences of this renewed clamour for the Moon is the subject of UK philosopher A. C. Grayling’s latest book. In Who owns the Moon?, Grayling explores one facet behind the interest in Earth’s pockmarked neighbour — a quest for resources.
Japanese Moon-lander unexpectedly survives the lunar night
India’s mission, for instance, was squarely aimed at exploring the Moon’s southern pole — a probable storehouse of frozen water, which could be converted into oxygen and rocket fuel. Grayling warns that human greed and national rivalries could set off a lunar ‘gold rush’ once the investment and engineering barriers to extracting extraterrestrial materials are surmounted. He calls for an urgent re-examination of the laws that govern space exploration.
Who owns the Moon — and perhaps more broadly, who owns outer space — is a complex, legally loaded question that has been asked since the space age commenced. Although a layperson might assume that there are no laws governing the exploration of the cosmos, international agreements, such as the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, do exist. Grayling’s contention is that such arrangements, negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations, are essentially cold war-era arms-control pacts, focusing primarily on prohibiting nuclear weapons in outer space and preventing any single country from claiming sovereignty over celestial bodies.
Trillion-dollar industry
Although this agreement has staved off major conflicts in space over the past nearly 60 years, the nature of space exploration has changed remarkably since then. For starters, private firms are now able to exert substantial influence on government-run space programmes. Private actors such as the US spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX, based in Hawthorne, California, already own a majority of the low Earth orbiting satellites. In 2022, the author states, the space industry was estimated to be worth US$350 billion and is projected to grow to more than one trillion dollars over the next two decades. Under these circumstances, the presence of intentionally vague and ambiguous terminology in existing international agreements — such as outer space being a “province of all mankind” held for the “common interest” — leaves room for misinterpretation.
If lunar bases end up becoming a reality, the existing legal framework will need an update. Without a bold new global consensus, Grayling predicts, a space ‘wild west’ is going to emerge.
In the absence of a concerted global dialogue, individual countries are pushing ahead with their own laws, such as the US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015. Similar laws are being written or enacted in India, Japan, China and Russia.
Peace in space
Drawing on observations made by the UN’s Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, Grayling writes that space law is getting more fragmented, thereby increasing the potential for conflict. An international regime that gives general guidance on most space-related matters — supplemented by a set of multilateral institutions that can support enforcement and adjudication — is imperative, he writes. Individual states can then focus on domestic licensing regimes for globally agreed activities. Whether one will come before the other is still an open question, but the signals point to domestic regimes moving faster than global governance.
The book’s main contribution is perhaps its chapters that document historical precedents, which offer lessons on how to set up mechanisms to facilitate global cooperation. According to some, the 1959 Antarctic Treaty is a shining example of a multi-party agreement that has kept narrow national interests at bay. However, it is important to point out that several signatories continue to maintain territorial claims. The law of the sea, a set of international agreements on the commercial exploitation of the oceans and the deep-sea bed, offers another template. However, these examples cited by Grayling do not necessarily transpose readily to outer space.
Last month, Intuitive Machine’s Odysseus became the first module manufactured by a private firm to land on the Moon.Credit: Zuma Press/Alamy
For instance, the law of the sea is the product of hundreds of years of negotiation and power tussles between diverse competing actors — a body of collective knowledge that is unavailable to a young field such as space exploration. And Grayling doesn’t discuss the analogies with international environmental law, which would have been more relevant. For most of human history, the planet wasn’t conceived of as an environment, although today it is. A profound legal reimagination is taking place as a result. If outer space is set to become a part of our immediate environment, then there could be lessons to learn from the ongoing climate change-induced reconsideration of the nature of resource exploitation here on Earth.
Without an overarching governance structure, disputes in space can be hard to deal with. Currently, when a conflict arises between two space-faring nations, not only does the vagueness of international space law ensure that there is no clear process to engage in consultation, there is also no mechanism to pin accountability. This is clearly a choice exercised by the currently dominant players who can, as a result, interpret the phrase ‘freedom of outer space’ in any way they choose.
The 1972 Space Liability Convention — a treaty that is pressed into service in case of injury to persons or damage to property owing to space-related activities — has been officially invoked just once, when a Soviet satellite deposited radioactive debris in Canadian territory in 1978. The Soviets had to pay Can$3 million (at the time around US$2.5 million) to settle the dispute.
Soon, such conflicts might spill over, as our conception of ‘damages’ expands to potentially include activities that harm the common environment that lies beyond national boundaries. Grayling repeatedly invokes the late-nineteenth century’s Scramble for Africa as a cautionary tale of what might happen if humanity’s worst instincts are let loose. At the very least, Grayling writes, our successors in the second half of this century and beyond will not be able to say: “no one warned us; no one reminded us of what history shows could so easily go wrong when it is considerations of money and power that alone drive events”.
The next generation
It is precisely to enable such wider debate that I focus so much of my effort and outreach on building the capabilities of African youth in the domain of space governance. According to the World Economic Forum, more than 40% of the global youth population will be African by the end of this decade. They are an important stakeholder, and they are the custodians of our collective space future.
When I was a trainee lawyer working for the Nigerian space agency nearly 17 years ago, my area of specialization was the application of international environmental law to space debris. Today, space junk is a global and increasingly mainstream concern. This is why genuine international cooperation is essential. The best ideas can come from anywhere. Diversity should build trust.
Simulated Mars mission ‘returns’ to Earth
Looking ahead, if I can indulge in some crystal-ball gazing, it seems likely that institutional and state governance mechanisms for managing the Moon — and outer space — will become a priority area in the coming years. Usually, such international arrangements tend to arise when there is a real risk of conflict. Despite the prevailing narrative about a second space race, there is currently little appetite for international dialogue on space-related matters that limits the freedom of the dominant actors. But this could change. What happens when the middle powers rise?
International space law is unique because the state is directly responsible and liable for all activities undertaken by its citizens, including those in the private sector. Given that some private space firms have more wealth and power than do many space-venturing nations, the scrutiny on these non-state actors will only increase.
Any future dispute-resolution mechanisms must balance inclusivity and justice, and acknowledge that space commercialization is a deep national security concern for many states. What happens in outer space should inextricably be linked to developmental debates on Earth. Otherwise, although space might nominally be for the ‘benefit of all’ — as per the Outer Space Treaty — a select few nations or companies could indulge in rapacious over-exploitation. So, we need to seriously ponder who will benefit and what will comprise the common interest.
Although Grayling does not address all these concerns in depth, Who Owns the Moon? is still an important introductory text on the issues and challenges that humanity will have to confront as it ventures to the Moon and beyond.
Change is hard – and for font nerds, it can be downright painful. They really feel the difference between Arial and Helvetica, and they know that Comic Sans is an embarrassment, and that Papyrus might be pure evil.
I’m not necessarily one of those people, but I don’t appreciate change – especially in fonts.
Last year, Microsoft announced that it was changing its Microsoft Word default font from Calibri to a new sans-serif font known as Aptos. Calibri had a nearly 20-year run. It succeeded Times New Roman, a serif font that has served as the default font since the word processing application’s inception (the dictionary defines a serif as “a slight projection finishing off a stroke of a letter in certain typefaces”).
When Word launched in 1983, I’d argue that some were still writing on typewriters (most likely IBM Selectrics with those typeballs) that were probably still using the classic serif font.
Modernity, though, required the shaving of those serifs for a cleaner look – at least I assume this was Microsoft‘s thinking when it switched to Calibri. I never liked the font; it was dull, and not even as interesting as Helvetica, or my favorite, Helvetica Narrow.
I got used to it, but only because, as the default font, it was what I automatically saw and typed in every time I used Microsoft Word. Some say “familiarity breeds contempt,” but in truth it just breeds familiarity. You can, by the way, easily customize Word’s default font. From the Format tab, you select Font. Choose the font and font size you like, and then select Default and click OK. If your Word is still stuck on Calbri (or, god forbid, Abadi MT), you can quickly switch to the font and style that turns you on.
Even so, when I read that Microsoft was switching up the default font I was a little worried. What if Word went back to a serif style or chose something more ornate? What if, heaven forbid, Microsoft chose a font that looked like Comic Sans?
Comparing the old default Word font with the new one (Image credit: Future)
Aptos, though, is none of those things. It manages to be clean and clear, but with just a little style.
Instead of a thin, straight, vertical line for a lowercase ‘L’, Aptos’s l takes a tiny curve just before the stem reaches the baseline. Letters like ‘z’ are a little wider. The ear of the ‘g’ – that small stroke that projects from the top of the letter – starts thin and gets a bit thicker while also gently arching up. ‘S’ curves in on itself more, and the lowercase ‘o’ is just a bit more open.
Put simply, Aptos is a beautiful font that instantly elevates the default typing experience in Microsoft Word. Unsurprisingly, though, not everyone is thrilled with this ‘upstart’ font.
So long, Calibri. Can’t say “we hardly knew ya” after 17 years, but I’m not cool with this new #Aptos upstart.cc @LanceUlanoff @glennf @artchung @kevinjdelaney @frerejones https://t.co/EvDpOwZwH9 pic.twitter.com/5ZW49e71uCMarch 11, 2024
See more
If I have one criticism of the new font it’s that its more open approach means each letter, word, and sentence, takes a little more space. Aptos offers 12 variations that include Light, Bold, Sem-Bold, and Black, but there’s no Narrow option. I wouldn’t mind seeing someone develop that.
I know; it’s just a font. But the fact is that fonts matter for readability, and even for setting a mood. Comic Sans is silly, informal, and worthy of comic strips, while Times New Roman is formal, official, and good for a legal document or a bill. Papyrus is good for nothing, and should be avoided at all costs. Aptos fits the bill as an every-person, every-situation font. It brings me just a little bit of joy, and I don’t miss Calibri a bit.
T cells (blue; artificially coloured) attack a cancer cell (red).Credit: BSIP Lecaque/Science Photo Library
More than 35 years after it was invented, a therapy that uses immune cells extracted from a person’s own tumour is finally hitting the clinic. At least 20 people with advanced melanoma have embarked on treatment with what are called tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), which target and kill cancer cells.
The regimen, called lifileucel, is the first TIL therapy to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). And it is the first immune-cell therapy to win FDA approval for treating solid tumours such as melanoma. Doctors already deploy immune cells called CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T cells to treat cancer, but CAR-T therapy is used against only blood cancers such as leukaemia.
Cancer-fighting CAR-T cells could be made inside body with viral injection
TILs are a type of naturally occurring immune cell called a T cell. TILs recognize targets, called antigens, on the surfaces of cancer cells and burrow into solid tumours to kill them. They are the brainchild of Steven Rosenberg, a cancer researcher and surgeon at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, who first showed1 that TILs could shrink tumours in people with melanoma. In clinical trials, TIL treatment has put some people with melanoma in remission for up to 20 years.
The FDA granted approval on 16 February to lifileucel, sold as Amtagvi by biotechnology company Iovance Biotherapeutics, based in San Carlos, California. The approval “is a great accomplishment”, says TIL specialist Nick Restifo, chief scientist at Marble Therapeutics in Boston, Massachusetts. He says that it will pave the way for TILs to be used to treat other cancers, including lung and pancreatic tumours, in the near future.
Nature spoke with scientists about TIL therapy and its future.
How are TILs made and used?
After a person’s tumour is removed, surgeons send tissue samples to a laboratory that isolates TILs from them and grow the TILs for three weeks until they’ve multiplied into billions of cells. Before the TILs are reinfused back into the treated person, the recipient is given chemotherapy and an immune chemical called interleukin-2 (IL-2) that temporarily kills immune cells to make room for the TILs.
Turbocharged CAR-T cells melt tumours in mice — using a trick from cancer cells
For now, lifileucel can be used only as a last-line treatment in people with certain forms of advanced melanoma that haven’t responded to other treatments. But Iovance and others are currently testing lifileucel as a first-line treatment against melanoma. Some evidence suggests that it might be even more effective as a first- or second-line treatment, before an aggressive treatment can harm the TILs in tumours.
How effective are TILs?
In Iovance’s trial testing lifileucel in 153 people with melanoma, tumours shrank in 31% of the participants2. And in a second trial in Denmark, 20% of people who received TIL therapy went into complete remission, compared with 7% of those who received a different drug3.
Amod Sarnaik, a surgical oncologist at the Moffitt Center in Tampa, Florida, who led Iovance’s trial, says that solid tumours can generally become resistant to treatments such as chemotherapy. But removing most of the tumour and infusing billions of TILs is often enough “brute force” to overcome the cancer, Sarnaik says. The immune system then ‘remembers’ the most effective TILs, allowing it to quickly churn them out if the cancer comes back.
What are the side effects?
Most of the therapy’s side effects, such as anaemia and fevers, come from the chemotherapy and IL-2 treatments used to prepare patients for TIL infusion. But Sarnaik says that there is a risk of “friendly fire” if TILs also attack normal cells alongside the tumour cells. This can cause autoimmune conditions such as vitiligo, in which TILs cause skin discolouration by attacking pigment cells.
How are TILs regulated?
Similar to CAR T cells, TILs are naturally occurring cells that are specific to each person. But whereas CAR T cells are genetically engineered to attack specific antigens on cancer cells, no one knows which antigens any particular person’s TILs target — although it largely doesn’t matter, as long as they work for the individual person. “It’s a different drug literally for every patient,” Restifo says.
Because it’s impossible for the FDA to assess every patient’s set of TILs, the agency instead approved the process that Iovance uses to multiply the cells and the way that they are administered to people with cancer. And because TILs occur naturally, companies can patent only their processes and not the cells overall. “It’s good news for all of us trying to develop different ways of improving on the process,” Sarnaik says.
How much will the treatment cost?
Iovance has said that it plans to charge US$515,000 for the treatment, making it even more expensive than some of the six CAR-T therapies approved in the United States.
Health-care inequality could deepen with precision oncology
But other approaches might make TILs more affordable, says Inge Marie Svane, a cancer immunologist at Copenhagen University Hospital who is running TIL trials in Europe. Several university hospitals are growing TILs for melanoma without a company’s involvement, using a process that costs about €50,000 (US$55,000).
What’s next for TILs?
Dozens of companies are developing TILs for other types of tumours, and some have already proven effective against cervical4 and lung5 cancer. Researchers are developing improvements such as genetic manipulations that make TILs better at infiltrating and killing tumours. Svane, for instance, is about to start a clinical trial of TILs that are missing a gene that allows cancerous cells to kill them. “What we want to achieve is complete remission,” she says.
