The Apex Legends Uprising Collection Event features new skins for Valkyrie, Bangalore, and more, as well as the Loba Prestige skin, releasing on Dec. 5.

Hold on to your "basic" Netflix subscription if you want it. Because it might soon

Researchers have invented a double-sided solar panel capable of generating electricity from the Sun’s energy on both sides. The bifacial solar cell, developed at the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), harvests reflected sunlight hitting the back of the device, offering an unconventional route to producing higher energy yields for less space and cost. Typical advances to solar cell efficiency rates centre on iterative improvements to the side facing the Sun. This new approach could boost the energy harvesting capabilities of solar panels beyond their theoretical limit. “This perovskite cell can operate very effectively from either side,” said Kai Zhu, a scientist at the Chemistry and Nanoscience Center at NREL who led the research. Current solar cell technologies, which use silicon as the semiconductor material, have an efficiency rate of around 26 per cent – higher than the 23 per cent achieved in lab tests by the front side of the new panel. The back side of the panel, however, achieves an efficiency of about 91-93 per cent of the front, which offers up to 20 per cent more power overall when harvesting reflected sunlight. Perovskite has become a key driver of solar cell advancements in recent years, breaking new efficiency records and providing new pathways to creating next-generation technologies. Earlier this week, researchers unveiled perovskite-based solar cells capable of healing themselves when damaged by radiation in low-Earth orbit. Tandem silicon-perovskite solar cells have achieved lab-measured efficiency of more than 30 per cent, and have a theoretical limit far higher than purely silicon cells. Rapid progress with their development has seen two separate startups announce commercial production of the next-generation panels. Producing the bifacial solar panels would cost more than monofacial modules, however their capacity to produce more power could make them more economically viable over time. The latest research was detailed in a study, titled ‘Highly efficient bifacial single-junction perovskite solar cells’, published in the journal Joule. Read More Scientists invent self-healing solar panels with ‘miracle material’ How tech could turn our homes into renewable energy power stations

Indonesia will temporarily relax rules that have slowed development of solar energy in the coal-dependent country, lifting one

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Curly hair may have been absolutely critical to humans evolving millions of years ago, scientists have discovered. In fact, having curly hair could have been the key reason as to why humans developed, grew taller and came to have larger brains. It’s all to do with regulating body temperature, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State University. Given that hair can help to protect the head from the sun’s rays, it’s thought that thicker, curlier hair types could have been key to human life progressing in Equatorial Africa. Scientists recreated the kinds of conditions that early humans would have experienced, using wigs featuring different hair types on models. They found that curls were most effective in keeping the models cool in an environment measuring 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) and 60 per cent humidity. Tina Lasisi is the study's lead author. She spoke to Newsweek about the findings and said: "We hypothesized that tightly curled scalp hair would provide some benefits, but the extent of these benefits was uncertain. "Previous studies on mammalian coats have shown that hair can limit the amount of sunlight reaching the skin, but we were particularly surprised by the significant reduction in solar heat radiation impact provided by tightly coiled hair.” The reduction in heat caused by tight curls could have led to the development of larger brains. "Once humans developed large brains, they could employ other behavioral and social strategies to cope with heat, potentially diminishing the relative advantage of curly hair," she said. "This could have led to a diverse distribution of hair textures worldwide. Furthermore, since straight hair better retains heat, populations in colder environments may have experienced selective pressure for straight hair." She added: "Future research should aim to answer these questions by incorporating our data into mathematical models of human physiology or conducting experiments with human subjects who have different hair textures to examine the impact on their thermal regulation.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

News organizations are in a cold war with OpenAI.

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 1, 2023--

Scientists have developed a device that allows amputees to feel warmth in their phantom hand. MiniTouch consists of a small sensor placed on an amputee’s prosthetic finger and electrodes that mimic sensations on the residual arm. The electrodes on the amputated arm are able to relay the temperature of the object being touched by the finger sensor, giving “the illusion that we are cooling down, or warming up, missing fingers”. The researchers said their findings, published in the journal Science, could allow amputees to have temperature-sensing technology built into their prosthetic limbs, without the need for invasive technology. The team said they developed MiniTouch after unexpectedly discovering that amputees somehow are able to feel temperatures in their missing hand. Dr Solaiman Shokur, a neuroengineer and scientist at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, said: “We discovered a new mechanism that we call the thermal phantom sensation.” In an able-bodied person, if something hot or cold is placed on the forearm, that person will feel the object’s temperature directly on their forearm. But in amputees, that temperature sensation on the residual arm may be felt in the phantom, missing hand, the researchers said. Dr Shokur said: “(During the tests) we were expecting for them to tell us, with eyes closed, where they felt it (temperature sensations) on the stump, and if it was hot or cold. “Instead, they pointed into a drawing of a hand that they had in front of them and they told us ‘I feel it there’. “We asked them several times ‘What do you mean by that, I feel it there?’ and then they clarified that they felt it into their phantom missing hand. “So this discovery was crucial for us to develop a neurotechnology that could integrate the prosthetic hand of patients.” The team said they were able to successfully test their bionic technology in 17 out of 27 patients. MiniTouch uses information about an object’s heat conducting properties to determine how hot or cold it is. The scientists said they found that small areas of skin on the amputated arm are able to project temperature sensations to specific parts of the phantom hand, like the thumb, or the tip of an index finger. They also discovered that these temperature sensations between the residual arm and the projected phantom one is unique to each patient. Fabrizio Fidati, an amputee from Italy, who took part in the study, said: “Warmth is the most beautiful feeling there is… like when we need warmth, we use a hot water bottle.” He added: “So far, prostheses have mainly been designed to have simple everyday movements, to help you in your everyday life. “But integrations of sensations of hot and cold, in my opinion, also serves to improve social interactions. “When shaking hands with people, warmth is… fundamental.” Study participant Francesca Rossi, also from Italy, added: “Temperature feedback is a nice sensation because you feel the limb, the phantom limb, entirely. “It does not feel phantom anymore because your limb is back.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Self-driving cars will cause ‘moral panic’ – transport minister Cryptocurrency trading should be regulated as gambling, says treasury committee WhatsApp offers new password protected feature to hide messages

The document appears to confirm what Phil Spencer said previously that it will be an Xbox exclusive.

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2023--

When work began at the South Crofty tin mine in Cornwall, Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne,