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The genus Picea (spruce) is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere and is a dominant component of boreal and montane forests. Understanding the evolutionary processes that have shaped diversification and regional differentiation across the genus requires a well-resolved phylogeny of Picea. However, the evolutionary history of Picea has long been obscure due to conflicting genetic signals.

Descartes cut open living dogs and insisted their cries were just the noises of a machine. Astrophysicist and astrobiologist Adam Frank, a professor at the University of Rochester and author of The Little Book of Aliens, argues that the same life-as-machine metaphor still shapes how we think about AI, and that it gets life fundamentally wrong. Living things are self-creating, self-repairing systems that decide what matters to them, which is why he calls today’s AI an artificial mimic rather than an intelligence. This video Life is the most important problem in physics is featured on Big Think.

The nicest man in acting is back with new comedy, Bill’s Included. He talks about rejecting Hollywood, refusing to play a villain – and why he just can’t make fun of Steve Coogan ‘I’m a nice person, you know,” says Rob Brydon, as I met him in a basement green room of the BBC, where probably nobody with such a mellow ego has ever sat. “I am a people-pleaser. That’s who I am.” It’s an unnecessary clarification – at 61, he’s been nice on TV, as himself and in character, for most of our adult lives. We’re here to talk about his new six-parter, Bill’s Included, but his character in it, the eponymous Bill, is such a distillation of pure Rob Brydon that it’s (accidentally, he says) a celebration of his entire career. As the show opens, Bill has just been left by his wife, who’s run off with the gardener. At no point does he ever fire the guy – “I like him!” – but otherwise, his life is completely upended. The utterly plausible cocktail of his civic mindedness and howling loneliness drives him to take in four lodgers, local university students. Continue reading...

Alan Shearer previews every game this weekend for Metro (Picture: PA) The final round of Premier League fixtures before November’s international break is here with Alan Shearer providing his predictions before the action gets underway. Everton and Coventry City get us started in Friday evening’s kick-off with Leeds hosting Tottenham in Saturday’s lunchtime action. Arsenal can move six points clear at the top of the league if they take care of business at home to Hull City with Manchester City not in action until Sunday at Nottingham Forest. Crystal Palace host Liverpool at Selhurst Park with Manchester United welcoming Aston Villa to Old Trafford with Michael Carrick still fighting for his future after their midweek win in Europe. Get personalised updates on your favourite club Sign up to our daily football newsletter, pick your team and get the latest news sent directly to your inbox every morning. As ever, England legend and Betfair ambassador Alan Shearer has revealed his Premier League predictions to Metro. Everton vs Coventry City Coventry are doing really well. Frank’s doing a good job there. It’s always going to be tough for them, but they’re sat above Man United, so they’re doing a great job, but I think the form Everton are in, I think they will have too much for them, so home win. Grealish will not be involved against Coventry (Picture: Getty) He’s a clever manager David Moyes, he knows what he’s doing. He’s been around the block. He’s a very experienced manager and I think on Friday he will get the home win definitely. Prediction – Everton win Betfair Predicts Everton 57% Draw 24% Coventry 19% Leeds vs Tottenham This should be a good game. Leeds are not doing so well at the minute. Spurs have found a bit of form, but Elland Road’s a tough place to go. I’m going to go for a draw. I think he’s got something going, De Zerbi, he’s got a little bit of belief there and you just need something to happen like the red cards for the opposition,…

People are often asked simple questions, such as the price of the cheapest flight to a particular destination. But the answers—and how they are perceived—can reveal far more than the cost of that trip itself. For example, whether a person believes that the response "It's $200" means $200 or assumes that the figure has been rounded up or down depends on their perception of the person giving the answer.

Nextool has already proven that you don't have to choose between a multitool with pliers and one with an adjustable wrench: you can have both, staying extra prepared for every small hardware disaster real life throws in front of you. The all-new W20 Pro makes an even stronger argument in favor of this setup than the brand's past releases. The right-sized pocket powerhouse packs an 10-strong feature set with an adjustable, dual-mode ratchet wrench, multi-jaw pliers, a bit driver and more. Continue Reading Category: Knives and Multitools, Gear, Outdoors Tags: Multitools, Wrench, EDC, Everyday Carry, Tools

The 7th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku brought together cultural figures, religious leaders and international representatives to explore how art, faith and dialogue can bridge divisions, challenge prejudice and promote peace and mutual understanding.

Microbes build a long-lived nitrogen reservoir in soil from the remains of dead bacteria and fungi, which cling to minerals and resist decay. The microbial nitrogen pump turns nitrogen taken up by living microbes into this persistent pool, and microbial nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) has long been assumed to regulate this process.

A month after her departure from Warner Bros. was announced, Pamela Abdy made her first industry appearance Thursday night at the Women in Film Honors at the Beverly Hilton. On the morning of Oct. 1, Abdy was announced as WIF’s inaugural Vanguard Award recipient. Then, she was serving as co-chair and CEO of Warner Bros. […]

The series “It Gets Worse” is a star vehicle for its 20-something writer-creator that skewers a dysfunctional friend group flailing about in a big city. Though there are important distinctions — the protagonist is a gay man, not all the main characters are white and the action unfolds in London rather than the Big Apple […]

The dust had barely settled on last year’s Torino Film Festival when artistic director Giulio Base began plotting his next move. 2026 would mark the centenary of Marilyn Monroe’s birth, and Base was determined not to be beaten to it. “I really wanted to be the first to announce a retrospective,” he says. “I knew […]

Palme d’Or–winning filmmaker Cristian Mungiu — whose latest film, “Fjord,” is Romania’s official submission for best international feature film at the Oscars — will be leading a delegation from his country at the upcoming American Film Market, where Romania has been set as the first-ever country of focus. The AFM is launching this new initiative […]

Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The Revolution Against Death,” Maria Martínez Bayona’s “The End of It” and William Greaves and David Greaves “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” will screen at a Gôteborg Film Festival 2027 Focus on the fascination of youth and the dream of immortality. News of the Focus comes as Sweden’s Göteborg Festival, the biggest […]

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact. If you find yourself playing an instrument with sheet music, flipping the page often requires you to stop playing to turn the page. CueFlip solves that. You can teach it how you play a song, then it can turn the page for you whilst listening. more…

Holey toasters! Some supermarket crumpets are really good – but which ones are best? • The best supermarket sliced bread As a crumpet lover, this test was a joy, not least because analysing the inner workings of a crumpet raises some of life’s (almost) most important questions: how holey should it be? Does the number of holes actually matter? What are they made of? And how do they form? Those holes really do matter, though the number of them on the surface matters less than the crumpet’s internal architecture, which should be well aerated with that classic, honeycomb texture. Remember the old vinegar and baking soda volcano experiment at school? Well, that texture is achieved through pretty much the same process, albeit using food-grade salts rather than vinegar. When the crumpet hits heat, the surface moisture turns to steam, forcing bubbles up through the dough to leave those archetypal surface craters that soak up butter. Continue reading...

The Warriors’ freshman has spent his first weeks in the NBA antagonizing superstars, speaking his mind and emerging as one of the league’s most compelling personalities If a screen-addled pickup basketball player teleported into the body of a high-level athlete, they might resemble Yaxel Lendeborg. The most commonly cited fact about Lendeborg is that he used to spend 12 to 14 hours a day gaming, and didn’t debut on his high school basketball team until he was an upperclassman. Professional athletes often have origin stories that resemble the superhero more than the mortal, but Lendeborg really was just like us at one point. Lendeborg has also said that prior to entering the NBA, he didn’t really watch it, either. The Puerto Rican forward racked up more than enough accolades in college to qualify for the NBA, but still. Any of you reading this could smoke the man who may be this season’s rookie of the year in trivia about his profession. The 24-year-old Lendeborg is a forward on the Golden State Warriors, a team caught between the ancient, gleaming remnants of the most fearsome dynasty of the 2010s and its future. The balance didn’t work out last season, as the Warriors produced flashes of old greatness to win one play-in game before flaming out in the next. Such results are a frustrating waste of Stephen Curry’s wonderful form even at 38 years old. Lendeborg is the best hope in a while to help maximize it. But even more importantly, Lendeborg is the character of the season so far. He’s spent its first two weeks antagonizing superstars, firing off unselfconscious takes in the press and vacuuming up the spotlight from his blander peers. What a joy to bear witness to an athlete who probably didn’t even hear the words “media training” until college. Continue reading...

Apple today added several new games to Apple Arcade, including Crossy Road Rush, NBA 2K27 Arcade Edition, Kami 2+, and Food Stylist - Design Game+. Crossy Road Rush is the latest game in the popular Crossy Road series. Players will make their way across an island obstacle course and unlock fun characters. The game supports up to four players in local or online multiplayer, as well as solo play. NBA 2K27 adds the WNBA, which is a first for the Arcade Edition. The game has all 15 WNBA teams and 180 active players, though they're limited to Quick Match and Blacktop modes. The new edition also has faster, deeper progression for the MyCAREER journey and a refreshed Neighborhood. Kami 2+ is a puzzle game where players fold colorful paper patterns, and Food Stylist lets players create virtual dishes and tablescapes inspired by cuisines around the world. Apple Arcade is Apple's subscription gaming service, priced at $6.99 per month. Up to six family members can share a subscription, and there are no ads or in-app purchases. Tag: Apple Arcade This article, "Apple Arcade Adds Crossy Road Rush and NBA 2K27" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums

James Norton and Lucy Punch star as a youthful Mr and Mrs Claus in lively ad about shared moments as well as shopping For years the “Christmas advert moment” has belonged to one brand. John Lewis’s syrupy commercials featuring piano ballads and tearjerker storylines have given the 160-year-old department store a cultural head start in the dash for festive profits. This year, however, there’s one high-street rival with a sackful of tricks to make up the ground. Marks & Spencer has brought out the big guns – in the form of a topless Santa, played by the small-screen heart-throb James Norton. Continue reading...

Lego is bringing together some of the biggest names in entertainment for its new holiday campaign, directed by “The Greatest Showman” and “Better Man” filmmaker Michael Gracey. Set to Daft Punk’s 2000 hit “One More Time,” the 74-second commercial takes viewers inside a fantastical Lego workshop, where characters from across the toy company’s sprawling universe […]