Dominated

(a) Seasonal temperature change rate in Central Asia (CA) and global land from 1901 to 2014; (b) Seasonal temperature change rate in CA and global land from 1980 to 2014; (c) Contribution rate of seasonal warming to the annual temperature trends in CA; (d) Temporal changes of spring temperature in CA and global land from 1980 to 2014. MAM, JJA, SON, and DJF denote spring, summer, autumn, and winter respectively. Credit: Geophysical Research Letters…

In an age where communal experiences are becoming almost extinct, the Super Bowl stands as a rare exception to the rule. For one glorious Sunday, most Americans are glued to their television and phone screens at the same time. This is an opportunity that advertisers pay big money to seize upon every year. But how do we know if it’s worth it? One metric by which to measure the success of a commercial campaign is social media engagement. According to Sprout Social, data from this year’s game shows how surprise…

Award shows are great for celebrating the wonderful work done by creatives throughout the year, but they're also an opportunity for celebrities to get together and mingle. That results in fun crossover moments that fans end up loving. This year, Selena Gomez and Florence Pugh shared an adorable hug together at the 2024 Golden Globes. The moment was captured on camera, with Elizabeth Banks caught in the shuffle, and she (of course) took the opportunity to photobomb. It's so perfect, and I'm wondering why this hasn't gone…

When Binance Holdings Ltd. acrimoniously split with its Indian affiliate WazirX in 2022, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange looked near-invincible in the local market while WazirX was flailing. A government crackdown on offshore platforms has abruptly reversed the competitive dynamics. Since Indian authorities in late December began restricting access to Binance and other foreign crypto exchanges operating there without local registrations, traders have flocked to domestic rivals like WazirX. Many of them are…

The first unofficial day of CES 2024 has come and gone and it feels like we’ve been run over by a giant metaphorical eighteen-wheeler full of press conferences. From home robots to electric vehicles to AI, laptops and processors, there was news from pretty much all areas of tech. There were pleasant surprises like Samsung’s cute new Ballie robot ball and Sony’s spatial content creation headset, and intriguing concepts like Razer’s vibrating cushion for gamers. We also got exactly what we expected in the form of new…

A group of fossils found in Northern Greenland have painted quite a terrifying picture. If the fossils are accurate, then it is likely that a group of “terror worms” once roamed our world’s oceans almost 518 million years ago. This ancient dynasty of predators is one that scientists didn’t know even existed, and they’ve been named Timorebestia, or “terror beasts.”These ancient predators could grow up to 12 inches long, the researchers say in their new study. “We have previously known that primitive arthropods…

Let’s get this out of the way: Taylor Swift dominated the year in music, and it wasn’t even close. Four-year-old songs of hers topped the charts. She sold physical albums at a head-spinning rate. Her Eras Tour was an economic stimulus in every city she played, and reignited conversations around the deeply broken ticketing marketplace as fans scrambled to purchase tickets. Her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce created a frenzy around a celebrity simply attending NFL games. And she also released…

In truth, when pop music in 2023 comes to be considered by history, it will probably just be remembered as the Year of Taylor Swift. It’s hard to think of a moment in recent pop history when a single artist has so dominated music sales and the media alike, certainly not a pop artist 17 years and 10 albums into her career. At one juncture in July, she had 11 albums on the US chart, four of them in the Top 10, including the No 1 slot; her current Eras tour is the first in history to surpass $1bn in revenue; the accompanying…

It’s been a busy year for spaceflight — the busiest ever, in fact. This fall, space companies once again broke the record for successful orbital launches in a single year with 2023’s 180th flight — Starlink satellites sent up by SpaceX on November 22, according to Ars Technica. The number has since climbed to 200.That pace has been driven in no small part by Elon Musk’s aerospace venture, which set a goal of hitting 100 launches in 2023 and is nearly there, with 92 as of December 7. Private companies have become key…

The tide turned against inflation.Artificial intelligence went mainstream — for good or ill. Labor unions capitalized on their growing might to win more generous pay and benefits. Elon Musk renamed and rebranded the social media platform Twitter, removed guardrails against phony or obscene posts and ranted profanely when advertisers fled in droves.The American housing market, straining under the weight of heavy mortgage rates, took a wallop.And Taylor Swift's concert tour scaled such stratospheric heights that she…