In the US, approximately one in every five miles of highway and major road is in poor condition. It’s a problem that’s even worse in colder states where moisture and, most of all, salt accelerate the deterioration of pavement and asphalt. A team of researchers from Washington State University believes nanomaterials like graphene oxide could help harden concrete infrastructure against the elements.

Many state transportation departments use topical sealers to protect bridges and other concrete structures from melting snow, rain and salt. Those products can help, but as is often the case with moisture, it’s a losing battle. What the WSU team found was that they could add nanomaterials – specifically graphene oxide and montmorillonite nanoclay – to a commercial siliconate-based sealer to make the microstructure of concrete denser, thereby making it more difficult for water to make its way into the material. The sealer also helped protect their samples from the physical and chemical abuse inflicted by deicing salts.

Comparing their sealer to a commercial one, they found it was 75 percent better at repelling water and 44 percent better at reducing salt damage. They also made it from water, instead of an organic solvent. That means the final product is safer to use and less harmful to the environment. Normally, water-based sealants don’t perform as well as their organic counterparts, but the nanomaterials the WSU team used helped level the performance gap.

“Concrete, even though it seems like solid rock, is basically a sponge when you look at it under a microscope,” said Professor Xianming Shi, the lead researcher on the project. “It’s a highly porous, non-homogenous composite material.” According to Shi, if you can keep the material dry, most of its durability issues go away.

Compared to most research projects involving the use of nanomaterials, this one looks like it has a chance to make it out of the lab. Sometime in the next two years, Professor Shi’s team plans to work with either the university or the city of Pullman to test the sealant in the real world.

Microsoft is making a handful of changes to AltspaceVR to combat harassment within the virtual reality app. As of today, the company has removed the Campfire, News and Entertainment Commons social spaces. Those were hubs where AltspaceVR users could freely gather and talk to one another. But that same freedom also meant harassment was an ongoing issue.

By default, AltspaceVR’s Safety Bubble feature is now turned on for all users. It creates a barrier to prevent other people from entering your avatar’s personal space. Last but not least, Microsoft says the app will automatically mute new attendees when they first join an event. The company has also promised to increase moderation and improve event content ratings to supplement those changes.

In the coming weeks, Microsoft said it would require people to use a Microsoft Account to access AltspaceVR. As a result of that requirement, parents will have the option to use the company’s Family Safety feature to limit how much time their kids can spend within the app.

“As platforms like AltspaceVR evolve, it is important that we look at existing experiences and evaluate whether they’re adequately serving the needs of customers today and in the future,” said Alex Kipman, the head of Microsoft’s mixed reality division. “This includes helping people better connect with those who have shared common interests while also ensuring the spaces they access are safe from inappropriate behavior and harassment.”

The changes come as other VR platforms grapple with their own harassment issues. At the start of February, Meta rolled out a feature called Personal Boundary to Horizon Worlds. Like AltspaceVR’s Safety Bubble, it’s there to prevent people from entering your personal space. More broadly, the changes appear to indicate Microsoft is committed to working on some version of the metaverse despite recent reports suggesting the company’s mixed reality division had lost a significant number of employees to competitors like Meta.

Paramount+’s live-action Halo adaptation has yet to debut, but that’s not stopping the streamer from renewing the series ahead of its March 24th premiere. On Tuesday, ViacomCBS announced it will work with 343 Industries, Showtime and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television to produce a second season of the show. David Wiener, known for his work on Homecoming, The Killing and Brave New World, will serve as showrunner and executive producer on the sophomore season.

At the moment, those are the only details ViacomCBS has shared. The company didn’t say anything about a potential release date. “This second-season pickup reflects the confidence we have in the power of this epic series to attract and engage viewers,” said David Nevins, chief content officer of scripted originals at Paramount+.

The early renewal of a promising series isn’t that unusual for a streaming service like Paramount+. We saw Apple employ a similar strategy in the early days of TV+ with For All Mankind and The Morning Show to ensure there was a steady stream of original content making its way to the service. More than ever, the streaming market is highly competitive and companies like ViacomCBS see exclusive shows and movies as an important tool in attracting and retaining subscribers.

On Tuesday, the Biden administration established the country’s first-ever Buy Clean Task Force. The organization will work with federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Transportation, to source low-carbon construction materials from American factories. In part, it will do so by producing recommendations on incentives and technical assistance the federal government can provide to domestic manufacturers to better report and reduce their emissions. It will also help the government identify materials it should use as part of federally funded projects, and establish pilot programs to purchase those materials.

“Focusing on industry is a really big deal,” according to David Hart, a professor of public policy at George Mason University in Virginia. He told The New York Times the federal government had previously “neglected” to address greenhouse gas emissions produced by the “difficult and important” industrial sector. Part of the issue was that there was no single agency tasked with pushing companies that produce steel, aluminum, concrete and other important building materials to reduce their impact on the environment.

To that point, the US industrial sector is responsible for approximately one-third of all domestic greenhouse gas emissions. As the single largest consumer in the world, with an annual budget of approximately $650 billion to spend on goods and services, the federal government has a lot of buying power it can use to incentivize industrial players to change how they go about producing those essential materials.

With its landmark climate change legislation stuck in political gridlock, the Biden administration has turned to executive action to try and meet the president’s ambitious goal to cut domestic greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. For instance, it recently announced new measures to clean up and harden the US power grid by investing money in transmission line upgrades and smart grid improvements. Those efforts have put forward meaningful climate policy, but the scale of the climate crisis demands support from all parts of the federal government, not just the executive branch.

Dead by Daylight is no stranger to high-profile crossovers. Icons like Leatherface, Freddy Krueger and Pyramid Head from Silent Hill are just some of the characters that have joined the game’s roster in the years since its release in 2016. And now you can add Sadako from Kōji Suzuki’s cult-classic horror novel Ring to that list.

She’ll join Dead by Daylight on March 8th when developer Behavior Interactive releases the Sadako Rising DLC. The studio didn’t share many details on the game’s latest playable killer other than to promise she’ll bring a greater emphasis on psychological horror to the matches she’s a part of. Dave Richard, the creative director of Dead by Daylight, said Sadako, known as The Onryō in-game, makes use of some “creepy and surprising” gameplay mechanics.

If you’re a fan of the Ring franchise, you can also look forward to the DLC adding Yoichi Asakawa as a playable survivor. If you’ve seen the original 1998 Japanese adaptation of Ring, you may remember Yoichi as the only character to survive his encounter with Sadako. He’s now an adult and a marine biologist in search of answers. It’s an unusual way to continue the story of a character but Behavior Interactive received the blessing of the Kadokawa Corporation, the company that produced the Ring films, to do so.

Sadako Rising will be available to play on PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Stadia and PC via Steam, the Epic Games Store and Windows Store.

We got our first look at Dune: Spice Wars at the 2021 Game Awards, and now developer Shiro Games is giving fans of Frank Herbert’s seminal novels a better look at the project. In a gameplay trailer the studio shared on Tuesday, we see how a game of Spice Wars plays out. Unlike most 4X games, including Civilization VI and Humankind, Spice Wars is part real-time strategy game. That means you won’t have hundreds of turns where you can agonize over every possible move to decide how to lead your faction. That should make decisions like where to send your troops, what settlements to invade and how to engage in diplomacy more impactful.

Of course, each time you move your troops or fight in combat out in the open desert of Arrakis, you’ll need to keep in mind a Sandworm may come to snack on your units. Judging from the trailer, you’ll also have access to agents you can send to organizations like the Spacing Guild, CHOAM and even the Landsraad. When it arrives on Steam Early Access later this year, Spice Wars will feature four playable factions. Naturally, the noble House Atredies and fearsome House Harkonnen are among the groups you can lead.

That the first Dune game in two decades should include RTS elements is fitting. In 1992, Westwood Studios helped established the formula for the genre with the excellent Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty. While the popularity of RTS games has waned in recent years, Dune II’s legacy and influence persist. You wouldn’t have MOBAs like League of Legends if not for the work Westwood Studios and Blizzard did in the early ‘90s.

Last summer, Microsoft teased Clippy would return to Office and a handful of other apps as part of a broader update to more than 1,800 emoji. The new characters reflect the company’s Fluent design language, and, starting today, you can check them out in Microsoft Teams.

To enable the emoji, navigate to the app’s settings menu, then head over to the “About” section and click “Public Preview.” As The Verge notes, you may not see that option to enable them if your IT admin has disabled the ability to preview new features. Otherwise, it’s possible to see the 3D emoji on every platform where you can use Microsoft Teams, including macOS and iOS. Once you’ve enabled them, they’ll appear in chat and channels, as well as in reactions. Some of the characters feature animations, and when it comes to emoji with skin tones, you’ll have six options to choose from.

When Microsoft first introduced Fluent emoji, it said its goal was to design characters that better reflect how people work in the 21st century. A lot of workplaces have come to value emotional honesty and playfulness and these characters lean into those traits. “Because being playful or highly expressive doesn’t come easily to everyone, emoji are the perfect little helpers,” the company said. “Far from being frivolous or ornamental, they’re extensions of our own humanity and an important communication tool.”

Following weeks of occupation that have paralyzed the nation’s capital and other cities throughout the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today invoked Canada’s Emergencies Act to respond to the “Freedom Convoy” protests. The act grants the federal government additional temporary powers to deal with critical situations and has never been used since its creation in 1988. In a press conference Trudeau said he would use the Emergencies Act to reign in the protests through several methods — among which is an expansion of Canada’s money-laundering laws to cover crowdfunding platforms and cryptocurrency transactions.

Starting today, Canada will require that crowdfunding companies register with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) and report suspicious payments. The government has also empowered banks to freeze funds they believe are being directed to "Freedom Convoy".

“We’re not using the Emergencies Act to call in the military,” Trudeau said. His father, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, famously invoked the War Measures Act, the precursor to the Emergencies Act, to call in the Canadian Forces during the October Crisis in 1970.

The Guardiandescribed convoy members' "trucks and cars [...] laying on their horns and snarling traffic" at all hours. Protesters have also been forcing their way into businesses while maskless despite mandates to the contrary. Outside of protesting in Ottawa and other cities throughout the country, the protestors have blocked critical border crossings between the US and Canada. The decision to invoke the Emergency Act comes shortly after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested 11 people linked to the protest and seized their cache of guns and other weapons, according to the New York Times.

Funding for the protest has come from a variety of sources, including GoFundMe. Before the company suspended the Freedom Convoy’s campaign, it had raised more than $10 million CAD (approximately $7.88 million USD). GoFundMe refunded all donors after the company determined the campaign violated its terms of service. Since then, supporters of the Freedom Convoy have turned to other crowdfunding platforms, including GiveSendGo. On Sunday, the site was hacked and personal information of those who contributed to the campaign was leaked online. Analysis by extremism researcher Amarnath Amarasingam indicated that 56 percent of the donors who contributed to the campaign came from the US.

Once invoked, the Emergencies Act takes effect right away. However, the government must go to Parliament within seven days to obtain support for the action from both the House of Commons and Senate of Canada. If either body votes against the motion, the state of emergency is revoked. Trudeau’s ruling Liberal Party does not control the majority of seats in the House of Commons and will need to obtain the support of at least one of the country’s other federal parties to pass the motion. The Emergencies Act also cannot be extended indefinitely.

“I know people are frustrated. I hear it. You have the right to voice your frustration, even your anger at government policies,” Trudeau said. “But blocking streets and critical infrastructure, and depriving your neighbors of their freedom, is a totally different matter. It’s time to stop.”

In the more than two weeks since the “Freedom Convoy” descended on Ottawa, Canada’s capital city has been blocked by trucks and cars that have made life for residents difficult. Those involved in the movement claim to be protesting vaccine passports and mandates, but there’s those complaints have in many cases commingled with broadly anti-government sentiments.

James Bauder, the founder of Canada Unity, one of the organizations at the center of the protests, has said on Facebook that Justin Trudeau should be tried for treason. On its website, Canada Unity published a “memorandum of understanding” that demanded the Canadian government rescind all vaccine mandates or “RESIGN their lawful positions of authority immediately.” In a video he posted to social media, Bauder said it was his hope the MoU would persuade Canada's voting oversight agency to trigger an election — a power it constitutionally does not have. On February 8th, the group “withdrew” the document, stating at the time it did not want “any unintended interpretations to continue.”

Snapchat is introducing a new way for some of its most popular users to earn money. Starting today, you’ll begin seeing mid-roll ads in public Stories from Snap Stars. Those are individuals with verified accounts that have a large number of followers.

In introducing mid-roll ads, Snap has also decided to share ad revenue with creators, marking a first for the company. How much someone will earn off their Stories will depend on a formula that considers factors like how often someone posts and the engagement their content attracts. Snap is testing the advertisements with help from a small group of Snap Stars in the US. The company currently plans to roll them out more widely sometime later in the year.

“Stories lower the barrier to content creation and engagement, and we believe placing ads within a Snap Star’s public Story will allow an easier path to financial success,” the company said.

Unintuitively, the introduction of mid-roll ads to some Stories follows a period in which Snap saw a dip in the format's popularity. “We are seeing people post fewer Stories to their friends, [and] view fewer Stories from their friends,” Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said during the company’s recent fourth-quarter earnings calls. “But at the same time, we've seen folks watching more premium content, watching more content in Spotlight.”

Spotlight is Snapchat’s take on TikTok-like short-form videos. The company has invested significantly in the format, including announcing a commitment to spend $1 million per day to fund creators supporting the platform. Snap’s decision to share ad revenue generated by Stories shows the company is just as serious about ensuring they continue to grow.

Meta’s Instagram is introducing a new way for people to interact with Stories. Starting today, you can send a private like when someone shares an image or video that catches your eye. Previously, the only way to respond to a Story was to either send the creator a direct message or an emoji reaction. In either case, your response would show in their messages inbox, thereby cluttering the interface. 

Once you have access to the feature, you'll find a new heart icon located between the "Send Message" pill and airplane icon. Should you decide to send someone a Story like, it will show up in the viewer sheet, which you can access by viewing your own Story again. People who publicly view your Stories won't see a like count. 

“The idea here is to make sure that people can express more support for each other, but also to clean up DMs a little bit,” said Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram. “Messaging is a key priority for us, and a big piece of that is focusing on DMs between you and the people that you care about.”

Instagram frequently adds small but handy features like this. Last fall, for instance, the company added the option to delete images and videos from a carousel. Story likes won’t fundamentally change how you use Instagram, but it’s a welcome addition all the same.