ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 15, 2023--

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese e-commerce and fintech conglomerate Rakuten Group Inc will raise up to 294.2 billion yen ($2.18 billion) by

Collecting all your favourite snacks and drinks, surrounding yourself with comfortable cushions and blankets, and

Neanderthals liked to unwind after a hard day’s work hunter gathering by consuming psychoactive drugs, a new study has found. A discovery of human hair strands at a burial site in Menorca, Spain has given us evidence of drug use in prehistoric times. Research was put forward in a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, and they shine new light on drug use throughout history. The findings uncovered a number of different alkaloid substances which came from nightshade plants. They contain scopolamine and atropine which can cause hallucinations and out-of-body experiences, while ephedrine is a stimulant. The cave also contained boxes patterned with psychedelic decorations, which could well have been decorated while neanderthals were under the influence. Elisa Guerra-Doce is an associate professor of Prehistory at the University of Valladolid and lead author of the study. Guerra-Doce told The New York Times: "These findings are so singular. "Sometimes when people think about drugs, they think it's a modern practice. These results tell a different story." Ethnobotanist Giorgio Samorini, who wasn’t involved in the study, also told the publication: "This was not a profane purpose of 'searching for a high' but more generally the search for existential meaning that has been largely lost to time.” 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.

Germany, through its KfW development bank, will as soon as Friday sign an agreement to lend South Africa

Messaging app Telegram warned Tuesday that "democracy is under attack in Brazil," the latest salvo by tech companies opposed to a bill...

Senior art director Jacinda Chew has explained why they didn't want Venom to be "too scary".

Google has agreed to pay the state of California $93 million to settle a lawsuit

ABU DHABI, United Arab of Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 6, 2023--

CAIRO Gulf Air said its data was breached on Friday but its operations and vital systems were not

RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 3, 2023--

Meta has released two new ways to begin to experience the “mixed reality” that it says is the future. It has revealed its Meta Quest 3, a virtual reality headset that also has “passthrough” to the real world, allowing virtual objects to be layered on top of it. Until now, its headsets have only offered virtual reality. It also released new versions of its smart glasses, made in collaboration with Ray-Ban. They feature a camera that can record, and speakers in the glasses’ arms. Both are a glimpse at what Mark Zuckerberg has suggested will be the future: smart eyewear that let you move between virtual and real worlds, to experience the “metaverse” around which the company is now organised and for which it changed its name from Facebook. But that technology is not yet available, and so the new products are Meta’s best attempt at giving something of a look at that future. Meta’s new releases come soon before Apple’s “Reality Pro”, the mixed reality headset that it revealed in June and says will be coming early next year. Like the new Meta Quest 3, that uses cameras to show the real world and project digital items on top of it, or lets users dial into entirely virtual worlds. Meta has suggested it will be able to stand out from Apple’s competition by offering a more social version of mixed reality. But it has also pointed to its price: the Meta Quest 3 costs $500, or £480, compared with $3,500 for the Vision Pro. The Meta Quest 3 does have considerably lower specs than its competitor, however. While Meta said that its new headset has a 30 per cent increase from its predecessor, even as the headset itself gets smaller, the detail is much less than in Apple’s headset. Meta’s Quest is also focused primarily on gaming and entertainment. It revealed it along with a host of games – including access to Xbox Cloud Gaming, which allows many console games to be played over the internet. The new headset begins by automatically mapping the space around its user, with sensors that are able to understand both the size of the room and any objects that are in it. That can then be used to ensure that wearers don’t crash into their surroundings, but also layer games on top. Pre-orders for the Meta Quest 3 open now, and it will go on sale on 10 October. The new smart glasses cost £299 or $299, the same price as the original version. They bring improved cameras, a lighter design, and new features such as livestreaming. Read More Meta showcases new AR/VR tech at annual Connect conference Meta plans to develop ‘sassy robot’ chatbot for young users, report says Facebook changes logo to ‘make F stand apart’ – but can you tell the difference?