Scientists have managed to engineer spinach plants to send emails when they detect explosive materials. Euronews picked up its trowel and dug through a Nature journal entry to provide details of the nanotechnology that has been used to transform wild-type plants, such as spinach, into infrared communication platforms capable of sending information to computers and smartphones through a process of sensor detection and wireless relay. MIT engineers experimented with a niche field of science known as "plant nanobionics" and discovered that, per the report, spinach roots can "detect the presence of nitroaromatics in groundwater, a compound often found in explosives like landmines, the carbon nanotubes within the plant leaves emit a signal." This signal can then be picked up by an infrared camera, sending an email to alert scientists. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/21/christopher-walken-has-never-sent-a-text"] "Plants are very good analytical chemists. They have an extensive root network in the soil, are constantly sampling groundwater, and have a way to self-power the transport of that water up into the leaves," Professor Michael Strano, who led the research, explained to the outlet. "This is a novel demonstration of how we have overcome the plant/human communication barrier." Initially, the research was conducted to understand whether wild-type plants could be bioengineered to detect explosive materials, however, scientists now believe that the nanotech could be stretched further afield, whilst still remaining in the field, to engineer plants to warn researchers about pollution and other potential environmental issues. The experiment findings were published in 2016 but the research recently resurfaced in headlines, sparking interest amongst social media users who immediately got the topic trending on Twitter.

Length of spinach's email. vs Content in spinach's email. pic.twitter.com/ZB1JoMHMZT

— Ólafur Waage (@olafurw) February 2, 2021

Have your spinach email my spinach and we’ll set something up pic.twitter.com/kdee9tUerM

— charles entertainment cheese (@jmurffff) February 2, 2021

This year is stressful enough, I refuse to get emails from salad pic.twitter.com/s5eiLlcTZi

— James Felton (@JimMFelton) February 2, 2021

Pressures really ramping up on my grandma to learn how to use her iPad now that spinach is sending emails

— Matilda Boseley (@MatildaBoseley) February 2, 2021

For more technological developments and real-world discoveries, read about a new "cyborg" technology that is now one step closer to becoming a reality, find out more about Microsoft's patent filing to create chatbots that imitate dead people, and then check out this study about how brains process visual communication in films. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

The Design Director of Perfect Dark studio The Initiative has announced that he is leaving the project. The Initiative's Drew Murray revealed the news on Twitter (as spotted by VGC). Murray previously worked on Resistance, Ratchet & Clank and Sunset Overdrive at Insomniac Games before leaving in 2018 to help kickstart the Microsoft first-party studio. He is leaving to focus on his "life outside of work" and tweeted that the goodbye felt bittersweet after working with "such a talented and experienced team."

After two wild years helping start @TheInitiative @Xbox and rebooting #PerfectDark, it's time for me to say a tearful and bittersweet goodbye to my team at The Initiative. (1/5) pic.twitter.com/LIY9AQDyTV

— Drew Murray (@PlaidKnuckles) February 1, 2021

"The team has the vision and talent to knock the game and franchise out of the park," Murray tweeted in regards to the future of the project, noting that the reveal trailer still gives him goosebumps. Interestingly, Murray points out that, when he joined The Initiative, he wasn't aware that the team would be working on a Perfect Dark game. Murray says that the silver lining of this is that he will get to experience Perfect Dark as a fan on launch day. The Perfect Dark reboot project was announced in December of 2020 during The Game Awards and is promising to deliver an "eco sci-fi" first-person shooter. You can learn more about the game in our coverage of its reveal. Santa Monica-based studio The Initiative was revealed by Microsoft in 2018 and famously described as looking for 'AAAA' standards in job listings. The development team is currently being led by Darrell Gallagher, a veteran of Rockstar Games, Crystal Dynamics and Activision where he worked on games such as GTA IV and Tomb Raider. God of War Lead Producer Brian Westergaard and Red Dead Redemption Lead Writer Christian Cantamessa are also working at The Initiative, most likely contributing to Perfect Dark. It's part of Microsoft's growing roster of studios following its recent acquisition of Zenimax Media. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Although she hadn't been seen since Thor: The Dark World, WandaVision episode four brought back the sarcastic Darcy Lewis, once again played by Kat Dennings, who has graduated to being a scientist in her own right in the ensuing years. But with filming on Thor: Love and Thunder now underway in Australia, what are the chances that Dennings will reprise her role in the MCU franchise that introduced Darcy? IGN's Jesse Gill posed that very question to Kat Dennings today during an interview to promote the latest episode of Marvel's WandaVision. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/marvels-wandavision-sitcom-official-clip"] According to Dennings, the chances of Darcy hanging out with her old pals Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) in Love and Thunder appear highly unlikely. "Well, I have not gotten a call so I kind of doubt it since they’re shooting it right now so probably not," Dennings told IGN, adding, "but anything Marvel ever asks of me the answer’s always yes." While Dennings' Darcy may not return for the fourth Thor movie, plenty of other MCU veterans are, such as Thor and Thor: The Dark World's Jaime Alexander as the warrior Sif. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=thor-love-and-thunder-8-characters-who-could-be-valkyries-queen&captions=true"] In addition to Sif, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and (most) of the Guardians of the Galaxy cast will play supporting roles in the Taika Waititi-directed sequel. Even Matt Damon's cameo character from Thor: Ragnarok will return. Christian Bale has made the leap from DC to Marvel here to play the villainous Gorr the God-Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder. Look for our full interview with Kat Dennings in the days ahead. The next episode of WandaVision debuts on Disney+ this Friday.

A GameStop stock TV series is also in the works after two movies were announced.

When Capcom debuted the villain of Resident Evil Village, a downright towering vampire woman by the name of Lady Alcina Dimitrescu, they had to have known how, uh...eager the RE fanbase would be to know more about her, right? With her WNBA-shattering height and dominant personality, Lady Dimitrescu quickly became an internet phenomenon, and fans were most excited to learn exactly how tall she is.

Resident Evil fans finally have their answer. RE Village art director Tomonori Tanako released a statement thanking fans for their interest in Village and shed some light on the matter.

“Most recently, Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters have received a fair amount of attention, far more than we anticipated” Tanako said. “It’s great that they’re able to take the spotlight as icons of Resident Evil Village. Lady Dimitrescu, especially, has received much fanfare both domestically and overseas, which has made all of us in the development team extremely happy. I hear her height is something of interest….”

“If you include her hat and high heels,” Tanako continued, “[Lady Dimitrescu is] 2.9 meters (approximately 9’6”) tall.”

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/26/resident-evil-village-how-to-speedrun-the-ps5-demo-in-4-minutes"]

So there you have it. Capcom has finally released fans from horny jail and subsequently thrown them into the horny wine cellar. We look forward to repeatedly being captured by Resident Evil's big lady.

Just for the record, here are some things that Lady Dimitrescu is taller than: A Christmas tree, Andre the Giant, Shaq, a king size bed standing vertically, or most importantly, the actual tallest man or woman ever recorded.

Resident Evil Village is out on May 7, 2021. You can check out our Resident Evil Village pre-order guide to make sure you get the best possible deal on all the fancy collectibles. Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/human wine cask for IGN.

Judgment, the Yakuza spin-off, is coming to Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and Stadia on April 23. Originally a PS4 exclusive, the action game will come to new platforms with all of its DLC, "refined" visuals, 60 FPS performance, and improved loading times. It will be released at a $39.99 price point (UK and AU prices not available at time of writing). Sega confirmed to IGN that cross-buy will not be supported for PS4 and PS5, and we could not get an answer on whether progress can be carried over from the PS4 version to the PS5 version. Furthermore, RGG Studios says it does not have plans to release Judgement for PC at this time. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=judgment-next-gen-version-screenshots&captions=true"] Set in the same world as Yakuza, and in its familiar Kamurocho district, Judgment tells a very different story, with an almost entirely new cast of characters. Centred on lawyer-turned-private detective Takayuki Yagami, the game follows a muder mystery, alongside the Yakuza series' usual bizarre sidequests and activities. We awarded Judgment an 8.2/10 review back in 2019, calling it "a superficial detective experience, but an extremely good Yakuza one." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Originally scheduled as a day-one PS5 launch exclusive, Lucid Games’ Destruction AllStars was pushed into February for a planned debut as a PlayStation Plus game. And ss Lucid and Sony XDEV team members tell IGN, the delay was in part to properly allow for that PS Plus launch, with the added benefit of making some adjustments that might have needed to wait for post-launch updates. “It made sense [to delay and go to PS Plus] just as a predominantly online multiplayer game. It absolutely made sense to go out to that widest audience possible. And what better way to do that than to the PlayStation Plus audience,” XDEV Senior Producer John MacLaughlin told IGN in an interview ahead of AllStars’ launch. MacLaughlin also noted that the developers have taken that time to prep their backend and servers accordingly to handle the potentially larger audience. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/27/destruction-allstars-state-of-play-video"] And AllStars Game Director Colin Berry noted how the move was something the Lucid and XDEV teams were eager to pursue. When it became a reality, it meant the team could prep for a launch that gives this new franchise its “best possible chance to succeed.” “It gives us the most people playing it, the most eyes on it, which means we get the most feedback, not just in terms of raw data and analytics, but we get feedback from the player saying, ‘We love this character and we want more of this.’ Or, ‘We like this or this isn't quite working how we wanted because the balance of this.’” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=destruction-allstars-game-modes-reveal&captions=true"] And that decision to delay to allow for a launch via PS Plus, which entitles all subscribers of the service to a copy of AllStars, makes a lot of sense when considering there are over 40 million PS Plus subscribers by Sony’s last announced count, which gives this brand new franchise quite the built-in audience. But Berry also explained how the delay did give the team time to make adjustments that will benefit players as they jump right into the car combat action. “One of the main things that we polished in that time period was, um, the onboarding, the messaging of the game rules to people,” Berry said. “We had a couple of systems in for the tutorial that were working, but we knew it wasn't quite right. We knew we had plans for post-launch, we'll do this and we'll do this. And then suddenly, we don't have to wait for post-launch now, let's get all that stuff in.” Players will be able to see just what awaits them shortly, as Destruction AllStars will be available as a PS5 exclusive on February 2. For more on this week's PS5 exclusive release, check out the latest on Destruction AllStars' modes, currency, and more. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

HBO Max has revealed Batman: The Audio Adventures, which is a comedic take on the Caped Crusader featuring Jeffrey Wright as the voice of the Dark Knight. This news comes by way of The Hollywood Reporter, which also reports that longtime Saturday Night Live writer, Dennis McNicholas, will write and direct the multi-episode podcast series. It will hit HBO Max sometime in 2021 and is being produced under the Warner Bros. Blue Ribbon Content banner. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/23/the-batman-trailer-dc-fandome-official-footage"] McNicholas' history with SNL shines through in the cast of this podcast, which is filled with SNL alum amongst others. Alongside Wright, who will voice the titular character, the audio cast includes Rosario Dawson, who has voiced Wonder Woman in previous DC projects and Batgirl/Barbara Gordon in The LEGO Batman Movie, Seth Myers, Jason Sudeikis, Alan Tudyk, Chris Parnell, Melissa Villaseñor, Kenan Thompson, Heidi Gardner, Brooke Shields, Tim Meadows, Fred Armisen, Brent Spiner, John Leguizamo, Ike Barinholtz, Bobby Moynihan, Paul Scheer, Ray Wise, Ben Rodgers, Katie Rich, Pete Schultz, Paula Pell, Toby Huss, and McNicholas as well. Who these actors are voicing has not yet been announced. Details regarding the plot of Batman: The Audio Adventures are unknown at this time, but it is meant to be a more comedic take on the otherwise very-dark Dark Knight, which is reflected in the SNL-centric cast. McNicholas is producing the podcast with Angela Petrella and Justice League producer, Jon Berg, will serve as the executive producer. The podcast is expected to launch this year on HBO Max. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=7-detective-stories-the-batman-could-adapt&captions=true"] While this will be Wright's first time stepping into the Batsuit, it's not his first stroll through Gotham. He's playing James Gordon in the upcoming Matt Reeves-directed movie, The Batman, which stars Rob Pattinson in the role of a Batman earlier in his career. While waiting for Wright's Batman podcast, check out the first trailer for The Batman and then watch this video breaking down every clue hidden within that trailer. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

Google Stadia, the tech giant’s video game streaming platform which launched in 2019, is shutting down its internal game development studios and refocusing on offering its tech platform to third-party publishers, the company announced Monday.

As first reported by Kotaku, Google will close its two Stadia Games & Entertainment studios located in Los Angeles and Montreal. The closure will impact approximately 150 employees, one source told Kotaku. Google says it will try to find new roles at the company for those impacted.

"With the recent successful launch of Cyberpunk 2077 on Stadia, gameplay on all types of devices, including iOS, growing our slate of YouTube integrations, and our global expansions, it’s clear that Stadia’s technology has been proven and works at scale," Google's vice president of Stadia and GM Phil Harrison said in a statement. "Having games streamed to any screen is the future of this industry, and we’ll continue to invest in Stadia and its underlying platform to provide the best cloud gaming experience for our partners and the gaming community. This has been the vision of Stadia since the beginning."

Jade Raymond, the noted producer who helped bring Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise to life, is also departing from her role as head of game development at Google.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/22/google-stadia-review"]

What does this mean for Stadia subscribers? Google states that players can still access their games on Stadia (or the $10-a-month Stadia Pro), and that third-party games will continue to release on the service. It’s unclear how many third-party games Google plans on hosting on Stadia.

A key pillar of Google’s new strategy is offering up Stadia’s game streaming technology to other interested companies. Google’s head of Stadia operations, Phil Harrison, will lead that initiative.

Google Stadia launched with some serious hype, but a rocky start plagued by technical issues and a thin library of games proved to be the service’s downfall. Ironically, Cyberpunk 2077’s Stadia version proved to be one of the more reliable platforms to play the notoriously buggy open-world RPG on.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/15/cyberpunk-2077-21-minutes-of-google-stadia-gameplay-1080p-settings"]

Google also undercut its own Stadia Pro subscription plan by eventually offering a free version of the service in April 2020. Though Google gradually chipped away at its list of missing features and conveniences, its distinct lack of first-party games proved to remain a concern. In IGN’s own review, we saw absolutely no reason to subscribe to Stadia Pro while the free service remained equally viable. Stadia also saw stiff competition from Microsoft’s XCloud service, which similarly streamed a wide variety of games to almost any device provided the internet connection was strong enough. A common concern among Stadia skeptics was whether or not Google would invest long enough in the service for it to realize its potential, a fear that seems justified now.

Despite Google’s seemingly immense influence on the world of technology, the company appeared to lack the resources or ship any major game. One source familiar with Stadia’s first-party work told Kotaku: “Google was a terrible place to make games. Imagine Amazon, but under-resourced.”

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

The Walt Disney Company has announced that a new Disney+ series is in development with Black Panther director Ryan Coogler that is based on the Kingdom of Wakanda. This Kingdom of Wakanda series will be part of Disney's five-year overall exclusive television deal with Coogler's Proximity Media. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-cinematic-universe-every-upcoming-movie-and-tv-show&captions=true"] "It’s an honor to be partnering with The Walt Disney Company. Working with them on Black Panther was a dream come true. As avid consumers of television, we couldn’t be happier to be launching our television business with Bob Iger, Dana Walden and all the amazing studios under the Disney umbrella. We look forward to learning, growing, and building a relationship with audiences all over the world through the Disney platforms. We are especially excited that we will be taking our first leap with Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso and their partners at Marvel Studios where we will be working closely with them on select MCU shows for Disney+. We’re already in the mix on some projects that we can't wait to share,” stated Ryan Coogler on behalf of Proximity Media. No further details were given regarding the Kingdom of Wakanda series, but Disney has already made clear that it will not recast the late Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa following the actor's death for Black Panther 2, so it can be assumed the same will be true here. In late 2020, a report claimed that Black Panther 2 would begin filming in Atlanta in July 2021, with a shoot that could last up to six months under the director of Coogler. Furthermore, it is said that Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke and Angela Bassett will all be returning, with Wright's Shuri possibly taking on a much more prominent role. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/every-marvel-announcement-from-disneys-investors-call"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.