Technologies

Scientists concerned climate change is causing animals to ‘shape-shift’

Wood mice have larger ears. Australian parrots have bulkier bills. And the shifts are happening very quickly, researchers say.

The climate crisis is sending natural selection into overdrive, a new study suggests, forcing animals to cope with rapidly warming temperatures by physically morphing, or «shape-shifting.» That raises a piercing question: Can evolution keep up with the result of human-driven carbon emissions?

In the last 150 years, Australian parrots, such as gang-gang cockatoos and red-rumped parrots, have shown up to a 10% average increase in bill size alongside rising temperatures in their natural habitats, according to research published Tuesday in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution.

«It’s alarming that we are seeing these responses so early on in the climate crisis,» said study author Sara Ryding, a researcher in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at Deakin University in Australia. «We don’t know if they’ll be able to keep up as the crisis worsens.»

The fluffy parrots streaked with bright colors aren’t the only victims of a warmer world. Several other species of birds in North America and Australia have seen an increase in bill size, wood mice have bigger ears, and some bats are flaunting an upgraded, larger set of wings.

Those larger appendages are expected to help the animals manage hot weather because they offer a greater surface area for releasing body heat. «This is not necessarily an increase that’s visible to the naked eye,» Ryding noted, «but it’s still functionally important.»

Though evolution has occurred since the beginning of life on Earth, Ryding worries that right now it’s happening far too quickly.

«I don’t want the takeaway to be that, ‘Oh, animals are evolving in response to climate change, that means they’ll be fine,’ because that simply isn’t true,» she said.

The team’s study, which scoured through tons of already published papers to compare trends in animal shape-shifting against climate change, recognized that the rampant adaptations are happening relatively early along the projected timeline of the climate crisis.

That timeline doesn’t taper off for a while.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change already calls many countries’ previous goal of limiting global warming in the next decades to 1.5 degrees, or even 2 degrees, as «beyond reach.» That’s unless there are «immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions,» reads the group’s report from August, which the panel deems a «reality check.»

«Climatic changes are happening at a faster rate than ever before,» Ryding said. «Although evolutionary changes can be a slow process, taking thousands — or more — years, we also know that strong selection can drive faster evolutionary change.»

By strong selection, Ryding is referring to the intensity with which natural selection occurs. If only one in 10 members of a species can survive in a warm climate due to their having a larger appendage, the other nine won’t live long enough to pass their genes onto the next generation.

That’s why we’re seeing new cohorts of species with bulkier appendages riding the trajectory of global warming.

«Seeing just how widespread this phenomenon is across geographic scales and across a broad range of animals — the unifying factor that we find is climate change,» Ryding said.

The correlation makes sense, because of a theory first developed in 1877 by American zoologist and ornithologist Joel Asaph Allen. It basically states that animals living in warmer climates will have larger, longer appendages than those in colder areas.

«Animals can let go of excess body heat through their appendages, so larger appendages allow them to let go of even more excess body heat, which is beneficial as the climate warms,» Ryding explained.

Allen’s rule has been widely studied by scientists, including in a paper from 2020 that aims to establish its benefit as a predictive tool for climate change outcomes. However, the sheer coverage of Ryding’s work solidifies the phenomenon of expedited evolution as a far-reaching issue.

«I hope that these findings really highlight how climate change is impacting animals,» Ryding said, «and how important it is that we work to reduce our emissions and avoid the climate crisis as much as possible.»

Technologies

Why Are Switch 2 Games So Expensive? Trump’s Tariffs May Not Be Sole Factor

It still comes down to money.

Wednesday’s reveal of the Switch 2 had a lot of buzz from Nintendo surrounding its successor to the Switch. One shocking bit, though, was the high price of its games. There’s a lot of confusion, especially with news of President Donald Trump’s increased tariffs on many trading partners, including Japan.

After the Switch 2 Direct, Nintendo released the full details of the upcoming console and games on its website. The price of Mario Kart World shocked gamers and led to some disdain, as the $80 MSRP was $10 more than what most new games cost today. This led many to wonder if this would be a new normal for game prices due to Trump’s tariffs or if Nintendo was just being greedy. The answer, however, might be something completely different.

Are Nintendo Switch 2 game prices hiking?

To start, some details need to be cleared up. Some people have posted on social media that the price of Nintendo’s Switch 2 games, at least in the US, will be $90. That is incorrect, as of right now.

One X user posted Switch 2 EU prices for Mario Kart World, which start at 80 euros for a digital version and 90 euros for the physical copy. Typically, US and EU games match in price, which caused some to assume that this pricing would be the case for the US.

Nintendo Switch 2 games will be more expensive physically than digitally.
Mario Kart World will be 90 freaking euros phisically. pic.twitter.com/iXuRwzlFqH

— Centro LEAKS (@CentroLeaks) April 2, 2025

US retailers, however, already posted their Switch 2 game prices, and Nintendo-published games are listed at $80.

Will Trump’s tariffs cause the Switch 2 to cost more?

As for Trump’s tariffs, that is unlikely to be a driver of this price bump. Tariffs are not applied to digital goods, and when the prices were published, there were no tariffs on Japan. Plus, games are similarly expensive in other countries like Canada and the UK.

With that cleared up, why are Nintendo games on the Switch 2 so expensive? One likely reason is game storage.

Read More: All the Nintendo Games You Can Update to Switch 2 for Free

The Switch 2 uses what Nintendo calls game-key cards, which are Switch 2 cartridges that don’t have all the game data on the cartridge itself. This helps save on production costs as storage is expensive. The original Switch cartridges went up to 32GB of storage, which doesn’t seem like a lot these days, with some games taking up 100GB or more of storage, but this is for the original Switch. Only a few games, like The Witcher 3, went above 32GB because the graphics for the Switch weren’t on the high end like with a PC, PS5 or Xbox Series console, where a Witcher 3 install size starts at 50GB.

Switch 2 games are going to be bigger in size — there is little doubt about it. CD Projekt Red confirmed it would put its Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition on one 64GB cartridge, and there will likely be other games to surpass that 64GB. With the max size of the cartridge doubling in size, it adds to the price of the physical card, as not only does storage have to be bigger, but they will need to transfer data faster. That can get more expensive for physical copies, unlike optical discs, which are still the same price whether it has 20GB or 100GB on the disc.

What does all this mean for gamers?

This leads to a dilemma for publishers: Put the entire game on the physical card and sell it at a loss, increase the price of the physical copy with the full game on it or use the game-key card to have a card with minimal storage, requiring gamers to download the entire game.

Read More: The 17 Best Nintendo Switch Games Right Now

It appears that Nintendo went with door No. 2. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, knowing the company. Anyone who wants to save money on games knows that Nintendo will seldom bring the price down of its own games. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, for example, is 8 years old and is still full price on Nintendo’s website.

According to an industry analysis from Niko Partners, this new pricing could become the new normal in a couple of years when it comes to physical cartridges.

«While there has been some sticker shock regarding the price of games increasing from $60 to $70 or $80, these price points are set to become industry standard over the next two years, especially so for Nintendo first-party games,» Niko Partners said in a statement Wednesday. «One reason for the higher price is the increased cost of the new and faster Game Cards themselves, with higher capacities being more expensive to manufacture than a PS5 Blu-ray disc.»

Nintendo didn’t respond to a request for comment about the higher price of its games.

That said, this doesn’t explain the lower price of Donkey Kong Bananza, which comes out in July; that’s listed on Nintendo’s site for $70. This could mean the game isn’t using a larger storage card, but that can’t be said for sure until the game comes out. It’s unclear how things will change in the future.

Technologies

Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-orders in US Delayed Due to Trump’s Tariffs

The Switch 2 launch is still happening on June 5, and preorders outside the US seem unchanged.

Nintendo Switch 2 preorders in the US were to start April 9, but it appears those plans have changed due to the new tariffs imposed this week by President Donald Trump. It’s unclear if this means Nintendo will also have to increase the price of the Switch successor, which currently starts at $450.

Nintendo said Friday that it’s delaying Switch 2 preorders in the US, but its June release date is unaffected.

«Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions,» the company said in a statement. «Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.»

Nintendo didn’t indicate if preorder dates outside the US would change, but Eurogamer reports that preorders are live at various retailers in the UK.

A tariff of 24% has been applied by the US to goods from Japan. Were that rate to be applied directly to the Switch 2’s announced price, it would rise to $558, but it would be up to Nintendo how much of the tariff it will pass on to consumers.

This is a developing story.

Technologies

Twelve South’s Foldable Wireless Charger for iPhone and Apple Watch Is Up to 27% Off at Amazon

This handy accessory makes it easier to travel with your Apple gear and stay charged wherever you go.

Whether you’re traveling for business or off on a wonderful family vacation, charging your stuff shouldn’t be something you have to worry about. Taking extra chargers and cables can be a pain, and they all take up space in your bag. But the handy Twelve South Butterfly SE charger is a compact alternative that can wirelessly charge an iPhone and an Apple Watch at the same time. And it’s available with up to 27% off right now at Amazon.

That top line discount applies to the pink version, though the white model is only $7 more and other colors are seeing 15% off the usual $100 price tag if you have a strong preference. It’s not clear how long the discounts will last, though.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

The charger itself offers a way to wirelessly charge a iPhone and Apple Watch from a single AC outlet, and you can even charge your AirPods when your phone is done, too. And because this is a Qi2 charger you’ll get a full 15 watts of wireless charging for compatible devices — including the best iPhones.

When you’re not using the Butterfly SE, it folds up so it can be slid into a pocket, bag or luggage without taking up too much space. It really is the perfect partner for people who like to travel light.

Unfortunately, this charger doesn’t come with an AC adapter in the box, so you’ll need to provide your own. Make sure it’s rated for 20 watts or more. If you need to buy one, Apple’s 20-watt USB-C charger is just $15 right now.

Why this deal matters

We all carry multiple devices around with us these days. Anything that can make charging them more convenient is a win in our books, especially when you’re traveling. This charger takes up little space when it isn’t being used and charges quickly when it is.