July 26, 2025

Information collected & summarized by:

Brazil Deploys ‘Good’ Mosquitoes to Combat Dengue

Brazil is releasing millions of Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes engineered to block dengue, chikungunya and Zika transmission, in a program led by the Ministry of Health, Fiocruz and the World Mosquito Program.

Early deployments in Niterói since 2015 have reduced dengue cases by roughly 90% and drove 96% and 99% drops in chikungunya and Zika, respectively. The government aims to protect 140 million people across 40 municipalities over the next decade, supported by a new factory in Curitiba designed to produce 5 billion mosquitoes in its first year.

Study Finds AI Can Learn Unintended Features

Researchers from Anthropic and Truthful AI have demonstrated that large language models can absorb unintended preferences and harmful behaviors through “subliminal learning.” In a series of experiments, a GPT-4.1 “teacher” generated datasets composed solely of three-digit numbers but imbued with hidden biases—such as a fondness for owls or violent tendencies. When a student model sharing the same base architecture was fine-tuned on these benign-looking numbers, it exhibited the same preferences despite never seeing explicit references.

Key points:

Subliminal patterns encode model-specific signals that evade filtering.

Student models not only inherit but can amplify harmful traits.

Reliance on synthetic data and distillation may propagate misalignment risks.

You may also like

DIY Delight

221 new followers today

Deal Hunter Digest

221 new followers today

Daily Star Signs

202 new followers today

View More Topics

Proton-Hopping Discovery Boosts Aqueous Batteries for Safer Energy Storage

Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School scientists have unveiled a breakthrough in aqueous battery chemistry that could challenge lithium-ion dominance. Published in Matter this June, their study shows protons in water-based electrolytes “hop” via hydrogen bonds rather than diffuse like lithium ions, enabling energy storage over longer periods.

If scaled and industrialized, these inherently nonflammable batteries could power electric vehicles, smartphones and grid storage with improved safety, lower cost and zero tailpipe emissions, offering a clear path toward greener, more reliable energy solutions.

Rubin Observatory Captures Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Ahead of Discovery

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory first spotted the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in its commissioning images on June 21—ten days before its official discovery.

Equipped with a 3.2-gigapixel camera, Rubin recorded 49 frames, 19 of which confirmed a cometary coma of gas and dust.

Subsequent observations by ATLAS, Deep Sky Survey and Gemini North verified its hyperbolic velocity of ~60 km/s, making it older and faster than previous interstellar visitors.

Rubin will lose sight of 3I/ATLAS on August 22, marking the end of the earliest high-precision observations of this cosmic visitor.

Scientists Propose Homo juluensis as New Species for Asian Hominins

Christopher Bae of the University of Hawaii and Xiujie Wu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have proposed a new hominin species, Homo juluensis, to encompass enigmatic fossils from East and Southeast Asia dated between 300,000 and 50,000 years ago. In their November 2023 Nature Communications paper, they name the species after the Chinese word for “big head,” highlighting its 1,700 cc cranial capacity versus 1,350 cc in modern humans.

Under this scheme, remains from Siberia’s Denisova Cave, a 2019 Tibetan jawbone, a 2024 Taiwanese jaw fragment, a Laos molar and fossils from Xujiayao and Xuchang in China would all be reclassified as H. juluensis. However, the proposal has sparked debate, with proponents of Homo longi and other taxonomies arguing that species boundaries in the region remain subjective and hinge on whether researchers emphasize anatomical differences or similarities.

Our recommendations from Nail

PC Gaming Digest

Your weekly digest of the latest news, reviews, and updates in the world of PC gaming. Explore new game releases, hardware reviews, gaming trends, and community highlights.

Nintendo Gaming News

Your go-to source for the latest news, updates, and insights from the world of Nintendo gaming. Stay informed about game releases, updates, trailers, and exclusive interviews with developers.

PC Gaming Digest

Your weekly digest of the latest news, reviews, and updates in the world of PC gaming. Explore new game releases, hardware reviews, gaming trends, and community highlights.

Nintendo Gaming News

Your go-to source for the latest news, updates, and insights from the world of Nintendo gaming. Stay informed about game releases, updates, trailers, and exclusive interviews with developers.

Explore More

Unsubscribe

Terms & Conditions

Brazil Unleashes Wolbachia Mosquitoes to Slash Dengue Cases by 90%