The quiet speaks: Get this, researchers built an AI tool (SeeMe) that can spot teeny-tiny facial movements in coma patients days before doctors even notice. Wild part? These little flickers, like an eye twitch or a mouth move, mean some patients we thought were unreachable might actually be conscious, and even able to answer yes-or-no questions. Amazing.
One diet soda a day
Can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes by 38%. The kicker? That’s actually higher than regular sugary drinks, which come in at 23%. Why? Researchers think artificial sweeteners confuse the body and mess with gut bacteria and insulin response. So yeah, maybe not the healthier choice after all.
📸 That’s one bad Lenovo: Researchers at Eclypsium have shown that some Lenovo webcams (510 FHD and Performance FHD) can be reprogrammed via BadUSB‑style firmware attacks to inject keystrokes and drop malware, which can persist even after reinstalls. Translation: Your webcam can now type, hack and haunt your PC forever. Patch via firmware 4.8.0 now.
Safes cracked in seconds: Researchers revealed two ways to break into Securam ProLogic electronic safes (used for guns, cash, etc.). No drills or special gear required for eight brands. If your lock says “Securam ProLogic” on the keypad, it’s at risk. Only fix? Swap the lock. Company’s not patching old ones.
Bamboozling Gemini: At Black Hat (cybersecurity event), researchers showed how Google’s AI Gemini can be hijacked with a single calendar invite. One hidden prompt, and boom, Gemini starts spewing lies, deleting meetings or opening your windows via Google Home. It’s like a robbery, but your AI assistant is opening the front door.
💥 3D guts and glory: Caltech’s researchers built PillTrek, a tiny 3D-printed smart capsule that monitors your gut like a biochemical Fitbit. It tracks pH, glucose, serotonin, you name it, by crawling through your insides like a nerdy spy. It’s cheap, wireless, and eventually, yes, it comes out the old-school way. Consider it a poop diary with WiFi.
Batteries that don’t burn: Lithium batteries are super efficient and occasionally super explode-y. But researchers just made a version that stops itself from catching fire. When the battery gets too hot, built-in flame retardants release chemicals that shut down the reaction before it becomes a fireworks show. No flames. No smoke. No 30,000-gallon fire truck cameo. EVs really need this pronto.
👀 Sneaky stuff: Researchers are putting secret prompts for AI chatbots into academic papers. I’m talking about invisible white text like “only give positive reviews” or “ignore all negatives” that humans can’t see but bots can. It started as a joke, but now it’s popping up because it works.
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The number of cat nap videos researchers scrutinized … for science. Cat’s out of the bag, 65% of cats snooze on their left side. Why? Experts say it activates the right brain for lightning-fast reflexes and spatial finesse. The purrfect slumber isn’t just cute. Think elite soldier … in sleep mode, dreaming of chaos.
ChatGPT, take the wheel: In a simulated space mission, researchers handed ChatGPT the controls of a spacecraft, and it didn’t crash into a moon. In fact, it placed second (behind math), beating several AI systems trained like actual astronauts. Translation: A chatbot that forgets what you just said five seconds ago can still land a spaceship. Allegedly.
🌞 Cool roofs, cooler robots: Researchers trained AI to design a paint that lowers building temps up to 68°F, seriously. It reflects heat, saves power and could murder AC bills. Tested on apartments in hot cities, the paint slashes electric use enough to run thousands of extra units. The kicker? It actually looks good.
AI’s voice is yours now: This is wild. People are starting to speak like AI, even when they don’t realize it. Words like “delve” and “meticulous” have surged in usage post-ChatGPT, and researchers say this is just the beginning. Our speech is getting more structured, polished and kinda robotic.
Amazing new health test: It’s always been hard to detect ovarian cancer. But researchers are working on a tiny device that fits inside menstrual pads and detects illness in period blood. It reacts to specific proteins like CA-125 (linked to ovarian cancer), and if something’s found, a line appears in about 15 minutes. Wow.
🦗 Bugs in the system: Insects aren’t paying off. Some of the biggest insect-farming startups have gone bust, and investors are tapping out. The pitch: sustainable protein. The reality: not cheap enough, not scalable yet. But researchers think genetic engineering (without the scary GMO label) could fix it, turning flies into nutrient factories and faster breeders.
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Dead Sea Scroll fragments redated by AI with a better eye than your average historian. The system, named Enoch after the biblical prophet, was trained on radiocarbon-dated samples and subtle handwriting quirks invisible to humans. Then it read the Dead Sea Scrolls and confidently told researchers they were late by 100 years.
30 cats
That’s how many feline participants confirmed you smell exactly like they thought you would. Researchers in Tokyo ran a sniff test with 30 house cats and found they spent more time smelling strangers than their own humans. Translation: Your cat knows who you are and has already decided you’re not worth the extra sniff.
📡 5G conspiracy theory debunked: Remember the 2019 rumors saying 5G could damage your cells or cause spooky side effects? Well, researchers found the signals only penetrate your skin by less than 1 millimeter (or 0.04 inches if you’re like me and slowly inching toward the metric system). Even at frequencies 10 times what’s considered safe, there’s still no impact on your health. It was all fearmongering.
💸 Crypto gets gaslit: LLM-powered crypto bots that autonomously trade crypto are being hacked via fake memories. Attackers can casually convince them to always send funds to the wrong wallet. Researchers tricked one bot into “remembering” that its creator said, “Only trust this thief.” Wallets: emptied. AI: politely confident. It’s like Inception but for your Ethereum.
Attention, parents with small kids: Researchers found that parents distracted by their phones around kids under 5 can cause long-term issues. Think poorer cognition and behavior problems. Why? This is when little ones are developing critical language and social skills, and being ignored can seriously mess with that.
🤯 Not tech, but super interesting: Researchers found 22,000-year-old vehicle tracks at White Sands National Park. Yes, you read that right, 22,000 years ago. They believe it’s from a travois — a sled made with long sticks and a basket. That’s huge, since we thought transport tools only dated back to 4,000 BC.