British researchers are developing a new method for producing lithium for batteries using engineered proteins that assemble into membranes with pores as small as 1 angstrom, potentially allowing the separation of lithium from chemically similar sodium. The approach uses S-layer proteins that naturally form highly ordered structures on the surface of microorganisms. Researchers want to … Read more
Editor’s opinion: Docking stations are rarely interesting, but this one caught my attention. Made by Japanese peripheral maker Elecom, the DST-L080BPBK features a large dial and four programmable buttons on an otherwise traditional 8-in-1 USB-C dock, putting the box you’d normally hide behind the monitor within easy reach. As it turns out, Elecom makes some … Read more
Chinese researchers recently developed a new bamboo-reinforced plastic that is 81 percent stronger and 173 percent more durable and could be used to shield electronic devices from unwanted electromagnetic waves. The groundbreaking material was developed by a group of scientists from Anhui Agricultural University in Hefei. According to the team, the new composite does not … Read more
Villain Slop: The Wikimedia Foundation recently accused OpenAI of abusing its hosting servers to “test” the malicious capabilities of its AI agents. The organization said companies like OpenAI should not pretend they did nothing wrong and should instead be held accountable for the harmful actions of their AI systems. The Wikimedia Foundation, the organization that … Read more
French defense startup Harmattan AI has unveiled IRIFI, an autonomous long-range attack system designed to operate at distances of up to 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles). The system marks the company’s entry into the deep-attack market and is positioned as a lower-cost alternative to more traditional long-range missile systems. IRIFI is designed to operate without satellite … Read more
WTF?! Law enforcement agencies have long warned against paying ransomware gangs because they could simply demand more money, refuse to hand over a decryption key, or mark you as willing to pay. But it seems we also need to be careful about companies offering remedies for these incidents: they could be just as bad as … Read more
Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a soft underwater robot inspired by feather stars, a type of marine invertebrate. The robot can move in three dimensions, including forward and backward, up and down, and rotation around its axis. This range of motion is achieved with just two actuators, compared to the six typically … Read more
The big picture: OpenAI has published 722 papers created by an internal AI model and reports progress on hundreds of mathematical problems. The works cover number theory, algebraic geometry and other areas. The publication comes amid objections from mathematicians who argue that using proprietary AI models to solve mathematical problems prioritizes results over understanding and … Read more
A US-developed nuclear battery that has achieved its first controlled chain reaction in about 150 days is scheduled to be demonstrated at full power at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in 2027. Deployable Energy, a U.S. developer of transportable nuclear reactors, announced on October 7 that the Department of Energy (DOE) has selected its Unity … Read more
Looking ahead: Ever since AMD announced plans to expand FSR 4 support to older Radeon desktop graphics cards earlier this year, users have been waiting for a roadmap for laptop and handheld APU compatibility. The company’s latest update on the matter could also fuel ongoing rumors about a new generation of Ryzen mobile chips. Jack … Read more