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Android malware Konfety uses malformed APKs to evade detection

A new variant of the Konfety Android malware emerged with a malformed ZIP structure along with other obfuscation methods that allow it to evade analysis and detection.

Konfety poses as a legitimate app, mimicking innocuous products available on Google Play, but features none of the promised functionality.

The capabilities of the malware include redirecting users to malicious sites, pushing unwanted app installs, and fake browser notifications.

Terabytes of data in a tiny crystal

From punch card-operated looms in the 1800s to modern cellphones, if an object has “on” and “off” states, it can be used to store information.

In a laptop computer, the ones and zeroes that make up the binary language are actually transistors either running at low or high voltage. On a compact disc, the one is a spot where a tiny indented “pit” turns to a flat “land” or vice versa, while a zero represents no change.

Historically, the size of the object cycling through those states has put a limit on the size of the storage device. But now, researchers from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering have explored a technique to make the metaphorical ones and zeroes out of crystal defects, each the size of an individual atom, for classical computer memory applications.


UChicago researchers created a ‘quantum-inspired’ revolution in microelectronics, storing classical computer memory in crystal gaps where atoms should be.

A Novel GalNAc-siRNA With Potent and Durable Antithrombotic Effects

In the present study, the GalNAc-siRNA molecule RBD4059 showed promising reduction of FXI activity in preclinical animal models and antithrombotic effects without disrupting hemostasis.

RBD4059 is the first FXI-targeting GalNAc-siRNA molecule to reach the clinical stage of development and is a promising candidate for the development of a safe and efficient antithrombotic drug with high patient compliance.

Pavlov’s dogs were conditioned to go to their treat; why do some animals learn to interact with the bell instead?

High school students learn that Pavlov’s dogs were conditioned to associate the sound of a bell with getting food. The association was so strong that the dogs would begin to salivate when they heard the bell, before there was even a whiff of food. When they were finally presented with the food, they ate it.

Smartphone sensors reveal mental health patterns through daily behavior tracking

Smartphones can help people stay healthy by monitoring their sleep, steps and heart rate, but they also can help reveal issues tied to mental health, new research shows.

In a study published in JAMA Network Open, researchers from the University of Michigan, University of Minnesota and University of Pittsburgh used smartphone sensors as silent observers of daily life. These tracked simple actions, such as how much we move, sleep or check our phones but also provided surprising insights into how our psychological well-being manifests in everyday routines.

The researchers found that many different mental disorders share similar behavior patterns, like staying home more, sleeping late and not charging phones often. Such behaviors may show someone’s level of something called the “p-factor,” which links many issues.

This aerospike rocket engine designed by generative AI just completed its first hot fire test

The reason these aerospike style engines haven’t been used more in the past is they’re difficult to design and make. While generally thought of as having the potential to be more efficient, they also require intricate cooling channels to help keep the spike cool. CEO and Co-Founder of LEAP 71, Josefine Lissner, credits the company’s computational AI, Noyron, with the ability to make these advancements.

“We were able to extend Noyron’s physics to deal with the unique complexity of this engine type. The spike is cooled by intricate cooling channels flooded by cryogenic oxygen, whereas the outside of the chamber is cooled by the kerosene fuel.” Said Lissner “I am very encouraged by the results of this test, as virtually everything on the engine was novel and untested. It’s a great validation of our physics-driven approach to computational AI.”

Lin Kayser, Co-Founder of LEAP 71, also believes the AI was paramount in achieving the complex design, explaining “Despite their clear advantages, Aerospikes are not used in space access today. We want to change that. Noyron allows us to radically cut the time we need to re-engineer and iterate after a test and enables us to converge rapidly on an optimal design.”

Scientists unravel how a tiny region of the brain helps us form distinct memories

Life may unfold as a continuous stream, but our memories tell a different story. We do not recall the past as one long, unbroken text. Instead, we remember it as a series of meaningful events, like how sentences are structured with grammar and punctuation. Like any narrative, this organization gives our experiences shape and coherence, helping us make sense of what and when things happen.

The brain must devote a lot of space to this herculean task, right?

Wrong! It turns out that a tiny but mighty region pulls far more than its weight.