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Targeting CDK2 Could Boost Cancer Immunotherapy Response

The study, published Sept. 2 in Molecular Cell, identifies a previously unrecognized role for CDK2 in shaping a tumor’s interaction with the immune system. In mice, blocking CDK2 helped immunotherapy drugs known as immune checkpoint inhibitors eradicate colorectal and breast tumors, including a form of triple-negative breast cancer that did not respond to immunotherapy alone.

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“CDK2 inhibitors are being tested in clinical trials now, primarily in forms of ovarian and breast cancer known to require CDK2 for cancer cell growth,” said co-senior author Peter Sicinski, HMS professor of genetics at Dana-Farber. “But we’ve found that CDK2 inhibitors can be used in a way we did not expect, to overcome resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors.”

Equatorial Circular and Spherical Photon Orbits around Kerr-Type Black Holes in Expanding Universe

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects that may arise in null (light-like) geodesics in the vicinity of Kerr-type black holes. Exact solutions for circular equatorial and spherical photon orbits are obtained using the geodesic equations of the Kerr-de Sitter metric, which includes the cosmological constant lambda. By solving the radial equation simultaneously with its first derivative, expressions for the photon angular momentum and Carter constant are derived. Based on these results, an equation for equatorial circular photon orbits around Kerr black holes is obtained, generalizing the well-known Bardeen-Press-Teukolsky formula to the case of a nonzero cosmological constant. An equation describing spherical photon orbits is also derived and solved, extending the known result of E. Teo to include the influence of the cosmological constant. A comparison between expressions with and without the cosmological constant makes it possible to estimate its potential influence and determine the threshold above which these effects become significant.

Black Hole, Photon Orbit, Cosmological Constant, Null Geodesics

Old Hearts Become Biologically Younger When Transplanted Into Younger People

The heart is, inarguably, one of the most important organs in the body.

It sits in your chest, carefully armored by sternum and ribs, constantly pulsing to maintain the flow of blood, transporting oxygen, nutrients, and other essential substances to every extremity of your body.

It might be reasonable to think that there’s an indelible link between the heart and the body it resides in – the processes that affect one inevitably affect the other.

Project Meridian: Pentagon’s 120-day initiative to reshape warfare

The US Department of War has launched the Project Meridian, a 120-day initiative intended to assess how warfare could evolve and identify the technologies and capabilities the US military may need for future battlefields. Announced on 30 September by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the project will be co-led by Elon Musk, Anduril founder Palmer Luckey and former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich, under the direction of Pentagon Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael. The initiative is expected to draw on technology, academic, policy and national-security experts from outside the Pentagon.

According to the Pentagon’s description, Meridian will examine future battlefields, identify capability gaps and propose actionable ways to develop, test and field advanced technologies. Its work is expected to result in a public report accompanied by a classified annex, with findings due after the 120-day study period. The project is therefore framed less as a conventional policy exercise and more as an effort to translate technological developments into concrete military capabilities.

The initiative is particularly significant because of the range of technologies and operating environments being considered. Reporting on the Pentagon’s plans indicates that the study will examine areas including artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous systems, as well as emerging operational domains ranging from subterranean environments to the cislunar region. This places AI and autonomous technologies within a broader reassessment of how military operations may be conducted as digital and physical systems become increasingly interconnected.

UN Security Council releases provisional programme of work on emerging technologies and security for October 2026

The UN Security Council has included “Maintenance of international peace and security: Emerging technologies and security” in its provisional programme of work for October 2026, under the Council’s presidency by Greece. The meeting is scheduled for 29 October and forms part of Greece’s broader focus on the security implications of technological change, particularly in the maritime domain. The programme was adopted by Council members on 1 October, although, as with other monthly programmes, it remains provisional and serves primarily as a framework for scheduling formal and informal discussions.

The planned discussion comes amid growing recognition that technological developments are changing both the nature of conflict and the tools available for preventing and managing crises. Recent Security Council Report analysis has highlighted the expanding implications of AI, information and communication technologies and other emerging technologies for issues already on the Council’s agenda, including counter-terrorism, protection of civilians, sanctions, peacekeeping and women, peace and security. The Council’s engagement with these issues has so far been described as limited and fragmented, while technological convergence is creating risks that are increasingly interconnected and difficult to anticipate.

Greece’s approach places particular emphasis on artificial intelligence and maritime security. In recent UN Security Council discussions, Greek representatives have argued that AI can strengthen maritime domain awareness by processing information from satellites, radar, automatic identification systems and other sources, helping identify anomalous behaviour, illicit activity and threats to maritime infrastructure. At the same time, AI and other emerging technologies can create new vulnerabilities, including through cyber operations, reconnaissance, autonomous systems and disruption of critical maritime infrastructure. Greece has therefore framed technological innovation alongside international law, human oversight and accountability.

Google implements Android developer verification rules

To instill confidence and trust in users, Google has introduced Android developer verification rules, a new platform policy governing the distribution of Android applications, with immediate effect in jurisdictions such as Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. The system verifies app installations from the following app stores i.e google play, HONOR app market, OPPO app market, galaxy store, palm store, V-appstore and GetApps.

The policy will be expanded to all other markets 2027 onwards, with the aim to ensure transparecncy in the Android ecosystem by ensuring that developers are vetted before their apps become widely available. Further, the applications that have not been verified may still be sideloaded, but the new process imposes a 24‑hour waiting period before such unverified apps can be installed on devices.

With dominance in reach and scale, Android’s new platform policy aims to provide a safer, more trusted ecosystem benefitting the entire developer community and users. Further, it aims to deters bad actors, making developers accountable, enforce safety policies, and remove malicious networks.

AI’s apparent danger is its best selling point

Just weeks before its scheduled November IPO, Anthropic is facing growing attention over the potential dangers of its technology.

The resignation of former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon on September 8, who wrote on X that AI could “kill us all by the end of the decade,” preceded the company’s threat report on September 10.

According to the document, Anthropic’s Claude software was used in Houthi-controlled Yemen for missile guidance and in cyber operations linked to Iran, Russia, and China, as well as for research into potentially dangerous pathogens.

Team selected for NASA program to explore potential lunar cave

NASA has selected a Planetary Science Institute–led proposal to investigate whether a potentially large underground cave extends beyond the opening of a lunar pit. Such a cave may one day provide a safe haven for astronauts to escape the radiation and extreme temperature swings present at the lunar surface.

Led by PSI associate director and senior scientist Than Putzig, the selected project is the Geophysical Instruments for Marius Lunar pit Investigation, or GIMLI. PSI is partnering with Honeybee Robotics, which will build much of the equipment and instrumentation for the effort. The equipment and instrumentation will be carried on a lander and rover provided through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. The PSI work will be carried out in partnership with the Norwegian Space Agency.

“GIMLI represents the type of ambitious planetary science that PSI was built to pursue,” said PSI director and CEO Amanda Hendrix. “Than and his team are taking a scientific question we’ve been studying from orbit and have developed a way to investigate it directly on the moon. We’re excited to have PSI leading this effort and to be partnering with NASA and Honeybee Robotics to learn more about the moon and its volcanic past.”

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