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AI-powered stretchable computing patch can run algorithms directly on the body

A new skin-like computing patch developed at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) can analyze health data using artificial intelligence in an unprecedented way. Unlike today’s wearable devices, it carries out its AI computations directly on the body, in mere milliseconds, without relying on a wireless connection.

While your current smartwatch may be able to track your heart rate or movements, it doesn’t analyze what it finds. The analysis happens elsewhere, after it shuttles data to an external server. In some situations—detecting ventricular fibrillation in the heart, for instance—that few-seconds lag to communicate with the server is too long.

The new device, designed and tested in collaboration with researchers at Argonne National Laboratory, was made possible by the development of manufacturing processes that allow organic electrochemical transistors to be printed onto flexible surfaces.

Novel origami pattern turns flat sheets into load-bearing 3D technology

McGill University researchers have discovered a new way to fold flat sheets into smooth, curved shells that can switch from floppy and flexible to stiff and load-bearing on demand. By designing a special origami pattern and threading cable-like elements through it, they can control the material’s final three-dimensional shape and how rigid it becomes.

The result, a “doubly curved lens box,” could advance the technology of such objects as temporary emergency tents, morphing robots and smart fabrics, the researchers said. “Smooth doubly curved origami shells with reprogrammable rigidity,” by Morad Mirzajanzadeh and Damiano Pasini, was published in Nature Communications.

“Existing foldable structures face a trade-off: if they are smooth and nicely curved, they tend to be soft and floppy; if they are strong and stiff, they usually look faceted, jagged or uncomfortable, and their shape is hard to tune once built,” said Damiano Pasini, study co-author and professor of mechanical engineering.

Perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells reach 32.89% certified efficiency with peak-selective passivation strategy

A team of Chinese scientists has developed a new passivation strategy that significantly improves both the efficiency and operational stability of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. The study has been published in the journal Matter on May 21.

Perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells combine a top perovskite layer, which efficiently converts sunlight into electricity, with a silicon bottom substrate. These solar cells hold great potential for lightweight, high-efficiency applications in the photovoltaic field, with the current world efficiency record reaching 35.0%.

However, the pyramid-textured surface of industrial silicon substrates makes it difficult to deposit a uniform perovskite top layer, which often leads to localized electrical leakage and thus limits the commercial prospects of these tandem cells.

Ultra-Faint Dwarf Galaxies Could Unlock Secrets of the Early Universe

Ultra-faint dwarf galaxies are among the smallest known galaxies orbiting the Milky Way. Astronomers have long viewed them as ancient remnants from the early cosmos. Now, researchers at the Oskar Klein Centre and the LYRA collaboration have used a powerful new set of simulations to show that these dim galaxies may reveal how conditions in the young Universe shaped which galaxies were able to grow and which never formed stars at all.

The study, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS), was led by Azadeh Fattahi, Associate Professor at the Oskar Klein Centre (OKC), along with collaborators from Durham University and the University of Hawaii.

She explains the scale of the project: “In this work we presented a brand-new suite of cosmological simulations focused on the faintest galaxies in the Universe, with an unprecedented resolution. These are by far the largest sample of such galaxies ever simulated at these resolutions.”

Apple blocked over $11 billion in App Store fraud in 6 years

Apple revealed that it blocked over $11 billion in fraudulent App Store transactions over the last six years, more than $2.2 billion in potentially fraudulent App Store transactions in 2025 alone.

In a Wednesday press release, the tech giant said it rejected over 2 million problematic app submissions last year and blocked more than 1.1 billion fraudulent account creations.

Apple also terminated 193,000 developer accounts due to fraud concerns, rejected more than 138,000 developer enrollments, and deactivated an additional 40.4 million customer accounts suspected of fraud and abuse.

Google accidentally exposed details of unfixed Chromium flaw

Google has accidentally leaked details about an unfixed issue in Chromium that keeps JavaScript running in the background even when the browser is closed, allowing remote code execution on the device.

The flaw was reported by security researcher Lyra Rebane and acknowledged as valid in December 2022, as per the thread on Chromium Issue Tracker.

An attacker could exploit the problem to create a malicious webpage with a Service Worker, such as a download task, that never terminates. Rebane says that this could allow an attacker to execute JavaScript code on the visitors’ devices.

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