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Brain organoids uncover how primates develop different brain shapes

Most primate species have relatively large brains with surfaces marked by pronounced bulges and furrows. This is not the case with common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). The brains of these small monkeys are smooth and virtually unfolded.

Researchers at the German Primate Center (DPZ)—the Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Göttingen—investigated which cellular processes during embryonic development cause the marmoset brain to develop differently from a certain stage onward.

In experiments with brain organoids, they were able to show that certain neural progenitor cells—from which neurons arise—develop differently in marmosets, both morphologically and temporally. Several processes occurring at different levels and involving various types of progenitor cells govern this phenomenon, which ultimately leads to a reduction in the size and folding of the marmoset brain.

Central surface density of dark matter agrees with the prediction of a new theory of gravity

A researcher from Sejong University has used a new theory of gravity proposed by Erik Verlinde to predict the observed central surface density of dark matter. The study was published in Physics of the Dark Universe on Sept. 20.

Since the 1970s, the rotation speeds of galaxies have been regarded as important observational evidence for the existence of dark matter. Stars in the outer regions of galaxies move much faster than would be expected if Newtonian gravity were applied to visible matter alone. In mainstream astronomy, this phenomenon is explained by assuming that galaxies are surrounded by invisible dark matter that provides additional gravitational attraction.

However, researchers have also continued trying to explain galactic dynamics by modifying the theory of gravity itself rather than invoking dark matter. In 1983, Mordehai Milgrom proposed that Newtonian gravity might need to be modified in regimes of very weak gravitational acceleration. In 2016, Verlinde proposed a new theory of gravity, known as “emergent gravity,” aimed at explaining gravitational phenomena on galactic scales without assuming the existence of dark matter.

Physicists Tackle a Classic Quantum Problem With a Powerful New Computational Method

A new computational approach uses the real electronic structure of materials to predict a classic quantum effect far more accurately than simplified models.

Seven magnetic atoms embedded one at a time in copper have given physicists a new way to test whether computers can predict the behavior of real quantum materials without first reducing them to simplified models.

For most of the seven transition-metal impurities, calculations developed by researchers at Caltech and Yale University improved on the accuracy of conventional model-based predictions by as much as two orders of magnitude. The test involved the Kondo effect, a classic quantum problem whose general physics has been understood for decades even though its precise behavior in specific materials has remained difficult to calculate.

New RemControl Android banking malware targets users in Europe and Canada

A new Android malware-as-a-service (MaaS) platform called RemControl is targeting users through malvertising campaigns that impersonate the TVTap IPTV application.

Although the infrastructure has been active since at least May, the first samples were observed in July and contained more than 30 phishing overlays designed to steal banking credentials.

Researchers at cybersecurity company Group-IB say that the malware targets users in Europe (Italy, France, Spain, Poland, Portugal), Canada, and countries in the Middle East.

Hackers start exploiting critical WordPress flaw for code execution

Threat actors have moved from probing WordPress sites vulnerable to CVE-2026–87902 to exploiting the flaw to write files to disk that execute shell commands when accessed.

Initial attack traffic was only for reconnaissance and started less than five hours after the patch was released in WordPress 7.1.2. Malicious activity increased by ten times, and attackers are now trying to deliver payloads.

WordPress security firm Patchstack reports that it observed the first malicious requests at 17:44 UTC on September 22 from a small group of IP addresses targeting multiple sites under its protection.

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