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New macOS malware embeds fake errors to confuse AI analysis tools

A newly discovered macOS malware dubbed “Gaslight” is designed to confuse AI-assisted malware analysis tools by hiding prompt injection strings and fake debugging data within the executable.

Cybersecurity researchers are increasingly using AI-powered tools to assist with malware analysis and reverse engineering.

The malware contains strings that attempt to gaslight AI-assisted analysis tools into believing there is an analysis error or other issue, potentially causing the tools to abort, truncate, or otherwise interfere with the analysis.

Astrochemical model digs into the universe’s missing sulfur

Sulfur is one of the most abundant elements in the universe. If you peer into a diffuse interstellar cloud, you find loads of it—about the amount expected based on fusion patterns in the stars it was born in. However, if you look at a dense, cold molecular cloud—the kind where those stars actually form—it seems like 99% of the sulfur expected to be there is missing. Scientists have puzzled over this “missing sulfur problem” for decades, though a leading theory is that the element hides in icy dust grains, making it hard to detect.

A new paper published in Astronomy & Astrophysics from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics and the Centro de Astrobiologia describes a new computer simulation model aimed at supporting the interpretation of laboratory results and testing our current understanding of sulfur evolution in interstellar ices.

The simulation was written in pyRate—a Python-based application that calculates how chemicals interact, especially between ice and gas phases. The paper marks the first successful model of the chemistry of a multicomponent interstellar ice analog with a rate-equation simulation. Scientists love “firsts,” but what does that actually mean in practice in this case?

Copper thin films reveal ballistic electron transport that could reshape future chip wiring

A joint research team has experimentally observed ballistic transport in single-crystalline copper thin films, demonstrating that ballistic transport is achievable in an industry-standard metal at interconnect-relevant dimensions. The study, titled “Ballistic transport in nanodevices based on single-crystalline Cu thin films,” was published in Nature Communications.

Ballistic transport refers to a phenomenon in which electrons travel along straight trajectories without scattering. Until now, this behavior has mainly been observed in special quantum materials such as graphene or semiconductor nanostructures. In copper, where electron scattering is pronounced, realizing ballistic transport has been considered practically impossible.

In this study, the team led by Professor Gil-Ho Lee of the Department of Physics at POSTECH, Professor Emeritus Se-Young Jeong of the School of Transdisciplinary Engineering at Pusan National University and Professor Seong-Gon Kim of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Mississippi State University, experimentally demonstrated that ballistic transport can occur in structures with a thickness of 80 nm and a linewidth of 150 nm, dimensions comparable to those used in semiconductor interconnects.

Geothermal Could Power 65 Million U.S. Homes by 2050, DOE Says

Somewhat ironically, the technological breakthroughs that make this veritable holy grail of clean energy possible are largely borrowed from the oil and gas industry. The hydraulic fracturing industry has made leaps and bounds when it comes to advancing and refining drilling technologies, and a workforce with a fracking background has therefore been instrumental in making geothermal more feasible and cost-effective.

For example, Mike Matson, the CEO and cofounder of a startup called Birch Geothermal, is applying his background in drilling and reservoir management in the oil and gas industry and applying that expertise directly to geothermal energy innovation. “Birch plans to make use of sensors and autonomous systems to better control how water moves through geothermal wells, ensuring that heat remains steady for reliable electricity generation,” Forbes recently wrote in a profile of Birch Geothermal. “The team is also focused on optimizing reservoir design using techniques originally developed for the oil and gas industry.”

This marriage of clean energy outlooks with fossil fuel expertise gives the United States a major opportunity to become a world leader in enhanced geothermal. “The U.S. has a number of different superpowers and putting holes in the ground and taking things out of those holes is one of them — and doing so more economically and more efficiently than basically any other place on Earth,” Drew Nelson, vice president of Project InnerSpace, was quoted by Cipher News.

Copper-induced cell death stimulates antitumor immune cell responses

A preclinical study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, published today in Cell, details a connection between the immune system and cuproptosis, a type of copper-induced cell death. The findings suggest a new approach to help overcome resistance to immunotherapy.

The study, led by Boyi Gan, Ph.D., professor of Experimental Radiation Oncology, demonstrates that cancer cells undergoing cuproptosis release signals that activate the immune system. Significantly, this study is among the first to demonstrate that cuproptosis can actively engage the immune system and enhance responses to immunotherapy. In preclinical models, a combination approach of cuproptosis-inducing treatment along with anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy significantly slowed tumor growth.

“This study reveals a previously unrecognized partnership between the immune system and cuproptosis,” Gan said. “Importantly, because the cuproptosis-inducing agents used in our studies already have clinical experience and favorable safety profiles, these findings may offer a practical path toward developing new combination treatments for patients whose cancers no longer respond to immunotherapy.”

The Revolving Door of Adenovirus Cell Entry: Not All Pathways Are Equal

An interesting review on adenoviral cell entry and trafficking. Its discussion of how species B adenoviruses tolerate lower endosomal pH and accumulate in later-endosomal compartments before escaping were particularly intriguing. Link.

Adenoviruses represent exceptional candidates for wide-ranging therapeutic applications, from vectors for gene therapy to oncolytics for cancer treatments. The first ever commercial gene therapy medicine was based on a recombinant adenovirus vector, while most recently, adenoviral vectors have proven critical as vaccine platforms in effectively controlling the global coronavirus pandemic. Here, we discuss factors involved in adenovirus cell binding, entry, and trafficking; how they influence efficiency of adenovirus-based vectors; and how they can be manipulated to enhance efficacy of genetically modified adenoviral variants. We focus particularly on endocytosis and how different adenovirus serotypes employ different endocytic pathways to gain cell entry, and thus, have different intracellular trafficking pathways that subsequently trigger different host antiviral responses.

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