UNC6384 hijacked captive portals in March 2025 to deploy PlugX malware, advancing PRC cyber-espionage goals.
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Scientists Say They’ve Created a New Form of Life More Perfect Than the One Nature Made
Scientists at the Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology say they’ve engineered a bacteria whose genetic code is more efficient than any other lifeform on Earth.
They call their creation “Syn57,” a bioengineered strain of E. coli — yes, the same bad boy that can make you extremely sick if you eat an undercooked hot dog — which uses seven less codons than all life on earth. A codon, put simply, is a three-letter sequence found in DNA and RNA which delivers instructions for amino acids, a fundamental “building block” of life.
For the past billions years or so, all known life on earth has used 64 codons. Scientists cracked the code detailing which codons corresponded to which amino acids — mapping the standard genetic code, in other words — in 1966, revealing only 20 total amino acids.
New method enables self-assembly of robust and soft porous crystals with unique gas sorption properties
The development of highly complex chemical systems, self-assembled by the donor-acceptor and/or noncovalent interactions, lies at the core of supramolecular chemistry.
Recently, increasing attention has been paid to structurally adaptable molecular systems and robust noncovalent microporous materials (NPMs), also known as molecular porous materials (MPMs) or porous molecular crystals (PMCs), based on the self-assembly of discrete molecules driven by weak interactions. The utilization of molecular metal clusters as building units of NPMs is a promising strategy, combining the versatile functionality of organic and inorganic subunits with the softness and flexibility of molecular solids controlled by noncovalent interactions.
However, the development of robust porous functional frameworks based on self-assembly driven by noncovalent forces is still highly challenging.
Enhanced dual-comb spectroscopy reveals previously unknown atomic transitions in a rare earth element
Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Helmholtz Institute Mainz (HIM) have developed a novel method for investigating the internal structure of atoms and discovered previously unknown atomic transitions in samarium, a rare earth element. Their findings were published in the journal Physical Review Applied.
The ability to describe the internal structure of atoms is important not only for understanding the composition of matter, but also for designing new experiments to explore fundamental physics. Specific experiments require samples of atoms or molecules with particular properties, which depend heavily on the phenomenon to be explored. However, the knowledge of the energy-level structure of many atoms remains incomplete, particularly in the case of the rare earth and actinide atoms.
Spectroscopy is one of the most widely used techniques for studying the structure of atoms. This technique is based on the principle that electrons absorb or emit energy when they move between energy levels in an atom. Each element has a unique set of wavelengths of light that are emitted or absorbed due to these transitions. This is known as the atomic spectrum.
Leaked details reveal China’s uncrewed vessel with stealth design
Report.
A closer look at one widely shared online image shows the vessel dwarfing a four-lane road in Beijing, implying that it likely stretches more than 15 meters (49 feet) in length. Its size, combined with the angular, stealth-oriented design and cockpit windows, indicates that the craft could accommodate either sophisticated onboard equipment or a small crew.
Preparations for a massive military parade in the capital are in full swing as the country readies to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, celebrated as Victory Day. The third major rehearsal ran from 5 p.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Sunday in Tiananmen Square, state news agency Xinhua reported.
The uncrewed surface vehicle featured in China’s official military parade indicates it has already entered active service. The vessel is significantly smaller than the “Killer Whale” a larger surface stealth drone that was unveiled at the Zhuhai Airshow last year, the South China Morning Post reported.
Japan trials giant robot hand to scoop buried items at quake sites
Japan trials giant robot hand on excavator to scoop earthquake rubble.
Japanese researchers unveiled a disaster recovery robot hand and drilling AI capable of handling fragile objects and digging buried debris.
