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Optimized cycle system recovers waste heat from fusion reactor

A research team led by Prof. Guo Bin from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has designed and optimized an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system specifically for recovering low-grade waste heat from the steady-state Chinese Fusion Engineering Testing Reactor (CFETR) based on organic fluid R245fa, achieving enhanced thermal efficiency and reduced heat loss.

CFETR, a steady-state magnetic reactor, is a crucial step toward realizing commercial fusion energy. However, managing the large amount of low-grade waste heat produced by components such as the divertor and blanket remains a key challenge.

To solve the thermodynamic and heat integration issues, the researchers developed advanced simulation models using Engineering Equation Solver for cycle analysis and MATLAB-based LAMP modeling for dynamic system configuration. These tools enabled a comprehensive investigation and optimization of the ORC configuration, leading to significantly improved thermal performance.

Physicists Harness Light To Control Semiconductors in Trillionths of a Second

A peer-reviewed study reports the development of ultrafast modulation technology in nanoelectronics. Physicists from Bielefeld University and the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (IFW Dresden) have introduced a new technique that uses ultrashort light pulses to manip

Microsoft: Outdated Office apps lose access to voice features in January

Microsoft announced that the transcription, dictation, and read aloud features will stop working in older versions of Office 365 applications in late January 2026.

Read aloud lets users hear documents and emails read back, transcription converts speech into text in real-time, and the dictation feature allows for voice-to-text input across Office applications.

The company advised customers to update their Microsoft 365 Office apps to a version higher than 16.0.18827.20202 (released in early July) by the end of January 2026 to maintain access to these accessibility and productivity features.

New Plague Linux malware stealthily maintains SSH access

A newly discovered Linux malware, which has evaded detection for over a year, allows attackers to gain persistent SSH access and bypass authentication on compromised systems.

Nextron Systems security researchers, who identified the malware and dubbed it “Plague,” describe it as a malicious Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) that uses layered obfuscation techniques and environment tampering to avoid detection by traditional security tools.

This malware features anti-debugging capabilities to thwart analysis and reverse engineering attempts, string obfuscation to make detection more difficult, hardcoded passwords for covert access, as well as the ability to hide session artifacts that would normally reveal the attacker’s activity on infected devices.

Ransomware gangs join attacks targeting Microsoft SharePoint servers

Ransomware gangs have recently joined ongoing attacks targeting a Microsoft SharePoint vulnerability chain, part of a broader exploitation campaign that has already led to the breach of at least 148 organizations worldwide.

Security researchers at Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 have discovered a 4L4MD4R ransomware variant, based on open-source Mauri870 code, while analyzing incidents involving this SharePoint exploit chain (dubbed “ToolShell”).

The ransomware was detected on July 27 after discovering a malware loader that downloads and executes the ransomware from theinnovationfactory[.]it (145.239.97[.]206).

Attackers exploit link-wrapping services to steal Microsoft 365 logins

A threat actor has been abusing link wrapping services from reputed technology companies to mask malicious links leading to Microsoft 365 phishing pages that collect login credentials.

The attacker exploited the URL security feature from cybersecurity company Proofpoint and cloud communications firm Intermedia in campaigns from June through July.

Some email security services include a link wrapping feature that rewrites the URLs in the message to a trusted domain and passes them through a scanning server designed to block malicious destinations.

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