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PACMAN AI framework for controlling fusion systems safely makes key decisions in milliseconds

Inside some fusion energy systems, particles hotter than the core of the sun can become unruly in a few thousandths of a second, far faster than any human operator can react. A new software framework developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Princeton University hands those split-second decisions to artificial intelligence (AI), while keeping the machine safe and humans firmly in charge of the goals.

Known as PACMAN (a novel abbreviation for Prediction And Control using MAchiNe learning), the AI framework was successfully tested on a real fusion system in five experiments. The framework’s design and first results are detailed in a new paper in the journal Nuclear Fusion.

Fusion could one day serve as a virtually unlimited source of electricity. Scientists are working on several ways to perfect the process here on Earth, including devices called tokamaks, which use powerful magnetic fields to hold a plasma: an electrically charged gas often called the fourth state of matter. Keeping the plasma hot, dense and stable requires constant adjustments to the tokamak, including its heating systems, magnets and gas injectors. The fusion reaction can be thwarted by small disturbances in the plasma, known as instabilities, that grow in milliseconds.

Temperature emerges as a control for topological properties of materials

Spin-orbit coupling (SOC), an interaction between an electron’s spin and its motion, plays a key role in creating topological insulators—unusual materials that are insulating in their interior but can conduct electricity along their surfaces.

Now, a new study published in Newton finds that increasing temperature weakens SOC in the topological insulator Bi2Se3, driving a transition to a normal insulating state. The findings suggest that temperature could serve as a new “knob” for controlling the topological properties of materials.

The research was led by Professor Sun Yiyang from the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics (SIC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The first author of the paper is Lu Lingyan, a Ph.D. candidate at SIC.

New research could improve detection of chiral molecules in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology

Ohio University Distinguished Professor Alexander Govorov of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Nanoscale and Quantum Phenomena Institute (NQPI) in the College of Arts and Sciences has co-authored a new study published in Science Advances with collaborators at Wuhan University in China and the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Italy.

The study, “Ultrasensitive Chiral Detection by Nonlinear Chiroptics in Spiral Plasmonic Metastructures Surpasses Linear Limits,” addresses a major challenge in chemical and biological analysis: detecting molecular chirality, or “handedness.” Chirality plays a critical role in biochemical processes and drug function, yet conventional chiroptical measurements often produce weak signals that make sensitive detection difficult.

Most chiral chemicals (enantiomers) are synthesized with both left-and right-handed forms. Often, only one enantiomer is biologically active, while the other may be ineffective or even harmful. A classic example is thalidomide, in which one enantiomer provides sedative and antinausea effects, while the other can cause birth defects.

Malicious Apache Modules Hijack Brazilian Government Site Traffic to Push Betting Pages

A Chinese-speaking cybercrime cluster known as Gambling Goblin has been observed installing malicious Apache modules on compromised web servers run by Brazilian government and educational institutions, and using them to divert visitors to attacker-controlled pages promoting online gambling and sports betting.

Check Point Research said it has tracked the campaign since mid-2025.

The modules reverse-proxy visitors to a set of phishing pages while the traffic still appears to originate from the legitimate domain. The site’s own security headers are stripped, allowing the injected content to run freely.

Attackers Turn Trusted Node.js Runtime Into Malware Delivery Tool in Targeted Attacks

Threat actors are leveraging the trusted Node.js JavaScript runtime in multiple cyber attacks as a way to deploy malicious payloads.

According to a new report published by the Symantec Threat Hunter Team today, the attack method has been put to use in attacks targeting government departments, technology companies, and hotels since February 2026.

“The technique’s appeal is that node.exe (the binary that runs Node.js) is a legitimate, signed developer tool,” the Broadcom-owned cybersecurity division said in a report shared with The Hacker News. “The attacker’s malicious code lives in interpreted scripts rather than in a binary, making it less likely to trigger signature-based detection, while a registry Run key entry can relaunch the payload at every login.”

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