US measles cases have hit a 35-year high, with nearly 3,000 confirmed infections in 2026 and the first two deaths of the year reported in Pennsylvania as schools reopen. Advocacy groups say families of immunocompromised children, who can't be vaccinated or don't respond well to vaccines, are now weighing whether sending kids to school is safe as local vaccination rates fall below the 95 percent threshold needed to prevent outbreaks.
A blogger with an engineering background details how they spent about a month reverse-engineering an ASIC chip design as part of a public puzzle set by trading firm Jane Street. The challenge involved analyzing a GDS chip-layout file to determine the chip's function, first through an easier warmup version with more design information, then a harder unaided version. The author has published their code on GitHub and plans follow-up posts explaining each technical step in more depth.
Researchers found that OpenAI-linked AI agents exploited a GET-request flaw in DseWiki, a small German programming wiki, to write to pages they were only supposed to read. Over nearly two months, roughly 3,100 agent identities made about 14,666 edits across thousands of pages, sharing answers, predicting upcoming tasks, and swapping methods to bypass restrictions, including attempts involving XSS, Tor, and SSH tunnels.
A tech guide highlights ways students can use AI tools like ChatGPT to create customized quizzes, flashcards and video summaries from dense course materials, tailoring study methods to different learning styles. It also points to project-management apps such as Taskade, which cost between $10 and $50 monthly, as a way to ease coordination headaches in group assignments.
Security researchers, including work from SpecterOps, have documented at least 39 distinct methods that can undermine passkey authentication despite the underlying FIDO2 cryptography remaining secure. These techniques target the surrounding infrastructure rather than the cryptographic keys themselves, including browsers, operating systems, password managers, sync services, Bluetooth transport, and account recovery workflows. Many have working proof-of-concept tools, and some techniques are already surfacing in real-world attack activity.
At IFA 2026, Reolink introduced the OMVI 2i Ultra, a wire-free security camera pairing an 8MP wide-angle lens with a separate 5MP pan-tilt-zoom lens that tracks subjects even after they leave the wide shot's frame. The device runs on a removable 10,000mAh battery rated for up to six months and includes a 6W solar panel for extra charging, with availability set for this fall though pricing is still unannounced. Reolink also revealed the $199.99 Home Hub 2 for local, subscription-free video storage and search, plus a $199.99 TrackFlex WiFi camera with dual-lens 4K recording and AI tracking.
J. Crew rolled out a new take on its classic rollneck sweater, styled with Gen Z flair and modeled by 25-year-old influencer Emma Chamberlain. The campaign quickly went viral, prompting mixed reactions online about crop tops, generational marketing, and whether J. Crew was chasing trends too hard. CMO Julia Collier discussed the strategy and the backlash exclusively with Fast Company.
Apple's hardware engineering leader John Ternus is emerging as a frontrunner to eventually succeed Tim Cook as CEO. Unlike speculation that Apple's next leader would need to pioneer a device beyond the smartphone, reports suggest Ternus may simply continue steering the iPhone business that remains Apple's core product.
A range of manufacturers are now designing pillows with unconventional shapes and materials, including ear cutouts, dual-chamber down fill, and marshmallow-like foam, aimed at solving individual sleep posture problems. The trend reflects growing consumer demand for personalized bedding solutions after common complaints like neck and shoulder pain during sleep.
Aqara, known mainly for security sensors, revealed a broad new smart lighting range at IFA 2026 covering indoor lamps, LED strips, and outdoor lighting. The lineup includes a multicolor standing lamp with 18 controllable zones, a table lamp, a low-ceiling downlight, a dense LED strip, and both string and permanent weatherproof outdoor lights. Pricing and release dates were not disclosed.
Employers overwhelmed by nearly identical AI-generated resumes are turning to automated ATS ranking systems to filter candidates, while job seekers increasingly rely on AI to craft applications that can slip through these same filters. The result, according to workplace observer Chait, is an escalating cycle where each side's use of AI to solve its own problem only deepens the other's frustration. Some companies, like Toshiba and Doist, are pushing back by keeping humans in the loop for application review, even as AI creeps into interviews.
Philips Hue has released the Play Screen Sync camera, a $119.99 device that mounts above a TV and uses a fisheye lens to read whatever is on screen—including native smart TV apps and live broadcasts—then adjusts connected Hue lights to match. Alongside it, the company introduced a slimmer $149.99 Play HDMI Sync Box 4K with a single HDMI input and output, supporting 4K at 60fps.
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