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Semiconductor shares fell across European and Asian markets after executives at major artificial intelligence companies publicly called for a more cautious, slower approach to developing the technology, citing safety concerns. The remarks rattled investors who had been betting heavily on rapid AI expansion driving chip demand.
A software engineer published an essay comparing roundabout intersections to traffic-light systems, arguing that roundabouts solve common traffic problems—like sensor failures for bicycles or motorcycles and drivers racing through yellow lights—without any electronics or moving parts. The piece contends that roundabouts naturally slow traffic and only cause delays when genuinely necessary, unlike signal-based intersections that can create unnecessary waits or false negatives.
Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Greg Casar introduced the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, which would permanently prohibit building or deploying superintelligent AI and temporarily halt advanced AI development until federal safety rules exist. The bill also calls for a new cabinet-level agency to monitor AI systems for dangerous capabilities and pursue international agreements against superintelligence development worldwide.
Revolut disclosed that it inadvertently sent personal and financial data of some customers to a threat actor who impersonated a government agency using an authenticated domain. The leaked data reportedly includes identity documents, selfies, account statements, IBAN numbers, and transaction histories, including Bitcoin transactions. Revolut says the breach affects a limited but undisclosed number of accounts and that customer funds remain unaffected.
A technical write-up walks through why physical phenomena like light and sound intensity fall off with the square of distance, rather than linearly or cubically. The explanation builds from the classical formula for a sphere's surface area, using a paper-cylinder analogy to show how wrapping a sphere in a fitted cylinder reveals the 4πr² relationship at the heart of the law.
CISA has added a maximum-severity GitLab vulnerability, CVE-2026-85706, to its known exploited vulnerabilities catalog after security firm watchTowr detected attackers scanning the internet for unpatched servers. The flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to read credentials and sensitive files from GitLab instances via a single crafted HTTP request to the repository commits API. GitLab patched the issue in versions 19.3.2, 19.2.6, and 19.1, but federal agencies now have just three days to remediate under a binding directive.
Z.ai's shares fell more than 10% on Monday after the Beijing-based AI firm unveiled plans to raise roughly $5 billion, combining a discounted share placement worth about $2 billion with a $3 billion zero-coupon convertible bond offering due 2027. This is the company's second major capital raise in two months, following a $4 billion placement in July. Rival Chinese AI firm MiniMax also saw its shares slide about 5% the same day.
Security researchers at Kinryu Labs found an unsecured Elasticsearch cluster in Viettel-assigned IP space in Hanoi containing over 220 million passenger and crew records dating from 2017 to 2026. The exposed data included passport numbers, nationalities, dates of birth, flight details, seat assignments and baggage information, accessible due to a chain of misconfigurations and default credentials. The database was secured after being reported, though it remains unknown whether the data was accessed or copied before that point.
Brazilian philanthropic organizations, led by the Serrapilheira Institute, have begun funding scientific research at a scale unprecedented in the country's history, distributing over $25 million to early-career researchers since its founding. The University of São Paulo has also launched a center dedicated to studying and promoting science philanthropy, reflecting a broader shift as private donors step into a space traditionally dominated by government funding.
Researchers at UC San Francisco tested a surgically implanted 253-electrode array that reads brain activity to simultaneously produce on-screen text and animate a personalized avatar's movements. The system, tested with two participants with severe paralysis, is described as the first brain-computer interface to handle verbal and non-verbal communication together within seconds of intent.
Researchers examined how warming temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns are affecting conifer forests, finding measurable impacts on tree growth and physiological function. The changes appear to be reducing the ability of these forests to absorb and store atmospheric carbon as effectively as before.
Nature's latest books-in-brief column surveys four new nonfiction titles: Carlos Orsi's examination of astrology's scientific standing, Karen Torghele's biography of polio vaccine pioneer Albert Sabin, Trisha Muro's accessible guide to the physics behind space missions, and a work by J. W. Mason and Arjun Jayadev on monetary economics. Each book is briefly summarized with notes on its author's background and key arguments.