Since 2017, a particularly dangerous strain of E. coli O157:H7 has emerged across the country to spark outbreaks, severe disease, and deaths. It spreads in various ways: via leafy greens and contaminated beef, like its relatives, but also recreational waters. Hundreds of people across 46 states have been infected, and health officials have documented at least nine separate outbreaks. One in 2018, linked to lettuce, caused over 200 infections across 37 states, killing five people and causing a severe kidney condition in 26.

Now, a sweeping genetic analysis by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests a tiny mutation in one of the bacteria's molecular weapons may be behind the strain's rise. The finding, published recently in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases , provides insights into this clinically significant plague and its rise to prominence. It also highlights the role of the bacteria's sophisticated military tactics.

The mutated weapon is part of a complex system that E. coli and other harmful bacteria sometimes use called a Type 3 Secretion System (T3SS). This involves molecular machinery that basically functions like a syringe, complete with a long needle that is poked into the cells of its victims. The T3SS then directly injects a fleet of hostile proteins. Those proteins—called effectors—attack specific targets that collectively disable the host's defense responses and make the host more hospitable for its bacterial conqueror.

Read full article

Comments

Google's DeepMind research division claims its newest AI agent marks a significant step toward using the technology to tackle big problems in math and science. The system, known as AlphaEvolve, is based on the company's Gemini large language models (LLMs), with the addition of an "evolutionary" approach that evaluates and improves algorithms across a range of use cases.

AlphaEvolve is essentially an AI coding agent, but it goes deeper than a standard Gemini chatbot. When you talk to Gemini, there is always a risk of hallucination, where the AI makes up details due to the non-deterministic nature of the underlying technology. AlphaEvolve uses an interesting approach to increase its accuracy when handling complex algorithmic problems.

According to DeepMind , this AI uses an automatic evaluation system. When a researcher interacts with AlphaEvolve, they input a problem along with possible solutions and avenues to explore. The model generates multiple possible solutions, using the efficient Gemini Flash and the more detail-oriented Gemini Pro, and then each solution is analyzed by the evaluator. An evolutionary framework allows AlphaEvolve to focus on the best solution and improve upon it.

Read full article

Comments

Netflix is joining its streaming rivals in testing the amount and types of advertisements its subscribers are willing to endure for lower prices.

Today, at its second annual upfront to advertisers, the streaming leader announced that it has created interactive mid-roll ads and pause ads that incorporate generative AI. Subscribers can expect to start seeing the new types of ads in 2026, Media Play News reported.

“[Netflix] members pay as much attention to midroll ads as they do to the shows and movies themselves,” Amy Reinhard, president of advertising at Netflix, said, per the publication.

Read full article

Comments

The world of computers is dominated by binary. Silicon transistors are either conducting or they're not, and so we've developed a whole world of math and logical operations around those binary capabilities. And, for the most part, quantum computing has been developing along similar lines, using qubits that, when measured, will be found in one of two states.

In some cases, the use of binary values is a feature of the object being used to hold the qubit. For example, a technology called dual-rail qubits takes its value from which of two linked resonators holds a photon. But there are many other quantum objects that have access to far more than two states—think of something like all the possible energy states an electron could occupy when orbiting an atom. We can use things like this as qubits by only relying on the lowest two energy levels. But there's nothing stopping us from using more than two.

In Wednesday's issue of Nature, researchers describe creating qudits, the generic term for systems that hold quantum information—it's short for quantum digits. Using a system that can be in three or four possible states (qutrits and ququarts, respectively), they demonstrate the first error correction of higher-order quantum memory.

Read full article

Comments

We're about to enter a new era for DC Studios with the July release of Superman , writer/director James Gunn's fresh take on one of the most iconic superheroes. And after months of tantalizing teases, we finally have the first official trailer, featuring a bickering Clark Kent and Lois Lane, plenty of action, villains being villains, kaiju , and of course, our favorite flying super-pup, Krypto.

As previously reported , Gunn has described his take as less of an origin story and more of a journey, with Superman struggling to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage and aristocratic origins with his small-town adoptive human family. Gunn tapped David Corenswet to play Clark Kent/Superman at 25, a bit more established than the young cub reporter of Smallville , for instance. Rachel Brosnahan plays Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo plays Jimmy Olsen, and Nicholas Hoult is arch-nemesis Lex Luthor. Luthor's sidekicks are played by Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher and Terence Rosemore as Otis.

The cast also includes Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern (sporting a disastrous bowl haircut); Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason/Metamorpho, who can transmute elements in his body to change forms; Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl; Edi Gathegi as Michael Holt/Mister Terrific, an inventor turned superhero; Maria Gabriela de Faria as Angela Spica/The Engineer, whose abilities stem from embedded nanotechnology; and Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell as Clark's parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent, respectively. We'll also see Frank Grillo reprise his role as Rick Flag Sr. from the animated series Creature Commandos ; Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord; and Milly Alcock as Superman's cousin, Kara Zor-El/Supergirl.

Read full article

Comments

The CEO of the company that purchased VPNSecure in 2023 and claimed to not know that the VPN service provider had previously sold lifetime subscriptions has some regrets.

Earlier this week, Ars Technica reported on VPNSecure canceling thousands of lifetime subscriptions , starting in March. In an email to customers, VPNSecure said that it couldn't afford to maintain the subscriptions and that the current owners, InfiniteQuant Ltd, weren't told about the subscriptions when they bought VPNSecure. The sudden deactivation of accounts resulted in customer backlash online, including, as of this writing, 24 pages of one-star reviews on Trustpilot.

“… maybe, honestly, we should have just walked away from this 'opportunity,’” Romain Brabant, the CEO of InfiniteQuant Ltd, told Ars Technica when asked if he would have handled things differently in hindsight.

Read full article

Comments

Gilmour Space, a venture-backed startup based in Australia, is about to launch a small rocket from its privately owned spaceport on a remote stretch of the country's northeastern coastline.

It's the first time anyone has attempted to reach orbit with a rocket designed and built in Australia. Gilmour's three-stage rocket, named Eris, could launch at any time during a 10-hour window Thursday, local time. In the United States, the launch window runs from 5:30 pm EDT Wednesday until 3:30 am EDT Thursday.

The debut launch of Gilmour's Eris rocket is purely a test flight. Gilmour has tested the rocket's engines and rehearsed the countdown last year, loading propellant and getting within 10 seconds of launch. But Gilmour cautioned in a post on LinkedIn early Wednesday that "test launches are complex." Gilmour added on social media that "weather, systems checks, or technical issues may delay the flight—sometimes by hours, days, or longer."

Read full article

Comments

A plaintiff's law firms were sanctioned and ordered to pay $31,100 after submitting fake AI citations that nearly ended up in a court ruling. Michael Wilner, a retired US magistrate judge serving as special master in US District Court for the Central District of California, admitted that he initially thought the citations were real and "almost" put them into an order.

These aren't the first lawyers caught submitting briefs with fake citations generated by AI. In some cases, opposing attorneys figure out what happened and notify the judge. In this instance, the judge noticed that some citations were un-verifiable but was troubled by how close he came to including the bogus citations in an order.

"Directly put, Plaintiff's use of AI affirmatively misled me," Judge Wilner wrote in a May 5 order . "I read their brief, was persuaded (or at least intrigued) by the authorities that they cited, and looked up the decisions to learn more about them—only to find that they didn't exist. That's scary. It almost led to the scarier outcome (from my perspective) of including those bogus materials in a judicial order. Strong deterrence is needed to make sure that attorneys don't succumb to this easy shortcut."

Read full article

Comments

We've known for months now that Valve is expanding its Linux-based SteamOS operating system beyond the Steam Deck to other handheld PCs, starting with some versions of the Asus ROG Ally . This week, Valve began making some changes to its Steam storefront to prepare for a future when the Deck isn't the only hardware running SteamOS.

A new " SteamOS Compatible " label will begin rolling out "over the next few weeks" to denote "whether a game and all of its middleware is supported on SteamOS," including "game functionality, launcher functionality, and anti-cheat support." Games that don't meet this requirement will be marked as "SteamOS Unsupported." As with current games and the Steam Deck, this label doesn't mean these games won't run, but it does mean there may be some serious compatibility issues that keep the game from running as intended.

Valve says that "over 18,000 titles on Steam [will] be marked SteamOS compatible out of the gate," and that game developers won't need to do anything extra to earn the label if their titles already support the Steam Deck.

Read full article

Comments