Samantha K. Dziurdzik, Vaishnavi Sridhar, Elizabeth Conibear et al. (University of British Columbia) identify a conserved adaptor that recruits BLTP2-like proteins to ER–plasma membrane contacts by binding helical projections on their lipid transfer channel to maintain lipid homeostasis.
MembraneContactSites.
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Indrajyoti Indra, Sergey M. Troyanovsky et al. (Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine) show that two δ-catenins, p120 and plakophilin-4, promote distinct cadherin clustering modes, α-catenin–dependent and α-catenin–independent, respectfully, thereby generating different types of adherens junctions.
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Researchers at IMDEA Networks Institute, together with European partners, have found that tire pressure sensors in modern cars can unintentionally expose drivers to tracking. Over a ten-week study, they collected signals from more than 20,000 vehicles, revealing a hidden privacy risk and highlighting the need for stronger security measures in future vehicle sensor systems.
Most modern cars are equipped with a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), mandatory since the late 2000s in many countries for their contribution to road safety. This system uses small sensors in each wheel to monitor tire pressure and sends wireless signals to the car’s computer to alert the driver if a tire is underinflated.
However, the researchers found that these tire sensors also send a unique ID number in clear, unencrypted wireless signals, meaning that anyone nearby with a simple radio receiver can capture the signal, and recognize the same car again later. Most vehicle tracking today uses cameras that need clear visibility and line-of-sight to a car. TPMS tracking is different: tire sensors automatically send radio signals that pass through walls and vehicles, allowing small hidden wireless receivers to capture them without being seen.
Accessible minimal requirements for reproducible light microscopy. This viewpoint from Paula Montero Llopis, Chloë van Oostende-Triplet, the QUAREP-LiMi consortium and colleagues presents a community-endorsed checklist defining minimal light microscopy metadata to improve rigor, reproducibility, and transparency in research.
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A University of Ottawa team has developed a new way to protect free-space quantum key distribution (QKD) from atmospheric turbulence, one of the main causes of distortion and errors when sending quantum information through air. Their paper, “All-optical turbulence mitigation for free-space quantum key distribution using stimulated parametric down-conversion,” appears in the journal Optica.
Instead of relying on complex, expensive digital adaptive optics, the researchers use a nonlinear optical process called “stimulated parametric down-conversion (StimPDC).” The technique leverages StimPDC’s phase-conjugation property to correct spatial-mode distortions dynamically without requiring prior knowledge of the turbulent channel.
“We found the idea of using a fundamental optical process to correct the effects of turbulence in real time to be both innovative and largely unexplored,” said Aarón Cardoso, lead author and Quantum Optics Student Researcher at uOttawa. “Our results show we can reduce quantum error rates below the security threshold even under strong turbulence.”
Microsoft has released the KB5077241 optional cumulative update for Windows 11, which comes with 29 changes, including improvements to BitLocker, a new network speed test tool, and native System Monitor (Sysmon) functionality.
KB5077241 is a preview update delivered at the end of each month that allows admins to test Windows bug fixes, new features, and improvements before they’re generally available during next month’s Patch Tuesday release. However, unlike Patch Tuesday cumulative updates, monthly non-security preview updates do not include security fixes and only roll out quality improvements.
With the February 2026 optional update, Microsoft has improved BitLocker reliability, ensuring devices no longer freeze after entering the recovery key, and introduced a built‑in network speed test for Ethernet, Wi‑Fi, and cellular connections in the Windows taskbar, which can be opened from the Wi‑Fi or Cellular Quick Settings, or by right-clicking the network icon in the system tray.
With Fortinet appliances becoming an attractive target for threat actors, it’s essential that organizations ensure management interfaces are not exposed to the internet, change default and common credentials, rotate SSL-VPN user credentials, implement multi-factor authentication for administrative and VPN access, and audit for unauthorized administrative accounts or connections.
It’s also recommended to isolate backup servers from general network access, ensure all software programs are up-to-date, and monitor for unintended network exposure.
“As we expect this trend to continue in 2026, organizations should anticipate that AI-augmented threat activity will continue to grow in volume from both skilled and unskilled adversaries,” Moses said. “Strong defensive fundamentals remain the most effective countermeasure: patch management for perimeter devices, credential hygiene, network segmentation, and robust detection for post-exploitation indicators.”
Several mental health mobile apps with millions of downloads on Google Play contain security vulnerabilities that could expose users’ sensitive medical information.
In one of the apps, security researchers discovered more than 85 medium-and high-severity vulnerabilities that could be exploited to compromise users’ therapy data and privacy.
Some of the products are AI companions designed to help people suffering from clinical depression, multiple forms of anxiety, panic attacks, stress, and bipolar disorder.
Sensors made of carbon nanotubes that can measure infrared and terahertz radiation are being tested for uses ranging from detecting damaged cables after earthquakes, to collecting health data via ultrathin wearable devices, and assisting with pharmaceutical quality control, say researchers in Japan.
“Accurately visualizing the internal structures of organisms and objects is integral to our daily lives, from medical imaging to security scanning in airports,” and terahertz sensors built from carbon nanotubes are uniquely suited to this purpose, says Yukio Kawano is a professor of engineering at Chuo University in Tokyo, and project leader at the Kanagawa Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (KISTEC) in Japan.
Compared with many sensor technologies that can only detect one part of the electromagnetic spectrum, Kawano’s team is working to create sensors that can detect terahertz and a broader range of radiation, and use them to produce high-resolution images.
Just like each person has unique fingerprints, every CMOS chip has a distinctive “fingerprint” caused by tiny, random manufacturing variations. Engineers can leverage this unforgeable ID for authentication, to safeguard a device from attackers trying to steal private data.
But these cryptographic schemes typically require secret information about a chip’s fingerprint to be stored on a third-party server. This creates security vulnerabilities and requires additional memory and computation.
To overcome this limitation, MIT engineers developed a manufacturing method that enables secure, fingerprint-based authentication, without the need to store secret information outside the chip.