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A new pesticide specifically targeting the Colorado potato beetle has proven effective, killing the pest while leaving other species unharmed, including its close relatives. This beetle, originating from the Rocky Mountains, causes over $500 million in annual damage across the Northern Hemisphere.

GreenLight Biosciences has developed Calantha, a spray that uses RNA interference technology to target the PSMB5 gene, which is essential for removing damaged proteins in cells. Blocking this gene causes protein buildup, killing the larvae within six days. The beetle, which also harms eggplant, tomatoes, and bell peppers, has developed resistance to 50 pesticide formulas.

Similar to bacteria developing antibiotic resistance, crop pests have become immune to many pesticides, necessitating ongoing innovation. In 2001, farmers in Maine found that neonicotinoids were no longer effective against the potato beetle. Andrei Alyokhin, an entomologist at the University of Maine, observed that the beetles were unaffected by treated plants.

RNA interference is praised for its precision and safety, targeting only the potato beetle’s genetic relatives and sparing beneficial insects like pollinators. Subba Reddy Palli, an entomologist at the University of Kentucky, highlighted its precision and effectiveness.

Calantha, produced at about $1 per gram, was approved by the FDA after proving harmless to non-target species. GreenLight conducted safety trials comparing PSMB5 in the potato beetle with other insects, finding that only two other agricultural pest species were affected.

Astronomers recently discovered two young stars in the WL20 star system, located in the rho Ophiuchi molecular cloud complex, over 400 light years away. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), they observed two separate disks with jets erupting from each star in this binary system. This discovery was unexpected due to the stars’ age, size, and chemical composition, and it occurred in a well-studied part of the Universe.

Most of the Universe is invisible to the human eye, but ALMA and MIRI can observe different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, revealing details hidden in radio and infrared wavelengths. This dual observation approach allowed astronomers to identify these twin stars.

Astronomer Mary Barsony explained that one star in WL20 appeared much younger than the rest, but further observations showed it was actually two stars close together, each surrounded by a disk and emitting parallel jets. ALMA identified the disks, and MIRI detected the jets. Co-author Valentin J.M. Le Gouellec of NASA analyzed ALMA data to determine the disks’ composition, while Lukasz Tychoniec of Leiden Observatory provided high-resolution images, showing the disks were about 100 times the distance between Earth and the Sun.

Michael Ressler from JPL highlighted the serendipity of the discovery. While initially studying binaries in a different region, he decided to include WL20 in his JWST observing time, leading to this significant find.

This multi-wavelength data combination from ALMA and JWST offers new insights into the formation processes of multiple star systems.

Electrical engineer Joe Grand and his team successfully hacked into an encrypted file containing 43.6 bitcoins, unlocking a $3 million cryptocurrency wallet and rescuing a man who had forgotten his password 11 years ago.

On May 28, Joe uploaded a video to his YouTube channel, demonstrating how he was hired to access a valuable encrypted file that had been inaccessible since 2013. Michael, whose identity was hidden, contacted Joe last year for help.

Initially, Joe declined to help, stating that trying to guess the password, known as brute-forcing, was impractical. “If we had to try every possible password combination, that’s more than 100 trillion times the number of water drops in the entire world,” Joe explained.

However, a year later, Joe reconsidered because he had found a new method to recover the password. During that time, Bruno had successfully reverse-engineered a password generator and used it to recover the passwords it had created. Using a tool developed by the NSA, they disassembled the code of the password generator, RoboForm, that Michael had used to create his Bitcoin password.

RoboForm is a password management software that creates complex passwords and stores them in an encrypted vault. Michael had used it to create a 20-character password and saved it in an encrypted text file on his computer. Unfortunately, data corruption caused Michael to lose the password, locking him out of his wallet.

Joe discovered that older versions of RoboForm didn’t generate completely random passwords. By setting the time back to 2013, they tricked the program into recreating the same password it had generated years before. Joe and Bruno generated millions of potential passwords, but after getting the correct date, they cracked the code in just a few tries, recovering Michael’s $3 million Bitcoin wallet.

Here is the full, fascinating story:

When a dying veteran’s last wish was to receive a high school diploma, a superintendent and an American Legion Outpost commander made it happen.

Their efforts ensured that Richard Remp, a marine who sacrificed his education to fight in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, was awarded an honorary diploma. Remp, originally from Sharon, PA, and living in Poolesville, MD, had seen another elderly marine receive a diploma and wished for the same honor.

Superintendent Justi Glaros of the Sharon School District and James Cappuccilli, vice commander of Legion Post 247, teamed up to fulfill this wish. Although Remp attended a neighboring high school, Glaros obtained approval from her school board to print a diploma from their high school.

With Remp’s health rapidly declining due to stage 4 prostate cancer, Glaros drove four-and-a-half hours to personally deliver the diploma in a graduation ceremony at his home.

“The last thing he remembers is receiving the diploma,” said American Legion Post 247 Commander Julian Singh. Remp passed away on May 19th at the age of 98, having received a combat commendation ‘V’ for valor for his bravery in helping fellow Marines evacuate safely from enemy territory.

Warner Bros. announced a new Lord of the Rings movie, signaling a return to the beloved film franchise based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels. The upcoming film, the first of a two-part series delving into untold tales within the universe, will feature Peter Jackson, the director of the original trilogy, back in charge. Additionally, Andy Serkis, known for his portrayal of Gollum, will star in and direct the initial installment, titled “The Hunt for Gollum.”

The announcement was made by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav during an earnings call, with the tentative release date for “The Hunt for Gollum” set for 2026. While details about the plot are still under wraps, speculation has already begun among fans and critics.

Notably, a fan-made film of the same name, “The Hunt for Gollum,” released in 2009, explored a subplot from Tolkien’s appendices, depicting Gandalf’s mission to capture Gollum before he could betray the Ring’s location to Sauron. Whether the upcoming film will follow a similar narrative remains uncertain.

While awaiting the release of the new movie, fans can look forward to other Lord of the Rings project, the animated prequel “Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” slated for December 13, 2024.

I am a huge fan of Tolkien and his works. I am tentatively looking forward to “The War of the Rohirrim”. This new movie around the hunt for Gollum is certainly a surprise. I will have to hear more about the project before I can decide if I can get excited or not. Here’s to hoping they will both be good!