Meta signs over 6GW of power contracts with three nuclear companies
Meta today announced three contracts to supply nuclear power to its data centers. One contract is with a start-up, one with a small energy company, and one with a large company that already operates multiple nuclear reactors in the United States. Oklo and TerraPower, two small modular reactor (SMR) developers, each have contracts with Meta […]
China-linked hackers exploit VMware ESXi zero-day to escape virtual machines
January 9, 2026Ravi LakshmananVirtualization/Vulnerability Chinese-speaking attackers are suspected of using compromised SonicWall VPN appliances as an initial access vector to deploy a VMware ESXi exploit that may have been developed in February 2024. Cybersecurity firm Huntress, which observed the activity in December 2025 and stopped it before it could reach its final stage, said it […]
Fossils suggest Homo erectus was not the first human to leave Africa 1.8 million years ago
Early ancestral members of the human lineage may have left Africa earlier than widely thought, a new study of fossil teeth suggests. Modern humans, Homo sapiens, are the only extant member of the genus Homo, which is thought to have originated in Africa about 2 to 3 million years ago and first left the African […]
The giant sunspot that sparked the recent solar ‘superstorm’ triggered nearly 1,000 flares and a secret X-rated explosion, a record-breaking study reveals
A record-breaking study of the giant sunspot that caused Earth’s largest geomagnetic storm in more than two decades has revealed surprising new details about the explosive dark region. This monster sunspot triggered nearly 1,000 solar flares in just over three months, and may have discreetly triggered the most powerful explosion of the current solar cycle. […]
Unreleased footage captures the moment a new species of giant anaconda was discovered in the Amazon
In 2024, scientists announced the discovery of a new species of anaconda in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Now, in a new nature series, filmmakers have released shocking, never-before-seen footage of a snake encounter in the wild. The film transports viewers to the Vaihueri Huaorani region of the Amazon rainforest. There, in 2022, researchers were sampling anacondas […]
Russia’s APT28 runs credential theft campaign targeting energy and policy organizations
January 9, 2026Ravi LakshmananEmail Security/Threat Intelligence Russian state-sponsored threat actors have been implicated in a series of new credential harvesting attacks targeting individuals associated with Turkey’s Energy and Nuclear Research Institute, as well as staff affiliated with European think tanks and organizations in North Macedonia and Uzbekistan. This activity is believed to be by APT28 […]
Small bumps in 7-million-year-old fossil suggest ancient apes walked upright and may even be human ancestors
A new study has found never-before-seen ridges on the foot bones of a 7-million-year-old fossil ape, indicating that they walked upright on two legs while on the ground. This lump, called the femoral tubercle, is only found in members of the human lineage. This species, Sahelanthropus tchadensis, is the oldest known hominid, according to a […]
X limits Grok image generation to paid subscribers after worldwide outrage
Elon Musk’s AI company has restricted Grok’s controversial AI image generation feature to paying X members only after the tool drew intense criticism from around the world for allowing users to generate sexual and nude images of women and children. Grok said in a response to users on Friday that only paying X subscribers can […]
The venture that devoured Silicon Valley raised another $15 billion.
Andreessen Horowitz just announced that his company has raised just over $15 billion in new funding. The funding represents more than 18% of all venture capital allocated in the U.S. in 2025, according to company co-founder Ben Horowitz, but what’s even more impressive is that the organization has more than $90 billion in assets under […]
Baobab tree line: Madagascar’s natural monument with dozens of “mother of the forest” trees
simple facts Name: Baobab Street or Baobab Alley Location: Menabe, Madagascar Coordinates: -20.2504, 44.4196 Why we don’t believe it: Baobabs are remnants of the dense forests that once covered Madagascar. As its name suggests, Baobab Street is a road lined with towering baobab trees in Madagascar. These trees are the remnants of the tropical forests […]