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July 24^th 2025

💻 Technology

🇺🇸 US researchers at Meta create bracelet that turns hand gestures into precise digital commands

Meta’s Reality Labs has developed a neuromotor wristband, sEMG-RD, that translates electrical nerve signals in the wrist into digital commands, allowing users to control computers by thinking about hand movements. The bracelet enables cursor control, gesture-based navigation, and even handwriting input without requiring user-specific calibration. Published in Nature, the research demonstrates a powerful and accessible interface for people with limited mobility and introduces a new paradigm for hands-free computing.

🇮🇹 Italian researchers develop Wi-Fi tech that identifies people by body signal 'fingerprint' alone

Researchers at La Sapienza University of Rome have created WhoFi, a system that re-identifies individuals with up to 95.5% accuracy using distortions in ordinary Wi-Fi signals caused by their bodies. Unlike cameras or phones, this method uses Channel State Information (CSI) and AI to track people without any device or line of sight. Published as a preprint on arXiv, the innovation raises serious privacy questions as Wi-Fi sensing advances into mainstream use.

⚡️ Energy

🇺🇸 US startup proposes fusion-powered method to turn mercury into gold, exciting nuclear scientists

Marathon Fusion, a US engineering startup, claims it can convert mercury into stable gold by exposing mercury-198 to fusion-generated neutrons, triggering a decay chain that yields gold-197. The unreviewed process, outlined in a recent paper and presented at the Breakthrough Energy Summit, could produce up to 5,000 kg of gold per gigawatt of fusion power annually without compromising reactor energy output. While technical hurdles remain, including radioactive byproducts and long storage times, experts are intrigued by its potential to boost the economic viability of fusion energy.

💊 Healthcare

🇺🇾 Uruguayan researchers create first pill that reprograms fat to burn calories without effort

Scientists from the Institut Pasteur de Montevideo and the University of the Republic have developed SANA, a world-first obesity drug that triggers fat-burning through creatine-based thermogenesis rather than appetite suppression. Created by the South American startup Eolo Pharma, SANA safely reprograms white fat cells to expend energy at rest and preserved muscle mass in early human trials. Published in Nature Metabolism, the findings mark a major step toward long-lasting, metabolism-boosting obesity treatments without the side effects of GLP-1 drugs.

🇺🇸 US researchers develop floss-based vaccine that triggers full-body immune response without needles

Scientists have created a novel flu vaccine delivery system using dental floss, which successfully protected mice from a lethal influenza strain and triggered antibody production in saliva, feces, and bone marrow - indicating long-term immunity. Developed by a US-based team and published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, the method bypasses traditional barriers to oral vaccines and could provide a simple, needle-free way to boost immune response. The technique may also allow for mail-delivered, self-administered immunization during pandemics.

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