Google's Threat Analysis Group wrote an accusation against a Barcelonian exploit vendor named Variston IT which was said to have planted spyware on various devices by exploiting various software flaws in popular software. The vulnerabilities are low-interaction zero day exploits; according to the google researchers. The relevant bugs are a sandbox escape in chrome's JS engine due to a mismatch between the chromium devs' automatic array size parser having a UAF condition. The second is an exploit for Excel documents; which I could not find additional info on. The third is a Firefox UAF; reported in 2022 but abused since at least 2019. The info about the use of these exploits by the company was reported anonymously; but is not currently verifiable. This signifies a merge between the legitimate and illegitimate malware businesses; which places many users under considerable duress and increases risk of use by criminal actors.

A new and highly relevant technology for the cheap production of insulin - a medicine commonly price-gouged by healthcare providers - is emerging via specialized cultivation of Pichia Pastoris yeast strains. This strain delivers twice as much insulin as many prior methods; and was developed by researchers in Braunschweig, Germany. This method produces a precursor which is much easier to create in high yield than the insulin protein itself - it also does not require the same refolding procedures nor does it use dangerous bacterium such as Escherichia Coli; commonly known as E Coli. This will most likely present a cheaper competitive option for insulin products; though the issue of inelastic demand still pervades the industry to a considerable degree.

Portal's writers have recently stated that Valve has a starting concept for a story for a new portal game. To be clear; this is an idea posited by some of the developers who work for Valve rather than an official statement from the company. The prospect has recieved positive feedback from people at the company and the internal work culture seems to indicate a desire to do so. Personally; I find portal to be one of the best series; however my feelings in this regard are mixed. The series was concluded well and the possibility of a sequel offers more gameplay; but with little in the way of story without ruining existing themes. Either way; I would be interested to follow the discourse further.