Germany is reportedly developing bio-hybrid surveillance tools that blend robotics with living insects. Defense contractors have engineered cyborg cockroaches equipped with tiny cameras and sensors, enabling them to enter tight spaces on reconnaissance missions. The project is part of a broader push to modernize battlefield intelligence, which also includes autonomous drones that use AI to scout and relay real-time data. Officials say these technologies could support urban surveillance and search-and-rescue operations, though some researchers have raised ethical concerns.
Could you negotiate while rockets fell around you?
In 2014, CIA analyst Sarah M. Carlson landed in Libya with a mission: track terrorist threats, map militia power, and help stabilize a country slipping into civil war. A year later, Tripoli was under siege. Embassy walls shook from rocket fire. And Sarah found herself on the front line of an emergency evacuation for 150 American personnel.
She had trained for intelligence work. She had trained in Arabic. But no one could fully prepare her for what came next—navigating rebel checkpoints, managing classified information under fire, and negotiating with fighters in a country with no clear rules.
Join Sarah M. Carlson in this week’s podcast selection, 'Exit Strategy', to escape Libya before it’s too late.
New mission location activated. Come test your skills.
After you complete your debrief you will receive 10 short missions to play on the streets of Covent Garden — time to put what you've learned into action.
In a new study published in Nature, researchers at QuEra, Harvard, and MIT successfully demonstrated magic state distillation, a long-theorized process considered essential for making quantum computers truly useful.
Quantum computers process information using qubits, which can exist in multiple states at once. But physical qubits are prone to errors, making it difficult to scale. Magic states are special resources that help quantum systems run complex algorithms with high accuracy. Until now, magic state distillation had only been possible using unstable, physical qubits. This study utilizes logical qubits instead: clusters of physical units that detect and correct errors in real-time.
Articles
Nuclear Sleuths
How do you investigate nuclear secrets without access to classified intel?
From satellite imagery to machine learning, civilian researchers are utilizing open-source tools to analyze nuclear activity worldwide. Some have traced covert test sites, identified missile platforms, and uncovered sensitive facilities, relying only on public data and commercial technology.
In one case, researchers mapped nuclear explosions in North Korea using seismic signals and 3D satellite maps. In another instance, a university team utilized AI to scan tens of thousands of square kilometers for missile sites in China. And in Iran, satellite analysis revealed damage to a centrifuge building long before officials acknowledged its purpose.
The approach is accessible, but not always predictable. Without formal training or oversight, these investigations can raise new questions about accuracy, ethics, and interpretation. Discover more in this SPYSCAPE article.
Leverage CIA and MI6 expertise to develop your team.
Looking for a smarter way to bring your team together?
Your team will uncover their hidden strengths through interactive challenges and authentic personal profiles that celebrate what each team-member has to offer.
New research from the University of Arizona suggests that arachnids may have their roots in the sea. Using advanced imaging, a team of scientists led by Nicholas Strausfeld analyzed a 500-million-year-old fossil of Mollisonia symmetrica: a marine creature once grouped with horseshoe crabs. But its brain structure tells a different story.
Inside the fossil, scientists discovered a brain layout that is typically found in modern arachnids, arranged in a backward direction. In this design, coordination centers are positioned closer to the legs: a setup that enables fast and efficient movement, useful for hunting prey or spinning webs. The similarities suggest Mollisonia may be more closely related to spiders, ticks, and scorpions than previously thought.
The study also proposes that ancient insects may have evolved wings to evade these swift predators as they began to move onto land. And in response, spiders evolved to spin webs.
Quirky
The Sun Queen
Could salt power your home?
In 1948, scientist Mária Telkes collaborated with architect Eleanor Raymond to design and build the Dover Sun House in Massachusetts, one of the first homes to be powered entirely by solar energy. Instead of burning fuel, it used salt to trap heat from the sun and release it slowly, even on cloudy days.
Telkes didn’t stop there. She built solar ovens for off-grid cooking and compact desalination kits small enough for lifeboats—real tools for real emergencies. Her gadgets were practical, portable, and decades ahead of their time.
Dubbed “The Sun Queen,” she earned over 20 patents and brought solar science out of the lab and into daily life. While the rest of the world kept stoking the coal fire, Telkes was already cooking with sunlight!
