Spy agencies brief people in power. We brief you. Each week we bring you one story that matters, and a few that don’t!
Your Brief for February 20, 2025: The lawn chair pilot, long-lost tomb, asteroid impact risk, The ATHAR Project and more!
News
Asteroid Impact Risk
Astronomers recently identified asteroid 2024 YR4 as the largest known space rock with the highest predicted probability of impacting Earth. First detected in December, the asteroid—estimated to be between 130 and 300 feet long—now has an estimated 3.1% probability of striking the planet on December 22, 2032. That probability exceeds the early projections for Apophis, a much larger asteroid discovered in 2004 that once had a 2.7% estimated chance of collision—further observations later ruled out an impact. Scientists hope ongoing data collection will lead to the same conclusion for 2024 YR4. Though smaller than Apophis, an asteroid of this size could still cause significant damage, particularly if it impacts a populated area.
Image Credit: European Space Agency
True Spies
The ATHAR Project
What’s your cause?
Location: Manbij, northwestern Syria. A civil war is raging. Thousands flee the country in search of refuge. Out in the sandy vastness of the landscape, the distant echoes of explosions commingle with an insistent chip-chip-chip—the sound of digging. But the diggers are being watched...
ISIS—the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria—is a terrorist organization that controlled swathes of the Middle East between 2014 and 2019. Among the many cities they seized was Manbij, which became a key hub for the ISIS Department of Antiquities, known as the Diwan Al Rikaz. This department handled looted, trafficked, and otherwise stolen artifacts, selling them to fund the so-called Islamic State.
Across Syria’s war-ravaged towns and cities, looters trafficked the country’s rich reserves of priceless antiquities to the highest bidder. Amid this cultural destruction, two unlikely spymasters—US-based academics Amr Al-Azm and Katie A. Paul—were on a mission to hold the criminals to account. But their fight was far from easy. ISIS militants, a hostile regime, and even Facebook stood in their way, allowing the illegal trade to flourish. Despite the dangers, they were determined to save Syria’s cultural heritage from disappearing forever.
What came of their mission? Join Amr Al-Azm and Katie A. Paul in this week’s podcast selection, ‘The ATHAR Project,’ to discover how they combined meticulous research and a network of agents to document the illegal trafficking of antiquities in Syria.
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Science
Cancer Drug Shows Early Promise
A one-dose cancer killer?
Scientists at the University of Illinois Chicago have developed a new drug, ErSO, that could offer a powerful new approach to treating breast cancer. ErSO targets a specific protein pathway in cancer cells, triggering a stress response that causes them to self-destruct. In tests on mice, the treatment eliminated multiple types of breast cancer, including those resistant to current therapies. The drug also left healthy cells unaffected, suggesting fewer side effects than traditional treatments.
David Shapiro, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Illinois, said, “This chemical compound is unique in that it can completely eradicate breast cancer after just one dose." Researchers are now preparing for human trials to determine if ErSO’s early success can translate into real-world treatment options.
History
Long-Lost Tomb
What royal mystery was buried for over 3,000 years?
Archaeologists have uncovered the tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh! A British-Egyptian team recently located the long-lost burial site of King Thutmose II in the Western Valleys of the Theban Necropolis near Luxor—far from where experts expected to find it. Thutmose II, who ruled during the 18th Dynasty (circa 1493–1479 BC), was previously known only from historical records and his mummified remains, which were relocated in ancient times and discovered in a separate royal cache two centuries ago. His original tomb, however, had remained undiscovered—until now.
The burial site was uncovered in an area typically reserved for royal women, but inscriptions confirmed it belonged to a pharaoh. Researchers had long believed that 18th Dynasty rulers were buried closer to the Valley of the Kings. Thutmose II is best known as the husband of Queen Hatshepsut, one of Egypt’s most powerful female pharaohs. His tomb is the first royal burial uncovered since the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun.
Image Credit: New Kingdom Research Foundation
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How did a man in a lawn chair end up 16,000 feet in the air?
In 1982, Larry Walters had an idea—strap 42 helium balloons to a lawn chair and float peacefully over California. But things didn’t go as planned. Instead of drifting gently over the San Gabriel Mountains, he shot up to 16,500 feet, shocking commercial pilots and air traffic controllers.
Armed with a BB gun to control his altitude—Larry planned to pop balloons to descend. But when he accidentally dropped the gun, he was left at the mercy of the wind. Luckily, the few shots he had fired earlier eventually took effect, sending him back down—straight into power lines in Long Beach and knocking out electricity to the neighborhood. Larry was confronted by police and fined by the FAA. His flying lawn chair, originally given away, now sits in the Smithsonian’s Air & Space Museum. View it here.
Nature
Radiation-Eating Fungi
Could fungi help protect astronauts from radiation?
After the 1986 Chornobyl disaster, scientists expected the reactor site to be a lifeless wasteland. But by 1991, they discovered something unexpected—black fungi thriving on the walls of Reactor No. 4. Not only were they surviving intense radiation, but they seemed to be using it to grow.
The fungi, including Cladosporium sphaerospermum and Cryptococcus neoformans, contain melanin, a pigment that allows them to absorb radiation and convert it into energy—a process similar to photosynthesis in plants. Studies in the 2000s revealed that these fungi grew even faster when exposed to radiation, suggesting they may have evolved to harness it.
By the 2010s, researchers began testing these fungi in space, exploring their potential to shield astronauts from cosmic radiation. Scientists are also investigating whether they could be used to clean up contaminated environments back on Earth!
Games
The Origins Of Monopoly
Was the world's most famous property game designed to critique capitalism?
Monopoly wasn't always only about getting rich and bankrupting your opponents. In 1904, Lizzie Magie created "The Landlord's Game" to show how monopolies could lead to wealth concentration and economic inequality. And Magie's game had a twist: two sets of rules. One rewarded monopolistic practices, while the other promoted wealth-sharing. She hoped players would see the benefits of a more equal economic system. Fast forward to the 1930s, and Charles Darrow commercialized one of the game's twists, and Monopoly, as we know it today, was born—But Lizzie Magie's original message may have gotten lost in the shuffle somewhere along the way.
Looking for a challenge? Puzzlemaker Norman M. Aaronson has crafted the crossword 'Foreign Exchanges' for you to solve. Put your skills to the test here.
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