Researchers at South China Agricultural University in Guangzhou have created succulents that shine as brightly as a night light and in multiple colors, according to findings published in Matter. Led by materials scientist Xuejie Zhang, the team injected the houseplant Echevaria ‘Mebina’ with strontium-aluminate phosphor particles, which absorb light, store energy, and slowly re-emit it in hues of blue, green, red, violet, or white for up to two hours. The process involves injecting each leaf individually, and the team has applied for a patent, envisioning the plants as decorative installations and living lighting.
Image Credit: Liu et al./Matter
True Spies
The Nuclear Superhighway
What if storm clouds gave you access to Moscow’s most guarded secrets?
In the late 1970s, CIA case officer James Olson was tasked with intercepting Soviet military communications. A microwave leak in Moscow’s stormy skies carried fragments of conversations between the Ministry of Defense and a nuclear weapons facility at Troitsk. With the right receiver, those whispers became intelligence gold.
But the Soviets soon shifted to something even more secure: a buried cable running along a highway out of Moscow. If the CIA wanted to keep listening, someone had to tap it—on the ground, under the Kremlin’s nose! That someone was Olson.
Join James Olson in this week’s podcast selection, 'The Nuclear Superhighway', to slip into Cold War Moscow and risk everything!
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The ARC Prize competition is testing whether AI can think like humans. Instead of word games or trivia, the challenge uses the Abstraction and Reasoning Corpus (ARC), a set of deceptively simple visual puzzles that require spotting patterns and applying abstract logic. Humans get them about 85% of the time. State-of-the-art AI? Still lagging behind.
Unlike chess or Go, ARC tasks can’t be solved with brute force or massive datasets. They demand flexibility, the kind of reasoning people use when learning something new. Researchers view this success as a signpost toward Artificial General Intelligence, or AGI. The 2025 ARC Prize is now underway, open to anyone who thinks their model has what it takes! Check out the puzzles here.
Image Credit: ARC Prize
Articles
Concussion Wars
What happens when science collides with one of America’s most powerful institutions?
In 2002, forensic pathologist Bennet Omalu examined the brain of Mike Webster, a legendary NFL player whose post-retirement decline was marked by memory loss, depression, and erratic behavior. What he found changed sports forever: tau protein damage consistent with a degenerative brain condition. Omalu named it chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
Expecting the NFL to welcome his discovery, Omalu instead faced denial and hostility. League scientists publicly dismissed his findings and tried to bury his research, even as more players showed the same devastating brain patterns. But Omalu persisted, publishing further evidence and exposing a problem the NFL could no longer ignore.
Over time, his work prompted the league and the wider sporting world to confront the dangers of repeated head trauma. From ridicule to vindication, Omalu’s research helped reshape modern sport. Discover more in this SPYSCAPE article.
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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.
What do you do when thousands think your bridge might collapse?
In 1883, just days after the Brooklyn Bridge opened, panic swept across its span. A rumor that the structure was failing sent crowds rushing for the exits, trampling 12 people to death. Public confidence in the engineering marvel wavered until P.T. Barnum stepped in.
The showman seized the moment, leading 21 of his circus elephants, including the famous Jumbo, across the bridge in May 1884. The spectacle drew thousands of onlookers and proved the bridge’s strength in unforgettable fashion. The march restored faith in the bridge and doubled as a brilliant piece of promotion for Barnum’s circus.
Image Credit: The Historical Atlas of New York City
Art
Portrait Of A Lady
How does a Nazi-looted masterpiece vanish twice?
Argentine police raided a seaside home yesterday in search of Portrait of a Lady, a 17th-century painting by Italian Baroque artist Giuseppe Ghislandi. The work once belonged to Dutch Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, whose collection was seized after the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands. Hundreds of his paintings were funneled into the hands of Hermann Göring, Hitler’s deputy, before being passed to one of his aides, Friedrich Kadgien, who later fled to Argentina.
This week, a Dutch journalist spotted the portrait in a real estate listing for a property owned by Kadgien’s daughter. In a 3D tour, it hung above a green sofa in the living room. But when police arrived at the address, the painting had disappeared, replaced by a tapestry.
Authorities say they are working to track the artwork and prevent it from leaving Argentina. Nearly 80 years after the war, the hunt for looted art continues.
Image Credit: Robles Casas & Campos
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