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News

Napoleon's Fallen Army

A DNA study published in Current Biology has found that two previously unsuspected diseases may have killed Napoleon’s soldiers during their retreat from Russia in 1812. Researchers analyzed DNA from the teeth of 13 soldiers buried in a mass grave discovered in Vilnius, Lithuania, and identified Salmonella enterica and Borrelia recurrentis—bacteria that cause paratyphoid and relapsing fever. The results overturn long-held assumptions that typhus and trench fever decimated Napoleon’s 600,000-strong Grande Armée, of which fewer than 50,000 survived. The researchers suggest overlapping infections, combined with starvation and freezing temperatures, likely sealed the army’s fate.

True Spies

Trade Secrets

What happens if you infiltrate the semiconductor industry?

In Taiwan, cybersecurity experts Chad Duffy and C.K. Chen uncovered a breach that threatened the core of the global tech economy: the semiconductor industry. Working for CyCraft, the two white-hat hackers traced a coordinated assault on multiple chip manufacturers. The attackers had slipped into networks using stolen credentials, disguised their malware as legitimate software, and even planted a hidden “skeleton key” to unlock every system at will.

As Duffy and Chen followed the trail, the clues pointed east: working hours matched China’s 9-9-6 tech schedule, and the attacks paused for the country’s national holidays. Whether coincidence or cover, the implications were clear. If hackers could tamper with semiconductors, they could cripple entire economies.

Join Chad Duffy in this week’s podcast selection, 'Trade Secrets,' as he tracks a cyber-attack that threatened the world’s tech supply chain.

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Culture

Inside The Odds

What happens when the game is rigged?

Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were among more than 30 people arrested this week in connection with two multimillion-dollar gambling schemes. Federal prosecutors charged both men with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering.

Billups allegedly conspired with members of La Cosa Nostra, an organized crime network, to fix high-stakes poker games using X-ray tables, premarked cards, and hidden cameras.

Rozier is accused of manipulating gameplay decisions to influence sports bets, such as leaving games early. Both men were placed on leave just days into the 2025–26 season.

The arrests come as U.S. regulators prepare to loosen betting rules for college athletes and staff, allowing wagers on professional sports beginning next month. The industry generated a record $13.7 billion last year.

Articles

The $2 Billion Ghost

What secrets lie beneath the wings of the world’s most expensive aircraft?

At $2.1 billion per jet, the B-2 Spirit is one of the most closely guarded machines in aviation history. Designed to be invisible to radar, the stealth bomber’s sleek, black silhouette has become an icon of military secrecy, and a regular guest star in Hollywood blockbusters from Armageddon to Captain Marvel.

Every part of the B-2 was built from the ground up, from its radar-deflecting shape to its classified materials. It can fly for more than 70 consecutive hours and reach targets on the other side of the world without detection. Even its birthplace, California’s secretive Plant 42, has become the stuff of legend. Now, the B-2’s successor, the B-21 Raider, is taking flight, promising even greater stealth and AI-powered precision. Discover more in this SPYSCAPE article.

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Science

Side Effects Equation

Could your antidepressant be affecting more than your mood?

Researchers from King’s College London and the University of Oxford compared 30 antidepressants across 151 randomized trials involving more than 58,000 people, analyzing their effects on weight, cholesterol, heart rate, and blood pressure. The meta-analysis, published this week in The Lancet, found striking differences. People taking agomelatine lost over five pounds on average, while those on maprotiline gained nearly four and a half.

Some medications, including desvenlafaxine, venlafaxine, duloxetine, and paroxetine, were linked to higher total cholesterol. Nortriptyline raised heart rate by about 14 beats per minute, while fluvoxamine slowed it by 8 bpm. With more than 11 percent of U.S. adults taking antidepressants, researchers hope their findings and an online tool they developed will help doctors better match medications to each patient’s needs.

Art

Portraits Of A Crime

Could you spot a fake hanging next to a masterpiece?

German police have uncovered a scheme to sell 20 forged paintings by artists including Rembrandt and Pablo Picasso. The operation, led by a 77-year-old German man and 10 accomplices, stretched across Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. Authorities seized several suspected fakes during coordinated raids last week.

Investigators became suspicious when the man tried to sell two supposed Picasso originals, then claimed to own Rembrandt’s De Staalmeesters, a painting that already hangs in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum. An art expert confirmed the work was a copy, not a lost masterpiece. The remaining seized paintings will undergo further examination in the coming weeks.

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