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 December 26, 2024: Medieval mosaics, SKYNET, Stalin's Romeo Spy, solar exploration and more!
News
Solar Exploration
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe made history Tuesday by completing the closest-ever flyby of the sun. The craft journeyed within 3.8 million miles of the solar surface. Launched in 2018, it travels around 430,000 miles per hour and is built to endure temperatures of up to 1,800°F. Its mission: to study the sun’s atmosphere and provide new insights into the solar wind, streams of charged particles that ripple through the solar system. These winds create dazzling auroras but can also disrupt satellites and electronics on Earth. The probe is named after physicist Eugene Parker, who first theorized the existence of solar wind.
Image Credit: NASA Parker Solar Probe
True Spies
Stalin's Romeo Spy
Could you mix business and pleasure?
In the fall of 1973, Young Soviet journalist Emil Draitser stumbled upon a story that changed his life. He met an aging Soviet super-spy, named Dmitri Brystrolyotov, for whom sex and secrets went hand-in-hand. The spy and the satirist spoke for hours. The older man spun a tale of glamor, tragedy, and subterfuge between the wars. The younger man listened. What else could he do? It was a fascinating tale but it could also land Draitser in prison. At the time, he could scarcely believe what he heard - much less publish it. Dmitri had shared a deep secret…
Within the next few months, Draitser would be on a plane out of Soviet Russia bound for the United States. And that’s where he’s made his home ever since, making a living as a writer and academic. It would be almost 30 years before he heard the name Bystrolyotov again. But long after the collapse of the USSR Brystrolyotov's story could finally be told, and in the intervening years, the life and work of Bystrolyotov reached a wider audience. In 1999, the KGB defector Vasily Mitrokhin co-authored a book that gave the world unprecedented access to the Russian Secret Service’s extensive archives.
A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. So dangerous, that Emil had to wonder why the aging spy had decided to tell all. Looking back at a distance of almost half a century, he has a working theory. What was Dmitri's deep secret? Join Emil Draitser in this week’s podcast selection, ‘Stalin’s Romeo Spy’, to find out!
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Science
Sleep Apnea Medication
Could this new drug transform sleep apnea treatment?
The FDA has approved Zepbound, an obesity medication from Eli Lilly, as the first drug in the US to treat moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in obese adults—a disorder that affects an estimated 39 million Americans. Sleep apnea occurs when the upper airway becomes blocked, causing interrupted breathing and frequent awakenings during sleep. Left untreated, it can lead to serious health issues, including heart failure, stroke, and diabetes. While continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines are the most common treatment, Zepbound offers a promising alternative for obese patients, a group at high risk for the condition. In one study, participants taking Zepbound lost an average of 20% of their body weight and experienced 25 fewer breathing interruptions per hour of sleep.
Technology
SKYNET
Is this a program that decides who lives or dies?
Journalist Ahmad Zaidan was the bureau chief for Al Jazeera news network in Islamabad, Pakistan up until 2015, a man known mainly for his series of interviews with Osama bin Laden and the Taliban. Zaidan’s followers weren’t just news junkies though. They included a cadre of NSA and CIA officers who suspected Zaidan himself of belonging to al-Qaeda.
They clocked Zaidan’s communication and travel patterns through his metadata signature - cell phone calls, geolocation pings, etc. The journalist’s movements were suspicious enough to earn Zaidan a spot on a so-called ‘Kill List’ of suspected terrorists, a list created not by US surveillance teams but by SKYNET, a top-secret program revealed by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. SKYNET's machine-learning algorithm was used to analyze Pakistan’s cellular metadata and locate potential terrorists.
As the world stands on the brink of a new era in artificial intelligence we may be grappling with a force that can reshape our world, not always for the better. Trevor Paglen - part artist part author - researched SKYNET thoroughly, and his findings appear more relevant today than ever. Discover more about the top-secret program in this SPYSCAPE article.
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A new study shows that a machine learning program can match or even outperform professional tasters in identifying whiskey flavor notes. Researchers tested the program on 16 whiskey samples—seven American and nine Scotch—previously analyzed by 11 human experts. Using statistical models and neural networks, the AI identified molecules in each whiskey and predicted their top five flavor notes. These results were then compared to the aggregated findings from the human tasters.
Whiskey analysis is notoriously complex, with over 40 compounds contributing to its aroma. The AI demonstrated its prowess by pinpointing molecules unique to American and Scotch whiskeys. Menthol and citronellol were linked to caramel-like notes in American whiskeys and scotch samples featured methyl decanoate and heptanoic acid, associated with apple-like or solvent-like aromas.
Culture
Medieval Mosaics
What makes Monreale’s mosaics so breathtaking?
Perched on a hill above Palermo, Sicily, the Monreale Cathedral is a hidden treasure of Italian art. Built in the 12th century under Norman rule, it houses Italy’s largest Byzantine-style mosaics. The UNESCO World Heritage site has been restored to its former glory; spanning over 6,400 square meters and containing 2.2 kilograms of solid gold, the mosaics were designed to awe and inspire visitors, reflecting the grandeur of Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire’s capital. The restoration took over a year and was led by local experts from Italy’s Ministry of Culture. Crews removed dust, repaired enamel and gold leaf on damaged tiles, and secured peeling sections to prevent further loss, to revive one of Sicily’s most extraordinary cultural landmarks.
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