August 13, 2026

05 Sci-Tech

Scientists looked 2,000 metres below the ocean and found microplastics in 92% of deep-sea animals, revealing plastic has reached Earth’s most remote ecosystems and could threaten marine food webs |– timesofindia.indiatimes.com

pgnewser July 22, 2026 0

Scientists looked 2,000 metres below the ocean and found microplastics in 92% of deep-sea animals, revealing plastic has reached Earth’s most remote ecosystems and could threaten marine food webs |– timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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EXCERPT:

Scientists have uncovered plastic pollution in one of Earth’s most isolated environments, challenging the long-held belief that the deep ocean remains largely untouched by human activity. Analysing animals living more than 2,000 metres beneath the sea, researchers discovered that 92% contained microplastics, offering some of the clearest evidence yet that plastic waste has reached even the planet’s most remote marine ecosystems. The findings, published in the journal Water Research, also revealed a striking regional difference, with deep-sea animals collected from the Indian Ocean carrying significantly higher levels of contamination than those from the Pacific. The study raises fresh concerns about the growing reach of plastic pollution and its potential impact on fragile marine food webs.

The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Water Research, focused on hydrothermal vent ecosystems in the Central Indian Ridge and the North Fiji Basin. These underwater environments lie more than 2,000 metres (6,560 feet) below the surface and are among the most isolated habitats on Earth.Researchers from the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) examined deep-sea snails and mussels collected from these locations to determine whether microplastics had reached their bodies. Their analysis showed that 92% of the animals contained plastic particles, with an average of 3.4 microplastic particles per individual.

Drugmaker Merck announces approval of new cholesterol-fighting drug | US news– www.theguardian.com

pgnewser July 21, 2026 0

Drugmaker Merck announces approval of new cholesterol-fighting drug | US news– www.theguardian.com
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EXCERPT:

The drug giant Merck on Thursday announced it had received FDA approval for a daily pill that can be an alternative to statins for treating high LDL levels, or so-called bad cholesterol. The new pill, Lipfendra, is a version of a drug called a PCSK9 inhibitor.

For decades the go-to therapy to treat high cholesterol levels has been statins, the most prescribed medication in the US. But statins come occasionally with side-effects like muscle aches and they sometimes don’t drop cholesterol levels enough to meet recommended levels.

Dr Puja Banka, associate vice-president for global clinical development at Merck and a pediatric cardiologist, said the development was important because statins are not doing enough to lower LDL levels to recommended levels.

“Seventy per cent of patients are not getting to their LDL goal,” she said.

The new pill, she said, would be taken “in conjunction” with statins, though in some cases could be taken alone. She said the side-effects of the newly approved drug appeared minimal in trials, with no muscle aches. Its side-effects, she said, “were like the placebo”.

Mathematicians are closing in on the hidden order inside chaos– www.scientificamerican.com

pgnewser July 21, 2026 0

Mathematicians are closing in on the hidden order inside chaos– www.scientificamerican.com
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EXCERPT:

For most of the past century, mathematicians have been exploring the limits of Ramsey theory, the study of order hiding inside chaos—or, more accurately, how much disorder can be packed into a system before order must inevitably emerge. Progress has been frustratingly slow, but now a potential breakthrough result is pointing the way toward more rapid advances—and a clearer view of the still-hazy transition between randomness and structure.

The systems in question are called graphs: mathematical networks made of points connected by lines. These graphs can represent anything interconnected—from friendships to airline routes to molecules. And as any graph grows, sooner or later it will include either a tight-knit group in which everything is connected to everything else—a “clique”—or encompass a large collection of points with no connections between them at all, known as an “independent set.”

In a new proof posted to the preprint server arXiv.org last month, Domagoj Bradač of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne has dramatically tightened key constraints on where this transition can take place, toppling a barrier that has bewildered researchers for decades. A few weeks later, an OpenAI reasoning model unexpectedly improved his result, essentially eliminating what little uncertainty remained on Bradač’s constraints to effectively conclude what had been a 90-year search.

Scientists discover a ‘remarkable’ new monkey species with orange lips and a froglike roar– www.scientificamerican.com

pgnewser July 21, 2026 0

Scientists discover a ‘remarkable’ new monkey species with orange lips and a froglike roar– www.scientificamerican.com
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EXCERPT:

A “remarkable” African monkey with a distinct orange patch around its mouth and a deep, croaky roar, found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is in fact a new species—and possibly already endangered.

The new species, Colobus congoensis, or Likweli, was discovered in Congo’s Lomami National Park and is closely related to its “sister” species, the black colobus. Before now, the monkey was a familiar sight to local communities, but scientists had never formally described it.

Now, in a new paper published on Wednesday in PLOS One, researchers have confirmed with genetic analyses that C. congoensis is a new species. It is just the fifth new African monkey species identified in the past 75 years.

FCC Poised to End Local TV Station Monopoly Rule

pgnewser July 17, 2026 0

The FCC is signaling it is about to get rid of a rule that prevented one company from having more than a 39% presence in the local tv market. The rule is being nixed, in part, to make way for a deal between Tegna and Nexstar that will give Nextar 80% presence in the local tv market.

The FCC Chair, Brendan Carr, said the rule will not be completely removed, but exceptions, such as the Nextar deal, will be allowed, when it is in the “public interest” to do so. The decision is sure to be challenged in court, where opponents assert only congress can make such changes, including adding exemptions.

US agency to vote to end 39% local TV station ownership cap – Reuters
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EXCERPT:

The chair of the Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday the agency will vote to ​rescind the 85-year-old rule that bars broadcasters from reaching more than ‌39% of the total number of U.S. TV households.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr confirmed Wednesday the agency will vote to lift the cap in favor of a new case-by-case approach. “Our ​new proposal would allow the FCC to approve deals that exceed ​the 39 percent cap, but only if doing so would ⁠promote the public interest,” Carr said in a essay published Wednesday.
Under current ​rules, stations with weaker over-the-air signals can be partially counted against a company’s ​ownership cap.
Critics say only Congress can lift the cap and argue it will lead to excessive concentration among station owners.
In March, the FCC approved the $3.54 billion sale of local television station ​owner Tegna to Nexstar (NXST.O), opens new tab despite objections from Democratic-led states.
The acquisition, if ​not reversed by courts, will expand Nexstar’s presence to cover 80% of U.S. TV households. ‌The ⁠FCC said it was waiving the 39% rule in approving the deal.

Paying for Trump’s Truth?

pgnewser July 17, 2026 1

President Trump’s Truth Social announced plans to offer corporations the opportunity to see the most influential Truth Social posters’ posts a few seconds before everyone else does. The offer is for institutional clients, specifically banks, hedge funds, and high-frequency traders, only. You pay for a few seconds of insider trading.

The ethicality of the decision is being questioned across the political sphere, never mind the legality of it. The question is, is this not simply selling Presidential influence? The product is the Presidential power, not Trump’s wisdom. The interim CEO, Kevin McGurn, said, “Markets are already reacting to Truth Social posts. The Truth API will provide direct, licensed access to the platform’s most market-moving content, while allowing us to monetize our own assets.”

Trump Sells Early Access to Truth Social Posts — Banks and Hedge Funds Get a Few Seconds’ Advantage – Bitcoin Foundation
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EXCERPT:

Trump Media & Technology Group has announced the launch of a paid Truth API service. Starting August 1, 2026, institutional clients–banks, hedge funds, and high-frequency traders–will get access to posts from President Trump and nine other influential accounts a few seconds before regular users.

The service is designed for algorithmic traders who depend on speed. TMTG has already confirmed that some clients have subscribed before the official launch. Pricing and the exact delay haven’t been disclosed.

Trump’s Truth Social posts have repeatedly triggered sharp moves in financial markets. One standout example: on April 9, 2025, Trump announced a 90-day tariff pause, sending US stocks sharply higher within minutes. Other examples include tariff comments on China and remarks on the Iran conflict.

TMTG said the feed will cover 10 of the platform’s most influential accounts, including Donald Trump himself, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and allies such as Dan Bongino and Sean Hannity. An archive of posts dating back to 2022 is also available.

Interim TMTG CEO Kevin McGurn said:

“Markets are already reacting to Truth Social posts. The Truth API will provide direct, licensed access to the platform’s most market-moving content, while allowing us to monetize our own assets.”