SYDNEY, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) — Australian researchers have visualized a key protein complex in the malaria parasite, revealing a new vaccine target to block disease transmission.
Using advanced cryo-electron microscopy, the team led by the Melbourne-based Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) captured high-resolution images of the Pfs230-Pfs48/45 protein complex essential for the fertilization of malaria parasites inside mosquitoes, a WEHI statement said on Wednesday.
The discovery enabled the development of a promising mRNA vaccine candidate that blocks malaria parasite reproduction in mosquitoes, preventing transmission to humans, it said.
The mRNA vaccine candidate triggered high levels of antibodies that recognized the parasite and blocked transmission in mosquitoes by up to 99.7 percent in preclinical tests, according to the study published in Science.
Malaria parasites are common in humans, but only a few fertilize inside mosquitoes. Targeting this bottleneck stage with transmission-blocking vaccines can greatly reduce the spread of malaria, one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, the researchers said.
“The success of the malaria vaccine program illustrates the versatility of mRNA technology, which has many applications beyond the COVID vaccines,” said Colin Pouton from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, which co-developed the vaccine candidate.
The team plans to combine the mRNA transmission-blocking vaccine with vaccines targeting the parasite’s blood and liver stages in humans to build a comprehensive defense aimed at dramatically reducing malaria and moving toward elimination. ■
Rolling out FedNow and Real-Time Payments (RTP) at your financial institution is more than a technology upgrade—it’s a strategic opportunity to build deeper trust and engagement with your account holders.
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‘Open-weight’ AI models enable researchers to perform custom training or study how information is represented inside their neural networks. Credit: Getty
OpenAI has launched a large language model (LLM) that lives up to the company’s name. Known as gpt-oss, it is the first ‘reasoning’ artificial intelligence (AI) from the firm that is open-weight, meaning that researchers will be able to download it and customize it.
The firm, based in San Francisco, California, detailed the system in a blog post and a technical description on 5 August. On some tasks, gpt-oss performs almost as well as the firm’s most advanced models. The LLM is available in two sizes, both of which can be run locally and offline — the smaller of them on a single laptop — rather than requiring cloud computing or an online interface. This means they can be used to analyse — or be trained further on — sensitive data that can’t be transferred outside a given network.
“I’m very excited,” says Simon Frieder, a mathematician and computer scientist at the University of Oxford, UK. “The competition between open-source large language models is already strong, and this will make the competition even fiercer, which benefits the entire research community.”
The release of gpt-oss comes at a time when powerful open-weight models from Chinese firms, such as Hangzhou-based DeepSeek and Beijing-based Moonshot AI, are gaining traction among researchers. Chinese open models already perform better than US-developed ones such as Llama (from Meta, based in Menlo Park, California) and are also poised to overtake them in terms of number of downloads, according to an analysis by Nathan Lambert, a machine-learning researcher at the Allen Institute for AI in Seattle, Washington, which was carried out before gpt-oss was released.
Last month, the administration of US president Donald Trump highlighted open-weight AI models as being “essential for academic research” in its AI Action Plan. OpenAI’s decision to launch an open model has been long in the works and is not a response to the success of Chinese models, said Greg Brockman, one of the firm’s founders, who spoke to journalists ahead of the release of gpt-oss.“It was never a thing that we didn’t want to do,” he added.
All models come with biases, so diversity among their creators benefits users, says Frieder. “Having a new top-performing model from a Western company is a step in the direction of levelling the playing field in terms of which companies dominate the open-weight model space,” he says.
Maths whizz
Until now, OpenAI has largely published proprietary models, the exception being GPT-2, a 2019 LLM released by the firm three years before it launched its popular ChatGPT chatbot.
The latest open models are ‘reasoners’ trained to produce output using a step-by-step process that mimics thought. Previous reasoning models, such as OpenAI’s o3, have been shown to excel on science and mathematics problems. As well as using them to write computer code and review scholarly literature, scientists are experimenting with using LLMs as AI ‘co-scientists’ in the hope of accelerating research.
In performance, OpenAI’s open models seem to be close to the firm’s most advanced, pay-to-access AIs — the main differences being the open models’ smaller sizes and their being text-only (they do not handle images or video). Gpt-oss can browse the web, execute code and operate software, and it outperforms similarly-sized open models on reasoning tasks, says the firm.
On the AIME 2025 benchmark, which tasks AIs with solving challenging mathematics problems, the gpt-oss models score better than the best existing open models, such as DeepSeek’s R1, and one of the two is on par with the leading open competitor on Humanity’s Last Exam, a 3,000-question test that covers expert-level knowledge across a range of subjects.
The task in this case is predicting how gene activity might change when genes are altered. When an individual gene is lost or activated, it’s possible that the only messenger RNA that is altered is the one made by that gene. But some genes encode proteins that regulate a collection of other genes, in which case you might see changes in the activity of dozens of genes. In other cases, the loss or activation of a gene could affect a cell’s metabolism, resulting in widespread alterations of gene activity.
Things get even more complicated when two genes are involved. In many cases, the genes will do unrelated things, and you get a simple additive effect: the changes caused by the loss of one, plus the changes caused by the loss of others. But if there’s some overlap between the functions, you can get an enhancement of some changes, suppression of others, and other unexpected changes.
To start exploring these effects, researchers have intentionally altered the activity of one or more genes using the CRISPR DNA editing technology, then sequenced every RNA in the cell afterward to see what sorts of changes took place. This approach (termed Perturb-seq) is useful because it can give us a sense of what the altered gene does in a cell. But for Ahlmann-Eltze, Huber, and Anders, it provides the data they need to determine if these foundation models can be trained to predict the ensuing changes in the activity of other genes.
Starting with the foundation models, the researchers conducted additional training using data from an experiment where either one or two genes were activated using CRISPR. This training used the data from 100 individual gene activations and another 62 where two genes were activated. Then, the AI packages were asked to predict the results for another 62 pairs of genes that were activated. For comparison, the researchers also made predictions using two extremely simple models: one that always predicted that nothing would change and a second that always predicted an additive effect (meaning that activating genes A and B would produce the changes caused by activating A plus the changes caused by activating B).
Claire’s has hundreds of stores across Europe, including in fashion capital Paris
Fashion accessories chain Claire’s has filed for bankruptcy in the US for the second time as it struggles with fewer people buying its products, and from online competition eating into profits.
It confirmed it had already been in discussions “with other partners” about its future. The BBC understands there will be no immediate impact on the firm’s UK stores.
The US-based firm said it was in discussion “with our vendors and landlords” about its North American stores, but shops there would remain open while it explored “alternatives”.
The US-based firm first filed for bankruptcy in 2018. It currently operates 2,750 stores in 17 countries throughout North America and Europe.
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It has about 280 stores in the UK, down from 370 in 2018 when it filed for bankruptcy because it was unable to repay a loan.
Claire’s is known for selling jewellery, colourful accessories such as necklaces and bracelets, and is part of millions of young people’s memories for its ear piercing services.
The firm operates under two brand names, Claire’s and Icing, and is the latest casualty of consumers shifting away from physical stores.
Claire’s is owned by a group of firms, including investment giant Elliott Management.
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“This decision is difficult,” wrote Claire’s chief executive Chris Cramer, “but a necessary one”.
He blamed “increased competition, consumer spending trends and the ongoing shift away from brick-and-mortar retail” for the declaration of bankruptcy, as well as “debt obligations” and wider economic turmoil.
The firm’s global supply chain means it is likely to suffer as a result of tariffs imposed on goods, part of US President Trump’s escalating trade war with several countries, including China and Canada.
The company has a $500m (£375m) loan due in December next year, said Julie Palmer, partner at Begbies Traynor, which would be “looming heavily over management’s minds”.
Tariffs “have added to the strain”, she said.
According to retail analyst Catherine Shuttleworth, it is “fair to assume they’re exposed to the same pressures many accessories retailers are.
“A lot of that category is sourced from Asia, and any increase in import costs hits hard when your price points are low and margins are tight,” she added.
Mr Cramer said the firm remained in active discussions with potential “strategic and financial partners”, which did not exclude the possibility that it was still looking for a buyer.
‘Cheap to super-cheap’
The Claire’s bankruptcy was a “clear signal” that some parts of retail across the world were “failing to keep up with how people want to shop right now”, said Ms Shuttleworth.
She said young people didn’t just browse on the High Street for cheap accessories like they used to, with online competitors such as Shein targeting young shoppers with “super cheap” accessories.
Younger people were now “far more likely” to discover new brands through TikTok than in a shopping centre – and with footfall still well below pre-Covid levels, it had hit Claire’s very hard.
Ms Palmer said Claire’s “reliance on physical stores – once a key strength – has become a major liability”.
Outside of its European and American stores, Claire’s says it has a further 300 franchised stores located primarily in the Middle East and South Africa. It also sells its products in thousands of concessions stores in Europe and the US.
Its lavender-hued storefronts attracted young people particularly in the 1990s and early 2000s, who rifled through its neon and glitter accessories racks for good-value buys. It was often a usual stop for a Saturday shopping trip by families and tweens at malls across the world.
It also occasionally makes a foray into selling toys including slime, headphones or fluffy toys.
Jonathan Milan’s overall points classification victory in Paris was anything but by the book
Before the Tour de France, Jonathan Milan had well-established himself as one of the preeminent sprinters in the world. He had also never competed in a race as prestigious and pressure-packed as the Tour de France before being handed a treasure chest of resources to help him potentially win the green jersey.
On one hand he was Grand Tour-tested, having twice won the points competition at the Giro d’Italia. On the other, he was a 24-year-old rider entering the biggest bike race on Earth, a contest so fabled it transcends cycling and writes riders into legend. And unlike Mads Pedersen’s clinical campaign to win the points classification at this year’s Giro, his points jersey required improvisation and harried efforts to stay ahead of the competition (in particular, fending off a certain Slovenian rider in fireball form.)
Jonathan Milan showing off after his Stage 8 victory. | Photo: Sean Hardy
Steven de Jongh joined Trek’s road racing program in 2017 as a sports director (DS). He has managed the Lidl-Trek squad at some of cycling’s biggest races, including the Tour de France, as well as at Paris-Roubaix and the spring classics.
Being a DS means being a shrewd road tactician and a psychologist, able to both convey a race plan and keep riders motivated when that plan inevitably goes poof. De Jongh was in France for every step of Milan’s march to Paris, helping to guide the young rider through a chaotic green jersey campaign and secure one of the biggest prizes in cycling.
Steven de Jongh (right) game planning in the mountains with fellow sports director Grégory Rast. | Photo: Sean Hardy
Lidl-Trek’s plan from the very first kilometer was to win every intermediate sprint and stage that it could.
“The spirit was always there to fight and to fight for green, even in the mountain stages,” De Jongh said. “There were some hard days, but always with a plan for trying to collect points.”
Lidl-Trek made no mistake that it wanted to win the yellow jersey with Milan on Stage 1, but crosswinds and poor positioning around a roundabout put the squad behind a split in the peloton and out of contention. The team wouldn’t make a mistake like that again over the next three weeks, but the damage was done: Milan was immediately scrambling for points against fierce competition.
Jonny and Jasper Stuyven spent after Stage 21 in Paris. | Photo: Sean Hardy
A second-place finish on Stage 3 was a nice bounceback, but it also highlighted how difficult winning would be even when the day unfolded according to script.
“Jonny was not happy, of course,” De Jongh laughs. “When you miss out the first day and then on the next opportunity you get second, you’re not happy. But then, as a rider, you always think of the next opportunity. And then it was Stages 8 and 9.”
Lidl-Trek couldn’t afford to miss many more opportunities. This year’s Tour featured few nailed-on sprint stages compared to past editions. The team would have to make the few remaining sprint opportunities count.
Jonny winning Stage 8. | Photo: Zac Williams
Milan would finally earn his first career Tour win on Stage 8, dominating a rare by-the-numbers bunch sprint. Milan would stay in green from that point all the way through the finish line in Paris, but that fact belies the battle that ensued.
Lidl-Trek had no time to savor the win because it was put to the knife immediately on Stage 9. A high-powered breakaway containing Mathieu van der Poel, one of the fastest one-day racers of all time, got away from Kilometer 0. Defending the green jersey on a frying pan-flat profile, Lidl-Trek was forced to assume almost all of the effort chasing down the Dutchman.
And though the team succeeded in reeling in Van der Poel with under one kilometer left in the stage, Milan’s leadout train was exhausted from the effort. Milan maneuvered himself well without his teammates, but settled for second behind a speedy Tim Merlier. A bittersweet end to one of the most impressive team efforts of the year.
More hugs on the Champs-Élysées. | Photo: Zac Williams
“Despite the second-place there, I think as a team, we didn’t leave a chance unturned,” De Jongh said. “If those two riders or just Mathieu would have stayed in front, and then you finish second in the sprint, then it would have been a worse feeling, because then you burned your whole team the whole day. That would have really sucked.
“There was disappointment in getting second, but also pride that at least they could sprint for victory.”
The result extended Milan’s lead in the points classification, but then new worries set in. The No. 2 rider was Tadej Pogačar, the yellow jersey bearer and winner of two stages to that point. He tacked on a Stage 12 win in the mountains and a Stage 13 win in the individual time trial to pull within 28 points of Milan on the standings. He displayed a level of dominance that, at that time, seemed inevitable.
An exhausted Jonny after Stage 9. | Photo: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images
Milan had to wait eight days for his next — and last — traditional sprint finish opportunity on Stage 17. That span of just over a week feels like an eon in Tour terms, especially when one of the greatest cyclists of all time is whittling away your lead. And it’s not as if Milan could rest until his next chance at a sprint; he still had to stay safe from the time cut as the Tour wound its way through the Pyrenees.
“I think some days it really made him nervous, because he could see there were still a lot of points to gain,” De Jongh said. “But once we showed him, ‘This is what’s left, this is what we can control, this is what we can take,’ he could also see that winning was possible.”
Jonny flying the green jersey and a special green Chroma Trek Madone in front of Sacre Coeur on Stage 21. | Photo by Dario Belingheri/Getty Images
Layers of pressure weighed on the young Italian rider at the start of Stage 17, but Lidl-Trek’s teamwork was beyond reproach. The team kept Milan at the front of the race, and just ahead of a heavy crash that took place under the 1k-to-go banner. Milan took the reins from there, sprinting to his second stage win of the Tour from a reduced bunch, and effectively (though not yet mathematically) cementing the points title.
“After stage 17, I think we were all quite confident that it would go. Also, because there were already some signs that Pogačar was a little bit more tired than we saw in the Pyrenees,” De Jongh said. “Having the intermediate sprints early on in these stages, we were quite comfortable that we could manage the situation.”
Lidl-Trek riders and staff celebrating Jonny’s overall green jersey victory. | Photo: Sean Hardy
Lidl-Trek riders and staff knew that with the Stage 17 win, Milan would likely don the overall green jersey in Paris, barring catastrophe. But no one dared speak that reality out loud, and they certainly weren’t willing to let off the gas. Milan won three of the remaining four available intermediate sprints, gaining 20 points in each — the equivalent of a stage win on a mountain stage — and expanded his lead.
On Stage 20, he allowed himself to race on a green Chroma Madone Gen 8 — a cathartic flex on a race that had been stressful and chaotic even beyond expectations.
Finally, the celebration was on.
Bonne nuit. | Photo by Dario Belingheri/Getty Images
Milan’s green jersey victory wasn’t unexpected, but that didn’t make it easy. Based on his two Ciclamino-winning campaigns at the Giro, it was obvious he had the legs to win the points classification at La Grande Boucle. But the Tour tested him in a way he had never experienced.
“It’s not easy. It’s top, top level. And then winning the green jersey in the first year, it’s something not many sprinters have done, and it makes it even more special,” De Jongh said. “Every time he has done a Grand Tour, he has also won the points classification. I cannot remember any rider who has done this.”
The Lidl-Trek Tour de France squad in Paris. | Photo: Zac Williams
The first Tour de France of a young rider’s career is a harsh experience. To not only survive the ordeal, but win one of the biggest prizes in the sport, reflects a level of talent and mettle that can solidify a starring role at the event for years to come.
“In the future, he will be more familiar with all the stress around the Tour, and that will make it easier for him,” De Jongh said. “He is young, and he will evolve and become a more stable leader in the future.”
Today, Central City Productions announces the premiere date for the “40th Stellar Gospel Music Awards”. Hosted by Stellar and GRAMMY Award-winning duo, BeBe & CeCe Winans, the 40th Stellar Gospel Music Awards will premiere Saturday, August 30th at 8PM ET/7PM CT on the Stellar Network; Additionally, the ceremony will air Sunday, August 31st at 8PM ET/7PM CT on BET. Gospel Music’s Greatest Night tapes August 16th, 2025 at the historic Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, TN.
