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  • MacOS Infostealer AMOS Evolves with Backdoor for Persistent Access

    MacOS Infostealer AMOS Evolves with Backdoor for Persistent Access

    One of the most active infostealer strains targeting Apple’s operating system for desktops has evolved to become a more dangerous tool, according to Moonlock, a cybersecurity division of MacPaw.

    In a recent update, the developers of Atomic macOS Stealer (AMOS) have added an embedded backdoor, delivered alongside the infostealer during an infection.

    The backdoor allows attackers deploying AMOS to maintain persistent access to a victim’s Mac, run arbitrary tasks from remote servers and gain extended control over compromised machines.

    According to a Moonlock report on July 4, it is only the second known case of backdoor deployment at a global scale targeting macOS users. The other is deployed by North Korean threat actors.

    Typical AMOS Attack Chain

    Moonlock stated that the threat group behind AMOS is believed to be based in Russia and is known for targeting Apple users with data-stealing malware.

    Until now, their stealer mainly focused on data exfiltration from cryptocurrency-related browser extensions and cold wallets.

    The delivery process has followed two main paths:

    • Through websites offering cracked or fake software
    • Through spear phishing campaigns targeting high-value individuals like large crypto owners

    Spear phishing begins with the delivery of Atomic macOS Stealer during a staged job interview process, typically targeting artists or freelancers. The victim is asked to enter their system password to enable screen sharing. Once executed, the stealer can extract sensitive data such as passwords and seed phrases and install a persistent backdoor that awaits remote commands.

    Backdoored AMOS: Significant Escalation in Capability and Intent

    The addition of a backdoor to AMOS means that the threat is no longer limited to stolen credentials or documents but extends to complete system compromise on macOS.

    In practice, this means that, alongside the execution of AppleScript as the primary AMOS payload, the stealer includes new logic for setting up persistence, which resides in a function called installBot. 

    Additionally, the overall communication between AMOS payloads and the threat actor’s command-and-control (C2) infrastructure has changed from one-shot data draining to more complex assignments of unique identifiers to each infected host.

    “The upgrade to AMOS represents a significant escalation in both capability and intent, whether the changes were made by the original malware authors or by someone else modifying the code,” the Moonlock researchers wrote.

    Following the North Korean Playbook

    However, Moonlock found that the functionalities of the latest backdoored AMOS implant are still limited compared to those developed by North Korean hackers, which use a dozen C2 commands to perform multiple tasks on the infected device.

    These actors utilize backdoors for a range of tasks, such as long-term surveillance, re-infection and broader exploitation opportunities, including keylogging.

    The researchers assessed that the AMOS developers will likely work on new features.

    This was confirmed to the researchers by an anonymous cyber threat researcher known as @g0njxa on social media, who shared internal chats showing that the group behind AMOS was working on adding keylogging functionalities.

    “The addition of a backdoor to the Atomic macOS Stealer marks a pivotal shift in one of the most active macOS threats. What was once a smash-and-grab data theft tool is now evolving into a platform for persistent access to a victim’s Mac,” the Moonlock researchers concluded.

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  • Inside Sarah Burton’s Buzzy New Work For Givenchy

    Inside Sarah Burton’s Buzzy New Work For Givenchy

    From our first encounter, in her studio in central London, I noticed that Burton was in the habit of saying “off the record,” even when nothing was being recorded. We negotiated around what I took to be her nervousness. It was understandable—among other things, the years after McQueen’s death made her aware of the British press’s notorious thirst for copy—but as I traced the pattern of Burton’s expressions over time, I realized that she was most uneasy when she thought she might betray a confidence, or be seen to lean on someone else for her own advancement. Dressing someone, she explained, “is a very personal and intimate thing. For me, it’s a real privilege. And I think privacy is one of the last luxuries we have.” In this safeguarding of what others had entrusted to her, I began to see what she had built at McQueen: a fortress of intimacy.

    This is what Burton has brought to Givenchy, in a move that will not only enrich the world of fashion but seems set to free her, after many years, from the orbit of emotional debt.

    At the north London home she shares with her husband, David; their 12-year-old twins, Cecilia and Elizabeth; and their nine-year-old daughter, Romilly, Burton leads me upstairs to a living room with rich, Holbein-green velvet-lined walls. Above the sofa is a large gold-framed photograph by the Dutch photographer Hendrik Kerstens, and on a high shelf, protected by Perspex, is a pair of armadillo shoes from Plato’s Atlantis, the last collection McQueen finished. Burton and I sit in sunlight, and our conversation stretches out with ease throughout the afternoon.

    “Family came first, I suppose,” she reflects. Burton—then Sarah Jane Heard—grew up as the second of five siblings. They lived in a small village outside Manchester, between rolling hills and wild moors, with Burton always more drawn to the latter. Her mother taught music and English, and took them to museums regularly; her father was an accountant. Their house was full of books. As a child, she drew all the time—people, nature, dresses. When the Heard clan needed to go somewhere en masse they traveled, with friends in tow, in a white van. Burton remembers that locals referred to them as “the orphanage.”

    Photographed by Ruby Pluhar

    Image may contain Clothing Dress Formal Wear Fashion Gown Coat Robe Footwear High Heel Shoe Adult and Person

    Photographed by Ruby Pluhar

    Burton knew what she wanted to do from the age of eight, and after a foundation year in Manchester she studied at Central Saint Martins in London, the famous incubator for art and fashion. “Sarah didn’t look like the other fashion students,” her tutor there, Simon Ungless, recalls. “It was so refreshing for somebody just to come in in a great pair of jeans, rather than their knickers on their head.”

    It was Ungless who introduced her to his good friend Lee McQueen. “Everyone wanted to work for him,” Burton recalls. “You’d be on a mission to get into those shows or be backstage.” McQueen had graduated from Saint Martins three years before Burton got her first gig as a backstage dresser on his infamous Highland Rape show in 1995. She saw none of it: She was frantically pulling shoes off one model to make sure there were enough for the next. A year later, McQueen took her on. “I think Sarah was the only member of staff we had,” says Verkade, who ran their tiny company.

    As Burton learned from McQueen—​a man she describes as a “genius”—she took on whole areas of the operation, building categories around his sketches, doing all the knitwear and all the leather. Eventually, she became the head of womenswear. “There’s a big chunk of that brand that has always been Sarah, as long as we’ve been looking at it,” says Verkade.

    In her living room, Burton pulls out some sketchbooks from her early days at McQueen.

    They’re beautiful—collages of photographic references and sketches with swatches of fabric—but what’s striking is how structured her drawings were then: architectural indications of the collar on a jacket, the seams on a dress, or the buttons on a cape. Decades later, Burton’s sketches have become much looser—she and her pattern-cutters know each other so well by now that she only needs to suggest a design.

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  • In ‘Ballard,’ Maggie Q brings the heat to cold cases

    In ‘Ballard,’ Maggie Q brings the heat to cold cases

    Landing a lead role in a TV series would seem like a dream scenario for an up-and-coming actor. But it can also become a nightmare. Just ask Maggie Q.

    The actor, who got her start in Hong Kong action films, scored the title role in the CW’s 2010 spy thriller “Nikita,” where she was able to showcase her athletic prowess while becoming one of the few Asian actors to star in a network drama series.

    Although Q was grateful for the experience, she also remembers the project as all-consuming and grueling, prompting her to be more selective about her choices.

    Her inner red flag went up when she was first approached about starring in “Ballard,” Prime Video’s new show based on a series of best-selling novels about fictional LAPD detective Renée Ballard by former Los Angeles Times journalist-turned-author Michael Connelly.

    “I get a lot of scripts, and a lot of them I don’t like,” said Q, whose real name is Margaret Denise Quigley. “I also wasn’t looking to take on another show. It was like, ‘Is this something I really want to do right now?’ I know what it takes to be No. 1 on a show. It’s a massive output, and it really has to be good enough for me to want to do that again.”

    To her surprise, she loved the scripts. After meeting with Connelly and other producers, she said, “I knew I was in a room with people I wouldn’t mind spending years of my life with.”

    Maggie Q wasn’t looking to work on another TV show, but after reading the scripts and meeting with Michael Connelly, she changed her mind.

    (Tyler Golden / Prime Video)

    Q is now back at the No. 1 slot on the call sheet in “Ballard,” premiering Wednesday with 10 episodes. The new TV series is a spinoff of “Bosch: Legacy,” which wrapped its third and final season in March.

    Ballard first appeared in Connelly’s 2017 book “The Late Show,” and she has continued to solve crimes in five other novels. The detective joins quirky attorney Mickey Haller (known as the “Lincoln Lawyer”) and world-weary police detective Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch in the gallery of Connelly’s colorful characters to jump from the bestseller list to the TV screen.

    Q felt an instant admiration for Ballard’s dedication to her job as well as her strong personality, which often puts her at odds with her male colleagues. She was also impressed that the character was inspired by real-life investigator Mitzi Roberts, who worked in LAPD’s elite Robbery-Homicide unit.

    In the series, the investigator has been newly demoted from Robbery-Homicide after clashing with her male partner and has been reassigned to head up the underfunded cold case unit, supervising a staff of reserves and volunteers. Titus Welliver, who played Bosch in the eponymous series and in “Legacy,” will appear periodically during the season.

    Connelly has been a longtime fan of Q, whose more prominent roles include the only female member of the Impossible Mission Force headed by Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt in “Mission Impossible III” and a dogged FBI agent in ABC’s “Designated Survivor.”

    “She has a relentless aura about her,” said Connelly in a phone interview. He was also thrilled that Q and Roberts share similarities: “They both have a confidence and a fierceness in their eyes. They have matching histories — they both grew up in Hawaii and they surf. It’s like it was fated to be.”

    A woman in a dark police uniform salutes a passing coffin draped in an American flag.

    Michael Connelly based Renée Ballard on LAPD investigator Mitzi Roberts. “They both have a confidence and a fierceness in their eyes,” he said.

    (Tyler Golden / Prime Video)

    “Ballard” is a sharp reversal from Q’s last series — the 2024 Fox comedy “Pivoting,” about three close-knit women who are trying to cope with the death of another friend. Q played a doctor who decides to make a life change and work in a grocery store. The show only lasted one season.

    In a separate interview, Roberts, who is a consulting producer on the new show, said Q was her first choice among the actors being considered to play Ballard.

    “She has played so many realistic, strong female characters,” she said. “When Maggie got the part, I was ecstatic. When we first met to have coffee, it was like we’ve known each other our whole lives. During several days of physical training before production, I thought there might be things that would be hard for her to work on. But it was never an issue. She approached everything so professionally.”

    During a video interview from her home in Hawaii, Q discussed the new series, her raw memories of “Nikita” and why she doesn’t go to Hollywood parties. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

    Were you familiar with Michael Connelly or his books before you became involved with the show?

    My first exposure were those first six or seven scripts, which I read on a plane to New Zealand. I was aware of Michael Connelly, but only peripherally. I’m an avid reader and I wish I had more time to read fiction, but I don’t. So I wasn’t schooled on Mike’s massive success. After I read the scripts and liked them, I then dove into who Michael was and found it really interesting that he parlayed being a journalist into this wildly successful fiction career.

    How important was it when you learned that Renée was based on a real detective?

    When I finally met Mitzi, we got on in a way that was very unpredictable. She felt like a sister. She ended her career in cold cases, and it was there that she was really able to connect the DNA in crimes that were completely unrelated.

    Although you’ve done so many kinds of projects, this still strikes me as an unlikely Maggie Q vehicle.

    I agree. I have to feel something; there has to be an emotion that resonates down the line. I need to feel longevity with it. A lot of consultants working on this show were or are people who are retired. I can see and feel in their stories and the lives they live now that they still haven’t let go of cases they were not able to close. The peace they haven’t been able to bring to a certain family still bothers them. The quality of these people is extraordinary. I felt it was an honor to tell their stories.

    Harry Bosch and the Lincoln Lawyer are very dynamic. Renée is a lot more reserved and closed off. She does not connect easily with others. Was that a challenge to make her feel alive?

    In terms of Renée, being in Robbery-Homicide was her dream job. She wanted to get the bad guys. To be demoted the way that she was — there’s a certain amount of bottling up that comes with that. She then has to prove herself in a department that she doesn’t want to be in and never asked for. In doing that, maybe they will again see in her the detective that she was and bring her back to the job she loved so much.

    A man holds out a hand toward a woman in a dark suit and white shirt stained with blood.

    “In terms of Renée, being in Robbery-Homicide was her dream job. She wanted to get the bad guys. To be demoted the way that she was — there’s a certain amount of bottling up that comes with that,” Maggie Q said on her character.

    (Greg Gayne / Prime Video)

    This show is a sharp pivot from your last TV series, “Pivoting.” It was jarring to see you in a comedy.

    That show was a dream job. It was a huge departure for me, and that was what was fun about it. Nobody expected me in that role. It was a gift to me. The show did not perform like we hoped. Fox offered to save the series by moving it to another country, and I was not willing to do that.

    I’m very curious about your ordeal with “Nikita.” You once described it as an experience that almost killed you.

    It really did. Up to that point, I had done only films. I had never done a TV show, and I was very naive. I remember going into it with positive energy. David Solomon, one of the producers in the first season, took me to lunch. He had been on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” for seven years and watched how Sarah Michelle Gellar killed herself being the title character. “Maggie,” he said, “do you know what it will take to lead this show?” I said, “No, but I work really hard.” He said, “I appreciate that, but can you even conceptualize the output you will need on this show? I watched Sarah Michelle suffer for seven years. Everything was on her shoulders.”

    I have never been so wrong about what it would take to do a show like that. I’m pretty optimistic, but nothing in my bag of tricks was working when I was on that show. It’s not just about the job. You have to deal with people’s personalities, writers, schedules. And I was in Canada on my own, with no support, leading a show that I thought I would be able to sustain for 10 months during the year because of my work ethic. I have never been so wrong. Because I had done action movies, there was a level I wanted to reach that people had never seen before. I was doing my own stunts, working with choreographers at the top of their game. I’m really proud of the level of action we did bring to the small screen.

    People may find it surprising that you live in Hawaii. I know you were born and raised there.

    My husband and I live in a couple of different places, but we spend a lot of time here because there is peace here. There’s no traffic, it’s low crime, the air is clean. For a lot of Hollywood actors, they do the work and then want to get as far away from the industry as possible. I work in the industry but have never immersed myself in it. I don’t go to parties; I don’t hang out. I do my job and go home, and that’s the way I like it. I never thought being seen had any real value. I just want to be at home, be with my dogs and be in nature. That’s what grounds me. Then when I’m back in Hollywood and on the clock, I have a peace that no one can take away.

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  • HBO Max is back. Prestige brand returns to streaming

    HBO Max is back. Prestige brand returns to streaming

    Who says you can’t go Home Box Office again?

    Warner Bros. Discovery renamed its streaming service HBO Max on Wednesday, formally reversing its decision from two years ago to dump the prestigious HBO brand in a bid to make the service more appealing to a mainstream, meat-and-potatoes crowd.

    The gambit to chase Netflix with a service called Max didn’t work. Warner Bros. Discovery’s leaders eventually recognized the tremendous value in the HBO name, and sheepishly brought it back for an encore.

    The company announced the switch in May.

    “The good news is I have a drawer full of stationary from the last time around,” HBO Chairman Casey Bloys said in May, making light of Warner Bros. Discovery’s about-face during the company’s annual programming upfront presentation to advertisers at Madison Square Garden in New York.

    The move marks the fifth name for the service in 15 years.

    HBO’s first digital offering, introduced in 2010, was called HBO Go. Eventually the company added an HBO Now app. Then, in 2020, when the company launched its comprehensive streaming service with Warner Bros. movies and television shows, executives decided the HBO Max name would play to the company’s strengths while beckoning customers with a souped-up product and moniker to match.

    That lasted until Chief Executive David Zaslav stepped in. The company truncated the name to Max because Zaslav and other executives felt the need to create some distance from HBO’s signature shows to make room for the nonscripted fare of Discovery’s channels, including HGTV and Food Network.

    Now it’s back to HBO Max.

    The company has said the shift was a response to audiences’ desire for quality over quantity.

    “No consumer today is saying they want more content, but most consumers are saying they want better content,” the company said in May.

    The change also represents a recognition that Warner Bros. Discovery, a medium-sized media company with a huge debt burden, couldn’t compete with Netflix, which tries to offer something for everyone.

    And while some of the Max-branded shows, including “The Pitt,” are critically acclaimed, it was the HBO fare, including “The White Lotus,” that has been the most consistent draw for subscribers.

    HBO built its legacy as a premium cable channel that required an additional fee on the monthly cable bill. Such groundbreaking series as “The Sopranos,” “Game of Thrones” and “Sex and the City” put the channel at the vanguard of prestige programming.

    Most subscribers who currently have Max won’t need to download a new app, company insiders said.

    An app update will eventually change the blue Max logo to a black HBO Max one.

    Staff writer Stephen Battaglio contributed to this report.

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  • How GLP-1 Drugs Could Cause Vision Loss in Diabetics

    How GLP-1 Drugs Could Cause Vision Loss in Diabetics

    Hi, it’s Michelle in New York. You may have heard of “Ozempic blindness,” when obesity drugs are linked to rare vision loss. Does this discovery change the risk-benefit analysis for the drugs? More in a moment, but first …

    In June, EU regulators said that people with type 2 diabetes taking semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, are at risk of developing a rare eye condition that can cause vision loss. This could possibly affect as many as 1 in 10,000 people taking the medicine.

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  • High-class junior football – top European teams to compete at Porsche Football Cup

    High-class junior football – top European teams to compete at Porsche Football Cup




    The 2025 Porsche Football Cup will once again be held at VfB Stuttgart on 6 and 7 September. An international field will be competing for the title at one of the premier U-15 tournaments in Europe. Awaiting the eight teams is a wide range of side events over the tournament weekend. The focus is also on the social aspect of the Porsche Youth Development Programme. Through the “Goals for Charity“ fundraiser, Porsche will donate 400 euro for every goal to the “Stiftung OlympiaNachwuchs” foundation


    The U-15 football tournament has established itself as one of the most renowned junior competitions in Europe ever since its inception in 2021. “Through the Porsche Youth Development Programme, we want to fulfil big dreams and foster young athletes both in their sporting and personal development. As one of the most attractive junior football tournaments in Europe, it has been vital in doing just that in the last five years and perfectly reflects the idea behind the Porsche Youth Development Programme,” says Dr. Jochen Breckner, Member of the Executive Board for Finance and IT at Porsche AG.

    A factor for the success of the Porsche Football Cup is the top names amongst the competing clubs. In addition to FC Barcelona, FC Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg, partner clubs of the Porsche “Turbo für Talents” Youth Development Programme – hosts VfB Stuttgart, Red Bull Football Academy Salzburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach, FC Erzgebirge Aue and SV Stuttgarter Kickers – will also be playing for the coveted trophy.

    FC Barcelona, FC Bayern, Porsche Fußball Cup, 2024, Porsche AG




    Porsche Football Cup at VfB Stuttgart: FC Barcelona vs. FC Bayern

    “The Porsche Football Cup is a fantastic tournament, both on and off the pitch. It’s also famous far beyond Stuttgart’s borders. We’re looking forward to watching top European teams like Barcelona, the title holders,” says Dr. Sebastian Rudolph, Vice President Communications, Sustainability and Politics. “Alongside the competitive side of things, the focus is on the social aspects. We help give the athletes an understanding of values, further a sense of togetherness and bolster social awareness.”

    The programme at a glance

    On Friday, 5 September, the teams will have the chance to get to know each other when the groups are drawn in the Porsche Museum – and to immerse themselves in the history of the sports car manufacturer. The tournament will begin on Saturday, 6 September with the preliminary round matches. Split up into two groups of four, the clubs will start with a round robin. Each match will consist of two 20-minute halves.

    Porsche Museum, Porsche Fußball Cup, 2024, Porsche AG





    The top two teams in each group will meet in the semifinals on Sunday morning (7 September). The other results in the group matches will determine who plays each other in the play-offs for the placings. The highlight is the final that will take place at about 1.45 pm in the Robert-Schlienz-Stadium. Admission is free for visitors on both days of the tournament. Awaiting the fans off the pitch are, in addition to the various refreshment stalls, exciting activities for young and old to try their hand at.

    Societal commitment

    The Porsche Football Cup counts, alongside the Porsche Turbo Award and the “Talents Hand in Hand“ activities, is one of the core components of the “Turbo for Talents” initiative. Through the Youth Development Programme, the sports car manufacturer supports young talents in their sporting, personal and social development. The teams will as a result also this year take part during the week of the tournament in a CSR activity as a part of the “Talents Hand in Hand” programme. The young footballers can also contribute to the “Goals for Charity“ fundraiser by scoring lots of goals. Every time the ball hits the back of the net, the sports car manufacturer will donate 400 euro to the “Stiftung OlympiaNachwuchs Baden-Württemberg”.  

    Talents hand in hand campaign with all teams, 2025, Porsche AG




    Talents hand in hand campaign with all teams

    “Sporting and personal development in junior sport is becoming increasingly important. The Porsche Youth Development Programme “Turbo for Talents“ has been pursuing the idea for years now with its excellent holistic approach,” says the former World Cup winner and Porsche Brand Ambassador, Sami Khedira. “The Porsche Football Cup is a real highlight amongst the numerous measures. The programme, the setup and the social aspect are all unique. It’s also something very special for junior teams to compete nationally or even internationally with other top teams. They all gain invaluable experience.”

    “Turbo for Talents” – the Porsche Youth Development Programme

    Porsche takes its societal responsibility seriously and invests specifically in the future of young people via the Porsche Youth Development Programme. Under the motto “Turbo for Talents”, Porsche commits itself to helping youngsters in a variety of sports in several clubs. In football, there are partnerships with SV Stuttgarter Kickers, the Red Bull Football Academy, Borussia Mönchengladbach, VfB Stuttgart and FC Erzgebirge Aue. In the sport of ice-hockey, Porsche helps foster juniors at the Bietigheim Steelers club. In basketball, Porsche lends its name to the Ludwigsburg Porsche Basketball Academy (BBA) – the elite training centre for the MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg club. The commitment is not just about supporting high-quality sports coaching but also about the social and personal development of young people. Through its “Talents Hand in Hand” initiative, Porsche, together with its partner clubs and social institutions, also conveys values like tolerance, passion and respect to young people. It also promotes the embracing of topics like inclusion, environmental awareness and health. The famous patron of the Development Programme is the football World Cup winner Sami Khedira.

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  • See interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS zoom through solar system in new telescope imagery (video)

    See interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS zoom through solar system in new telescope imagery (video)

    The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has captured the clearest images yet of the interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS as it moves inward through the solar system.

    ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) snapped new images of the comet just two days after it was discovered, recording a timelapse as the object moved across the sky. The resulting stacked image is the deepest view yet of the interstellar intruder.

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  • Handheld sensors have potential to detect bacteria from volatile organic chemicals in body Labmate Online

    Handheld sensors have potential to detect bacteria from volatile organic chemicals in body Labmate Online


    Tiny sensors similar to alcohol breathalysers could be used to detect bacterial infections and identify antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bodily fluids, according to an opinion article published in the journal Cell Biomaterials. The authors, a team of engineers, microbiologists and machine learning specialists based in Switzerland, said the technology could lead to affordable, rapid diagnostic tools that would enhance treatment decisions and help address AMR.

    “One of the biggest drivers of AMR is that we lack rapid diagnostics,” said Dr Andreas Güntner, senior author and a mechanical and process engineer at ETH Zurich, who collaborated on the project with Dr Catherine Jutzeler, Dr Thomas Kessler, Professor Emma Slack and Professor Adrian Egli.

    The researchers proposed bypassing conventional multi-step laboratory procedures that can take many hours, days or even weeks, and instead make use of handheld chemical sensors which would be capable of delivering results in seconds or minutes.

    Historically, clinicians have used smell to detect certain infections. For example, Pseudomonas aeruginosa can produce a sweet, grape-like odour, whereas Clostridium infections are associated with a putrid smell. These scents are caused by volatile organic compounds (VOCs), small molecules released by bacteria and other organisms.

    The authors argued that VOCs in blood, urine, faeces or sputum could be measured by specially designed sensors, offering a reliable proxy for the presence of infection. Similar approaches have been used to detect contaminants such as methanol in alcoholic beverages and to monitor air quality.

    “We have already developed and commercialised something similar for detecting methanol. Now, we are trying to transfer this technology to more complex situations,” explained Güntner.

    Because even closely related bacterial strains can emit distinct patterns of VOCs, the approach could help to distinguish those AMR strains. Laboratory studies have already shown that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and its non-resistant counterpart can be identified based on their VOC profiles.

    Developing clinically viable sensors, however, presents a significant challenge. The concentration of VOCs is extremely low and detecting them accurately requires materials with high sensitivity.

    “Imagine a room full of a billion tiny blue balls [but] only one red one,” said Güntner. “You must identify that single red ball – and do so within [a few] seconds.”

    The authors envisaged that future devices would incorporate arrays of sensors with varying binding properties, built using metal oxides, polymers, carbon nanotubes, and graphene derivatives. Filters would be required to exclude irrelevant compounds, such as human-derived or ubiquitous VOCs.

    Machine learning would be instrumental in sensor development, enabling algorithms to identify the minimal set of VOCs necessary to detect bacterial species and assess resistance or virulence factors.

    Ultimately, the researchers said their aim was to translate advances in chemical sensing and machine learning into practical diagnostic tools that could be used in everyday medical settings with minimal training.

    “We hope this will improve patient outcomes and support antibiotic stewardship,” said Güntner.


    For further reading please visit: 10.1016/j.celbio.2025.100125 



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  • Aimee Barrett-Theron to referee opening match of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

    Aimee Barrett-Theron to referee opening match of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

    • Appointments of Emirates World Rugby Match Officials for the 24 Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 pool matches
    • Three referees to make Rugby World Cup debuts in the middle
    • Sara Cox to become first female to referee 50 tests with Japan v Spain on 7 September
    • Match official profiles are available in the World Rugby Media Zone

    South Africa’s Aimee Barrett-Theron will referee the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 opening match between hosts England and 1991 champions USA at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland on 22 August.

    With excitement building around the world as the countdown hits 44 days to go, World Rugby has announced the Emirates Match Official appointments for the 24 matches that make up the pool stage of what promises to be the biggest and best-ever Women’s Rugby World Cup.

    VIEW APPOINTMENTS >>

    In May, a team of 22 Emirates Match Officials (10 referees, six assistant referees and six Television Match Officials) were selected for the showcase event in England, which runs from 22 August to 27 September across eight host locations.

    It will be the second time that the South African official has been handed the honour of refereeing the opening match, having also taken charge of England’s encounter with Spain at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 in Ireland.

    A significant milestone will be reached on the last day of the pool stage on 7 September with Sara Cox (England) to become the first female to referee 50 test matches when she takes charge of Japan v Spain at York Community Stadium in York.

    Clara Munarini (Italy) will be in the middle for the final match of the pool stage later that day, the Pool D meeting between France and South Africa at Franklin’s Gardens in Northampton.

    Emirates World Rugby Match Official appointment highlights

    • Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa) will be assisted in the opening match by Natarsha Ganley (New Zealand) and Maria Heitor (Portugal) with Leo Colgan (Ireland) as Television Match Official and Rachel Horton (Australia) as Foul Play Review Official.
    • Heitor will become the first Portuguese official on the Rugby World Cup stage.
    • Precious Pazani (Zimbabwe) will follow suit as the first African female from outside South Africa when she is an assistant referee for the other Pool A match on the opening weekend between Australia v Samoa in Manchester a day later.
    • Sara Cox will officiate in her fifth Women’s Rugby World Cup, having had appointments as an assistant referee in 2010 and 2014 before refereeing in the last two tournaments.
    • Natarsha Ganley, Ella Goldsmith (Australia) and Kat Roche (USA) will make their Rugby World Cup refereeing debuts, the latter having been an assistant referee in New Zealand.
    • Goldsmith will take charge of New Zealand’s opening match of their title defence, against Spain in York on 24 August.
    • Four officials will referee three matches in the pool stage in Maggie Cogger-Orr (New Zealand), Cox, Aurélie Groizeleau (France) and Hollie Davidson (Scotland).
    • Groizeleau’s first appointment – Canada v Fiji in York on 23 August – will be her 40th test as a referee, making her the fourth female to reach the milestone after Barrett-Theron, Cox and Davidson.
    • Cox’s third match in the pool stage – Japan v Spain in York on 7 September – will see her become the first female to take charge of 50 tests and the 16th overall in test history.
    • Davidson will referee Brazil’s first-ever Women’s Rugby World Cup match against South Africa in Northampton on 24 August.

    Chair of Emirates World Rugby Match Officials Selection Committee and Executive Board member, Su Carty said: “Firstly, a big congratulations to the match officials, who have earned their place and appointments on merit. Rugby is a team sport, and every step of the way, this group of exceptional people have worked tirelessly as a team to calibrate, review and advance. This will continue throughout Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025. I know that they are all excited in playing their part in facilitating great matches that will be at the heart of an era-defining competition.”

    World Rugby Women’s High Performance Referee Manager Alhambra Nievas said: “Congratulations to all our match officials. Everyone will play their part in the pool phase. With less than 50 days to go, we are all now focused on being the best we can be on and off the field. There is an incredible camaraderie and bond within this group, and I look forward to seeing our team in action, doing what they do best at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025.”

    Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 panel

    Referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa), Maggie Cogger-Orr (New Zealand), Sara Cox (England), Hollie Davidson (Scotland), Ella Goldsmith (Australia), Natarsha Ganley (New Zealand), Aurélie Groizeleau (France), Lauren Jenner (Italy), Clara Munarini (Italy), Kat Roche (USA).

    Assistant referees: Maria Heitor (Portugal), Jess Ling (Australia), Amelia Luciano (USA), Precious Pazani (Zimbabwe, reserve referee), Amber Stamp-Dunstan (Wales), Holly Wood (England).

    Television Match Officials: Leo Colgan (Ireland), Rachel Horton (Australia), Quinton Immelman (South Africa), Matteo Liperini (Italy), Andrew McMenemy (Scotland), Ian Tempest (England).

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  • Diagnostic dilemma: Orgasm involving a kitchen whisk likely triggered person’s fatal aneurysm

    Diagnostic dilemma: Orgasm involving a kitchen whisk likely triggered person’s fatal aneurysm

    The deceased: A 39-year-old woman in Belgrade, Serbia

    The discovery: The woman’s ex-husband found the woman’s body in her apartment and notified the police. She was lying on her left side on the living room couch, and her body was covered by a blanket.

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