😷 Up to 400 Million Face Long-COVID Brain Symptoms

A review published Monday in Nature Reviews Disease Primers highlights the massive global impact of long COVID on the brain. It estimates that 80 to 400 million people worldwide suffer from lasting neurological issues months or years after infection.

The study notes that symptoms often continue for at least three months. Common problems include memory loss, anxiety, depression, headaches, and sleep disturbances. The condition affects 5–20% of general cases and up to 50% of hospitalized patients.

Have you experienced Long-COVID yourself?

🔥 — Yes
❤️ — No

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🔍 Samsung to Upgrade Bixby with Perplexity for Galaxy S26

Samsung is preparing a major update for Bixby ahead of next year's Galaxy S26 launch. While Galaxy AI is powerful, the Bixby assistant has lagged, currently leaving complex questions to Google Gemini while it handles only basic tasks.

Reports suggest Samsung will partner with Perplexity to solve this. Under the new plan, Bixby would still manage system settings. At the same time, Perplexity would handle complex, web‑based queries with citations, similar to Apple's integration with ChatGPT.

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🐈 Rediscovery Of Flat-Headed Cat In Thailand

Researchers from Thailand have confirmed the rediscovery of the endangered flat-headed cat in Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary using camera traps that captured 29 detections in 2024–2025, including a mother with a kitten, proving that a small but breeding population has survived in the country after almost 30 years without confirmed records.

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🦮 Gamify Dog Walking with AR

Wabisabi's Doggo Quest turns dog walks into a game using SnapML for dog recognition and AR visual effects. The app tracks your routes and steps, rewarding you with virtual items like bones as you walk.

Available for Spectacles: AR glasses by Snap Inc.

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🦣 Comet Explosion May Have Triggered Mammoth Extinction

Scientists say they've found their strongest evidence yet that a fragmented comet exploded over Earth nearly 13,000 years ago, possibly contributing to the extinction of mammoths, mastodons, and other Ice Age megafauna.

Researchers identified shocked quartz—one of the clearest markers of cosmic impacts—at three Clovis-era sites: Murray Springs (Arizona), Blackwater Draw (New Mexico), and Arlington Canyon (California).

Electron microscopy revealed fractures filled with melted silica, formed under extreme heat and pressure far beyond what volcanoes or human fires could produce, supporting the comet-impact hypothesis.

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💊 AI-Designed Drug Nears Phase 3 Trials

Insilico Medicine says its drug Rentosertib—the first medicine fully discovered and designed using artificial intelligence—could enter Phase 3 clinical trials within the next 18 months, marking the final stage before regulatory approval.

The drug targets idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a deadly lung disease that kills around 40,000 people in the US each year. In a Phase 2 trial involving 71 patients in China, Rentosertib improved lung function with few side effects.

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🥇 Lego Unveils Smart Bricks At CES

Lego has introduced new Smart Bricks with built‑in microchips at CES, calling them the company's biggest evolution in decades. A classic 2x4 brick can detect NFC tags in special tiles and minifigures, track the movement and position of other Smart Bricks, and add light and sound effects to physical builds.
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In Lego Star Wars sets, the system can, for example, play "The Imperial March" when Emperor Palpatine is seated on his throne, let ships "battle" each other, and make cars register who crosses the finish line first or trigger an alert when they flip over. The new bricks form a Bluetooth mesh network and are set to debut in Star Wars kits starting March 1, 2026.

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🖥 Gaming Industry Faces Memory Crunch

The global gaming industry is heading into a memory crisis as surging chip prices threaten delays to next-generation consoles and force developers to rethink game design. Samsung's 16GB DDR5-5600 memory now sells for about $207 in early January 2026, up nearly sixfold from roughly $35 in December 2024, according to Korea's Danawa platform.

The shortage is caused by Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron shifting production toward high-bandwidth memory for AI accelerators instead of standard DRAM used in gaming hardware.

"In 2026, there's going to be issues around semiconductor supplies, and it's going to affect everyone," Samsung global marketing president Wonjin Lee said this week.

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🎮 Fortnite x South Park Goes Live

The long-rumored Fortnite × South Park collab is official: Epic dropped a short film that shows the boys being sucked into the metaverse and teases new gameplay.

The event adds a new five-player Battle Royale mode, a free mini-pass through which players can earn South Park cosmetics, and at least five skins in the item shop — plus Wonkeeland on the BR map is temporarily rebranded as Cartmanland.

The crossover content and limited-time mode run through February 5.

Do you play Fortnite?

❤️ — Yes, of course!
😎 — No, it's for kids
🎃 — I don't like video games

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♻️ Urban Air Packed With Micro- And Nanoplastics

Chinese researchers at the Institute of Earth Environment report that urban air in Guangzhou and Xi'an contains roughly 140,000–180,000 microplastic and nanoplastic particles per cubic metre—levels far higher than those previously measured and, the team says, up to a million times greater than estimates from traditional methods.

The study is also the first to detect nanoplastics as small as ~200 nanometres in complex environmental samples, identifying city atmospheres as primary reservoirs of plastic particulates and underlining the need to reassess how airborne plastic pollution is monitored.

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📈 RAM Prices Jump 60–70% in Early 2026

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together control approximately 70% of the global DRAM market, have informed major customers that server memory prices are expected to rise by 60–70% in the first quarter of 2026. Both companies are shifting away from long-term contracts and transitioning to quarterly pricing, anticipating that prices will continue to rise through 2027.

The increase—which has been building for more than a year—is being driven by surging demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI servers. To capitalize on higher margins, manufacturers are redirecting production capacity from standard DRAM to HBM.

The impact won't be limited to servers and PCs. Higher memory costs are expected to push up prices for smartphones and a wide range of consumer electronics. Industry insiders say console makers are even discussing delaying the next-generation PlayStation and Xbox due to rising component costs.

Gamers are effectively paying an "AI tax." Is it worth it?

❤️ — Yes, progress comes at a price
🎃 — No, the AI bubble is making everything worse

🚰 Water Heater Mines Bitcoin

Superheat H1 is a 50-gallon electric boiler with a built-in ASIC computer that mines Bitcoin and uses the waste heat to warm household water.

The unit draws about as much power as a typical electric water heater, developers claim.

It's designed for homes and commercial buildings and will cost around $2,000, about twice the price of a standard electric model without mining capabilities.

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😵 Are You Dead? App Goes Viral In China

A bleakly named app, Are You Dead?, has surged to the top of China's app charts as young people living alone download it en masse. The app requires users to tap a large check-in button every two days to confirm they are alive; if they fail to do so, it automatically alerts a pre-selected emergency contact that something may be wrong.

Launched quietly in May last year, the app has gone viral in recent weeks amid growing concern about isolation in Chinese cities, becoming the country's most downloaded paid app. The trend reflects a broader demographic shift: research cited by state-run Global Times suggests China could have up to 200 million one-person households by 2030.

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🚭 Quit-Smoking Apps Triple Chances Of Quitting

Smokers who use smartphone "quit smoking" apps are about three times more likely to stay off cigarettes for at least six months than those relying on minimal support or sheer willpower, shows a new meta-analysis in BMJ Evidence Based Medicine.

On average, for every 1,000 people trying to quit, app use led to roughly 40 additional long‑term quitters compared to basic advice or no help, and up to 196 extra successful quit attempts when apps were combined with medications like nicotine patches or pills.

At the same time, the authors warn that overall evidence quality remains low and call for more rigorous trials to determine which app features actually work, for which groups of smokers, and how long the digital support keeps cravings in check.

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🤖 Mech Builder 3D Released on Steam

It's a 3D model-building game inspired by Gunpla. Assemble, paint, pose, and display your creations in detailed environments—without worries like missing parts or time limits.

The game features a wide variety of kits, primarily robots, as well as monsters and armor sets, all designed with a focus on a relaxing, low-pressure experience.

There is 20% off on Steam until 20th January.

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🚫 Philippines Becomes Third Southeast Asian Nation to Ban Grok

The Philippines on Thursday said it would block Elon Musk's Grok AI chatbot "by tonight," becoming the third Southeast Asian nation in less than a week to restrict the platform amid a global backlash over its use to generate sexualized deepfakes of women and children.

The announcement came hours after X, the social media platform that hosts Grok, said it was implementing new restrictions to prevent the chatbot from undressing images of real people. However, Philippine officials said X's pledges would not deter their plans.

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💕 The World's First Café for AI Dates

EVA AI, maker of relationship-focused chatbots, will open a café in New York where customers can "go on a date" with their AI companion. The venue will feature single-seat tables with phone stands so guests can place their AI across from them.

EVA AI argues that the café addresses a practical limitation of AI companions—their inability to be taken out—and promises a space to "laugh together, gossip, vent about your day, or share emotional moments." The company notes there are still boundaries: the AI can't meet friends or join real-world introductions, but the pop-up aims to normalise going out with an AI partner.

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😎 Amazon Turns Fallout Into Reality Competition

Amazon has announced Fallout Shelter—a reality series that will place contestants inside the franchise's iconic vaults and test their survival skills in a staged re-creation of the post-apocalyptic world. The reveal comes via a casting call and arrives while season 2 of Fallout is airing.

The show is being produced by the team behind Squid Game: The Challenge and The Traitors, suggesting a high-stakes competitive format; producers have not yet announced a premiere date.

Presumably there will be no Deathclaws.

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