August 2026
All columns and Brief analyses.
10 results
openKylin 3.0 puts AI agents in a system runtime
openKylin 3.0 gathers models, memory, tools and system permissions into a single runtime and moves agents inside the operating system, with KylinBot, WorkBuddy, OpenClaw and Raccoon Work calling the desktop through the MCP protocol rather than simulated clicks. Android 17's QPR2 Beta 4 adds an Agents entry under Security and privacy that lists agents able to access information inside apps or take actions in them, including Gemini Spark and third-party apps. Halo is described as arriving later in 2026.
Plozasiran cut triglycerides 79 per cent and 81 per cent in severe hypertriglyceridaemia
Triglycerides fell 79 per cent in SHASTA-3 and 81 per cent in SHASTA-4 by month 12 on 25 mg Plozasiran every three months, against about 27 per cent among those given no active drug, from 500 mg/dL or above. Acute pancreatitis events were reported 78 per cent lower against those given no active drug. RADICAL PC 2 improved cholesterol by 12 mg/dL after specialist referral in men with prostate cancer, without cutting cardiac events over a median 5.8 years.
Prostate-cancer referrals improved cholesterol without cutting cardiac events
Referral to an internist or cardiologist improved cholesterol in men with prostate cancer. Cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke and heart failure did not fall. Referred patients received a statin regardless of cholesterol level, a systolic blood pressure target of 130 mm Hg or below, and counselling on smoking, diet and exercise. Calcium scoring versus pooled cohort equations for statin guidance left major cardiovascular events at 2.7 per cent in both groups, while people advised from a calcium score stayed on the drug far more often.
Russian drone waves reach a fifth day over Kyiv and stop metro trains across the Dnipro
Attacks early on Monday injured four people in the Kyiv region, regional governor Tymur Tkachenko said, as air raid alerts stopped metro trains crossing the Dnipro for a fifth day. Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had launched nearly 1,500 drones at Ukraine in four days, more than half of them jet-powered. Both sides have been aiming at commercial logistics, and a Ukrainian attack struck a logistics hub in Yekaterinburg, where a high-rise was hit.
Seoul's ambassador to Russia attends the Vladivostok economic forum this week
South Korea's ambassador to Russia, Lee Sok-bae, will attend the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok from Tuesday to Friday, a foreign ministry official said, filling last year's empty post. Seoul's unification ministry said it has no plans to take part. Speculation continues that Kim Jong-un could travel to Russia for a possible meeting with Vladimir Putin on the forum's margins. The Kremlin said President Prabowo Subianto would be the main foreign guest on 1-4 September, as Jakarta checks a Ukrainian claim that eight Indonesian men enlisted.
SK On signs a deal to supply NeoVolta with 9 GWh of storage cells from Georgia
SK On said on Monday it had signed a five-year deal to supply NeoVolta Power with lithium iron phosphate cells for energy storage from 2027, from its Georgia plant. It did not disclose the value; industry estimates put it at about 1.09 billion dollars. A second 9 GWh agreement would take cooperation to 18 GWh. The storage push follows weaker electric-vehicle demand. South Korean industrial production was unchanged in July, car production fell 4.5 per cent and manufacturing rose 0.2 per cent.
SK Telecom turns photos into a searchable archive, including Meta glasses
SK Telecom added A. log to its A. app. It analyses photos and produces titles, descriptions and tags so images can be searched by time or keyword and grouped as receipts, whiteboards and parking spots. A. log works with every model of Meta AI glasses and with Android phones; the company says photos stay on the user's device. Circleback opened a free plan with unlimited transcription and 30 days of history and cut its cheapest paid plan from 20.83 dollars to 15 dollars a month billed annually.
Tailored exercise cut atrial fibrillation time from 7.1 per cent to 3.9 per cent
A year of tailored exercise cut time spent in atrial fibrillation from 7.1 per cent to 3.9 per cent. Hospitalisations were 37 per cent lower overall and 46 per cent lower for atrial fibrillation. A quality of life score rose with exercise, but the gap against usual care did not reach significance. New cardiac rehabilitation guidelines put exercise training, emotional support and personalised education into one programme, and they now cover people with atrial fibrillation as well as recovery after a heart attack.
Targeted lead placement was no better than standard in resynchronisation therapy
Targeting a resynchronisation lead to the latest-activated site was no better than standard placement in patients with heart failure and left bundle branch block. Death or first unplanned heart failure admission occurred in 27.9 per cent of the targeted group and 25.5 per cent with standard placement. Jens Cosedis Nielsen said findings do not support routine electrical mapping. A tool estimates risk for each of four recommended heart-failure drug classes for one patient; only 2 per cent of eligible patients receive the full four-pillar treatment.
The Tasmanian tiger's skull fits a high-impact snap at bandicoot-sized prey
The Tasmanian tiger, extinct since 1936, was long treated as a dog-like hunter. Vera Weisbecker's group measured a head large for the body, a snout that flares at the canines, and large infraorbital foramina, a mix that fits a fast snap at rabbit-sized bandicoots. Joshua L. Gaschk's comparison of archival film across 48 predators grouped the same animal with opportunistic pouncers. The authors caution that a walking gait is a weak hunting signal, and that cranial function may not be inferable from living mammals.