Latest Tech News & Insights

A groundbreaking single-cell transcriptomics study reveals that sleep deprivation triggers mitochondrial fragmentation and metabolic stress in specific sleep-control neurons of fruit flies. This fragmentation—accompanied by enhanced mitophagy and altered ER contacts—directly modulates neuronal excitability and sleep drive, suggesting mitochondrial dynamics serve as a fundamental biological timer for sleep homeostasis.

A new open-source project leverages semantic embeddings to transform how developers search GitHub repositories, moving beyond keyword matching to understand the meaning behind queries. By creating vector representations of code and documentation, it enables natural language discovery of relevant projects, potentially solving a major pain point in navigating the vast code ecosystem.

Researchers at Politecnico di Milano have developed LokAlp, a reconfigurable timber construction system using off-cuts from CLT and GLT production. By combining computational design, robotic milling (showing >45% faster production than CNC), and augmented reality-guided assembly, this system enables waste-free, self-built structures while maintaining Eurocode compliance. The patented approach demonstrates how industrial by-products can achieve architectural-scale buildings through discrete, reusable components.

UrBackup offers a robust open-source client/server backup system that combines image and file backups to ensure data safety without downtime, featuring continuous folder monitoring for rapid incremental saves. Its easy web-based setup and versatile restoration options make it a compelling choice for developers managing critical infrastructure.

Fixed-point arithmetic enables fractional calculations with integer hardware, trading range for resolution to achieve dramatic speedups in embedded and real-time systems. This deep dive explores its implementation, operations, and the 5.3x performance gains demonstrated in real-world applications like the RP2040 microcontroller. Developers will learn when and how to leverage this technique to optimize critical code paths.

When language apps failed him, developer Mike Borozdin leveraged AI tools like Claude, Cursor, and ElevenLabs to create his own Greek learning app in weeks. His journey reveals the practical realities—and surprising pitfalls—of using generative AI for rapid development, from voice cloning to app store approvals.