LOOP

Researchers are studying the physics of hula hooping using high-precision seismometer-style sensors, tracing the loops and forces that keep a hoop spinning around the body. The work, covered by Phys.org, sheds light on the balance of motion and friction required to keep a hoop aloft, and could inform designs for devices that grip or interact with moving objects.

Harper's Magazine has drawn renewed attention with its January 2020 essay 'Vicious Cycles: Theses on a philosophy of news', a meditation on how news is produced, consumed, and recycled. The piece argues that journalism feeds on its own circulation, with readers and outlets trapped in repeating loops of attention. It is being shared again among readers interested in media criticism.

Indonesian commentator Bossman Mardigu is drawing large attention with a discussion of Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka's legal exposure following a Constitutional Court ruling. He argues the decision opens multilayered criminal loopholes that could put Gibran at risk of legal challenges, sparking debate among viewers about the ruling's implications for the vice presidency.

Elon Musk has confirmed that SpaceX intentionally restricted Ukraine's use of Starlink in its war with Russia, saying 'that loophole was closed'. The admission fuels ongoing debate over the company's influence on the battlefield, as Starlink has been critical to Ukrainian communications and earlier reports suggested access was curbed to prevent offensive use against Russian forces.

A distance runner placed 15th at the Backyard Ultra World Championship, an endurance format where competitors must complete a 6.7-kilometre loop every hour until only one runner remains. The athlete's pledge to keep running until the lights go out captures the event's brutal elimination structure, where the race has no fixed finish distance and winners are decided by who refuses to stop last.

Researchers in Adelaide have experimentally verified a SQUID-array design that replaces mismatched loop sizes with selected junction-free loops. The change allows the device to identify the absolute magnetic field while keeping a geometry optimised for sensitivity. The work was carried out in a cryogenic laboratory setting and points to improved superconducting magnetic field measurement.

Researchers have proposed a new loop-based design for quantum sensors that could make measurements of magnetic fields more precise. The approach may benefit medical imaging and diagnostics as well as communications technology, where sensitive detection of weak magnetic signals is essential. Details of the design and its performance have been reported by science outlets, drawing attention from specialists in quantum sensing.

A growing debate is unfolding in Hollywood over AI-generated digital replicas that can clone an actor's face, voice and performance. The core questions are consent, compensation and creative control: who owns a performer's synthetic double once it exists? Some argue the future lies in AI-assisted performance rather than fully synthetic actors, keeping humans in the loop. As studios experiment with digital likenesses, actors and unions are pushing back for stronger rights over their own images and voices.

Skywatchers are reporting a huge prominence, a loop of plasma extending from the sun's edge, adorning the star. The feature highlights ongoing heightened solar activity, which can accompany events like flares and auroras closer to Earth. Enthusiasts and astronomers are following the sun closely as it remains particularly active.

Critical Loop, a small startup, has landed a deal to supply power for a new Anduril facility, according to an exclusive report by The Information. The agreement marks a notable win for the young company, placing it inside the supply chain of one of America's most prominent defense technology firms as Anduril continues expanding its manufacturing footprint.

Feeloop's market digest reports an extreme negative funding rate on the DOOD/USDT pair, listing around -3,675.9% APR under a short-pay-long arbitrage setup. The digest also highlights liquidity pools totaling 3.6 million, with a top BSC pool showing over 5,000% APR. Such outsized figures suggest high volatility or unusual positioning around the DOOD token, drawing attention from yield farmers and arbitrage traders monitoring DeFi markets.

DeFi analytics service Feeloop published its regular market digest, highlighting an unusually high funding rate on the DOOD/USDT pair, quoting minus 4,380 percent APR on a short-pays-long arbitrage setup. It also listed liquidity pools totaling 3.6 million dollars, with a top BSC pool offering over 5,000 percent APR. Such extreme funding rates typically signal heavy directional trading on the token.

DeFi platform Feeloop reports extreme negative funding of -1813.0% APR on UNITREE/USDT, meaning shorts pay longs, flagged as the market's largest arbitrage opportunity. Its digest also highlights roughly $3.6 million in liquidity pools, with a top BSC pair yielding 5053.0% APR. The figures were published in repeated market digests throughout the day, drawing attention from crypto traders tracking funding-rate arbitrage.

Salesforce has acquired Loops, an Israeli analytics startup, according to a report by The Ticker. The deal adds Loops' analytics technology to Salesforce's portfolio, strengthening its data capabilities for enterprise customers. Details on the purchase price and integration plans have not been disclosed. The acquisition follows Salesforce's ongoing pattern of buying Israeli-founded tech companies to expand its product offering.

The EU's Democracy Shield initiative, aimed at protecting democratic processes from disinformation and foreign interference, is being criticised for lacking a mechanism to gather and respond to feedback. Commentators argue that without a proper feedback loop, the initiative risks becoming top-down and detached from the citizens and institutions it is meant to protect.