Save America.

And maybe the world.

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1. New Scientist:

“I have really modest goals. I want to have the largest impact on human suffering of anyone, ever,” says Lou Reese, co-founder of biotechnology company Vaxxinity. He might just pull it off. If everything goes to plan, by 2030 the firm will offer a new drug that will revolutionize our approach to one of the world’s most feared diseases, and may even lead to its eradication.

That disease is Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, which causes untold pain to people and their relatives. It and other forms of dementia are seen as a ticking time bomb ready to blow up in the brains of an increasingly elderly population.

But now it seems there may be a way to defuse this problem. Vaxxinity, which is based in Cape Canaveral, Florida, is working on vaccines designed to halt the progression of Alzheimer’s or even stop it from developing in the first place. Several other companies are in the same game and the approach is showing great promise. “Society is entering an era in which the unchecked devastation of Alzheimer’s disease is no longer inevitable,” says Dennis Selkoe at Harvard Medical School. (Sources: ir.vaxxinity.com, newscientist.com, selkolab.bwh.harvard.edu)

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2. Chinese government-backed hackers have penetrated deep into U.S. internet service providers in recent months to spy on their users, according to people familiar with the ongoing American response and private security researchers. The unusually aggressive and sophisticated attacks include access to at least two major providers with millions of customers as well as to several smaller providers, people familiar with the separate campaigns said. “It is business as usual now for China, but that is dramatically stepped up from where it used to be. It is an order of magnitude worse,” said Brandon Wales, who until earlier this month was executive director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, CISA. The hacks raise concern because their targets are believed to include government and military personnel working undercover and groups of strategic interest to China. “This is privileged, high-level connectivity to interesting customers,” said Mike Horka, a researcher at Lumen Technologies and a former FBI agent. It was notable, he added, that the groups considered the effort important enough to exploit previously undiscovered software flaws that could have been preserved for later use. Though there is no evidence that the new inroads are aimed at anything other than gathering intelligence, some of the techniques and resources employed are associated with those used in the past year by a China-backed group known as Volt Typhoon, two of the people said. U.S. intelligence officials said that group sought access to equipment at Pacific ports and other infrastructure to enable China to sow panic and disrupt America’s ability to move troops, weaponry and supplies to Taiwan if armed conflict breaks out. (Source: washingtonpost.com)

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3. Richard Haass:

Nuclear weapons played a stabilizing role during the Cold War. Arguably, their existence helped keep it cold. But there were only two decision-makers, and each had an inventory that could survive a first strike by the other, enabling it to retaliate in kind, thereby strengthening deterrence. And both sides mostly acted with a degree of caution, lest their competition escalate to direct conflict and precipitate a disastrous nuclear exchange.

Three and a half decades after the Cold War’s end, a new world is emerging, one characterized by nuclear arms races, potential new entrants into an ever less exclusive nuclear-weapons club, and a long list of deep disagreements over political arrangements in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. This is not a situation that lends itself to a solution, but at best to effective management. One can only hope the leaders of this era will be up to the challenge. (Source: project-syndicate.org)

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4. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that this month’s lightning-fast incursion into Russia — where almost 600 Russian soldiers have been captured so far — is part of a larger plan to end the war in his country. Speaking at a news conference of top officials, Zelensky said he had no plans to permanently annex the region and will present his plan to President Joe Biden — along with presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump — this fall. “The main point … is forcing Russia to end the war,” Zelensky said. “We really want justice for Ukraine. And if this plan is accepted — and, second, if it is executed — we believe that the main goal will be reached.” He declined to provide details of his plan. (Source: washingtonpost.com)

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5. There are many ways to kill and be killed in Russia’s war with Ukraine, but Ukrainian soldiers say that glide bombs are perhaps the most terrifying. They are free-fall bombs, many left over from the Soviet era, but now outfitted with pop-out wings that feature satellite navigation, turning them into guided munitions. Referred to alternatively as “KABs” or “FABs,” they weigh between 500 and 6,000 pounds and are packed with hundreds of pounds explosives. A single blast can reduce a high-rise apartment building to rubble and obliterate even concrete fortifications. In recent months, Russia has used the bombs to devastating effect, tilting the balance of fighting in eastern Ukraine in Moscow’s favor and allowing Russia to continue to make steady gains in Donetsk region. The bombs have also allowed Russian forces to raze whole towns and villages with ever greater speed. (Source: nytimes.com)