Tootfinder

🪺 Nest-building birds help disperse cotton further than wind, study suggests
#birds

Nest-building birds help disperse cotton further than wind, study suggests
Birds play a larger role in the dispersal of wild cotton than previously assumed. This is shown by a study in the journal Oikos, carried out in southern Africa. Researchers discovered that birds actively collect wild cotton as nesting material and in doing so move seeds over distances of more than a kilometer. Cotton fibers were long seen as something that evolved to disperse seeds by wind, but birds also take them to their nests and in this way help disperse the seeds much further.

Google releases a core update to Discover, rolling out first to US users, aiming to cut clickbait and show more locally relevant, in-depth, timely content (Barry Schwartz/Search Engine Land)
https://searchengineland.com/google-releases-discover-core-upd…

Google releases Discover core update - February 2026
This Discover update will show more locally relevant content based on the users country.

A Glimpse Into DexProtector
https://www.romainthomas.fr/post/26-01-dexprotector/

A Glimpse Into DexProtector | Romain Thomas
This blog post provides a high-level overview of DexProtector's security features and their limitations

I’m at AWP this weekend with copies of my book, The Uses of Art, tabling for dispersed holdings. If you’re in Baltimore, come say hi (table 536, catty-corner from Ivy Bookstore).
If you can’t be there, we’re celebrating with a 25% discount on all the books in the dispersed holdings web shop (http://dispersedholdings.net

dispersed holdings

Happy Saturday! Metacurity is proud to offer our free and premium subscribers a weekly digest of the best long-form (and longish) infosec-related pieces we couldn't properly fit into our daily news crush.
This week's selection covers
--The college kid who discovered the Kimwolf botnet,
--US AI build-out is dependent on Chinese-made electrical equipment,
--AI agent traps are the next big security challenge,
--AI bug discovery tilts the field toward attacke…

Best infosec-related long reads for the week of 3/28/26
The college kid who discovered the Kimwolf botnet, US AI build-out is dependent on Chinese-made electrical equipment, AI agent traps are the next big security challenge, AI bug discovery tilts the field toward attackers, Privatized offensive warfare could fuel a cyber arms race

They’re right. I’d wanna buy some seeds. A lot of seeds. https://gizmodo.com/researchers-discover-how-to-add-psilocybin-dmt-and-other-psychedelics-to-tobacco-2000742230

Researchers Discover How to Add Psilocybin, DMT, and Other Psychedelics to Tobacco
AI assisted with the study, which could make it cheaper and easier to produce these mind-bending drugs.

Poll: Majority of voters disapprove of how Trump has handled Iran (Ben Kamisar/NBC News)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/poll-majority-voters-disapproves-trump-handled-iran-rcna261564
http://www.memeorandum.com/260304/p131#a260304p131

"Emperor penguins face growing threat as sea ice disappears - video"
#Penguins #EmperorPenguins #Animals

Video. Emperor penguins face growing threat as sea ice disappears
Video. The emperor penguins of Antarctica are facing a growing threat from retreating sea ice, according to British scientists. New research suggests that climate change is forcing the iconic birds into smaller, crowded colonies, sometimes with deadly consequences. Watch the video for more.

Filing: David Zaslav is selling ~4M shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock, with an aggregate market value of just over $114M (Todd Spangler/Variety)
https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/david-zaslav-selling-114-million-warner-bros-discov…

David Zaslav Files to Sell $114 Million Worth of Warner Bros. Discovery Stock
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav filed to sell $114 million worth of stock, coming after WBD clinched a deal with Paramount Skydance.

Cuando la ignorancia se disfraza de ciencia: género como epistemología en la investigación científica - CIPER Chile
https://www.ciperchile.cl/2026/01/31/cuando-la-ignorancia-se-disfraza-de-ciencia-gene…