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Per Wizards, the confirmed 2027 MTG sets, which begin a new story arc in the Magic Multiverse, include “Nauctis: The Sunken Realm,” “Kamigawa: Titanbreach” and “Zhalfir.”

This trio of mainline Magic sets will be released in addition to three currently unannounced Universes Beyond sets (collaborations done with outside IP, like Paramount, Disney and Marvel brands) releasing in April, August and November of next year to make up the full-year 2027 set schedule.

“Nauctis: The Sunken Realm” releases Feb. 5, 2027. The set features merfolk, seals, homarids and deities that rule over the undersea plane of Nauctis amidst tensions brewing between two warring kingdoms.

“Kamigawa: Titanbreach” releases June 4, 2027. The set is a clash between two “Magic” planes: Ikoria and Kamigawa. The people of Kamigawa must unite to stop the monsters of Ikoria that have crash-landed, threatening their home.

“Zhalfir” releases Oct. 1, 2027. The kingdom of Zhalfir reenters the multiverse as its own plane in this set. The vibrant magic of Zhalfir’s past comes to play as its people find their place in the Multiverse, featuring master of chronomancy Teferi Akosa in a return for a new generation of players.

Magic’s next big set is an August release inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” which will be further unveiled this weekend during MagicCon: Amsterdam.

Following MagicCon: Amsterdam, which runs today through Sunday, the final MagicCon event of this year will take place in Atlanta from Nov. 13-15.

In 2027, Wizards of the Coast says it will expand to four MagicCon events worldwide: Feb. 26-28 in Detroit, May 14-16 in Tokyo, Aug. 27-29 in Las Vegas and Dec. 3-5 in Amsterdam.

During MagicCon: Amsterdam today, Wizards of the Coast also revealed new look at October’s “Reality Fracture,” the upcoming conclusion set to a story arc that began with the set “Wilds of Eldraine” in 2023. %!s()

Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI released Kimi K3 on Thursday, a powerful new model that the startup says is the largest open-weight AI system in the world.

Moonshot says K3 still trails the most powerful proprietary models, Anthropic's Claude Fable 5 and OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol, overall, but beats the labs' second-tier systems, Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-5.5, on benchmarks including coding and agentic tasks.

Within a day, K3 topped Arena's frontend coding leaderboard, ahead of every leading US model, and placed third on Artificial Analysis's Intelligence Index.

The release, timed just ahead of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, is the latest sign that Chinese labs are closing the gap with leading US systems.

It also rattled AI-related markets: Moonshot, backed by Alibaba and Tencent, is valued at roughly $31.5 billion, a fraction of the trillion-dollar-plus valuations attached to Anthropic and OpenAI.

Here's what smart people in the worlds of tech and academia are saying about it.

David Sacks, cochair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology

David Sacks, the venture capitalist who served as President Donald Trump's first AI and crypto czar before moving in March to cochair the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, called the release "concerning."

In a Friday X post sharing the Arena leaderboard, Sacks said it was the first time a Chinese model had taken the top spot for frontend coding, with Kimi K3 also scoring at or near the frontier on other benchmarks.

Sacks argued the US is hobbling itself in response: blocking new data centers, layering on state regulations, and pushing for federal agencies to pre-approve frontier models. "This is how you lose the AI race," he wrote, warning that the rest of the world won't play by America's rules if it bogs itself down.

"Permissionless innovation" is how America won the internet, Sacks said, adding that the US can win in AI while addressing risks in a targeted way, "or we'll watch our lead evaporate."

Vinod Khosla, billionaire founder of Khosla Ventures

In response to Sacks' analysis of Kimi 3 on X, the billionaire Khosla Ventures founder, Vinod Khosla, said he agreed and highlighted what he called "an even bigger issue"

"Agree, 100% we shouldn't be tying ourselves in knots," he wrote on X. "Even bigger issue is the brilliant talent we are scaring away from other countries with our immigration policies for great talent."

The Trump administration has moved to tighten immigration restrictions, including for student visas. Last year, Silicon Valley was rocked when the government introduced a $100,000 fee for employers sponsoring some new H-1B applications for foreign workers. The ruling was later struck down by a federal judge and remains in litigation.

In May, a US Citizenship and Immigration Services memo implied that people who could previously apply for a green card from inside the US may now have to leave the country while their case is being processed.

And just this week, the administration introduced a new rule that puts an expiration date on how long people on student visas can initially stay in the US.

Aaron Levie, CEO of Box

Aaron Levie said the release was a "huge win" for companies building on AI.

In an X post on Thursday, the Box CEO congratulated the Kimi team and said it was "truly wild" to see this level of performance from open models, pointing to Kimi K3's third-place ranking on Artificial Analysis' Intelligence Index — behind only Anthropic's Claude Fable 5 and OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol.

Levie argued that cheaper frontier-level intelligence directly expands what enterprises can do with AI. There's a large backlog of workflows companies would love to automate, he said, held back only by token costs.

Ethan Mollick, professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Ethan Mollick offered "a note of caution" amid the hype.

The Wharton professor, who studies AI's effects on work, took to X to say Kimi K3 "messed up in a bunch of ways" when he asked it to perform a complex statistical audit of some of his prior academic work, including misapplying statistical methods.

Mollick shared a detailed critique of K3's audit — generated, notably, by OpenAI's rival GPT-5.6 Pro model — that identified errors in the audit's core statistical approach. Mollick said he agreed with the critique.

Jason Calacanis, investor and "All-In Podcast" cohost

Venture capitalist and "All-In Podcast" cohost Jason Calacanis said the pace of AI progress is accelerating, and made some bold predictions.

"It's happening folks," Calacanis wrote on X, sharing an Arena leaderboard showing Kimi K3 ranked first for frontend coding, ahead of Anthropic's Claude Fable 5 and OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol.

He argued the field has moved faster in the last 30 days, across a dozen players, than in the previous year, with open-source models "compounding" while frontier labs refine.

Calacanis predicted things will "get wild" when open-source AI reaches robotics, self-driving, and life sciences, and said that 2026 will be the year of AGI, with superintelligence following in 2027 or 2028.

"ITS GONNA GET VERY STRANGE," he wrote.

Russ Salakhutdinov, professor at Carnegie Mellon University

Russ Salakhutdinov, the CMU professor who co-advised Moonshot founder and CEO Yang Zhilin's Ph.D., called the release "a huge win for the open-source community."

In an X post, Salakhutdinov congratulated his former student, resurfacing a 2019 post celebrating Yang's thesis defense.

Yang completed his Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon in just four years, during which he contributed influential research, including Transformer-XL and XLNet, which helped shape the architecture of modern language models.

"It feels like just yesterday Zhilin was graduating from my lab at CMU," Salakhutdinov wrote, thanking Yang and the Kimi team "for everything you're doing for the open-source community."

Gary Marcus, AI researcher and professor emeritus at NYU

Gary Marcus, a longtime critic of the AI industry's economics, had a blunter reaction.

"Congress should investigate. Seriously," Marcus wrote on X, quoting a Goldman Sachs chart showing capital expenditure for major US cloud providers projected to reach roughly $1 trillion in 2027, about eight times the projected spending of their Chinese counterparts.

Gavin Baker, chief investment officer at Atreides Management

Gavin Baker, a prominent investor and one of Wall Street's leading voices on the AI industry, called the release of Kimi K3 an "inflection point" for AI.

He said Kimi K3 is bad news for closed AI startups like OpenAI and Anthropic, but is a net positive for just about every other company in the world.

"Anything that lowers margins and increases competition at the model layer is good for every other AI layer: power, semiconductors, hyperscalers, neoclouds and yes even software," Baker wrote on X.

Dean Ball, OpenAI's head of strategic futures

Dean Ball, a former Trump administration official whom OpenAI hired as its head of strategic futures, a role that puts him in charge of developing frontier AI policy proposals, said Kimi K3 was a "good model" and that he was suprised it was open source.

"I am personally surprised the Chinese state continues to allow the open sourcing of models this good, given potential risks," he wrote on X. "To be clear, I myself might be fine with models presenting this level of marginal risk being open weight, but I am surprised that China is fine with it."

He wanted to say that China's open-source strategy aligns with segments of its political philosophy.

"One probable outcome of an open-weight-model-dominant world is full AI communism, which is precisely what China proposes: rather than a market product, AI is a 'public good' which will ultimately be provided by the state as a kind of 'digital public infrastructure,'" he wrote.

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Georgia Hennessy

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Georgia is a fellow at Business Insider's London office.Before joining Business Insider, she worked at Japan's largest newspaper, The Yomiuri Shimbun, and interned at the Financial Times. She is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with a degree in Philosophy from the University of Birmingham. You can contact her via email at [email protected]

Peter Gelling

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Peter Gelling is a Senior Editor and the Weekend Bureau Chief at Business Insider. He also still writes, mostly about the AI industry, universal basic income, the economy, campaign finance reform, geopolitics, and anything else that inspires him.He was previously the Geopolitics Editor at Quartz and a Senior Editor at GlobalPost. From 2005 to 2010, he was a correspondent for The New York Times based in Jakarta, Indonesia.

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To address this limitation, researchers in the Baker Lab at the Institute for Protein Design, the Lavis Lab at Janelia Research Campus, and the Mahamid Group at EMBL Heidelberg have developed a new class of synthetic fluorescent protein tags called NovoTags. The collaboration culminated in a paper, now published in Science, describing how versatile NovoTags can help locate specific proteins and probe their interactions inside human cells using an array of advanced light microscopy techniques, including super-resolution fluorescence light microscopy.

The project combined two complementary strengths: the AI-driven de novo protein design pioneered by David Baker, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2024 for this innovation, and the advanced microscopy technologies at EMBL, especially through the support of EMBL's Advanced Light Microscopy Facility (ALMF).

Designing a tag from scratch

Steffen Klein, a structural biologist in EMBL's Mahamid Group, spent six months in the Baker Lab to develop novel protein tags for fluorescence light and cryogenic electron microscopy. This research stay was made possible through the ARISE Programme—a career accelerator program that allows researchers and engineers to advance technology development.

Baker Lab graduate student Long Tran first developed the NovoTag binders against three Janelia Fluor (JF) dyes spanning the visible spectrum, complementing existing systems such as HaloTag and SNAP-tag and expanding the possibilities for multicolor imaging. These binders are small, de novo designed proteins that can be genetically 'tagged' to proteins of interest and that can bind specific dyes, making them visible using fluorescence microscopy techniques.

"This study shows that designed proteins can modulate a fluorophore's photophysical properties, offering new insight into design principles that govern photophysical function in protein-fluorophore complexes," said Tran.

Klein then developed a split, inducible version, named NovoSplit, engineering a molecular switch that only assembles once its target dye is present. "A central aspect of the NovoSplit system is inducibility," Klein pointed out. "We wanted to control protein-protein interactions, so we needed a chemically inducible system." Essentially, this allows scientists to ensure that two proteins being studied only come in close contact with each other when an external agent—a dye—is added to the cell environment.

"Back at EMBL, I characterized the NovoTags and NovoSplit in human cell lines using advanced microscopy, particularly live STED microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM)," said Klein. "By combining spectral separation with fluorescence lifetime information, we can potentially distinguish many more labels than would be possible using spectral separation alone."

This means that, in the future, scientists could use this tagging system to simultaneously view or track up to 30 different proteins by labeling each using a unique combination of emission spectrum (i.e. color) and fluorescence lifetime (i.e. how long something emits light). The NovoTag sequences and complementary dyes are freely available to the scientific community.

The Baker and Lavis labs have already begun expanding the collection of NovoTags supported by AI@HHMI, a $500 million initiative by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "The combination of de novo designed proteins and synthetic fluorophores will rapidly expand the toolkit for labeling in living systems, complementing (or even supplanting) the existing approaches using fluorescent proteins and tags based on natural enzymes," said Luke Lavis, senior group leader at HHMI's Janelia Research Campus.

Toward the next generation of cryo-CLEM labels

In essence, the NovoSplit system developed by Klein works simply. The NovoTag is split into two halves, each linked to a different protein in a cell. When a specific JF dye is added to the system, it acts as a molecular glue that assembles the two parts, allowing scientists to control the interaction between the two proteins.

Further applications are in store. Cryo-correlative light and electron microscopy (cryo-CLEM) is a cutting-edge imaging method in which the same cell can be viewed under a light microscope and an electron microscope in a fully native state. The resulting images can be overlaid on each other to yield information neither technique could achieve alone.

Julia Mahamid's group at EMBL, together with collaborators, has been at the forefront of pioneering these in situ cryo-ET and cryo-CLEM approaches. Their techniques have opened electron-transparent windows into cells, making it possible to visualize macromolecular assemblies at high resolution within their native, functional environment.

"Our NovoSplit system forms the basis for the development of inducible cryo-CLEM tags," said Klein. Cryo-CLEM tags that are fluorescent and structurally distinctive enough to be identified directly inside cryo-electron tomograms would be a major leap for in-cell structural biology research.

This effort underscores the value of continued collaboration between the Mahamid and Baker groups. It also reflects how building these tags depends on a modern protein design pipeline. "We use RFdiffusion to design protein backbones and LigandMPNN to generate amino acid sequences," explained Klein. "Candidate proteins are computationally filtered using AlphaFold and RoseTTAFold before being screened experimentally using yeast surface display, FACS, next-generation sequencing, fluorescence polarization assays, and size-exclusion chromatography."

"Ultimately, this work aims to expand the possibilities for identifying proteins directly within native cells by combining advanced fluorescence microscopy with cryo-electron tomography," Mahamid explained. The possibilities such cryo-CLEM tags could unlock are significant, enabling scientists to better study the busy alleyways of cells and their residents.

Publication details

Long Tran et al, De novo design of orthogonal far-red, orange, and green fluorophore-binding proteins for multiplexed imaging, Science (2026). DOI: 10.1126/science.aeb0822

Who's behind this story?

Gaby Clark

MA in English, copy editor since 2021 with experience in higher education and health content. Dedicated to trustworthy science news. Full profile →

Andrew Zinin

Master's in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X's editorial success. Full profile →

Citation: AI-designed proteins help scientists see inside living cells (2026, July 17) retrieved 17 July 2026 from https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ai-proteins-scientists-cells.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. %!s()

When scientists, policymakers and journalists communicate environmental threats, they often rely on future dates: "water shortages by 2046" or "biodiversity loss by 2060."

But new research from King's Business School suggests that a simple shift in wording can make these threats feel more immediate and harder to dismiss.

The paper, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, examined how "date" framing, such as "water shortages by 2046," compares with "time-left" framing, such as "water shortages within 20 years."

Analyzing climate coverage at scale and testing responses in large studies, the researchers found that messages focused on how much time remains make environmental threats feel closer and more urgent, driving higher engagement and support for action.

The researchers found that time-left framing creates a feeling that time is "counting down" toward the threat. Rather than focusing attention on a distant calendar year, it highlights the shrinking amount of time available before the threat materializes.

The findings suggest that organizations communicating about climate risks—including researchers, policymakers and the media—could increase public engagement by shifting away from abstract future dates and toward clearer signals of how little time remains.

"Much of the public conversation about climate risk is organized around dates and deadlines. We show that framing threats around how much time is left creates a stronger sense of urgency. That helps explain why some headlines, briefings and campaigns prompt engagement while others struggle to cut through," said Dr. Ozlem Tetik, lecturer in marketing at King's Business School and co-author of the study.

Publication details

Ozlem Tetik et al, The Final Countdown: Temporal Frames of Environmental Threats, Journal of Consumer Research (2026). DOI: 10.1093/jcr/ucag018

Who's behind this story?

Swati Mestri

Swati Mestri holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space. Full profile →

Andrew Zinin

Master's in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X's editorial success. Full profile →

Citation: Is that the time? Why messaging matters with crises on the horizon (2026, July 17) retrieved 17 July 2026 from https://phys.org/news/2026-07-messaging-crises-horizon.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. %!s()

This all makes this World Cup’s best-dressed players as compelling off the field as they are on it. Fance may have not made it to the final but Kylian Mbappé remains the sport’s most polished luxury ambassador. Just this year, France’s captain fronted the Nike x Jacquemus Les Bleus collection and starred in Dior’s Summer 2026 campaign, marking Jonathan Anderson’s debut collection as creative director.

On the other side of the coin is Norway’s Erling Haaland, who aside from becoming the competition’s biggest breakout star is also its most unexpected luxury muses. His viral designer bag rotation includes a rare Hermès Haut à Courroies, several Birkin-style carryalls and archival Louis Vuitton pieces. Only a few days after Norway’s loss to England last Saturday, the Norwegian striker touched down in Oslo with a Dolce & Gabbana Sicily tote — straight from the house’s spring 2027 menswear show in Milan last month.

Lamine Yamal represents the next generation. Spain’s teenage star has quickly developed a flashier style, opting for Chanel tweed, Louis Vuitton bags, Dior separates, Chrome Hearts details, Amiri denim and statement sneakers.

Below, a look at a few of the World Cup’s best-dressed players – both on and off the field.

Mbappé arrived to France’s national team training camp in a Nike x Stussy tracksuit with Dior’s Normandie Tote Bag in beige calfskin. 

Erling Haaland

For the Dolce & Gabbana Alta Sartoria show in Rome earlier this year, Haaland leaned into full Italian tailoring in a full monochrome grey D&G suit, layered atop a fitted turtleneck knit. He returned to Italy for Dolce’s Alta Sartoria annual couture show in Sicily this week.

Jackson Irvine

At GQ Germany’s Men of the Year Awards in Berlin, Irvine wore a full Levi’s look, styled by Barbara Gallo: a boxy dark denim jacket and matching wide-leg jeans, layered over a custom Adidas Originals white button-up and finished with black boots.

Lamine Yamal

Yamal brought pitchside swag to Barcelona’s game against Real Betis at Spotify Camp Nou, wearing a Louis Vuitton jacket and belt.

Charles de Ketelaere

Layering neutral classics is the name of the streetstyle game for Ketelaere, who is a strong adherent of Japanese menswear. In Milan earlier this year, he was spotted in a baseball hat from the luxury Japanese denim brand Fullcount alongside a workman jacket designed by Junya Watanabe for Comme des Garcons.  %!s()