Bookmarks 2025-11-13T19:09:46.263Z
by Owen Kibel
28 min read
Bookmarks for 2025-11-13T19:09:46.263Z
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President Trump and the First Lady Participate in an Executive Order Signing - YouTube Added: Nov 13, 2025
President Trump and the First Lady Participate in an Executive Order Signing
Site: YouTube
The White House
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New Study Explains Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS’s "Non-Gravitational Acceleration" Without Need For Aliens | IFLScience
Added: Nov 13, 2025"Non-Gravitational Acceleration" Of Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Explained In New Study
Site: IFLScience
The comet has been observed to undergo non-gravitational acceleration. A new paper proposes a plausible explanation.
Astronomers have attempted to explain the non-gravitational acceleration of comet 3I/ATLAS, our third confirmed interstellar visitor, in a way that removes the need for "non-natural hypotheses for 3I/ATLAS". You probably are aware of our celestial visitor by now, but for those who are just joining the story, here's what we know so far. On July 1, 2025, an object was spotted shooting through our Solar System on an escape trajectory. With observations from Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) and many other of the world's telescopes, it was soon determined to be an interstellar object (if you're interested, here is how we know that ). It was also quickly confirmed to be a comet, as the object exhibited classic cometary behavior. Though comets can be quite varied, they have certain similar characteristics. These include their nucleus (the central rocky and icy body of the comet), their large coma, and their dust and ion tails. All of these have been observed in the interstellar comet, dubbed 3I/ATLAS. One expected behavior of a comet, which can sound a bit suspicious to people who aren't too familiar with comets, is non-gravitational acceleration. This is acceleration, or a change in velocity of an object, which is not caused by gravitational interactions with other celestial bodies. Signs of non-gravitational acceleration have been found in interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. "The non-gravitational acceleration was measured at the perihelion distance of 1.36 times the Earth-Sun separation (defined as an astronomical unit or `au’), equivalent to 203 million kilometers," Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb explained in a blog post of these first observations, adding that it showed a "radial acceleration away from the Sun of 135 kilometers (=9x10^{-7}au) per day squared" and a "transverse acceleration relative to the Sun’s direction of 60 kilometers (=4x10^{-7}au) per day squared". In a new preprint paper, which has not yet been peer reviewed, Florian Neukart of the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS), Leiden University, who publishes papers on a broad range of topics, attempted to see if the non-gravitational acceleration could be explained with ordinary outgassing of volatiles, or whether more exotic volatiles are necessary to explain the changes in velocity. While we should stress that this is a single-author paper, and further observations of the comet will be necessary to determine exactly what has taken place as it approached the Sun, the paper suggests that the non-gravitational acceleration could be explained with fairly conventional cometary outgassing. "Alternative non-outgassing explanations for anomalous acceleration have been proposed for interstellar objects, including radiation pressure acting on extremely low-density or sheet-like bodies and scenarios invoking exotic compositions or technology. Radiation pressure requires large area to mass ratios and extreme porosities that are difficult to reconcile with dynamical survival and with the lack of strong attitude perturbations," Neukart explains in the paper. "Our results show that a conventional volatile-driven mechanism reproduces both the magnitude and the direction of the acceleration for realistic active fractions and jet collimation. This removes the need to invoke special radiation pressure geometries or non-natural hypotheses for 3I/ATLAS." According to the paper, which used thermophysical and Monte Carlo models, the acceleration can be explained by conventional volatiles present in the comet, heating as they approach the Sun. "We have shown that a purely physical volatile-driven mechanism suffices to explain the non-gravitational acceleration inferred for 3I/ATLAS," the paper concludes. "Thermophysical models with realistic vapor pressure relations, diurnal and obliquity averaging, and modest jet collimation reproduce both the magnitude and the direction of the observed acceleration using CO and CO 2 -dominated activity with sub-percent active surface coverage. NH3 and CH4 alone underproduce thrust at equilibrium temperatures near 1 AU, but can contribute as minor components in mixed ices." "These results eliminate the need for non-physical or exotic explanations and define thermophysical limits for natural acceleration mechanisms in interstellar comets," Neukart added. Further observations will be needed in order to test this model, and it is very likely nowhere near the last word on the topic, but at least this paper demonstrates that some of the sillier explanations proposed for the object are not necessary to explain its behavior. The comet is currently releasing water, which is expected for a comet that just passed its closest passage to the Sun. Dr Cyrielle Opitom Elsewhere, the comet has been shown to exhibit more expected cometary behavior. Radio detection of 3I/ATLAS from the MeerKAT radio telescope, reported in a recent astronomer's telegram, showed absorption from hydroxyl (OH) molecules, a nice, clear sign that the object is releasing water ice as it is heated by our star. "These observations indicate that OH was detected in 3I/ATLAS on 24 October. OH is a product of the breakdown of water (which is usually the most abundant molecule in cometary ices) in the atmosphere of the comet," Dr Cyrielle Opitom, Chancellor's Fellow at the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh, whose work primarily focuses on comets and other Solar System bodies, explained to IFLScience. "So this means that the comet is currently releasing water, which is expected for a comet that just passed its closest passage to the Sun. Water was not detected on earlier observations with the same telescope, but this is not too surprising, as the comet was further away from the Sun (so producing less water) and fainter, making it much harder to detect. But water had been detected with other telescopes before in 3I/ATLAS." For now, we must wait for further observations on this very interesting comet, which may represent a 10-billion-year-old time capsule from another age of the universe, and a different part of our galaxy. "It is difficult to say more with just that detection, but we will know more in the coming weeks as it becomes more visible for optical telescopes," Dr Opitom added. The paper is posted to the pre-print server arXiv.
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What would a “simplified” Starship plan for the Moon actually look like? - Ars Technica
Added: Nov 13, 2025What would a “simplified” Starship plan for the Moon actually look like?
Site: Ars Technica
The problem is that it may be difficult to find options that both NASA and SpaceX like.
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MASSIVE G4 Solar Storm Nearly DESTROYED Human Civilization w/ Ben Davison
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BUY CAST BREW COFFEE TO SUPPORT THE SHOW - https://castbrew.com/Become A Member And Protect Our Work at http://www.timcast.comHost:Tim Pool @Timcast (everywh...
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Harmeet K. Dhillon on X: "Wait so we fund the BBC, and in turn they defame our President?" / X Added: Nov 13, 2025
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New Details About Epstein's Associates, and Meghan Deleted From Kardashian Pics, w/ Maureen Callahan
Site: YouTube
Megyn Kelly begins the show by discussing the newly-revealed Jeffrey Epstein emails and the left trying to implicate Trump, the truth about what Epstein said...
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Victor Davis Hanson: The Sad, Conflicted State of Young American Men
Site: YouTube
On today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” Victor Davis Hanson and Jack Fowler discuss the troubling state of young American males, and h...
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Physicists Prove That Universe is not a Simulation
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Give the most meaningful Christmas gift ✨ Create a custom star map from Under Lucky Stars at http://UnderLuckyStars.comThe Simulation Hypothesis is the idea ...
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The Truth about Human-Caused Mass Extinction
Site: YouTube
Want to restore the planet’s ecosystems and see your impact in monthly videos? The first 100 people to join Planet Wild with my code SABINE311 will get the f...
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New Experiment Explains Why We Don't See Quantum Weirdness Everywhere
Site: YouTube
Check out some interactive lessons in all your favorite subjects with Brilliant! Start learning for free at https://brilliant.org/sabine/ and get 20% off a p...
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Hey, Frustrated Democrats: You Can't Beat Something With Nothing | National Review Added: Nov 13, 2025
Hey, Frustrated Democrats: You Can't Beat Something With Nothing | National Review
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Does Linux really run faster than Windows? I tested both to find out
Added: Nov 13, 2025Does Linux really run faster than Windows? I tested both to find out
Site: How-To Geek
Spoiler alert: Tux has wings.
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Newsom is a rock star at COP — with 1 glaring weakness - POLITICO Added: Nov 13, 2025
Newsom is a rock star at COP — with 1 glaring weakness
Site: POLITICO
Gov. Gavin Newsom is returning to a time-tested technique to exercise soft power at U.N. climate talks.
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New image of 'other comet ATLAS' (C/2025 K1) reveals it's breaking apart ahead of close approach to Earth | Live Science Added: Nov 13, 2025
New image of 'other comet ATLAS' reveals it's breaking apart ahead of close approach to Earth
Site: Live Science
New images show that comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) has fragmented after passing its closest point to the sun, ahead of its close approach to Earth later this month. This is not the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.
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FCC Chairman Brendan Carr Praises CBS for Returning to Form Under Bari Weiss | National Review
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Philosophy expert shares the 300-year-old rule to tell if someone is a good or bad person - Upworthy
Added: Nov 13, 2025Philosophy expert shares the 300-year-old rule to tell if someone is a good or bad person
Site: Upworthy
It was true then, and it's even more true now.
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After Attempting to Short the AI Bubble, the "Big Short" Guy Suddenly Closes Up Shop
Added: Nov 14, 2025After Attempting to Short the AI Bubble, the "Big Short" Guy Suddenly Closes Up Shop
Site: Futurism
"The Big Short" asset manager Michael Burry's attempts to short AI have taken several wild turns, leading to far more questions than answers.
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The 'Big Short' Guy Shuts Down Hedge Fund Amid AI Bubble Fears Added: Nov 14, 2025
The 'Big Short' Guy Shuts Down Hedge Fund Amid AI Bubble Fears
Site: Gizmodo
"Sometimes, the only winning move is not to play."
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Sorry, Jon Stewart, You Can Believe that the Democrats Caved on the Shutdown | National Review
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ISRAEL Will KILL YOU
Site: YouTube
The joke was deleted but it has two implications. Megyn Kelly fears being killed by Israel, people believe Israel kills Americans.Become A Memberhttp://youtu...
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Victor Davis Hanson: How California Progressives Created a Medieval Society
Site: YouTube
On today’s episode of "Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words," Victor Davis Hanson and Sami Winc discuss the overwhelming population of illegal aliens in Cal...
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Democrat Hoax Fails, New Epstein Trump Emails Are Bunk, Democrat Manipulation
Site: YouTube
Shop Beam’s Black Friday Sale! Get up to 50% off with my link: https://shopbeam.com/TIMPOOL (limited time only). No code needed - discount will auto apply at...
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Did the Passage of the Star HD7977 Trigger a Major Comet Shower on Earth 2.5-Million Years Ago? | by Avi Loeb | Nov, 2025 | Medium Added: Nov 14, 2025
Did the Passage of the Star HD7977 Trigger a Major Comet Shower on Earth 2.5-Million Years Ago?
Site: Medium
It is commonly thought that the Universe outside the Solar system has little impact on life on Earth. Interstellar objects, like the recent…
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Epstein Trump Smear BACKFIRES On Democrats | Tim Pool
Site: YouTube
Go to https://BackyardButchers.com/TIM and enter promo code TIM for 30% off — plus a FREE turkey or ham with your purchase.Become A Memberhttp://youtube.com/...
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BREAKING: Trump asks DOJ to investigate Epstein’s relationships with high profile Dems, banks | The Post Millennial | thepostmillennial.com Added: Nov 14, 2025
BREAKING: Trump asks DOJ to investigate Epstein’s relationships with high profile Dems, banks
Site: The Post Millennial
“Records show that these men, and many others, spent large portions of their life with Epstein, and on his ‘Island.’”
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The lasting impact of the 43-day Democrat shutdown will not be forgotten
Site: YouTube
The lasting impact of the 43-day Democrat shutdown will not be forgotten:❌ Missed paychecks❌ Over $10 billion in wages and benefits withheld❌ Millions of low...
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Antifa Declared FOREIGN TERRORISTS | Tim Pool
Site: YouTube
Get a FREE title history report, PLUS a free trial of Triple Lock Protection at https://hometitlelock.com/tim promo code TIMBecome A Memberhttp://youtube.com...
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How Cats See Humans – Jaw-Dropping Secrets Every Pet Parent Must Know
Site: YouTube
How cats see humans is nothing like what we imagine! 🐾 In this eye-opening video we break down the latest science on cat perception of humans and reveal why...
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Trump, amid Epstein furor, directs Bondi to investigate Democrats
Site: POLITICO
“Some Weak Republicans have fallen into their clutches because they are soft and foolish,” Trump wrote in another Truth Social post Friday.
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Scientists identify a crucial brain feature connecting genetics to intelligence
Added: Nov 14, 2025Scientists identify a crucial brain feature connecting genetics to intelligence
Site: PsyPost - Psychology News
A team of neuroscientists has uncovered evidence that genetic influences on intelligence may operate through the density of brain wiring, highlighting a potential biological bridge between inherited DNA differences and the brain structures that support reasoning and problem-solving.
A new study published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaf199" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cerebral Cortex</a> provides evidence that differences in general intelligence may be partly explained by the density of neurites within certain brain connections, and that this brain structure is, in turn, influenced by a person’s genetic makeup. The researchers found that individuals with higher genetic scores for intelligence tended to have a higher density of neurites in specific white matter tracts, and that this structural feature mediated the relationship between genetic variation and cognitive ability.
The research addresses a longstanding challenge in neuroscience: understanding how inherited genetic differences relate to brain structure and cognitive performance. While earlier studies have shown that general intelligence is highly heritable, the new study focuses on the role of white matter.
White matter acts as the brain’s communication network, composed of vast bundles of nerve fibers that transmit signals between different regions. While it has been known that white matter is involved in cognitive functioning, it has remained unclear which specific features are most relevant and how they connect genetics to intelligence.
Past studies have often relied on a measurement called fractional anisotropy, which captures the directional movement of water molecules in the brain and is commonly used to assess white matter integrity. Higher values have been associated with better cognitive performance.
However, fractional anisotropy does not clarify whether the observed effects are due to denser neurite connections, more uniform fiber orientation, or greater levels of myelination. The new study was designed to go beyond that general measure by using more targeted neuroimaging techniques.
"In general, our motivation for this study was to examine the structural network connectivity of the brain, i.e., anatomical connections between brain regions, in relation to intelligence more thoroughly, as there is now a consensus that different regions of our brain form a network and exchange information," said study author Christina Stammen of the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Fa ctors(IfADo).
"The motivation for this study in particular arose from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhac538" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a previous study</a> we conducted. In that study, we found significant positive associations between fractional anisotropy values, a commonly used measure of white matter microstructure, and general intelligence. Since it remained unclear whether this association was due to axon density, parallel, homogenous fiber orientation distributions, or myelination, we conducted our second study."
To examine the brain’s microstructural architecture in greater detail, the researchers used two advanced imaging methods. One, known as neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI), provides estimates of both the density and alignment of neurites—the projections from nerve cells, which in white matter are primarily signal-transmitting fibers called axons.
The other, myelin water fraction imaging, estimates the amount of myelin, a fatty substance that wraps around nerve fibers and speeds up signal transmission. Together, these approaches allowed the team to separately examine neurite density, orientation dispersion, and myelination in white matter.
The study involved more than 500 healthy young adults, most of whom were university students. Each participant completed a series of well-validated intelligence tests that measured a range of cognitive abilities, including verbal, numerical, and spatial reasoning, general knowledge, and processing speed. The researchers then used a statistical approach called factor analysis to compute each participant’s general intelligence score, often referred to as the g factor.
To assess genetic influence, the researchers generated a polygenic score for intelligence for each participant. These scores summarize the small effects of thousands of genetic variants previously linked to intelligence in large-scale genome-wide studies.
DNA was obtained from cells brushed from the participants’ oral mucosa and analyzed for common single nucleotide polymorphisms. After a series of quality control steps, the polygenic scores were calculated based on how many intelligence-associated variants each person carried and the strength of those associations.
Participants also underwent MRI scans, from which the researchers extracted detailed measurements of white matter properties in 64 distinct brain tracts. For each tract, they calculated the neurite density index, orientation dispersion index, and myelin water fraction. The researchers then conducted mediation analyses to examine whether these brain features statistically explained the link between genetic variation and general intelligence.
The findings showed that neurite density, but not orientation dispersion or myelination, was significantly related to general intelligence. The analysis revealed two key connections: First, people with higher polygenic scores for intelligence tended to have higher neurite density in 28 of the 64 white matter tracts. Second, higher neurite density in 18 tracts was directly associated with higher general intelligence scores.
Among these, six tracts were found to be significant in both relationships, statistically mediating the connection between genetics and cognitive performance. These included areas such as the uncinate fasciculus, superior longitudinal fasciculus, cingulum, and middle longitudinal fasciculus, which are known to support functions like memory, language, and cognitive control.
In these regions, higher genetic scores were associated with greater neurite density, which in turn was linked to higher intelligence scores. This suggests that genetic variation may influence how densely packed the brain’s communication pathways are, and that this difference in structure may help explain why some people perform better on cognitive tasks than others.
Notably, the orientation dispersion index, which reflects how uniformly or diffusely aligned the neurites are within a tract, did not show any association with intelligence. This suggests that the arrangement or directionality of white matter fibers may not be as important as their overall density when it comes to cognitive performance.
The results for myelin content were similar. Although some genetic associations were found with myelin water fraction in a few tracts, there was no evidence that this feature was related to intelligence in the sample. In other words, the degree of myelination in white matter did not mediate the link between genetics and general intelligence.
"The fact that there were no significant associations between myelin water fraction and intelligence in predominantly young adults surprised us, as it is a long-standing hypothesis that differences in myelination could underlie differences in intelligence," Stammen told PsyPost. "Myelin plays a crucial role in increasing conduction velocity and ensuring precise spike timing, both of which are critical for the synchronization and coupling of neuronal ensembles across distributed brain networks."
The researchers interpret these findings to mean that the number of neurites in certain brain pathways may be more relevant for intelligence than the speed or efficiency of signal transmission along those pathways. This aligns with the idea that individuals with more densely connected brain networks may be better equipped for complex problem-solving because they have more parallel routes for information processing.
Some of the white matter regions found to be important in this study overlap with areas highlighted in previous research using more general imaging measures. For example, past work has shown associations between intelligence and fractional anisotropy in the superior longitudinal fasciculus and cingulum. The current study adds specificity to those findings by identifying neurite density as the relevant microstructural property.
The findings indicate that "our genetic makeup influences the neurite density of certain connections, i.e. fiber tracts, in our brain, which in turn has an impact on our intelligence," Stammen explained. "The relation between our genetic variants and our intelligence is therefore partially mediated by the neurite density of certain fiber tracts in the brain, which has never been investigated before."
"In contrast, neurite orientation dispersion and estimated myelination of the same fiber tracts showed no mediating effects between genetic variants and intelligence," Stammen explained. "This means that the number or density of neurites is more important for intelligence than their alignment or estimated myelination. The predominantly positive mediation effects suggest that parallel information processing takes place between important areas of intelligence, as there are more neurites and thus more possible ways to think through problems."
"Overall, the effects found are of course very small. However, given that all three interrelated variables – genetic makeup, the brain, and intelligence – are very complex constructs, even small contributions from individual factors are meaningful."
As with all research, there are some limitations. The sample consisted mostly of young, highly educated individuals with above-average intelligence scores. This limits how broadly the findings can be applied to the general population. Additionally, while the neuroimaging methods used here offer more specificity than earlier approaches, they still rely on indirect estimates and cannot capture the full complexity of brain microstructure.
The authors also caution that their mediation analyses are exploratory and based on regularization methods designed to detect patterns in complex data. These methods can help identify promising relationships, but the results should be replicated in other samples and confirmed with different statistical techniques.
Another limitation is that the polygenic scores used in this study, while based on large-scale genetic data, still explain only a small portion of the total variation in intelligence. As larger and more diverse genetic studies become available, future research may be able to account for a greater share of cognitive differences.
Overall, this study provides new insights into the biological mechanisms linking genetics to intelligence. By focusing on specific microstructural features of white matter, it offers a more detailed view of how genetic variation may shape the brain’s structural networks and contribute to cognitive ability. The findings suggest that the density of neurites, rather than their alignment or myelination, may play a more central role in this process.
"The next steps would be to replicate our results in independent samples," Stammen explained. "Furthermore, it would be interesting to use other new imaging methods to investigate the relation between genetic variants, the brain, and human intelligence. We would like to encourage others to conduct more mediation research in order to directly analyze the triad between genes, the brain, and behavior in one."
The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaf199" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Neurite density but not myelination of specific fiber tracts links polygenic scores to general intelligence</a>,” was authored by Christina Stammen, Javier Schneider Penate, Dorothea Metzen, Maurice J. Hönscher, Christoph Fraenz, Caroline Schlüter, Onur Güntürkün, Robert Kumsta, and Erhan Genç.
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Raccoons Are Showing Early Signs of Domestication | Scientific American Added: Nov 14, 2025
City Raccoons Are Evolving to Look More Like Pets
Site: Scientific American
City-dwelling raccoons seem to be evolving a shorter snout—a telltale feature of our pets and other domesticated animals
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Semantic Compression Tool by DEJAN AI
Added: Nov 14, 2025Streamlit
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I Helped AOC Win—I Understand the Fantasy Zohran Is Selling. Added: Nov 14, 2025
I Helped AOC Win. I Understand the Fantasy Zohran Is Selling.
Growing up has taught me that prosperity comes from less government, less regulation, and lower taxes, not more of them, writes Lucy Biggers.
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Dating In The Modern Age DEBATE, Myron Gaines vs Brian Shaprio | The Culture War LIVE Debate
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Tim Pool, Alex Stein, Myron Gaines vs Brian Shaprio, Farha Khalidi, Jessica MisitanoBUY CAST BREW COFFEE TO SUPPORT THE SHOW - https://castbrew.com/Become A ...
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Massive Solar Flare Strikes Earth, Auroras In Florida, Earth’s Magnetic Field Collapsing
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Shop Beam’s Black Friday Sale! Get up to 50% off with my link: https://shopbeam.com/TIMPOOL (limited time only). No code needed - discount will auto apply at...
