‘….The psychedelic compound DMT disrupts a key brain rhythm linked to self-awareness, providing new insights into how the brain shapes our sense of self.

The research, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, investigated how DMT alters the coordinated brain rhythms linked to self-referential thought and internal narrative known as alpha waves. The team noticed this connection when they identified a neural signature associated with ego dissolution in study participants during the peak effects of DMT.…’ ( Austin Burgess via The Debrief)

‘But once you go back, you might not like what you find.…’ (Caroline Delbert via Popular Mechanics)

‘Across the internet, during the 2024 election and in the first year of his second term, MAGA influencers have increasingly used the R-word to insult and scandalize conscientious “woke” liberals, normalizing a slur that had been largely purged from the national vocabulary. The trend reflects not only a coarsening of public discourse under Trump but new depths of callousness and cruelty in America, with disability advocates warning of the term’s dehumanizing effect. Elon Musk alone has dropped the word more than 30 times on his X account since early 2024, while Joe Rogan has said that its return represents an important win for right-wingers. “The word ‘retarded’ is back, and it’s one of the great culture victories,” the podcaster crowed in an April episode of his show.…’ (Miles Klee via Rolling Stone)

 

‘A major seafood company wants to farm octopuses for their meat. Activists and academics say it’s impractical and cruel.…’ (Kenny Torrella via Vox)

‘The Mari Lwyd is a Welsh tradition in which a group of people carry a horse skull mounted on a pole — draped in a white sheet with the operator hidden underneath — to your door at Christmas and demand entry through song.

You are expected to refuse, also through song.

What follows is essentially a medieval rap battle: the Mari Lwyd party sings their case for why they should be let in, you sing back why they shouldn’t, and this continues until someone runs out of verses. If you lose, the skeletal horse and its entourage get to come inside, and you have to give them food and drink.

The tradition dates back to at least 1800, and the groups typically included the horse carrier, a leader, and people dressed as stock characters like Punch and Judy.…’ (Ellsworth Toohey via Boing Boing)

‘ARMR’s experimental vaccine is designed to neutralize fentanyl in the bloodstream before it reaches the brain. Keeping fentanyl out of the brain would prevent the respiratory failure that comes with overdose, which causes death, as well as the euphoric high people get while taking fentanyl.…’ (Emily Mullin via Ars Technica)

‘In 2002, astronomers at Johns Hopkins University set out to answer a question nobody asked but everyone secretly needed answered: what color is the universe? Not the black of space you see at night — the average color of all the light from all 200,000+ galaxies they surveyed.

…The corrected answer, published in 2003: a pale, creamy beige. Hex code #FFF8E7. The team needed a name for this color, so they ran a poll. Suggestions included “cappuccino cosmico,” “Big Bang beige,” and “primordial clam chowder.”…’ (Ellsworth Toohey via Boing Boing)

‘According to Trump’s new national security strategy, America is done with “democracy promotion”… except in Europe.…’ (Joshua Keating via Vox)

‘The Court’s Texas decision is a victory for Republicans, and it is a terrible blow to all gerrymandering plaintiffs.…’ (Ian Millhiser via Vox)

‘Trump is living his best life in this second and final turn in the White House. Coming up on one year back in power, he’s turned the office into an adult fantasy camp, a Tom Hanks-in-Big, ice-cream-for-dinner escapade posing as a presidency.

The brazen corruption, near-daily vulgarity and handing out pardons like lollipops is impossible to ignore and deserves the scorn of history. Yet how the president is spending much of his time reveals his flippant attitude toward his second term. This is free-range Trump. And the country has never seen such an indulgent head of state.

Yes, he’s one-part Viktor Orbán, making a mockery of the rule of law and wielding state power to reward friends and punish foes while eroding institutions.

But he’s also a 12-year-old boy: There’s fun trips, lots of screen time, playing with toys, reliable kids’ menus and cool gifts under the tree — no socks or trapper keepers.
Yet, as with all children, there are also outbursts in the middle of restaurants.
Or in this case, the Cabinet Room.…’ (Jonathan Martin via POLITICO)