Delve into the comments of a video of a ginger cat acting a little (or very) silly‚ and you’re likely to find mentions of “orange cat behavior”‚ or one solitary orange cat brain cell being shared between them all.Although many of these comments are purely in jest‚ believe it or not‚ scientists have actually investigated whether or not coat color has any impact on cat behavior. So‚ what is orange cat behavior‚ and is it actually a real phenomenon?Are orange cats genetically distinct?The aptly named orange gene is on the X chromosome and not the Y chromosome‚ and is responsible for orange cats producing the pigment phaeomelanin that gives them their signature color. In orange cats‚ this pigment is expressed rather than the black or brown eumelanin‚ which is suppressed.Being on the X chromosome‚ the orange gene is sex-linked‚ meaning that a cat’s sex chromosomes can actually affect their color. Cats with one X chromosome can either be orange or non-orange‚ only needing one mutation to become a lovely pumpkin hue. Cats with two X chromosomes can have up to two copies of the gene‚ so need two mutations to be completely orange – they will be non-orange if they have no copies of the gene‚ or tortoiseshell with a patchwork of colors including orange if they have one.So how rare is a female orange cat? There are around three males for every one female ginger cat thanks to this genetic quirk.“Coat color can be linked to other aspects such as sex (more ginger male cats than female) or breed […] these areas are under represented in terms of study‚” Central Behavior Officer of UK charity Cats Protection‚ Daniel Warren-Cummings‚ told IFLScience. “There is a prevalent myth that male cats are more ‘friendly’ than female cats‚ which if true would likely be a reason why more people find ginger cats ‘more friendly’ but the reality is that that is still an unknown.”What does the research say?Cats are certainly expressive little creatures‚ with a recent study identifying 276 unique feline facial expressions and a 2021 study identifying seven distinct kitty personality traits. But is this in any way linked to the hue of their fur?“Some studies suggest that there may be a link between behavior and coat color‚ however‚ there’s no significant or conclusive evidence and the consideration of coat color is not something that shapes our decision-making process when considering differentials in why the cat may be behaving a certain way‚” Warren-Cummings told IFLScience.Some associations between coat color and behavior have been found in some mammal species‚ explain the authors of a 2015 study. “However‚ studies of domestic cats have shown mixed results regarding a potential relation between coat color and personality.”The researchers focused on human perceptions of cat personality‚ surveying 189 cat owners on the personalities of their feline companions. They found that orange cats were rated “relatively high in friendliness and low in aloofness and shyness” compared to other colors of kitty. White cats were seen as more aloof‚ shy‚ calm‚ and low in activity‚ friendliness and boldness; black cats didn’t have any traits that were rated particularly differently from other colors; bi-colored cats were perceived as friendly and low in aloofness; and tri-colored cats seen as aloof‚ intolerant‚ and low in friendliness.However‚ this all comes down to people’s subjective observations of cats. “Many studies into behavior and appearance are surveys or questionnaires given to the owner/care-giver and we must understand that individuals' understand[ing] of labels such as ‘friendly’ will vary drastically‚” Warren-Cummings explained. “Additionally‚ many personality/appearance-based studies look at other types of personality such as ‘stubborn’‚ which most credible behaviorists would not be looking at‚ or describing as‚ due to the fact it is an incredibly subjective term that comes from a very anthropocentric and anthropomorphic view of interactions between humans and cats.”“To date there is little evidence that these perceived differences between differently colored cats actually exist‚” lead study author Mikel Delgado explained in a statement at the time. “We hope that this study will be a starting point for further research in what qualities affect adoption and retention of pet cats‚ and whether there is a genetic or physical basis (such as coat color) for personality differences in cats.”Why is orange cat personality perceived as being different? The study authors suggest that it may be down to how they’re portrayed in the media‚ with certain orange cat cartoon characters shaping people’s perceptions.“Interestingly‚ depictions of some of the most well-known orange cats in American culture‚ such as Morris‚ ‘The world’s most finicky cat’ […] and Garfield‚ who is described as lazy and cynical […]‚ are not positive. However‚ based on sales and advertising‚ these two cat character are hugely popular within the United States‚” they write.“One possibility is that the tendency for orange cats to be highly anthropomorphized in advertising and other popular media influences their popularity. For example‚ both Morris and Garfield are depicted as being able to talk.”So could the breed of a cat influence their behavior? “Breed doesn’t play as significant a role in behavior as some people may think but it plays more of a role in cat’s behavior (if at all) than coat color‚” said Warren-Cummings. “For example‚ some breeds of cat are thought more prone to suffer from pica‚ the consumption of non-edible materials‚ (eg. Siamese or Tonkinese) while some breeds are considered to be more vocal (again‚ Siamese or Tonkinese).”“It’s important to remember then anecdotally‚ it’s fair to conclude that most cat breeds have been selectively bred for aesthetic reasons more than behavioral. It’s not like selecting dog breeds to provide a certain service or be good at a particular skill. Nature had created what is now known as ‘the moggie’ and then human tampering has led to the development of other breeds primarily for looks‚” said Warren-Cummings.A 2016 study on purebred cats investigated whether their personality traits were associated with their breed‚ pattern‚ eye color‚ or coat color. Owners of registered‚ single-breed cats were asked to complete a questionnaire on their cats’ behavior‚ with 394 surveys included in the final analysis.The breeds included in the analysis were Abyssinians‚ Bengals‚ Birmans‚ Burmese‚ Devon Rexes‚ Maine Coons‚ Norwegian Forest cats‚ Orientals‚ Persians‚ Ragdolls‚ Siamese‚ and Tonkinese. Coat colors included agouti‚ black‚ brown‚ cinnamon‚ blue‚ lilac‚ fawn‚ caramel‚ taupe‚ red‚ cream‚ blue cream‚ apricot‚ and white.“What we do know about breeds is that health conditions can be more inheritable than behavior traits and the development of certain breeds has contributed to cats having diminished welfare and well-being‚” explained Warren-Cummings. “We know breeds with extreme conformities‚ such as brachycephalic" – with a shorter skull‚ much like in pugs – “can suffer breathing and eating difficulties.”The study authors hypothesized that pleiotropy‚ when a gene influences two or more traits‚ could unintentionally happen in selecting for a particular color. However‚ although some associations were found between personality traits and coat color‚ when the breed of cat was controlled for‚ the picture changed.“Our hypothesis that associations between appearance and behavior would occur independent of breed was largely unsubstantiated‚” they wrote. “Interestingly‚ nearly all associations between behavior and coat type could be attributed to breed-based behavior differences.”What actually affects a cat’s behavior then? Is it nature or nurture?“In my professional opinion (shared by many others) both ‘nature’ and ‘nurture’ are the most important factors in how a cat will behave throughout their life‚” said Warren-Cummings.Although breed and coat color don’t seem to have a huge influence on how a cat will behave‚ some traits do seem to have some roots in genetics. “’Nature’ or genetics is also significantly important‚ for example ‘boldness’ (AKA confidence) is thought to be an inheritable genetic trait. Again‚ using label words is not particularly helpful but a cat that is more confident when tested approaching new or novel stimulus could be considered ‘bold’ or confident‚” said Warren-Cummings.However‚ how a cat is socialized is key to how they will behave.“The ‘nurture’ part of the question relates to good socialization during the sensitive socialization period or 2-7 weeks. There are a number of papers that look at adequate socialization during this time and how it can affect a cat’s behavior throughout the rest of their life including their confidence‚ their willingness to approach people and engage with new or novel stimulus‚” explained Warren-Cummings. “A good socialization plan is one of the greatest tools in affecting the behavior of a cat.”So there we have it – your orange cat may indeed be a very silly little guy‚ but their charmingly odd behavior is probably not linked to their coat color.

An amateur astronomer has captured an object slamming into Jupiter‚ producing a bright flash of light as it disintegrated in the gas giant's atmosphere.Jupiter is so massive that it technically doesn't orbit the Sun. With such a gravitational pull‚ you'd expect it to be regularly impacted by asteroids that make their way to its part of the Solar System‚ and you'd be right. One model simulation study in 2013 estimated that the planet experiences 12−60 impacts of 5 to 20 meter (16.5 to 65 foot) diameter objects every year. Another study estimated that larger objects of around 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) in diameter impact the planet once every 6‚000 years. However‚ actually capturing these impacts as they happen is something of a rarity. At the time of that study‚ three flashes had been captured by amateur astronomers on the planet‚ which the team determined to be asteroids.The latest impact‚ captured by amateur astronomer Kunihiko Suzuki on November 15‚ is one of only a small handful of such events recorded on the planet. IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.Studying the light curves from such impacts can tell us about the amount of energy released by the object (be it an asteroid or comet) as well as what the object was.The more we learn about such impacts the better. Many suspect Jupiter plays a role in protecting the inner planets from asteroid impacts‚ drawing comets and asteroids away from us.    IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.Searching for systems with gas giants may help us find planets that have been similarly shielded from extinction-causing impact events that could wipe out life before it progressed beyond single-celled organisms. However‚ there have also been suggestions that the planet acts as a slingshot‚ pulling in objects from further out in the Solar System that would otherwise not have made it closer to the Sun.

There’s a room in Minnesota that no one has been able to stay in for longer than 45 minutes. It’s so silent inside that the sound level is actually measured in negative units. The anechoic chamber at Orfield Laboratories in Minneapolis is the current Guinness World Record holder for the quietest place on Earth‚ which might sound like heaven on a stressful day when you just want to get away from it all. But why is it that nobody has managed to withstand this silence for even one hour?“When it’s quiet‚ ears will adapt. The quieter the room‚ the more things you hear. You'll hear your heart beating‚ sometimes you can hear your lungs‚ hear your stomach gurgling loudly‚” founder and president Steven Orfield told MailOnline. “In the anechoic chamber‚ you become the sound.”Orfield explained that this experience is so disconcerting for people that they’re forced to sit down. We don’t consciously realize it‚ but we rely on hearing a lot for balance and maneuvering around a space. When that is taken away‚ it’s very disorientating.It’s a similar story with eyesight. Try standing on one leg with your eyes closed – it’s so much more difficult to balance‚ because the vestibular system relies heavily on visual cues to keep us upright.But‚ you don’t have to pay to get locked in a fancy chamber to experience sensory deprivation. Loss of one or more of our senses can happen after illness‚ or just during the aging process. So how does the body cope when one of its windows on the world is closed?Learning to compensateHearing loss is a natural consequence of aging for many people‚ and can also be caused by infections or injuries. The brains of people who develop hearing loss later in life must undergo some changes to compensate for this new lack of sensory information‚ as neuropsychologist Kate Slade explained recently to Gizmodo.  It’s a similar situation with sight loss‚ and with the loss of sense of taste and/or smell. The latter has been on people’s minds more than usual in recent years‚ since it became clear that it’s a possible side effect of COVID-19 infection. The human brain‚ however‚ is really good at “filling in the blanks.” Our perception of the world relies a lot on what we “expect” to find in various situations. For example‚ each one of us has a blind spot in our visual field‚ but you’d never know it because the brain fills in that gap for us based on the rest of the visual information it’s receiving.But when the gap to be filled gets bigger‚ the brain has to work harder. The most widely accepted explanation for this relies on the idea of the brain “rewiring” itself – widely accepted‚ yes‚ but not without controversy. Cortical reorganization‚ to give the theory its proper name‚ is the principle of brain tissues taking on a new role when their previous function is no longer needed. It’s the same idea that underpins the oft-repeated belief that visually impaired people have more acute hearing or a better sense of touch than sighted people. On the surface‚ it sounds like a great demonstration of the adaptability of our nervous system‚ and it is true that the human brain has a regenerative capacity that likely exceeds even what we know currently. But there’s a trade-off to be made‚ and this adaptation comes at a cost.One recent study examined MRI data from 130 participants who had undergone hearing tests between 2003 and 2005‚ before having their brains scanned just over a decade later. The results found structural differences in areas of the brain responsible for auditory and language processing in those with hearing loss‚ which could have worrying long-term consequences.“The extra effort involved with trying to understand sounds may produce changes in the brain that lead to increased risk of dementia‚” said principal investigator Linda K. McEvoy in a statement.It’s not the first time that sensory deprivation has been linked with dementia‚ and the risk also appears to increase in cases where more than one of the senses is affected. A 2020 study found that even mild multisensory decline was associated with faster brain aging and an increased risk of dementia.“However you cut it or slice it‚ having worse sensory function in multiple domains is associated with a much higher risk of dementia‚” first author Willa Brenowitz told Gizmodo. Beyond the physicalThe consequences of sensory loss can be psychological as well as neurological. Anosmia and parosmia‚ the loss of or change in sense of smell‚ can have a significant impact on quality of life‚ as many people sadly discovered in the aftermath of a COVID-19 infection. Sense of smell also affects taste‚ so people with these conditions can often no longer enjoy the same foods. They miss out on the uplifting feeling you can get from your favorite scents‚ like line-dried laundry or fresh-cut grass.The loss of independence‚ and of the ability to work or take part in hobbies that can come with sensory loss can also diminish quality of life. Research has shown that there is a link between sensory loss and anxiety and depression.Is there anything that can be done?Sensory loss is not necessarily permanent. There is emerging evidence that corrective treatments – where these are applicable – can help mitigate some of the potential negative consequences of sensory loss. For example‚ a recent study found that cataract surgery‚ correcting one of the leading causes of sight loss‚ was associated with a decreased risk of dementia. Of course‚ in some instances‚ treatments such as cochlear implants will not be suitable or available. Anosmia and parosmia can persist for years‚ although some recent advances are offering hope for future treatments.  But even if the physical sense cannot be restored‚ therapies to help combat the negative psychological effects could still help address the impact on quality of life‚ and even have a positive effect on brain aging – depression itself has been associated with cognitive decline.We started with the anechoic chamber at Orfield Laboratories‚ inarguably one of the most extreme forms of sensory deprivation a human can be exposed to. But someone inside that chamber can simply step out when it becomes too much. When the body’s own senses fail‚ that’s not an option. The brain can do a lot to compensate; but as we’ve seen‚ it can come at a cost‚ something that science is still working hard to fully understand.

The Sun and other stars seldom get near each other. It is estimated that a close passage – closer than 15 billion kilometers (9.3 billion miles) – happens once every 100 billion years‚ which is more than 7 times the current age of the universe. Due to the evolution of the Sun‚ the Earth has about one billion years more of having a habitable surface. This gives us a 1 percent chance of a stellar encounter as long as there is life on Earth. But what would a rogue star bring to our solar system? Everything from complete destruction to very little effects.Researchers have looked into various possible encounter setups‚ and it is good to know that in 95 percent of the cases‚ the passage results in no planets being lost. But in that remaining five percent‚ havoc is the key word. In the remaining 5 percent of scenarios‚ almost half see Mercury being put into an orbit that leads it to collide with the Sun.Previous research has shown that even a 0.1 percent perturbation on Neptune's orbit could cause Mercury to become a pinball (likely hitting Venus‚ but Mars and Earth are also possible targets). New work shows that the effects of tiny variations in orbits can be truly catastrophic.“While the orbital evolution of the planets is largely determined by secular and resonant perturbations‚ passing stars can have a consequential influence on the planets’ orbits‚” the authors write in the paper.With a 1.21 percent and 1.17 percent chance respectively‚ there’s the scenario of Mars ending up on a collision course with the Sun‚ and that of Venus colliding with another planet. Those are followed by the lower likelihood scenarios of the ejection of Uranus‚ or Neptune‚ or the scenario where Mercury hits another planet.Looking further down the list of scenarios in descending probability‚ we also see Earth being pushed on a collision course with another planet (0.48 percent) while the chance that Earth is going to be flying into the Sun is about 0.24 percent. There are plenty of other scenarios‚ some with more chaos than others. Collisions are more common for the inner rocky planets‚ while ejections are more common for the outer ones (except for Jupiter).There is an even tiny chance that Earth would be thrown into a much wider orbit‚ trapping our planet in the frigid Oort cloud‚ but still bound to the Sun. There are small but roughly similar chances across all planets of capture by the passing star. It could be possible for Earth to end up in the habitable zone of a different star and prolong its habitability for longer than one billion years. But that escape might spell doom for the other planets.“Despite the diversity of potential evolutionary pathways‚ odds are high that our Solar System’s current situation will not change. Earth’s progressive heating from the brightening Solar luminosity (not to mention human-driven carbon emissions) will continue unabated. The Universe is statistically unlikely to help us out by providing a stellar flyby that will lead to a cooler Earth. Humanity’s best solution is to help itself‚” the authors conclude.There are also 392 scenarios out of 12‚000 simulations where all but one planet die; the most common survivor is Jupiter (also in other likely deaths of the solar system) – but 23 scenarios see Earth as the sole survivor. But all these have ignored a big factor for our planet: the Moon. Once the Earth-Moon system is taken into account‚ the chances for devastation on our dear old Earth increase simply because‚ with the addition of the Moon‚ we are a bigger target. But even with that risk factor‚ the odds of such a cataclysmic scenario remain very small indeed.The article describing these results is available on the ArXiv and is accepted for publication in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.[h/t: Universe Today]

In his introduction essay to Up from Conservatism‚ a collection of essays by “New Right” authors‚ editor Arthur Milikh remarks that “the goal of this volume is to correct the trajectory of the Right after several generations of political losses‚ moral delusions‚ and intellectual errors. Continue Reading...

by Pam Martens and Russ Martens‚ Wall St On Parade: The formidable Washington watchdog‚ Public Citizen‚ has trained its sights on JPMorgan Chase‚ Jamie Dimon’s house of serial frauds and felony counts that is allowed to also operate as the largest federally-insured bank in the United States. Public Citizen’s pursuit of JPMorgan Chase began in 2019 when […]

from Bannons War Room: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

by Roger Kimball‚ American Greatness: The people are awakening Is there a disturbance in the force? I think there might be. In just the last week‚ the chainsaw-wielding “anarcho-capitalist” Javier Milei won the presidential election in Argentina‚ the Freedom Party of Islamo-realist Geert Wilders trounced its opponents in the snap general election in the Netherlands‚ […]

by Harold Hutchison‚ The Daily Caller: Wealthy Jewish families are not having their college-bound children apply for Ivy League schools following antisemitic incidents and protests against Israel. Schools in conservative states‚ like Washington University in Missouri‚ Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Texas are seeing the influx of applications from Jewish […]

Iranian hackers hit Pittsburgh. PA area water plant. https://t.co/mmf2NLxcZZ — Dave Bondy (@DaveBondyTV) November 27‚ 2023